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Plate 2 Ken Zen Ichinyo (The fist and zen are the same). Calligraphy by karate master Masatoshi Nakayama, presented to the Kobukan Karate Club.

Is this type of training to be preferred over the lengthy verbal explanations and references to training manuals? In the present day, particularly in the West, traditional training would discourage many students, even those who think they will become Zen experts in the process of learning karate. Perhaps that is one reason why few true martial arts experts are produced in the Western world. Trends in present-day karate training seem to be away from Zen practices. Today, the average karate student, particularly outside Japan, receives detailed explanations about how techniques should be performed and why. This produces karate practitioners who have great knowledge of theory, but perhaps little feeling for the art they practice. It may be that Zen-type karate training is not suitable for Westerners. In determining if this is true, a consideration of the circumstances of present-day training is necessary.