Korean Karate in Japan

By Chris Sadowitz

What could be stranger than the presence of Korean style karate, or Tae Kwon Do, in Japan? Since Japan's occupation of Korea in the early 1900s, cultural exchanges between the two economic powers have been overshadowed by competition. The two countries still harbor animosity toward one another.

Therefore, when we moved to Japan in 1993, we were not surprised to be unable to find a Tae Kwon Do school, even though Tae Kwon Do is practiced in 140 countries worldwide. However, the inception of Tae Kwon Do as a sport in the 2000 Olympic Games opened the door to the sport in Japan-being fierce competitors, the Japanese are preparing their own Tae Kwon Do team for the next Olympics.

Tae Kwon Do is a form of self-defense emphasizing the use of the hands and the feet and featuring showy flying kicks and spins; it literally means "The Way of the Fist and Foot." The Korean style has murky beginnings in the sixth century, when monks developed the art as a defense against oppressive governments and marauding bandits. Although Tae Kwon Do can be practiced secularly, like many martial arts, it also has affiliations with Buddhism, and many New Age practitioners have incorporated the idea of pursuing a ki, or life-force.

Noticing a growing interest in Tae Kwon Do among young Japanese, we decided to start a Tae Kwon Do club as an evangelism outreach and as a counter to New Age beliefs. We now have a group of twenty children and adults who study twice a week. Instead of teaching ki, we offer informal nights of Tae Kwon Do training tips and Bible teaching, where we explain that Christ is the only way to achieve peace.

Tae Kwon Do is supposed to discipline the body, mind, and spirit. We explain that we can never be disciplined enough to make ourselves worthy of salvation-only through God's grace can we be saved. And yet, the discipline of the body, mind, and soul can be a useful metaphor for the Christian life, like Paul's metaphor of the Christian athlete in 1 Corinthians. We set our eyes on Jesus, not on achieving harmony with some non-existent life-force.

Our Tae Kwon Do club enables us to share God across three cultures: Korean, Japanese, and American. We do not know yet what God will accomplish through this unique outreach method. It had always been my secret dream to teach a martial arts class. When I least expected it-in Japan, of all places-God created the opportunity.