V. K. Madhav Mohan
Karate Master, Economist, Mentor, Strategic Advisor
The author is a 4th Dan Black Belt (Honorary) in Shorin Ryu Karate, holds an MA in Economics, MBA, and MIM (Thunderbird, USA), has 40 years of leadership and management mentoring experience, and serves as Advisor to the Governor of West Bengal and Chancellor’s Nominee to the Syndicate of Calcutta University.
Insights from Karate for Life
Karate is not a sport! Rather, it is a way of life in which loyalty, compassion and all that is great and noble is protected with the fire of courage and strength of steel. A way of life driven by deep truths and substantive thoughts. Nothing superficial, flippant or dishonest can ever survive in the vicinity of any true Karateka.
Training happens within the dojo. But application happens in life! Pupils learn katas inside the dojo but the masters are those that harvest the bunkai when life throws the punch. So, in that sense, all of life is the canvas on which Karate is lived. It is not confined to the training hall. Instead, it is meant to be applied to every moment that we live.
If we embrace this reality, the lessons learnt during the hard training in the dojo can illuminate a path through even the toughest challenges that life poses for us. The pain and fatigue that we invest in daily training provide infinite returns when confronted by the harsh realities of life.
As I’ve navigated my way through life I have constantly been buoyed by the insights that I’ve derived from karate through my Master, Sensei Kuppusamy. These priceless treasures have accompanied me with every breath. Through various stages of my life and career they have carried me through without fear or favour. Whenever I had to make crucial decisions or face up to impossible odds these insights strengthened me from inside and prevented me from weakening or giving up. For all of this I owe my beloved Sensei Kuppusamy a debt that I can never ever repay.
I’m sure these insights will be of immense value to all those who read and internalise them. So, what are these insights?
1. Never Quit: The Warrior Ethos
Karate teaches and instils the Warrior Ethos in a serious student and practitioner. Briefly, this means living with courage, honour, discipline and loyalty at all times not for oneself but for one’s family, community and country. It is actually living the Samurai Code which enables acceptance of death as inevitable and therefore relinquishing any fear associated with dying.
According to Musashi Miyamoto, “today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is victory over lesser men”, and “the battle is not against the world but against quitting on yourself.”
Further, according to Yamamoto Tsunetomo, “the way of the Samurai is found in death.” The underlying meaning of the teachings is that once we accept death as inevitable, we achieve freedom from fear. When we internalise this lesson, we overcome any tendency to give up the fight, no matter how adverse the situation. This insight, if translated into a mindset, makes us impossible to defeat.
Practical Examples of the Never Quit Mindset
• Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition during which his ship Endurance was nearly destroyed by ice.
• Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player, who says, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
The Never Quit mindset is beautifully summarised by the Japanese proverb: “Fall seven times, rise eight.”
2. Discipline Delivers Victory
Training is not an option. It is mandatory. It is first a daily struggle, then a habit and then a way of life. After a while, the daily training regime will lift you out of mediocrity quietly and without fanfare. Soon you’ll be head and shoulders above everyone else in your competence, strength and stamina in every area of life.
In my book Three Word Truths, I dwell in detail about the importance of practice and consistency.
Practice Builds Confidence
Mastery requires practice — lots of it. That’s no brainer. But doing the hard grind has some effects that are not easily apparent. Practice essentially means repetition: doing something over and over again until an action accuracy and speed. At first speed is elusive and so is getting it right. Doing even the basics is extremely frustrating, boring and indeed painful, mentally and physically. Your body and mind need to be trained to become capable of doing the technique perfectly.
Each problem is in effect a drill. The more problems you solve the better is your understanding of the concept and technique, and the better is your ability to solve problems.
Consistency Creates Mastery
Each of us wants to excel at something. Yet consistency is the key. Repetition and discipline, every single day, are the real teachers.
The following examples illustrate the virtues of discipline:
• Miyamoto Musashi trained continuously and became one of history’s greatest swordsmen.
• Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita teaches discipline and duty.
• Samurai training emphasised repetitive kata practice until actions became instinctive.
• Military training across the world emphasises constant discipline because “the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.”
Modern examples include:
The core message: there is no room for procrastination or soft excuses. Discipline is the steel frame on which the building of excellence is built.
3. Breath Control is the Key
The body no doubt has to be conditioned, trained and strengthened continuously. However, unless the mind is calm, focused and balanced, the body cannot produce effective and explosive action. Breath is the crucial link between the mind and the body.
As Lord Krishna teaches us, “samatvam yoga uchyate” — Yoga is all about balance and equipoise. One must stay neither one way nor another, neither too much action nor too little action.
Yoga practitioners lay the greatest stress on Pranayama as the way to control the mind through breath. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika teaches that when the breath wanders, the mind is unsteady, but when the breath is calm, the mind too is still.
The essence of Sage Patanjali’s teaching is that breath control stills the mind by reducing restlessness, removing obstacles like ignorance, agitation and distractions.
Insights from Modern Science
The benefits of mastering breath are very well established by modern science. Slow and deep breathing switches on the body’s parasympathetic nervous system and produces the relaxation response. It reduces the heart rate and blood pressure and mitigates the generation of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.
Regulating the breath generates alpha brain waves which in turn spark relaxation and creativity. It also activates the prefrontal cortex of the brain and thereby improves focus and decision-making which are so critical in the battlefield and in fight-or-flight situations.
Furthermore, awareness and management of breath reduce activity in the brain’s fear and stress centre, the amygdala. It also increases protection against panic, anxiety and emotional imbalance.
Breath control increases oxygenation and carbon dioxide tolerance which in turn improve cellular efficiency. It also improves Heart Rate Variability (HRV), which is a biomarker for resistance to stress and an indicator for adaptability.
This is why every modern combat-ready soldier and warrior is always taught and drilled in breath control.
Martial arts such as Karate focus heavily on breathing katas. For example, training to master Sanchin Kata is considered one of the most important and crucial practices.
The synergistic combination of these insights and practices create an unbreakable character and force that imbue you with a charisma and aura that are not just ephemeral but real.
References
Bunkai: literally means “analysis” or “disassembly” in Japanese. In Karate, bunkai is the practical application of kata movements — breaking down the formal patterns to understand their combat purpose. Purpose: As a Bridge between kata and kumite (sparring). Kata preserves techniques in a stylized form; bunkai reveals how to apply them. In Self-defense training: Teaches hidden applications (joint locks, throws, strikes, pressure points) often not obvious in the kata. In Deeper understanding: Prevents kata from becoming a “dance” by connecting it to real combat use. Levels of Bunkai: Omote (surface): The obvious, basic application (e.g., a block is a block, a punch is a punch). Ura (hidden/advanced) Alternative meanings (e.g., a “block” may actually be a joint lock, throw, or strike) Honto (true/deeper level): The principle or concept underlying the movement — distance, timing, body mechanics — that can be applied flexibly.
Soke Dr P Kuppusamy: Who brought Shorin Ryu karate to India and illuminated the lives of thousands of students
Miyamoto Musashi: The Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho), written in 1645; Musashi was one of Japan’s 3 greatest warriors and strategists; he was undefeated in over 60 duels; this book is a handbook for lessons that can be applied to business, leadership and strategy even today
Hagakure: (Yamamoto Tsunetomo, 1716); agakure (葉隠) literally means “Hidden by the Leaves” or “In the Shadow of Leaves.” It is one of the most famous early 18th-century texts on bushidō (the way of the warrior), written by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, a former samurai retainer of the Nabeshima clan in Saga (Kyūshū, Japan).
Sir Ernest Shackleton: is one of the greatest examples of the “Never Quit / Endurance” ethos in history. His motto “By endurance we conquer” (adopted for the family crest) became a living truth during the legendary Endurance Expedition (1914–1917); in January 1915, the ship was trapped in Weddell Sea pack ice. By October, the ship was crushed and sank. Shackleton and his crew of 28 men were stranded for almost two years on drifting ice and hostile seas — yet he brought every single man back alive.
Michael Jordan: Story is one of resilience, discipline, and unrelenting competitiveness. From being cut from his high school team to becoming a 6-time NBA champion and global icon, he embodies the principle that setbacks fuel greatness.
V K Madhav Mohan: “Three Word Truths”; available on amazon.com and Notion Press
Miyamoto Musashi “Book of Five Rings”
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6, Verse 5
Marcus Aurelius (Roman Emperor,161–180 CE, known as the Philosopher King) in his book 10 “Meditations”.Chapter 2, Verse 48:
“Yogasthah kuru karmani, saṅgaṁ tyaktvā Dhanañjaya; 12 Siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhūtvā, samatvaṁ yoga ucyate.“…Be steadfast in yoga, O Dhananjaya (Arjuna). Perform your duties, abandoning attachment, and remaining even-minded in success and failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.”
Marcus Aurelius: Roman Emperor (161–180 CE), “Meditations.”
Sun Tzu: Traditionally attributed to Sun Tzu (Sūnzǐ, 孫子), a Chinese general, strategist, and philosopher. Era: Likely written in the 5th century BCE during the Eastern Zhou dynasty’s Spring and Autumn Period (though some scholars date it later, Warring States period). Nature of Text: A military treatise on strategy and tactics, compiled into 13 chapters, each dealing with a different aspect of warfare.
Hatha Yoga Pradipika: Author: Svātmārāma Yogin, a disciple in the Nath yogi tradition. Tradition: Linked 13 to Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath, who are considered founders of Haṭha Yoga. Date: Composed around the 15th century CE, though it draws from earlier tantric and yogic sources.
Sage Patanjali: Author: Sage Patañjali. Date: Estimated between 2nd century BCE and 4th century CE (scholars differ). Tradition: Belongs to one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy (darśanas), specifically the Yoga Darśana.
Sanchin: Means “Three Battles” — usually interpreted as the integration of Body, Mind, and Spirit (or sometimes Breath, Energy, and Will).