Opinion:
Grasping Budo By More Than One Corner

By Christopher Caile

Many years ago while I was living in Tokyo, Donn Draeger once said to me, “You can’t grasp Budo by a single corner.” This statement came in the midst of a long conversation about the martial arts. While I have long forgotten the subjects we discussed, the phrase itself has stuck with me.

Of course Donn was the consummate example of diversity of experience in the martial arts. He had studied many of the classical Japanese martial arts and both his experience and historical knowledge were truly awesome. As the years have gone by and I have gotten deeper into my study of karate, Donn’s observation has proven right over and over again.

When you study a single art you are often confined. It is sort of like the old saying, “when your only tool is a hammer, you just see nails.” This is not to say that studying a single art is wrong, but it does suggest that by studying other arts, a student’s perspective and experience is broadened so that his understanding and practice of his original art greatly benefits too.

I am reminded of an observation once made to me by Richard Kim (the well known karate teacher and historian), who said “the secret of any art is seeing what you see.” What he meant is that you need knowledge and experience to be able to discern what is going on when you see a martial arts move. The more experience you have, the more you are able to see.

Nowhere has this been more evident to me than in the study of karate kata. For many years I looked at most of the moves as punches and kicks, although my judo experience did allow me to see many throws within the movements. The ability to see throws was further enhanced after studying Chinese Shuai Chiao.

Aikido, Jujustu and Daito- ryu Aikijutsu study added more insight. Learning some Chinese Kung Fu systems also added to my depth of knowledge of certain grappling moves within kata.

My karate was also broadened by training in grappling. In Buffalo, my house mate Joel was a full contact grappler and UFC veteran. In my garage, which had been modified into a training center, we often sparred. I still remember the first time I lifted my knee to block a low roundhouse kick. Bam, I was on the floor on my back and wondering what had happened. I quickly learned that a low roundhouse kick was the perfect set up for a take down. I learned to adjust my fighting tactics.

A few years later when our karate organization was developing a full-contact team to compete in Japan, I quickly saw that those who had boxing experience had a distinct advantage. Our fighters who were experienced with strikes to the head had a distinct advantage in the competition over others who did not, but who were trying to adjust to the new reality.

The same lesson holds for self-defense situations. Too many karate-ka never experience actually being attacked to the head. It makes sense for safety reasons not to make contact to the head with punches during karate practice, but this also creates a problem for the same karate-ka if they find themselves in a real fight with someone trying to take their head off. Here again a little cross training adds a lot.

The same problem is even more evident in Aikido and in many jujutsu systems. In Aikido, for example, attacks are done slowly at first, with increased speed and intensity with experience. The emphasis is on cooperation with your partner so you can both learn. But, too often practice is never taken beyond this point. There are teachers who have never had any combat experience, either from karate, boxing or other arts. While their technique may look good, they can unfortunately be at a disadvantage if they had to actually use their art in a real self-defense situation.

A friend Oscar Ratti, best known for his book “Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere,” related to me a tragic story of a New York City black belt in Aikido he had known. This person returned to his van after practice one night to find someone rummaging through the back of the vehicle. The friend pulled open one of the back doors to challenge the individual. What he got, however, was unexpected. The robber leaped out from the back with a knife in his hand and thrust it out. Unfortunately the Aikido-ka, with countless years of practice of avoiding punches and practice knife stabs with a pivot during practice, did not do so in this instance. It might have been the surprise, or fear — no one knows. But the result was tragic. He lost his life. Ratti commented, “So many in Aikido just don’t train with combat intensity.” In this case it resulted in a loss of life.

Some Daito-ryu organizations combine the sword arts in their training, something done to a lesser degree in certain schools of Aikido. But techniques in either art are greatly enhanced with the skills learned in swordsmanship – keeping the center line, dropping the weight, use of the center and upper torso within their techniques. Too often Aikido and Jujutsu only include perfunctory sword defense practice and the students’ whole concept of distance is thrown off, as is their timing. As a result, many of the techniques practiced against sword cuts would utterly fail if an attack by a sword wielding (baseball bat or billy club) aggressor ever arose.

Judo-ka too often are not introduced to striking arts. This is not important if Judo is practiced only as a competitive sport. But if their skills are to be used for self-defense, some striking and/or kicking practice adds a great deal to their training. The same can be said for Brazilian Jujutsu. While the art definitely demonstrated to much of the martial arts world that traditional arts lacked necessary skills in grappling, the art has its own limitations. Similar to Judo, Brazilian Jujutsu exponents can greatly benefit from learning punching and kicking skills.

Thus by learning and understanding other martial arts you can enhance your primary art. You develop new skills, and are able to perform others with greater proficiency. You are able to understand many nuances of technique and how better to apply what you have learned. The Japanese warrior of old practiced many arts – the sword, knife, Bow and arrow, naginata (curved spear), yari (straight spear) — often combined with battlefield grappling skills, plus horsemanship and other arts. He was thus well rounded.

It is only in comparatively modern times that martial artists have confined their training to a single art. But many of the masters who founded those arts in fact trained in several. While you may never seek to become a master yourself, you can still be enriched by the concept of cross training that was once the hallmark of the classical warrior.

About the Author Christopher Caile

Christopher Caile

Christopher Caile is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of FightingArts.com. He has been a student of the martial arts for over 65 years.

He first started in judo while in college. Then he added karate as a student of Phil Koeppel in 1959 studying Kempo and Wado-Ryu karate. He later added Shotokan Karate where he was promoted to brown belt and taught beginner classes. In 1960 while living in Finland, Caile introduced karate to that country and placed fourth in that nation’s first national judo tournament.

Wanting to further his karate studies, Caile then hitch hiked from Finland to Japan traveling through Scandinavia, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South and Southeast Asia — living on 25 cents a day and often sleeping outside.

Arriving in Japan (1962), Caile was introduced to Mas Oyama and his fledgling full contact Kyokushinkai Karate by Donn Draeger, the famous martial artist and historian. Donn also housed him with several other senior international judo practitioners. Donn became Caile’s martial arts mentor, coaching him in judo and introducing him to Shinto Muso-ryu under Takaji Shimizu.

Caile studied at Oyama’s honbu dojo and also at Kenji Kurosaki’s second Tokyo Kyokushinkai dojo. In his first day in class Oyama asked Caile to teach English to his chief instructor, Tadashi Nakamura. They have been friends ever since. Caile also participated in Oyama’s masterwork book, “This Is Karate.”

Caile left Japan with his black belt and designation as Branch Chief, the first in the US to have had extensive training in Japan directly under Oyama Sensei. As such, Oyama Sensei asked him to be his representative on visits to his US dojos to report on their status.

A little over a year later, Nakamura, Kusosaki and Akio Fujihira won an epic David vs. Goliath challenge match against Thailand’s professional Muay Thai Boxers in Bangkok, Thailand, thrusting Kyolushinkai and Nakamura into national prominence.

Back in the US Caile taught Kyokushinkai karate in Peoria, Il while in college and later in Washington, DC. while in graduate school. Durimg this time Shihan Nakamura had moved to New York City to head Kyokushinkai’s North American Operation.

In 1976 when Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura formed the World Seido Karate organization, Caile followed. Living then in Buffalo, NY, Caile taught Seido karate and self-defense at the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo) for over 15 years where he also frequently lectured on martial arts and Zen in courses on Japanese culture.

Caile moved to New York City in 1999 to marry Jackie Veit. He is now an 8th degree black belt, Hanshi, training in Seido Karate’s Westchester, NY Johshin Honzan (Spiritual Center) dojo. In Seido Caile is known for his teaching of and seminars on kata applications. He also produced a 14 segment video series on Pinan kata Bunkai currently available to Seido members.

Caile is also a long-time student and Shihan in Aikido. He studied in Buffalo, under Mike Hawley Shihan, and then under Wadokai Aikido’s founder, the late Roy Suenaka (uchi deshi under Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido and was Shihan under Tohei Sensei). In karate, Suenaka (8thdan) was also an in-house student of the Okinawan karate master Hohan Soken.

Having moved to New York City, Caile in 2000 founded this martial arts educational website, FightingArts.com. Twenty-five years later, in 2025, it underwent a major update and revision.

For FightingArts.com and other publications Caile wrote hundreds of articles on karate, martial arts, Japanese art, Chinese Medicine and edited a book on Zen. He also developed relationships with a cross section of leading martial arts teachers. Over the last four decades he has conducted extensive private research into karate and martial arts including private translations of the once secret Okinawan hand copied and passed on Kung Fu book, the Bubishi, as well as an early karate book by the karate master Kenwa Mabuni. He periodically returns to Japan and Okinawa to continue his studies and participate Seido karate events. In Tokyo he practiced (with Roy Suenaka Sensei) in a variety of aikido organizations with their founders – including private interviews and practices at the Aiki-kai Aikido Honbu dojo with the son and grandson of aikido’s founder, Doshu (headmaster) Kisshomaru (an old uchi-deshi friend) and his son, Moriteru Ueshiba and in Iwama with Morihiro Saito. On Okinawa he studied Goju Ryu karate under Eiichi Miyazato, 10th dan founder of Naha’s Jundokan, and also with Yoshitaka Taira (who later formed his own organization, who specialized in kata Bunkai. While there Caile also trained with Hohan Soken’s senior student, Master Fusei Kise, 10 dan as well as with the grandson of the legendary karate master Anko Itosu.

Caile’s other martial arts experience includes: Diato-ryu Aikijujitsu and Kenjitsu, kobudo, boxing, Muay Thai, MMA, Kali (empty hand, knife and bolo), study of old Okinawan Shoran-ryu & Tomari body mechanics, study of old Okinawan kata under Richard Kim, study of close quarter defense and combat, including knife and gun defenses, Kyusho Jitsu and several Chinese fighting arts including 8 Star Praying Mantis, Pak Mei (White Eyebrow), and a private family system of Kung Fu.

Caile is also a student of Zen as well as a long-term student of one branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chi Kung (Qigong). As one of two senior disciples of Chi Kung master Dr. Shen (M.D., Ph.D.) Caile was certified to teach and practice. This led to Caile’s founding of the The Chi Kung Healing Institute on Grand Island, NY. In Western NY, he also frequently held Chi Kung seminars, including at SUNY Buffalo and at the famous Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY. His articles on Chi Kung also appeared in the Holistic Health Journal and in several books on alternative medicine.

Caile holds a BA in International Studies from Bradley University and MA in International Relations with a specialty in South and Southeast Asia from American University in Washington, D.C. While in Buffalo, NY he also studied digital and analog electronics.

In his professional life Caile also worked in public relations and as a newspaper reporter and photographer. Earlier he worked in the field of telecommunications including Managing a Buffalo, NY sales and service branch for ITT. He then founded his own private telephone company. This was followed by creation of an electrical engineering company that designed and patented his concept for a new type of low-cost small business telephone system (which was eventually sold to Bell South). The company also did contract work for Kodak and the US space program. Simultaneously Caile designed and manufactured a unique break-apart portable pontoon boat.

Most recently Caile co-founded an internet software company. Its products include software suites with AI capability for control and management of streaming media, such as video and music, an all-in-one book publishing software product for hardcover, eBook and audio book creation and security software for buildings and government use.

For more details about Christopher Caile’s martial arts, work experience and life profile, see the About section in the footer of this site.