A difficult question to answer. My first so called knee-jerk answer would be "before" they join a dojo. I would hope that such a serious decision and its resulting choices would spur a person to seek out knowledge so they can make an informed decision. This is not a normal response.
Most folks, us humans, tend to respond to something like karate classes with a perception resulting from television, movies or Youtube surfing. Lets not forget the influences of the current reality sports of MMA, etc. People today seem to be driven by commercial sound bites and the latest and greatest new fangled and well promoted "things."
Lets face it, I feel personally that most who join up for lessons will not even consider such esoteric understanding because of the drive we have to excel quickly and to achieve notoriety, fame and hopefully fortune. The self driven philosophical aspects that were first introduced to us here as Asian Philosophies driven by the much maligned and misunderstood "bushido code" have colored our view of what is important. Ok, important to me and some others like minded practitioners.
I mean in my system of Isshinryu I hear sound bites on such things as the ken-po goku-i and the bottles quote that sound good to the novice but in reality don't hold water, no substance and do well defined definition. Even as to individuals, no well defining meaning other than to impress the fledgling novice because it sounds Asian, it sounds mystical and it is promoted by the supposed Asian culture of the silent sage like Sensei who grunts and says, "it will come to you, go back and do more punchy-kickie."
Yes, you should know what your path is before you make that decision. Realistically, if you join, are lucky and have a good Sensei then you may find that after you reach a certain level you will start asking yourself questions and they may be found in those esoteric philosophical studies that contribute to a defined path you will want to follow.
You cannot get the answers from me or others - this is a personal and confidential thing you have to find and discover all on your own. I just wanted to get you to ask yourself the question.
"The Author, it must be remembered, writes from his own standpoint!"
My personal "Interpretive" Lens!
Do You Have A Question?
If you have a question not covered in this blog feel free to send it to me at my email address, i.e. "snow" dot here "covered" dot here "bamboo" AT symbol here "gmail" dot here "com"
"Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider..." - Francis Bacon
Warning, Caveat and Note: The postings on this blog are my interpretation of readings, studies and experiences therefore errors and omissions are mine and mine alone. The content surrounding the extracts of books, see bibliography on this blog site, are also mine and mine alone therefore errors and omissions are also mine and mine alone and therefore why I highly recommended one read, study, research and fact find the material for clarity. My effort here is self-clarity toward a fuller understanding of the subject matter. See the bibliography for information on the books.
Note: I will endevor to provide a bibliography and italicize any direct quotes from the materials I use for this blog. If there are mistakes, errors, and/or omissions, I take full responsibility for them as they are mine and mine alone. If you find any mistakes, errors, and/or omissions please comment and let me know along with the correct information and/or sources.
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