Martial Arts as an "Oral Tradition"

A further word on the esoteric nature of dojo instruction – it reminds me a little of Leo Strauss and his readings of Plato, Al-Farabi, Machiavelli and Hobbes. He claimed that, because they wrote potentially dangerous political tracts, which were never meant to be understood by their political enemies or even the unprincipled common masses, these philosophers disguised and hid their true meanings within their texts, to confuse the uninitiated and challenge the adept. 

Similarly in karate, many techniques are hidden within the moves of the kata, hinted at only in the smallest gestures that,when understood, represent multiple applications, often radically different from the kata themselves.  These "secret" applications are only taught to students who have earned the respect and trust of the teacher over many years of training – the explanations being whispered out of earshot of newer students.  Sometimes the true teaching takes place in bars after training, when the student has proved his or her ability to hold liquor and probably won’t remember much the next morning anyway.  For the teacher, the transmission of knowledge is an oral one and must be strictly maintained.  Therefore, teachers do not merely consider whether their trusted student has demonstrated enough sense and ability to handle the knowledge itself, but whether he or she will also have the ability, when they finally become a senior teacher themselves, to employ the same principles and to recognize to whom the learning can (or should not) be passed onto for future generations.

“The heart of Direct Transmission is handed down by receiving the true Way. It is essential that you train thoroughly and make it a part of you.  This in an oral tradition.”

Miyamoto Musashi’s “The Book of Five Rings”