When we read about Funakoshi`s early training we often read that he was a student of Itosu. This is correct but if you read his autobiography or his own works on Karate, he often mentions and seem to consider himself a student of Azato as his primary instructor and teacher, with aditional training and input from Itosu. We know a lot about Itosu, and many karate lineages comes through him so we can clearly see his influence in Karate today. Azato on the other hand does not seem to have any "living" lineage except Funakoshi. Little is therefore known about him, which is a shame as Funakoshi describes him as the finest karate person the world has ever seen. We know he studied Karate, sword fencing and archery among other things so he was a very ecclectic martial artist, but we only have a few anecdotes about how he viewed the martial arts. This months quote is from one of Giching Funakoshi`s books on Karate where he attributes a quote to Azato.
"Invincibility in battle does not make a man virtous; a virtous warrior is one who defeats his opponent without engaging in battle" -Azato
The above quote mirrors a famous line in "The art of war" by Sun Tzu, and it is likely that Azato being schooled in the Chinese classics had a lot of knowledge about that book. It can indeed be were the quote of Azato originated in the first place. I agree with the sentiment from an ethical standpoint. It is always preferable and better to not fight at all and if forced to fight, do as little damage as possible. It is morally and ethically a great goal to strive for. It is also something that alignes itself very nicely into most of the self defense laws I have read.
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