Numbers in brackets refer to notes following the charter.

Budo, rooted in the martial spirit of ancient Japan, is an aspect of traditional culture that has evolved from jutsu (1) to do (2) through centuries of historical and social change. Following the concept of unity of mind and technique, budo has developed and refined a discipline of austere training, which promotes etiquette (3), skilful technique (4), physical strength (5), and the unity of mind and body (6). Modern Japanese have inherited these values and they play a prominent role in forming Japanese personalities. In modern Japan the budo spirit is a source of powerful energy and promotes a pleasant disposition in the individual. Today, budo has been diffused throughout the world and has attracted strong interest internationally. However, infatuation with mere technical training, and undue concern with winning is a severe threat to the essence of budo. To prevent this perversion of the art, we must continually examine ourselves and endeavour to perfect and preserve this national heritage. It is with this hope that we establish the Budo Charter in order to uphold the fundamental principles of traditional budo.

Japanese Budo Association, April 23rd, 1987.

ARTICLE 1: OBJECT

The object of budo is to cultivate character, enrich the ability to make value judgements, and foster a well-disciplined and capable individual through participation in physical and mental training utilizing martial techniques.

ARTICLE 2: KEIKO (7)

When practicing daily, one must constantly follow decorum, adhere to the fundamentals, and resist the temptation to pursue mere technical skill rather than unity of mind and technique.

ARTICLE 3: SHIAI (Competition)

In a match and the performance of kata (8), one must manifest budo spirit, exert oneself to the utmost, win with modesty, accept defeat gracefully, and constantly exhibit temperate attitudes.

ARTICLE 4: DOJO

The dojo is a sacred place for training one's mind and body. Here, one must maintain discipline, proper etiquette, and formality. The training area must be a quiet, clean, safe and solemn environment.

ARTICLE 5: TEACHING

When teaching trainees, in order to be an effective teacher, the budo master should always strive to cultivate his/her character, and further their own skill and discipline of mind and body. They should not be swayed by winning or losing, or display arrogance about his or her superior skill, but rather should retain the attitudes suitable for a role model.

ARTICLE 6: PROMOTION

When promoting budo, one should follow traditional values, seek substantial training, contribute to research, and do one's utmost to perfect and preserve this traditional art with an understanding of international points of view.

NOTES

1 The Chinese character , which is read jutsu, is composed of gyo , which means road or way, and shutsu , which means ‘stick to the stem’. Jutsu is the indication of the road that people stick to for a long time. As a result, jutsu means the method or way that people have stuck to since ancient times, namely, the traditional way. Jutsu has the following meanings:

1) Art, skill.
2) Traditional discipline.
3) Teaching or instructing as one was taught

2 The Chinese character , which is read michi or do is composed of shinnyu , which means foot movement, and shu , which means head. The head faces toward the direction that one intends to go. It should be the road or way that one can go through. From Chinese character, do means the way of thinking, the discipline, and the method that one must follow.

3 The Chinese character , which is read osamu, is composed of san , which means decoration, and ju , which means take out dust. It means to sweep away all the imbalance and smooth out; soften down (round off) awkward angularities (stiffness, harshness) and to make a gentle (meek, mild, honest) person.

4 The Chinese character , which is read migaku, is composed of ishi , which means stone, and hi , which means polish. Migaku means to polish the stone over and over again. In other words it means that one should strive to develop one's skills.

5 The Chinese character , which is read kitaeru, is composed of kin , which means metal and tan , which means: "strike with a hammer".

6 The Chinese character , which is read neru, is composed of kin , which means metal or a natural substance and kan , which means "become liquid". In other words the meaning of the combination of these two characters is to melt metal and to temper to create a substance of better quality.

7 The Chinese character , which is read kei, is composed of ka , which means crops and ki , which means to preserve for a long time. Crops that were preserved for a long time had to be measured often, so one had to calculate a way to measure the crops. Therefore, kei evolved into the concept "to think". The Chinese character , which is read ko, means old or ancient. Thus keiko means to think and to practice old subjects such as budo, art, skills, teaching, etc. The term keiko implies that one must think of them and emulate that same austere training.

8 The Chinese character , which is read kata means pre-arranged forms in training.

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