空手に先手無し karate ni sente nashi There is No First Attack in Karate

In karate there is no first move.

There is No First Attack in Karate (空手に先手無し) in Block style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

There is No First Attack in Karate 空手に先手無し karate ni sente nashi Vertical Block VB5C

There is No First Attack in Karate 空手に先手無し karate ni sente nashi Vertical Block VB5D

There is No First Attack in Karate (空手に先手無し) in Cursive style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

There is No First Attack in Karate 空手に先手無し karate ni sente nashi Vertical Cursive VC4B

There is No First Attack in Karate 空手に先手無し karate ni sente nashi Vertical Cursive VC5B

There is No First Attack in Karate 空手に先手無し karate ni sente nashi Vertical Cursive VC5C

There is No First Attack in Karate (空手に先手無し) in Design style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

There is No First Attack in Karate 空手に先手無し karate ni sente nashi Vertical Design VD5B

There is No First Attack in Karate 空手に先手無し karate ni sente nashi Vertical Design VD5C

There is No First Attack in Karate (空手に先手無し) in Semi-Cursive style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

There is No First Attack in Karate 空手に先手無し karate ni sente nashi Vertical Semi-Cursive VS4C

There is No First Attack in Karate 空手に先手無し karate ni sente nashi Vertical Semi-Cursive VS5C

There is No First Attack in Karate 空手に先手無し karate ni sente nashi Vertical Semi-Cursive VS5D

There is No First Attack in Karate 空手に先手無し karate ni sente nashi Horizontal Cursive HC4A

There is No First Attack in Karate 空手に先手無し karate ni sente nashi Horizontal Semi-Cursive HS4A

More about 空手に先手無し

空手に先手無し is a rule of conduct: never raise a hand without cause. 先手 is the opening move, a word from go and shōgi. The art is a defense; in a kata, even the front fist is used to guard. The same words stand on Funakoshi's memorial at a Zen temple in Kamakura, brushed by its abbot.

Some designs write the last word 無し in kanji and some write なし in kana; it is the same word.

The precept is one of Funakoshi Gichin 船越義珍's twenty precepts of karate, a list in print by December 1934, four years before Nakasone Genwa 仲宗根源和 printed it with his commentary in 空手道大観 (1938).

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 空手に先手無し.

About the Designs

Each design is Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase's hand-brushed calligraphy of the word or phrase on this page, delivered as a PDF you can print. Every PDF includes the line art, so a tattoo artist or a craftsperson can work from the outline as well as the brushed image.

Licensing

Your purchase includes a personal-use license: use the design as a tattoo reference, frame it, engrave it, print it for yourself, or make it into a gift. For more information see Licensing, which also covers commercial-use options that may be purchased separately.

Delivery

Your PDF is available for download the moment your order completes, and a copy is attached to your emailed receipt.

If you need your design again later, ask us for it and we will send it.

There is No First Attack in Karate (karate ni sente nashi)

There is No First Attack in Karate (karate ni sente nashi) on a traditional Japanese Scroll by Master Eri Takase.

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There is No First Attack in Karate as a hand-brushed scroll

Master Takase personally brushes your scroll when you order, and it bears her red seal and her signature. The scroll has real silk borders and layered Japanese paper, so it hangs straight, and it arrives ready to display.