Philosophy of Monogram:

The monogram of the Federation comprising of the following elements:

1. Colorful line of outer circle: denotes the earth at lower half and sky at upper half to reflect the attainment of highest goals of life through knowledge and dedicated hard work.

2. Within the circle: name of the federation in English and Japanese, reflects the traditional Japanese values with modern morality.

3. Black inner circle line: exhibits the geographical limits of the world and the jurisdiction of the federation.

4. The globe: shows the water and land areas of the earth.

5. The land areas: in the form of honey bee den reveal the development of a disciplined and civilized human society through the Budoban Karate program.

6. The five olive branches: having different colors of Olympic rings indicate the traditional values of ancient and modern Olympics program also signify the importance of inclusion of karate in Olympic Games.

7. Punch: designate the power and potential of human body, sport of karate & spirit of self confidence.

8. Below the punch: is the Budoban Karate written in the Urdu language, one of the world’s important language and national language of motherland Pakistan.

AIMS & OBJECTIVES:

1. To promote and foster cordial and friendly relations between its members and to supervise karate activities all over the world.

2. To protect the interests of karate players throughout the world.

3. To provide a neutral, nonpolitical, nonreligious, independent and free platform for all karate players in the world regardless of their caste, creed & color and their styles & affiliations.

4. To organize / supervise various karate programs throughout the world and to develop and promulgate the techniques and spirit of the karate-do (way of karate).

5. To promote / endorse / familiar the current & latest rules of World Karate Federation to all karate players to enable them to be a part of the Olympic Karate family without any discrimination.

6. To organize world karate championships in collaboration with the member national and / or continental federations. The right to organize world championships and other international meetings will be arranged only to those member countries which will be able to receive all the participants in their territory.

7. To strive and to develop an atmosphere to acquire karate acceptable in the Olympic Games and all other continental and regional Games.

8. To promote Olympic spirit & charter through a variety of Karate activities.

THE BUDO CHARTER (BUDO KENSHO)

BUDO, rooted in the martial spirit of ancient Japan, is an aspect of traditional culture that has evolved from jutsu to do 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, skillful technique, physical strength, and the unity of mind and body. 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.

Thus, the experienced masters established the Budo Charter to sustain the fundamental principles of traditional budo.

ARTICLE 1: OBUJE (Object):

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

ARTICLE 2: KEIKO (Training):

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

ARTICLE 3: SHIAI (Contest):

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

ARTICLE 4: DOJO (Practice Hall):

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: KYOUJI (Teaching):

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

ARTICLE 6: SHOUREI (Promotion):

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

BANDO (aka Burmese Silat) is the official Burmese Fighting System.

A full body, comprehensive and evolving martial art. Bando has a rich history, due in part to the geographical location of its native Myanmar. (formerly Burma).

Anyone familiar with the major Japanese or Chinese martial arts will recognize aspects of their own embedded in Bando. Karate kick and punch techniques along with Judo type throws and rolls are all part of this eclectic system.

It’s important to note that in Myanmar the term ‘Thaing’ is often used to describe martial arts and indeed in many ways one might consider Thaing a direct equivalent to Wushu, the term used in neighboring China.

Use of weaponry in Bando is not uncommon although broadly speaking, it is an unarmed system. You may find organizations describing themselves as Bando where they practice unarmed techniques and as ‘Thaing‘ where they use weapons, it’s a matter of choice rather than tradition. However, the terms are not interchangeable.

Lethwei or Lethawae also known as Burmese Boxing and Myanmar Traditional Boxing (which is a sub-system of Bando) may well be the most brutal and exciting form of kickboxing the world has ever seen. Lethwei is in many ways similar to its younger sibling Muay Thai from neighboring Thailand. If Thai Boxing is the science of 8 limbs than Lethwei is the science of 9 limbs due to the allowance of head butts. There are records recording Lethwei style matches dating back to the Pyu empire in Burma.

Lethwei participants fight without gloves only wrapping their hands in hemp or gauze cloth, rules are similar to Muay Thai but allow and encourage all manner of takedowns along with head butts. Traditionally held outdoors in sandpits instead of rings but in modern times are now held in rings . Popular technique in Lethwei include leg kicks, knees, elbows, head butts., raking knuckle strikes and ballistic takedowns.

KARATE or karate-do is a martial art of Okinawa origin. Recent research indicates that it developed from a synthesis of indigenous Ryukyuan fighting methods and southern Chinese martial arts. Karate originally meant Tang hand, i.e. Chinese hand, which later took on the meaning 'empty hand' in Japanese. It is known primarily as a striking art, featuring punching, kicking, knee/elbow strikes and open handed techniques. However, grappling, joint manipulations, locks, restrains, throws and vital point striking are inherent to the art.

In general, modern karate training is divided into three major areas: basics (“kihon” in Japanese), forms ("kata" ? in Japanese), and sparring ("kumite" ?? in Japanese).

Basic motion (Kihon) (??) is the study of the fundamental techniques (punching mechanics, footwork, stances) of the art. This is the 'public face' of the art that most people recognize, i.e., the familiar basics of stepping and punching.

Kata means 'form' or 'pattern;' however, they are not simply aerobic routines, or dances of some sort. They are patterns of movements and techniques that demonstrate physical/combative principles related to fighting. Kata may be thought of as a collection of fixed sequences of movement that address various types of attack. It is important to remember that they were developed before literacy was commonplace in Okinawa/China, so physical routines were the logical method for preserving a body of this type of information. The moves themselves may have multiple interpretations as self-defense techniques- there is no 'standard right or wrong' way to interpret them, but interpretations may have more or less utility for actual fighting. For example, the same passage of a kata may be interpreted as block/punch/block, or joint strike-lock/punch/throw.

Sparring may be constrained by many rules or it may be free sparring, and in modernity is practiced both as sport and for self-defense training. Sport sparring tends to be one hit "tag" type contact for points. Depending on style or teacher, practical aikido and judo-type takedowns and grappling may be involved alongside the punching and kicking.

Many styles of karate also include specialized conditioning equipment, known in Japanese collectively as "hojo undo." Some of the more common devices are the makiwara, the chi-ishi (a kind of off center free weight), and nigiri game (large jars used for grip strength). Some styles also include instruction in kobudo, or traditional Okinawa weaponry. The two arts are not strictly linked, but they have followed a synergistic course of development. It is important to note that kobudo weapons were never used to drive off Samurai by the Okinawa peasantry.

BUDOBAN KARATE:

Hence, Grand Master Syed Sakhawat Ali of Pakistan developed the Budoban Karate as a modern approach towards the ancient art of Karate, which leads the Karatekas towards Olympic ideals. This system applies modern scientific techniques to explore the maximum potential of the human being, focusing on his / her physical, mental and spiritual development through a unique and comprehensive system of exercises developed on easy and vigorous but disciplined movements. This system helps the practitioners of all ages and sexes to become fit and confident through a very small period work out.

History of Bando:

The nation of Burma (now known as Myanmar) borders India, China and Thailand and as a result, possesses a rich martial arts heritage. As with the fabled Shaolin Temple of China, Buddhist monks from India introduced the martial arts into the country of Burma a thousand years ago.

Later, Chinese styles filtered their way south, merging with earlier influences to form the martial body of knowledge collectively known as thaing. Thaing includes both unarmed arts, of which bando is the most widely known, as well as arts of the sword, staff, and spear. Other unarmed arts include naban or Burmese wrestling and lethwei or Burmese boxing.

As in the case of China, Buddhist monks had much to do with the development of the fighting arts in Burma. There are many legends about Buddhist monks teaching students the martial arts in secret. In those days, it was unwise to make public one's fighting techniques. Once a technique became public property, it was no longer as effective as before, because counters would be invented to neutralize the techniques. Therefore it was safer for the monks to teach their martial arts in the close secrecy of the monastery.

Ancient writings reveal that as far back as the time of King Anawratha (1044 - 77 A.D.) Buddhist monks were teaching the secrets of breath-control and mediation practice in addition to the principle of yielding of force – a principle that is found in arts like Tai Chi, Aikido, and even Judo.

These techniques spread by the 11th century monks were handed down from generation to generation until now, where they have become part of the 'Bando' system of Burmese Martial Arts.

The general term is actually 'Thaing'. This word is Burmese for 'self defense'. The term is similar to the Japanese term Budo (stop conflict), the Chinese word Wu Shu (War Art), or the English terms Military Arts or Martial Arts.

Among the arts of unarmed combat listed under the term 'thaing' are:

Bando

Lethwei (Burmese Boxing - a sub-system of Bando)

Naban (Burmese wrestling - a sub-system of Bando)

Burmese Arts Popularised

When the Japanese – during World War II – occupied Burma, they encouraged the practice of the Burmese arts of unarmed combat. This led to a revival of interest in the martial arts and subsequently to the rapid spread of knowledge. By 1944, the East Asiatic Youth League – an organization promoting the practice of thaing – had an enrollment of 20,000.

In their enthusiasm for the martial arts, the Japanese went to the extent of participating in some of the bouts for bandoists. It led to some surprising results. Judo, jujutsu, and even aikido exponents pitted their techniques against the bandoists of Burma.

This intermingling of two different cultures and different styles of unarmed combat benefited both the Japanese and Burmese. The two sides saw the weaknesses and the strengths of their respective arts and this led to further development. As a result of contact with the Japanese, the bando art of fighting evolved into a much more lethal system of empty-hand fighting.

Like karate and the other forms of martial arts, there are many styles of bando fighting. Despite the variety, it is possible to trace certain basic similarities in all the schools of bando fighting.

Training Levels

All bando schools start off by teaching the basic stances and the footholds – just as in kung fu or karate. This preliminary stage of training lasts for several months. In some cases the first stage might drag on for years, depending on the instructor or the style of bando being taught.

In the second stage of training, the bando student has to go through a whole arsenal of blocking and parrying techniques. At the end of this stage, the student is fairly well equipped for defending himself against unarmed attackers. But he cannot be regarded as a full-fledged fighter.

The final stage involves the learning of offensive techniques. Before the student learns these techniques, the master makes sure that he will not abuse his knowledge. This cautious attitude towards the learning of the martial arts was probably derived from the Chinese tradition of martial arts instruction. There have been many cases of students abusing their acquired skills to the extent that sometimes the masters are threatened.

Various Names of the Forms

Animal names are used to denote some of the forms that can be found in Bando. This probably comes from the Chinese influence. There are forms called Boar, Bull, Cobra, Deer, Eagle, Monkey, Paddle Bird, Panther, Python, Scorpion, Tiger and Viper.

The names indicate the characteristics of the forms. Thus the Python form includes crushing, strangling and gripping moves while the Tiger form applies to maneuvers which involve clawing and ripping. The Deer form has been given that name because it is meant to develop alertness in the bandoist.

Bando fighting generally leaves the initiative to the opponent. It is a style of combat that relies heavily on countering moves. Thus when attacked, the bandoist would first withdraw and then begin the counterattack.

Bando attacks include much handwork directed at the body. But the bandoist does not neglect using the head, shoulder, elbow, knee, and foot for offensive purposes. Attacking the private parts is also a favorite technique with bandoists.

The techniques of bando fighting are learned mainly through the practice of forms and with partners. The final stage of mastery includes participation in contests, which sometimes end in deaths.

Modern-Day Burmese Bando In The USA

Dr. Gyi - The Father Of American Bando

Bando was introduced in the U.S. by Dr. Maung Gyi, a college professor who began teaching the art on April 3, 1960, in Washington, D.C. Later, Bando classes were formally conducted at American University until the fall of 1966. Dr. Gyi organized the American Bando Association on June 15, 1968, at Ohio University. Members present at this initiation ceremony took a blood oath.

According to Donn Draeger's Asian Fighting Arts first copyrighted in 1969: "In 1933 the Military Athletic Club was formed at Maymyo [sic?] in northern Burma by Gurkha Officers. By the end of the decade the club included Chin, Burmese, Kachin and Karen army officers. G. Bahadur, a Gurkha, was elected the first chairman of the club. Another luminary was U Ba Than (Gyi) who was to serve twenty five years as Director of Physical Education of Burma before retiring.

"...the International Bando Association, was established recently by U Ba Than (Gyi) in memory of those who died in the China-Burma-India area for the allied cause in World War II. As such, it continues the work of the Military Athletic Club, which lapsed in 1948. It has of course a more international character, and Maung Gyi, its teacher accredited to the United States, is the son of U Ba Than (Gyi). Maung Gyi is a versatile fighter in his own right, having studied Chinese, Indian, Japanese and Western methods."

The International Bando Association was officially formed on March 9, 1946, by U Ba Than (Dr. Gyi's Father), then director of physical education and athletics for the Union o f Burma. The IBA was organized in honor of those servicemen who fought and died in the China-Burma-India theater of World War II.