Thirty-four years of practising Wado Ryu can lead to speculation of the countless thought processes and reasoning required in the development of a martial art with a purpose seemingly incongruous to it’s practise.
The paucity of written material on the Wado Ryu (a tradition that is presumably based on the founder H. Ohtsuka’s feeling that Wado can best be understood by the practice rather than the reading) allows the practitioner freedom to speculate on this reasoning.
An external view of the Wado Ryu would see it to be similar to the pre-Shotokan Karate of Gichin Funakoshi and reminiscent of Shito Ryu.
Whilst this is essentially correct, this view would fail to take into account the essential component that sets Wado Ryu apart from its contemporaries. Ohtsuka O’Sensei’s pre-Karate experiences in Budo, more specifically Shindo Yoshin Ryu Jujitsu, culminated in him becoming headmaster of that style of Jujitsu. It appears to be a reasonable assumption that his 40-plus years in Budo was the cornerstone on which the Wado Ryu was built, rather than the imported Okinawa-te of Gichin Funakoshi.
There is no doubt, that dojo training in Wado follows the typical pattern of training found in other Karate schools, but to observe the founder of Wado Ryu demonstrate his own particular style of martial art was to witness a classical display of atemi waza, nage waza, and taisabaki, clearly with its origins in Japanese Budo rather than the hand art of Okinawa.
It is evident when observing other Wado Ryu masters that these subtleties of taisabaki, that are so typical of classical Budo are also intrinsic and fundamental of the Wado Ryu. It is also obvious that these subtle but nevertheless, extremely efficient body techniques ore not easily understood or grasped by the student in the early stages of training. Indeed it is probable that the student will have something like 10-15 years of Wado experience before being able to take the quantum leap from performing basic training to appreciating applied Wado Ryu in its limitless form.
It is also difficult, if not impossible, to convey the depth of Wado Ryu when it is being set down in the published format of books or magazines. The best one can do is to set out the basic format of kihon gumite, kata, etc., and label it Wado Ryu or perhaps Karate.
One problem with labels however, is that they can, by their very nature, describe something and in doing so perhaps impart notions of parameters, and result in restricted growth.
To some extent, published material on a style can have a similar effect in that it can be presumed by the inexperienced, that the way a stance, punch, kick, etc., is portrayed is the absolute only way to perform it for that style. Boundaries can be set in the mind of the reader and perhaps growth may be stifled. The tradition of not producing written material, and Ohtsuka O’Sensei’s tendency not to refer to his own martial art as Karate would perhaps suggest that he did not want to restrict or limit Wado Ryu in a way that might prevent the development of the individual practitioner or the development of the art itself. His own search for the secrets of Wado Ryu never ended but he saw immense benefits in the search itself.
The raw material that is the beginner is extremely pliable and impressionable. It is the instructor that shapes and influences this material accordingly; this is indeed an awesome responsibility. It is to his credit that Ohtsuka O’Sensei recognised this responsibility and placed heavy emphasis on the elements of training that nurture character development. Elements, such as humility, respect, modesty, loyalty, patience, and the concept of harmonious co-existence are the ultimate goals. That the intention was to develop specific training procedures to foster these traits of character, is perhaps open to debate, but there is no doubt that "character building" is evident throughout most martial arts, from the elementary practice of basic techniques, such as mawashi geri jodan to the more disciplined structure of kata. It is not the mawashi geri itself, but the endless training and effort that produces the height and exactness of technique, that is the lesson.
It is well known, that the practice of kata with its attention to exacting detail is seen as having one aspect of its purpose the "fight against the self". To perfect kata in its traditional form is to submit oneself for endless hours to a regime of body dynamics that will test and develop self-control, stamina, breathing, balance, etc., together with a degree of emotional and psychological awareness that will enrich the human spirit. 
It is an aspect of Karate Do that forms part of the central core of the art, and would be neglected at great cost. Whilst the practice of kata is fundamental to the purpose of Karate Do, and its benefits are without question to the thinking practitioner, it is essentially, practice in isolation and holds inherent dangers if the motivation for its practice is not fully understood.
It is often said that kata is Karate, or that it is the soul of Karate, and one could be forgiven for thinking that kata is the ultimate in Karate expertise. Kata, of course, means form, and form in training is of paramount importance because form contains all of the elements that make up a martial art; speed, power, balance, grace, elegance, kime, etc. When the kata exponent has control over all of these component parts, the kata also demonstrates dignity and the spirit of the individual. It has a majestic quality. This can, of course, leave the practitioner with a sense of power and accomplishment that can inflate the ego rather than provide the insight into the self-seeking behavioural patterns that flourish in the martial arts. One can argue of course, that one cannot understand the "self" motivation, or defeat he self-enhancement or self-centred aspect without experiencing the indulgence of the phenomenon and here, kata viewed objectively, can provide this insight.
Kata however, is not unique to the Wado Ryu, and so the benefits gained from kata are available from all styles. What is unique to Wado is our practice of kihon gumite. On the surface, this would appear to be simply attack and defend, as in sanbon kumite or ippon kumite from other styles, but one needs to look at kihon gumite much deeper and reflect upon its content beyond the mere physical.
Gichin Funakoshi, in his book, Karatedo, My Way of Life, stated, "To subdue the enemy without fighting is the highest skill." An admirable concept for it speaks of self-control and self-understanding. Funakoshi was, no doubt, aware that the longer one trains in Karate, the more one is able to see the less agreeable aspects of one’s own personality and appreciate the need for change.
To subdue the enemy or to subdue the self, still however, speaks of the winning of one over the other. It is still a concept that embodies the self as the principal character in isolation. But man does not live in isolation. I would suggest that there is an even higher skill that can be learned from the practice of Wado Ryu’s kihon gumite, and that is the harmonious co-existence of two protagonists.
It is not practice in isolation, as is kata or kihon waza. Kihon gumite requires both practitioners, the attacker and the defender, to work in harmony to effect an end result. It requires not only a high degree of self-control and self-understanding, Kihon gumite goes one further and requires you to understand your partner in harmony to accomplish a specific task, neither being a winner or a loser, but both benefiting from its practice.
Of course it is not possible to approach any aspect of a martial art from a philosophical viewpoint at elementary level of learning the physical movements. Kihon gumite is no different. At this early stage, it is usually a case of ‘move the body this way’ or ‘step that way.’ A conscious effort is being made to position the body ‘just so’ for the attacker or defender; the mind directs the body to respond to the format and is taken up with the learning procedure.
An effort is being made to co-ordinate three different elements: mind, body, and external input. This is extremely difficult to do because we often see the external input in opposition to ourselves and our own mind and body are not yet co-ordinated.
Eventually through the constant practice of putting aside the self, or leaving the ego-centred ‘winning aspect’ side and entering the realm of being the other, the higher levels of the human spirit can and do become developed. Breathing becomes harmonised by entering the mind, body, and spirit of the other participant. In turn, one’s own mind, body, and spirit become unified through the practice of understanding the other person. Keeping one’s energy centred in the ‘hara’, and moving from this one point, one will find that this point becomes the centre point of the two participants.
This enables conscious thought to become no longer necessary and so it is possible to evolve the two participants into a harmonious whole. Intuition and anticipation of the needs of the movement, rather than responding or reacting, help in this search for unity.
Two important lessons for daily life can be learned from the practice of kihon gumite. One is the matter of personal integrity and the second is the ability to be absolutely honest in relating to the other person. In the latter case, it is vital that the attacker should complete the attacking movement with the speed, accuracy, and most important, the intention of knocking the defender down with one blow. The practice of punching just slightly off target to aid the defender, in fact, only serves to rob the defender of the chance to improve their technique, and defeats the purpose of the exercise. Frankly, it is an insult to the defender. Total honesty in the attack will enable the defender to meet the challenge with a similarly honest attitude and so enable them to grow in personal integrity with each and every adverse situation that is overcome. Total honesty in the attack also carries the implicit message of respect for the opponent’s ability and integrity.
The interesting thing at this stage is that the achieving of harmony with the other participant becomes the most important part of the exercise. Attack and defend become just part of the procedure in the strive for harmony, and the essence of the Wado Ryu become evident.
This opportunity for personal growth, I believe to be intrinsic to the Wado Ryu practice of kihon gumite, and its benefits will enhance the practitioner’s spirit when carried over into every day life. To understand and perceive life from the standpoint of others will enable one to experience a fullness of life devoid of the shallowness of egocentricity. This of course is not a new concept for it has already been said, When you do things with people not against them, then the amazing resources of the higher self are mobilised.
Reg Kear, 6th Dan