Billed as Rule Number One in Miyagi-do karate:
Miyagi translates this, in his awkward, non-native English, as "Karate for defense only." The Chinese characters literally say (with Korean pronunciation), gong su mu seon su. Rendered word for word, this is, "empty hand no first hand." Said more naturally, and recognizing that the phrase "empty hand" means karate (kara-te = empty hand), the phrase is saying that a karate practitioner never strikes first. The logical implication is that karate is meant for defense. This is the diametrical opposite of the Cobra Kai motto, which is Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy. The mu character (無, 무) is an existential qualifier signifying absence. While it can sometimes mean a negation like not (as in, This is not a pipe), it more usually means no, as when we say There are no supplies here or You are no Jack Kennedy (cf. German kein). So in a loose sense, the Miyagi proverb is saying, The karate hand is no first-striker.
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