“A falling leaf does not hate the wind.” - Zatoichi
The best martial artists have learned acceptance. Acceptance in psychology is “a person's assent to the reality of a situation, recognizing a process or condition (often a negative or uncomfortable situation) that is a fait accompli without attempting to change it or protest it.” In Zen Buddhism, acceptance can be thought of as heijoshin (平常心) or the “peaceful mind.” Heijoshin is thought of as the state that we were born with before we “learned” to be disturbed by the ways of the world. In Japanese, “acceptance” is teinen (諦念) but it can also mean “spiritual awakening.” Therefore, we can think that by learning acceptance, our minds can become awakened. In the martial arts, acceptance looks like movement that is powerful but also graceful. In Aikido, to move single-mindedly with smoothness and power is called ki no nagare (氣の流れ) or “the flow of ki.” In the beginning of our training, we address attacks with our bodies. At this stage, we cannot move smoothly because we get caught up in addressing the attack physically while simultaneously trying to memorize the movements. This causes us to “force” the movements and everything looks kind of blocky and out of sync. With time and reps on the technique, our movements begin to smooth out. After we have memorized the movements, we can begin to address the attacks with our minds. This is where our movements really start to smooth out. To address attacks with our minds, we have to first see them without any type of emotion or baggage that we place upon them. Adding emotion, causes us to react mindlessly rather than act mindfully and thus it can change how we move. Writer Anaïs Nin said, “We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.” If Nin’s assertion is true, then we are looking at attacks, people, and situations in a skewed manner. When a person moves to strike us, our first reaction is typically fear or anger. We react in these ways because we take the attack personally and because it is personal, it activates us emotionally which could cause us to move incorrectly. To accept things as they are is to see things without placing any emotional baggage upon them. If we can look upon the attack unemotionally, then we can begin to move unencumberedly. In swordsmanship, to move unemotionally is called seichu no do, do chu no sei (靜中動 動中靜) or “movement in calmness, calmness in movement.” Learning to accept things as they are is mindset and perhaps this is why Miyamoto Musashi’s first principle in his Dokkodo or the supposed 21 rules he lived by was “Accept things as they are.” Attacks are perpetrated by human beings. Human beings are deeply complicated and complex beings who often do things not because it is personal to us but because they are suffering. Perhaps Carl Jung knew this and that is why he said, "Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.” When we can accept who we are, then we no longer search for blame, engage in victimhood, or fight against others. Thus, acceptance is a mindset. Learning to accept things as they are can enable us to move mindfully and appropriately but it can also help us to live happier and healthier lives. That is why the best martial artists have learned acceptance.
Today’s goal: “The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your own two feet.” - Shunryu Suzuki, Soto Zen monk
Watch this video by Chris Do to better understand acceptance.