"In the face of uncertainty, a martial artist finds strength through adaptability and resilience."
- Gichin Funakoshi
A few days ago, it was the 4th memorial of Michael Stinson’s passing. Michael was a student at our dojo who built our website and newsletter. Lying in bed sick, I had nothing but time to reflect upon his passing. No one actively wants tragedy, disappointments, or difficulties, but they are a part of life. Then I thought that we, as martial arts, have to become comfortable with uncertainty. Thinking about Michael’s passing, I remembered a quote that Furuya Sensei would often say from his Zen master Bishop Kenko Yamashita: “Nandemo omoidori ni ikanai” which means “Nothing goes the way you want it to.” I never fully understood this quote until now because when we begin our martial arts training, it seems like one of the main things that we are striving for is kakujitsu (確実) or “certainty.” After all, every martial art is centered around kata (型) or “a set of predetermined moves.” Practicing these predetermined moves gives us confidence and teaches us how to use our bodies in the most efficient way to address a predetermined attack which kind of sounds like the definition of certainty. One of the kanji characters in the word certainty (実) shows up in swordsmanship where they talk about one’s mindset being reflected in one’s stance or kyo-jitsu (虚 実). Kyo is an unprepared state of mind and jitsu is a prepared mind. One way of judging if a person has kyo or jitsu is if their stance has a sense of confidence. As beginners, we gain that confidence through our development of certainty. At this stage, we practice the movements so that they can become second nature and we can do them almost mindlessly. Later on in our training, after we have mastered the basic movements, we are supposed to transcend the form or the certainty of the predetermined movements. This is where the Bishop’s assertion comes into play. If we spend too much time forging certainty, then it can create this rigidness in our minds and movements. That is why we have to move past it. If we can move past that certainty or rigidness, then our minds and bodies will have a sense of fluidity and we will be able to calmly and deftly address any attack that is thrown at us. In Aikido, this is called ki no nagare or “the flow of ki.” In a sense, it is embracing the certainty of uncertainty which separates the beginner from the expert. Later on, we take this fluid mindset which can mindfully address any problem and apply it to our daily lives. One thing that Michael’s passing teaches us is that we don’t know for certain how long we will be on this Earth nor do we know how long a person will be in our lives. Understanding this uncertainty, we must strive to be mindful and not waste the time that we have with each other. That is why they say, “every moment and every person is precious.” In the martial arts and in life, nothing happens as we like and that’s why the best martial artists are preparedly unprepared to accept the certainty of the uncertainty of life.
Today’s goal: Don’t be so certain that there will be a tomorrow.
Watch this video to better understand uncertainty.