抜いたら最後
Nuitara saigo
Draw your sword because this is the end
A warrior stands their ground. When I was a student, I felt like Furuya Sensei was overly strict on me and I always felt singled out. To me, training in his strict dojo was a gaman taikai (我慢大会) or “test of wills” and for many years, I felt discouraged and wanted to quit. Training is supposed to teach us character and how to stand up to what’s confronting us. There’s a saying in Japanese which is apropos: Nanakorobi yaoki (七転び八起き) or “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” Every day in Aikido class, we get to practice getting back up after being thrown down. We aren’t supposed to get mad or take it personally, but just get up and get ready to be thrown again and hopefully do it with a smile. In theory, it’s easy, but in practice when someone just crushed us it can be much harder. When things get tough and things aren’t going our way, it’s easy to just quit and look for something more palatable or less ego crushing. It’s much harder to draw our sword and stand our ground. When we are cornered and up against insurmountable odds, we are supposed to fight with all our might and never give up. Fearing that warrior spirit, Sun Tzu advocated, “Never put your enemy into a corner.” Many students with great potential have come into the dojo, but sadly leave because they didn’t have the warrior spirit to stay the course when things got tough. In the dojo and in life, our trials and tribulations are testing our conviction and character and they are supposed to be hard because they forging us. Instead of automatically quitting, we should take some time, rest and look inward and reevaluate. This respite will give us the wherewithal to either leave or stand our ground. How long we hold out, especially when things aren’t going our way, speaks volumes about our integrity, character and commitment and that’s why a warrior stands their ground.
Today’s goal: The artist, Banksy wrote, “If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” Don’t give up, stand your ground.