完璧無欠な人はいない
Kanpeki muketsuna hainai
Nobody’s perfect
Warriors “strive” to be the best. Being the best isn’t a destination but an idea. It’s an idea because there are varying degrees of what makes something or someone the best & so “best” is merely a qualitative state. Being the best doesn’t mean being perfect or without fault & oftentimes what makes something the best sometimes lies in its imperfection or wabi-sabi in Japanese. This idea of embracing imperfection is something that we learn & is reinforced in training. The teacher demonstrates an ideal, students “strive” to perfect it, teachers correct them & the cycle goes round & round. At some point, hopefully, the student realizes that there’s no way to truly make the technique perfect & they learn to accept what they can do & what they can’t. To be good at budo lies in simply doing one’s best - not in being perfect. Voltaire said, “Perfect is the enemy of good.” In Kendo, one’s gaze is supposed to be enzan no metsuke (遠山の目付け) or “Focusing your gaze on a distant mountain.” Thus maintaining our focus on the ideal rather than achieving it is what leads us to mastery. To be the best, we must “focus” on being the best. Focusing enables us to not get hung up on the mishaps or being perfect. Perfection only leads to burnout, frustration or quitting. Allowing or accepting our bad habits enables us to accept ourselves for who we are. Our bodies may not move exactly like the teacher’s but we can still move with a sense of confidence, fluidity & grace & this is achieved with acceptance. This isn’t to say that we just go crazy & give into every vice. We still have to keep our feet on the ground & our gaze on the distant mountain. No one can be the best 100% of the time. Being the best lies in accepting ourselves - the good & the bad. Even warriors have bad habits, but despite them they still focus on being the best.
Today’s goal: Habits make you, you. Don’t be so hard on yourself - nobody’s perfect.
Watch this video to better understand habits.
Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” is an example of how two people’s explosive personalities can create something great. Click here to read more about the making of this song. FYI Bowie and Queen never performed this song live together this video is a mix.