Long ago during the Sengoku period (1467-1615), daimyos Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen were longtime rivals. At one point during one of their five battles, Kenshin heard that another clan was laying siege to Shingen’s supply lines and cutting off his supply of salt which was a necessary staple in those days. Believing that this was a dishonorable battle tactic, Kenshin sent salt from his province to Shingen and broke the siege. With the salt, Kenshin included a note that read, “Wars are to be won with swords and spears, not with rice and salt.” This act of battlefield honor now typifies fair play and acts of sportsmanship and has even spurned the proverb, tekini shio wo kuru (敵に塩を送る) or “Present salt to one’s enemy.”
In my humble opinion, the biggest problem today is that people are feeling helpless. Fear, social distancing, closures, acts of hoarding, sickness and death bring with it a sense of helplessness which sometimes breeds rash acts in attempt to bring back some semblance of control or outlet. Martial arts are a practice and a practice is something that must be reaffirmed every day. Each moment we are confronted with the opportunity to choose our bigger selves and with each of those moments we get to choose to be the person that we say we are. If the opportunity presents itself and even if your greatest rival is weak, can you help instead of hurting. The true battle rages on within us and that’s why O’Sensei advocated Masakatsu agatsu or that the “The truest victory is the victory over one’s self.” Today, regardless of the confrontation, our practice is to be kind, compassionate and forgiving and thus embrace the person that we train to be.