Dojo Message
大上段に振りかぶって
Daijodan ni furikabutte
Be fearless
A warrior knows that bravado isn’t bravery. A warrior is supposed to be brave, have courage, but never exhibit bravado. Bravery is a character trait and a person is “being” brave when they do something without fear. Courage is a choice and we “have” courage when we do something despite feeling afraid. A person has bravado when they do things with the sole purpose of impressing others. Some people are brave, others choose to have courage and some people only have bravado when others are around. Bravery and courage come from a powerful place deep within us. In swordsmanship they say, “daijodan ni furikabutte” which translates as, “raise your sword overhead,” but it is supposed to mean, “To be fearless.” A samurai is only supposed to draw their sword with the intention to kill. Thus, drawing one’s sword and raising it overhead to the jodan no kamae position is supposed to be the highest expression of this intention and so a person must be “fearless.” Bravado comes from our egos and a smaller place within us. When we don’t feel good about ourselves, we seek validation and we want people to like us, so we tend to boast, brag or show off to impress them. Acting this way only shows the smallness of our character. Anyone can talk a good game or show off, but only a real warrior can be brave or have courage. Furuya Sensei was fond of the expression, “rin byo to sha kai jin retsu zai zen” which means “The bravest warrior excels at the front of the battlefield.” Many times, the only person who will know if we are brave or courageous is ourselves. To overcome life’s obstacles takes more than empty words or gestures. A warrior doesn’t really know if they are full of bravado or if they can be brave or have courage. A person will only know who they are when the time comes, and their metal is tested.
Today’s goal: Ask yourself, “Do you know the difference between bravery and bravado?”
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