役に立たないことは何もしない
Yakunitatanai koto wa nanimoshinai
Do nothing which is of no use.
- Miyamoto Musashi
Martial artists value priceless things. Once, there was a Chinese Zen master named Sozan who was known for his poetry and calligraphy. As he was about to start a talk, one student interrupted him and asked, “Master, what is the most valuable thing in the world?” Without any hesitation, Sozan replied, “The head of a dead cat.” The students all looked around quizzically. Perhaps his Master hadn’t heard the question correctly, so the student repeated the question. “Master, I asked, what is the most valuable thing in the world?” Again, Sozan promptly replied, “The head of a dead cat.” By this time, all Sozan’s students were puzzled. Another student quizzically asked, “Why is a dead cat’s head the most valuable thing in the world?” Sozan simply replied, “Because no one can name its price!” A martial art is priceless because it is one of those things which might cost us money, but its value and lessons are something that we must earn. For instance, one of the lessons that a student can’t buy is learning how to not hold their breath in a stressful situation. Sometimes in class, I see students huffing and puffing because they are seemingly out of shape. However, it is not so much that they are out of shape but that they don’t know “how” to breathe properly. In class, when we are attacked or in an uncomfortable environment, we unconsciously hold our breath or drop into shallow breathing, and this is called stress apnea. With this stress apnea or micro-holding our breath, we become hypoxic and get tired faster and that’s why people say, “That person’s out of breath.” All the money in the world cannot teach us how to not hold our breath. It is something we have to earn and learn with our time and effort. Furuya Sensei used to say, “The martial arts are worthless.” What he meant was that martial arts training is one of those priceless things because it can be paid for extrinsically, but we have to earn its lessons and benefits intrinsically.
Today’s goal: Change the things in your life that you do which are of no use.
Watch this video to better understand how to breathe in stressful situations