死から目覚め生き返る
Shi kara mezame ikikaeru
Wake from death and return to life.
Warriors admire butterflies. Warriors admire butterflies because warriorship is the process of transforming oneself and, in Japanese culture, the chou (蝶) or butterfly is the symbol of transformation. The process of becoming a butterfly is not unlike the process of transformation that one undergoes in training. Students and butterflies are both put into difficult circumstances that they have to overcome in order to be successful. In training, we should always give our training partners the strongest attack that they can handle. I am not advocating that we be jerks to each other, but rather that the attack should be firm yet mindful. We should try to develop our sensitivity when attacking our opponents so that our attack has just enough pressure to firmly nudge our partners to grow. Furuya Sensei used to say, “Train with them up to their level and just one step further.” A firm attack takes us out of complacency and forces us to overcome and grow. One step further supposedly takes us to a place where optimal growth occurs. This optimal place is a modern construct. In the days of old, it was trial by fire and a person was regularly pushed way outside their comfort zone or crushed by their training partners. It was the sink or swim mentality. Teachers and students of old believed in Nietzsche’s quote, “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” When I was a student, Sensei used to say, “Aikido is only for the elite.” I used to hate that because I thought that he was talking about it from a societal class perspective. However, today, I understand that “elite” means that special person who can not only endure the trial by fire but also make it through. The Japanese say, “to wake from death and return to life” which alludes to Nietzsche’s quote that in surviving hardship we are reborn stronger. Training teaches us how to overcome adversity and we use that adversity to make ourselves better. Like the butterfly, we overcome and are remade into something beautiful - a better human being. That’s why warriors admire butterflies.
Today’s goal: What can you do to transform yourself today?
Watch this video to better understand living.