三倍努力
San bai no do ryoku
To triple one's effort
The best martial artists are always striving to go one step further.
The one step further is a mindset which is dedicated to something called kaizen (改善) or “continuous Improvement.” Author James Clear wrote about continuous improvement in his book Atomic Habits where defined it as “a dedication to making small changes and improvements every day, with the expectation that those small improvements will add up to something significant.” In his book, Clear stated that “If you get one percent better each day for one year, you'll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.” Judo legend, Masahiko Kimura advocated this kaizen mindset in something he called, san bai no do ryoku (三倍努力) or “To triple one's effort.” He said, “If my opponents train twice as hard then I will train three times as hard.” For beginners, the one step further mindset is physical as they strive for a deeper irimi, a stronger tenshin, more reps, or further technical improvements. Later on in one’s training, the improvements become more mental and pertain to things outside of training on the mat. For instance, how my assistants prepare and set up this weekend’s O’Sensei memorial service will demonstrate their true level of training. The one step further mindset demonstrates to others who we really are or where we really are in our training. When we face off with an opponent, it is the littlest things which give away our true level. If we are willing to go the extra mile for something as benign as preparing or setting up a memorial service, then more than likely we also put that same diligence into our Aikido training. Therefore, we can see a person’s true level or their true character in “how” they do whatever it is that they do or as Martha Beck once said, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” Everything we do in the dojo is a practice run for real life. I’m not talking about hitting, kicking, or throwing people down. In the dojo, we are cultivating a mindset. One aspect of our mindset is to always strive to go one step further in everything that we do. A person who strives for a high level will have to push themselves further and that’s why the best martial artists are always striving to go one step further.
Today’s goal: Figure out how or where you can strive to go one step further.