神社を尽くして天命を待つ
Jinji wo tsukushite tenmei wo matsu
Do your best and leave the rest to fate
The best martial artists always act as if. Starting in the 1970s, it became popular to say, “Fake it until you make it.” “Fake it until you make it” suggests that by pretending to be confident or competent, a person can cover up their shortcomings and attain some semblance of success until they actually realize those qualities in their real life. The problem with “faking it” is that it carries with it an air of dishonesty and martial artists are never supposed to act dishonestly. Long ago, there was a master of the tea ceremony who was challenged to a duel by a samurai. The samurai wanted to make a name for himself and accused the tea master of touching his sword which was a common way to challenge someone to a fight known as saya ate (鞘当て). Not being a trained fighter, the tea master consulted his master who was a samurai of importance. His master said, “When you cross swords, just act as if you are going to serve this samurai a cup of tea.” When he met the samurai the next morning, the tea master drew his weapon and steadied himself with the same spirit as if he was going to serve this samurai tea ceremony. Touching swords, the samurai felt the composure and calmness of the tea master. This either meant that the tea master was a trained swordsman or that he was ready to die. Regardless, it scared the samurai and he immediately bowed and ran off. Usually, we have to fake it because we don’t feel good enough about ourselves at our given level. Therefore, instead of faking it, I suggest that students act as if. Acting as if is a positive way to overcome our feelings of not being good enough. By acting as if, we can be honest and comfortable with doing our best regardless of our level or the outcome. All that we can do in the martial arts and in life is meet adversity with calmness and put forth an effort which is sincere and honest. Therefore, don’t fake it until you make it but rather do your best and leave the rest to fate. The best martial artists always act as if.
Today’s goal: What in your life can you change from faking it to acting as if?
This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog
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