Every good martial artist is a black belt in self-care. Self-care is a modern concept which has only recently become fashionable. Self-care is defined as “the practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.” In the past, most martial artists followed Judo legend Masahiko Kimura’s work ethic of outworking their opponents. Kimura was famous for san bai no do ryoku (三倍努力) or “Tripling one's effort.” He said, “If my opponent trains for one hour, I will train for three.” Martial artists of old, wouldn’t let anything stop them from training. They trained through world wars, injuries and illnesses, and things like broken bones and concussions were badges of honor to them. There is some merit to this “no pain, no gain” mentality, but it can also become a detriment if not balanced out correctly. Today, we are “standing on the shoulders of giants” and have the benefit of not only hindsight but science as well. People of the past only knew how to work harder and they didn’t understand things like moetsukishoukougun (燃え尽き症候群) or “burnout syndrome.” In the past in our dojo, personal time was frowned upon. Furuya Sensei lived in the dojo and taught a majority of the classes and so he couldn’t understand the need for days off or the need to have a work-life-dojo balance. The unspoken feeling was that “Sensei wasn’t taking any days off and so neither should we.” In my opinion, this mentality created a lot of good Aikidoist but it also contributed to a lot of people quitting because of burnout or battle fatigue. Burnout is about how our body deals with stress and the signs of stress that aren’t readily apparent or how little injuries can gradually become big injuries. Today, we understand stress and have things like smartwatches and Fitbits to monitor our inner health. By working smarter not harder we understand that rest and recovery are just as important, if not more important, than working hard. O’Sensei said, “The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent such slaughter — it is the Art of Peace, the power of love.” Thus, true peace and love begins with the self and so self-care is really about the compassion we give ourselves. Jack Kornfield said, “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” Before we can truly defeat anyone, we must first master ourselves and that mastery begins knowing thyself and at the heart of that is healthy self-care. Every person will have different needs and so each person’s self-care will be slightly different - it is a personal journey. Aikido is about balance and true balance at its core is about self-care and that is why every good martial artist is a black belt in self-care.
Today’s goal: You matter. How can you take care of yourself?
Watch this video to better understand self-care.