Throwback Thursday - On Guard
Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on June 7, 2003.
It is easy to learn the physical techniques in martial arts but it is very difficult to catch the right mental attitude and spiritual posture to understand the martial arts. This is where most students need more effort and perseverance.
Most people follow what they think is right but what is right for you yourself personally may not be the same "right" for your training and Aikido. We may be very intelligent but this does not necessarily mean that we will be right in our training as well. Because of this, we must constantly be in awareness and constantly on guard. . . . - to catch everything there is to learn.
In this regards, the health spa mentality will not do. Martial arts training as I constantly remind everyone is not sports or exercise. Nor is it play or just a game.
As the Ancients say, it is Life at the border of Life and Death. Don’t misunderstand this! It means that Life must be taken to its fullest and to its highest level within one's self! In this regard, it is definitely not play or a game, it definitely requires a great deal of personal focus, effort and courage.
The attitude which lacks focus and the mentality that one knows it all or is too arrogant are both the worst enemies to our training. For this, we must ever vigilant and constantly be on guard.