Being a good martial artist is something that we have to live up to. Nobody starts out on top nor does anyone start out good. Likewise, there is also no such thing as a prodigy. In the martial arts, every person has to put on their pants one leg at a time. When I was a student, Furuya Sensei once said “A student must become the rank that they are promoted to.” As a student, I used to think this was an odd statement because he also used to say, “Students earn their ranks long before they get promoted.” As a student, I didn’t really understand and thought that Sensei was just being contradictory. Now as a teacher, I totally get it. Both of those statements really mean the same thing. They both are about “becoming.” We often think that attaining rank means that a person has arrived or that they have somehow made it. From the outside looking in, most think that a black belt means that we have become invincible or as the old joke goes, “that our hands are now registered as deadly weapons.” For the most part, rank, titles, and colored belts mean nothing. With that being said, rank is actually something that we must live up to. With each rank or promotion there is a standard that is commensurate with that rank. It should be a given that all ranks should be accompanied by some level of physical competency, but that isn’t the only qualification. More than physical capability, each rank should come with a sense of responsibility or as Voltaire put it, “With great power comes great responsibility.” In other words, a person who is 6th dan should act like a person who is ranked 6th dan. If a person has the mindset that they must “become the rank that they are promoted to,” then they would have humility and would be less likely to let their egos go awry. If a person adopts the mentality that they must “earn their ranks long before they get promoted,” then they would understand the value of hard work and would be less likely to become egotistical. The biggest problem with promotion is entitlement. With entitlement, we think that being given rank means that we are given something which makes us special and with that attitude, our egos flare up. On the contrary, with every advancement, we are supposed to be living the Way more and more. For instance, a person who is 5th kyu has less responsibility and expectation than a person who is 5th dan, but they still have responsibility nonetheless. Sensei likened the discipline that a high-ranking martial artist must have to the rings on a tree. He said, “The closer you get to the center, the tighter the rings get.” Rank does not come with entitlement; it comes with responsibility and that is why being a good martial artist is something that we have to live up to.
Today’s goal: What does responsibility mean to you?
Watch this video to better understand