刀を振り
Katana wo furimawasu
To show off
The best martial artists don’t show off. In Japanese, one way to say “showing off” is katana wo furimawasu (刀を振り). Furimawasu means to “brandish,” “wield,” or “swing” something like a sword in order to show off. Typically, we giyo (技癢) or have the “desire to show off our abilities” because we feel inadequate. In varying degrees, every person suffers from the same disease - not good enough disease. When we feel that we are not good enough, we tend to hide that feeling by showing off. Thus, showing off is typically a sign of insecurity and demonstrates a poor level of character. Understanding this, a martial artist’s greatest asset in the battle of feeling not good enough is restraint. In Japanese, to have self-restraint is jishuku (自粛). The kanji directly translates to mean “to quiet oneself.” The translation gives us some insight into how the Japanese understand self-restraint. Thus, to have self-restraint, we need to quiet the voices which are telling us that we are not good enough. When we give into our feelings of not being good enough and show off, we have lost touch with reality and the present moment. To come back to reality and the present moment, we need equanimity and self-compassion. Equanimity enables us to allow the feeling to pass without buying into it. Self-compassion is the ability to talk to ourselves with kindness and compassion which gives us the ability to talk our way out of the feeling if we get too absorbed in it. This is where training comes in. Every day in class, we are confronted by things which we may not be good at or need improvement. This creates the situation of inadequacy but in a safe space. Being or feeling safe enables us to confront those feelings and practice dealing with them in a healthy way. This is where we learn to be equanimous and allow the feeling to pass without addressing it and where and how we learn to stair step our way out of those feelings using self-compassion and talking to ourselves compassionately. The disease of “not good enough” is something that everyone struggles with - it’s human nature. Realizing this, a good martial artist never gives into the feelings of not being good enough and thus suppresses their desire to show off. When we feel the feelings of not being good enough, we should close our eyes, take a breath, and come back to the moment. The nature of training teaches us that nobody is perfect, we all have something to work on, and that we shouldn’t be so hard on ourselves. In the martial arts, it is said that “the skilled hawk hides its talons” and that is why the best martial artists don’t show off.
Today’s goal: Try to be present and realize the moments when you are not feeling good about yourself and showing off to hide it.
Watch this video to better understand feeling like you’re not good enough