Be mindful of your behavior

There is a saying in budo, or "Everything begins and ends with respect" (礼に始まり礼に終わる). Last night we hosted an outside teacher from another country. The thing which made me the happiest was how polite our students were. Everyone treated each other with respect and everyone had a good time.

For the most part, the martial arts are physical and up to a point, anyone can become skilled. Reigi-saho or etiquette is one of those things which cannot be taught but can be learned.

Being a jerk reflects poorly on your teacher, your parents, your art, your dojo and most importantly you. Be careful what you say or do because it means a lot.

Strive for balance

A good martial artist strives to create balance. Here is an interesting take on the taiji or yin-yang symbol. It is a Japanese kamon or family crest using the properties of yin-yang or in-you in Japanese. A martial artist with balance mentally and physically cannot be moved and thus cannot be defeated.

If we are easily swayed from one side to the other then we can be moved to a place of unbalance. At this place of unbalance, even the weakest of foes can defeat us.

Balance mentally is more important than balance physically. It is said, "Everything in life begins with a thought." Our minds are our greatest weapons - they can defend us or defeat us. How we think is more important than what we do or what we say. Both of those are an extension of our minds.

What will it take for you to be defeated? A terse word or a insensitive glance? We don't always have to be punched in the face to be defeated.

The goal of every great martial art is to create this balance which we call the immovable mind. An immovable mind is one of calmness and imperturbability where can nothing unbalance us.

Are you a 10?

Are you a 10? Typically when we hear this type of question, we think that the person is asking us if we are good looking. In Japanese culture, the number 10 or juu is a homophone for juubun (十分) which is intended to mean, "Replete." Thus, the number 10 is lucky because the number 10 means to be content. In the west, we pursue things in order to achieve or acquire happiness and thus happiness is a result of taking - I receive and thus I am happy. In Japan, contentment is often associated with living a life of purpose or meaning and happiness comes as a result of giving.

The number 10 then reminds us that true happiness is a result of finding inner contentment instead of outer attainment. Finding contentment is a result of having a living a life of meaning. To have meaning means that we "get to" share or give something with the world and with that we are grateful for the opportunity. When we have meaning, then contentment, and thus gratefulness then true happiness is not far behind.  True happiness is then a function of giving from a place of contentment and not taking from a place of fear.

Are you a 10?

"Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power." - James Allen

"If you think you're enlightened; go home." - Ram Dass Ram Dass' quote reminds us that the people closest to us, who know us the best, have the ability to put us off balance no matter how exalted we become.

The holidays can be a huge source of stress. As martial artists, we know that the ability to be calm in the midst of conflict is our greatest asset.

The Dalai Lama once said, “Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways.”

"To find inner peace, be still the mind and let go. Live in the now. Breathe." - Ryokan

To control one's self is the source of true strength. To be able to use our minds properly is true mastery. The ability to be calm is not only the goal in budo training but the display of true power. Our training dictates that we not only be strong and powerful but also kind, compassionate, patient and forgiving.  After all, it's the holidays regardless if we are warriors or not.

The enemy of achievement is comfort

I read a sign the other day, "Comfort is the enemy of achievement." This is a quote by a businessman named Farrah Gray. In terms of budo it is spot on. On the road to greatness, the main question is, "What are we willing to sacrifice in order to get good?" Not can we, but will we forgo things like sleep, money, food, or any other thing that causes us to be a little bit uncomfortable in order to achieve our goals? Most normal people won't, but warriors are not normal people.

Warriors are people who stave off pleasure for purpose. People who "need" to sleep, eat or save the money will never push themselves to get good.  There will always be something. Over the annals of time, the greatest opponent there has ever been and who has beaten millions of warriors has been the soft, warm and comfortable bed. Don't let it beat you!

So the question is, "What will you sacrifice to get good?"

Align yourself and leave no openings

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Many times in life, whether we like it or not, perception is reality and budo is no different. As a warrior, we must be forever diligent and thus must be en garde at all times. We can expect to be attacked anytime we let our guard down. Therefore we cannot leave any openings.

There is a famous Japanese saying, bushi wa kuwanedo taka yoji (武士は食わねど高楊枝) which means a "A samurai, even when he has not eaten, uses a toothpick like a lord."

Most think it means that a hungry samurai chooses pride before poverty. Another way to understand it is that if one lets on that they haven't eaten and are hungry then they will be weak and thus an easier target for attack. The perception of weakness can then lead to a person being attacked.

In training, we constantly trying to ensure that our intentions match our reality. If we want people to think that we are respectful then we must act respectfully. If we want people to think that we are humble, we should then act with humility. Conversely, if we want people to think we are jerks then we should act like a jerk.

Like it or not, people "judge" us by the things that we say and do. Our job as martial artist is to make our actions and our words line up with our intentions.

Go out and get it

If you want to try and save your 2016, there are 36 days left. What did we want to get done that we never got around to doing or failed to complete? Furuya Sensei used to say, "There is no time left." Don't waste your time putting things off for 2017 that you can start doing today. There is still time left. Start today...

Start eating healthy.Go to bed early. Wake up early. Be more grateful. Quit your job. Find a new job. Start exercising. Start Aikido ;) Stop smoking. Ask that person out. Stop going out with that person. Enroll in college. Tell people what you really mean. Go to class more often. Etc, etc

In life, there are no free lunches, shortcuts or ways to cheat. If we want something, we have to go out and get it. If you want to get good at Aikido, all you have to do is come to class. It is that simple!  There are still 31 days of training left this year. Want it? Come get it!

No matter what, choose to do it

"I took an arrow in the knee" was an old Norse saying to indicate that someone had gotten married. The arrow implies that one of the biggest decisions in one's life isn't necessarily made by choice. Just after Furuya Sensei passed away, I was working with one of my older clients and was telling him about Sensei's death. I said, "Now, I have to take over the dojo." He stopped me and said, "No, you choose to take over the dojo." At the time I did not think I had a "choice" but today I understand that it is what I chose to do. We can be in control or we will be controlled.

Today, in an arguably more civilized society, we are free and thus have freedom of choice. What is choice?  Choice is the ability to decide to empower ourselves with what it is we want. This empowerment begins by saying, "I choose to..."

Regardless of the situation or circumstance we can always "choose" how we internally address what is going on - we give it context. In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, it is called re-framing.  In Buddhism, it is called equanimity.  In budo, it is called the non-abiding mind.

Today, we don't have to do anything but we do get to choose to do whatever we want.  The choice is ours.

We make each other better

For For 20 years during the Sengoku period, Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin fought a series of hard fought battles. It was during this time that each cultivated a deep respect for one another. When Takeda Shingen died suddenly on the battlefield, Uesugi Kenshin supposedly wept and said, "I have lost my greatest rival, there will never be a greater hero."  Our adversaries can be our greatest teachers. As a training partner, it is our duty to bring out the best in our partners. We owe it to them to give them a good hard practice. That doesn't mean be a jerk. It means to push them to become better. If we are too easy they become too complacent and soft. If we are too hard they become bitter and contemptuous. Pushing them to their heights in a positive and productive way enables them to reach their true potential. It is a great honor to be a part of that process.  Be a positive force for change so that as C.S. Lewis stated, "All of hell rejoices that I am out of the fight" because I help make others better.

Embrace the struggle

We sometimes erroneously think that the Way is the end product - a place of bliss, peace or happiness. However, the place where the Way truly resides is in the places where we struggle. On good days, it is easy to follow the righteous path and anyone can do it. The days and situations that are the most difficult are when we need, utilize and come to understand the true meaning of following the Way. Therefore the Way is in the struggle. That one moment between when we don't want to but do so anyways is the real moment of the Way. Everything else leads up to that point and all others are a result of that decision. "Embrace the struggle and let it make you stronger. It won't last forever." - Tony Gaskins

Art by Sam Didier

Just this one moment

 

Today's kakejiku or scroll hanging in the tokonoma is an ichigyo brushed with the single character toki  刻 which is commonly translated as time. An ichigyo is a single line of calligraphy that is supposed to elicit a response or provoke the viewer into a different mental state.

Warriors of old were always well read individuals who were not only well versed in the military arts but also in religion, literature, poetry, Japanese and Chinese classics and art.

Generally, most kakejiku are supposed to be profound and many times what is left out is sometimes more important than what is put in. This scroll is no different. Its meaning is not readily understandable by simply just reading the character.

The character toki 刻 left standing alone means "to chop or engrave." So an uneducated person could accidentally misinterpret that as its meaning. However when the character toki is added into the idiomatic expression jijikokkoku it means "from one moment to the next." From here we extrapolate that it is supposed to mean "moment," but that also is a little too juvenile. As we sit there and ponder the scroll's deeper meaning, what arises could be the Buddhist's perspective on impermanence and thus every moment that existed before or after this one moment is an illusion and that we can easy be deluded into thinking that those thoughts are real.

Since this scroll is more of the smaller size used in a chasitsu or tea house, we can theorize that its meaning is to make full use of this one moment for all other moments before may not have happened and all moments after may never come. All we have is this one moment - cherish it!

Plain and simple

The best things are almost always plain and simple. When something is good but in a plain and simple way it is referred to as jimi (地味) in Japanese. Martial artists naturally tend to shy away from things that are too ostentatious. This is because humility is a quality that all martial artists strive for. Something that has jimi is something taht is subdued with almost a plain sense to it.

When we look at the techniques, some may have a flashy quality but those aren't usually the most effective. The most effective are the ones that are usually the most simplest.

People are that way too. Look around at the people in our lives. I am sure that most of us will see that the people whom we regard the highest are the people who are just "working class" people who have a kind of simple and subdued nature to them. We all have that one friend who is either pompous or overly dramatizes things - those are usually the people who are the most complicated.

As we look at the great martial arts masters of old, we see just normal people like you and me. The difference is not in how flashy they are but that they simply put in the work to get good which led us to think of them as great.

Today, the martial arts is, on a certain level, completely different. People tend to laud those with the loudest voices or showiest techniques. This is not budo. In Budo, jimi is simply putting in the work.  We put in the work to get good - it's that plain and simple.

Always be prepared

Martial artists aren't giri-giri type people. Giri-giri is an onomatopoeia that Japanese use to refer to something that is done last minute. This morning on the radio, I heard that there was an earthquake advisory in effect from now until October 4th. This advisory happens to come at the end of national preparedness month. This made me think about how a martial artist needs to be prepared for any person, condition or thing.

As martial artists, we are always supposed to be prepared. It is part of our training and the reason why we train so much. I am sure many of you have heard this one, "How long have you been training? You've been going so long, why do you still need to go?" We still need to constantly train because, like in emergency preparedness, we never know when the "Big one" will hit.

As martial artists, we are people who not only learn from our mistakes, but from others as well. I can remember this one time when I was a student and someone forgot their hakama at a demonstration and how mad Furuya Sensei got. From that point on, I always kept a back up uniform in the car just in case and I know that many others did too. I learned from that person's mistake. There is a famous story about Tiger Woods during his time at Stanford. Supposedly, there was a really bad storm out and Tiger was seen heading toward the driving range. Someone stopped him and he said, "This is the only time I will ever get to hit balls in these type of conditions." Tiger wanted to be prepared if he ever had to play in hostile weather conditions.

We train so that our minds and our bodies will be ready for anything that comes our way. Nothing would be worse than to succumb to someone or something because of a silly mistake or underestimation.

Martial artists must be prepared for anything, natural or man-made. We are always prepared and thus are never giri-giri. Please make sure that you are always prepared.

The strength to keep on going

"It takes more courage to examine the dark corners of your own soul than it does for a soldier to fight on a battlefield." - W. B. Yates Anyone can be physically strong, but being physically strong doesn't necessarily mean that we are mentally strong.

To be mentally strong, one needs to have an inner courage. This courage isn't blindly running foolhearted at something.  Rather it is standing up to the darkness that inhabits our inner souls despite the pain or fear that it elicits.

Yates' quote is so apropos to budo and because true budo is really just the journey that one undertakes to develop themselves.

It's like the cave scene in Empire Strikes Back.  Yoda says, “That place… is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go."  Luke asks, "What’s in there?" Yoda replies, "Only what you take with you.”

When push comes to shove, what we do shows our true inner character. To be the people that we want to become, we need to have courage and be brave. Courage is the inner attitude or strength and bravery is what it looks like on the outside.

The only true strength is the strength to keep on going despite the odds and that is the definition of courage.

Let it go

Every year my birthday falls on the autumn equinox. Autumn is the season associated with letting go which is sometimes sad to me. It is a little sad because there is so much hard change in the fall. In a blog post on the website alchemistrecovery.com  someone wrote that autumn according to Chinese medicine is the "season of decline, release and ultimately death. It is the phase of the yearly cycle where we are encouraged, or forced to, let go of the things that are naturally coming to an end." Being able to accept or just let something be, no matter what it is, is a corner stone of budo. Not being attached to something is what the Monk Takuan talked about as the "non-abiding mind" in his book The Unfettered Mind. The non-abiding mind does not discriminate - It only observes. This ability to just observe is what one might call mindfulness.

There is a saying associated with autumn, "If it comes, let it, if it goes let it." Yagyu Munenori said that the goal of training in swordsmanship was to overcome the six diseases parallels this ability to just observe things and let them go. The six diseases are: the desire for victory, the desire to rely on technical cunning, the desire to show off, the desire to psychologically overwhelm one's opponent, the desire to remain passive in order to wait for an opening and the desire to be free of all these diseases.

These diseases can be thought of as the stages of one's development in one's training.

If we let it come when it comes and if we let it go when it goes then we can be free of the diseases that Yagyu Munenori was warning us about.

I can do it!

This is a very interesting picture.  To me the "Which Step Have You Reached Today" isn't so much about where have you reached today but rather where are you as a martial artist on any given day.  As martial artists we are never at the "I won't do it" or "I can't do it" stages.  It is not in our nature to be defeated before we even start.  As martial artists we are typically at the "How do you do that?" stage as our baseline.  From there at any given moment during our training we vacillate somewhere between trying, doing and succeeding.  Martial artists are doers and we tend to set a goal, figure out a way to succeed and set about doing it.  That is the nature of training. At what stage are you at today?

The victory is yours.

There is a Buddhist saying which some attribute to the Buddha that I am fond of, "It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles.  Then the victory is yours." This saying is very much budo inspiring.  Today, so much time is spent talking about what is "real" or true in the martial arts with practitioners on both sides claiming that their way is the best or only way.

Both arguments are hollow.  The only true way is the way that one truly follows.  All else is just talk and babble which distracts us from the real reality of actually following it.  I am talking about actually living it as best we can.

The Way or do (道) as it is referred to in Japanese traditional arts may be interpreted as a path, but more over its is the direction by which one lives their life.

Following the Way is a doing thing which requires action not a talking thing which can easily be taken over by one's ego.  The Spanish proverb, "Who knows most speaks least." is apropos to budo.

Shall we talk about it?  Shall we even fight with each other about it?  Both of those things distract us from the true battle which exists within.

Furuya Sensei used to say, "The Way is in training."  Training is a doing thing.  It takes so much focus and concentration that any little distraction like spending time discussing or arguing about it only leads us away from the Way.  Sensei didn't say the Way is in talking he said, "The Way is in training."  Training is a doing thing.

Don't get caught up in finger pointing or chest beating, none of which matters.  Who is truly following the Way will be evident by their actions and not by what they say.

The one true way is the one that we follow in thought, speech and in action.  Everything else is just a distraction.

Some days are sunny, some days are cloudy

In every warrior's training, a little rain must fall.  I would love to tell students that throughout their training career they will only experience fun, excitement, joy and happiness.  The truth of the matter is that at some point every person is confronted with some adversity and will have some difficulty at some time or another. Some people are very smart intellectually and will struggle physically.  Some people are very gifted physically but will struggle mentally or emotionally.  Some people get hurt while some people hurt others.  Regardless everyone struggles with something.

The obstacles that we encounter are the training.  Our struggles are our truths and thus the Way is in the struggle.

If everyone struggles, then what should they do when that happens?  Here are some general suggestions for people when we find that we are struggling.

Be patient.  Learn to push yourself.  Find other ways to train yourself.  Learn to forgive. Seek out help.  Believe.  Trust.  And most of all don't give up.

I could elaborate on each of these but I am choosing not to.  Think of them as koans for your personal growth.  If you can come up with your own definitions or elaborations for the suggestions above you will have solved your own problems and you will come to understand that the struggle is the Way.

The beauty of life

Fluttering merrily and sleeping in the dew in a field of flowers, in whose dream is this butterfly? - Otagaki Rengetsu

Wonderful poem by one of Japan's most famous poets.

On a certain level, life is really but a dream.  Who knows what is real or what is fake?

The fleetingness of life is at the core of all warrior culture.  How do we live knowing that we will eventually die?

The short life of the butterfly and its fleeting beauty call to us to enjoy the brief beauty of our lives while we are still here.

Don't let your guard down even after the battle has been won.

かってからかぶとのおをしめよ.Katte kara kabuto no o wo shime yo. "After victory, tighten your helmet."

This weekend three students took and passed their various dan rank tests.  I am truly proud of how they performed and the preparations that it took to get them there.

As the teacher, testing gives me an opportunity to look at who the students are under pressure, but only time will tell who they really are as human beings.  Katte kara kabuto no o wo shime yo is an old Japanese proverb that Furuya Sensei was fond of which translates to "After victory, tighten your helmet."

It is so easy to rest on one's laurels especially after a victory.  In the martial arts, the greatest enemy is complacency.

There are two types of people born out of testing.  Those who think they have arrived and those who realize how little they know.  Both of these are the curse of achievement.

It is a curse because shortly thereafter both realize that where they find themselves is really just a flat spot just before the path becomes a bit steeper.

Passing the test pales in comparison to what we do after that and thus the caution to "tighten one's helmet" is apropos.

Within the Aikido system of ranking, the first rank is shodan and is written with the kanji 初 which means "beginner."  Thus, this character alludes to the fact that attaining shodan is just the beginning of one's journey in Aikido.  First and second degree are "merit" ranks, third and fourth are technical ranks and 5th and above are teaching ranks.  There is so much to learn at each stage no matter where we find ourselves.  Each of us is student and we would benefit tremendously if we can remember that.

The battle never ends so wherever we may find ourselves, we must vigilant and thus tighten our chin straps to be ready.

Please keep up the great work and prepare yourselves for the next journey.