Ready to steal?

 

The other day after class someone asked me, "Where did you learn that technique?"  To which I answered, "I stole it from Sensei."  With what was probably a huge grin, I elaborated, "He showed it one time and I stole it."

As a Westerner, I think he was surprised that I would admit to "stealing" something, but in the East this idea of stealing is called nusumi-geiko and thought of as the highest form of learning and that's why I proudly admitted to stealing it from Furuya Sensei.

In the past, the teachings were supposed to be closely guarded secrets that were passed down from generation to generation.  Outsiders were always met with a certain amount of suspicion and even more so if they had any amount of talent. Teachers were always afraid that someone might come in and learn their secrets and abscond off with them which might lead to attack or the closing of the school.

To safeguard these teachings, teachers often left crucial and often subtle things out that only a truly dedicated student could figure out with time and diligence.  Sensei even once told us a story about a Chinese martial arts teacher who purposefully taught the form backwards to safeguard it.  Only after he fully trusted the student would he then reverse the direction.

Teachers of old believed that anyone could learn their arts up to a certain level, but only a truly gifted student could master them.  To determine the wheat from the chaff the teacher needed a method to determine the inner character of the student.  Hiding the technique was one of those ways.  If a student could pick it up on their own i.e. by stealing it, then they were probably someone of merit.  It forced the student to not only be diligent but to be resourceful enough to "purposefully" steal the technique from the teacher.

An average student can learn anything, but only a great student can learn everything.

Nothing goes as you like

 

Some days, life just feels like this...

Sometimes no matter what we do, things don't go our way.  Furuya Sensei's Zen teacher, Bishop Yamashita once said to him, "Nothing goes the way we think it will."  Profound words indeed.

We often trap ourselves with this idea that if we are happier, skinnier, wealthier or more skillful that our lives will some how better.  The truth is as the Bishop stated and that by accepting this hard truth we can some how liberate ourselves from this trap.

The truth behind the Bishop's admonishment is that today we must celebrate what is and not wait for what will be.

"Even monkeys fall out of trees" was one of my mom's favorite Japanese proverbs.  Things happen, situations change and we grow older.  Tomorrow never comes because it is always today.

Mingyur Rinpoche said, "Whatever passes through your mind, don't focus on it and don't try to suppress it.  Just observe it as it comes and goes."

Some days feel just like a kick to the face.  It happens.  Don't hold on to it and just let it go.

Furin Kazan

 

Furin Kazan Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain "Be swift like the wind, silent as the forest, devastating as fire and immovable as a mountain."

This saying was a favorite of Takeda Shingen, the famous Japanese general, who allegedly flew these characters on his nobori or battle banners.

This particular saying comes from Sun Tzu's Art of War and has become a favorite for martial artists.

Words to live by!

These guys are working hard. Are you?

https://vimeo.com/161511617 There is an old saying, "People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it."  Here is a great video of a bunch of people who are living their passions.

It is not really my cup of tea, but it was inspiring to see their dedication and determination.  Every person looked like they were having a good time.  Isn't that all that really matters?

No matter what we find ourselves doing, we should do it like these people.

Are warriors sensitive?

 

Are real warriors sensitive?

One might think that people engaged in the military arts would not or could not be sensitive by the shear nature of their business.

I would argue that a warrior or martial artist at their highest is and has to be sensitive.

Sensitivity is commonly, and erroneously, thought of as vulnerability and vulnerability is death.  At first glance, this is true, but only to warriors of the lowest levels.

To be a great warrior one needs the ability to be able read their opponents in a split second.  This "read" has to be done with the sub-conscious mind because it happens so fast that one only realizes that it is happening when they are already moving.  This sub-conscious action requires a master's amount of training.  It is so fast and without conscious thought that most begin to call it "intuitive" movement.

To develop this intuitive movement requires that one venture to a place within themselves seldom seen by the outside world but only after the physical art has been mastered.  It is the place where we hide all of our secrets and fears which we call our "weaknesses."  To be able to defeat a foe greater than ourselves we must venture deep within ourselves and confront these dark places.  The most well-known movie scene illustrating this was in the Empire Strikes Back when Luke ventures into the Dark Cave of Evil where he strikes down Vader only to reveal himself which suggests he is his own worst enemy.  When we become aware our weaknesses and deal with them then they become the source of our true inner strength.

We then use this sensitivity, which is rooted in the awareness of our own weaknesses, to find the weaknesses in our own opponents.  Looking for the weakness in Japanese it is called "Benki no naki dokoro" which means Benkei's weak spot (Musashibo Benki was a legendary warrior in 12th century in Japan).

Can we be strong and sensitive?  Sure, true strength is found at the juncture of what we can do physically and where we are mentally.  To gain true victory is what O Sensei calls Masakatsu Agatsu or the true victory is the one gained over one's self.

Does a real warrior cry?  I would argue that they do, but not for the same reasons that we might think.

Flashback Friday

 

Flashback Friday.

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on March 4, 2004.  I found it inspirational.  I hope that others might too.  I would like to have a mindset like the hishaku where nothing is special and live my life with the "everyday mind."

Hei-Jo-Shin: Everyday Mind

Calligraphy by Shibayama Zenkei, Zen priest.

This is a very popular phrase in Zen and the Japanese arts and is what is aspired to as the epitome or ideal mental state. "Everyday mind" implies to our modern minds as "nothing special," but in Zen, nothing special means "everything is special." As everything is special, everything becomes equal in value and position and therefore, once again, nothing is special.

In this respect, it is not to pick and choose or take this and that in our lives and make it something what we deem of lesser value or importance, but to take the total whole of our lives, leaving nothing behind, and taking it one more step to a higher level. . . . .

As in the tea ceremony - the ideal is the water ladle called "hishaku" which can be used freely between hot and cold water without discriminating between the two. . . its "universal" state makes it universally important and useful. . . . . this is what is known in Zen as "freedom."

In Zen, discrimination is not particularly wrong or condemned, it is only in our discriminating mind that we are so restricted and limited as we swing back and forth from one side of the scale to the other. . . . .

What is the lesson?

Onkochishin - to learn from the past.  What does it mean to learn from the past?  We read books or attend lectures about famous people and their histories, but sometimes that doesn't sink in deep enough to create any meaningful change.  Onkochishin is to learn from not only from the history of others, but from our own history too.  It is said that experience is the best teacher and I agree, but one needs to be "smart" enough to learn from not only the victories but the blunders too.  For the most part, there is no such thing as good or bad or right or wrong - the only thing that matter is if one learns something from one's experiences.  Learning by direct experience is the way to become successful.  Furuya Sensei once said, "Success is built on many failures" and the Dalai Lama supposedly said, "When you lose, don't lose the lesson" so one can see that the path to victory is in learning from the past.

The iris is more than just a nice plant with beautiful flowers

 

The iris plant or shoubu (菖蒲) is a popular motif in Japanese art.  The word for iris is shoubu but when the same word is written with different kanji it can mean victory (勝負) or militarism or martial spirit (尚武).  The Japanese like this kind of play on words called  goro awase.

This tsuba above was created by Choshu Hagi no ju Inoue Michitaka saku 長州萩住井上通高作 in the mid 18th century.

The iris plant known in Japan as kakitsubata is supposed to represent strength and health and is said to ward off evil spirits so it was a often used motif in samurai accouterments like tsubas and armor.   Kakitsubata is also a name of a famous Noh play based on a passage from the Tale of Ise.  The plant itself is a nice symbol with a lot of hidden meaning other than the clever word-play.

From the photo of an ikebana arrangement, we can see that the leaves stand up and are long, straight and pointed which look like swords. Within one plant it looks like many swords standing up, but with many rows of plants (see painting above) it looks like an army staging before a big battle hence this idea of militarism.  Another nice symbolism is that the flower or true inner beauty only comes out once the leaves have grown tall which gives us this idea that growth and experience can bring out one's true inner beauty.

The 20-second rule

 

Want to get better at something?  All you need is 20-seconds.

In order to get what we want, we need to create change.  Ostensibly we think that change requires willpower.  Willpower is necessary, but according to author Shawn Achor, "Willpower is a finite resource and can’t be relied on."  In his book The Happiness Advantage, he discusses the 20-second rule, "I like to refer to this as the 20-Second Rule, because lowering the barrier to change by just 20 seconds was all it took to help me form a new life habit. In truth, it often takes more than 20 seconds to make a difference-and sometimes it can take much less-but the strategy itself is universally applicable: Lower the activation energy for habits you want to adopt, and raise it for habits you want to avoid. The more we can lower or even eliminate the activation energy for our desired actions, the more we enhance our ability to jump-start positive change."

What he is talking about is being deliberate in order to create a habit.  Understanding that change is a function of motivation, willpower and action, we can use the 20-second rule to create deliberate action in order to become better martial artists.

Momentum is the mother of change.  The 20-second rule is just a way of using this idea of "low activation" to kick start momentum.  In order to use it, just add a small deliberate step in the beginning to activate you.  Then once you've started it is easier to keep going and thus success is easier to achieve.

I use the 20-second rule all the time.  When I get off work, the last thing I want to do is go to Yoga class.  So I trick myself by saying, "I will just drive by and if there is a parking spot, I will stop."  When I get there, regardless if there is a spot or not, I think, "Well I am here" and end up just going in.

Do you have fighting spirit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0D_pug7RJw Do you have kioi ( 気負い) or fighting spirit?

A warrior has fighting spirit.  Fighting spirit is not something physical or external.  To have fighting spirit is to have a mindset where anything is achievable regardless of the odds or obstacles.

Check out Josh Womack's bat skills.  Anyone can do these insane tricks, but sadly most won't.  The average person looks at something seemingly insurmountable and silently says to themselves, "I can't do that."  They are partially correct.  They can't "do" that right now, but with time and effort they could.  I believe that everything in this world can be accomplished.  I am not naive, I am a martial artist.   I firmly believe that if it can be done by someone then I can do it too.   Most martial artists see the world the same way.  This is what it means to have fighting spirit.

As a warrior, we are never supposed to look at the obstacles and think, "I'm done" or "I'm gonna lose."  As a martial artist we are supposed to have konjo or the willpower to see things through to the end.  We are supposed to use our superior attitude and mindset and find way so that we can be successful.

Because of this "can do" mindset, the only thing holding us back then is our beliefs.  Can you or will you?  Can implies ability or skillfulness - so yes anyone can acquire a skill.  Will suggests attitude, drive or determination - so yes, but one has to have the right mindset.

I believe that with time, effort and hard work that everything and anything can be achieved.  I am not being braggadocious when I think this way - its just the way I think when it comes to achieving something.  It is something deep seated in me that makes me think that if I put in the time and set my mind to it that I will eventually be successful.  I'm not trying to be better than anyone else, I am just trying to be the best that I can be.

A true martial artists is someone who is imbued this indomitable spirit or fighting spirit where if they put their minds and efforts to something then it will become so.  Do you have fighting spirit?

Happy Friday the 13th!

 

I wish you good luck today and a happy Friday the 13th!  Today is supposed to be bad luck so I send you this Maneki Neko in hopes that it bring you good luck.

The Maneki Neko or "Beckoning Cat" is a symbol of good luck in Japan.  The waving cat is everywhere in Japan, but did you know one of its origins is samurai related?  Here is one famous story about the samurai origin of the Maneki Neko.

In 1615 during the Edo period there was a temple in Tokyo called Gotokuji that had fallen on hard times.  The priest there loved cats and, although poor, he saved his meals to feed this stray cat.  As the cat ate, he would say, “Please bring me good luck and prosperity.”  The story goes that the famous samurai Naotaka Ii who was the feudal lord of Hikone happened to be walking by the temple on his way home from falconry one afternoon.  As he looked over at the temple gates, he noticed that the stray cat seemed to be beckoning him to come in.  Naotaka became curious and entered the temple just as a severe thunderstorm passed over soaking the entire area with heavy rain.  The famous samurai from Hikone spent the rest of the afternoon drinking tea and listening to the priest's sermon on Sanzeinga no ho (三世因果) or the reasoning for the past, present and future.  Grateful to the cat for keeping him dry Naotaka Ii donated a large sum of money to re-build the temple and designated it the official temple of his clan.

I wish you the best of luck today.

Training in Budo is about change

 

Training in the martial arts is about change.  We begin training as one person and we begin to see another person emerge as we put more time in to our training.  A while back I read this article about the original Karate Kid movie that kind of stayed with me and I thought I'd share it with you.

I think by now most of us have seen the original Karate Kid movie with Ralph Macchio and, like most, think of it as a "coming of age" story about how Daniel-san found his teacher, gained courage and found himself.  On face value for 99% of this movie that is true.  But, this article deftly illustrates that most of us, me included, missed an important and the underlying story line of the villains journey of realization and redemption.

Throughout the movie Johnny and his friends terrorize Daniel-san, but if we look closely we see them start to soften and realize their wrong path as their teacher becomes more and more radical.  In the last 10 to 15 minutes or so if we look past Mr. Miyagi and Daniel-san we see the redemption in some of the Cobra-kai students.  We see Bobby follow through with his teacher's terrible command to attack Daniel's leg only to beg for forgiveness and Johnny's look of horror as the sensei tells him to "Sweep the leg."  Johnny's full redemption is shown as he displays true sportsmanship by demanding to give Daniel-san the trophy and saying, "You're alright Laruso."

The martial arts are all about change.  Daniel-san found himself and changed.  Mr. Miyagi found the love of teaching again and changed.  Bobby and Johnny realized they were following the wrong master and were acting unscrupulously and changed.  A more developed ending that displayed this idea of realization, change and redemption would have seen Daniel-san, Johnny and the other students from the Cobra-kai training in Mr. Miyagi's backyard as the movie faded black to the credits.

In the martial arts, everyone seemingly good and bad has the opportunity to change.  There is no time limit or statue of limitations.  Change is a function of realization and action, but most of all it requires some level of sacrifice.  We must let go of something in order to grab hold of something else.  Every person is capable of change.  If Johnny can do it and Darth Vader can too at the end of Return of the Jedi then we can too.

Learn from your mistakes

I recently read an article on how one's mind responds to mistakes.  In a traditional martial arts there is no such thing as right or wrong, but only what can be learned.  For the teacher, every mistake is a teaching moment.  For the student it is a chance to understand themselves as they see mistakes as an opportunity to learn about themselves and change.  This is the best case scenario, but sometimes students and teachers only see the defeat in the mistake.  I know that I have from both sides.  This is wholeheartedly wrong and will only cause more unhappiness and problems.  When we make mistakes, the only thing any of us can do is forgive and try and find the lesson there. How your brain reacts to mistakes depends on your mindset

“Whether you think you can or think you can't -- you're right,” said Henry Ford. A new study, to be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that people who think they can learn from their mistakes have a different brain reaction to mistakes than people who think intelligence is fixed.

“One big difference between people who think intelligence is malleable and those who think intelligence is fixed is how they respond to mistakes,” says Jason S. Moser, of Michigan State University, who collaborated on the new study with Hans S. Schroder, Carrie Heeter, Tim P. Moran, and Yu-Hao Lee. Studies have found that people who think intelligence is malleable say things like, “When the going gets tough, I put in more effort” or “If I make a mistake, I try to learn and figure it out.” On the other hand, people who think that they can’t get smarter will not take opportunities to learn from their mistakes. This can be a problem in school, for example; a student who thinks her intelligence is fixed will think it’s not worth bothering to try harder after she fails a test.

For this study, Moser and his colleagues gave participants a task that is easy to make a mistake on. They were supposed to identify the middle letter of a five-letter series like “MMMMM” or “NNMNN.” Sometimes the middle letter was the same as the other four, and sometimes it was different. “It’s pretty simple, doing the same thing over and over, but the mind can’t help it; it just kind of zones out from time to time,” Moser says. That’s when people make mistakes—and they notice it immediately, and feel stupid.

While doing the task, the participant wore a cap on his or her head that records electrical activity in the brain. When someone makes a mistake, their brain makes two quick signals: an initial response that indicates something has gone awry—Moser calls it the “’oh crap’ response”—and a second that indicates the person is consciously aware of the mistake and is trying to right the wrong. Both signals occur within a quarter of a second of the mistake. After the experiment, the researchers found out whether people believed they could learn from their mistakes or not.

People who think they can learn from their mistakes did better after making a mistake – in other words, they successfully bounced back after an error. Their brains also reacted differently, producing a bigger second signal, the one that says “I see that I’ve made a mistake, so I should pay more attention” Moser says.

The research shows that these people are different on a fundamental level, Moser says. “This might help us understand why exactly the two types of individuals show different behaviors after mistakes.” People who think they can learn from their mistakes have brains that are tuned to pay more attention to mistakes, he says. This research could help in training people to believe that they can work harder and learn more, by showing how their brain is reacting to mistakes.

Source: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-brain-reacts-mindset.html?ref_src=email

Shoki the Demon Queller

Warriors would sometimes adorn themselves with symbols that acted like talismans to protect themselves from harm or prayer for victory.  The tsuba or sword guard was a favorite item for the samurai to personalize with these symbols. One such symbol of protection was Shoki or "Demon Queller."  Shoki (鍾馗) is a Taoist deity who was a popular art motif around the Edo period and is supposed to protect against evil.

As the story goes, Shoki was a promising young physician who dreamed of being a physician at the imperial palace.  He took the government service examination and scored 1st place.  When he was presented to the court to receive his award, the Emperor rejected him because of his extreme ugliness.  After being cast out, Shoki committed suicide.  Upon hearing about Shoki taking his own life, the Emperor overcome with guilt posthumously awarded him the title of Doctor of Zhongnanshan which is supposed to be the birthplace of Taosim and ordered him buried in imperial green.  Shoki's spirit, in appreciation, vowed to protect the Emperor from evil and thus became canonized as Shoki the Great Spiritual Chaser of Demons.  He is usually depicted wearing boots, a large scholars hat, wearing a green robe and carrying a sword while he is either stabbing or trampling on demons.

In Japan, Shoki is usually associated with Boys day and is supposed to watch over children and protect them from evil and illness.  Shoki is also a very popular symbol in Kyoto where he is used to protect buildings, temples and even protect against fire.

Be good rather than right

Do you think you know?  Having the attitude that one knows "everything" is one of the greatest barriers to learning.  "You think you know everything" was one of the admonishments that Furuya Sensei often said to me.  Then I thought it was some sort of pseudo compliment.  Today as a teacher, I can understand why it wasn't.  Having this type of self-righteousness can lead us down a path toward a slippery slope.  The slippery slope arrives when one would rather choke on their pride than admit they don't know.  With this pride comes a fall shortly thereafter Sometimes when we don't want to admit that we are wrong and we try and cover up our miss step.  I recently read an article where this phenomenon is called "overclaiming."

From Science Daily: New research reveals that the more people think they know about a topic in general, the more likely they are to allege knowledge of completely made-up information and false facts, a phenomenon known as "overclaiming." The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

In today's society, a teacher or a "master" should know all.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  The term for teacher in Japanese is sensei (先生).  The word itself translates to mean "one who comes first."  Therefore a teacher isn't the teacher because they know it all.  It is merely because they have been where you have been shortly before you.

Original story: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150720092303.htm

When you're down, it's better that you don't skip class.

 

When you're down, it's better that you don't skip class. They say exercise is the best medicine.  Nowadays, some form of movement is in just about every medical treatment protocol.  I recently read a great article which supported this assertion that exercise is the best medicine.

In this article, the author cited an interesting experiment in which participants watched a sad movie clip and afterwards were split into groups who either jogged or stretched.  After the activity, they were surveyed.  The participants who jogged were more likely to have gotten over the sad film clip than those that just stretched.

What does that tell us?  If we are feeling down or a bit under the weather, then we might want to come to class.  Getting out coupled with the rigorousness of class can help us get out from under whatever is clouding our day.  If one wanted to take it one step further, then maybe they can try starting the day out with morning class to see if it can set the tone for the day.

Either way, the best thing to do is to come to class.  It can benefit you in more ways than you think.

Source: http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/04/how-neuroscientists-explain-the-mind-clearing-magic-of-running.html

What do teachers teach?

 

Students will always come and go, it's a fact of life, but what is really important is what they learn from us in the time that they are with us.   A good teacher is then not judge by how good they are but by the lasting impression they make upon their students.

Gary Illiano sent me an interesting article written by Ted Gonder about the lessons that he has learned from his Aikido teacher, Donald Levine.  I felt that each of his points were well thought out and poignant to anyone who follows the Way.  They apply to not only Aikido, but to life as well.

How One Aikido Sensei Changed My Life (and 17 of His Life Lessons) By Ted Gonder

1. Fall down, get up. Don believed in turning the fear of falling into the love of flying. He showed us that the floor was not something to be afraid of hitting or falling onto but instead just another surface, something to be explored and embraced. By learning to fall and rebound gracefully, with minimal friction or impact, toward your intended destination, we might live more freely. Whenever I came to Don for advice about failures and struggles, he’d smile and offer: “Fall down, get up!”
2. Expect nothing, be ready for anything. In aikido, if you try to anticipate what your attacker is about to do, you open yourself up to danger because you’re living in the future rather than the present. The same is true in life: expectations open us up to danger. Any time we’re expecting one thing to happen and another does, we suffer: what are disappointment, anger, boredom, and frustration but unmet expectations? Don’s alternative was to instead remain “ready for anything”: centered, calm and alert at all times, armed with facts but aware of our limited perspective. By doing this we can avoid being surprised and always find the course of action leading to our desired results.
3. Step off the line and witness your attacker. Have you ever watched an angry person while they’re on the attack? They’re completely out of control: their pain is so overwhelming that they can’t keep it inside anymore, so they spill it onto others. Normally when you’re attacked the natural response is to run away in fear or to fight back with reciprocal anger; in aikido the first step is always to step out of the way of the attack so that you can witness your attacker. Don showed us how while witnessing our attacker, we might muster compassion and pity for this suffering, angry person. This sense of pity allows us to move past being a victim to responding with what Marcus Aurelius called “kindness and justice.”
4. Act from your center. The Eastern arts make a big deal about “the center” — a point below the belly button where all your energy comes from. Don took aikido’s practice of “getting centered” and extended it to real life situations: speeches, important conversations, negotiations. The idea is to gather yourself before acting: to relax, fix your posture, take a breath, clear your mind, ask yourself what matters most, what you value, who you’re fighting for, where you come from, where you are, where you’re headed, and how you feel. Can you imagine how the world might be different if more people took the time to “center,” or how your life might be different if you would?
5. Learn the technique to forget the technique. To get good at aikido, you have to practice the techniques so much that they become automatic, reflex. But technical proficiency doesn’t make a great aikidoist. Great aikido comes from the the transcendence of technique: to move freely and masterfully, one must forget what’s been learned. Don would repeat aikido’s founder: “Any movement, intact, can become an Aikido technique, so in ultimate terms, there are no mistakes. My advice to you: Learn and forget! Learn and forget! Make the techniques part of your being!” This principle extends to every pursuit worth mastering — music, business, chess, parenting — learn the discipline so that you can break free of it.
6. The most important practice happens off the mat. In any discipline requiring sacred space and regular practice — yoga, meditation, aikido, temple, church — the most important thing is not that you go to your Bikram class to get your fix or go to church to feel like a “good Christian” for that Sunday, but that you carry out the principles of that practice out in daily life: the real dojo. Practice “on the mat” is only to strengthen your foundation of technique and philosophy, to recenter so that you’re more capable of living out that practice “off the mat.” That’s the point of aikido or yoga or any other discipline. It’s not to get fit, or sweat a little, or check the box so you can tell your friends; it’s to become a better human being.
7. Everything is training, training is process, and process is beauty. For a while, I served as Don’s personal assistant on business matters: I’d take dictation from him on emails, run errands, clean his house, water his plants, landscape his yard. Some things — like helping write important emails to influential martial artists or political figures — I found thrilling. But a lot of what he had me do bored me to tears, especially menial tasks such as cleaning and gardening. And it showed: I’d convince myself I was done weeding his garden and he’d come out and be like “Seriously, man? You missed like a thousand spots. It’d better be done the right way when I come back in a few hours.” After several instances like that, I still wasn’t getting the message. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to muster enough enthusiasm to complete these tasks to perfection. Then one day, I attended an aikido practice in Don’s backyard, where we swung our wooden swords (boken) thousands of times in a row until our shoulders burned with lactic acid and my mind burned with boredom. After about a thousand swings, something happened: the swinging of the sword became automatic, my shoulder pain faded into the background, and I started noticing my breath, the breeze, the angle of the sun on the flowers, and the beat of my heart. I started having random epiphanies about projects and relationships. And suddenly I wanted to keep swinging the dreadful sword — extreme boredom opened a door to brief and humble enlightenment. After the session, I told Don what I’d experienced and he related the sword-swinging to menial repetitive tasks: “they’re the same. Everything is training.” He explained to me that if I could get lost in boredom-inspiring processes, I could experience more moments like this, moments where the noise of the world fades into the background and the beauty of the present moment emerges. Don taught me to fall in love with these repetitive menial tasks, to do the work. Now I love doing laundry, taking out the trash, drying dishes — it’s some of my best reflective time, it’s when my best ideas happen, and it helps me cleanse my soul and rid myself of restlessness. The same goes for driving, sitting on public transit, and waiting in line — these are meditation opportunities, not dead time. Chances to practice patience, to observe beauty.
8. Defy the instinct to look for differences, and instead seek out common ground. We as humans at the cellular level are the exact same. It’s only because of our flawed perception and personal insecurities that we seek to name one another’s differences: black, white, man, woman, tall, short, conservative, liberal. We myopically construct identity based on false perceptions, superficialities, and assumptions, so that we can form tribal alliances to survive. In reality, all this effort to identify distinctions between us only leads to that which aikido warns against: that we see each other as adversaries rather than as partners. Don had faith in humanity as a whole, saw through false labels and their consequences, and encouraged human unity. His actions spoke for themselves, and inspire me every day to look beyond what divides us toward what unites us.
9. Embrace the gray. Don believed that nothing in life was so simple as to be “black and white.” He believed the worthiest task was to navigate “the gray.” I’d sometimes share with Don my insecurities about the fact that I didn’t self-identify as a democrat or a republican, or that I didn’t have strong opinions on hot-button issues such as foreign policy (should we intervene or self-isolate?) and the macroeconomy (should taxes be high or low?). I feared that my lack of opinion might lead me to be an unengaged citizen in a time when too many citizens sit apathetically by the sidelines. Don offered comforting perspective by telling me what matters is my ability to navigate the gray and not just listen to the shrill divisive voices at the extremes. He showed me that often even more important than taking a particular side is helping people to understand that an issue might be more complex than it’s made out to be by “experts” and popular media. He pointed me to a Martin Luther King Jr. quote that has guided my thinking since: “The strong man holds in a living blend strongly marked opposites. The idealists are usually not realistic, and the realists are not usually idealistic. The militant are not generally known to be passive, nor the passive to be militant. Seldom are the humble self-assertive, or the self-assertive humble. But life at its best is a creative synthesis of opposites in fruitful harmony. The philosopher Hegel said that truth is found neither in the thesis nor the antithesis, but in the emergent synthesis which reconciles the two.”
10. It’s okay to cry. In fact, it’s manly. Coming from competitive sports and fraternity life, I’d been programmed to think that crying was a sign of weakness in men. Like many guys, I’d conditioned myself to “plug up” emotion. For as rare as it was for me to shed tears, it was rarer for me to see another man cry. So it took me by surprise when one night over Scotch, Don began crying. While sharing about his experiences in Ethiopia during the revolution, he opened up to me about the death of one of his friends, and he cried tears of sorrow. In that moment he showed real grief, sadness, and character, and in the moments and days after I couldn’t help but think of how powerful those tears were, and how stupid it is that crying is thought of as unmanly. A couple of years later, during a tumultuous time in my work, Don reached out to me to meet — he said it was urgent. We met near his house and he told me with a look of genuine concern that he was worried about how many aikido practices I was missing at the last minute due to my unpredictable flight schedule. He weeped courageously: “I don’t want to lose you, man. You’re too damn good to lose. Get it together.” His vulnerability to weep openly showed me the truth behind his words: my behavior was hurting him, he deeply cared about our relationship, and he deeply cared about my development as his student and friend. His courage then set an example for me and showed me the way: a year later, when I told him that I’d be naming my newborn son after him, I couldn’t help but hold back my own tears.
11. Attachment has power. For a while, I found it contradictory that Don was such an avid subscriber to the Asian traditions, yet decorated his house generously with artwork and other material possessions. After all, the Buddhists disbelieve in attachment to the material. So, eventually I raised the critique: “why do you have so much artwork? Why attach yourself to that? The Buddhists say that attachment is the cause of all unhappiness and suffering.” His response shut me up: “Without attachment, wouldn’t life be devoid of all meaning?” He helped me understand that even if detachment is what makes life livable, attachment is what makes life worth living.
12. The mind can travel by plane, but the heart travels by foot. Don spoke English, Amharic, French, German, and a little Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. When he was 16, he was involved in the formation of the youth United Nations — just as the real United Nations was forming. As a young Jewish college student, he went to Germany study abroad — right after WWII. Early in his career, he journeyed to Ethiopia from Chicago to New York City to Paris then along the entire African coastline by ship. He understood travel. And once as we were on a flight from Chicago to Frankfurt together before venturing through Germany for an aikido seminar, he told me “the mind can travel by plane, but the heart travels by foot.” If you want to get to know a place as you’re traveling through, recognize the intangible trade-off you make in exchange for speed. Walking and jogging put you in touch with the people and the sidewalks and the pedestrian life of a place. Bicycles, too. Buses and trains allow you to sit into a place as you pass through it, and give you the window to peer out of and watch, to ponder as you enter that space between this town and the next one. These all let your heart beat in sync with your locale. But planes don’t: planes pick you up in one place and drop you in another, more quickly than is natural — you miss the life on the way and need to settle in for days or weeks before truly syncing with the new location. Planes are good if you need to conduct a transaction, and get somewhere very far or very fast, but not if you want to “be” there.
13. Be an advocate. Don wanted his students to become better human beings as a result of their educational experience. He was an advocate for his students, on a mission to help each of us develop a voice of our own that we could use nonviolently toward human progress as we ventured forth into the world. But Don was also an advocate for those who didn’t have a voice at all. He was always working on asylum cases as an expert witness for Ethiopian refugees, people who barely spoke English or whose families had been torn apart by war, or who were caught in a bind with unfair or misinterpreted law. This was some of his most fulfilling and meaningful work, and showed me that each of us can be an advocate.
14. Be HOT. As much as Don was an academic and theorist, he was a deep believer in using his time on earth for the most pressing and interesting issues of the times. He encouraged me and others to live and work at the “Height of the Times,” to be “HOT:” to be aware of the world’s events, find relevant ways to contribute, and lead change on the edge, to ride the wave of history and contribute whatever you can to make it better than it would be without you. He took the phrase from Chapter 3 of Ortega y Gasset’s Revolt of the Masses which states “What, then, in a word is the ‘height of our times’? It is not the fullness of time, and yet it feels itself superior to all times past, and beyond all known fullness….strong…yet uncertain of its destiny; proud of its strength and at the same time fearing it.” For Don, being HOT meant helping guide major developments in the fields of social theory and Ethiopian scholarship, then helping make those practical through interdisciplinary teaching of a modern martial art. And he encouraged me not just to read the news or vote but to plug into the intelligence of my network and seek out the opportunities to truly lead change on the edge. I took his advice and ended up working on HOT issues through a Department of Homeland Security task force and on a Presidential Advisory Council.
15. Vices make us human — lighten up. Don was perfect…at being himself. Which meant he had vices. One time early in our relationship I asked him how he was dealing with the pain of a leg injury, and he admitted to me that Scotch was his painkiller of choice. How surprised I was: here was this seemingly pure master of the spiritual arts, and he was boozing to deal with the pain!? This clashed with my image of him, but after I got past my initial feelings of naive judgment, I felt drawn toward him morefor this minor vice. It made him human. Another time, he invited me to grab morning coffee together just days after he’d been diagnosed with a dangerous illness. We met at a French cafe, and I was expecting him to order something spartan like mint tea and healthy fruit; instead he got a coffee with extra cream, and a giant morning bun. At the time, I was trying to develop discipline in my own diet, and seeing my mentor eat something unhealthy made me feel conflicted about my efforts. He invited me to share in feasting on the delicious morning bun; reluctantly, I accepted his offer. As I chewed the first bites, I barely noticed its amazing taste because I felt so guilty for breaking my healthy diet, but quickly I lightened up and let go. We shared the pastry, and ate many more in the months and years after. The morning bun became a shared vice. I never ate pastries with anyone except Don, and he wasn’t a big pastry eater either, but that singular harmless vice bonded us. Had I judged him for his vices, I’d have created unnecessary separation in what would become a very close bond; instead, by embracing his vices I was able to see him as a whole human, and open space for a deeper connection.
16. Extend roots into the earth, and reach up toward the heavens. In aikido there are techniques that call upon “heaven and earth” — you disrupt your opponent’s balance by leading their attention upward and downward simultaneously: you render them top-heavy while setting their body into motion toward the floor. Don was exceptional at teaching us the value of these techniques on the mat, but even more so in life. To act from a centered place, one must be grounded, stable, humble. For this, we have to extend our roots into the ground and feel how our feet connect to the foundation upon which we stand. Don would have us take off our shoes and stand in the grass with our eyes closed, imagining that our legs had strong roots extending deep into the earth. We’d then push each other to test balance, and find that we’d become nearly impossible to topple. But to be grounded in the earth beneath us without any extension toward the heavens above us is to risk getting stuck. As trees grow toward the sky, they blossom, grow more magnificent, and give to other creatures. Don would have us reach toward the sky with yoga poses and qi gong exercises, and we’d feel our lungs expand, our mental awareness sharpen, and our energy increase. The practice of extending roots into the earth and reaching up to the heavens applies to nearly everything in life, from business meetings (ground yourself in reality while pursuing ambitious goals) to parenting (setting strong values and consistent routines while encouraging your kids to dream big).
17. Find amusement in the human comedy. Don took his work seriously but tried hard not to take himself too seriously. For as much as Don accomplished in his life, one might have thought he had all the reasons in the world to be a really “serious” guy. But he was quite the opposite. Constant falling on the aikido mat at the hands of his students helped him stay humble, always able to laugh at himself, to see himself from his own “mental balcony” and find amusement. The last words I heard from Don before he passed away were from an audio recording he sent out to a group of friends, in which he said “I continue to be amused by the human comedy.” Until the very end, Don was able to see the world clearly, and even in all his pain, crack a smile and see the humor in it all.

Source: http://observer.com/2016/01/how-one-aikido-sensei-changed-my-life-and-17-of-his-life-lessons/

Do you have ikigai?

 

Martial artists are people who live their lives with ikigai (生き甲斐) or a sense of purpose.

In the Book of Five Rings, Miyamoto Musashi wrote, "Do nothing which is of no use."

With Musashi's assertion in mind this leads us to believe that we must live our lives for something.  That something is ikigai.  Someone poignantly defined ikigai as "The reason that gets you out of bed in the morning."

The average person is someone who is usually caught between two masters: one who dictates how they use their time and the other which uses that time up.  Martial artists are people who live their lives with ikigai and thus choose how they want to live their lives.

With an understanding of one's ikigai then we can understand things like gaman or perseverance, isshokenmei or hard work and konjo or will-power.  These three things powered by ikigai are what makes a martial artist a martial artist.

Martial artist think differently

Martial artists are supposed to be a cut above normal people.  They follow a straighter path in life where they are supposed to act and behave differently but most of all they are supposed to think differently. In the 2008 Olympics there was a controversy centered around swimmers Michael Phelps and Milorad Cavic as to who won the gold medal in the 100m Butterfly race.  Michael Phelps reached out and touched the touch pad one-hundredth of a second faster than Milorad Cavic.  How does one train physically for that?  The answer is that they don't.  At one's highest peak physical state the difference between winning and losing is so close that the only error lies in their mental training.  Therefore, a martial artist not only masters their bodies but they must also master their minds too.

Have you ever wondered if your mind is normal?  Well, do this little mind exercise and find out if you are "normal"?

Check out the following exercise, guaranteed to raise an eyebrow. There's no trick or surprise. Just follow these instructions, and answer the questions one at a time and as quickly as you can. Again, as quickly as you can but don't advance until you've done each of them...really.

Now, scroll down (but not too fast, you might miss something)...

> > > > > What is: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > 1+5 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > 2+4 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > 3+3 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > 4+2 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > 5+1 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

Now repeat saying the number 6 to yourself as fast as you can for 15 seconds. Then scroll down.

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > QUICK! THINK OF A VEGETABLE! Then arrow down. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Keep going. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > You're thinking of a carrot, right? > > > >

If not, you're among the 2% of the population whose minds are different enough to think something else. 98% of people will answer with carrot when given this exercise.

This week in May is National Teacher Appreciation Week

Here is a picture of Furuya Sensei throwing me on the cover of Martial Arts Ultimate Warriors. This week in May is National Teacher Appreciation week.

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." - Buddhist saying

We are because of some other person's efforts.  None of us exists in a vacuum.  It is easy to think, "I did it all by myself" but that is naive.

The truth is that we are all a product of someone else's efforts.

We often think that we only learn from our parents and our teachers but the truth is that every person we meet can potentially teach us something.  "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear" is a great adage that illustrates that if we have the willingness and openess to learn then anyone or anything can be our teacher.  How powerful could we all become if we adpoted this mindset?

Please take some time out today to give thanks to all the people who have taught you something.