"With our thoughts, we make the world." - Unknown

"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world." - Unknown

I am often asked, "What is the best way to learn?"  Truth be told, there is no substitute for going to class.

One should do their best to be present and focused as to what is being taught when one is in class.  The two basic ways to be a better learner is to listen carefully and watch diligently.

Listening carefully seems obvious but how many of us actually drift off.  I know I do and it can be a constant struggle to keep my ears from tuning out.  Listening carefully enables us to "hear" what is being taught.

Watching diligently shouldn't be that hard but like listening, we also sometimes zone out and miss what the teacher is teaching.  Our eyes glaze over and we actually don't see what is being taught.  Watching diligent enables us to "see" what is being taught.

Listening and watching are a given as to what is necessary to learn, but just because we understand their importance doesn't mean we can do it.

One of the best ways to listen carefully and watch diligently is to use active positive self-talk.  When the teacher demonstrates the technique, follow along in your mind and say the steps to yourself using the same cuing or directions that the teacher is emphasizing.  The words or cuing we use should be short one to two words per step.  For instance, the teacher says, "Slide in, turn, step back." As you watch the demonstration, you mutter the words silently to yourself.  With this type of self-talk, we are  imprinting the technique into our minds with the proper steps.

This active talk actually enables us to engage our minds, clarify the right behavior and decrease the amount of negative chatter in our minds (notice I used the word positive before).  "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world" is an often miss-attributed to the Buddha but it's still appropriator here.  Using active positive self-talk enables us to learn Aikido properly and thus make our own world. 

So when you talk to yourself, what do you say?  Be mindful to be active but also to be kind and compassionate to yourself as well.

Fight one more round!

“Fight one more round. When your feet are so tired that you have to shuffle back to the centre of the ring, fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired you wish your opponent would crack you one on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round – remembering that the man who always fights one more round is never whipped.” - James "Gentleman Jim" Corbett

Don't ever give up.  A warrior's greatest asset is their ability to preserve and over come the odds.  Gentleman Jim's assertion could be the warrior's inner dialogue which drives them to the finish.  Perseverance, drive and commitment are those things which cannot be taught and are only learned along the way.

Mark Twain once wrote, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."  When things are rough and seemingly not going our way it really does comes down to the size of the fight in our hearts and warriors never give up!

Nobody said it was going to be easy...

七転び八起き Nanakorobi yaoki Fall down seven times and stand up eight

Furuya Sensei used to say, "To step off the path even a step takes a million miles to get back."  The hardest part about the Way is living it.  Living the Way means living our lives with conviction by a set of rules, boundaries or codes of conduct that we will do our best not to break.  Being resolved to live a certain way is easy to say but extremely hard to do.  It is easy to say, "I don't do" this thing or that thing but quite another to put it into practice.  The samurai referred to this practice of conviction as bushi no ichi-gon or "a warrior says one thing."  This warriors code dictates that we are resolved to make our actions, words and thoughts be in alignment with each other.  The honest truth is that I probably spend more time failing and stepping off the path than I do staying on the path, but that is human nature.

The proverb "Fall seven times and stand up eight" is usually depicted with a Daruma doll that has kind of a wobbly shape called okiagari in Japanese.  Oki means to get up and agari means to rise.  None of us are perfect, but what we can be perfect at is getting back up once we have fall down- Aikido can be thought of as the physical manifestation of this practice.

There is only one defeat and that is giving up.  At any given moment, we get the chance to do it better.  We can choose to step back on the path and choose to do better.  For me, my personal mantra is "I seek only to improve" and that helps me get back up and dust myself off and begin again.  That is all any of us have and that is all any of us need - the courage to try again.  One of the few things that separates humans from animals is the opportunity to change.  The lion doesn't have a choice to stalk, kill and eat his prey- it is in his nature.  It is in our nature to change, adapt and overcome.  It is in our nature to be better.  The Way is hard, but nobody said it was easy.

It can be hard, its supposed to be

 

The secret to success - Don't give up, just keep going.

Doesn't matter what we are doing or for what reason.  The only way to succeed is to never give up.  In Japanese this is called gaman (我慢).  To gaman is to patiently preserve in order to see something to its end.

It is sooo easy to quit when something become difficult or uncomfortable.  What people who quit don't know is that the obstacle is the path.  The obstacle sheds light on the real path and is there to teach us something about ourselves.  If we quit, then we miss that golden opportunity.

I know it can be hard, its supposed to be.  Only through the challenge can we truly change.

Let it be

 

"Everything is connected.  There are no coincidences." - Unknown

All around us are the signs or signals helping to push us in the right direction in life.  These signs are called synchronicities or as most people just call them "coincidences."  The problem is that most times we are completely unaware of their presence.  Every once in awhile I stumble upon one of them and I am always in awe and humbled when I do.

The other day as I was prepping to pick up a high ranking well known visitor who was coming to teach at our dojo and I was rushing around and starting to stress out. As I got into the car and started driving to the airport a song came on the radio that caught my attention.  I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I actually hadn't even noticed that the radio was on.

The song that came on was Let It Be by the Beatles (Now mind you I am not even a Beatles fan).  The Let it be part of the song caught my subconscious and it was one of those head turning moments.  I stopped thinking about all the trials and tribulations ahead and just focused on listening to the song.  Strangely I found that the song spoke to me.

When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be And in my hour of darkness She is standing right in front of me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be Let it be, let it be Let it be, let it be Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

It helped to remind me what Aikido is all about.  Let it be is harmony.  While I was waiting at the airport I Googled the song's origin and came upon an interview with Paul McCartney where he described the origin of the song.  At the time of the song's creation, Paul felt a bit disillusioned and lost in his life.  One night in a dream his mother who had passed away came to him and said in a gentle reassuring way, "Let it be."  When he awoke he felt a sense of calm and the message that he took away from the dream was: Be gentle, don’t fight things, just try and go with the flow and it will all work out.  I was surprised because these ideas are the essence of Aikido.

Ideally, the secrets to the universe are all around us.  We just have the awareness to see them.  It's not something that you have to force.  Just let it be and they will come.

If you want to read the entire article, please click the link below. Let it be

Today is National Simplicity Day.

Today is National Simplicity Day. From the outside looking in all martial arts look very simple.  However, when we delve into them, we realize that they are actually quite complex.

When something is simple but complex, in Japanese it is called kanso ( 簡素).  For something to be kanso it must be almost outwardly simple yet be internally complex.

Most martial arts are this way.  They are always designed to be economical yet they are layered in such a way that it makes them complex.

Human beings are the same way.  When we judge people by their outward appearance, actions or speech, we run the risk of seeing them to simplistically.  We are all much deeper than we appear.

Today, as we celebrate National Simplicity day, please don't forget to look a bit deeper beyond the surface.  Henry David Thoreau said, “In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.”

Challenges help us change

 

"Those that seek the easy way do not seek the true Way." - Dogen

The fact of the matter is that training in the martial arts presents challenges.  There is no such thing as a prodigy.  No one wakes up or is born just "knowing."  Each of us has to put in the time, energy and work - no one is immune.

When we are presented with a situation that is difficult or challenging we have two ways of looking at it.  The first, and healthiest way, is too see it as an opportunity.  The second, and less healthy way, is to see it as some type of burden or as a oppressive catastrophe.

Challenges help us change.  Nobody ever improves themselves by playing it safe.

So, it is not that change needs to come by way of challenge.  It is just how we are wired as human beings.  When things are good, we tend to not look inward.  There is an old sports saying that is pertinent, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn."

Warriors are people who deal in change and their currency is challenge.  To improve anything, one needs to first look upon a challenge as an opportunity for growth and ultimately necessary for change.  Warriors of old understood that adversity is the necessary building block of character.

Change requires challenge and challenge causes change.

Do you choose?

I Choose…

to live by choice, not by chance; to make changes, not excuses; to be motivated, not manipulated; to be useful, not used; to excel, not to compete. I choose self-esteem, not self-pity. I choose to listen to my inner voice, Not the random opinion of others.

I choose to be me.

- Author unknown

Martial artists are people of choice.  This quote could be the mantra of the martial artist.

We choose this path (the Way) which dictates that we be people of stature.  Thus we are steadfast in not only our beliefs but in our conduct too.

The road of the warrior is not well traveled.  We are the people that we are because we choose to follow the way of the warrior.  What do you choose?

The path to the Dark side

 

"Fear is the path to the Dark side.  Fear leads to anger.  Anger leads to hate.  Hate leads to suffering." -Yoda

In these turbulent times, please don't forget your training.

To follow the Way is to follow the path of equanimity.  Anger, hatred and violence only lead to more suffering.  Usually we are the ones who suffers in the end.

A true warrior must never let themselves be consumed by their emotions because as Yoda said, "It is the path to the Dark side."

A true warrior strives to get to a place called heijoshin or the everyday or ordinary mind.  To get to this place of equanimity one needs training.  We cannot get there sitting at home waiting for the day to arrive.  We must be proactive and challenge ourselves head on.  Anything else is just delusion.

The greatest things are accomplished by ordinary people

 

Furuya Sensei believed that Aikido is egalitarian - open to anyone willing to put in the work.

When we think about accomplishment, sometimes we think that only people with super-human like gifts are able to reach the highest pinnacles.  Sometimes this is true in that the JFK's of the world with the opportunity, pedigree and prowess are successful.

However, in more times than not, the person who reaches the highest summit is usually just a seemingly average person, but under that ordinary exterior they posses the drive, determination and perseverance to succeed.

Strong, fast, young, athletic, flexible, good-looking or wealthy doesn't get one out of bed nor does it motivate them to go to class especially when they don't want to.  The catalyst for success is a mixture of having the drive to go and do something, the determination to do it and the perseverance to keep going in spite of obstacles.  Drive, determination and perseverance know no gender, age, athleticism, or socioeconomic background.

We are all the same - we all suffer, are all lonely, are all insecure and we all must put in the work to accomplish something.  Aikido is egalitarian because only those seemingly ordinary people who are willing to put themselves out there, put in the work and keep going despite the odds get good.

Mokuso - to look inward in silent contemplation

 

Before class begins, students should clear their minds so that they are ready to learn.  To clear one's mind and look inward in silent contemplation is called mokuso (黙想).  Here is a nice article written by Furuya Sensei about the need to be in right mindset in order to learn.

Enjoy!

Look & Listen by Rev. Kensho Furuya

Nowadays, I don't think there is anything more important in practice than to look hard and listen carefully.  One must not only focus on their teacher but also be aware of everything around that is happening in practice and in the dojo which might be related to practice. When it comes to idle gossip and chit-chat, just run away as fast as you can! But even the slightest hint of instruction, clue or hint to improve your practice, catch it right away and don't lose it or forget it!

This is a very important skill to develop, not only for one’s Aikido, but in every aspect of daily life.

More often than not, people do not understand because of what they are hearing or seeing is too difficult to understand.  This is merely because they are not listening closely enough or seeing hard enough. Much of the time, we are so filled with our own ideas and conclusions that there is no room in their heads for anything else. Much of the time, however, we are just not there in the present. Many times, good Aikido is just the result of paying attention and following the instructions and practicing earnestly, sincerely and with awareness.

Don't bring the outside inside

Whenever you enter a dojo or a Japanese person's home we are kindly asked to leave our shoes in the genkan or front entrance way.  From a practical standpoint, we are being asked not to bring in the dirt from the outside.  From a dojo standpoint, we are being asked to leave the outside world at the door. This simple act is actually a martial arts training metaphor - don't bring the outside inside.  The teaching we are trying to actualize is creating this calm demeanor inside that is not disturbed by anything from the outside.  Nothing should disturb us when we are confronted by an opponent.

To not let anything outside of us affect the inside of us is very difficult to achieve.  In Buddhism, it is called equanimity and in swordsmanship it is called the non-abiding mind.  A dojo is place where we get to go and work on our equanimity and thus the environment needs to be free of outside distractions.  Furuya Sensei used to say, "Cut off your head and leave it outside the door."

In the beginning we try and leave the outside world outside, but later as we improve we  try and manifest what we learned in the dojo in the outside world.  If we can do that then we can get to a place in our lives where we don't need to "react" and thus can act appropriately to the situation.  If one can get to a point where they can observe their opponent and not react then you will have taken the first step toward what the Buddhists call mushin or no-mind which is one of the highest states of consciousness in not only Buddhism, but in the martial arts too.

To travel toward a state of mushin, begin by leaving the outside world and all its problems and stresses outside.  As Sensei used to say, "Only bring what is good from the outside into the dojo and then only take what is good inside the dojo and apply it to your life outside of the dojo."  This is how studying the martial arts makes you a better person.

Becoming a better martial artist begins with taking off our shoes before we enter the dojo leaving the outside world outside.  Please don't let the outside affect your inside.

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. - Joseph Campbell

"There is nothing noble in being superior to some other person. True nobility is being superior to your former self."  ~Hindu proverb

It is said that all paths lead to the same top of the mountain.  This Hindu proverb has the same connotation as O Sensei's, Masakatsu, Agatsu or "The true victory is the victory over one's self."  The only real opponent that exists is you.  This can be a hard concept for some to realize.  For many it takes a long time to fully realize let alone actualize.  We are sometimes our own worst enemies.  When we can realize this, the real battle begins and that opponent knows all of our moves and tricks.

How do we begin this battle?  This hard fought battle begins with first accepting that the only opponent that exists is you.  Secondly we now have to undertake the journey within.  Mythologist Joseph Campbell referenced this journey when he said,  "The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek."  This was the basis for the scene in Empire Strike's Back where Luke enters the cave on Dagobah.  Next, the battle begins as we struggle with the truths of who we are and who we have become.  It is a struggle because some of those things may be painful or uncomfortable.  Finally, we come to a place where we have to let go.  We let go because the resistance we put forth will become too heavy of a burden.   At this final stage we should feel a bit lighter as the burdens we have carried for so long are lifted.  When the battle is through the things that burdened us or blurred the path will no longer be relevant and thus we can now move freely.  This unencumbered movement is the goal of every great martial art and that is why O Sensei said, Masakatsu, Agatsu  or that "The true victory is the victory over one's self."

Photo credit:Joey Mason Art

It's Shoganai

"It's shoganai." How Elie Wiesel responded is similar to the Japanese concept of shoganai.  Shogani roughly translates with almost a shrug of indifference as "It couldn't be helped."

Years ago, I asked Furuya Sensei about his family's experience during World War II and the internment camps.  I asked him, "What was it like for them?"  With a shrug he said, "It was shoganai" and then he didn't say another word about it.

Shoganai isn't a nihilist way of looking at life.  It is a Japanese perspective similar to Elie Wiesel's after losing all of his money to Bernie Madoff.  Shoganai enables the Japanese to maintain balance where the don't let the adversity of the situation change them one way or another.

Saying, "shogani" enables them to accept the circumstance and move on.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/elie-wiesel-responded-losing-life-230108873.html

Got balance

 

Happy July 1st!  Welcome to the literal and figurative halfway point of the year.

On this specific day of the year, we have the unique occasion of having one foot in the past and one foot in the future.

This idea of being in the middle makes one think of balance especially when it comes to living our lives.  Obvious questions might be "Did we get done what we hoped on January 1st" or "What do we still want to get do?"

Having it all means having a balance between all the elements that make up our lives: work, family, social, and pursuits like Aikido training.

Furuya Sensei said, "Training is like brushing one's teeth - it must be done daily."  With that in mind each aspect of our lives like work, family, social, and training are like each one of our individual teeth which must be brushed daily.  We cannot make any single one more important than the others - each deserves its just desert.

Life has a way of getting in the way, but if we let any one aspect over take any other then balance is lost.  Albert Einstein said, "Life is like riding a bicycle.  To keep your balance, you must keep moving."  Keeping moving means doing our best to strike a balance between our work, families, social obligations, and, of course, training.

Aikido training teaches us that life is a matter of balance.  What we want out of life depends on what we put into it.  Balance requires that we put a little here, take a little away from there in a constant process of evaluation.

Today is the beginning of the rest of the year.  How will you maintain your balance?

Polish your soul first

Yaki tachi wo saya ni osamete, masumasu masurao no kokoro wo togari keri "Before you draw your tempered blade, keep it in its saya and polish your soul first."

What a great Japanese proverb.  It doesn't say anything about kicking butt, winning medals or smashing people.  This seemingly succinct statement sums up what training in the martial arts is really all about - developing one's self.

Picture source: https://about.me/flaviogallozzi

Kogun Funtou - to fight alone

 

Kogun funtou 孤軍奮闘 To fight alone

In the end, nobody really exists but you.  In philosophy this idea that no other mind exists is called Solipsism.  I'm not trying to get all nihilistic here nor am I speaking about oneness in a narcissistic sense but what this idiom means is that when it comes down to it we are alone in our efforts.  No one is coming to save us or going to make us better - it is solely our job to get it done.

Training in the martial arts is a solitary pursuit.  We are influenced by our classmates and our teachers, but the improvements we acquire are ours alone and with that being said solely under our own power.  Rarely can anyone provoke us to get out of bed or off the couch and go to class.  Most times, we make an active choice to improve our lives by going out and pursuing that thing that we want.

There is an African saying, "If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together."  Kogun funtou is the first part of this saying in that to get what we want we must do it under our own power.  However, true change and lasting tranquility is only acquired when we share ourselves with other people.  In other words, it is only when another human being enters into our world is humanity truly created.  It is the same with art - it only becomes "art" when it is shared with the world.

In Aikido, this is where we come to understand the interdependent cycle of humanity.  We cannot improve if we don't do it under our own power, but man cannot evolve unless we share ourselves with others.

"Don’t use your gifts poorly” - Sawaki Kodo

Sometimes, we find something that says it better than we do.  This case is one of them.  Sawaki Kodo or "Homeless Kodo" was a Soto Zen Buddhist monk who died in 1965.  He was a favorite of Furuya Sensei's and many of his books can be found in Sensei's library. Sawaki Kodo's words, "Don’t use your gifts poorly” really resonate with me.  I hope that his article somehow inspires you.

Good and Bad By Sawaki Kodo

The human race is set apart by their intelligence and their manual dexterity. With these, they can build all sorts of machines. They also like to fight one another and they use language with skill. Put simply, humans have been given many talents. Unfortunately, it seems not many use these faculties well.

The saying goes, “Don’t use your gifts poorly.” I would even say that it is essential to do everything possible to use our talents to the best. A fraud makes bad use of his talents, so does a loan-shark, and so does the man with three sets of holiday homes and mistresses! Each one of us in our own way is an example of badly used talent. Starting with myself, when I look closely I see I am mediocre too. Those whose paths are without error are extremely rare.

Making the best of your abilities-this is to identify yourself with Buddha or God.

I would say that before anything else, you must know yourself to the core. Then make manifest the best in yourself and cut the passions which make us tend to use ourselves poorly. Like this, holding the sharpened sword of wisdom, we climb our own summit, to the peak of light that contains the entire universe. “Seizing the sword of wisdom” means taking human capacities to their highest potential.

One day, a long time ago, someone saw Sariputra urinating in a field. The man who saw him had such a powerful experience that he put his hands together and did sampai. The story says that at that instant he saw the true nature of Buddha.

It seems that just seeing Sariputra in the posture of urinating naturally inspired deep respect. Whether we are doing zazen or reading sutras, we should summon respect. The same goes for all our daily gestures, like eating or urinating, which we don’t generally pay much attention to. This way infinite benefits flow from each instant of our daily life-like dragons and elephants who stomp and play without ever needing to hear the Dharma.

When I look back on my life, I see I could have been anything. When I was young, I thought of doing many different things. Is it just chance that I became a monk and dedicated all my energies to that? I could have worked on the railroads. All day long I’d throw my pick to dig the earth; and when I’d leave at night, I’d drink lots of sake. I would have liked this life, since it would have been my life. I could have been a singer (I don’t know if I’d be any good), or a storyteller. I could have become anything, a good guy, or a crook. A life is like a vise, it can hold this or that, it has many uses. The same goes for illusions or satori.

Mount Fuji is considered a big mountain, but seen from the top of the Himalayas, it seems pretty small. They say the Pacific is huge, but it’s only a part of the globe. Seen from the universe, it looks like a footbath. (It’s not even unfathomable; we know how deep it is). It is difficult to imagine man as a miniscule little animal. Seen with a microscope, an amoeba looks like a diver swimming at the bottom of the sea. She can’t even see the edges of the slide she moves on, to her it’s as big as the Pacific Ocean. To say that something is big or small is to look with a defective vision. It’s up to us to look at our world differently.

What really makes them happy, these little humans in their miniscule little world? They like to have a good time and get presents. They consider a birth a happy event (though it could be a disaster if the baby is deformed or becomes a good for nothing), and that a marriage is cause for congratulations (though they don’t know if the groom won’t end up to be an incurable drunk). Joy and suffering are relative ideas, indefinite and deceiving. Nothing allows anyone to say with any certainty that this event is happy and that one unhappy. The good carries in it the bad, and vice-versa. So:

Truth is without foundation, the root of illusion is empty.

In abandoning having and not having, the non-empty becomes empty.

The whole universe is contained in those two verses.

The good and the bad have never existed. So Shinran’s remark stands true:

Don’t be proud of virtue, Don’t be afraid of the bad.

All humans, without exception, are neither good nor bad.

How badly do you want it?

 

Mitori-geiko (見取り稽古) is a style of learning used in Japanese traditional arts.

Mitori-geiko literally translates as mitori or "to sketch" and geiko or "to practice" but the nuanced  meaning is to learn something by watching and copying.

Today, most martial arts are experiential in nature in that one needs to do them to learn them.  However, this hands-on type of learning wasn't the case for centuries.

In the past most students learned mitori-geiko style in which their teachers didn't actually let them do the art for a long period of time.  Most had to clean and care for the teacher for a long  time and just watch the teacher perform the art.  After a long period of time, which I think was to vet the student's dedication, earnestness, honesty and loyalty, the teacher started to actually "teach" the student and allow them to do the art.

Today especially in the west, we don't have that luxury for a myriad of reasons to do that.  Students want to do the art and not just watch.  However, sometimes a special opportunity arises for a student to take their training, for a short period of time, back down this traditional route.

Usually this happens when a student gets injured or can't physically practice.  When a student gets injured, they usually don't come to class.  However, if a student is dedicated enough then they will show up and watch.  Most think this is somehow beneath them so most don't do this.  If a student does show up and mitori-geiko then they get the opportunity to, as they say in martial arts, develop their eye.  To develop one's eye means to learn how to see things from this art's perspective.  From this vantage point a wealth of information opens that might have been hidden while one was in the act of doing it.

In this world, our perspective is determined by how we "see" the world.  We can either choose to see something as a benefit or a detriment.  Looking at an injury as just another "way" to train enables us to use it for our own benefit.

Mitori-geiko is a wonderful opportunity to use an adversity in a positive way as we develop our eye and possibly see something that we have never seen before while at the same time demonstrating our true dedication.

Comfort is the enemy of achievement

 

Furuya Sensei teaching a beginners bokken class in the old dojo.

Day 2 of our Weapons seminar.

Please pay attention and work hard, but most of all don't be so hard on yourself.  Showing up is  half the battle.  If we show up, we are already 50% better than the person who didn't.  So even if we learned only one thing we are miles of ahead of the average person who is still sleeping in their bed.  Remember, comfort is the enemy of achievement.

Tonight we are having a party at the dojo.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  If you are reading this, I would love for you to come.  Let it go and come by. 6:00 PM 1211 N. Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012