Be Fearless

Dojo Message

大上段に振りかぶって

Daijodan ni furikabutte
Be fearless

A warrior knows that bravado isn’t bravery. A warrior is supposed to be brave, have courage, but never exhibit bravado. Bravery is a character trait and a person is “being” brave when they do something without fear. Courage is a choice and we “have” courage when we do something despite feeling afraid. A person has bravado when they do things with the sole purpose of impressing others. Some people are brave, others choose to have courage and some people only have bravado when others are around. Bravery and courage come from a powerful place deep within us. In swordsmanship they say, “daijodan ni furikabutte” which translates as, “raise your sword overhead,” but it is supposed to mean, “To be fearless.” A samurai is only supposed to draw their sword with the intention to kill. Thus, drawing one’s sword and raising it overhead to the jodan no kamae position is supposed to be the highest expression of this intention and so a person must be “fearless.” Bravado comes from our egos and a smaller place within us. When we don’t feel good about ourselves, we seek validation and we want people to like us, so we tend to boast, brag or show off to impress them. Acting this way only shows the smallness of our character. Anyone can talk a good game or show off, but only a real warrior can be brave or have courage. Furuya Sensei was fond of the expression, “rin byo to sha kai jin retsu zai zen” which means “The bravest warrior excels at the front of the battlefield.” Many times, the only person who will know if we are brave or courageous is ourselves. To overcome life’s obstacles takes more than empty words or gestures. A warrior doesn’t really know if they are full of bravado or if they can be brave or have courage. A person will only know who they are when the time comes, and their metal is tested.

Today’s goal: Ask yourself, “Do you know the difference between bravery and bravado?”

Read this post or other message posts here: Dojo Message http://www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

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Warrior Training Reveals One's Self

地鉄が出る
Jigane ga deru 
The steel appears or to reveal one’s true character

A warrior polishes themselves to reveal their true character. With every cut, a warrior reveals their true nature. In the making of a Japanese sword, it is the sword polisher which reveals the true beauty and sharpness of the blade. The polishing of a sword reveals its steel or “jigane ga deru” which the Japanese interpret to mean “to reveal one’s true character.” In warrior training it is the same, our true greatness is only revealed as we polish ourselves and remove our rougher outer layers. As we try to “build” ourselves we can accidentally become burdened by desire, stress, or other baggage because we believe that we need to add something to become complete. That is why the process of developing one’s self can actually be thought of like the beauty of a sword that can only be revealed by a process of subtracting all that which was unnecessary or irrelevant. In Buddhism and in budo, one goal is to return to a mindset of heijoshin (平常心) or the “original or ordinary mind” which was the mind that we were born with before conditioning and circumstances formed us. The bumps and bruises of life become that which clouds our true nature and so we struggle to develop ourselves, learn new things or act decisively. In practice, with every punch, cut or throw practiced, we are polishing ourselves by a process of learning to let go which in turn teaches to let go of that which is causing us to fail. Therefore, budo training is not a process of becoming or adding to ourselves because we are incomplete, but a process of taking away to reveal our true nature. Training enables the warrior to reveal their greatness and ultimately act with mindfulness, precision and efficiency. Practice not to attain, but to take away and reveal your true inner self.   

Today’s goal: What you are holding on to that needs to be let go of?

A Warrior Overcomes Adversity

雨降って地固まる
Amefuttechikatamaru
After rain falls, the ground hardens

A warrior overcomes adversity. Long ago in Japan during the Hogen Rebellion of 1156, there was an archer of great strength who supposedly sunk a ship with just one well-placed arrow. That archer was Minamoto no Tametomo and he was said to be the greatest archer in the history of Japan. Tametomo didn’t start out as a great archer. On the contrary, he was born with a genetic defect and people must have thought that he’d never amount to anything because of this irregularity. One of Tametomo’s arms was four inches longer and slimmer than the other, which was shorter, but much larger. This defect could have made his childhood difficult and possibly make him feel self-conscious. However, as the legend clearly shows us, Tametomo used his adversity to make himself great. In Japanese they say, “ame futte chi katamaru” or “After rain falls, the ground hardens.” In battle and in life, some are sinkers, and some are swimmers. No matter what we do in life, a little rain will fall. Adversity will always be there in some way, shape or form. The problem is not adversity itself, but the effect it has on us. Adversity has a way of showing us just who we really are. Training does the same thing as we are challenged sometimes by the technique while other times by the strength or speed of our partner. Regardless, adversity provides us with the opportunity to surmount challenges and grow. These trials give us an opportunity to show just how good we really are. Rise to the challenge, don’t allow yourself to sink. We don’t know what heights our adversities will take us. All we know is that it is showing us the way and that is why a warrior overcomes adversity.

Today’s goal: Where has adversity taken you to? Allow it make you and don’t let it break you.

A Warrior Practices Gratitude

艱難にいって友をしる
Kannan ni itte tomo wo shiru
In hardships, you know your friends.

“Fellow samurai must support each other. We are never so keenly grateful for the kindness of others as when we have fallen on hard times.” - Oishi, The Loyal 47 Ronin - Chushingura

I appreciate everyone who came out to train with us on our first day back. Thank you all very much.

A warrior practices gratitude. Battles are never won by just one person. Every great tale has a hero, but it also features a cast of characters who are working hard and sacrificing themselves so that the hero can be successful. Robin Hood had his Merry Men, Luke had Han Solo, Chewbaca, C3PO and R2D2, and there were 47 Ronin. Understanding this, success is only a function of each person’s selflessness and generosity or in other words how much they think of others. Thinking of others can be easily summed up as harmony. Harmony requires selflessness, kindness, generosity, graciousness, and forgiveness. As we develop ourselves, the beginning levels are mostly physical and because of that it is easy for our smaller self or ego to come out and thus we act selfishly or self-centered. However, as we evolve, we realize that the path towards our greater self requires us to think or put others first. In many ways, the coronavirus is teaching us about harmony and humanity and many of us are learning the true meaning of gratitude and appreciation and the real value of kindness. In Japanese it is said, “Kannan ni itte tomo wo shiru” or “In hardships, you know your friends.” It’s true that we only really know ourselves and who are friends are when we are at our lowest. A warrior realizes that the road to true inner peace is paved with gratitude and that is why a warrior practices gratitude. Thank you all for all you do!

Today’s goal: Do your best to show true gratefulness 10 times today.

A Warrior Only Seeks To Know Contentment

A warrior seeks only to know contentment. Martial arts training teaches us about how to employ leverage. Leverage means moving something with the least amount of effort which will bring the greatest return. Leverage is then about knowing what is sufficient and sufficiency is about balance or contentment. The famous samurai, Date Masamune once said, “Rectitude carried to excess hardens into stiffness; benevolence indulged beyond measure sinks into weakness.” Masamune’s quote is about striking a balance between strength and suppleness. When we train, we realize that the only real opponent is ourselves and so life’s real path is inner peace. At Ryoanji temple in Kyoto, there is a famous tsukubai or stone “washbasin” that was donated by the feudal lord Tokugawa Mitsukuni. On the face of the stone basin there are kanji characters which are surrounding a square 口. The ideographs alone don’t mean anything, but when combined with the square口 which means kuchi or “mouth”  the characters become 吾, 唯, 足, 知 which translates as “I only know contentment” or ware tada taru wo shiru. Through training, we learn that the only thing to strive for is inner peace and not the outside world of competition, acquiring and materialism. The more we train, the more efficient our movements become, but at the same time we become more at ease. We become more at ease because our desire for external gratification becomes less and our inner desire for peace or calmness increases. Thus, as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Nobody can bring peace but yourself.” Warrior training is about learning to be content with what we have and who we are as opposed to having what we want. Therefore, a real warrior only seeks contentment.    

Today’s goal: Reflect on what you have done lately which created contentment.

Even Specks of Dust When Piled Up Can Become Mountains

塵も積もれば山となる
Chiri mo tsumoreba yama to naru
Even specks of dust if piled up can become mountains.

A warrior always strives for continuous improvement. It is thought that only about 8% of people ever achieve their goals and some statistics reveal that less than 2% people ever achieve a black belt. Most fail not because they themselves are bad or flawed, but because their methodology is poor. Some Japanese believe that the loftier the goal, the smaller the steps should be. Strolling towards one’s goals can sometimes be more effective. A Japanese method of continuous improvement is referred to as kaizen (改善) or “good change.” Kaizen is a systematic approach that is based upon common sense, self-discipline, order and economization and it can be summed up as the plan-do-check-act method. Here are the 10 principles of Kaizen:    

1. Continuously improve everything.
2. Challenge outdated concepts.
3. Make things happen not excuses.
4. Don’t assume that things will work just because they did before.
5. If something is wrong, fix it.
6. Empower everyone to take part in problem solving.
7. Get information and opinions from multiple people.
8. Before making decisions, ask “why” five times to get to the root cause.
9. Be economical with your time and money.
10. Remember that improvement has no limits. Never stop trying to improve.

Budo is a journey filled with ups and downs. If we become too attached with the ups, then any low point can sink our efforts. Thus, we should not measure ourselves by the big accomplishments, but by the smaller victories. In Kaizen, it is believed that little things can become big things. For instance, one kaizen weight loss advocate suggested that a person start by doing jumping jacks during TV commercials. Thus, if we start small and methodical, then we can create good habits which will snowball and eventually lead to success. With the kaizen method, even specks of dust can pile up and eventually become mountains and that is how a warrior can strive for continuous improvement.

Today’s goal: What small steps can you make toward achieving your goals?  

A Warrior Always Prepares Themselves

A warrior always prepares themselves. If somehow, we knew that today was our last and that when we closed our eyes that it would be for good, what would we do differently? A warrior would try and live every moment to its fullest. Warriors don’t love death. On the contrary, they learn how to live knowing that they are going to die. Embracing life, a warrior would spend a few moments affirming their day and planning it out. In the Hagakure, Yamamoto Tsunetomo wrote, “Rehearse your death every morning and night. Only when you constantly live as though already dead will you be able to find freedom in the martial way and fulfill your duties without fault throughout your life.” This is not unlike a speech given by Admiral McRaven who advocated that making one’s beds is the first step towards changing the world. He said, “By making your bed, you will have accomplished the first task of the day.” This supports the idea that by preparing ourselves for our day, we can fully live and ultimately be successful. He also said, that “If by chance that you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is already made, that you made, and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.” By being prepared, a warrior not only sets themselves up to have a successful day, but it also ensures that there will be a tomorrow. In budo, they say, sonaearebaureinashi (備えあれば憂いなしなし) or that “If you fully prepare, you need not worry.” If today is your last day, don’t waste it. As Alice Earle once wrote, “The clock is running. Make most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” Whether we like it or not, our clocks are ticking and that is why a warrior always prepares themselves.  

Today’s goal: Today is the last day. What will you do?

Watch Admiral McRaven’s speech. The second one is the shortened version

A Warrior Appreciates Effort

神社を尽くして天命を待つ
Jinji wo tsukushite tenmei wo matsu
Do your best and leave the rest to fate

A warrior appreciates effort because they understand that nobody will ever see their toil. To reach the pinnacle in any endeavor, the hardest thing to do is to simply put in the work. The rest they say is up to the gods. The other day, I saw a video of a woman who is a one-woman band street performer. Usually, I would poo-poo something like this as being a waste of time and turn it off. For some reason, I watched the whole video and on a certain level I found myself enjoying it because I think I empathized with what it must have taken her to get to this level. I smiled as I thought about her toiling away as she built these instruments, learned to play them, learned a song, and then mustered the courage to perform it for the first time. This process is similar to the warrior who labors day in and day out honing skills that they may never get the unfortunate opportunity to use. The warrior believes that if a person does their best then they will be successful. In Japanese, the word for “effort” or “doing one’s best” is doryoku (努力) which literally translates as “the power to be diligent.” The more a warrior trains, the more they learn to respect another’s efforts. This is the same reason why a warrior respects their opponents. They realize and respect how much effort is required for their opponent to face them on the opposite side of the battlefield. It’s easy to see people’s shortcomings or when they fail but it’s much harder to see their efforts and know what’s in their hearts. A warrior creates their own destiny and so they know that anyone who puts forth the effort and puts themselves out there deserves our appreciation and respect.

Today’s goal: Good or bad, try to see another person’s efforts and understand what it took for them to get to that level.    

A Warrior is Free

Happy Fourth of July!

A warrior is free. In budo, one of the highest teaching is shinmu fusatsu (真武不殺) or that “true budo does not kill.” This might seem like a misnomer because most think that warriors train to kill. However, in reality the greatest teaching a student learns is how to not kill. Training is about exercising free will and we learn that hurting others is a choice. The word free in Japanese is jiyu (自由) and usually pertains to one’s will and being unrestricted in one’s choices. Freedom in Japanese is jiyujizai (自由自在) meaning “the right to act, speak, or think as one wants without restraint.” The word free is often mistakenly used in place of the word freedom, but the difference is that we may or may not have freedom, but we always have free will. We can go around yelling, “I am free” but that doesn’t give us the freedom to do as we please. Interestingly both words have the kanji (自由) which mean “one’s self” and “reason.” Being free and having freedom both come with some obligation and so as Voltaire said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” In the world of budo, choices have consequences and so the warrior must learn to control themselves. A warrior chooses their actions wisely based upon what the best course of action is given the situation and we call this decorum. That is why the Japanese say, “Yaiba ni tsuyoki mono wa rei ni suguru” which means that “the greatest warriors surpass all others in etiquette and decorum.” In budo, we can choose to destroy another person, but that doesn’t mean that we should or that we have the right to. Thus, being a warrior means having the ability to choose what it is we do and so the only free will we have is the control we have over ourselves and that is the reason why a warrior is truly free.

Today’s goal: Remember, think before you act. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.  

Hatred is Weakness

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

A true warrior does not hate. Hate is a luxury that a warrior cannot afford. To hate is to have “a feeling of intense or passionate dislike for something or someone.” Anger and hatred have a way of clouding our minds and distorting our judgements. When we hate, our minds become incensed and we tend to react mindlessly instead of acting appropriately and mindfully. The two greatest motivators in life are fear and love. For the most part, hate is a product of fear. Hatred is born out of fear and we experience anger or hatred when there is a threat. When we are confronted and must act it is usually easier to act from a place of hate or anger than it is from a place of love. Love is more vulnerable and harder to express and so it is easier to put on the mask of rage, anger or hatred. In Japanese, to go after someone with hatred and kill them is referred to as sakki (殺氣) which means “blood lust” but literally translates as “killing energy.” One of the pinnacles of Japanese swordsmanship is satsujinken, katsujinto or “the sword which takes life and the sword which gives life.” Fighting and taking lives is not a clean business and so much negativity and baggage comes with it. When we are at a place where we no longer need to take lives then the life that we are really saving is our own. If our energy is imbued with hatred, then we cannot be mindful and so a warrior does not hate.

Today’s goal: Embrace that which you hate. Look around and see what things are making you upset. Realize that those things are just masking fear and whatever you do, don’t let your fear turn into hate.  

Through and Through

Throwback Thursday

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message a while back.

Through respect we refine ourselves in dealing with others. Through heart, we refine ourselves through self-knowledge and enlightenment. Joy is a natural outcome of practice. If there is no joy, then practice has been compromised in some way. This is why in practice, it is a constant chore of cleansing the mind, body and spirit (misogi).

Photo: On a photo shoot with action star Jeffery Meek.

Never Assume

敵の力と頭脳をあなどるとろくなことがない
Teki no chikara to zunou o anadoru to roku na koto ga nai.
“It never pays to underestimate your opponent’s strength or intellect.” - Japanese proverb

A warrior never underestimates their opponents. In swordsmanship, it is said that the margin of death is one inch and so, a warrior can never rely on a petty trick to defeat their opponent. Author, Natsume Soseki described a cheap stratagem as kogatanazaiku (小刀細工) or “short sword tactic.” With this, there’s a connotation that one hides their “short sword” or motives only to reveal them when up close and when least expected. A warrior is supposed to be person of high moral character and we see this virtuousness in three of the eight Virtues of Bushido: honesty, honor and righteousness. Thus, a true warrior would never act immorally and resort to an underhanded trick. A warrior doesn’t resort to a trick because of virtue, but because of strategy as the warrior always assumes that their opponent’s skills are greater or equal to their own. All warfare is based upon deception, but in this case a trick is a tactic which can only be used once and if it doesn’t work then it leaves the trickster completely vulnerable. If a trick is akin to deceptively pulling out one’s short sword then if the timing or trick isn’t completed perfectly, then it would leave the person open and also reveal their true motives. An example of a cheap trick is throwing one’s sword which, as a rule, a warrior never does because if they missed then they would be weaponless and thus completely vulnerable. A samurai is supposed to be virtuous and proud and would never stoop so low as to shame themselves with a cheap trick. Therefore, because a warrior prides themselves on fair play, then they would never underestimate their opponent and so they would never resort to relying a cheap shot or a dirty trick.

Today’s goal: As you maneuver throughout your day, try to notice if you are underestimating someone who may be carrying a hidden sword.  

A Warrior is Kinder

“The person who knows kindness and compassion is a true warrior.”

A warrior is kinder. It takes way more inner strength to be kind than it does to hurt someone. Understanding this, the real goal of training is then to make us kinder not more hostile. Furuya Sensei once said, “The martial arts are one of the most useless things.” What Sensei meant was that the act of fighting, on most levels, is useless in everyday life. When our car is stuck in the mud, we don’t need a warrior, we need kindness. Thus, the act of kindness has more value than the act of violence. True power is the ability to be kind to someone that doesn’t deserve it or who is trying to harm us. That is why the Japanese say, Nasake wo shiru ga makoto no bushi (情けを知るが誠の武士) or “The person who knows kindness and compassion is a true warrior.” Have you ever tried to do something nice for a stranger? There is this weird back and forth that happens in our minds and then we must muster the courage to do it. Anyone can be petty or hateful, but it takes entirely more strength to be kind. The true value of budo is not in its ability to teach us to destroy, but in its ability to teach us to be kind. Today, the world doesn’t need more fighting, it needs more kindness.  True power is not in how many lives we can take but in how many we save and that is why a warrior is kinder.

Today’s goal: Try a random act of kindness and notice how hard it is and how much inner strength it actually takes.  

Have Balanced Vigilance

“You should be calm outside but keep your mind alert and prepared.”  Yagyu Munenori

A warrior’s mind is one of balanced vigilance. On a certain level this is an oxymoron because a vigilant mind must be at least 51% ready in order for it to be alert and a balanced mindset requires that there be a stability between calmness and alertness. The problem is that paranoia or fear can be mistaken for vigilance and apathy can be confused with being balanced. In training, we learn that the most vigilant mind is the one that is balanced or equanimous. An equanimous mind enables the practitioner to be calmly observant and thus act mindfully appropriate. A hypervigilant mind is one that is overly alert and causes us to mindlessly react. Here is a story which illustrates this idea. One day in his retirement, Yagyu Munenori was walking back to his quarters and was admiring the nice cherry blossoms that were in full bloom. As he walked, he suddenly felt as if he was about to be attacked. When he spun around to confront the assailant, the only person there was his young attendant who was carrying his sword and other belongings. This error greatly troubled Yagyu and he retired to his room to think about it. Later, upon seeing his master so troubled, the young attendant confessed that just before the master turned around, he thought to himself, “I wonder what the master would do if I attacked him right now.” Relieved, Yagyu didn’t punish his attendant. The reason why Yagyu Munenori was so perplexed was that he thought that he was losing his equanimity. In battle, it is dire and so everyone is vigilant, but the margin of error is so slight that just being vigilant is not enough and can cause an oversight. That is why the highest mindset is equanimity and that is why a warrior’s mind is one of balanced vigilance.

Today’s goal: Realize the difference between fear and vigilance and train yourself to have balanced vigilance.

Watch these two videos about Sadhguru to learn more about equanimity.

Throwback Thursday: To Be Civilized

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on December 16, 2004.

I have been thinking and it seems to me that when humans developed this sense of “self,” that is when they finally became a human. When they developed the need to live and work with others, they became “civilized.” It is when humans began to think of others and realized the needed to work with others that they finally developed civilization and culture along with ideas of loyalty, commitment, courage, piety, duty, humanity, compassion, and love…. I think this is where we are now, we still haven't mastered this process in our evolutionary path. I am hopeful that eventually, humans will materialize wisdom in their entire lives with others. Just my thoughts today…

A Warrior is Stubborn

“The wind howls but the mountain remains still.” Japanese proverb

A warrior knows stubbornness. The Japanese word for stubborn is ganko (頑固). When I was younger, my mom always used to say to me, “Ganbatte” (頑張って) when I had a test or a lot of homework. When a person embarks on any type of worthwhile pursuit, well-wishers often say, “Ganbatte!” which means “Do your best.” Ganko and ganbatte share the same root kanji (頑) and so we can infer that doing one’s best has its root in stubbornness. To accomplish any meaningful task, a warrior needs to be firm in their conviction and resolute in their actions or in other words they need to be more than a little bit “stubborn.” When the odds are stacked up against us and we are backed into a corner, the only thing which will help us see things through until the end is some sort of inner drive that won’t allow us to quit. That inner drive or resolute firmness is stubbornness and it is supposed to be the basis for warrior spirit or konjo (根性). The warrior’s spirit is a mixture of perseverance and stubbornness combined with a little bit of craziness. After all a person must be a little bit irrational to keep going after everyone else has quit. Wars are won upon many battles. Some of those battles are won and some lost, but a person can only win the war if they are stubborn enough to see it through until its end. A warrior has a spirit which never gives into adversity and never gives up because they have the stubbornness to be still when the wind howls. Thus, when things get tough, a warrior knows stubbornness.

Today’s goal: Gambatte! Do your best and don’t let anything stop you from achieving your goal.

Ichiro - There is only one path

A warrior knows that there is only one path.

In budo, there is a “one path” mindset which is called ichiro (一路) in Japanese. The further down the path we go, the more we realize that it is more like a monkey trap. Long ago, if a person wanted to capture a monkey, they would use a monkey trap which was a gourd or hollowed out coconut that was tied to down and that they placed fruit into as bait. When the monkey reached in and grabbed the fruit, their hand would become too big to pull out and then they would be caught. The monkey becomes caught because they aren’t smart enough to realize that they only needed to let go of their bounty in order to escape. Human beings have a similarly obliviousness because sometimes to have one thing, we must let go of another thing. In budo, the path begins as we train to fight. The more we train, the more understand that we are our own worst enemy and so training is really about mindset more than movement. It is here that we realize that the real the goal in training is the cultivation of inner peace. This is where it becomes like a monkey trap because if we focus too much on fighting, then we will never truly know inner peace. There is an old Japanese saying which supports this idea, “You cannot run and sit down at the same time.” Both are done with the body, but both cannot be done at the same time. One of the most difficult impasses to overcome is when we realize the that only true path was inner peace and so we must give up fighting in order to go further.      

Today’s goal: What can you let go of in order to release yourself from your monkey trap?

Be Vibrant

A warrior is vibrant. Reading this, some might think that “powerful” might be more appropriate of a word especially for a warrior and in many cases it might be. I am thinking about it from the perspective of something called kotodama (言霊) or “word power.” Kotodama is a controversial topic that I wish to avoid, so in this context what I am thinking about is that words have a hidden power. When we say, “I am powerful,” often times it feels a bit egotistical because it has the implied meaning that we have power over others. Saying or feeling that we are powerful sometimes brings with it a bit guilt because we feel arrogant or overly confident and so the word powerful has a negative connotation. The word vibrant means “To be full of energy and enthusiasm.” Vibrant is a completely different word than powerful and we seldom say, “I am vibrant.” It seems silly to say it, but the word vibrant has a lot of power. When I say it, even quietly, I feel my power rise. Try it. Look in the mirror and say, “I am vibrant.” Do you feel your power rise up? Can you feel the positive vibe? When we are vibrant, we feel good and are full of life – our power exudes. Do words have power? For years, psychologists have been advocating for positive self-talk. When we think of kotodama and self-talk, it is easy to see that words do have power.  Today, don’t try to be powerful, but rather let your power radiate and be vibrant. A warrior knows that the only power that they wield is the power that they wield over themselves and that is why a warrior is vibrant.  

Today’s goal: Whenever you feel down, say, “I am vibrant.”  

Conceal Your Technique

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on November 17, 2002.

Conceal Your Technique: In this day and age as techniques are becoming more and more flamboyant, I believe it is important to follow the older maxim to in which our opponents cannot "see" our technique. Especially in Iaido, we move in a quiet way and in a way that our opponent cannot see our actual movement. Of course, we are not standing still, we are moving our hands and feet and body, but we should imagine that we are moving in a way in which we are completely still and our opponents cannot "catch" our movement with their eyes. Our movement becomes "hidden" and very subtle. Try to understand how to move so that you yourself do not even realize that you are moving at all. This does NOT mean to make our movements smaller and smaller, no, not at all. This is something completely different from "not moving," this is "not moving within the movement." This hidden movement is another subject which cannot be conveyed in words, please try to discover this in your own training.

Think of Others First

A warrior thinks of others. Japan’s most prolific swordsman said, “Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.” At the core of most belief systems lies the concept of putting others before ourselves. The world is a very lonely place and if we cannot work together, we will surely perish. Thus, in the world of budo, selfishness is sign of weakness. The concept of togetherness and thinking of others is an integral part of Japanese culture. Formally, Japan was an agriculturally based society and so they relied on the kindness of others where people worked together in order to survive. The concept of thinking of others is thought of as teinei (丁寧) or “politeness” but politeness in this sense is in how we treat and respect people and things. We treat people with care and kindness not because we are trying to get something from them, but because we too wish for care and kindness. We realize that the resources are not infinite and so we treat things with care and respect as well. Battles cannot be won by individuals and so a warrior knows that having a team is necessary for success. In Aikido, having a training partner is integral for our success too. Our partners give us their bodies so that we may achieve mastery and so we cannot waste or abuse them. We cannot reach our higher place if they are selfish and only think about themselves. We cannot survive on our own and so we rely on the kindness, compassion and generosity of others. As much as we get, we must also give in return. When discussing a rather selfish student, Furuya Sensei once said, "He gets everything handed to him on a silver platter - yet he has no awareness that he must, in turn, serve others with this same silver platter." Our greatness does not come from vanquishing others but how kindly we can treat one another. We will not succeed if we only think of ourselves and so a warrior always thinks of themselves lightly and always thinks about others first.

Today’s goal: Do just one thing in which you put someone else before yourself.