The Best Teachers Inspire

“I am not a teacher, but an awakener. “ Robert Frost 

One of my favorite scenes from the Karate Kid is when a tired and frustrated Daniel-san confronts Mr. Miyagi after doing all of his chores like washing his cars, sanding his floors and painting his fences but then realizes that he had been learning Karate the whole time. The look of wonderment on Daniel-san’s face as he walks away is priceless. The question becomes, “Why did Mr. Miyagi have to trick Daniel san?” Obviously, we will never know the true reason, but one could surmise that Mr. Miyagi did it so that Daniel-san would have an “aha” moment which would create a sense of wonderment and value towards Karate and also disassociate the pain and tedium of training from training so that now he only sees its benefit. Daniel-san now loves Karate and is inspired to train hard. A teacher’s job is to inspire their students. Anyone can instruct, but only a true teacher can inspire. Inspiration is about timing. Too much inspiration or too early can lead to a false inspiration which can lead to a painful realization later. Too little or too late and a student can become discouraged and quit. Mr. Miyagi had to hope that Daniel-san’s realization would come at the exact right moment before he reached the tipping point and quit. True inspiration can be life changing and last a lifetime. One might argue that passion is better and longer lasting. A teacher can be passionate, but they cannot give someone passion but they can give them inspiration. The theory is that inspiration will encourage our passion which will in turn lead to our perspiration. We will only reach great heights because we are inspired to do so. Teachers are supposed to bring out the best in their students and they do this by inspiring them. Every teacher wishes that they could instill a sense of love for their art in their students which could change the course of their lives because it motivates them to train hard so that they can reach their great heights.  

Today’s goal: How can you Mr. Miyagi yourself? What can you do to create inspiration? 

Throwback Thursday - Knowing

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on July 9, 2005. 

In practice, everything we do may be filled with shame and embarrassment - what is wrong with that? To know what is wrong is equally important as to know what is right because both right and wrong direct us in the same way in our lives - to make ourselves better people.

Warriors Don’t Hold On To Discouragement

“To be discouraged is part of training.” Rev. Kensho Furuya

Budo can be thought of as the ability to weather storms. Sometimes, when I look down the barrel of the coronavirus, it can be daunting. Every day, more and more dojos, like other small businesses, seem to be struggling and some even go out of business. From a business outlook, it’s overwhelming but from a training standpoint it’s just weather. Being an Aikido teacher, I understand this, but I still have a hard time putting it into practice. When times get bleak, it helps me to remember one of the title chapters from Furuya Sensei’s book, Kodo: “To be discouraged is part of training.” Progress in training can be so incremental that most times it seems like we are standing still. We struggle because we think that we “should” be doing better or because we compare ourselves to others who are seemingly “hitting it out of the park.” Life, like training, is filled with just as many downs as there are ups and it’s easy to yearn only for the latter. Shakespeare wrote, “Nothing is right or wrong, but thinking makes it so.” Training teaches us equanimity and we learn to allow both good and bad to come and go. We don’t try to control the weather and thus we just accept it until it passes. In Aikido, this process of weathering is called“harmony”where we learn not to control but to harmonize with our opponent’s advances. When we are striving for an ideal and it doesn’t show up, we become discouraged. Understanding that all things have their place, we learn to accept things as they are and in turn harmonize with them. Discouragements will come and go but we only struggle with them when we forget that they are a valuable part of our training because they teach us just where we need to work. The Way is so ephemeral that it’s easy to lose one’s way and become disillusioned. Don’t give up, it’s just part of your training, or as Sensei used to say, “Cry in the dojo, laugh on the battlefield.” 

Today’s goal: It’s ok to get discouraged, just don’t give up. 

Warriors Aren't Robots

Warriors Aren’t Robots

"The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that man may become robots." ~ Erich Fromm

On a certain level, robots can replace humans and automation is a fear in almost every industry. Robots can replace the work of warriors, but they can never be warriors. The greatest asset a warrior has is their humanity or their ability to think, reason and care. Robots are incapable of all of those things because they are not conscious or sentient. In 2015, the Yasakawa corporation created the Yasakawa Bushido Project which pitted a robot, the Motoman-MH24 versus the famous Iaido swordsman, Isao Machii. Scientists studied Machii and created a computer program to mimic his sword cuts. The contest was to see who could cut 1000 wara or “rolled tatami mats” the quickest. When they faced off, it seemed that Motoman was able to match Machii cut for cut and it appeared that the contest ended in a draw. It was hailed as a huge success that a robot could be as good as an experienced swordsman. Upon closer look, I wouldn’t say that the robot was as good as Machii. For one, the robot could only cut targets in front of it while Machii cut targets in front and back of him. Secondly, Machii also had to help set up and calibrate Motoman. Finally, at 4:20 of the video they showed an overview of both cutting spaces. Look at how uniform Machii’s cutting area was and look at the sloppiness of Motoman’s cutting area. Motoman could copy Machii’s movements but it couldn’t perfect it. Fromm’s quote is perhaps a warning to humans to not become robot-like and lose the autonomy to think, reason and care. Warriors aren’t just killing machines. They care not only why, but also how they do things. Robots don’t get to care or choose. Being a warrior means consciously choosing to live one’s life mindfully at a higher level. In other words, for lack of a better phrase, warriors give a f*ck.   

Today’s goal: Don’t be a robot. Give a sh!t and think, reason and care. 

A Warrior Isn’t Bothered By Flies

“Life is a hailstorm of distractions. It’s not the monster that stops us, but the mosquito.” Robert G. Allen 

Warriors don’t let themselves get distracted. Sun Tzu said, “All warfare is based on deception.” Tacticians strive to mislead their opponents and get them to misread the situation and make a mistake and lose the battle. One of the best ways to mislead an opponent is with a distraction. In Japanese, kiutsuri (氣移) means “distraction” but it translates as “moved ki.” Thus, we are felled because we lose our focus when our ki becomes distracted. Distractions cause us to lose focus on the task at hand. Martial arts training tends to be very repetitious and the reason for that is to not only create subconscious muscle memory but also to teach us how to focus quickly or “get into the zone” when attacked. Distractions are the thieves of dreams because we won’t be able to achieve great things if we get too caught up in the minutia of the little things. Likewise, if we let ourselves be bothered by the little things, then we’ll be destroyed by the bigger things. In battle and in life, people mostly fall for distractions because they are easy and less daunting. Generally, the more the daunting situation, the more tempting the distraction. Distractions are the easiest way to activate the “reward system” in our brains and get a dopamine hit. Today, with all of our technologies, there are more dopamine distractors than ever before and it’s easy to just “escape” from reality. Regardless of the distraction or the reason, distractions are about temptation. We give in to the temptation which causes us to lose our focus or mindfulness. The best warriors are the ones who have the strongest wills and are able to recognize when something isn’t important and merely a distraction. A warrior is focused and strong willed and that’s why they aren’t bothered by flies.   

Today’s goal: When you get into something, ask yourself “Am I just distracting myself?”

A Warrior Doesn’t Judge

A Warrior Doesn’t Judge

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” - The Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Neibuhr 

How we hold the handle of the sword is akin to how we handle ourselves. In Japanese swordsmanship, gripping the sword is referred to as tenouchi (手の内) and they say it should be done as if we are “holding an egg.” If we hold an egg too strongly, it will break. If we hold it too weak, it will fall out and break. The strength of one’s grip has to be balanced to hold it properly and transmit its power appropriately. This teaching can be applied to life as well. By far, the greatest villain in life is self-judgment. In striving to grasp on to an ideal, we often go to war with ourselves and stress out about things, people and circumstances which aren’t within our power to change. This mistaken perspective can cause undue stress and lead to us quitting. Sometimes, this incorrect mindset about self-improvement comes about because of how dojo’s are designed. Typically, most are geared towards forging our spirits and bringing out our best, but this generally means that someone is pointing out all of our mistakes and weak points so that we can improve upon them. The problem is that we can accidentally take these external criticisms and turn them into internal judgments. As an anonymous person once said, “We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are.” Thus, like gripping the sword carefully, maintaining perspective and not taking things personally enables us to not judge ourselves and without judgment we can begin to move through life well. Budo training isn’t about attaining perfection - it’s about the movement of change. Going with the flow teaches us to change the things we can and let go of the things we can’t and that’s why a warrior doesn’t judge. 

Today’s goal: Don’t beat yourself up. Change the things you can and let go of the things you can’t.

The Most Important Thing In Life to Learn!

Throwback Thursday - The Most Important Thing In Life to Learn!

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on February 2, 2004. 

If you learn anything in life, learn your manners, meaning how to act properly and nicely towards others in each and every situation.

If you get very strong, some people may admire you and some people may fear you, but no one will really respect you.  Some might even laugh at you behind your back…

If you become very rich, some people will pretend to like you and some will even think that they are your friends just because you have so much to offer. Ultimately, some may try to fool you…

If you become very wise, many people will come to you for advice and say, but ultimately they will hate you because you will make them feel stupid or inadequate…

If you become very powerful, people will flock to you because everyone loves power and prestige, but no one will ever like you for yourself…

Just be nice and well mannered. It will not matter if your are rich or poor, powerful or weak, famous or a nobody. Everyone will always like you and eventually respect you thinking that you are truly rich, powerful and have great prestige!

Outside the dojo, the thing I notice most about people is that they have no manners or are not as polite as before. Everyone is in such a hurry, and everyone thinks too much of themselves. Sometimes I think they are acting worse than animals - this is not Aikido at all.

Always think about what you want written on your tombstone. "Here lies a very arrogant and snobby person.” "Here lies a very rich person whose money we can all enjoy now that he is dead.” "Here lies a bully who thought he was so strong!” "Here lies a very nice person, whom we will always miss forever and forever."

It doesn't cost anything for you to be nice to others, but the returns are great. Treat others with disrespect and impoliteness, and see what you finally end up with…

A Warrior Values Life

“Do not think about your death too much, it’s too depressing to keep this in your mind and it’s not a healthy way to develop yourself. But always keep your death in front of you like a true samurai warrior and you will never waste even one minute of your life again! Please understand this well and think about this seriously.” Rev. Kensho Furuya

The samurai believed in mujo (無常) or “The transience of life.” Given their profession, a samurai knew that at any moment they could be cut down. Rather than become fearful, angry or pessimistic, they learned to value their lives because they knew they were going to die. The word mujo actually directly translates as “nothing extraordinary.” In the west, when things are “nothing extraordinary” then we tend to devalue them. However, the Japanese see “nothing extraordinary” as being the highest level of aesthetic expression because it’s so hard to just be normal and when things are not extraordinary then they are overlooked and can be easily thrown away and there’s a beautiful sadness to this fact. Trying to teach us to not waste our time, Furuya Sensei used to say, “There is no time left.” His death, like Kobe’s, Chadwick Boseman’s and now Eddie Van Halen’s, teaches us all that no matter how wealthy, accomplished or boringly normal we are, death stalks us all. Each day, somewhere around 150,000 people die worldwide. How many of those people lived the samurai ethos of living each moment to its fullest? The samurai understood death because they believed that the only thing of value that they truly possessed was their lives. Sensei admonishes us to “keep our death’s in front of us” to remind us to live our lives to the fullest and to the best we can. Likewise, people pass away to remind us to live and value what little life we have left. I am sad to hear that Eddie Van Halen passed away, I am a fan. May he rest in peace. 

Today’s goal: Live your life because there may not be a tomorrow. 

A Warrior Leaves No Room For Doubt

A Warrior Leaves No Room For Doubt

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who doesn’t ask is a fool for life.” Confucius 

Having utagai (疑い) or “doubt” comes from being uncertain of one’s self which creates an opening for an opponent to attack. It’s said, “A good student does the right thing at the right time.” We learn to do the right thing at the right time by asking questions. When we don’ know something, we ask - it’s that simple. The simple things are often the most difficult. Asking can be embarrassing as it illustrates the fact that we don’t know something and that touches on our fear that we aren’t good enough. Asking is also an exercise in assertiveness as we learn to stand up for ourselves. Without knowing it, asking questions is the ultimate budo exercise. In the beginning, we learn to close all of our suki (隙) or “openings” so that there is no doubt which our opponents can’t use defeat us. Later on, we learn to create a controlled opening or vulnerability to control our opponent’s attack and defeat them. Asking questions is budo because it’s not about winning or losing but uncovering our weaknesses and having the courage to confront them and improve them. O’Sensei called this masakatsu agatsu or “The truest victory is over one’s self.” When a student can ask an honest question, not just to make conversation or suck up, then they will have become a person of conviction and thus reached a high level of training. Brene Brown said, “Vulnerability isn’t winning or losing; it's having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it's our greatest measure of courage.” Being truly vulnerable is the easiest most difficult thing one can do and we demonstrate that by asking questions when we don’t understand and only ask when it’s the most opportune time. By being vulnerable enough to ask questions, a warrior leaves no doubt. 

Today’s goal: Don’t leave any room for doubt, ask a question. 

A Warrior Has Fire

人類だけが火の使い方を知っている
Jinrui dake ga hi no tsukaikata wo shitteiru
Only man knows how to use fire

Charles Darwin said, “The art of making fire is probably the greatest discovery, excepting language, ever made by man.” From Darwin’s statement, we can infer that using fire and language marked the beginnings of human civilization. Fire symbolizes one’s passion or “self-power” or jiriki (自力) in Japanese. In swordsmanship, when we raise the sword overhead, we assume the jodan no kamae (上段の構え) stance or “overhead stance,” but this is also known as the hi no kamae (火の構え) or “fire stance.” The use of the word fire in this sense refers to the courage and fortitude that one must have to raise the sword overhead and cut someone down. When they say, “Only man knows how to use fire,” they are implying that the technology of fire is what makes humans superior to animals. From the standpoint of swordsmanship, I would argue that it is not fire, but a human being’s ability to be discerning and channel their fire which makes them superior. Fire and language might be the beginnings of civilization, but the pinnacle of civilization is in our ability to choose to be hibouryoku (非暴力) or “nonviolent.” Examining the kanji for budo (武道) we see that bu (武) or “military” is made up of the radicals for stop (止) and spear (戈). Although, our training may begin with the desire to destroy, it ends evolutionarily in jiriki where we let go of that desire and this happens symbolically as we put the sword down and choose non-violence. We can conclude that the highest teaching in the martial arts is non-violence and that’s why they say that “True budo does not kill.” It’s not the fire, but the knowing which makes us civilized and thus makes us human. Humans get to choose what they want to do, when they want to do it and why or in other words a warrior gets to choose how to use their fire - animals do not.  

Today’s goal: How will you choose to use your fire today?

A Warrior is That Person

Be that person… That person who is willing to stand up for what is right even when it is not popular. That person who will willingly put their life on the line for another person. That person who stays late even when everyone else has gone. That person who gets there earlier than anyone else. That person who wakes up early even when they don’t want to. That person who does what is necessary before they are asked. That person who eats last so that everyone else gets fed first. That person who willingly sacrifices for others. That person who does the things that nobody else will ever know. That person who is someone that everyone depends on. That person who never brags and would rather shine a light on others. That person who leads by example. That person who always tells the truth and never lies even to their detriment. That person who always follows through. That person who gets tired, but never quits. That person who will always be there when you need them. That person who is always dependable. That person who runs toward the fire. That person who is always by your side. That person who will sit with you at your deepest darkest moments. That person who is kind, compassionate and forgiving. That person stands alone… Nobody knows that person until the time comes. Training teaches how to be that person. That person can never be beat. A true warrior is that person and that is the person I want to be. 

Today’s goal: Be that person. 

Watch this video of Edgar Albert Guest’s poem, The Proof of Worth

A Warrior Has Flaws

“We all are men, in our own natures frail, and capable of our flesh; few are angels.” 
― William Shakespeare, Henry VIII

A warrior’s flaws are what makes them great. Someone once told me, “There are only two perfect people in this world: the devil and liars.” The Japanese believe in the aesthetic of wabi-sabi (侘寂) or that beauty comes from being “imperfect, impermanent and incomplete.” We see this idea of wabi-sabi in Hagi-yaki (萩焼 ) tea bowls whose beauty dates back to the 17th century. These bowls are famous for their translucent glaze and somewhat humble form. Hagi-yaki tea bowls are the epitome of beauty and would be “perfect” if it were not for a purposeful chip on the foot of the bowl. The chip was placed there by its maker so as to mar its beauty and taint its perfection and it was supposed to balance out the bowl’s beauty and signify the humbleness of man or rather that it was made by an imperfect human being. Probably one of the hardest things to accept in martial arts training is that nobody, not even the teacher, is perfect. Perfection is a disease that is at the root of so many difficulties in training. Some give up because they can’t be perfect. Others struggle against the standard of being perfect. Most times, our need to be externally perfect is driven by internal feelings of not being good enough. One of the great things about Aikido is the flow of the movement. The only way to flow is to go with the flow and the only way to go with the flow is to be in harmony with the imperfect. It’s the same in life. Our beauty, like the tea bowls, lies in our flaws. Human beings are fallible and thus we make mistakes. Budo training is the process of polishing one’s imperfections, but not to remove them but to allow the flaw to bring out one’s true beauty. Warriors accept their flaws and use their flaws to realize their true beauty and humanity. 

Today’s goal: Don’t be so hard on yourself. Nobody has it all figured out. 

A Warrior is a Cut Above

花は人は武士
Hana wa sakura, hito wa bushi 
Cherry blossoms among flowers, the warrior among people 

Samurai movies or chambara are always filled with wonderful fight scenes. In those scenes, there is always a series of showdowns as the hero gets surrounded and kills dozens of henchmen before facing off with the movie’s villain. Besides the fact that it doesn’t make for good cinema, have you ever wondered why all the bad guys don’t just attack all at once and score the victory? One reason could be culturally as a samurai was always supposed to act with honor and courage. It is said, “Doko no karasu mo kuroi” or “Everywhere the crows are black.” This proverb was supposed to mean that all humans act the same, but warriors are supposed to be a cut above and always act with honor and decorum. To fight with honor means to be brave and so attacking someone from behind is seen as dishonorable and cowardice. During these altercations, there is always someone who does attack from behind and the hero always handedly dispatches them in dramatic bloody fashion to punish them for their indiscretion. Even if one does score the victory from behind, they would still be seen as a coward and thus their stock would fall amongst their peers. In the old days, when you confronted someone, you always stated your name, clan or school, style of fighting, teacher or lord’s name, and the reason for attacking. The samurai didn’t take death lightly and we see this in how much they valued life by all the honor and etiquette that surrounded the possibility of death. Life is like that too; because we care, we must always face our problems head on with courage and dignity. Anyone can act despite being afraid, but what separates the warrior from all others is that they do it with honor and dignity. We all want to win, but at what cost? Warriors take pride in their honor and so they fancy themselves a cut above all others. 

Today’s goal: Things happen, but can you respond with dignity and grace? 

Watch the clip of the movie Ame Agaru to see what samurai movie fight scenes look like and how to conduct yourself as a warrior with honor. Also, watch this motivational video about being dignity.

A Warrior Has No Preferences

The best warriors learn to accept things as they are. When we don’t, we suffer. When the prolific swordsman, Yamaoka Tesshu was young, he was interested in Zen and visited a monk named Dokuon. To show his level of attainment, he said, "The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of things is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received.” Dokuon sat and smoked quietly and then just whacked Tesshu on the head with his bamboo pipe. This made Tesshu angry. "If nothing exists," said Dokuon, “Where did this anger come from?” Tesshu became angry not only because he was hit but also because he didn't want to be hit. Buddhist monk, Sengchan said, “The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. When love and hate are both absent everything becomes clear and undisguised. Make the smallest distinction, however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart. If you wish to see the truth then hold no opinion for or against. The struggle of what one likes and what one dislikes is the disease of the mind.” Sengchan’s quote and Tesshu’s experience illustrates that we suffer not because we struggle, but because we have trouble accepting the reality of the situation. In training, there are no perfect attacks or responses. Waiting for what it is we want or how we want it is the moment when we get hit on the head. Our minds cause us to suffer as we get caught in a state of judgement between what is and what it should be. Furuya Sensei often quipped that the best students learn that “Nothing goes the way they want it to” or “Nandemo omoidori ni ikanai.” Accepting things as they are actually makes budo the art of “non resistance.” In battle and in life, the best warriors never suffer because they accept whatever comes just as it is not as it should be.

Today’s goal: Not everyone who struggles suffers. What are you having trouble accepting as it is?

Throwback Mind, Body & Soul

Throwback Thursday

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on June 6, 2004.

In practice, don't just go through the motions. I see this lack of focus in how people work and play and how they deal with people - just like zombies who can move around but have no soul. In everything we do - from combing our hair to throwing our opponent on the mats - we must use our hearts and minds as well as our bodies. Please keep in mind, in training and in life it is more than just going through the motions - everything in our life is act of mind, body and soul.

A Warrior Never Allows Their Swords To Dull

In Japanese the word for a dull sword is namakura (鈍). Other readings of this kanji can mean “lazy” or “cowardly.” The sharpness of one’s sword is the only thing keeping death at bay and so the worst thing a sword can be is either broken or dull. Dullness pertains to one’s legerity or having both mental and physical agility or quickness but it also has many other connotations. Dullness can refer to the sharpness of one’s mind and a warrior’s ability to think, understand and read situations. The faster we can process information enables us to improve our ability to succeed. The ability to read situations enables us not to commit faux pas or commit other indiscretions that could accidentally lead to unwanted fights or hurt feelings. Dull also alludes to one’s depth or how much effort we put into understanding something before we superficially speak just to speak. We also can’t allow ourselves to become physically dull as well. A warrior has to always be in shape and physically ready. In the world of martial arts fatigue is fatal. The sword is the symbol of a warrior. It is the physical representation of what a warrior wishes to become - straight, sharp and to the point. Straight symbolizes the Way or how a warrior lives their life or one’s character. Sharp implies one’s physical and mental edge. To the point means having integrity where our actions, thoughts and words come to a point and are in alignment. A sharp sword represents the line between life and death. Sharpness can keep us alive while a dullness can quicken our journey to the other side. A dull sword is worthless and a sharp sword of high quality is priceless and thus a warrior strives to be a person of the highest quality. A warrior never allows themselves to become dull and a dojo should never be full of dull swords. Don’t allow yourself to become dull. 

Today’s goal: Think about the places in your life that you have allowed to become dull. Sharpen them. 

A True Warrior is Resilient

秋菊傲霜
The autumn chrysanthemum braves the frost

In what seems like a flash, spring and summer have folded themselves into the first day of autumn. Autumn is the gatekeeper of winter and with its arrival we see the world become a bit more darker and colder. In the old days, the winters in Japan were very harsh and so when autumn came people knew they had to start preparing themselves in order to survive. In Japan, the beauty of the chrysanthemum or kiku (菊) represents longevity, rejuvenation and nobility. The kiku is also admired because it begins to bloom just as other flowers are starting to succumb to the cold and frost of autumn and so its bloom is a pleasant reminder to be resilient. There is a saying from an old Chinese poem that I read which typified this idea of being hardy in the face of adversity: “The autumn chrysanthemum braves the frost.” This metaphor reminds us that one’s true beauty comes out when they stand bravely in the face of adversity. As the season changes, the kiku knows that the autumn cold is also coming but it still stands tall and blooms despite the fact that it too will succumb at some point to the cold. This idea of carrying out one’s duty despite imminent death is very samurai like. Does a martial art make one resilient or does it reveal what is already one’s nature? I am not sure. What I do know is that studying a martial art can change a person’s life because it teaches them how to understand themselves better which in turn makes them better human beings. When we know who we are, no amount of cold can affect us. The autumn chrysanthemum braves the frost to show us how to live our lives with a sense of grace, dignity and resilience.

Today’s goal: Today is the first day of autumn, which means winter is coming. Don’t waste your time, be resilient, but enjoy your day. 

A Warrior Trains Themselves

Tell me and I will not forget
Show me and I may remember 
Involve me and I will understand
- Xunzi, Confucian philosopher

A while back, I was having a conversation with my Shodo teacher about learning and taking shortcuts and he said, “Having a teacher is the ultimate shortcut.” I realized that if one is lucky enough to have a teacher then they have someone who will hopefully guide them in the right direction and inspire them to reach great heights. Ideally, a good teacher can also increase learning times and ensure correctness. Without a guide, we have to constantly motivate ourselves and lead us in the wrong direction which can slow us down and cause us to learn things incorrectly. I use the word “guide” because in the end teachers can only guide us; they can’t do the work for us and we really can’t be taught anything unless we want to. Having someone to guide us really only accounts for a small but important percentage of our learning. We teach ourselves because learning is a function of our actions and so a large percentage of learning is attributed to what we do and our mindsets. To hear the words and see the teacher’s techniques, one has to go to class. Sword training can teach us decisiveness and discernment but to learn it, we have to pick it up and practice. Aikido training can make us better human beings, but we have to practice it to gain the benefit from it. We have to don’t and can’t know everything  and that’s why having a teacher to guide us is the “ultimate shortcut.” We can see that because we alone have to put in the work and thus we are really teaching ourselves but the paradox is that we need others to guide us to do it well. In the end, our teachers can guide us but ultimately we have to learn it for ourselves. We can’t be taught anything, but we can learn everything and that is because a warrior trains themselves.

Today’s goal: Today is the last day of summer. Don’t waste the day. 

Embraces Your Flaws

Aiki Dojo Message - A Warrior Embraces Their Flaws

True power comes from accepting our imperfections. In Japanese, this idea of embracing the beauty and grace of our flaws can be referred to as wabi-sabi (侘寂). Wabi-sabi is an aesthetic sense which takes a long time and is difficult to achieve. Once, Sen Rikyu, the founder of the tea ceremony wanted to host a tea gathering and he asked his son, Shoan who was an aspiring tea master to help with the preparations. Shoan wanted to make a good impression. He cleaned the garden and  diligently picked the fallen leaves out of the moss and swept all the brown leaves from the stone path. Rikyu came out and noticed how meticulously his son had cleaned and just shook his head with displeasure. Shoan asked his father what was wrong with the garden and Rikyu replied, “You still have something to learn.” Rikyu went over and gently shook a red maple tree. The beautiful red leaves gently sprinkled over the walkway and Rikyu said, “Now, it looks natural.” The imperfectness of freshly fallen leaves brought out the beauty of the garden. In Japanese, there is a saying that is adapted from taoism, “Michiho shizen” (道法自然) which means, “We find out who we are by acting naturally.” Acting naturally means being ourselves and accepting that our flaws are a large part of who we are. Training teaches us to find the suki (隙) or “weak points” in our opponents.  Over time, we naturally turn our eyes inward and find our own suki and with this search we realize our own humanity. Human beings are fundamentally flawed, but interestingly, it’s our flaws which actually make us human. Our flaws give us our true power by bringing out our humanity which gives us the capacity for empathy and compassion. Our true inner power doesn’t come from becoming strong and impervious, but rather it comes from being flawed and finding comfort with who we are and that is why a warrior embraces their flaws. 

Today’s goal: Embrace all your broken and flawed imperfections and let them empower you. 

Throwback Thursday - Pure Water

Furuya Sensei demonstrating at our annual Nisei Week Open House in the late 1990s

Throwback Thursday

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on March 6, 2004.

It is oftentimes hard to find order in our lives, but it is not so difficult to find this order in the structure and form of our regular daily practice. Eventually, through our discipline and commitment to practice, this order will filter into our daily Life.

However, we cannot expect Life to be without difficulties. When we understand that it is an essential part of our Life, both hardship and happiness, we have the possibility of freeing ourselves from the bonds in this kind of discrimination. 

In trying to make Aikido practice a part of our Life, there is a profound and fundamental paradox of not making our Life a part of Aikido. What does this mean? Competition in our job, hatred of strangers, jealousy of friends, the desire for power and wealth to dominate others, seeking fame to show ourselves superior to others, self-doubt, and envy? These are all a part of our regular life that should not be brought into our practice.

Bringing the reality of our struggling lives into Aikido practice is like pouring dirty water into pure water - there is no improvement that can be seen and in fact everything becomes clouded.

Bringing Aikido into our daily lives is like pouring pure water into dirty water - actually, one can see that the water begins to become a little clearer.

Perhaps, in our lives, we cannot attain 100% purity like pure water, but the fact that the so-called "muddy waters" of our lives can become clearer with daily practice can be a great relief and source of salvation.