There’s No Place Hate in Budo

“In order to establish heaven on earth, we need a budo that is pure in spirit, that is devoid of hatred and greed.” Morihei Ueshiba

The goal of budo training is to cultivate sei (靜) which means “inner peace” or “serenity.” To have this inner quietude we need to understand hatred. Yoda once said, “Fear is the path to the dark side…fear leads to anger…anger leads to hate…hate leads to suffering.” Understanding this, the best warriors train themselves not to give into hate. In the old days of budo or “martial arts” training, hate and anger were acceptable means of motivation because training was supposed to prepare warriors for the harshness of battle. Thus, in the short term, anger and hatred can be very quick and effective means of motivation. The problem is that sooner or later hatred and anger become toxic and we end up succumbing to them. There’s a Chinese proverb that is apropos, “Hatred corrodes the vessel that carries it.” Anger and hatred are really just outlets for dispersing fear. Psychologist, Carol Tavris said, “Depression is not 'anger turned inward'; if anything, anger is depression turned outward. Follow the trail of anger inward, and there you will find the small, still voice of pain.” Reading this, we realize that hatred and anger are really forms of self-violence, but we also understand that we cannot be truly at peace if we are filled with anger and hatred. We only hate others because we hate ourselves and that’s why we train to cultivate inner peace. Likewise, if we have inner peace then naturally we are at peace with ourselves and others as well. Training teaches us how to dispatch our opponents, but the real opponent that we are defeating is ourselves. The more at peace we are, the better we are at dealing with that which confronts us. Training educates the warrior to not fall into the trap of hating others because they know who the real opponent is and that’s why we train to cultivate inner peace.

Today’s goal: Cultivate inner peace and be the change you wish to see in the world - get out and vote!

Watch this video of Yoda’s wisdom to understand inner peace.

Even Warriors Have Bad Habits

完璧無欠な人はいない
Kanpeki muketsuna hainai
Nobody’s perfect 

Warriors “strive” to be the best. Being the best isn’t a destination but an idea. It’s an idea because there are varying degrees of what makes something or someone the best & so “best” is merely a qualitative state. Being the best doesn’t mean being perfect or without fault & oftentimes what makes something the best sometimes lies in its imperfection or wabi-sabi in Japanese. This idea of embracing imperfection is something that we learn & is reinforced in training. The teacher demonstrates an ideal, students “strive” to perfect it, teachers correct them & the cycle goes round & round. At some point, hopefully, the student realizes that there’s no way to truly make the technique perfect & they learn to accept what they can do & what they can’t. To be good at budo lies in simply doing one’s best - not in being perfect. Voltaire said, “Perfect is the enemy of good.” In Kendo, one’s gaze is supposed to be enzan  no  metsuke (遠山の目付け) or “Focusing your gaze on a distant mountain.” Thus maintaining our focus on the ideal rather than achieving it is what leads us to mastery. To be the best, we must “focus” on being the best. Focusing enables us to not get hung up on the mishaps or being perfect. Perfection only leads to burnout, frustration or quitting. Allowing or accepting our bad habits enables us to accept ourselves for who we are. Our bodies may not move exactly like the teacher’s but we can still move with a sense of confidence, fluidity & grace & this is achieved with acceptance. This isn’t to say that we just go crazy & give into every vice. We still have to keep our feet on the ground & our gaze on the distant mountain. No one can be the best 100% of the time. Being the best lies in accepting ourselves - the good & the bad. Even warriors have bad habits, but despite them they still focus on being the best. 

Today’s goal: Habits make you, you. Don’t be so hard on yourself - nobody’s perfect.  

Watch this video to better understand habits.

Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” is an example of how two people’s explosive personalities can create something great. Click here to read more about the making of this song. FYI Bowie and Queen never performed this song live together this video is a mix.

A Warrior Stands Their Ground

抜いたら最後
Nuitara saigo 
Draw your sword because this is the end 

A warrior stands their ground. When I was a student, I felt like Furuya Sensei was overly strict on me and I always felt singled out. To me, training in his strict dojo was a gaman taikai (我慢大会) or “test of wills” and for many years, I felt discouraged and wanted to quit. Training is supposed to teach us character and how to stand up to what’s confronting us. There’s a saying in Japanese which is apropos: Nanakorobi yaoki (七転び八起き) or “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” Every day in Aikido class, we get to practice getting back up after being thrown down. We aren’t supposed to get mad or take it personally, but just get up and get ready to be thrown again and hopefully do it with a smile. In theory, it’s easy, but in practice when someone just crushed us it can be much harder. When things get tough and things aren’t going our way, it’s easy to just quit and look for something more palatable or less ego crushing. It’s much harder to draw our sword and stand our ground. When we are cornered and up against insurmountable odds, we are supposed to fight with all our might and never give up. Fearing that warrior spirit, Sun Tzu advocated, “Never put your enemy into a corner.” Many students with great potential have come into the dojo, but sadly leave because they didn’t have the warrior spirit to stay the course when things got tough. In the dojo and in life, our trials and tribulations are testing our conviction and character and they are supposed to be hard because they forging us. Instead of automatically quitting, we should take some time, rest and look inward and reevaluate. This respite will give us the wherewithal to either leave or stand our ground. How long we hold out, especially when things aren’t going our way, speaks volumes about our integrity, character and commitment and that’s why a warrior stands their ground.  

Today’s goal: The artist, Banksy wrote, “If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” Don’t give up, stand your ground.

Throwback Thursday - Knowing

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on May 10, 2003. 

In our view, we tend to think “knowing” and “doing” are the same functions but in Japanese traditional martial arts, they indeed are not. "Knowing" something does not mean we can “do” it, and vice versa. We understand them separately and eventually bring them together to create “true knowing.” “Knowing” something, but not being able to accomplish it (“do”) is not considered “knowing” it at all.

A Warrior Thinks Of Others

Yaiba ni tsuyoki mono wa rei ni suguru
The best warriors surpass all others in decorum

The word samurai (侍) means “the one who serves.” To truly be of service is to be selfless. Letting go of the self is supposed to be one of the highest teachings or levels in budo training. Furuya Sensei had to leave Japan and return to the US when he heard that his grandfather was terminally ill. When he arrived home, his grandfather was on his hands and knees changing out his grass for Dichondra which is a green plant that looks like grass but never needs to be mowed. Sensei asked him “why”and  his grandfather replied, “Dichondra is easier to take care of than grass and I don’t want your grandmother to have to work too hard when I am gone.” Sensei recounted this story and thought that it was “very samurai” because on the eve of his grandfather’s passing, he thought of someone other than himself and did not want to burden anyone after his death. Sometimes, a samurai would burn incense in their helmet before a battle. It was customary to cut the head off of a downed opponent as proof of one’s participation and prowess on the battlefield. Cutting someone’s head off is a messy business and so the smell of incense was a gift or moment of pleasantry among all the messiness of an unpleasant act. The reason why a samurai tries to be “of service” is to teach themselves selflessness because as the unknown authored quote goes, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” That’s one of the theories behind Aikido practice. Each person takes a turn being uke or “the one who receives the technique.” Acting as the uke, our partner acts as the opponent and willing gives us their body to train with. In doing so, they practice and reinforce this idea of non-violence and selflessness. Warriors are people of character who always think of others first. Anyone can be selfish or self-centered, but only a strong person can be selfless and serve others.

Today’s goal: Be strong. Don’t make it about you, make it about the other person.

Warriors Learn From Mistakes

“We learn little from victory, much from defeat.” - Japanese Proverb

Warriors love mistakes, everyone else hates them. Shoshitsu Sen XV once wrote, “When you follow the Way of Tea, no matter how you think you may disgrace yourself, it will not be taken as disgrace or shame. Make mistakes, be rebuked, stand corrected and learn.” The grandmaster’s words ring true for budo as well. Mistakes are just errors in judgement and most of them are benign and hopefully don’t result in catastrophe. Teachers are supposed to point out where we have made mistakes so that we can improve. The problem with making mistakes and being corrected is that most people take it personally. In the past, training was supposed to help students develop thick skins and desensitize them to the pain, hardship and cruelty of battle and life. If they could endure the training, many students realized their own potential and became successes in their regular lives. I remember one student who drove a taxi and after achieving black belt under Furuya Sensei, he realized that he could do anything he set his mind to and went to medical school and became a doctor. Later, he became resentful of Sensei’s strict discipline and left not realizing that learning to deal with Sensei’s strictness was the reason why he became successful in the first place. Nobody wants to make mistakes but warriors know that mistakes can show them where they need to put in the work and that’s why Sensei always used to say, “Cry in the dojo, laugh on the battlefield.” Learning to not take it personally enables us to make mistakes constructively which enables us to grow and improve and ultimately become successful. Taking things personally only makes us resentful and prevents us from using mistakes as guides in our training. Thus, it’s not about making mistakes, but in how we deal with them that is important. Mistakes are just mistakes. Make mistakes, learn from it and use them to make yourself better. Warriors learn from mistakes. 

Today’s goal: When you make a mistake, don’t take it personally - just learn from it.

A Warrior Masters The Basics

The other day, someone asked me to explain about how one would take their opponent’s center and how they could use their opponent’s ki (氣) or “energy” against them. I politely explained that before all of those “advanced” things, they should first master the basic movements or “kihon-waza.” I don’t know if he understood me or not. The reason why students should master the basic physical movements first is because those movements form the basis of being able to “use” their opponent’s ki or “take” their opponent’s center. If we don’t master the physical movements then we will only be using physical strength or speed which will eventually fade as we get older and thus we will always succumb to someone younger, stronger or faster. Discussing Kendo as one ages, Moriji Mochida, Kendo 10th Dan said, “It took my body 50 years to learn the basics of Kendo. After I reached the age of 50, that’s where the real training began. This is because I finally began to practice Kendo with my mind and heart. When you reach 60, your legs and hips begin to weaken. You learn to conquer these weaknesses with your mind and heart. At age 70, your entire body begins to refuse to moving. This is when you learn how to not use your mind or heart. If you do not use your heart, your opponent’s heart becomes a mirror of your own.” Reading this, it seems that different physical difficulties arise in each decade and so before we reach a certain age, we need to have mastered certain things. If we don’t, those things will echo into our future and cause us trouble. That’s why we should strive to master the physical movements first before we get into the more advanced techniques. Just like painting or cooking, everything in life is a process and like all processes we need to follow the steps in order to achieve mastery. That is why the best warriors first master the basics. 

Today’s goal: If you find that you are having a hard time, just go back to the basics.

This video begins at the 8:00 minute mark where Tada Sensei discusses mastering the basics. This is a 3 part interview that everyone should watch.

Throwback Thursday - Relationships

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on April 4, 2003. 

There is nothing more blessed than to live a simple life, work hard and have a few good friends. This is the way I think nowadays. Maybe it is my age and I am getting old, but looking over everything I have done - I think this is what I value the most. We can make ourselves very busy and try to do everything we can but we only get weary and bored. If we don't work hard we cannot even realize our smallest dream. People always come and go in our lives but it is those friends who are always there by our side that make the biggest difference of all. We focus on money - one day we are rich and the next day we are poor. We focus on fame - but people soon forget who we are as soon as we can no longer entertain and amuse them. Our fancy car gets scratched and old and is soon worth nothing. What do most people want in this life? I think most people do not know for themselves. In Zen, there is an old saying, "The treasure sword is in your hand." We hold a great treasure without even realizing it!

A Warrior Finds Weak Points

Warriors are adept at finding weak points. One of the things training teaches us is to recognize patterns. Within patterns are rhythms and like all rhythms there are highs and lows. The high is where the opponent’s defenses are the strongest. The low is where there is a suki (隙) or an “opening” because the opponent’s defenses are the weakest. The repetitiousness of training allows the student to get into a flow state which is akin to a meditative state and when this happens the brain begins programming the techniques into their subconscious. Subconscious or unconscious programming is used to create what we would call kan (勘) or “intuitive”movement in Japanese. We use kan to deal with an attack but it’s also used to intuitively recognize when there’s an opening to attack. With subconscious programming, our bodies learn to move without conscious thought which is supposed to be faster. To illustrate this point, on average conscious action takes 500 milliseconds and subconscious reaction takes 12 milliseconds. The more repetitious training we do, the stronger our subconscious reaction becomes. At some point in training, we get adept at reading our opponent’s patterns and using that information to defeat them. With experience, we also begin to realize that the true enemy lies within and then we then turn our discriminating eye inward so that we can see the patterns which are holding us back. Each of us do things consciously or unconsciously which are helping us and hurting us. The trick is in knowing the difference and breaking the habits that are keeping us from being successful or happy. O’Sensei referred to defeating ourselves as “masakatsu agatsu” or “The truest victory is over one’s self.” Warriors are good at finding weak points but,  in life and in training, the real weak points that we are searching for are our own. 

Today’s goal: Look for your habitual patterns or weak points and change the one’s which are holding you back.

A Warrior Stands Up Straight

“The lines of the posture thus formed express calm dignity, balanced stability, passivity, unconcerned ease, peace and tranquility, known in philosophical terms as ‘action in inaction,’ full of potentialities.”
- Gunji Koizumi, Judo 8th Dan

How we stand says a lot about us. The source of our ki (氣) or “energy” is located in our hara (腹) or “abdomen” which is the lower one-third of our abdomen. When we stand up straight with good posture, we assume shizentai (自然体 ) or a “natural body” and it’s with this posture which enables the energy from our center to travel up our spines and move throughout our bodies. From this “balanced” place, we can efficiently deal with or redirect any incoming force. In the martial arts, we are always trying to defend our seichusen (正中線) or “centerline” and attack or control our opponent’s. Controlling the opponent’s centerline means being able to dictate their posture and affect their balance which will inhibit their body’s ability to use energy efficiently or appropriately which will cause them to fail. Defending and controlling our own center enables us to remain calm and appropriately deal with any attack and ultimately be successful. Anyone who has given a piggyback ride to someone who was too heavy which caused them to fall down understands this principle. When talking about posture, Furuya Sensei said, “Sometimes, we forget that Aikido is training the mind and spirit, as well as the body.” Standing up straight and moving with good posture usually means that our bodies are balanced and our minds are calm. We can change the orientation of our power just by focusing on how we stand. Likewise, we can change how our day is going just by sitting or standing up straight, lowering our shoulders, balancing our hips, lifting our heads and taking a breath. We change because our posture changes. Understanding this, we can see that how we stand is a reflection of our inner state.

Today’s goal: When things go sideways, focus on your breathing and your posture. 

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?