Pay Attention

The best martial artist knows how to pay attention. In Japanese, “to pay attention” can either be mewotomeru (目を留め) or kinitomeru (氣に留める) which literally means for one’s eyes or energy “to stop.” Learning in all traditional Japanese arts is referred to as minarai keiko (見習い稽古) or “To watch and learn.” It is said that the teacher only teaches us 50%. The other half, we have to learn on our own. In order to learn the other half, we have to learn how to learn and part of that is learning how to pay attention. Minarai literally means “to learn how to see.” Learning how to see is a euphemism for paying attention. A person who can pay attention is able to see or ascertain the subtlest details which they can then use to create minor changes which yield much larger benefits. There are four levels of paying attention: unawareness, hyper-focus, awareness, and mindfulness. Most normal people live in unawareness. Hyper-focus is next to unawareness because to be so focused that we are unaware of our surroundings is dangerous and it is also partly based upon ego and that is why it’s just as bad being unaware. In order to improve, we have to become aware of ourselves and that means learning to care enough about what it is we are doing to want to improve. Awareness is the gateway to change. When we get good at being aware of ourselves, others, and our surroundings, that leads us to mindfulness. Being mindful is a state of awareness where we can see the smallest and seemingly insignificant detail and understand how it figures into the big picture but at the same time, we are still aware of what is going on around us. Mindful.org defines mindfulness as “The basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” When we have mastered mindfulness or the ability to see, every person and anything can become our teacher and at that point we can begin to fulfill that other 50% of learning. That is why the best martial artist knows how to pay attention. 

Today’s goal: Don’t sleepwalk through life. What can you pay better attention to? 

Watch this video of Sesame Street teaching the art of paying attention

Self-praise

The best warriors are jisan (自賛) or “good a praising themselves.” Japan’s greatest swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi advocated, “Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.” One way to look at pleasure is from the standpoint of praise and compliments. Every once in a while, it is nice to get a bit of praise or receive compliments. However, we can also become addicted to the dopamine hit of praise and begin to live our lives searching for it. Once that happens, we become a slave to it and live our lives searching for it. Normal people are externally motivated. An externally motivated person searches for motivation or praise outside of themselves. If we search externally, we run the risk of coming up short when we don’t get the amount of praise that we were searching for. Most times when this happens, we double down on our efforts and try harder to get more and more praise. The problem with this type of thinking is that no matter how much praise we get, it will never be enough. A martial artist is not a normal person, and we are supposed to be internally motivated. An internally motivating person is supposed to be good at self-praise. Internal motivation is a closed loop system where nothing external is necessary to keep it going. Thus, through the highs and lows, we are able to self-motivate, self-reflect, and self-correct. Why this is important is because if we are able to do this then we cannot be swayed by things, people or events. This is the basis for true inner strength. Musashi also said, “Shinbutsu wo tattobite, shinbutsu wo tanomazu” (神仏を尊びて神仏を頼ず) which means, “Respect Buddha and Shinto gods, but do not ask them for anything.” We should respect all gods and all people, but not look to them for anything, especially praise. A normal person is constantly at the will of things, people, or events. Warriors are supposed to be steadfast and internally motivated and that’s why the best martial artists are good at self-praise. 

Today’s goal: Don’t live your life for others. Do not seek pleasure for its own sake. Live your life for yourself. 

Watch this video to better understand self-praise

Throwback Thursday - A Dojo

Throwback Thursday - A Dojo

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on July 15, 2005.

Although a dojo needs four walls and a roof, it is the students and members within which make a dojo. The greatness of a dojo is determined by the spirit of the dojo and how well everyone works together. A dojo is not a business nor is it a religion. Spirit is cultivated by proper reigi-saho or “etiquette” and manners. How everyone can work together in harmony and in good spirit is the greatest accomplishment of all - even great countries and governments in the world cannot achieve this so easily.

Fighting, pettiness, jealousy, power struggles, small mindedness and selfishness are typical and common - anyone can do this, it is not an accomplishment at all. None of this “pettiness” leads to greatness of spirit or accomplishes anything good. Being small only shows one's mediocrity and a lack of understanding of the true spirit of Aikido and practice.

In real Life, we often have to put ourselves first above anything. In practice, we put the other person first. It is in putting others first that we can refine ourselves and develop a sense of nobility and bring beauty into our Lives. This is the spirit of a dojo. 

Watch this video of Furuya Sensei from the summer of 1991

Integrity

武士に二言なし
Bushininigonnashi 
Warriors never go back on their word
- Japanese proverb

Happy Birthday, Michael Stinson! Michael was a student at our dojo who passed away just prior to the beginning of the pandemic. Yesterday, we were finally able to gather and spread Michael’s ashes into the ocean and lay him to rest. I use Michael a lot as a teaching tool to help my students understand things like being present, having awareness, or how to better understand mental health. As I drove to the beach, I reflected about not only his life, but his passing as well. Then it struck me, “Do I really live all the lessons that I say about him?” Sometimes as teachers, we lecture about things like being present to help students deepen their training experience but then turn around and do just the opposite. Acting contrary to what we are teaching isn’t usually malicious; it’s just human nature to forget but how much we are living our integrity demonstrates our true level. A warrior on the other hand isn’t supposed to forget and is supposed to have integrity which means never allowing for gaps between what they say and what they do. In Japanese, the proverb which supports this is bushininigonnashi (武士に二言なし) or “Warriors never go back on their word.” This is integrity. Someone once said, “Integrity is the value which insures all others.” When we act with integrity, what we say will be congruent with what we do or how we act. Sometimes, we are just talking to talk, talking to fill a void or just saying things to get people to like us. A true warrior does none of these because they know that they will be held to their word. Living with integrity is not an overnight thing. Like almost all the concepts in the martial arts, they are difficult to live and take years of practice in order to fully inculcate them into our lives. Michael’s life was cut short because he wasn’t able to see how much he meant to so many others around him, but isn’t that most of us? Michael’s passing also teaches us that life is short and not to waste ours, but don’t we all take our lives for granted? Warriors don’t have the luxury of duplicity and going back on their word. Living with integrity means that I must not forget to live the lessons that Michael’s life and passing have taught me. Bushininigonnashi. Happy birthday, Michael. 

Today’s goal: Live your life with integrity - follow through on the things that you say you will do.

Watch this video to better understand integrity

To Care

“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” - Anonymous

The best martial artists care. The not-so-secret to success in the martial arts is to care. Nothing more, nothing less. Success comes to those who care enough to do a good job. In Japanese, kikubari (氣配り) or kokorogake (心掛け) both can mean “to care” but they also literally mean to put one’s “energy” or “heart” into something. An anonymous person once said, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.” To fall in a colloquial sense means “to be tricked” but in a martial arts sense, it means “to be cut down.” As a martial artist, everything we do must begin with care. If we care about the outcome, we must put care into its preparation or as Archilochus put it, “We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” If we care, then we will pour our energy (氣) or our heart (心) into it and eventually we will succeed. Care is one of those things like self-discipline or willpower which cannot be taught but can be learned - it is an internal thing. The more we train, the training somehow teaches us how to care just as it teaches us to also have self-discipline or willpower. Aikido is a very technical and precise martial art. Learning Aikido is kind of like learning the language of movement. Once our bodies learn the details of the language, it can flow just like in a conversation. However, to learn the details requires care and consideration on our part. James Redfield said, “Where attention goes energy flows; where intention goes energy flows.” Thus, to care begins with a choice. We must deliberately choose to want to care. This is a threshold that every student must come to on their own. When we make the choice to care, it opens up the doors to great things not only in Aikido but in life as well. Emily Dickinson once wrote, “If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves.” Nothing great is achieved without care and consideration and that’s why the best martial arts always care. 

Today’s goal: Remember, “We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.”

Watch this video to better understand caring

Throwback Thursday - One Mind

Throwback Thursday - One Mind

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on March 27, 2003.

The martial arts have always been related to warfare from times past but, in this day and age, as we enter a state of war, we see that it is quite a bit different from what we do on the mats in the dojo. This is a result of the great transformation of Japanese martial arts in the 17th century.

It does not mean that our martial arts are too primitive or outdated, it means that our goals and purposes are so much different now. We practice a martial art to "save lives." Despite the new technology and science of warfare today, it is still a method, however advanced, to “destroy lives." We must always keep this in mind.

I think one must also keep in mind that it is much harder to create life, than it is to destroy life. Destroying life is quite easy - it only requires a little strength and violence. Creating life or preserving life is a much more complex, time-consuming, and continually on-going process which we experience every single day and moment of our lives.

In war, we must prepare ourselves to witness and experience many, many horrible things. This is war, and there is no way to avoid this. It is already happening now as I read the newspapers and listen to the daily news. War will never change, until we change. But this means that it will be in a time when we have all forgotten about the idea of "us and them.” How long do we think it will take until we will all begin to realize this?

Please continue to practice hard. As long as we think of ourselves as “you and yourself" or “me and myself," there will never be an end to war or violence. Please train to realize that you and the world around you are one and the inseparable same entity, integrated and whole and indivisible. I think this is part of O'Sensei's message to us - which we can only discover for ourselves in our practice.

Make Mistakes Wisely

A good martial artist makes mistakes wisely. The crux of learning is to make mistakes - no one is above this maxim. If we are not making mistakes, then we are not trying hard enough to succeed, or our goals are not lofty enough. Also, if we are not making mistakes, then we are not growing either. Growth is a function of shikosakugo (試行錯誤) or “trial and error.” Mistakes pave the way to achieving our goals. All martial arts techniques are based on kata (方) or “a set of predetermined moves.” Many, if not all kata, were born out of trial and error where someone needed to find a solution to a problem and through the process of trial and error came up with a solution to their problem. For instance, in the 1870s, Jigoro Kano studied Tenjin Shinyo-ryu Jujutsu while in college. One of Kano’s seniors, Kanekichi Fukushima routinely defeated him. Kano became so consumed with defeating Fukushima that he thought about it day and night. Kano tried everything from unorthodox Jujutsu techniques to Sumo techniques, but nothing worked on Fukushima. The more Kano studied and tried, the more he failed and sometimes failed miserably. Then one day, Kano happened upon a book about western wrestling in his college library which showed a throw called a Fireman’s Carry. Kano worked out how to use the Fireman’s Carry in Jujutsu and practiced it all night. The next day, when the time was right, Kano sprung it on Fukushima, and it worked. Jigoro Kano went on to create Judo and that throw became known as kataguruma or “shoulder wheel” throw and is still a part of the Judo repertoire today. A mistake is only bad if we either continue to repeat it or if we don’t learn from it. Mistakes aren’t personal - they are just part of the process. Whenever I make a mistake, I try to remember a quote I read in a book on tea ceremony: “Be rebuked, stand corrected and learn. This is the basis of a successful life.” Everyone makes mistakes, but only a good martial artist makes them wisely.

Today’s goal: Go out and make some mistakes but try to learn from them as well. 

Watch this video to better understand mistakes

One Step Further

三倍努力
San bai no do ryoku
To triple one's effort

The best martial artists are always striving to go one step further.

The one step further is a mindset which is dedicated to something called kaizen (改善) or “continuous Improvement.” Author James Clear wrote about continuous improvement in his book Atomic Habits where defined it as “a dedication to making small changes and improvements every day, with the expectation that those small improvements will add up to something significant.” In his book, Clear stated that “If you get one percent better each day for one year, you'll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.” Judo legend, Masahiko Kimura advocated this kaizen mindset in something he called, san bai no do ryoku (三倍努力) or “To triple one's effort.” He said, “If my opponents train twice as hard then I will train three times as hard.” For beginners, the one step further mindset is physical as they strive for a deeper irimi, a stronger tenshin, more reps, or further technical improvements. Later on in one’s training, the improvements become more mental and pertain to things outside of training on the mat. For instance, how my assistants prepare and set up this weekend’s O’Sensei memorial service will demonstrate their true level of training. The one step further mindset demonstrates to others who we really are or where we really are in our training. When we face off with an opponent, it is the littlest things which give away our true level. If we are willing to go the extra mile for something as benign as preparing or setting up a memorial service, then more than likely we also put that same diligence into our Aikido training. Therefore, we can see a person’s true level or their true character in “how” they do whatever it is that they do or as Martha Beck once said, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” Everything we do in the dojo is a practice run for real life. I’m not talking about hitting, kicking, or throwing people down. In the dojo, we are cultivating a mindset. One aspect of our mindset is to always strive to go one step further in everything that we do. A person who strives for a high level will have to push themselves further and that’s why the best martial artists are always striving to go one step further.

Today’s goal: Figure out how or where you can strive to go one step further.

Throwback Thursday - Start With Stupid!

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on June 23, 2005.

Start With Stupid! I know what you are thinking, “What a horrible thing to say!” Everyone hates this word, “stupid.”

However, as bad as it sounds, this is the best place to start. Always start with "stupid." Do not take "stupid" in such a negative way but take it positively. If we start with “stupid," we can leave behind all pride, ego, stubbornness, selfishness, and greed and begin our practice with a clean slate with nothing at all to worry about. From the word, "stupid," we have nothing to defend or protect, we have nothing to stand up for, we have no care or worries in the world, we are free to do anything we like! Like cleaning the slate, it is the perfect place from which to begin.

Some students come to class with their own strong, self-image - "I am smart" or “I am better than others," or “I am great," and then spend all of their time trying to defend or conceal whatever their notion of themselves is rather than actually buckling down and learn what they need to learn and practice and be their real, true selves!

Often, in Japanese, they tell someone who is having difficulty making progress or at a standstill in their work, to "baka ni nare” or “to be a fool!" This means, "to stop thinking too much or "over thinking" (kangae-sugi) something and begin with a fresh start.

When we become a fool, we have no cares in the world and are free to do what we need to do without all of the heavy baggage of pride and ego.

Many, many years ago a great Karate teacher and good friend came up to me and said, "Hey, look at my feet!” I looked down and saw that he had on one red sock and one blue sock. He looked at me and started to laugh out loud. "Don't you think that is the funniest thing ever?" he asked. I smiled and thought to myself, "It's kind of stupid, what is wrong with him?"

He confessed to me, "I have to be so serious as a teacher every day, it is so nice to be stupid and do stupid things!" I understood this feeling perfectly. It is so hard to live up to my own standards when I think I am so smart and better than others, to be a fool - how wonderful and free of care!

We always think that "stupid" is a reflection on our tremendous, burdensome image of ourselves, not realizing that "stupid" is often the easiest, quickest way to freedom.

Watch Furuya Sensei demonstrate in 1990.

Be Patient

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” - Sun Tzu

The best warriors are always patient. Having the ability to be patient is often the difference between winning and losing. Patience is defined as “being able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.” When the Japanese talk about patience they either use nin (忍) or gaman (我慢) which both mean to have “patience, endurance perseverance or self-restraint.” In combat, being patient is about self-restraint which means knowing when to strike and when to retreat. Sun Tzu once wrote, “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” If we are patient and attack when the moment is right, then there is a high likelihood that we will be victorious. If we are impatient or impetuous, then we run the risk of attacking when the time is not opportune and we will most likely fail. In the dojo, being patient is about learning to persevere through the ups and the downs of training where we have to be patient with how fast (or seemingly slow) we develop. Just yesterday, someone much wiser than me reminded me that, “training is a marathon and not a sprint.” Most of us want to develop as fast as possible, but true skill is only born out of consistency and constancy and that requires the patience to persevere. With patience, we circuitously learn to have tact and deftness. Furuya Sensei once wrote, “In Japanese, there is a word, ‘sunao na’ which means to be ‘gentle.' Be gentle in our outlook and try to see what the teacher is trying to teach us. Sometimes, understanding does not come immediately and may take days, weeks and even many years before it comes to us. This is what it means to be ‘gentle’ and have a little patience.” This gentleness is one of the greatest gifts that comes out of training because it teaches us to have the humility of the student which dictates that we are all on the journey of self-discovery and so we should always be kind, gentle and patient. Ian MacLaren said, “Be pitiful, for every man is fighting a hard battle.” In Aikido and in life, being patient is the difference between winning and losing and that is why the best warriors are always patient.  

Today’s goal: How can you be patient with others or yourself today? 

Watch this video to better understand patience

Move Forward

臨兵闘者皆陣列在前
Rin pyo to sha kai jin retsu zai zen
The bravest warrior excels at the front of the battlefield. 

The best warriors always move forward. Zenshin (前進) is the Japanese word used when talking about moving forward on the battlefield. In Aikido, moving forward toward our opponent is referred to as irimi (入り身). A number of years ago, a famous Aikido teacher visited our dojo and watched class. After class, he admonished me by saying, “Your Aikido is too aggressive and relies too heavily on irimi.” From what I gather, because he didn’t have any other sagely wisdom, he was insinuating that irimi was a form of aggression or violence. He is not wrong on a certain level, but Aikido is about balance and one can think of irimi as yang and tenshin and tenkan as yin or that they are two side of the same coin, and one cannot exist without the other. The movements of Aikido are weapon based movements. So, if we think about it from the standpoint of swordsmanship, irimi must be learned first. Prior to the 16th century, swordsmanship was primarily irimi based but in the mid 1500s, Yagyu Munetoshi, the founder of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, developed muto (無刀) or “no sword” techniques.  He was considered genius or enlightened because he was able to incorporate tenkan and tenshin movements and use them to disarm a person with a sword. Before that time, it was unheard of person to irimi on a swordsman empty-handed let alone tenkan or tenshin. In my opinion, people learning Aikido need to be able to have a balance between irimi style movements which can be thought of as “aggressive” and tenkan/tenshin movements which some think are more “peaceful.” Furuya Sensei referred to this balance as, “Saikan Kobai” [sic] or “the elegant apricot flower and the strong plum blossom.” He said, “To focus too much on war makes us rough and crude while the emphasis on too much beauty makes us weak.” Thus, in Aikido and in life, we have to learn how to move forward (irimi) before we can learn to yield or draw back (tenkan/tenshin). Training in the martial arts gives us confidence in ourselves to move forward toward that which confront us and it is why the bravest warriors move forward and excel at the front of the battlefield. 

Today’s goal: Figure out what in life you need to move forward on?

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Non-violence

“The Art of Peace is the principle of nonresistance. Because it is nonresistant, it is victorious from the beginning. Those with evil intentions or contentious thoughts are instantly vanquished. The Art of Peace is invincible because it contends with nothing.” - Morihei Ueshiba

The true goal of martial arts training is non-violence or “hiboryoku” (非暴力). This statement seems like a paradox. The other day, a friend asked the question, “Does Aikido encourage violence?” The short answer is no. My friend is a mediation student, so I tried to explain it to him from the standpoint of meditation. In meditation, one thing that we are trying to strive towards is mushin (無心) which literal translation means “no mind.” Erroneously, some misunderstand mushin as a state where we are trying to not think or the absence of thought. I don’t think that this understanding is true because what we are trying to achieve in mediation is equanimity or learning how to not hold on to our thoughts. This same misunderstanding happens in martial arts as we think that non-violence means the absence of anything violent. Violence/aggression is a primal tendency and so we cannot eradicate it from our minds. Understanding this, in Aikido we are learning equanimity where we are not that we are trying to suppress violence but how to manage our violent tendencies. From the standpoint of violence, any form of resistance or retribution on any level, mental or physical, can be considered violent. Thus, in Aikido, we are trying to learn how to better deal with situations which previously could only be solved with violence. What Aikido is trying to do is to teach us how to manage our desire to deal out violence when attacked. In Aikido, we learn how to move with the attacker to ensure our safety and theirs. We are all capable of violence and hurting others, but it is only the trained and learned person who can put a limit on the violence. Physical movement is just physical movement, but it becomes violent with our intention. Therefore, violence is really about intention and so we try to not engage in violence but also try to have the intention to not be violent as well. The situation might be violent, but our intention is compassion rather than destruction. Digging a hole to plant a tree is virtuous but to the insect who got crushed it is violence. No matter how hard we train, we can never be completely devoid of violence. Thus, the goal of training, like mediation, is equanimity where we do not hold on to the desire to be violent or act on that desire. That is why the true goal of training is not to learn how to be violent but to learn how to manage the violence which arises inside of us.  

Today’s goal: Try to understand in what ways you engage in violence with not only others but with yourself as well. Be kind!

Watch this video of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to better understand non-violence.

Face Your Fears

A true warrior faces their fears. In the Empire Strikes Back, Luke is instructed to go into the Cave of Evil on Dagobah. Yoda says, “That place is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go.” Luke Skywalker asks,”What's in there?” Yoda replies, “Only what you take with you.” Every day we are confronted by illusions which are created by our own fears. In the past, fear helped primitive people to survive because it prevented them from eating strange berries or venturing into dark caves. Fear has a way of creating illusions in our minds which tell us a story which may or may not be true. These illusions or stories keep us from experiencing our lives in a way that fulfills us or makes us happy. In Japanese, an illusion is “kinomayoi” (氣の迷い) or more literally that our “ki (氣) has been tricked.” Nowadays, we are more learned than our primal ancestors and we can use fear in our favor. For the most part, fear is just showing us which direction to go towards or as Marcus Aurelius is famously quoted as saying, “The obstacle is the way.” In training, with every roll, technique or throw, we are learning to face our fears and dispel those illusions which are holding us back. First it’s joining a dojo, then it’s rolling, next it’s stronger opponents or difficult techniques. Then, at some point, we realize that the only thing which is really holding us back is the “fear” that we created in our minds or the story that we have given into which is not the reality at all. The reality is that nothing is really all that bad and that most things are surmountable with practice. Once we get good at confronting that which confronts us in the dojo, we take that courage and focus its lens on other aspects of our lives. This is how training becomes a positive influence on our lives and makes every aspect better. Buddhist monk, Ryokan said, "When you have a problem, face it; when you are sick, face it; when death stalks you, face it.” The only way to know if something is an illusion in our minds or not is to face it. Fear is the way toward change and that’s why a true warrior faces their fears. 

Today’s goal: “Don't shrink. Don't puff up. Stand your sacred ground.” - Author Brene Brown

Watch this video to better understand standing up to your fears

Mountains

No matter how the wind howls, the mountain will not bow to it. - Chinese proverb

All warriors love mountains. From a martial arts standpoint, mountains (山) are a symbol of strength and courage, but mountains can also represent difficulty or challenge. Every day, and maybe even every moment of our lives, we find ourselves confronted by a mountain or a challenge. Training teaches us that we can either perceive these mountains as being blockades which are preventing us from being successful or we can see climbing them as the building blocks to our greatness. Therefore, mountains are all about perspective. A person who studies a martial art doesn’t see mountains or challenges as being negative. They see everything from the positive perspective of the journey of mastery where mountains are merely a test of our mastery or a lesson toward it. Some days, the mountain can be just making it to the dojo where just getting there seems like a herculean feat. On other days, the mountain can be just making it through class. Regardless of the mountain which confronts us, it is all relative as every person is challenged by their own mountain and each of us is struggling with ours. Only after we have overcome our mountain do we realize that they were only mountains in our minds. Diplomat Dag Hammerskjold said, “Never measure the height of a mountain until you reach the top. Then you will see how low it was.” With every mountain we surmount, we build strength and gain courage and thus in doing so become a mountain ourselves. On the meaning of life, Dostoyevsky once wrote, “To be a human being among people and to remain one forever, no matter in what circumstances, not to grow despondent and not to lose heart—that’s what life is all about, that’s its task.” Mountains, or the challenges they represent, help us understand ourselves and teach us the meaning of life and that is why all warriors love mountains.

Today’s goal: Every day, there is going to be some wind blowing. Be a mountain; don’t let it get to you.

Watch this video to better understand how the obstacle is the Way.

April Fools

騙されないで
Damasarenai de
Don’t get fooled

Don’t be an shigatsubaka (四月馬鹿) or an “April fool.” In T.S. Elliot’s The Waste Land, he opens the poem with, “April is the cruelest month.” April is supposed to be about renewal as crops are planted, flowers bloom and the snow begins to melt. In a “waste land” everything seems dead and none of these renewals are happening. A fool is defined as “a person who acts unwisely or imprudently.” Thus, an April fool is someone who doesn’t see the robustness of life which is happening all around them and therefore takes life for granted. Training in the martial arts is supposed to teach us about mujo (無常) or “impermanence.” As a warrior learns how to hurt or kill, they inadvertently learn how to live. They learn how to “live” by realizing the futility of violence and the reality that we are all going to die and so they try to make use of every moment of their lives. Martial arts training can seem quite foolish because most of us train for an eventuality which may never happen. Regardless, if an opportunity arises or not, we still have to approach our training with a sense of seriousness. Being serious gives us an edge and it is with this edge that we can come to realize the tenuousness of life and learn how to live and not foolishly waste our lives. There is a Japanese proverb: bakahashinanakyanaoranai (馬鹿は死ななきゃ治らない) which means “stupidity can only be cured by death.” The death we are talking about in a martial arts sense is the death of our egos. This is why in training we are supposed to “kill our egos” so we don’t take life for granted. Today, being the first of April, resign yourself to not be fooled into thinking that you are not good enough, that your life is worthless or that it has no meaning. Your life is very much not a wasteland and is full of purpose and meaning if you could only realize it as such. Don’t be an April fool! 

Today’s goal: Don’t be fooled into thinking that you are not good enough.

Watch this video to better understand not being April fooled

Throwback Thursday - 3 Types of Students

Throwback Thursday - 3 Types of Students

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on September 12, 2003.

Three types of students:

The first type tries to do as little as possible but still remain in the bounds of approval and acceptance.

The second group tries to do exactly as they are told, no more no less.

The third tries to do just a little more, taking that one extra step, going beyond what is expected of them.

If we are a hard laborer whose job requires much effort for little pay, then perhaps, we should be in the first group.

If we work for a big company with many people, maybe we are in the second group.

If we are an artist or someone seeking something more in Life than just physical or material comforts, perhaps we need to be in the third group.

It is hard to imagine any one with the mentality of the first or second group doing well in training.

Training is maximum effort for minimal return to achieve a state of minimum effort for maximum return. Of course, we are not speaking of the material world or the world of the ego here. We are talking about the effort to achieve something much more deeper and profound than just throwing people down. 

Watch this brief video of Furuya Sensei explaining Aikido in 1986

Don’t Get Distracted

泰然自若
Taizenjijaku
Having an imperturbable and calm mind.

A good martial artist never gets distracted. Kiutsuri (氣移り) and meutsuri (目移り) both mean “distraction” but they literally mean that our energy or our eyes become “moved.” Thus, to be distracted is to allow our mind, energy, or eyes to lose focus. When we lose focus, it can create a mental or physical opening called a “suki” (隙).  When an opening is created, our opponent might be able to seize upon that gap and defeat us. In training, we are often told not to look directly into our opponent’s eyes. One old school reason for this was that it was thought that a deft warrior could supposedly distract us or hypnotize us with their eyes and then seize the moment and attack. If you have ever had a niramekura (睨め競) or “staring contest” you might understand this. When we stare too long, our eyes dry out and this causes us to blink. Likewise, when we focus too strongly on not blinking, then we get mentally distracted and might miss our opponent moving in on us. Perhaps this could be the origin of warriors being able to “attack in a blink of an eye.” To guard against being hypnotized or distracted, we are told to soften our eyes and focus our relaxed gaze at our opponent’s shoulder line or to blur their face with our vision. This way of “looking” allows us to not get distracted and catch the smallest movements in our opponent’s bodies and then capitalize on the openings that they create and defeat them. Samurai, Adachi Masahiro said, “The imperturbable mind is the secret of warfare.” To have an imperturbable mind is to have a calm mind which is not easily swayed by distractions. In life and in the martial arts, we need to know which fights need to be fought and which wars have to be won. Martial artists train themselves to have an imperturbable mind and that is why a good martial artist never gets distracted. 

Today’s goal: In everything that you do, ask yourself, “Is this a distraction?”

Watch this video to better understand distractions.

Training Doesn’t Add up

“It takes a 100 times to remember the move, a 1,000 times to make them beautiful and 10,000 times to grasp their essence.” - Unknown

You cannot buy budo. The main question that people ask when shopping for a martial arts school is “How much does it cost?” Obviously, they are trying to figure out if they can afford training and are weighing its value from a cost standpoint. The problem is that from a cost-benefit analysis, martial arts training doesn’t add up. For instance, it takes the average person five years to reach shodan (初段) or “first degree black belt.” If dues for training were $100 a month, then the cost to get a shodan would be about $7200 but that is not the real cost because that price doesn’t reflect any other ancillary costs like gas, equipment or uniforms. That $7200 might be the monetary commitment for shodan, but there is also a time and energy commitment which, generally speaking, costs somewhere around 1000 hours of training. Therefore, if we were to present martial arts training to potential students as requiring an average commitment of five years, $7200 and 1000 hours and that sho (初) means “beginner” then most customers probably wouldn’t start because of the sticker shock. Some call this consumer based mindset shoninkonjo (商人根性) or the “mercenary spirit” where things are transactional and the tangible benefits outweigh the costs. However, martial arts training teaches us to have a bushikatagi (武士気質) or “warrior spirit.” The word samurai (侍) itself means “one who serves” and to be a warrior in the service of others requires that we be gijin (義人) or “selfless.” There is a great line in the movie Seven Samurai where Shimada says, “By protecting others, you save yourself. If you only think of yourself, you'll only destroy yourself.” If we have the mindset of a customer, then we will never be able to jump into the void and save another person. With that being said, today, every student begins as a customer. However, at some point, we start to see training less transactionally from what it costs us to what we are gaining from it self-developmentally and thus stop being customers and become students. There are so many intangible benefits to training in the martial arts which don’t add up on paper like having more self-confidence, getting into better shape, or becoming a better person to name just a few. Those intangible benefits completely outweigh the “price” of training and that is why training is a journey and not a destination. Therefore, we cannot buy the benefits of training, they are something that we have to work for and that is why we can’t “buy” budo, we can only strive toward it. 

Today’s goal: In everything you do, try to see the intangibles. 

Watch or listen to the Aiki Dojo Podcast’s episode where they discuss customers versus students

Watch the HIGHLIGHTS

Final Form

“It is not important to be better than someone else, but to be better than yesterday.” - Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo

A true warrior never stops developing themselves. The goal of human beings is to evolve. A true warrior is searching for their saishuhensei (最終編成) or their “final form.” Our final form is the highest level of development we can attain. For each person, that apex is different. We won’t know where our final form is unless we strive to find it. In the martial arts, the art is the vehicle that we use to develop ourselves and find our highest level or final form. In class, the teacher pares down the techniques in order to make them digestible. Once we have mastered that particular level, the teacher then adds another level, then another and so on and so forth. With each level or layer, comes new obstacles to overcome and new skills to learn. If we have the mindset of jikokeihatsu (自己啓発) or “self-development” then we will strive to improve ourselves. If we have the mindset of jikomanzoku (自己満足) or “complacency” then we will stop when we have attained any little amount of self-development. In battle, the worst place to be is rojo (籠城) which means “holing up in a castle during a siege.” When we are attacked, it’s better to fight to save our own lives than it is to wait and hole up in a castle as we stagnate and wait for others to save us. If our technique doesn’t evolve it will become stagnant, wither and maybe even get us killed. It withers because our bodies are constantly changing over time and with those changes, we cannot rely on the physicalness of our bodies as we lose strength, stamina, and speed as we age. However, even as we get older, we can still improve our technique. Someone once said, “technique and spirit will always beat strength and speed.” Obviously, wherever it is that we “stop” developing ourselves is where our final level will be. All that is required in not only Aikido but in life is that we just keep going no matter the adversity or obstacle. With this perseverance, we will sooner or later overcome ourselves and find our highest level or final form. A true warrior is striving to find their final form and that is why they never stop developing themselves.

Today’s goal: Have you evolved into your final form? If not, get to work!

Posture is Power

二枚腰
Nimaigoshi
Sumo term which means to have a posture in which the legs are firmly planted

A good martial artist always has good posture. Posture is defined as either “the position in which someone holds their body” or “an approach or attitude.” One correction that Furuya Sensei would often give us was “back straight.” Poor posture usually means that we are pushing or using our upper bodies too much or that our minds have become disengaged. In meditation, when we lose our posture, it usually means that our minds have fallen asleep. Poor posture then disables us from using our centers properly and generating our power to our fullest potential. In swordsmanship, it is thought that posture is important because proper posture and proper grip usually indicate a balanced center and an engaged mind. The proper posture or stance for a martial artist is shizentai (自然体) or “the natural body” stance. In Shizentai, we stand up straight and extend our spines which allow our shoulders to sit naturally. Therefore, good posture activates our power and enables us to use the energy from our centers. In Aikido, our center is referred to as the “one-point” or the chushin (中心) or hara (腹). When our centers are activated then our minds are calm but also engaged. In Japanese, many of the words like migamae, taisei, and goshi mean “posture” but like in English, posture can also mean “attitude.” Furuya Sensei used to say, “You can tell everything you need to know about a person by the way they do Aikido.” Thus, what he is saying is that our physical posture is an indication of our inner attitude. Leadership guru, Brian Tracy said, “You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” When we stand nimaigoshi or “firmly with good posture,” we are saying to the world, “I am calmly ready for.” In Aikido and life, being “calmly ready” might be a physical posture but posture is power because it shows our attitude and our level of engagement. That is why a good martial artist always has good posture.

Today’s goal: Mind your posture because others are trying to figure out just how powerful you really are.