The Journey, not the Destination

Last summer several of us watched Olympic athletes from all over the world compete in just 2 weeks to see who would go home with the gold medals. Many times, the difference between silver and gold, or between bronze and 4th place was thousandths of a second or hundredths of a point. It really drives home the realization that only ONE person wins the gold. Even though those of us who train in martial arts aren’t necessarily running a race or trying to stick a landing or touch the pool wall first, ask yourself this: what would your journey as a martial artist look like if you WERE training for the gold medal? Let’s redefine what the gold medal might look like for us. Is it achieving the next belt rank? Showing up at Spirit Week every night it’s held? Is it losing enough weight to get into the next lowest size uniform? Is it making it through a class without jumping cadence and doing pushups? Although in a track event the finish line looks the same for everyone racing, our f...

In America today, loyalty can be seen in many forms.   The most blatant example might be avid sports fans.   Even when a beloved team is having a terrible season, a loyal fan will still cheer them on, hope for the best; and even attend games where a loss is expected. When the going in life gets rough, however, do we stay the course?   Do we remain focused on our path and our goals and refuse to allow what’s around us drag us off course?   The last of the traditional Bushido tenets, loyalty, or chugi in Japanese, seems to be the epitomal manifestation of the previous six tenets in a samurai’s life.   Judging from the origins of the word according to Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, its meaning is rooted in “allegiance to the sovereign or established government of one’s country”.   Over time, loyalty has come to embody allegiance to just about anything.   Dictionary.com defines loyalty as “faithfulness to commitments or oblig...

"For the true master, martial arts are essentially avenues through which one can achieve spiritual serenity, mental tranquility, and the deepest self-confidence."  -- excerpt of Chapter 1 from "Zen in the Martial Arts" by Joe Hyams After reading this chapter, my thoughts ... Am I true?  I am definitely not a master, but am I true?  Not right now.  Please grant me the courage and strength to do so.  To be true. Am I willing to travel the avenues necessary to achieve what I want?  Without a dojo where I live?  Without a teacher 3 times a week?  Well, at least in the traditional sense.  Am I willing to let it all go and redefine my "dojo"?  I have plenty of places to practice.  I have so many memories of dojos past that I can create my own "dojo" wherever I am.  I must if I want to stay on the avenue.  I must let go of the restrictions in my own mind, the grief of not having a dojo right down the street, the wishing ...

I’ve had lots of people ask me why we bow in martial arts.  What I never knew until now was that the commanding word in Japanese that a sensei uses to instruct his students to bow – “rei” – is also the word for respect, the “why” we bow. Dictionary.com states that respect as a noun means “ esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability” or “deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy”.  As a verb, respect means “to hold in esteem or honor ”, or “to show regard or consideration for”, or “to refrain from intruding upon or interfering with”.  The kanji character is also translated as “thanking; gratitude”.  This is what we learn bowing is all about – thanking our sensei for teaching, our fellow karate-ka for working out wit...

Bushido Virtue #2 : Yu or Courage The word courage is seen in the media frequently.  Often, stories regarding our troops and their families describe their courage in the midst of turmoil.  Sometimes we focus on a once in a lifetime story of courage such as the “Miracle on the Hudson” when Capt. Sullenberger successfully ditched his airplane in the Hudson River and saved 155 lives.  Most of us will never be faced with such situations where others are seemingly endowed with supernatural courage.  So what *is* courage anyway? Courage is defined in the Random House dictionary as “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc. without fear; bravery”.  The word comes from Old English, Old French, and Latin – all referring to the heart.  Other words we use similar to courage include:  fearlessness, valor, pluck, spirit, valiance.  One of my favorite definitions is “courage is fear that has said it...

Let’s face it.  Rectitude is not a word used much in 21 st century America.  So what does it mean? According to the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary , rectitude is a word that originated from the Latin word rectus, meaning straight, or right.  From here, the definitions given include: moral integrity, righteousness, being correct in judgment or procedure, justice. Inazo Nitobe said in “ Bushido , the Soul of Japan ” that ‘Nothing is more loathsome to him [the samaurai] than underhanded dealings and crooked undertakings.’  He also refers to the analogy of the human body.  He likened rectitude to the human skeleton, for without the skeleton the body has no shape, and likewise, without rectitude, one’s life has no framework within which to live.  Essentially, Gi represents that which keeps one on “the path”, knowing right from wrong – and choosing the right.  It’s like a hiking compass that always points to true north no matter wh...

If you’ve been around the martial arts for any length of time, you’ve probably heard the word “ bushido ” at some point. But what does it mean? Bushido is a Japanese word that translates to “way of the warrior”. Bushido represents a Japanese code of conduct and way of life – similar to European chivalry. It was developed by the samurai between the 11th and 14th centuries and was born of philosophy and hundreds of years of military training. Many people in modern countries and Japan still strive toward making the values of bushido a part of their everyday lives today. The core of bushido revolves around seven virtues. I will list them, then I will explore each one in detail. The Japanese word is given first, then its translation, then a small description: Gi Rectitude (moral integrity, justice, righteousness) Yū Courage (mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, withstand danger, fear, difficulty)   Jin Benevolence (to do good, act of kin...