The Journey, not the Destination

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...