11

When a certain person was saying that present matters of economy should be detailed, someone replied that this is not good at all. It is a fact that fish will not live where the water is too clear. But if there is duckweed or something, the fish will hide under its shadow and thrive. Thus, the lower classes will live in tranquility if certain matters are a bit overlooked or left unheard. This fact should be understood with regard to people's conduct.

This is a little hard to relate to a modern martial arts school. The best I have come up with is that as a Master Instructor you always need to weigh your choices as to what is the least detrimental for the student. Should you let them know at a table full of their peers that their shirt is on backwards or leave it unsaid, saving them open embarrassment but not from unspoken ridicule? As for things of an economical nature; it is never good to have to much information about the money/payment arena. The focus then becomes about money and not the education, the growth, and the spirit of the martial arts. As for the lower class thriving as does the fish, I do not know how other Masters handle this, but I for one, allow them to take care of class fees when they can and give them as much "wiggle" room as I can. I also offer many things for as little price as I can in order to help them. Giving things for free, however, will not help in the long run, so do not misunderstand me. Basically, everything that comes in goes back out to help the student. If they truly had a full economic understanding, they would insist on paying me more!

10

It is bad taste to yawn in front of people. Then one unexpectedly has to yawn, if he rubs his forehead in an upward direction, the sensation will stop. If that does not work, he can lick his lips while keeping his mouth closed, or simply hide it with his hand or his sleeve in such a way that no none will know what he is doing. It is the same with sneezing. One will appear foolish. There are other things besides these about which a person should use care and training.

This I have experience with. At one time, my Master was talking with the class about something very serious. Then something happened (I will not mention what) that struck the 3 highest ranking students (myself included) as funny. We were not able to control our laughter and as punishment, sent to the back of the Dojang and made to do an undetermined number of push ups. When my Master returned (approx. 15 minutes later), we were able to stop. This is the most vivid memory as it was Thanksgiving week and my arms were so wrecked that I couldn't even touch my face. The meal that Thursday was a bit of a trial. What this passage and my experience lends to is the idea that we need to have control of ourselves at all times. Our laughter took away from the message that my Master was trying to instill in us, the students. I know that myself, as an instructor, if I see students yawning in class I feel that I need to ensure that they are awake, I feel that maybe they are bored or disinterested. Depending on the day, I may feel that it is an insult to what I am teaching. We cannot control how people react to what we do. However, we can attempt to control what we give them to react to.

Unfortunate

It is unfortuate the the entire week and probably the day of my big open house for my gym I have an attack of arthritis in my right foot. I am regularly asked what I have done to my foot as I hobble from place to place. This is why it is important to take care of yourself in your youth.

9

To give a person one's opinion and correct his faults is an important thing. It is compassionate and comes first in matters of service. But the way of doing this is extremely difficult. To discover the good and bad points of a person is an easy thing, and to give an opinion concerning them is easy, too. For the most part, people think that they are being kind by saying the things that others find distasteful or difficult to say. But if it is not received well, they think that there is nothing more to be done. This is completely worthless. It is the same as bringing shame to a person by slandering him. It is nothing more than getting it off one's chest.

To give a person an opinion one must first judge well whether that person is of the disposition to receive it or not. One must become close with him and make sure that the continually trusts one's word. Approaching subjects that are dear to him, seek the best way to speak and to be well understood. Judge the occasion, and determine whether it is better by letter or at the time of leave-taking. Praise his good points and use every device to encourage him, perhaps by talking about one's own faults without touching on his, but so that they will occur to him. Have him receive this in the way that a man would drink water when his throat is dry, and it will be an opinion that will correct faults.

This is extremely difficult. If a person's fault its a habit of some years prior, by and large it won't be remedied. I have had this experience myself. To be intimate with all one's comrades, correcting each other's faults, and being of one mind to be of use to the master is the great compassion of a retainer. By bringing shame to a person, how could one expect make him a better man?

When I first began reading this passage, I was not intrigued. It seemed mundane and of no distinct conversational piece for what I have been attempting with this book and blog. However, as I read it, it became clear. This is for the modern day martial artist on many different levels.

As an instructor, you are faced with the task of tearing down the student and rebuilding them. If it were that simple, there would be so many more people out there with positive experiences in martial arts. However, it is difficult to do without destroying their spirit, their confidence, their core. True martial arts shaves away all that is not needed and strengthens what is needed. Often addressing the group as a whole and discussing a third party person with a close problem can be useful, as well.

Also, a martial artists most valuable weapon is his/her voice. We must learn to talk to people and maintain respect so that we can avoid the fight. Any martial artist worth their salt knows that any fight can and usually will end badly for someone. We need to judge character and control our own tone and wording to have the best possible outcome.

Lastly, in the last paragraph it talks about retainers to the master. Often, if we have a peer that is out of line and in danger of changing their future for the worse, peers are often implemented to help them correct themselves. A word from the master is always much harsher than from a peer. It can be likened to hearing it from your mother/father or from a sibling?

Another day down, next one is coming in 4.5 hours.....

Amazing as to how much I would like to blog when I have no time to.

8

I will title this 8, but I think that I have fallen behind a little bit. Life gets busy.

Being a retainer is nothing other than being a supporter of one's lord, entrusting matters of good and evil to him, and renouncing self-interest. If there are but two or three men of this type, the fief will be secure.

If on looks at the world when affairs are going smoothly, there are many who go about putting their appearance, being useful by their wisdom, discrimination and artfulness. However,if the lord should retire or go into seclusion, there are many who will quickly turn their backs on him and ingratiate themselves to the man of the day. Such a thing is unpleasant even to think about. Men of high position, low position, deep wisdom and artfulness all feel that they are the ones who are working righteously, but when it comes to the point of throwing away one's life for his lord, all get weak in the knees. This is rather disgraceful. The fact that a useless person often becomes a matchless warrior at such times is because he has already given up his life and has become one with the lord. At the time of Mitsushige's death there was an example of this. His one resolved attendant was I alone. The others followed in my wake. Always the pretentious, self-asserting notables turn their backs on the man just as his eyes are closing in death.

Loyalty is said to be important in the pledge between lord and retainer. Though it may seem unobtainable, it is right before your eyes. If you once set yourself to it, you will become a superb retainer at that very moment.

I find this very interesting on so many levels. It boils down to trusting your instructor. Following their lead, whether you question it or not, doing what is asked with a full heart. It is sometimes doing things you do not understand, learning to do things that you do not understand, teaching things you do not understand, over and over and over, until.... you understand.

I have actually seen this happen where one that is leading steps aside and "goes into seclusion." It is interesting to see what happened after reading this passage and the parallels that happened. Those that continued with trust in what they were told, flourished. The others did not, as much. Also, those that were loyal seemingly were ostracized, or as much as they could be in polite society.

Follow your master. If he/she doesn't know what they are doing, they are hopefully following someone that does!

Irony....

So, just a side note....

Later that week there was a huge spread in the paper on one of my satelite programs.

Go figure....

Grrrr

So, I am taking another little break (I know, I haven't posted in forever and then I only do one on the book and another on a soap-box) from the usual fare and I am going to rant... only a little.

You see, I have a gym in a town in the Midwest and like all towns in the Midwest they have a newspaper that is run by idiots. You see, I don't submit anything to them any more because I send 12 people to a world championship and they don't print a word of it, not a single word. However, the front page can have some dopey person with face paint or better yet, they print an article (with a picture, mind you) of this group of, well, I am not sure what to call them. I myself and a D & D geek from way back, but these douche-bags are like a totally different level of social retard.

You see these guys dress up in costumes and fight each other with foam weapons. Yeah, you got it. For a visual reference check out the movie Darkon. Only, these guys weren't as cool.

I grow so weary of the morons that run newspapers these days. Maybe it's because the newspaper is an obsolete media and no one worth a damn wants to tether themselves to a sinking ship...

7

Sagara Kyuma was completely at one with his master and served him as though his own body were already dead. He was one man in a thousand.
Once there was an important meeting at Master Sakyo's Mizugae Villa, and it was commanded that Kyuma was to commit seppuku. At that time, in Osaki there was a tea-house on the third floor of the suburban residence of Master Taku Nui. Kyuma rented this, and gathering together all the good-for-nothings in Saga, he put on a puppet show, operating one of the puppets himself, carousing and drinking all day and night. Thus, overlooking Master Sakyo's villa, he carried on and caused a great disturbance.. In instigating this disaster he gallantly thought only of his master and was resolved to committing suicide.

(There is a note on this saying he may have been trying to cover up some crime or something of a similar nature for his master.)

This falls into the context of how a master looks viewed from the public or from their superiors and/or colleagues. The role of the student to their master is that of sacrifice for them to save face. Consider this; which is it better to have look a fool? A student with limited experiences or a master with years or decades of experience? As a master, a person is put into a position of having to appear infallible, although we are all still human and make mistakes.

and 6

We learn about the sayings and deeds of the men of old in order to entrust ourselves to their wisdom and prevent selfishness. When we throw off our own bias, follow the sayings of the ancients, and confer with other people, matters should go well and without mishap. Lord Katsushige borrowed the wisdom of Lord Naoshige. This is mentioned in the Ohanashikikigaki. We should be grateful for his concern.

Moreover, there was a certain man who engaged a number of his younger brothers as retainers, and whenever he visited Edo or the Kamigata area, he would have them accompany him. As he consulted with them everyday on both private and public matters, it is said that he was without mishap.

Again, consulting with others, but with the added twist of studying the ancients and keeping them close in mind. I suppose it is the same as not repeating history so to speak. I think that a simple way to put this one is to say "even the wisest of men understands that there are always other views and perspectives."

Number 5 ...

Because we do most things relying only on our own sagacity we become self-interested , turn our backs on reason, and things do not turn out well. As seen by other people this is sordid, weak, narrow and inefficient. When one is not capable of true intelligence, it is good to consult with someone of good sense. An advisor will fulfill the Way when he makes a decision by selfless and frank intelligence because he is not personally involved. This way of doing things will certainly be seen by others as being strongly rooted. It is, for example, like a large tree with many roots. One man's intelligence is like a tree that has been simply stuck in the ground.

This passage is fairly self evident. It is more than two heads are better than one. It says, in simplest terms, sometimes one is too close to the problem and needs some perspective and insight from someone else. There is a lot of truth in this, however I would warn someone against getting too many people's "opinions" as they will expect you to follow their advice.

Number 4

According to their nature, there are both people who have quick intelligence, and those who must withdraw and take time to think things over. Looking into this thoroughly, if on thinks selflessly and adheres to the four vows of the Nabeshima samurai, surprising wisdom will occur regardless of the high or low points of one's nature.*
People think that they can clear up profound matters if they consider them deeply, but they exercise perverse thoughts and come to no good because they do their reflecting with only self-interest at the center.
It is difficult for a fool's habits to change to selflessness. In confronting a matter, however, if at first you leave it alone, fix the four vows in you heart, exclude self-interest, and make an effort, you will not go far from your mark.

*Never to be outdone in the way of the samurai, To be of good use to the master, To be filial to my parents, To manifest great compassion, and to act for the sake of man.

This another great entry. As a people, we tend to over think things. A lot of different disciplines have their tenets or regulations (taekwondo included) and as a martial artist one has to keep these in mind when making a decision. If your thinking is clear and you are focused on what your your rules to live by would be, the decision becomes plain and obvious. This is something we are also taught.

Number 3...At long last...

OK, I feel the need to have a disclaimer. I apologize to everyone that may read this in the distant future for the gap in posts. Life happens.

A man is a good retainer to the extent that he earnestly places importance in his master. This is the highest sort of retainer. If on is born into a prominent family that goes back for generations, it is sufficient to deeply consider the matter of obligation to one's ancestors, to lay down one's body and mind, and to earnestly esteem one's master. It is further good fortune if, more than this, one has wisdom and talent and can use them appropriately. But even a person who is good for nothing and exceedingly clumsy will be a reliable retainer if only he has the determination to think earnestly of his master. Having only wisdom and talent is the lowest tier of usefulness.

This is a great passage for any martial artist at any age/generation/era/stage. As a young fighter it is difficult to come to terms with someone being your equal or superior when your talents or knowledge seemingly exceed theirs. However, as it states very plainly "Having only wisdom and talent is the lowest tier of usefulness." This aches truth.

Not every student will be great at any one thing or even anything at all. As a diverse group of people we have just as diverse talents or lack of talent. But loyalty, following your master, and protecting that master with yourself, this is a good student. This is a good future leader. As in the last passage, we must continuously be prepared for death and in such, must prepare our "retainers" or students to take our place if necessary. How better to prepare them to follow your own master than to have them follow you?

This gets to the heart of things.

Number 2

The Way of the Samurai is found in death. When it comes to either/or, there is only the quick choice of death. It is not particularly difficult. Be determined and advance. To say that dying without reaching one's aim is to die a dog's death is the frivolous way of sophisticates. When pressed with the choice of life or death, it is not necessary to gain one's aim.
We all want to live. And in large part we make our logic according to what we like. But not having attained our aim and continuing to live is cowardice. This is a thin dangerous line. To die without gaining one's aim is a dog's death and fanaticism. But there is no shame in this. This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai. If by setting one's heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling.

Ok, a little morbid, but the samurai dealt in death. That was a major theme in their lives and well deservedly.

I think this is saying what all those made for tv movies with someone diagnosed with terminal whatever embraces life and enriches their condition is saying. If you live life like you are already dead, what is there to fear? But it doesn't just say that, it says to remember and be mindful off it every morning and night.

I guess I am really only thinking this in terms of how it applies to everyday, modern life. I think it is much more applicable in the sense, however having already half the book there are some excerpts that will relate more to my life as a martial artist.

An old story

For your reading pleasure (maybe, be kind), here is a story I wrote a few years ago and didn't finish (surprise, surprise). Nothing too deep, just crazy.

The Cannibal
(Circa 2006-ish)

The cannibal didn’t put on his low beams for anyone. He cruises down the Highway at whatever speed limit, with his high beams on.
He drove until he got hungry. The hunger always came. Whenever it did, the cannibal would pull over and depress the trip odometer with practiced ease. The hunger usually hit around mile 256. The cannibal never kept records, but kept a sharp mental record.
The odometer clicks 270 and the hunger springs up like salmon colored blossoms in his middle. The cannibal slows down and pulls over just as the trip odometer clicks 271. Almost as if caused by the odometer click, the hunger begins to bloom and fill his torso. The hunger must be obeyed, the cannibal found. He reaches and pushes the reset button and before he settles back into his seat, presses it again in urgency. This has been happening more and more often. One time doesn’t seem to be enough. Maybe it is blooming urgency, he doesn’t know but he sure as hell didn’t like it.
After he pulls over, the cannibal has a variety of tricks to get the prey to come to the predator. He doesn’t harvest the first Good Samaritan that happens to stop, but chooses like a spinster choosing a watermelon. Instead of thumping he uses his charm to find the soft spots. But he smells for freshness just the same.
When the odometer ends on an odd number (like 271, like today) the cannibal pops his hood and turns on his hazards. The thing he has noticed that it never matters if he turns off his engine or not. People still stop.
The cannibal has an eclectic palate. He would just know who his prey was after his verbal thumps and olfactory investigation. Once he had preyed upon a crusty old biker named Lance “Luv’em’up” Jones. He attempted to give the cannibal a ride into town on the back of his Harley via some back roads that were a shortcut he and his crew rode sometimes. Around the second bend in the dirt road, the cannibal took a hefty bite out of Luv’em’up’s neck. He tasted like leather, salt, and smoked ham. “I bet you would be surprised how much you taste like pig” the cannibal said with mirth in his voice as he took his second bite out of Luv’em’up’s forearm. By now the biker was screaming out of panic, fury, and fear. The cannibal was surprisingly strong and the hulking biker Lance “Luv’em’up” Jones was no match. The cannibal held him down and ate at his leisure and not too much; only until the hunger was appeased.
He had eaten many like the biker and then riding off on their bike or Audi or Cadillac. Once he ate a single mother and her 6 year old daughter. He sometimes reflected at how sweet the mother tasted and how bitter the daughter was. “Wasn’t quite ripe yet” he would say to himself and chuckle his cannibal’s chuckle, deep in his throat and hollow. But a person’s nature never reflected on how they tasted. The young girl was bitter although she was innocent. There was once he was picked up by a deviant that meant to rape and kill him. He tasted of cotton candy.
But now the hunger was here, the Hunger was blooming, the Hunger was urgent to be sated. The cannibal stepped out of his car to complete the illusion. Almost immediately a Cadillac with dealer’s plates pulled up with a man in a dark suit at the wheel. The cannibal walked up to the passenger door and was almost over powered by the sour smell emitting from the opening window. “Keep up the illusion” he whispered to himself as he steeled himself. The man at the wheel had a thousand dollar smile with ten dollar teeth framed by a pencil moustache. The cannibal stuffed a sucker at the stereotypical used car salesman sitting at the wheel with his oily, slicked back hair and thirty dollar suit. But the smell was almost too much. Pomade, stale swear, cheap old spice wear, last night’s beer came out in the perspiration on his forehead, and the last smell, the smell that told the cannibal “no need to keep this melon, it’s rotten” was of diarrhea. The warm runny kind that kids got after eating too many berries or when you get the flu.
“Everything all right? Need a hand?” The salesman sounded far away. Every time he spoke and opened that wide mouth with the ten dollar teeth, the smell wafted out and stronger. Definitely like warm, flu diarrhea.
The cannibal dug deep, put a sparkle in his eye and a smile on his face and almost crooned, “No, thanks anyway. I already called for a tow on my cell phone.”
The salesman moved his hairy meat slab of a hand and said “Ok, good luck pal” before flashing his thousand dollar smile again. “If you need a new car, give me a call. I’ll set you up real well” the salesman says as he produces a business card as if from nowhere.
“Thanks, I just might” the cannibal says through his smile, thinking he might just have to burn the tips of his fingers to relieve him of the smell of this particular business card.
The caddy sped away as the cannibal nonchalantly lets the card slip from his fingers to the ditch. Thankfully the smell leaves him as well.
He walks back to “his” car, counting his steps absentmindedly, avoiding cracks and the painted lines. Once back to the car, the panic starts oozing out from around the hunger bloom. This panic feeling always comes after the first car leaves. Maybe it’s from the concern of a highway patrol coming, maybe not finding his prey, or the next car will stop even just a step short or long of this number in his head, the number of steps from the first car. Right now it is eight.
“Eight, eight, eight, eight,” ticks off in the cannibal’s head. It almost distracts him from the hunger. He almost misses the roar and scrape of a car half dragging its muffler.
The cannibal slowly turns with his sharky charm smile on his face. “Eight, eight, eight, eight” clicking, ticking, softly in his head. His fingers move with each step to the brown station wagon belching exhaust, counting, counting, counting each step. Nothing pervades his counting, the counting. “Eight, Eight, EIGHT!” The voice in his head screams as he reaches step eight, right I front of the passenger door.

So, been a while...

I guess this has fallen to the wayside since March. My bad. I have been attempting to write but haven't been very successful. I mean, how much time do writers really have on there hands? Do they not have lives or laundry to be done?

Anyway, I had this thought and I will attempt to do it. There is a book that I have been slowly working my way through called Hagakure (aka The Book of the Samurai) and it is full of these little slivers of samurai philosophy. My idea is that I will attempt to post an excerpt from this every day with my comments on it as a modern martial artist (ask me about it sometime...). I will start with this post and see how it goes.

Here it goes:

Although it stands to reason that a samurai should be mindful of the Way of the Samurai, it would seem that we are all negligent. Consequently, if someone were to ask, "What is the true meaning of the Way of the Samurai?" the person who would be able to answer promptly is rare. This is because it has not been established in one's mind beforehand. From this, one's unmindfulness of the Way can be known.

Negligence is an extreme thing.

My thoughts on this are that I agree. There is few of us (us being any member of the human race) that can immediately answer what is the meaning of why we do anything. Many of us follow what our parents did or what our bosses do without truly understanding why. It is almost akin to Socratic/Platonic thought-"The unexamined life is not worth living." We tend to over complicate and make things much more difficult than the need to be in order to avoid examining and looking for the truth (being mindful) because it may turn out we have been wrong and must find a different way to live.

Any thoughts?

Nothing much, really

Nothing much to say as of late. I have had a few disturbing dreams, but nothing to even remember, let alone write down.

I guess I started this blog to start my writing again. Ever since I was little I have had a sort of love affair with books. I can even recall when I was 4 or 5 and getting upset when a Sesame Street book was left on the floor for someone to step on and break the binding on. As a preteen I would check out books from the library based on the smell of the ink, I mean, yeah, I would read some of it, but I loved books and the older, the more I loved them.

I would say that my need to write might be based on my feelings about books. I wanted to be a part of that world in just another way. I would think about stories and would day dream about the adventures that person would have. I even came up with a pseudonym for myself so I could get some privacy as a famous author. Wolfric Wild. That is the only one I can remember and I created it during a time when I was obsessed with werewolves. I think I was 8.

So, this blog is helping a little bit. I can see myself writing a little again. I just get so frustrated because I know what a good book sounds like, I can't do it. Sometimes I have flashes of inspiration and it looks pretty good in print, but it is nothing compared to the great books. So I ask myself: Could I feel satisfied as a mediocre, even pulp, published author? Or, should I better leave it undone and be better off wondering what could have been?

I guess the only way to know is to forge on and see if I have the chops. I hope the Internet society can forgive me if I don't publish it on my blog. That seems taking it a little far. Maybe once I feel pretty good about a work and I am as finished as I will be with it...

Best Dream Ever (or at least for a while...)

So last night I had a great dream. I mean, yeah, it was kind of confused since at first I was on the lawn of my Jr. High School in the middle of America (well, within driving distance of the middle of North America) and then at the end of the lawn there was a lake/ocean. But other than those wierd little things, it was awesome.

So yeah, there were zombies. Not like the whole undead zombies but the modern, super-flu, infection zombies with crazy red eyes, so you know, it was scientific and possible. But who cares, I was made to kill zombies. And beside that, I had a sword. Yeah, a sword. Not as random as a shotgun but just as deadly. And since they are all sick and overheated (from a raging fever that makes them insane) their bodies tissues, mostly the epithelial and connective tissues, will start to degrade, thereby making it waaaaaaaaaaay easier to cut their heads off. Awesome, I know.

Plus we (I say we because there was people for me to save, of course) we escaping to a safe island in the lake/ocean. Turns out the island is a real place, Mackinac Island. Wierd, huh? You know what else is wierd? They don't allow cars on that island. Like, in real life. Only horses and buggies and shit. Crazy. Maybe zombies hate horses. Or buggies.

Sooooooooooooooo, now you know. If you are ever being chased by crazed, science zombies, go to Mackinac Island. Or my house. Or get a horse. But really, come to my house, I got the cure for what ails 'em.

damn zombies...