What is it......

 I got to thinking the other day about the last training session I did where I was involved in a group. Some members didn't show up, despite a years notice in advance for what had been organised. Very piss poor  I thought then, and very piss poor I think now. 

But hey, what do I know? 

I didn't like the training much. Everything felt rushed and hurried and as a result I didn't really learn too much, no more than I could on my own at any rate, and I was already doing that. The whole thing was just a waste of time and money. 

I did learn about egos though, and double standards from my peers and also learned what Karate meant to me and what I wanted from it..... 

Over the years, more than 25 now, the karate circle within which I move has slowly but surely been diminishing in size.

Where some find it necessary to train with many others, I have felt the opposite. 

The Sagi Makiwara.... an eye opener 
To what you think you know.....

          

 In reading an ancient Aikido document the other day, I now realise this to actually be a Transcendence. An achievement that was never trying to be achieved. On purpose anyway. 

...."Karate, a solo pursuit often done in the company of others"....  

There is an old saying in the Martial Arts...."if you understand something, then all is as it should be....if you don't understand something, then all is as it should be".....

A bit like learning how to use your elbow for striking. On the face of it you know how, in reality its something else. Try striking a Sagi Makiwara with your elbow, how you think it should be struck and you will see what I mean. 

At its core, karate is not social, it isn't friendly and it certainly will not tolerate an ego. 

Karate is different things to different people.....I get that .....you just need to know what thing it is for you....