You must.....must I !

 So I/You, We, reside within a world, that on a daily basis decisions are made by somebody somewhere at sometime that are supposed to be in My/Your, Our, best interest. 

There's a few things wrong with this.

Firstly, and quite often the decisions made do not come from a position of experience, but are made from one of good intention. That's admirable and all that, but it doesn't necessarily mean that its right, and certainly doesn't mean that You should adhere to it. 

Being a bit of thinker, I'm quite happy to look at decisions made for me by someone else objectively. If I think that there is value in it and it ' fits' within the scope of things I'm happy to do, then ok, I'll go along with it. 

However, if it doesn't, if I'm not happy about it or it doesn't align with my values, then good luck enforcing it, because it just ain't going to happen. 

You see, far too many cowtow to others simply because somebody somewhere at sometime said so.

Be your own person. Don't be a sheep, and make decisions based and what you want, right or wrong. 

Either way, you'll be standing squarely at the feet of experience and not just because you were told to do something that isn't necessarily right. 

Passage of time...

 I was asked the other day if I missed training with others. My immediate answer was a resounding No. 

Understanding the kind of person I am has been at the forefront of seeking contentment, of which I found some time ago. I'm not needy. Don't need others, and for good or bad I'm quite capable of training on my own. This way I don't get caught up in other people's B.S. 

I watched a guy receive his Sensei's black belt once, being promoted to 1st Dan.... he couldn't make his Karate work, and his ude tanren ( arm conditioning) was weak, but hey his Kata looked peachy so why not, good luck to him. This is the sort of thing I don't miss. 

                      No Needy

Karate-do, a solitary pursuit done in The company of others.... To quote my last Sensei..."Or not." To quote me.

I'm finding that these days there are more and more 'needy' people. 

The need for acceptance, the need to be with others, the need to be acknowledged, the need to be validated, the needy list goes on. And again as my last Sensei once remarked, "the need for likes and shares."  

In fairness though, the latter is only relevant if that's what you're after....many aren't. 

So where does Karate fit in? 

Well, if you train in the manner in which Karate used to be trained, then you will learn to be self sufficient. When there is just you, there is no escape from the task at hand and no blaming others for your short comings, you become less needy, self reliant and learn to be by yourself. Completely by yourself. Something I think many have trouble with these days; the passage of time will tell and when looked back upon from the vantage point of experience, you may get a glimpse of who you are, needy or not. 

Beating the Black Dog

 Despite another shoulder injury, this time my left supraspinatus becoming detached just like the right one did years ago, Ive still been training. Nothing to heavy obviously, just simply trying to keep a range of motion that lets me continue to work and provide a living for me and my family. Pain... Yes, giving in ....No 

Rehabilitation of such injuries is hard, with the mental health aspect of recovery probably being the biggest challenge. Accepting that you can't do what you want to or what you once did, being the major source of a downward spiral in mental health. I can't even begin to imagine what service men and women go through with such horrific injuries that they may return home with after putting themselves on the line that we me live in a relatively peaceful society. 

Unless you have hit " rock bottom " and faced the black dog you won't really understand what it's like and the struggle involved in recovery. 

Yes I have, it's bloody hard. 

A friend of mine, a Karate-ka ( person whom studies Karate-do ) is in a pretty rough physical place at the moment which is also impacting on his mental well being. He continues to train despite his injuries, albeit at a toned down level, or is it. 

My last Sensei once said that training at 100% is different for everyone, but as long as you're not slacking off, and giving it 'your' 100% then that is all that can be asked. This in my mind especially includes injury. Infact it probably takes more character to train when being injured than when we are not. 

I generally find that Karate-ka are not very subservient people. The mind set is different. They make good leaders and make and stand by their decisions and moreover own their mistakes. Karate-do breeds tenacity and mental strength, the shear ability to move forward when faced with unpleasantness. Sure there are times when you don't feel like it, can't be arsed or make a feeble attempt at excuses, but the bottom line is you're a Karate-ka and will always be one and, that is enough to move forward one small step at a time, one more kick, punch or Kata to get yourself to a better place, physically and mentally; Beating the Black Dog.

Sun Tzu Said

 Sun Tzu, the master military tactiton who's 5th century B.C.E writings still apply today.

Read probably the greatest military treatise of all time, and you may better understand how to move through life it's very self.

Have you not deceived people in your day to day interactions with them ? Sort to put one over on someone or get the upper hand ? Or even used somebody, being all nicey nicey to get what you want ? Or indeed been a victim of it.

All this can be found in the Art of War written by the afore mentioned. Make no mistake in thinking that the book and the contents that lie within it's pages only apply to battles or wars, they do not. The work place can be and is a prime example as is Your own personal world as you move through it on a daily basis.

The problem arises when people you have been using wake up to your agenda. The smart ones, who may otherwise come across not that well read, become a living nightmare. I've seen it before and it ain't pretty. These people know exactly what they're doing.

In entering many martial art competitions, I always used to study my opponents, if given the chance. Patterns generally emerged which could then help me put a strategy together when engaged in combat on the mat, aggressive or a passive start, wade in or sit back.  It didn't always work of course, but before I stopped fighting altogether I was winning more than I was losing. This can be seen in my medal Tally. But this said the hardest battle was always from within.

A notable 8th Dan Sensei once told me that competition fighting where you would try to beat someone else had little or nothing to do with Budo and was focussing Karate outwardly not inwardly as is the case with the Budo. I took this on face value at the time, well, he was an eighth Dan training in the Art for more than 40 years after all. I now know differently.

The thing about competition fighting though is this, whilst granted you are trying to beat, literally, someone else, you have to beat yourself first. Fear, nervousness, self doubt, fitness ( you have to be first and foremost in good physical condition, a battle with the self if ever there was one) all have to be overcome in stepping out on the mat to being punched, kicked or put in a lock. 

Just to clarify When I was competing we only had a mouth guard and a box, that was it. Split lips, fractured/broken ribs, cuts above the eye, black eyes, bloody noses, stitches and bruising were very common. 

Back to Sun Tzu. 

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer unless that is, you wish to stop their lack of integrity and poor behavior which has now become a personal choice.

Sun Tzu Said "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the outcome of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not your enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer defeat.  If you know neither the enemy nor yourself then you will succumb in every battle." 

Sun Tzu Said......

 

Authority and the Bus

 People only have Authority over you when You give it to them.

What has this got to do with Karate?

Everything really. 

I realised long ago that Karate, particularly the way of it, the 'Do' is a pathway to freedom and choice. 

Karate is a way to not put up with bullies. To remain calm when faced with aggression (strong violent authoritarianism) for that's what aggression is. Someone forcing you to bend to their will, cowtow to them, to be subservient. 

Conversely it is a way to remain calm until you choose not to be. The leader who bullies his people is shocked when there is one whom he cannot. Make no mistake, the majority of bullies (authoritarians) will back down when faced with a force equal to or greater than their own. It is an amazing leveller. 

"Kaimoku, the opening of the eyes."

You may have heard the authoritarian phrase that goes "or/and, there will be consequences".  This makes me me laugh. I have found myself hearing this phrase a few times over several decades, both as an individual and in a group, and each time I have asked what those consequences are, the person saying it has no fkn idea, and as a consequence of being challenged they fold more easily than a wet tissue, and then try to move on passed what they have said as quickly as is possible. Keep pressing the point and their standpoint of Authority turns to mush. 

I admire leaders who command respect, as opposed to those who demand it. Those who demand it have no idea how to manage people, extract the best from them or recognise when someone might just need a little help.

These types of leaders are self centred and 'own goal' orientated in their daily pursuit of being. You will also find that there is very little in the matter of integrity too; trust them at your peril. There might just be a bus with your name on it. 

Karate and the way of it gives you the choice to be subservient or not, cowtow or not, have a go back, or not.

It teaches respect to give to those who are deserving of it and a tolerance (to a point) of those who do not. 

 In actual fact, the only thing you find you become subservient to, and that has Authority over you is the way of Karate its very self. 

FUN ?

 I've heard many times that learning Karate is 'Fun.

If this is the case then it would explain that what you find in the average high street club is very much diluted from what Karate really is.

I've never in 25 years looked upon my Martial art training as Fun.

Standing in the rain facing a Makiwara is not fun, a necessity, but not fun. The cold rain beating hard against the skin quickly chills the muscles and bone, and all there is for a little warmth is the repetitive blows and relentless thudding of the Makiwara. 

Its a challenge. If Karate the original way wasn't then I guess that then, it would be fun. 

This Makiwara is the thicker of the two I have of this configuration. Its actually quite the beast in so much as there is very little flex within its trunk. The feed back it gives is very different from the more flexible one. Fun it isn't. 

The same goes for the other tools in the Dojo. Used correctly they are certainly a challenge. Not fun.

Knuckle push-ups aren't either. 

Neither is striking Groot.

Groot the Gum tree log....very unforgiving.

Then, back in my Judo days as a lowly yellow belt I had to face a line up of my peers. Fighting first the Dan ranks, and then making my way down all the other ranks to white belt, I won one match of 13.....not fun and very humbling.

Just where the idea of Karate being fun emerged from, I'm not too sure. Probably due to advertising a club to get little kids through the door, this Karateka can only speculate.

Best go and not have some fun now ...  later readers.