Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern karate, said patience must come before battle. Only after we have gone beyond the limits of quiet endurance should we take our swords from their scabbards. Peace is the highest objective, though honor, justice and other values cannot be subordinated to it. Funakoshi might say discipline, keeping competing motivations in their proper places, comes above all. Like quicksilver, the space between life and death is fluid and fickle. Theres life, death, and, frighteningly little in between. Being able to walk that thin line between daylight and shadows, between right and wrong, is the art of the karateka. Before you think this is too rare a predicament, consider cops and soldiers, whose waking moments are the same. Most ordinary people dwell in the world of the living and stay as far away from its alternative as they can. But warriors have no choice. The karateka walks a line between life and death, but must embrace both They must be alive and dead with no discernable attachment to either. To accomplish this state, they have to be able to hold two thoughts at once: To be right and wrong; To be here and gone; and To be important and unimportant. Its not what youd call good work, if you can get it. This duty finds you. |
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