だろう運動 Daro Undo

In this post I will talk about the difference between ～だろう Daro and ～かもしらない Kamoshiranai and how these mindsets affect our training.

At first glance だろう Daro seems; I think; I guess; I wonder; I hope and かもしらない may [might] (be, do); maybe; perhaps; possibly, don't seem all that different, but thinking one or the other can drastically change our mental state and affect our training practices. Recently, I attended a mandatory lecture at the 運転免許センター Unten Menkyo Senta Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) as part of the process of renewing my driver's license. And because I am a 空手バカ Karate Baka (Someone who is crazy about karate) when this distinction between だろう and かもしらない came up all I could think about was how closely this relates to training and specifically training for competition. Hearing the terms presented in the way they were, referring to だろう運転 Daro Unten, made me think of my approach to training in the past when I was competing at the National and International level and how I have been approaching my personal training recently as the coach of a semi-professional high school team. Here is the way the terms were used during the lecture. Please take a look and see if you can find the connection to your training mindset.

だろう運転

When driving we must always be in the mindset of ～かもしらない in order to prevent accidents. However, as we become more comfortable with driving we slip into the mindset of ～だろう. For example, when driving down a narrow street with high walls on either side, a scene that is quite common in urban Japan, would you approach the intersection ahead of you in the mindset that there probably isn't anyone there 誰もいないだろう Dare mo inai daro or there may be someone there 誰かいるかも知￥しらない Dare ka iru kamoshiranai? There  is a big difference between the two. Let's see how thinking each way changes our actions and reactions to what may or may not come.

誰もいないだろう  Dare mo inai daro If we approach the intersection in this mindset we will be far less likely to slow down and pay less attention to what may be coming from behind the high wall. This will drastically reduce our reaction time and in this case if someone does come from behind the wall on the corner we will probably not be able to stop in time resulting in an accident that could have been prevented.

誰かいるかもしらない Dare ka iru kamoshiranai If we approach the intersection in this mindset we will begin slowing down as we approach in anticipation of the possibility of someone coming out from behind the high wall. Our reaction time will be quicker and more natural in the case of someone coming allowing us to break in time and avoiding the accident.

The above examples are taught at the DMV, but I think the concept applies to many other things not the least of which is our mental approach to training and how it will affect the results of the training we do in one or the other mindset. Could you see the connection?

these mindsets impact our training and effect the level of intrinsic motivation which determines greatly how hard we push ourselves and how much we demand of ourselves while training.

だろう運動

If we approach our training with the Daro mindset, we will more than likely say to ourselves something like "this is good enough" or "I'll just do this much" and in doing so we limit ourselves. It is a very slippery slope, in my experience, when thoughts like this make themselves heard in the conversation in our minds. Once a thought gets in there and you start hearing it in your self talk, it is just a matter of time until it becomes a reality. Thoughts like these can lead to the end of ones growth in the martial arts and are especially detrimental to a competitive career. I call this kind of training Daro Undo and I don't recommend it. If you start feeling this way, please take some time and reassess your training goals. Consider the 目的 Mokuteki purpose of your training, the Why of the training and you will see that the Kamoshirani Undo approach offers more potential for growth and development on many levels and in many contexts.

かもしらない運動

I suggest that we approach our training, no matter what level we are currently at or for what reasons we are practicing Karate-do, but especially if we are training for competition, with the Kamoshirani Undo mindset. That is to say that we must always be thinking that there is a better, more effective, more accurate, and more natural way to do whatever we are prcaticing. When we are talking to ourselves we should say things like もっと良い方法があるかもしらない Motto yoi houhou aru kamoshiranai There must be a better way to do this. And then set ourselves to the task of finding that way and refining our practice.


For a competitor it is very important to always think that there is someone out there training harder than you. That there is someone out there who is faster, stronger, and better at whatever you are practicing. These thoughts keep us motivated and this intrinsic motivation is what pushes us to do more when we are training. However, when you are competing it is important to be confident that you have prepared by doing all that you could for the competition. It is importnat to believe deeply that you are fast enough, strong enough and good enough. This authentic confidence, in my opinion, is born in our training and the motivation to go into the gym or the dojo even when we don't feel like it comes to different people from different places within themselves, but I find that a Kamoshiranai Mindset can be the key to staying motivated and focused in our training.

(Sketches Above Left and Above by the Author, 2000)



Please keep this in mind the next time you are talking to yourself during a training session. Are you in the Daro Undo mindset or the Kamoshiranai Undo mindset? Which one do you think will help you to achieve the results you want?