2016年 申年 the Year of the Monkey

(Saru Doshi, Year of the Monkey, written by the Author, 2016)

Chinese Zodiac - Monkey

The following describes the personality and characteristics of the Monkey according to the Chinese Calender:

Occupying the 9th position on the Chinese Zodiac, the Monkey possesses such character traits as curiosity, mischievousness, and cleverness. Forever playful, Monkeys are the masters of practical jokes. Even though their intentions are always good, this desire to be a prankster has a tendency to create ill will and hurt feelings. Although they are inherently intellectual and creative, Monkeys at times have trouble exhibiting these qualities. When that happens, they appear to others to be confused. But nothing could be further from the truth as Monkeys thrive on being challenged. Monkeys prefer urban life to rural, and their favourite pastime is people-watching. (Retrieved on Feb. 2nd, 2016, from www.wikipedia.com) For dates and corresponding animals, see the picture below.

(Photo retrieved on Feb. 2nd, 2016, from www.youngjournalistacademy.com )

So I wonder what kind of year this is going to be?!

Personally Speaking

It has been a bit of a different start to the New Year for me this year. Although I am as busy as ever and receiving even more positive feedback regarding the projects that I am involved in, there is something unsettling inside me. I am finding it hard to stay focused and motivated in my training and on my personal development goals.

I can't quite put my finger on it. I don't feel as grounded as I usually do at this time of the year. I think the reason for my unease is the fact that there was no お滝行 O Takigyou, Waterfall Training, this past January 3rd. You may remember me introducing the waterfall training that some of the members of the Chito-Ryu Sohonbu Dojo partake in every year on January 3rd and how important it is to me (please see the previously posted blogs "お正月 in 熊本" and  "お正月 in 熊本 Continued" for more details of how I usually spend the End of the Year and the first week of the New Year).

(Youseikan Dojo O Takigyou, 2015)

I am not using the fact that the waterfall training was cancelled this year as the reason I am finding it hard to focus. It was cancelled because In January of last year the Chito-Ryu Karate-do founder O Sensei's wife, mother of the current Chito-Ryu Soke, passed away. As part of the mourning process, called 悔やむ Kuyamu in Japanese, personal and family related celebrations cannot be conducted in the first year after a family member has passed away. I am familiar with this process. This is not what is troubling me. I feel something is changing inside me and although I have faith that this is the confusion that comes with growth and personal development I am still feeling somewhat uneasy.

Trying to Find Balance in Old and New Traditions

A Month has now passed and we are officially into the swing of things in 2016, next Month I will be a year older and I have many things on the go that are lending to my life's purpose affecting my growth in and out of the Dojo, but there is something troubling me, as I stated earlier, something unsettling. In this post, I will share what I did instead of O Takigyou in an attempt to ground myself.

 

As you may know, I built a house in Kikuyo Town just outside of Kumamoto City and this holiday season we spent our first Christmas and New Year's there. It was a time of tradition; celebrating old traditions and developing new ones together as a family. The longer I am here, the more important I feel a healthy perspective of tradition is. We are all developing potential traditions as we create new events in our lives and inspire the lives of others. However, the things we initiate will only become traditions after they have been repeated for years and others continue to repeat them independently.

Definition of Tradition According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Simple Definition of Tradition

• : a way of thinking, behaving, or doing something that has been used by the people in a particular group, family, society, etc., for a long time
• : the stories, beliefs, etc., that have been part of the culture of a group of people for a long time
• - used to say that someone has qualities which are like the qualities of another well-known person or group of people from the past

 Full Definition of Tradition

• 1 a: an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom)
• 1 b: a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable
• 2: Then handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction
• 3: cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions
• 4: characteristic manner, method, or style <in the best liberal tradition>

I am currently in the stage of deciding what old traditions to keep and share with my children and what new traditions to create together with them. This is exciting, but I also feel the heavy burden of responsibility. This is true for many Dojo Sensei, I am sure. We have all learned many things from our teachers, but we choose to continue to practice some things and choose not to practice others. This is part of the process and it shapes the traditions of the future.

Taking a Closer Look at 伝統 Deconstructing the Kanji

The actual kanji that make up the term "Tradition" are two characters: 伝 Den or Tsutau which means to Transmit, Walk along, Communicate, Report, and Legend, as well as tradition and 統 Tou meaning relationship, unity, unification, and compatibility as in the example 統一 Touitsu to Unify or Consolidate. Together these kanji may be interpreted to describe the actions or events that transmit the ways of the old to the next generation. These traditions create a relationship across generations. The responsibility to both pass these actions, events, and specific ways of doing things onto the next generation and the detailed preservation of these ways are what the martial arts are built upon. My time spent in Kumamoto has been influenced heavily by the O Takigyou tradition which sets my internal perspective for the year, each year.

Finding a Way to Reconnect with Nature

I knew that I had to do something to reconnect with nature as this is always a big part of our O Takigyou tradition. So, on January 3rd I weeded my new garden. It felt good and I felt grateful for  having a garden to weed in the first place. This was not something I ever thought I would have. As I pulled the weeds I said thank you, silently. A quiet thank you to everyone who contributed to the building of my house and the creation of this garden surrounding my front yard. Most importantly, to my wife whom, had I not met so many great things in my life would never have come to be. Although the work was hard I found myself smiling.

I Reflected as I continued weeding and thought that these plants and weeds truly are a metaphor for life as I have heard so many people speak of. We need to tend and put so much energy into nourishing the flowers and plants which represent the projects and relationships in life, but the weeds grow stronger the more we neglect the garden. squating there with my hands in the dirt, I finally realized and understood what they meant. This is also why we need to spend so much time concentrating on and practicing proper form in our movements; on the basics of the techniques, developing 習慣 Shukan because when we don't bad habits 癖 Kuse quickly form. Like the weeds in the garden robbing the nutrients from the soil making it difficult for the other things to grow so too will these bad habits hinder the level of growth and understanding of the art we are practicing.

(The House and Garden, 2016)

I reconnected in my own way with nature and felt deep personal feelings, but still, there was something missing. There is something that happens inside me when I stand under the water on January 3rd. I believe that there are many things both before and after standing under the actual water that contribute to the spiritual experience that I feel and the personal growth that takes place in me each year during this time. Therefore, I know that if I go to the water alone and perform the ritual as best I can by myself I know that it will not have the same impact on me. However, I am beginning to think that I will need to go to the waterfall in order to get grounded and on purpose decide upon a goal to focus on for the rest of this year. And, no matter what, make this year the Best one yet!

心技体 Shin, Gi, Tai is Needed to Form Good Habits

Introduction

One of the things that every non-Japanese Sensei struggles with at one point or another is introducing Japanese language and culture in the training sessions. Even if your dojo is mainly sports centred this is still a topic of concern, I am sure. If you are teaching children, believe me, they will pick up and remember the things you say and what you introduce to them in class and some of those things, if not the majority of them, have the potential to change their lives.

(The author teaching a small Children's class at the Chito-Ryu So-Honbu Dojo, 2014)

I believe that it is the teacher's responsibility to set their students up for long-term success. I always try to consider this when deciding what to teach and how to teach it, as I am sure you do, too. The problem is never with the students or their potential to grow and learn and succeed, the problem is in the organization and delivery of the information. Furthermore, by rushing through the material or spending too little time on it the outcomes will suffer. Remember Karate-do training is all about developing good habits. Therefore, it only makes sense that we should follow the same approach with introducing this information as we would for instilling and developing good habits in our students. In order to do this, I would recommend looking at how habits are formed and strengthened.

Habits Good & Bad Are Formed the Same Way

In the English language we only have one word to describe a regular tendency or practice, whether it be good or bad the word used is 'habit'. A simple explanation of how habits are formed and strengthened would resemble the statement made by the American philosopher and author, Mortimer J. Adler, "Habits are formed by the repetition of particular acts. They are strengthened by an increase in the number of repeated acts. Habits are also weakened or broken, and contrary habits are formed by the repetition of contrary acts." While this statement appears to make perfect sense, it is far too simplified. The process of habit forming is actually far more complex. I believe that Stephen R. Covey's definition of a habit is very interesting. In his book the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People he defines a habit as "the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire" (p.47).


In Japanese, however, good 'habits', 習慣 Shu-kan and bad 'habits' 癖 Kuse, have completely separate vocabulary. You may have noticed that the 習 Shu in Shu-kan is the same Shu as in Renshu (練習) this character is also used with 学ぶ Manabu to describe 学習 Gaku-shu the process of Study; creating a knowledge base or physical condition through the repeated practice of specific actions. On the other hand, 癖 is always associated with 悪 Aku, also pronounced O which is Evil, Wrong, or Bad placed together with Kuse, 悪癖 Aku-heki the characters descirbe (falling into) bad habits or relying on some kind of Vice. It is also implied that it is much more difficult to form good habits than bad ones especially when talking about self-cultivation. If you look at the Confuciun or Tao teachings upon which the philosophies of Japanese martial arts and Karate-do are based on you will see that there is a great deal of importance placed on 練習 Ren-shu, practice and 鍛練 Tan-ren, Tempering, or Forging, to develop a discipline; self-cultivation. The paradox is that the desired result is a state of Naturalness and flow in one's actions and intentions. Slingerland offers a very nice quote by Kupperman (1968) in his book 無為 Effortless Action (2003):
It may seem paradoxical to speak of naturalness in a sense in which "nature is art." The paradox disappears, however, once we stop thinking of education as merely placing a veneer over our original "nature." Once we realize that education can transform what a person is, we realize that it can in a sense transform prople's natures. What becomes naturally is very much a product of training and habit. (Kupperman (1968: 180; emphasis added)