We live in what is considered an age of reason. When things are spiraling out of control we want to get a handle on the chaos, we want things to be manageable, reasonable. When we feel a person is acting extreme we request that they listen to reason or be reasonable. I would like to propose a different definition for “being reasonable” today.
When we say “be reasonable” or I should “be reasonable”. What we are saying is that a behavior should exist that is acceptable to ourselves or to society as a whole.
So what does it mean to be unreasonable? In the context of our training it means not accepting any excuse we may come up with not to train. It means being committed to our training and our health and well being. It means taking a stand for ourselves and honoring our word. There are many times that I may feel like not training, then I remind myself that this is not about how I feel, but what my stand, my commitment and what my word is. I made a commitment to my health than an integral part of that is training. If I am committed to teaching karate to everyone who desires to learn then I must be unreasonable in my stand. It means being unwavering in the face of criticism, reversals and difficult times. Many times it means standing alone. It is most certainly an issue of integrity, first and foremost with oneself and just as important with those that count on you being your stand.

So lets bring being unreasonable to the context of the world so we can better grasp this concept. A few examples of unreasonable people:
Gandhi
Martin Luther King
Mother Teresa
Wangari Maathai
John F Kennedy
Barack Obama
This list is by no means extensive.
What all these people mentioned above have in common is that they took a stand and were unreasonable in upholding that stand. They made a commitment and honored it, for some the cost was their lives. This is what it means to be unreasonable. It is realizing and committing to something larger than ourselves, larger than our life and giving it our all.

The next time you have to train, the next time you can make a difference, understand that we are all connected and that our actions, like the pebble tossed in the pond, ripple outward and touch many others, many of whom we will never meet. Do not shirk from your commitments, but rather embrace them, expand your life to encompass them. You will never be disappointed if you do this.

strong spirit-strong mind-strong body
Sensei Orlando

After taking a week from writing and blogging I realized something very important that we seem to neglect in our lives. The need for restful activity. We have a tendency to run at breakneck speed and in many cases, disregard the messages our bodies send us. We trade off hours of sleep for imagined productivity, and we quickly descend into the mindset of “everything has to happen yesterday.”

Every so often we need to take stock of the situation and engage in some restful activity. It sounds like a paradox- being active while resting, but making time for rest while being less active helps us to de-stress and recharge. Restful activity can be any activity you can do while still maintaining a posture of rest. Reading a good book, having a great conversation, meditation, kata practice, and writing are a few of many activities you can enjoy. You may notice I did not mention any activity where your mind is not engaged. This is not what many consider “vegging out.” Your brain and mind should be part of whatever activity you undertake, while your body benefits from the lowered demand and rests. If we practice restful activity at least once a day we will notice that we have more energy and vitality. With this practice in place we can offset the effects of stress, and enjoy the benefits of a centered life.

Sensei Orlando

strong spirit-strong mind-strong body

I was sitting at my computer, when my wife asked me if I could clean a bowl for dinner. In my mind I wondered why would she want a bowl cleaned for dinner if she was going to start cooking? Wouldn’t it be better to clean the pot she needed instead? Now let’s look at this from a different point of view: my wife is in the kitchen cleaning some vegetables and meat for dinner when she asks me to clean a pot for dinner. I answer “which bowl?” The ensuing discussion became somewhat heated as we both felt that the other had said bowl and not pot. She claims I said bowl, I claim she said bowl. After a few minutes of this we both laughed (not before the temperature was raised as well as our voices) and we both realized how silly this argument had become.

After giving it some thought, I realized that many times we are inflexible. We stick to our ideas, not budging, not open to dialogue or discourse. We are so certain that we are right that we don’t entertain for a second that the other person feels that exact same way. When we are rigid, we lose sight of the many opportunities that life presents to us. When we fail to bend, we have a tendency to break and shatter. In life, as in martial arts we must learn to adapt to new situations. Approaching each circumstance with an open mind and heart as to what the possibilities may be. When we do this and become flexible, no matter what storms life may bring us, we can weather them.

As for the bowl vs. the pot, well to this day it still remains a mystery, I’m going to settle on “powl”.

strong spirit-strong mind-strong body

Sensei Orlando