As I went shopping today with my 68 yr old mom. I found myself at times beginning to lose patience because she would walk slower than I would or because she would go over the same topic several times in the same hour. In one of these moments, I stopped myself and thought “Wait a minute, this is exactly what you learn in the martial arts!” What I’m referring to is respect. In martial arts, you must first and foremost have respect for your elders (sempai) and those who came before you.
In most, if not all, martial arts (I’ve yet to find one where this isn’t true), you will find yourself repeating techniques over and over and over. Each moment you execute a technique it should be like the first time. In essence it is the first time you are doing it, in that moment. If this were applied to our daily lives, we would listen more attentively when being spoken to, we would enjoy each meal as we ate, each day would be full of new and wondrous things.
When we enter the training hall or dojo we bow out of respect, respect for all of those who came before us, those who train with us and those who teach us. This is an attitude that should not be constrained just to a dojo.
strong spirit-strong mind-strong body
Sensei Orlando
