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