Let me begin
with a short story, about a tradition that is most likely not your own.
I had been
teaching my program maybe 10 years at that time, Tristan Sutrisno, A friend
from a different tradition shared something with me. He did not pay attention
to the Isshinryu I was teaching, it was never his interest. But one day he made
a suggestion to me, that as I thought about it made more and more sense.
While he did not
care about my Isshinryu, he had observed my efforts at becoming an instructor
over the years. He did not award me any rank, or title. Rather he made a
suggestion about the obi I wore. In his tradition being an instructor was not
about rank, it was something deeper, it was about the obligation that went
along with the title. His suggestion was that I should wear the black/red/white
obi, and except for formal occasions wear it with the black side out.
So to the world I would just be seen as a black
belt, for that is all we were. But each time you don that obi with the colors
on the inside, you would be remembering what was your obligation. Not for
others to see, but for you to remember, forever, what you owed your students.
The truth of what you were sharing.
With that in
mind, I remember several lines from the Bubishi, which became the Isshinryu
code of karate. Extremely important lessons, not meant for teaching in a box,
not meant for a contest, though each of those venue’s also needed this, but for
the larger lesson that never ends, how to live a karate life.
The section
which read (from several different traditions)
The eye must see
all sides.
The ear must
listen in all Directions.
Or
See what is
unseeable.
Expect what is
unexpected.
Or
The eyes must watch
all four directions (Left, Right, Up and Down). Do not become so engrossed in
your own techniques that you fail to observe your opponent’s actions. This will
cause you to lose.
The ear must
listen in all eight directions (Left, Right, Up, Down, Forward, Behind, Left
Angles and Right Angles).
Or
The eyes miss
nothing.
The ears listen
well in all directions.
Just a few
words, but something I thought about each time I donned that obi as an
instructor.
I believe the
following historical lesson states why this is important better than I have
ever seen it put.
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