Humility

At a staff meeting this week we started discussing the role of humility for the classical martial artist. So often today we see martial artists that are all about themselves… they work only on the technical portion of their martial arts so they can fight in the ring or for a plastic trophy at a sports tournament. Yet they miss the most valuable portion of the training that is available to them through developing their mind and their character through their training. Classical martial arts training is based on universal principles that can be applied everywhere… on the training floor, in the ring, in the boardroom, and even in our daily relationships. These martial artists who chase glory for its own sake miss one of the main principles of classical martial arts… the idea of humility.

If you look in the dictionary you will see Humility defined as: the quality or state of being humble and that humble is defined as:

1: modest or meek in spirit or manner; not proud or bold

2: low in rank or status
But modest or meek does not mean weak. The Japanese have a saying that the stalk of rice with the most grain bows the lowest. Like the Tai Chi instructors that define their moves as iron wrapped in cotton, what looks soft and flowing generates power and so what you may see as weak in reality is not. Some of the most talented martial artists I have met from around the world are also the most humble.

For those of you that have spent a lot of time in Asia, then you know that there is a lot to learn about bowing and showing respect to others. We train ourselves to bow when we enter the dojo, when meeting others and to the teachers from the old days whenever we start a class. As classical martial artists… we are constantly reminded through our training that we have not arrived yet. Just when you think you are getting something down, you are introduced to new material that reminds you that you don’t have it all yet, or you move up in rank and seem to be starting all over again. All this helps us remember we put our pants on the same as everyone else, one leg at a time.

In my personal life I have been through extremes; from being on international TV showing off catching arrows to a month later having cancer and not being able to get out of bed without help. My recent round of chemo created several side effects and when we would try and stop one, two more would take its place. Definitely a humbling experience for any old warrior. There are still lessons to be learned even at this point in my life and I have not yet arrived.

But I have been blessed with many great teachers and role models including Jim Mather, Dan Smith, Fred Absher and many more outstanding martial artists that demonstrate what humility really is. These elite teachers never let their ego get in the way and focus on doing the right thing for the right reason. These gentle warriors give back to their community in many ways and yet are some of the most humble men out there. There is much that we can all learn from their example, and from the principles our classical martial arts are based upon.

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