Miscellaneous Thoughts on Budo

Today's post is a collection of some of my own thoughts with a brief explanation regarding Budo training.

They are in no particular order and have no intention or meaning beyond the words written.

These thoughts obviously would have been influenced by things I was reading and conversations I was having at the time I recorded them.

Having said this, these words are my own thoughts and opinions. It is understandable that others may have differing opinions; no offence is intended for any person who may disagree with the following.

Why does it matter if you are better or worse than anyone else?

We tend to focus very highly on relative things and treat them as absolutes. Being better than another random person doesn't necessarily equal absolute greatness and being worse than another doesn't automatically mean you're terrible.

It is far more important to come to realisations on your own, rather than being told by someone else. The only way you can do this is to be thinking deeply, even meditating, on the subject. Never simply go through the motion and expect others to give you the answers.

We are intelligent animals, our natural capability for reasoning and problem solving is amazing. A big part of our intelligence is our drive to streamline tasks, simplify them and make them more efficient. It's the main reason for the invention of tools and technology. Unfortunately, sometimes we're so adept at trying to simplify things that we're also lazy, hoping others will do the work for us, or simply not getting the task done at all. This is an intrinsic part of human nature (to varying degrees, some people are of course more lazy than others).
So when it comes to actually putting effort into thinking and analysing something, many people will simply take the easy way out and wait for someone else to do the work and/or provide the answers.
This is not the way of the warrior. The most effective way to understand something and/or learn something new is to be putting the effort into understanding it ourselves. Only with deep thought, reflection and analysis can we find the way.

Martial Arts is a journey of self-improvement & self-discovery – not a journey of belts, medals or thuggery.

I like this one - it rhymes.
Simply put, true Budo is much deeper than what is there for others to see. It's a deeply personal journey, for you and about you. It's not about what others see and it's definitely not about being able to beat the snot out of another person.

I think Budo is misunderstood throughout most of the modern world.
The Following is a list of things that true Budo isn’t about (in my opinion):

-         Sport

-         A “Fighting Style”

-         A Hobby

-         Seasonal

-         Competitive

-         Children’s After School Past-time

-         Only Practiced in the Dojo

-         Antiquated Pointless Traditions

-         A Business

-         Goal Orientated

-         Just Punching & Kicking

-         A Way Of Gaining Notoriety

-         A Way of Getting Tournament Medals.

While some of these are indeed part of Budo, but I think none of them are what it is truly about. As I mentioned in the previous thought, Budo is deeper than what is there for others to see. Some of the things listed here are absolutely involved, but these are just what people see, it's not what Budo training is meant to be for.
I fully appreciate that different people will have different reasons and motivations for training. Many are only interested in some certain aspects and aren't interested in deeper things. People should always be free to make their Budo about what they want, but in absolute terms, there's more to it than the above.

I honestly believe that Budo training is about learning to face who you truly are and making that person the best they can be physically, mentally and spiritually while simultaneously inspiring them to become a true warrior, standing up for what is right and good.

In reality there is no time required for any grade. We are all different and as such vary on time taken between each grade.
I could write a whole massive post about this one and one day I might.
Each grade level is meant to represent different stages in development. Every single person is different and will progress at different rates at different times. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, we are all natural at some things and have difficulty with other things. What you do well others don't do well and vice versa.
What you pick up easily, others might have great difficulty with.
So it's literally not possible to have a criteria and time-frames that everyone will follow. Anyone who says that it takes "this amount of time" to grade from "this grade to that grade" is either deceiving their students, doesn't understand how people learn and/or actually has no standards (so they grade people after the time-frame regardless of skill development and understanding). This is the reason why it's also not possible to compare one student to the other and maintain a reasonable standard.
YOUR journey is YOURS and others are not going to be following the same path... it's YOUR path alone.

These aren't the only thoughts I have had regarding Budo (Believe it or not).
In the coming weeks I'll share some others, make sure you keep and eye out for part two!


Comment below to share any thoughts or opinions you might have.  :)

Thanks for reading.
Derm

Ͼ