"Ri" 離 - No Budo

Today's post is part 3 after the last couple week's posts. If you haven't read that yet, please click here for part 1 and here for part 2.

守破離
As we've established in the last couple of weeks, SHU is to 'obey' and follow the system and HA is to 'detach' from the system. Finally, the last level RI is to 'transcend' and the system becomes irrelevant. This is the highest level of Budo training, it is the ultimate aim for any serious martial artist.
The funny thing is, putting effort into "aiming" for the RI level won't get you there.

Yoda  +  Mr Miyagi  =   Epic Master!

One in a Million
It's a very rare person who truly reaches the RI level. They say only about 1 in 1000 people achieve the Black Belt rank, but the vast majority of Budoka will stay in the SHU level, following the rules. It's only a portion of people who are willing to question the system and find their own way (probably about 1 in a 10,000 people).
Of these people, it's a tiny fraction of people (maybe about 1 in a million) that actually master the way of Budo and reach the RI level.



5 signs that you are in RI

1. No Kihon - A person who has reached the RI level is beyond the need for learning or practising the Kihon techniques. Their Budo is part of them and they are part of Budo. Everything they do is done with such skill that there is no such thing as correct or incorrect technique. This person is able to apply the right strength to any body movement in order to make it effective, they have an automatic intuitive knowledge of the way of executing movement in both a natural and effective way. There's no such thing as specific individual Kihon techniques, it becomes more of a spectrum of abilities, one movement can flow into and resemble another with no clear defined difference between one technique and another.
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2. No Kata - A person in RI is beyond the need for Kata (the way we think of kata anyway). The technical abilities are still there, the bunkai is still there, the lessons from the kata are still there and the point of kata knowledge is still there, but the actual kata in terms of that particular form and embusen aren't necessary. While a person in RI may demonstrate the different kata for students and other masters, they don't have any requirement to be practicing it in the same we that we do.
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3. No Mind - SHU is about learning and studying, HA is about analysing and understanding. These both require lots of effort put into thinking and processing, especially if we want to progress in these levels. Once we've spent years and years learning, analysing and understanding, we reach a point where we have gained so much knowledge and wisdom that we're past the need for thought or effort, it becomes automatic. You don't need to put effort into knowing, you just know. It's the difference between trying to remember someone's name and knowing your own name, there's no thought process involved in remembering your name, it's just there.
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4. No Effort - There's an ancient Chinese Daoist saying "Wu Wei" which literally means 'Non-Action' or more accurately 'Effortless Action'. The idea is that the Daoist master lives life effortlessly 'going with the flow', only taking action (or not) when it's natural thing to do. They never try to force a situation or manipulate things to be a certain way. In many ways a Budo Master is similar to a Daoist master. We know that training in Budo requires great physical and mental effort. This is the biggest difference between RI and the other two levels. All of the effort for years and years ends up having a lasting effect on the budoka, so much so that everything they think and do all day every day IS good Budo, they are effortlessly Budo experts.
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5. The Way - With no Kihon, no Kata, No Mind and No Effort, what's the difference between being in the RI level and simply quitting and not being part of Budo anymore? The answer is 'The Way'. A person in RI has an intuitive knowledge of the Way and follows is without and conscious thought.

5 signs that you're not in RI
(and probably won't be)

1. Deciding that you are in RI - A person that judges themselves and determines that they are beyond need for Kihon or kata and thinks they no longer require to be thinking or putting in effort has greatly misunderstood the journey and still has much to learn.
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2. Telling others that you're a master - A person that boasts and tells others that are beyond need for Kihon or kata and thinks they no longer require to be thinking or putting in effort is a fool and hasn't got the first idea about the way of Budo.
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3. "Practicing" Budo - A person that needs to practice their technique (as is the case for most of us) is required to put effort in and therefore not in RI.
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4. Training - Similar to the above point about practice. You can tell by looking at a person's Budo technique if they know what they're doing and if it needs work or not. If they obviously need to spend more time training then they still have lessons to learn and they need to put effort in and therefore not in RI.
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5.  Lack of Wisdom - This involves anything that is not the way. For example:
   A practitioner who needs to compare themselves to others,
   a practitioner that is only focused on achieving the next grade,
   a practitioner who couldn't defend themselves,
   a practitioner who can't explain complex concepts in a simple and
   a practitioner think's budo is all about their style.

Understanding SHU-HA-RI is understanding the process of mastery. Understanding mastery gives insight into understanding the journey of the way. Understanding the Way is truly to point of martial training.

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

Thanks for reading.
Derm

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