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Old 10-15-2005, 08:55 AM   #5
John Matsushima
 
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Location: Miura, Japan
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 226
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Re: Martial attitude

A martial attitude is one which a warrior must posses to go to war. It is about self-discipline, sacrifice, perseverance and living according to the virtues of a warrior. It is the attitude one must have when facing insurmountable odds, impossible time limits, unbearable pressure, and when facing that which wants to destroy us. To practice with a martial attitude means to practice as if your life depended on it. Use great attention to detail, and be the best that you can be. Expect pain because in life as in war there is plenty of it.
I believe that many people forget this when it comes to the practice of Aikido. The ideas of compassion and love have become excuses for people to be lazy, complacent and unmotivated. Aikido teachers have become soft because being a strict teacher won't sell. I once saw a kendo teacher in Japan who yelled at his students because they took a 11 min break instead of 10 min, and when they while they wer practicing, he yelled at a woman to be faster and faster until she started crying. He wasn't trying to degrade her, but was pushing her to be her best. She did become faster, too. Morihei Ueshiba sensei wasn't called O'sensei just because he invented Aikido (it humors me by the way how so many people throw that term around like it was actually his name) it was because he was a great teacher, one who was very strict and often yelled at his students, would wake them up in the middle of the night to practice, and would even do things like telling a student to do yonkyo on a tree branch until his hands bled. Now, that is a teacher of martial attitude!
So if you desire to have a martial attitude, here are some questions you might ask yourself. Do you take a break when you are tired, or do you push yourself? Do you avoid pain and inconvenience at every chance? Do you complain when someone is teaching you something that seems too fast or too much for you? Do you take the initiative on things no one else wants to do?
In Karate, there is concept where they say the word OSS!, and it pretty much sums up martial attitude. Love, compassion, and harmony are good virtues, but in the end don't ever forget a martial artist lives the life, the way of a warrior. Gambatte!

Last edited by John Matsushima : 10-15-2005 at 09:00 AM. Reason: Grammar correction
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