The Sword and the Mind

[sirdarling]

I just wanted to share with you an excerpt from one of my books that I thought that all martial artists could benefit from and that few of you would bother to read as it is in a book that is solely about the style of swordsmanship that I revere above all others, Yagyu Shinkage Ryu.

From: THE SWORD AND THE MIND, by Yagyu Munenori, translated by Hiroaki Sato.

The Great Learning Is the Gate for the Beginner:

To reach a house, you must first enter the gate. The gate is a pathway leading to the house. After passing through the gate, you enter the house and meet its master. Learning is the gate to reaching the Way. After passing through this gate, you reach the Way. Learning is the gate, not the house. Don’t mistake the gate for the house. The house is located farther inside, after the gate is passed. Because learning is the gate, don’t think that the books you read are the Way. Books are a gate for reaching the way.
There are those who remain in the dark about the Way, no matter how much they study, no matter how many ideographs they learn. They may read the classics as easily as if they were paraphrases by ancient scholars, but because they are in the dark about the truth, they cannot make the Way their own. Even so, it is difficult to reach the Way without learning. At the same time, someone who has studied hard and talks smoothly may not necessarily be someone who has illuminated the Way. But again, there are those who naturally live according to the Way without studying anything.

About the writer:
Yagyu Munenori was born on the lands of his family in 1571. From a very young age, Munenori was trained in the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu by his father, and founder of the school, Yagyu Muneyoshi. The Yagyu were the instructors of the shogun of the Tokugawa family and their sword form has endured for centuries.

From this I have taken to heart the explanation that the learning is but the first part of the Way… in modern times, we stress training above all else, but we need to keep in mind that the people who used that training in life or death situations daily tell us that training is just the first and easiest step toward the Way of the martial arts. A warning that I have taken to heart.

[disgruntled]

it is a very good exert, the only thing that i disagree with is that is sounds like there is an end point to learning (the house). i have always viewed learning as a continous never ending process. even knowing the "way" i do not view as a end point. in fact i have always thought that part of the way is humbling your self to see how much more growth you need to do before you will know "the way"..... in essence, life is a constant journy with no end point, but the journey itself is the purpose.

[DOCBROWN1705]

That is a good excerpt... I would agree that learning is never ending though...

I would recommend the book to anyone! It really is very good

I like what you said about training, and it is very true... it really is only the first step!

[sirdarling]

What we need to keep in mind that what we term as training is part time compaired to what they did at that time... their life was spent training every day, all day. As opposed to our part time training now-adays.
So they were able to "master" the techniques and then move on to the 'bedroom' of the house... the Way. But really, it is all along the Way if you think about it.

[disgruntled]

ah..... yes, i really like that.....

so i guess that we should not be too hard on yourselves when we do little things like turning on a light with a strike, or a back elbow to close the car door, we are just following the way

[sirdarksol]

This is why it is said that "a Black Belt is now ready to learn."
All of the studying, training, and practicing that we do does nothing but teach us the physical skills we need. Useful in self defense, but not completion in the Way at all.

[Shirindo]

Yup, that proves it.......




.......I know jack!!

[DOCBROWN1705]

Originally Posted by sirdarksol

This is why it is said that "a Black Belt is now ready to learn."
All of the studying, training, and practicing that we do does nothing but teach us the physical skills we need. Useful in self defense, but not completion in the Way at all.

It is funny, but it wasn't until I had received my first black belt, that I realized how useless they truly are. They are a great token in the MA community, and good for competition in the ring, however in the world, and in our day to day lives, they really serve little purpose.

The journey is never ending, and no matter how much you think you know, you will always learn something new...

[disgruntled]

Originally Posted by DOCBROWN1705

It is funny, but it wasn't until I had received my first black belt, that I realized how useless they truly are.

i always say that too. i remember that my black belt ceremony was a little bitter sweat because of that. everything leading up to the test was so fun and intense and it was a realization of a life long dream. For our test we were video taped and then the tapes were sent to Korea and master's there had to approved our master's decision, so we had to wait it was almost 2 months to discover the results. which was interesting because during that time i really thought about what it would mean if i passed and what it would mean if i failed and it got to the point where i understood how meaningless the belt was. so when i finally received it, i saw it for what it was, a snazy looking uniform, which is still fun, but clearly not needed.

[Shirindo]

It really is niced to have you lot on this forum. I truly mean that.

To have people who are incredibly in tune with the way I have followed my own path through the MA's is very heartening.

I think this is what will make this forum grow and be sucessful. Like minded people who aren't afraid to discuss topics but will do so in a polite and considered manner.

Simply...thank-you.