Learning humility

The first line of the dojo kun reminds us of the need to ‘be humble and polite’.  This of course is an admirable trait, and something for us all to be mindful of in our daily lives, but how do we go about practising this lesson?

Politeness is something which we as karateka should strive to show in our daily actions, and we are given ample opportunity throughout the course of our day to practise this trait.  Most children are reminded of the need to show politeness by their parents, and this is something which should already be second nature before a student ever steps foot inside a dojo.  Unfortunately in this day and age, simple manners are no longer considered important by many people so any lapses in common courtesy should be pointed out by the sempai and sensei of any serious dojo.  As I have already mentioned though, we are given many opportunties during the day to put this into practise and there is no excuse for any serious student to forget simple politeness in their everyday actions.  This is something which should be practised more so than any kata or physical technique inside the dojo.

Humility can be a little more difficult, as perhaps we are given fewer opportunities to put this into practise, and in addition to this, a person who fails to display humility in their actions will often be blissfully unaware of the fact until it is pointed out to them.  A good sensei is able to remind his students about humility by simle lessons in the dojo.

Not bragging about ones achievements is merely a small part of displaying humility, and like saying ‘please’ or ‘thank you’, is something which ideally should already be well drilled into a persons personality before they ever step foot inside a dojo.  Any person who fails to display such simple qualities would find it difficult being accepted into any serious dojo anyway.

Humility is more than that though, and requires the student to subject themself over and over again to correction and scrutiny from their seniors.  I’m sure that many readers will have experienced demonstrating a basic kata in front of a senior only to be told to stop before they have even concluded the first technique due to a basic error in their movement.  This is a lesson in humility that serves as a stark reminder of how far along the path a practitioner has left to travel.  The practitioner can choose to act in two ways.  They can either listen to the voices in their head that suggest ‘the senior is being mean for the sake of it’, or ‘I’ve been performing this kata of 20 years and have never been told that movement is wrong before’.  Such voices are your ego talking to you, telling you that you are more important than you actually are.  To listen to such voices is to ignore one of the most basic lessons of the budo. 

Alternatively the student can put their unimportant hurt feelings aside, and be thankful that they have found a teacher who cares about their development enough to point out such errors in their form and character in an effort to help them grow as practitioners of the budo.  Such teachers are rare, and the more you stand in front of such a person, the more you can gain from your practise.

Regretfully the age of undergoing an apprenticeship in the arts under a sensei has passed, and many practitioners teach large groups, subjecting their students to their scrutiny without ever having to experience the discomfort of having themselves examined.  This is a sad situation, and I wonder if such people are afraid of having their over-inflated egos suddenly burst through the realisation that they might not be as good as their students keep telling them they are?

I remember seeing a video of Yasuda Tetsunosuke sensei (10th dan) having his kata corrected by Miyazato Eiichi Sensei.  Yasuda Sensei was already in his late 60’s and had pursued the budo for a great portion of his life.  Despite this, he was humble enough to still accept critism from his sensei, and what’s more, he actually looked very grateful of the fact that his sensei cared enough about him to spend the time. 

The path of karatedo is endless, and the only way to keep walking forward is through constant correction of ones form and character.  Whilst the physical benifits of karate have limited value, the lessons learned through the pursuit of the physical have unlimited value and stay with us throughout the entire course of our lives.

Next time you are corrected, please do not be offended.  Your teacher is only trying to help.