Lesson of the Week #175

Quotes:

"The fixed determination to have acquired the warrior soul, to

either conquer or perish with honor, is the secret of victory." -

George Patton, General

"One's only security in life comes from doing something

uncommonly well." - Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the U.S.

“No act of kindness, not matter how small, is ever wasted.” -

Aesop

“Humility does not mean you think less of yourself. It means you

think of yourself less.” - Ken Blanchard

“Triumph often is nearest when defeat seems inescapable.” - B.C.

Forbes

“Never stop. One always stops just as soon as something is

about to happen.” - Peter Brook

Lesson:

Principles of Bushido

Yu – Courage – Bravery

This week we will, once again, talk about another of the seven

principles of Bushido – Yu, or courage and bravery.

As martial artists we see time and time again the lives of new

students change forever as they develop self-confidence and over

come fear in their lives. This one thing alone has impacted more lives

today than probably any other benefit of martial arts training. The

ability to learn to overcome fear opens a person up to accomplish all

the great things they can, and to live a quality life.

Several years ago a good friend was diagnosed with terminal

cancer and told that he had a 90% chance that he would not live

another 6 months. Well, he beat those odds and is still training. As of

right now he seems to have no signs of it coming back. The point is,

when he asked his doctor what he could do to improve his chances,

the Dr. said, “Do as much as you can for as long as you can.” I think

these are great words for anyone because we are all terminal and the

key to life is living a quality life with the time we have. Overcoming fear

is a major step in achieving all you want in life and living a life of quality

and meaning.

The acronym for fear has been said to stand for False Evidence

Appearing Real, and that is very true. Most of the time what we fear is

not real at all, but based on unrealistic opinions, beliefs and

unnecessary anxiety. Once a person learns to face challenges head

on, then that opens the doors for success after success and a quality

life.

The Bushi of old said it a little differently but understood that life

was precious and to die for a noble cause was indeed the right path for

a warrior. But dying unnecessarily was a waste of life and not the

honorable way of Bushido.

Defending truth and justice is difficult and especially in life and

death situations. The courage and bravery to stand up against injustice

and even being willing to sacrifice one’s life for one’s family or country

is the mark of a true warrior and what makes our nation and

community strong.

Whether we are talking about the tenacity of warriors of old, or our

fighting brothers that are in foreign lands today, let’s hope that our

nation is always, “The Home of The Brave” and that WE can always

live up to the slogan.

Train hard and well. In the way, JWA