Building Up Small Steps

How does focusing on the small steps make a difference?

Envision the outcome if your time in the dojo was 100% engagement 100% of the time. Improvement would be continually notable. Skill level would skyrocket. And this, of course, is the obvious reason for such conduct. It is the reason it became a maxim on a daimyo’s wall.

Now envision the outcome were this is always the case, period. To propagate principle analyzed in the dojo to everyday life is perhaps the most valuable element of martial arts training. If we can muster the mental and physical fortitude to be wholly engaged in the interval between bowing in and bowing out, and expand that awareness to the interval between waking and sleep, we can tap into one of the most powerful techniques for character development and personal growth.

This is the way to treat matters of great concern lightly. What is the big, but a concentrated buildup of the small? The big can be overwhelming with a backlog of minutiae trailing unattended in its wake, but when the small things are mastered, the big loses gravity. To analogize, a test is no problem when its material has been personalized through diligent study; a physical confrontation loses its edge when the mind and body are integrated through methodical practice. Most importantly, the daily challenges we face in life become surprisingly manageable when we eliminate clutter and execute matters of small concern with full attention and ambition.

Unfortunately, the effort to lead a life of happiness and success is monumental in nature. But it is easy to fix the small things one at a time.

Bolster Your Routine at a Martial Arts Organization

Sliding back on your martial arts goals?

Find the support, encouragement, and discipline you need to stay on track at SMAA. Our martial arts organization offers aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, and karate-do. To get started or reach out with questions, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

Remember the Fundamentals

Do you find yourself falling into a routine with no meaning?

In the Hagakure, by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, there is a passage that reads:

"Among the maxims on Lord Naoshige’s wall there was this one: 'Matters of great concern should be treated lightly.' Master Ittei commented, 'Matters of small concern should be treated seriously.'"

This is interesting, because we tend to behave the opposite.

For the martial artist, the dojo is the setting to pursue this wisdom. Let the dojo be a place of meticulous focus where every breath and footstep bear heavy significance, where every motion and intention dominate the mind. Our time is so limited in the confines of the training hall, restricted by countless obligations of the modern economic climate that we must aspire to make the best of every moment we have. It is a difficult task to be continuously present, without lapse of attention or admittance of distraction, and it can only be achieved with determination.

Begin with the fundamentals: Formalities and repetitions should never be mindless. Too habitually they are! It is easy to stare off into space or pick at the nails during stretches and warm-ups — not out of disrespect, but ennui. Begin by destroying that stultified detachment. Begin by occupying the body with the mind.

When stretching, seek comfort in flexibility. When striking, or standing for judo uchikomi (repetitive throws stopped short of throwing), be stentorian in count. During ukemi (falling), focus on posture before, during, and after the fall; and when being uke (the receiver of a technique), remember that the ability to receive technique is equally as crucial as the ability to effect it. During demonstrations be attentive, when bowing, be sincere, and when instructed, yell “Hai!” or “Yes, sir!” and take the lesson to heart. Everything — every little thing — should be considered with serious regard.

Bolster Your Routine at a Martial Arts Organization

Sliding back on your martial arts goals?

Find the support, encouragement, and discipline you need to stay on track at SMAA. Our martial arts organization offers aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, and karate-do. To get started or reach out with questions, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

Applying Techniques in Action

 Why is it important to continuously practice techniques you already know?

Once we have achieved some degree of understanding of our martial arts skills, we can apply them in action. In judo, this is done in randori (free practice), in karate-do we engage in kumite (sparring), in iaido, we simply repeat our forms again and again, seeking to deepen our ability to focus on and execute the detailed form requirements. 

Through this application, we learn what works well and what needs more work. We can go back to the mastery stage to analyze and perfect skills that don't work well in application, try them out again, and continue this back-and-forth process until we succeed at throwing a challenging partner (or whatever our milestone is at the time). This eventually makes us very capable at self-defense, demonstrating, kumite, or whatever our goal for training may be.

Having good training partners is critical for success in application of techniques. Dojo mates who care about your success can make all the difference. They will apply their strength in the right measure so that you can attempt your technique and determine whether or not it works. They can comment on how your technique looks or feels to them, allowing you to use the feedback to make yourself better. As you improve, they can increase their strength and speed, helping you to refine your skills even more. There are very few better friends than a really good training partner.

Embrace Budo at a National Karate Association

Interested in learning more about budo and its training techniques?

SMAA is a national karate association, but also offers aikido, iaido, judo, and jujutsu! Whether you’re brand new to martial arts or a seasoned veteran, all dedicated martial artists have a place at SMAA. To get started, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

Learning New Techniques

Have you thought about your training technique as its own art?

Because you come to a new art with no knowledge, the early part of your martial arts career will be mostly filled with learning new techniques. Typically, you are taught a throw, joint lock, sword cut, or strike—you practice it a bit until you have memorized the pattern—your teacher helps you refine it a bit—and then you are taught another new technique. This is the same whether you study aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, karate-do, or kendo. 

Because students get a lot of attention at this stage, and because of the excitement and interest of constantly learning new things, many students get addicted to learning new techniques. If they don't manage to move past this addiction, they will never become accomplished martial artists; instead, they will become collectors of skills—dilettantes with no deep understanding of their art. In fact, learning new techniques is the smallest part of the career of a true martial arts master.

MASTERING TECHNIQUES

In the traditional martial arts, we don't really believe in the idea that a person can truly “master” a technique or an art. Instead, we believe that becoming great at martial arts is a lifetime's commitment, and that we must constantly revisit the techniques we know to try to deepen our understanding of them. 

What we mean when we say that the second aspect of physical training is “mastering techniques” is that we constantly practice what we know, always trying to be better. We analyze each part of a technique, figure out what could be done better, practice that part, then put the whole thing back together and try to make it more efficient, more effective, or more beautiful. If we keep at it long enough with an enthusiastic spirit, we can eventually become quite good at our chosen art.

Embrace Budo at a National Karate Association

Interested in learning more about budo and its training techniques?

SMAA is a national karate association, but also offers aikido, iaido, judo, and jujutsu! Whether you’re brand new to martial arts or a seasoned veteran, all dedicated martial artists have a place at SMAA. To get started, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

Embracing the Beginner's Mind

Why is it important to approach martial arts with a beginner’s mind?

"Empty Your Cup" is a martial arts aphorism that virtually every student has heard. It refers to the idea that students should put aside their own thoughts and opinions and diligently try to do exactly as their instructor asks them to do. Whether one studies aikido, karate-do, jujutsu, or kendo, the requirement is the same: diligently and enthusiastically perform the techniques of your martial art, over and over, trying to match all the checkpoints provided by your teacher. The idea is that you should adopt a beginner's attitude, rather than an expert's, even if you are very accomplished. If you do so, you will find that your understanding and ability improve at a remarkable pace.

Outside the dojo, the attributes of a good martial artist—confidence, open-mindedness, positive attitude, and awareness—are tools for success. In life, as in the dojo, we keep what we embrace and lose what we reject. A human being with a big heart has room for many wonderful things!

Earn Your Martial Arts Certification at SMAA

Our dojo offers five unique divisions of authentic Japanese martial arts: aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, and karate-do. If you’re looking to earn a martial arts certification in any of these, SMAA is for you! To get started, call 734-720-0330 or submit a contact form here. We look forward to nurturing your Beginner’s Mind!

Things to Keep in Mind When Beginning a New Martial Art

Are you ready to start learning a new martial art?

Previous training in a martial art can impede your ability to perform the checkpoints of your new art. In fact, it's more than your mind that keeps you from doing your new art correctly; if you've studied another martial art, the chances are good that you learned things in a different way. The old movements are programmed into your nervous system and can take time to unlearn. By staying relaxed, focusing on the relationship between the technique and the principle that makes it work, and trying to work slowly and systematically, you can dramatically decrease the time it takes to unlearn the old and learn the new.

Inner dialog is another impediment to effective learning. Most of us have a sort of continuous conversation with ourselves, in which we constantly analyze, compare, discriminate, and predict. In situations where intellectual analysis is required, this dialog can be beneficial. However, when learning a physical skill, the dialog can actually impair our ability to experience the techniques in all their fullness. Martial arts are physical skills, and if our complete attention is focused on the moment, we are much more likely to absorb the subtle aspects of the techniques. Learning to quiet the mind is essential on the way to becoming an advanced martial artist.

Ego is one of the biggest hurdles to learning new skills, especially for those who have studied other arts previously. It's common for martial arts students to strongly identify with the system they've studied, and when they are offered new ways to accomplish martial arts goals, those new ways can seem strange or threatening. It's normal to experience a defensive reaction when asked to try something different, but the accomplished practitioner will learn that the reaction need not be acted upon. Instead, one can recognize that the reaction is a product of "self," a body of reflexive thoughts and feelings that may not actually represent who we are, and move through it toward the desired technique. Recognizing that learning to do things in new ways does not threaten who we are is an enormous step in becoming accomplished martial artists.

Earn Your Martial Arts Certification at SMAA

Our dojo offers five unique divisions of authentic Japanese martial arts: aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, and karate-do. If you’re looking to earn a martial arts certification in any of these, SMAA is for you! To get started, call 734-720-0330 or submit a contact form here. We look forward to nurturing your Beginner’s Mind!

Wayne Muromoto: Who, What, and Why

How does your personality impact your martial arts practice?

There are usually a couple of questions I ask potential students within the first month of training, or even before they begin training. I usually don’t ask it in so blunt a manner, but they are usually some form of “Who are you, what do you do, and why do you want to train with us?”

There are several reasons why I ask these questions, some obvious, and perhaps some not so apparent at first. Obviously, I want to get some idea of who you are. My club is so small that any new person will alter the group dynamics substantially, and so I want to know from the start what you are like, where you are coming from, and what kind of prior knowledge (and stereotypes) you are bringing to the training.

Who are you? What do you do? In America, we tend to categorize people based a lot on their occupation. It’s not that I’m a social snob. You don’t need to have a white-collar job. But if you are an adult, don’t have a job, and are mooching off someone else, I’m going to wonder if you can afford to help pay the monthly dues that covers our dojo rental fees. Also, what does that say about your ability to stick things out, to work hard at a concerted, extended effort?

What prior martial arts background do you have? Some martial arts will complement what we do. Some will only hinder you learning our own style, so I will have prior knowledge of what I need to be aware of. Perhaps your experiences and mindset are not the proper fit for what we do. I sometimes suggest other martial arts schools that prospective students might enjoy more than ours. We’re not the answer to everyone’s quest for the martial arts that suit their purposes.

Why do you want to train in our dojo? There’s actually no pat and simple answer for this. Of course, if you say something like “Because I need to fight the ninjas that are coming out of the walls in my padded room,” I may ask that you focus on taking your medication regularly instead of learning how to fight invisible ninja.

Ready to Start Earning Your Martial Arts Rank Certficate?

If you have the who, what, and why, we want to have you at SMAA!

At our dojo, you have your choice of five different divisions of Japanese martial arts. To start your journey towards an official martial arts rank certificate, call 734-720-0330 or submit a contact form here!