In this blog’s origin story, a bullied teen named Elliott stumbles upon an unusual karate dojo run by a Sensei who tests him to see if he is worthy to train at his dojo.
“Darn it.” Elliott thought. “Could this day get any worse?”
Elliott was out shopping for a martial arts club and just stepped out of his second dojo of the day. Elliott lives in a midsize town that has three martial arts schools, and Elliott desperately wants to join a martial arts school, preferably today.
Elliott had recently caught the attention of the local school bully. Things hadn’t become physical yet, but based on this bully’s reputation, he knew it was only a matter of time before the taunts and pushing turned into bruises or worse. Elliott also hated the feeling of shame that came from knowing that he didn’t know how to defend himself.
The first dojo Elliott visited initially looked good. The staff and students were friendly and helpful. Elliott was lucky because a senior class had started a few minutes after he arrived, so Elliott got to watch the class. When the class was over, Elliott spoke with the head instructor who seemed more intent on selling Elliott a membership than finding out why Elliott wanted to join his club.
Elliott didn’t stay very long. After he left the dojo, he stopped to consider what he had just experienced. He recalled people in crisp white uniforms performing techniques as the instructor called them out. Initially, everything looked good, but something wasn’t right. On reflection, Elliott realized that he didn’t see any power or intensity in the student’s moves. They just seemed to be going through the motions.
“If I fought like they practised, would I be able to successfully defend myself in a fight?” Elliott asked himself. “Probably not.”
Then, something else occurred to him that bothered him even more. No one in the class was sweating. Not one person, even after an hour-long class. How was that possible?
“Can you develop effective self-defence skills without pushing yourself? Without even cracking a sweat?” Elliott thought. “Probably not.”
After a short walk, Elliott arrived at the second dojo. Some of his friends trained here, and they seemed to like it. He looked through the plate glass window into the front of the dojo. There was a common area where parents waited for their kids and where students waited for their next class.
Elliott noticed a buzz of activity around the front counter. Behind the counter was a lot of dojo themed merchandise, clothing, martial arts weapons, and sparring gear. Also on display were trophies, badges, and plaques of all sizes. Some trophies were over 4 feet tall. As Elliott looked around, he saw plaques on other walls and in the front window, and trophies in a display case and on some of the tables.
Elliott entered the dojo and slowly made his way to the front counter. He introduced himself and said he would like to learn about the club. The young lady at the front counter introduced Elliott to Jim, a senior student. Jim guided Elliott to the edge of the training area, where a senior teen class was in progress. They both took a seat. After a short chat, Jim left Elliott to watch the class.
The man leading the class wore a flashy black and white dogi (training uniform) with a black and red belt. He was just finishing the warm-up and was taking his class through stretching exercises. The instructor was very fit and very flexible. As he led the class, he talked to the class about the importance of strength and flexibility training in developing fast, high kicks.
Elliott continued to watch as the class went through blocking, punching, and kicking drills, followed by moving basics and basic combinations. He saw that the instructor and most of the senior students could easily kick to head height or higher. Later, the instructor broke the class into two groups. A senior student took the juniors through kata, while the instructor took the senior students through sparring drills.
Then the instructor had students sit at the edge of the training area. He called up two students and had them face off for practice sparring. He carefully explained the rules: techniques to the head were forbidden, as were techniques below the belt. Light contact was allowed, but only to the torso. Any violation would result in disqualification. To win, a student had to score three good points.
Elliott watched as the students began to spar. Many of the engagements happened so quickly that Elliott couldn’t really tell who won. He was impressed with the speed and techniques of the senior students, who easily outclassed the juniors. He also noticed that, as per the rules, their strikes were delivered without power or intensity. Eventually, the final match was held, and a winner was announced. Everyone clapped.
When the class was done, the instructor congratulated everyone on their effort and told them that, if they wanted to improve, they had to keep training hard. Elliott watched the students as they left the class. This time, everyone was sweating.
Jim then took Elliott over to the instructor and introduced him.
“What brings you to my club?” the instructor asked.
“I want to learn Karate.” replied Elliott.
“I get that.” said the instructor. “Why?”
“I want to learn self-defence.” said Elliott. “Do you teach that here?”
“We do. But there is a lot more to Karate than self defence. We also teach tournament sparring and kata, which you just saw, and weapons.”
Elliott and the instructor talked for a little longer. Sensing that he had answered all of Elliott’s questions, the instructor asked, “Is there anything else you’d like to know?”.
“Would that sparring I just watched work in a real fight?” Elliott asked.
“What you saw was tournament sparring.” answered the instructor. “That’s what we teach here. Tournament sparring is a friendly exchange of techniques where you try to score points. It is not intended for and wouldn’t really work on the street. Once you’ve trained for a few months, you can come to a tournament with us. They are lots of fun, and if you train hard, you can win trophies.”
“Oh, OK. Thanks.” replied Elliott.
Elliott shook the instructor’s hand as the instructor bowed ever so slightly.
“I need to think about it.” said Elliott. “Thanks for talking to me.”
The instructor watched as Elliott turned and left his dojo. When Elliott was gone, the instructor walked over to the reception desk and picked up the phone to make a call.
The Choice of No Choice
Elliott stood outside the second dojo and contemplated his situation. He didn’t like the first dojo. Their techniques looked good, but they were weak and lacked intensity. The second dojo looked better, but Elliott wasn’t interested in tournaments. He wanted to learn how to fight for real because that bully wasn’t going to fight him for points.
Elliott began to contemplate his third and last choice. He had never been to this dojo before, and he didn’t know anyone who trained there. He did talk to some friends who had checked it out, but none of them ever joined. One friend told him that, while the instructor looked strong and capable, when he spoke, he made no sense.
Another friend told him how this instructor flat-out refused to teach him how to fight, saying instead that he would only teach him how to not fight.
“How do you teach someone how to not fight?” Elliott thought? “If you don’t fight, you just don’t fight. How could there be skill in that?”
His friend said that, when he asked this instructor what his best self-defence move was, he was told “I just walk away.”
“Why do I need to join a martial arts club to learn how to walk away? Can’t I just walk away for free?” Elliott thought.
He then recalled the last time he walked away from that bully, full of shame because he knew he couldn’t defend himself. “There must be something I’m missing.” he thought. “But what?”
A third friend told Elliott about the crazy thing that happened at this club after he told the instructor that he wanted to learn how to fight.
“If somebody punches me, I want to hit them back even harder. Will you teach me how to do that?” Elliott’s friend asked. But instead of answering, the instructor just stood up and walked Elliott’s friend out the door.
“Why would an instructor refuse to teach someone how to fight? Isn’t that what martial arts clubs are for?” Elliott thought.
It sounded pretty crazy, but Elliott was out of options. Even if this club was a long shot, he had to try.
It was mid-afternoon on a Saturday when Elliott walked up to the third dojo. It was a simple storefront, not as big as the first two clubs. A sign on the door said Closed, but some lights were still on. Elliott could see a few plaques with Japanese handwriting in the window, but he couldn’t read them. He glanced at them, admiring the flowing brush strokes, and wondered what they said.
Then Elliott thought he saw some movement inside, so he tried the door. It was unlocked.
An Opponent-less Fight
Elliott quietly let himself in. He removed his shoes and placed them on a shoe tray by the side wall. He moved to a seat in a darker corner that faced into the training area. From there, he could see a middle-aged man of medium build in a clean, white dogi and wearing a simple black belt. His uniform had no crests or writing on it. The man was facing the front of the dojo and standing with his hands at his sides. He was calm and relaxed. His eyes were gently closed.
An instant later, the instructor’s demeanour completely changed. His body tightened and lowered ever so slightly as he centred his hands over his lower abdomen. He then shouted a Japanese name, took a measured breath, and began what could best be described as an opponent-less fight.
Elliott watched as the instructor began to move. His head snapped to the left, and he held his gaze as if looking at someone. No, not looking at them, locking eyes with them in an overt display of fearlessness and intimidation. Elliott could also see intensity and determination in the man’s eyes. An instant later, the instructor took a powerful step forward and executed a block, punch, and block combination. It was performed with so much speed and power that Elliott couldn’t see how any real adversary would be able to withstand it.
After a very brief pause, the instructor turned his head and looked over his back shoulder. He instantly turned to face this new threat, stepped in, and performed the same set of moves against a second imaginary opponent approaching from behind.
Elliott sat transfixed, watching as the instructor turned to face one imaginary attacker after another, stepping in to protect himself with powerful blocks and counting with devastating strike combinations. On two occasions, the final strike was accompanied by a yell so strong that Elliott thought he felt the building shake.
Elliott was mesmerized by what he was watching – the intensity in the man’s eyes and the power in the man’s body. This power was unlike anything he had seen before. There was no hint of anger in this man’s eyes. His power was focused, disciplined, and under the complete control of a calm, determined mind. A mind devoid of doubt, hesitation, or fear.
Then, as quickly as the imaginary fight started, it was over. The instructor was now standing back where he started, facing the front of the dojo. He paused for about 5 seconds, remaining calm and alert. He then bowed slightly and relaxed.
A Test for Admission
Without shifting his gaze, the instructor said in a loud, clear voice, “And who would you be?”
Elliott was startled. He was sure he had made no noise on entering the dojo, and the man seemed so absorbed in what he was doing that Elliott was sure that he had gone unnoticed.
“My name is Elliott, sir.” he answered.
The man turned and looked directly at Elliott and said, “I believe there is a Closed sign on the door.”
“Yes, sir.” said Elliott.
The man then walked toward Elliott. He had a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.
“So, what brings you to my dojo?” the man asked.
“I need to learn how to fight.” Elliott said, immediately regretting saying it that way.
The man looked at Elliott, who was now standing. He scanned the room and saw that Elliott had taken off his shoes and put them on a tray.
“I don’t teach people how to fight. If you want to learn how to fight, you should find a boxing club or an MMA club.” said the man. “If you are in a hurry, go down to a local bar and pick a fight with the toughest guy there. He’ll teach you for free.”
The instructor paused, smiled slightly, and said. “No, don’t do that. You are too young. They probably wouldn’t even let you in.”
“No, not fight.” Elliott corrected himself. “I need to learn how to defend myself.”
“That’s different.” said the man.
The man gestured at a chair, and Elliott sat down. He took a second chair, turned it to face Elliott, and sat down.
“How is it different?” asked Elliott.
“Simple.” said the man. “When you fight, you fight to win. Your goal is to beat the other person. In self-defence, your goal isn’t to win; it is to protect yourself… to not lose.”
“But, there are some martial artists who use self-defence as a cover to fight and show off. They say they don’t go looking for fights, but they find them anyway. When confronted, they size up their opponent and only fight if they think they can win. Then, they beat their opponent rather than just trying to end the fight… a fight that never needed to happen in the first place. And, if the police are called, they say that they are just defending themselves.”
“The other difference is that most fighting styles are governed by rules. Boxing has rules. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has rules. The only rules governing self-defence are legal statutes covering assault. These differ from place to place, but they generally allow you to do what you need to do to protect yourself. The rules for boxing and MMA say you can’t elbow someone, gouge them, bite them, break a bone, or choke them out, but you can in self-defence. Under some circumstances, legally you can even kill the other person.”
“I can teach you how to defend yourself.” the man said. “If you train here long enough, you may eventually learn how to do extreme harm to or even kill someone.”
The man leaned in and looked intently at Elliott and said, “Would you ever use what I teach you to kill another person?”
Elliott was caught off guard by the question and panicked. “No, absolutely not.”
“What kind of question is that?” Elliott thought. “I only want to defend myself.”
The man held his gaze and continued. “If you train here long enough, you may learn how to severely injure or even maim your attacker. If someone were to attack you and you had the skill, would you ever go so far as to maim them?”
Elliott was aghast. “Who does he think I am?” he thought.
“No, no, only as a last resort. Only if I had no other choice.” Elliott said.
The man did not flinch. “Eventually, if you train here long enough, you may learn how to severely hurt your attacker. Would you ever do that to punish your attacker, to get revenge, or to teach them a lesson?”
Elliott really didn’t understand why he was being questioned like this. He just wanted to learn how to defend himself.
“No!” Elliott said emphatically, his anxiety starting to grow. “I’m not a bully, and I don’t want revenge. But I don’t want to be bullied either.”
The man pressed on… “If you train here, you may learn percussive techniques can be used to cause great harm. Would you ever use more force than necessary to end a fight, and thereby cause needless harm to your attacker?”
“No!” Elliott said. “I already said that I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
Elliott was getting frustrated with these questions. “Maybe this guy was crazy after all. Who thinks like this?” he asked himself.
With this last answer the man seemed to relax, just a little.
The Way of Not Fighting
“OK, good. If someone confronted you and you could avoid a fight by walking away, would you?” the man asked.
“I’ve already walked away.” Elliott replied.
“Explain.” the man commanded.
Elliott described his recent encounter with the bully and how he had no choice but to walk away because he knew he couldn’t defend himself. He also mentioned how he had to change his route to school to avoid the bully.
Elliott then decided it was his turn to ask a question. “I heard that the best form of self-defence is to walk away. Is that correct?”
“Yes.” the man asked. “That way, no one gets hurt.”
“But I got hurt.” Elliott protested. “I felt powerless because I knew I couldn’t stand up to the bully. I felt weak and full of shame when the bully laughed at me. Is there a way to walk away and not get hurt like this?”
“Yes.” said the man.
“How?” asked Elliott.
“What you experience when you walk away depends on your mind.” said the man. “You experienced those things because, when you walked away, your mind was full of doubt and fear.”
“What other reason is there to walk away?” asked Elliott.
“Compassion.” was the man’s answer.
“Compassion?” Elliott repeated, startled by the answer.
“Did he really expect me to have compassion for that bully?” Elliott thought.
“Yes, compassion.” the man answered. “A skilled martial artist knows the harm they can do and will choose to walk away out of compassion for themselves and for their attacker rather than fight. Skilled martial artists will go out of their way to avoid doing harm.”
“But this is a martial arts club. Don’t you teach people how to fight?” asked Elliott?
“No!” the man said emphatically. “I teach people how to not fight. The simplest way to not fight is to walk away, but there are other ways. If you train here, you will learn them.”
The man continued. “You walked away out of fear because you had no choice. If you were a skilled martial artist, you would have choices. You could walk away so that no one gets hurt, or you could choose to de-escalate the situation. Your last and worst choice is to fight.”
“Why is fighting the worst choice?” asked Elliott. “If I were a skilled martial artist, wouldn’t I win?”
“Maybe.” said the instructor. “But what if they have a knife? What if they have friends nearby? What if they get in a lucky shot? You would lose and could get badly hurt. This is why your goal isn’t to win, it is to not lose. The best way to not lose is to not fight.”
Elliott nodded. He was beginning to understand the concept of not fighting.
“A skilled martial artist understands that all fighting does is make more enemies. And, he is well aware that there is already too much suffering in the world.” the man said. “So he would never intentionally do anything that would add to that burden of suffering.”
“A skilled martial artist protects himself, protects others, and through the power of restraint protects his attacker by choosing to walk away if he can or to do minimal harm if he can’t. If he cannot walk away, he will try to de-escalate first. If he can’t do either, he will fight, but not like a boxer or an MMA fighter. A skilled martial artist should be able to end a fight with just one or two techniques.”
“You watched the kata I performed.” said the man. “In every imaginary fight sequence, it only took a few techniques to stop the attacker. It is not entertaining to watch, but when done correctly, it is highly effective.”
“But there is one thing a skilled martial artist never defends by fighting, and that is his ego. Mere words have no power over him, so he never reacts to taunts, threats, or insults. Just because someone insults you doesn’t justify fighting. A skilled martial artist never fights over words. Do you understand?” the man asked, fixing his gaze directly at Elliott.
“Yes.” replied Elliott. “I think so.”
The Student Is Ready
“If I allow you to join, will you ever use the skills you learn here to do needless harm others?” the man asked.
“No.” said Elliott. “I don’t want to harm anyone. I just want to defend myself. I don’t want to be afraid.”
“Freedom from fear is one of the many things you can develop through studying the martial arts.” said the man. “But that may take many years of training. Are you up for it?”
“Yes.” said Elliott without hesitation. “Will you teach me?”
“Maybe.” said the man. “But first, you must promise me that you will never use what I teach you to harm others. If you make me this promise and I find out that you have needlessly harmed anyone, you will be banished from this dojo forever. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand. I promise I will never intentionally harm anyone.” said Elliott.
“Good.” said the man. “First, you must train your mind and body to acquire the skills you need to handle yourself in a fight. This can take three or more years of diligent study and practice. This is how you will earn your black belt.”
“Then the real work begins. Next, you must continue to train your mind so that you can remain calm and in control in tense situations. In time, you will learn how to move without thinking, and how to respond instantly and skilfully to any situation. And, you must continue developing your physical skills so that you will be able to subdue an opponent rather than beat them.”
“Are you prepared to do this?” asked the man.
“Yes.” responded Elliott.
The man relaxed, stood up, and stuck out his hand. Elliott stood and shook the man’s hand.
“I am very pleased to meet you, Elliott. My name is Sensei Mike.” he said. “Sensei is the Japanese word for teacher. It literally means born before. A Sensei teaches based on knowledge, wisdom, and experience attained through years of study and practice, performed before meeting a student.”
“A martial artist is not just a fighter; he is also a scholar. A fighter only wants to learn how to fight effectively. But, to gain mastery and truly understand Karate, you also need to understand both the physical and mental principles behind the moves. To do that, you must train long and hard, and you must study eastern philosophy. A lot of that philosophy is based on Zen.”
Sensei Mike continued. “What I teach here is called Bun Bu Ryu Do. That is Japanese. It means Pen and Sword in Accord1. Here, pen refers to eastern philosophy, and sword refers to all martial arts. It means that physical training and philosophy, when taught together, produce a result that is greater than the sum of the individual practices.”
“Oh, and just to be clear, I do not actually teach sword fighting here.” Sensei Mike added.
Sensei Mike continued. “I often begin classes with a bit of philosophy to give students perspective on what they will be learning. I’ll briefly introduce the topic and usually ask, What does Zen say about it?”
“You may even hear some students call me Zen-sei rather than Sensei. It is an inside joke at our club.” Sensei Mike said.
Elliott looked confused.
Sensei Mike paused. “Zen-say sounds like Sensei. I don’t mind, but I prefer being called Sensei.”
He then officially asked. “Elliott, would you like to train with us?”
“Yes!” said Elliott, barely able to contain his enthusiasm. “Today is the best day ever.” he thought.
“Great.” said Sensei Mike. “Please follow me into my office, and we will get you enrolled.
Elliott followed Sensei Mike into a small office and took a moment to scan the room. There were pictures and more plaques on the walls, along with certificates of rank. There was also a book shelf in the corner filled with books on martial arts and eastern philosophy.
Most of the plaques on the wall were written in Japanese or a mix of Japanese and English. There was one small plaque written entirely in English that seemed to stand out. It was small enough that Elliott couldn’t read it from across the room, so he walked over to it. It was very short, but Elliott was deeply moved by what he read…
Shaolin Creed
Learn the ways to preserve rather than destroy. Avoid rather than harm. Harm rather than hurt. Hurt rather than maim. Maim rather than kill. Kill rather than be killed. For all life is precious and can never be replaced2.
Zensei
Peace
Eastern Wisdom
One is indeed one’s own protector. What other protector should there be? With oneself well controlled, one finds a protector who is hard to find.
Patrick McCarthy, Hanshi, 10th Dan, “Aiki Kenpo Jujutsu, Classical Tradition – Contemporary Insight”, Head of the International Ryukyu Karate Research Society and author of dozens of books on the martial arts. https://www.koryu-uchinadi.com/aiki-kenpo-jujutsu/↩︎
From martial arts oral traditions. Origin unknown. ↩︎
