Zyaga Writing about whatever the hell I want, cuz it's the Interwebz!

Thursday Reflections: Think of what is right and true

In my Monday article, I went over a bit about the rules that Miyamoto Musashi laid out for those who wish to study his art. I decided that because of each rules profound significance, each is worthy of it’s own article, so I’ll be starting up a new weekly “tradition”: Thursday Reflections. Of course, the first series will be about Miyamoto’s rules. However, after that I will vary in writing articles based on reflections of past warriors. Sun Tzu will obviously be included at some point, as well as Yagyu Munenori.

I’ve decided for the sake of simplicity that I’m going to cover Miyamoto’s rules in order of how they were listed in my book, which is the way I outlined in my previous article. The first rule is: “Think of what is right and true.” This rule can obviously be perceived in many various ways. One of the first ways that comes to mind is to think of being a good person. Most everyone has views of how these ancient warriors were knights in shining armor, so to speak, and were pure people. I believe that to be a very important part of this message. I do believe he is presenting that “Do unto others how you would have them do unto you” approach but I don’t believe it stops there. I believe there is a more blatant but often missed message there which becomes quite apparent when you really think about it.

Picture of Miyamoto Musashi getting his fortune told.

To me the message speaks something I’ve always tried to focus on in my Martial Arts progression. Let me rephrase his words a bit to see if I can shed a bit of light in a simplistic way: “Think of what is right and true, in martial arts” or “Think of what works.” The moment I read his words I took it the way I would if I had wrote them myself, just the way Miyamoto portrays that he wants us to do. That which is right and true is that which works. It can’t be claimed that something that doesn’t work is right nor true. In today’s world it is even more popular than ever that people are being falsely taught things that don’t work. The biggest problem isn’t the teachers that are teaching these false methods, it’s the students who don’t question their teachers. I believe part of what Miyamoto was trying to get across with those words was to fix yourself on making sure you learn what works. Just because someone presents material to you, in any shape or form, doesn’t mean it is right, no matter who they are or what kind of credentials they have. Miyamoto was a master less Samurai, yet he learned from many over his time because he never put his full trust in what others said. Those that gave him sound advice were still questioned. I think too many of us automatically assume that because we may not know about a subject, that automatically we should believe those who may know more than us.

I can securely say that everything that everyone tells me, I test. It’s something I’ve always been good at ever since I was a kid. Someone would tell me something and I’d simply say I didn’t believe them. They’d attempt to convince me but if my mind was already set on the fact that what they were telling me possibly wasn’t true, I’d only believe them if they proved it to me. Now, don’t misunderstand, I didn’t do that about everything but only about the things where I believed they were wrong based on previous experience and common sense. It wasn’t that I was calling them a liar, it’s just that I believed in order for me to believe them I needed proof. The same way I use to look at things back then is how I still look at them now. Every word, sentence, phrase, etc that someone tells me, I take as opinion unless proven otherwise. Based on the opinions I accumulate over time along with my own investigation, I eventually conclude on my own personal opinion on the situation. That doesn’t mean my opinion won’t change or be influenced by future experiences or opinions, it just means I don’t take things as facts because someone says so.

On the Martial Arts side of things, I listen and learn from others but expect them to understand that is merely all I am doing. If you happen to show me a move or a technique, you can guarantee that I’ll expect you to at some point later on indulge in using it on me or someone else in a more realistic way which may be sparring or even me just attempting to resist. You can also count on the fact that I’ll be attempting it later on as well, because if it has the inability to be replicable easily in a real situation then it is not right or true in the truest sense.

Please, when you read my words, take them to heart how ever you would if you had written them yourself and then question all that I have to say. My words are no more trustworthy than anyone else’s, and because of that, there are even times that I’ve gone back to read over things that I wrote or said many years ago and question it. Form your own truth and rely on no one else’s knowledge to make up for your own. If you do not know about something, then learn, but do not just “believe”. Most importantly, remember to reflect not only on others words but also your own.