June Newsletter

JUNE 2012 

Facing the Enemies Within by Jim Rohn

We are not born with courage, but neither are we born with fear. Maybe some of our fears are brought on by your own experiences, by what someone has told you, by what you’ve read in the papers. Some fears are valid, like walking alone in a bad part of town at two o’clock in the morning. But once you learn to avoid that situation, you won’t need to live in fear of it.

Fears, even the most basic ones, can totally destroy our ambitions. Fear can destroy fortunes. Fear can destroy relationships. Fear, if left unchecked, can destroy our lives. Fear is one of the many enemies lurking inside us.

Let me tell you about five of the other enemies we face from within. The first enemy that you’ve got to destroy before it destroys you is indifference. What a tragic disease this is. “Ho-hum, let it slide. I’ll just drift along.” Here’s one problem with drifting: you can’t drift your way to the top of the mountain.

The second enemy we face is indecision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity and enterprise. It will steal your chances for a better future. Take a sword to this enemy.

The third enemy inside is doubt. Sure, there’s room for healthy skepticism. You can’t believe everything. But you also can’t let doubt take over. Many people doubt the past, doubt the future, doubt each other, doubt the government, doubt the possibilities and doubt the opportunities. Worst of all, they doubt themselves. I’m telling you, doubt will destroy your life and your chances of success. It will empty both your bank account and your heart. Doubt is an enemy. Go after it. Get rid of it.

The fourth enemy within is worry. We’ve all got to worry some. Just don’t let it conquer you. Instead, let it alarm you. Worry can be useful. If you step off the curb in New York City and a taxi is coming, you’ve got to worry. But you can’t let worry loose like a mad dog that drives you into a small corner. Here’s what you’ve got to do with your worries: drive them into a small corner. Whatever is out to get you, you’ve got to get it. Whatever is pushing on you, you’ve got to push back.

The fifth interior enemy is over-caution. It is the timid approach to life. Timidity is not a virtue; it’s an illness. If you let it go, it’ll conquer you. Timid people don’t get promoted. They don’t advance and grow and become powerful in the marketplace. You’ve got to avoid over-caution.

Do battle with the enemy. Do battle with your fears. Build your courage to fight what’s holding you back, what’s keeping you from your goals and dreams. Be courageous in your life and in your pursuit of the things you want and the person you want to become.

     We constantly utilize our minds daily.  It is said that we have at least 65,000 thoughts a day.  We should read or listen to material that will make us better people.  The mind doesn’t necessarily go, but it loses the ability to concentrate and recall information if it is not exercised like our bodies.  The goal is to work smarter not harder and this is accomplished by being creative.  This creativity adds interest and freshness to learning. 

     We use basic karate exercises to develop the body for karate techniques, but what techniques do we use to train the mind?  While in the physical world, more power and energy usually means better results, in the mind less is more. We learn to trust our instincts after they are developed and understand that the mind works best with faith and relaxation. Through practice, we learn to use the power of our mind to redirect hostile intention and to bring positive things into life. We should always be prepared to use the most powerful weapon – the mind.

          Mushin ( Japanese mushin; English translation “without mind”) is a mental state into which very highly trained martial arts students are said to enter during training and during everyday activities. The term is also referred to as the state of “no-mindness”. That is, a mind not fixed or occupied by thought or emotion and thus opens to everything.  It is somewhat analogous to similar to the energized feeling experienced by artists deeply in a creative process.

          Mushin is achieved when a person’s mind is free from thoughts of anger, fear, or ego during combat or everyday life. There is an absence of discursive thought and judgment, so the person is totally free to act and react towards an opponent without hesitation and without disturbance from such thoughts. At this point, a person relies not on what they think should be the next move, but what is their trained natural reaction or what is felt intuitively. It is not a state of relaxed, near-sleepfulness. The mind should be working at a very high speed, but with no intentions, plans or direction. In this state a clear mind is compared to a still pond, which is able to clearly reflect the moon and trees. But just as waves in the pond will distort the picture of reality, so will the thoughts we hold onto disrupt the true perception of reality.

A martial artist would likely have to train for many years to be capable of maintained mushin. This allows time for combinations of movements and exchanges of techniques to be practised repetitively many thousands of times, until they can be performed spontaneously, without conscious thought, thus changing your natural reactions to be more effective in combat or whatever else you may be doing. If he is capable of truly listening to his teacher, however, he could attain this level in only a few years.

Mushin is not just a state of mind that can be achieved during combat. Many martial artists, particularly those practising Japanese martial arts, train to achieve this state of mind during kata so that a flawless execution of moves is accomplished.  Once mushin is attained through the practicing or studying of martial arts (although it can be accomplished through other arts or practices that refine the mind and body), the objective is to then attain this same level of complete awareness in other aspects of the practitioner’s life.

 Congratulations to the students who earned promotions since our last newsletter – Junior Yellow Belt – – Ariana & Briana Villegas     Senior Brown Belt #3  – – Jay Brader       Senior Brown Belt #1  – –  Scott Conroy,

Reminder: Senior students, yellow belt and above, should join the IWKA and obtain that certificate with the number that will be recorded on all Black Belt Promotions obtained through Okinawa.  The cost is $40.00 for the lifetime certificate. 

          Students may also request to join the American Isshinryu Association.  This association works to unite all Isshin-ryu students.  It hosts numerous seminars and a tournament annually.  Once a person is a member, the cost for seminars is reduced and there is also a reduced fee for entry into all member tournaments.  In this area there are generally three that we attend annually.  Again a lifetime membership is $40.00.

Now that the weather is getting warmer – bring sneakers to each class with socks as we may go outside to train.