There will always be other interpretations. No biggie, its what you feel that is important. No if someone insists that I am typing in red, well..........that's a different story, ahhhhm, more medical perhaps? (^^)
Back to my ramblings. I was first exposed to this phrase by Sakabe 8th Dan, my Judo instructor. He was a man that devoted his life to spreading Judo in Hawaii. He also participated in Professional Judo with another Judo great, Kimura Sensei (no relation to me), who currently is more famous for winning a match against the Brazilian patriarch Helio Gracie with an arm bar. Sakabe Sensei lived a very frugal life on Oahu, his abode was a small rectangular room with a desk, bed and wash basin. I cannot even recall if there was a toilet and or shower in that room. My memories of him are the words gentle. Oh yeas, he had a strong core of will and wasn't afraid to make his thoughts known. He was stubborn in a way that he never really (at least to me) learned to be fluent in English! His stance (jokingly?) was that Judo was Japanese, therefor students should learn Japanese as well. (^^) Today, I want to write about one his favorite phrases, Mizu no Kokoro. Strictly my interpretation of his thoughts on being a Judoka.
I think this phrase fits any martial artist. Please excuse me for not getting into Go Rin no Sho and Miyamoto Musashi, and others. This will be only what I thought the message Sakabe Sensei was trying to convey to me and others who were fortunate to hear him speak.
Sakabe Sensei spoke of the Mizu no Kokoro in terms of forms that water takes. I think he was referring to flexibility and the ability to adjust to various situations. Each situation being different often required a different approach. Simple, yes? In thought, yes it cannot be any more simpler. But in reality how many of us are capable of it? We have built in barriers of ego fueled by various upbringing, religion, cultures, history, etc...... Sensei taught us that is why we study Judo or any Budo, to get rid of those barriers. Here I am 61 years old and still carry some barriers with me. I haven't trained enough.
So, what are these forms?
Sometimes a situation gets to a point that all peaceful recourse is gone. That is when we have to be like a powerful wave that crushes cliffs into pieces. By constantly training we should always be able to draw that power within us. By slacking off in our training we will not have the power to back us up.
There are situations that we should be able to just flow quietly around like a gentle steam flows around a rock. To flow rather than crush. To do that we need to have an open mind free of prejudices and egos to be able to recognise and appreciate differences amongst us.
Sometimes we need to warm the soul of a person that has lost the ability to care and love. Just like a cup of hot coffee in a cold winter morning warms up the soul.
There are times we need to cool down a fiery spirit full of anger and hate. Just like ice which cools down a fever or a drink too hot.
Basically, in asmall nutshell, I think that was what Sakabe Sensei wanted us to be capable of.
It is not an easy task, but, it surely is something worth pursuing throughout our lives. I thank Sakabe Sensei for his wisdom and guidance. I have not been a good student so far and I have yet a long ways to go. But his words will give me refuge and guidance as I plod along in my life.
OSU!
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