Friday, June 6, 2008

Dojos, Senseis and Reis....

The new language ringing in my ears. Yes.. i have enrolled myself for Karate classes. I have always been fascinated by martial arts and but never have even spent a minute to learn them. Life is short and i cannot afford not to chase my dreams..

The first thing which really impressed me about Karate is the discipline. You will have to bow and show your respect before you enter the training place. Plus you show your respect to your teacher, your teacher's teacher and the grand master at the beginning and end of each class. Additionally you bow down and wish every senior when you meet them. By the way seniority is defined by belt and not by age.

Some of the philosophies of Karate, as told by my teacher, which bowled me over were..

Karate is not for fighting with others. It is not even for self defense. You fight with yourself. You fight with your weaknesses and with those things which prevents you from emerging greater. Its a process of self evolution, where you will reach a stage when you no longer need to fight.

Another simple point which looked beautiful when he said... "Can a vehicle keep running throughout its life, if you simply keep filling petrol? The obvious answer is a No. A vehicle to be in good condition needs proper repair and maintenance. However, most of us do not seem to understand this simple truth in our lives. We keep eating and think that we shall live healthy always. 90% of us do not even do basic exercises in our life. Karate or for that matter any form of exercise is basically good maintenance".

I hope my enthusiasm continues and doesn't die a premature and a hasty death.