礼 - Courtesy; how to win by losing

"Samurai have no reason to be cruel. They do not need to prove their strength. A Samurai is courteous even to his enemies...A Samurai is not only respected for his strength in battle, but also by his dealing with other men." **

I saw two guys arguing on the platform as I got off at my stop on Wednesday. More correctly, one guy was yelling at the other guy about whatever wrong, real or imagined, that he had suffered, while the older of the two basically looked at him, with a "You are such a dumbass..." look on his face.

It instantly reminded me of a maxim that is commonly quoted in realation to all martial arts in Japan, "武道は礼に始まり礼に終る" = "The martial arts begin and end with courtesy". In riding the trains here in Japan, I see it on a daily basis. The customs and courtesies of Japan are disappearing, and the presence of Western-style egos and an undeserved sense of self-importance are rising, which has led to more and more displays like I saw on Wednesday. Something that I have learned from living here is that, no matter if they are absolutely 100% right, the louder person is always seen as the asshole. Getting angry/pissed off earns you contempt, not respect, no matter how "right/righteous" you may be...isn't that right Christian Bale?

This concept is something I sorely wish the rest of the world would learn, and I hope Japan doesn't forget. Anger and ego never help in a conflict, politeness does. The guy on the platform could have "won" his argument by being calm and rational, instead of the loudmouthed dick he looked like to me. If he had let the other guy run his mouth, he would have won by letting people think, as I did, that the other guy screaming and yelling was in the wrong.

Win by "losing"...by losing your ego, by losing your need to prove your point/your righteousness, by losing your anger...

But of course this does not change the fact that some people just need a good ass kicking to 'enlighten' them... >:-)

** from The Last Samurai DVD

Focus...

極め ('kime'; pronounced "key-meh"), is a Japanese word that is often used in Japanese martial arts, and in which context it is usually translated as "focus"; ie the exact spot a particular punch/kick/attack is focused. However, the verb it comes from, 極める (kimeru), has a MUCH broader meaning: --> http://eow.alc.co.jp/%e6%a5%b5%e3%82%81%e3%82%8b/UTF-8/?ref=sa
It can mean "to master" "to assess" "to achieve" "to surpass" "to exceed" "to go far beyond"...

With the latter meanings in mind, I intend to both "focus" and "go beyond" what I have been doing up to now with this blog. Lack of focus/purpose results in lack of action, which can be seen in my sporadic posting. But after recently finding various blogs being written by non-Japanese living in Japan, most of which have a fairly specific focus, I realize I want to do likewise So, the main focus of this blog will be about training in modern Japan in ancient arts of combat, and how the old ways are still relevant to the new ways/society of today. 頑張ります！