Wow, it’s October already (and sol hot/humid tonight!) so I suppose it’s time for another monthly note. I just read about Coach Shoji and his Wahine Volleyball team passing the 1,000 victory mark last week. It’s a testament to his coaching and recruiting abilities and his players, both current and past, praise his focus, consistency and life lessons they learned playing for him. I was also thinking that 1,000 wins is a testament to his ability to go through this process year after year, ever since he started way back in 1976 – such tenacity and longevity! There is only one other NCAA women’s volleyball coach who has reached this rare milestone; and I’m sure he shares many of the same abilities – not the least of which is, he has been coaching even longer than Coach Shoji. Folks sometimes think that longevity is a given…you do something, and voila, after so many years, you achieve longevity. Actually, depending upon the activity or task – like NCAA coaching – it can be a long haul. Longevity is so valued that they give out awards for it. I was let go from IBM Corp just six months short of making it into the Quarter Century Club (25 years of service), grrrr. Yet, if I hadn’t been in the job market right then, I would likely never have started my federal career, where I recently received my first service pin (10 years of service). My wife and I just celebrated 35 years of marriage (nope, that wasn’t hard duty, dear…haha). In that context, I’ve read somewhere that the average length of time that new white belt karate student in America (if there’s no contract involved) lasts is….six weeks! Obviously, longevity and karate-do don’t always go together

There’s a saying I often make with regards to karate training, but I feel so strongly about it, that I think it bears repeating:

“The two keys to success in karate-do, and indeed, in all aspects of life are…(drum roll)…. – 1) To Get Started! and 2) To Never Quit!”

Sounds so simple, but these two principles are so very hard to live up to. The first one sounds easy, and, in fact, it is by far, the easier of the two keys. Even though this is true, the fact is, many, many people never even make it to the starting line for any worthwhile endeavors. Sometimes, just the thought of how difficult a task may be is enough to discourage one from even taking the first steps of a long journey. Other times, one’s personal desire to succeed and strong commitment to doing a good job, will actually prevent one from taking on something in which time and effort cannot guarantee success. For various reasons, the majority of folks never take up the art of karate-do. For those in our ministry, each of you has already overcome the first key to success in karate-do – every one of you has grasped that key, turned it, and opened the door to the endless pursuit of self-improvement available through study and practice in the art. Of course, as we have said, that is the easier of the two keys. I’m sure that all of us have started many different things over the years and there’s not enough hours in the day to keep on doing everything that one has started…but we sometimes are tempted to stop doing something worthwhile because it’s gotten too hard and/or frustrating.

Since I started karate nearly 40 years ago, have I ever quit? Well, let me qualify that question a little…Have I ever stopped training? The resounding answer is Yes, Yes, and…Yes! I actually stopped for three separate periods, for a variety of reasons at various stages in my life. The first time was not long after I first started – when I (erroneously) believed I had learned the basic punching and kicking techniques I needed to round out what I had previously learned in Aikido. The second time was years later, when I purposely placed karate on the back-burner while I concentrated on career and spending more time with my young family. By the third time, I had spent nearly 20 years in the art and felt (erroneously) that I didn’t have much to learn anymore…that time, I actually gave away my old gi’s and even my black belts, not intending to return. Over the next two years, one of my old friends kept on asking if I would be willing to help teach in his dojo – and I finally accepted. The pause from 1987-1988 was the last one – and I’ve been continuously teaching ever since. (Here’s a secret – you get to start over again, if you have the will) The thing to remember here is that I had a “false start” after just a month , a “break” after about 10 years, and years later, when I thought I was totally finished with the art, it turned out that the art wasn’t finished with me. You just have to be willing to put that gi back on, and walk back into the training hall when time permits. It is only with the passage of time that I’ve come to gradually appreciate what karate-do has done for me and what it continues to do for me – and it certainly isn’t finished with me, or you, just yet. Karate-do teaches us to strengthen our strengths, but even more so, to work on our weaknesses – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. We are all fortunate to be students in karate-do and more importantly, we should all recognize that we are also lifelong students of Life.

When I think about my few old friends who are still involved in karate-do today – we are but the tiniest fraction of the thousands who started with us as white belts. Each of us has his own strengths and weaknesses but the real “secret to our success” in karate-do, is that we all took that first tentative step into the dojo many years ago, and each of us (with pauses in-between) has continued to make the effort to do so, with the heart of a white belt. At some point, we all realized that it was no longer just about our own self-development. We began to recognize the value of preserving the traditions of the art, developing a better understanding about what karate-do is, and most importantly, about sharing it with, and passing it on others.

Last Sunday, my pastor ended service with a saying that struck me as so appropo to karate-do (rhyme not intended;). It went something like, “I pray that each of you does not just accrue knowledge and resources to merely become great self-serving reservoirs, but that you open your hearts and giftings to share with and help others, and in the process, become rivers.” He was talking in the context of evangelism and Life, not karate-do, and it was addressed to the older folks like me, encouraging us to think about more than just a comfortable retirement, grandkids, golf, gardening, etc. As with all universal principles, it rings true for all things and all ages. One of the definitions of a good sensei or good sempai is that he/she becomes a conduit; a way through which knowledge, guidance, and blessings flow. We are judged, not by what we do for ourselves, but what we do for others.

So remember, whatever the endeavor might be – Get Started, Don’t Quit, and one day, you can become a “contributary” to the River of Life….