My dad’s due to be discharged from the Rehab Center of the Pacific in a couple of days. He’s doing pretty good, fiesty as ever at 83 and over the past 10 years, has suffered two strokes, a heart attack and most recently, a blackout and fall that left him very weak in the legs. So, he’s been through this routine before… therapy is not really a fun/recreational activity. One enters the center with a goal: to work hard at improving one’s physical strength, balance, train the brain and muscle to do things in new/efficient ways. The therapists work you hard and on a daily basis. Your main enemies are frustration or apathy; the professionals are there to help you, but most of the effort, and therefore, most of the victory, belongs to you. If a person does not demonstrate continuing improvement, his/her time in the in-demand patient slot may be ending. The therapy team of professionals must make their evaluation as to whether your time there is worthwhile or whether you’re taking up valuable time/space. The team has your best interests in mind, but you are the key to success or to a lower quality of life than you might have.

Sounds kind of harsh, but it reflects much of life… and much of karate-do. In therapy, they take everyday folks who have suffered some kind of medical crisis that’s left them temporarily or permanently impaired, and help them on a path to recovery that hopefully brings them back to living a full life. In karate-do, we take everyday folks and try to help them along a path that hopefully brings them towards living a fuller life. The principle’s basically the same… the therapist teaches methods, tries to be supportive, and is always trying to encourage the patient towards improvement. A sensei does very much the same with his/her karate student. In the end, however, it is the patient/pupil who must possess the desire, the resilience, and perserverance to succeed. In the end, the Do, the Way, the Path, the Walk…is carried out by the individual, step by difficult step, alone. Yet, if we can but touch our faith, we realize just how truly blessed we are, to be able to do our walk/skip/jump/run with Him, always by our side.