Whenever I watch the program, Antique Roadshow on the tv, I wonder about the true meaning of value. I get shocked, like everybody else, when the experts examine some dusty old figurine or a small wooden table or some (ugly, to my eye) landscape painting, and triumphantly declare that the item is worth a small fortune. Other times, the anxious owner smiles weakly and nods, when their obviously valuable family heirloom (or so they thought) is priced at under a hundred dollars. The ugly old painting that was wrapped in paper and stored in grandma’s closet, forgotten and valueless, except as something to be thrown or given away…this same painting, properly cleaned/framed in an art museum with a million dollar price tag, may be thought to be a magnificent, priceless work of art. The lesson learned here is, things are only worth whatever value one places upon them.

A long time ago, one of my senseis told me, “Wes, the day you have a dojo of your own, don’t teach for free… Even if the place is rent-free, charge the student at least $1.” Since I was hoping to teach for free, I asked him why. He went on to explain that while some students will immediately and permanently place a great value upon their practice of karate-do, many will find it difficult to outlast their initial passion, or growing frustration over a perceived lack of personal progress, or lose their desire to train upon attaining a goal, whether it be a color belt or black belt. For the novice students (those in their first 1-2 years of training), a common perception is that if the lessons were free, these can’t be very valuable. Even if they were training under the world’s greatest instructor who taught a truly magnificent martial art (not talking about me, haha)…free lessons can actually lessen (pardon the pun) one’s perception of value received. By contrast, if you were under an agreement whereby each time you entered the training hall (say, twice a week), you were required to pay an exorbitant $50 fee…you’d make sure to to “get your money’s worth”, wouldn’t you? Furthermore, if you were going to be charged a $25 “cancellation” fee every time you missed class without valid reason, you’d make every effort to attend versus “throw money out the window”, wouldn’t you? To a large degree, this is how spas work…one pays a hefty “life-time membership fee”, then perhaps a $2 renewal fee each year thereafter. The first year (more likely, the first six months) the member is fairly good about going to the gym, working out, and getting “his money’s worth”. Later, due to waning passion or commitment, attendence drops. Since the future years don’t really require him to pay more of his valuable money, the value attached to going to the gym to work out gradually diminishes to nothing…until the next New Year’s Resolution, or poor physical examination results, or upcoming class reunion, etc.

This example of placing higher value on an item/activity due to the perceived investment or estimated price in dollars is really a case of indirect or apparent value based upon money. The perceived value comes from what it cost you, or the investment you made to obtain it…and/or what you could receive from someone else in return for it.

My prayer is that you find what the true value of karate-do is in your life. At its best, it can be a great tool, a pathway through life that helps one mature/improve oneself as the Lord designed us. Sure, you may get a little stronger, more flexible, better conditioned, etc… but these are temporal things. The greatest value of karate-do is what it can do for you inside, in an emotional and in a spiritual sense. The path is different for every unique individual, and yet it’s the same for everyone. It can bring about changes of a permanent nature, with universal application to life; if you stick with it, if you strive for it…. and most importantly, if you let it. How priceless is that?