Many years ago, there were two young students named Icho and Hayo. They both began their martial arts training at a very young age. For the first several years, their training paralleled both in talent and skill level. At a certain point, Hayo began to fall behind. At first it was very subtle, but as time went on it became more and more obvious. While Icho continued to do well, Hayo was becoming frustrated with himself and as a result was falling even farther behind.

No one can tell you who you are or what you believe unless you allow them to do it. Sure, it’s easier to go along with the crowd than to stand your ground when problems arise. Some people may have gone with the flow for so long they don’t even know what they believe. But I’m going to help you discover where you stand and what you stand for (see This Week’s Action Step below).

Perhaps no virtue is more essential to a life of happiness and fulfillment than courage. Without courage, an individual may struggle to approach new tasks with the focus and confidence required to succeed. With courage, at least one can be assured that firm ground rests beneath their feet and a strong back­bone is in place for support.

Bushido, then, is the code of moral principles which the knights were required or instructed to observe. It is not a written code; at best it consists of a few maxims handed down from mouth to mouth or coming from the pen of some well-known warrior or savant. More frequently it is a code unuttered and unwritten, possessing all the more the powerful sanction of veritable deed, and of a law written on the fleshly tablets of the heart. It was founded not on the creation of one brain, however able, or on the life of a single personage, however renowned. It was an organic growth of decades and centuries of military career.

Power loss is common in severe storms, but there are ways to increase the time the food in your fridge will remain safe to eat. It’s important to keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed. Food in an unopened refrigerator and freezer is safe to consume if the power outage lasts less than 4 hours. The foods in the freezer are typically safe for 48 hours if it is full or 24 hours if the freezer is half full.

BUSHIDO made the sword its emblem of power and prowess. When Mahomet proclaimed that “the sword is the key of Heaven and of Hell,” he only echoed a Japanese sentiment. Very early the samurai boy learned to wield it. It was a momentous occasion for him when at the age of five he was apparelled in the paraphernalia of samurai costume, placed upon a go-board 1 and initiated into the rights of the military profession, by having thrust into his girdle a real sword instead of the toy dirk with which he had been playing. After this first ceremony of adoptio per arma,

As a martial artist, the key to elevating yourself in your thinking, character and actions is having a great amount of passion. The word passion can be defined as a strong liking or enthusiasm for a subject or activity. In reality, passion is easy to develop when you understand the four key components: dream, love, commit, and intensify.

A reader of this column sent me an email recently, thanking me for a column I had written on getting outside the box. She then told me how she had lost focus for a while, but had turned things around. She encouraged me to write a column on staying focused. I immediately thought of my varsity golfing days at the University of Minnesota many years ago. Back then, The Saint Paul Open was one of the top tournaments on the men’s professional golf circuit. Prior to the tournament, I had a chance to meet Gary Player when he was taking a lesson from our team coach, Les Bolstad. Later that evening I went to dinner with the world’s future #1 player when he was still an unknown.

Over the last fifty years, there is probably no one person whose name is more recognizable or more prominent relative to the martial arts than Bruce Lee. When people think of Bruce Lee, they think of the martial arts and vice-versa. Looking past all of the powerful kicks and punches Lee performed, we find the true fuel of his achievements in a tremendous passion from his deep martial arts philosophy.

Every day is filled with distractions of all types. In order to be truly successful as a martial artist, you must learn to manage your time effectively. All aspects of your life will begin to run more smoothly if you are able to put things in their proper place from a priority standpoint. What are the things that are most important to you? What are the things that must be done first and foremost every day? An essential key to managing time is prioritizing your daily routine.

The highest excellence is like (that of) water.
The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things,
and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low
place which all men dislike.

More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, often as a result of unhealthy diets and a sedentary lifestyle. To improve our nation’s health, the Dietary Guidelines recommend reducing the following:

When Flying Eagle’s first son was born, the people in the village waited anxiously to hear the name of the boy. Flying Eagle said, “His name will be Soaring Eagle because he will also fly down upon his prey and become a great hunter.” The people of the village cheered, “Our people will never grow hungry, we will have two great hunters as our chiefs.”

People with a negative self image typically will lack true confidence. This manifests itself either in extreme introversion or overcompensation through arrogance. Everyone knows people like this, and it is no secret that they simply feel unhappy and dissatisfied with their lives.
A person with a positive self image is able to assert themselves with a sense of quiet confidence. They feel no need to use other people as stepping stones in order to elevate themselves. Looking at yourself positively is a necessity for those wishing to have a true sense of happiness in their life.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted

For students to have the greatest chance of success, they have to be properly prepared at each level of their learning. Educators are well aware of the concept of “readiness” and study when children are ready to learn things like addition and multiplication. The timing in moving a student from one level to the next requires great care.

By appearance, no one would ever think Master Fung was an expert in martial arts. He was short, slender in build, and was very humble in his manner. Outside of his five pupils, no one in the town he lived in knew of his skill.

Small changes can make a big difference to your health. Try incorporating at least six of the eight goals below into your diet. Commit to incorporating one new healthy eating goal each week over the next six weeks.

Without veracity and sincerity, politeness is a farce and a show. “Propriety carried beyond right bounds,” says Masamuné, “becomes a lie.” An ancient poet has outdone Polonius in the advice he gives: “To thyself be faithful: if in thy heart thou strayest not from truth, without prayer of thine the Gods will keep thee whole.”

Long ago there was a great swordsman. As he approached his 80th birthday, he realized that the time had come to select a successor to teach his students for the next generation. His top two students were both great swordsmen and teachers. He decided to devise a test to see which of the two should be the next master of the school.