Kumite Tips #1/Kumite Tips #2/Kumite Tips #3/Kumite Tips #4/Kumite Tips #5/Kumite Tips #6/Kumite Tips #7/Kumite Tips #8/Kumite Tips #9
"Know yourself first and then others..." said Funakoshi.
Barry Lopez stated,
"How is one to live a moral and compassionate existence when one is fully aware of the blood, the horror inherent in life, when one finds darkness not only in one's culture but within oneself? If there is a stage at which an individual life becomes truly adult, it must be when one grasps the irony in its unfolding and accepts responsibility for a life lived in the midst of such paradox. One must live in the middle of contradiction, because if all contradiction were eliminated at once life would collapse. There are simply no answers to some of the great pressing questions. You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of leaning into the light".
"Self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul". ~Henry Van Dyke, The Prison and the Angel
"Man is never alone. Acknowledged or unacknowledged, that which dreams through him is always there to support him from within". ~Laurence van der Post
"And remember, no matter where you go, there you are". ~Confucius
"There are at least two kinds of cowards. One kind always lives with himself, afraid to face the world. The other kind lives with the world, afraid to face himself". ~Roscoe Snowden
"The outward man is the swinging door; the inner man is the still hinge". ~Eckhart
"Up to a point a man's life is shaped by environment, heredity, and movements and changes in the world about him. Then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of thing he wishes to be. Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune, or the quirks of fate. Everyone has it within his power to say, "This I am today; that I will be tomorrow." ~Louis L'Amour
It seems to me that the greatest knowledge a person can covet, is that of self-knowledge...books and school are all wonderful tools...but if they never teach a person to know themselves, what good are they?
Karate on the other hand, when fully actualized, brings the practictioner face to face with oneself...
...and once you've faced your true self...you will discover a whole new world to focus your eyes on.
RJF
