Shoka Magazine: It Will Take All Your Life to Learn Karate

The mindset that will set up free 

 Marty Callahan 

8th Degree Black Belt 

“The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything  as a challenge while an ordinary man takes everything as a blessing or a curse.” -Carlos Castaneda 

Niju Kun #9 

This is the nineth of 20 precepts of Master Gichin Funakoshi, the Father of Modern-Day Karate.  Master Funakoshi is known by millions of people all around the world and is considered to be  one of the three most important martial art masters of the 20th century.  

A lesson learned today is forgotten tomorrow, unless it is relearned tomorrow. It is human nature  to forget. If you attend a lecture, you will remember only about 10% of what you hear. You have  to experience things many times before you reach the point where you won’t forget them, where  

they become automatic. For lessons to be truly understood they must be grasped by every cell  in your body.  

The potential lessons you can learn from karate are infinite. You could practice every day for the  rest of your life and still not learn everything there is to learn. So, practice until every cell in your  body absorbs the lesson you are working on, even if you feel like you’ve done it the best you  could already. There is always, always, always… room for improvement.  

We frequently say to do it 10,000 times. Do whatever you are attempting to learn 10,000 times.  After this there will be no questions, you will have a complete understanding. 

This is the concept of infinite. That you will go to infinite and beyond to learn what you need to  learn and improve yourself as a result.  

The person who will go to this extent is impossible to beat. His or her enemies might damage  them in some way but can never stop them – even in death.  

We just celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. I would say that he lived this way. Even in  death he lives on. What he believed and what he stood for is still alive today.  

This is how we must live. This mindset will set you free. 

Shotokan Karate Leadership School® 3082 Marlow Road B1, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 707-575-1681