Mori Shihan wrote an article this month that I would like to share with you. I see it as a fitting note with which to end the year. The article might shock you, gross you out, make you laugh, but mostly I hope it leaves you with an understanding of what is at the heart of authentic traditional Japanese martial arts dojos – service! When I say service, I mean it in every sense of the word. Firstly, the dojo as a service to the community in providing a place of strong physical and moral learning, and secondly the people as selfless, considerate, compassionate, cooperative and ethical human beings.

Please enjoy the article.

A dedication to the public, the spirit of Samurai

It was on the first day of Aikido introductory course a few years ago. After we finished the warming-up routine, 15minutes of exercises including only 30 push-ups and 20 backwards falls, a young fellow came to me to tell me he needed to go to the toilet. Well, twenty to thirty minutes later he still hadn’t come out from there, but I did not really worry as he was young with a strong build. But I assumed he had not done any exercise for a while. The class finished without any problems and after the beginners of the course all left, ‘L’ who taught the course went to the toilet. I was sitting at my desk in the office and heard him exclaim, “OH, my God!”, just as he opened the toilet door. It was obvious something was wrong, and I stood up from my chair and went to the toilet.

I expected possibly two accidents; a flooding of urine – a common accident by men’s uncontrolled hose or an enormous poo not being flushed. I looked into the toilet behind L’s back to find that it was far beyond my assumption. Numerous small red and white things were spread all over the toilet, not only the floor but on the walls and even on the ceiling. Then, I remembered that the young fellow was murmuring under his breath with a bitter smile, “Wasn’t a good idea to have lots of pasta before training,” as he left…He did not mention anything about what happened in the toilet and he never returned to the dojo although he paid the whole course fee.

Well, ‘L’ made up his mind to not run away from these archenemies but to battle with them. He stopped me going forward to help him and bravely began to fight against the little red and white warriors with his bare hands. Looking at his back, I thought this man was the true samurai. “He is the samurai,” is the term Japanese people use to praise a person. The samurai in this context means the person who dedicates oneself to the public, working sincerely spending one’s whole spirit selflessly for other people or for the greater good of society. The attitude of ‘L’ was exactly the same as this samurai spirit.

Though feeling sorry, I had to go to take the second class, but my attention stayed with him. I kept hearing his battle roars to boost his spirit and the sound of toilet flushes over and over for forty-five minutes until the second class was done. I knew that the ‘samurai’ needed to have a rest and I offered myself to take over his combat. I still remember his totally haggard face with worn-out eyes which described how strong and outnumbered he was. Yet I volunteered to continue the fight… But I had to be prepared to work another hour at least as I saw lots more enemies were left in every nook and cranny.

“Bushido is really the Way of Dying” is a well-known phrase in Bushido training. It does not mean samurais regarded death lightly, but it was to express their preparedness to die for other people and the public. The other day, I saw a white belt helping out a beginner when he found the beginner looking troubled during wrists stretches. I felt his intention of willing to offer help where he could was small but surely the same samurai spirit. I felt so pleased to see that in my dojo.

Furthermore, some senior black belts always clean the dojo toilet after all the classes of the day. The toilet is not the most enjoyable place to clean; actually, a place where people would like to avoid. Yet, they take the routine as their ‘should-be-done’ task willingly. This is, I believe, the spirit of samurai too, dedicating themselves to the dojo and other students. I would like to take this opportunity to humbly express my deepest gratitude to these samurais for their sincere labour throughout 2019.

This spirit of samurai, dedication to the public, is appreciated anywhere you devote it. If it is dedicated to the country, that country will be a good country. If you work with this spirit, your work environment will improve and will be appreciated by other work mates. And, more importantly for our lives, we need to exercise this samurai spirit at home, especially for your partner, then you can create a harmonious family relationship. Yes, only if we practise!     

Osu!

Michiharu Mori