One of the main reasons people seek traditional martial arts like karate or tae kwon do is discipline. They may feel a lack of discipline in themselves or in their children and assume that they can acquire it through martial arts. Of course, discipline is a major aspect of training, but it’s not necessarily the same kind of knowledge we get from taking a course like, biology or Spanish. Discipline is developed, not acquired.
Discipline is one of the most misunderstood concepts of Asian martial arts. Similar to the language, westerners lose a lot in translation. Let me give you an example. When I was looking for a dojo in Colorado Springs many moons ago, I signed up for lessons at a school of American Kempo Karate. On my first night, I made the mistake of leaning on the desk to sign the waiver. After I paid my tuition for the month, the instructor stood up, yelled at me and told me not to lean on his desk. I was told to wait in the next room and subsequently commanded to do 50 push-ups. Now, this was no skin off my nose, I was active duty and I was used to doing push-ups. When I finished, the instructor, who was clearly not Asian (not many Asians have naturally red hair) told me in a pseudo Asian dialect, “This is a school of discipline.” I should point out that he had his hands on his waist the whole time, like a drill instructor. I was then forcefully instructed to hold a number of stances to improve my strength…and discipline. I should say, I don't believe all American Kempo schools are like that -- but this one was. Had it not been for my prior experience, I may have thought this was just part of martial arts training. If you are wondering, I didn’t go back.
Over the years, I have found this concept of discipline in many martial art schools in the United States. Stringent rules and forceful mannerisms, all designed to help students “clean up their act” and achieve a higher sense of pride in themselves and in their school. It’s a very common practice, for example, to have students stand at attention and shout, “Yes Sir or Ma’am!” when asked questions by instructors at many American martial arts academies. My theory is that this came about because a lot of ex-military guys studied overseas and opened schools stateside, brining along the military application of "discipline. Funny thing is, I never saw that type of behavior in Japan. I trained in several dojos before I settled on Aikido; Shotokan Karate, Iaido, Judo even Japanese Kenpo. I never saw any instructor yell at students the way I describe here. Not once. As a matter of fact, the karate teachers invited me out for sake and beer after one class there. Where the heck are we getting this concept from?
Sure, we could easily surmise that much of this misinterpretation comes from movies, TV shows, videos, etc. And this is by no means is to say that Asian martial arts teachers are teddy bears. I’ve said it before in previous blogs, aikido classes in Japan were some of the harshest physical and mental training I’ve ever had. The difference is indifference. Let me explain.
This symbol, a rice bowl and sickle (kama) was outside many a Japanese sword school back in the day. It says, kamawanu, which has two meanings: “We don’t care if you train here and/or we don’t care if you challenge us.” In essence, the training was what it was. In aikido, we performed half the class in suwai waza - kneeling. You were going to have severe and painful joint locks applied to you and you were going to be thrown…a lot. There were no creature comforts. You endured very cold winters, very hot summers. You adapted to the etiquette of the dojo and learned the language — or you went elsewhere. No one ever asked if you were uncomfortable. If you tended to be a bit of a whiner, you learned very little. Hence, you developed mental, physical and spiritual discipline. You didn’t have it shoved down your throat.
Over the years I’ve had a number of parents bring me children of all ages, asking me to teach their kiddos some discipline. News Flash: If you are parent, discipline is YOUR job, not mine. That doesn’t change if you are an adult. My job is to teach you the techniques and principles of the arts we offer. I cannot teach you discipline. I can show you what to do at home, but YOU have to do it. I can recommend some simple diet and exercise plans to enhance your training, but YOU have to follow them. I can stand up in front of class and yell and try really hard to sound Japanese, but that’s not going to make you more disciplined. Only you can do that.
If you are seeking more discipline in your life, look no further than the mirror. It starts and ends with you. There are vehicles to help you find it; faith, martial arts, music, dance, etc. We don't learn discipline by having challenges placed before us. We learn and earn it from our willingness to push through challenges and continue to search for more.
Dave Magliano
Jissenkan Budo
Dojo Cho
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