The Circle of Influence: The circle of influence is another amorphous circle. Its edges are not really distinct at all but blend at one edge with the circle of responsibility and the other edge with the circle of concern. Time, distance and circumstances modify the size and contents of our circle of influence. Take for…
Dear karate-ka, Adrian’s question about negativity in the people we deal with each day brings up some unique ways of looking at our lives. Consider the following carefully. I cannot write all that I believe is true here but will allow you to find much of it for yourself. How, indeed, is it possible to…
Adrian Varanini at UCSD asks the following life-decision shugyo question: I hope you don’t mind, but I have a question for you about something that’s been bugging me for some time, and I thought maybe others might have a similar question. I know I strive to live my life as a martial artist. We gain…
Matt Nilsen of the UCSD dojo remarked a bit about Baudelaire in an e-mail to you a few days ago. In it is stated the following: I was quite intrigued with this book [Baudelaire’s Artificial Paradises]. On the surface, not at all what I thought it would be. But the lesson is in there! The…
Ben Howard from UCSD poses a question about a statement from Gichen Funakoshi; In my searches for some good martial quotes (I loved Sensei P.Billimorias’!), I found one from Gichin Funakoshi that I wanted to learn more about, in the Karate-Do Kyohan, under “Maxims for the Trainee:” “The mind is the same with heaven and…
Here is a series of questions by Isabelle Aubert of the UCSD dojo: “I’m assisting Sue Merritt in the self-defense class for women (same class that Barbara was teaching at UCSD). Yesterday, one of the women asked us a very good question. She wanted to know which of the strikes that we have taught them…
Isabelle Aubert from UCSD wrote the following email to me after the test yesterday. I found it interesting and wanted to send it to all of you. “I was thinking about the resolutions and I was wondering where they come from. I took Nuggets and looked up the answer! I ended up reading more than…
Next we will look at the following one of Susan’s questions: “The samurai class interest me a great deal. These men and women were not simply soldiers as we in America envision soldiers. These people were eventually considered upper class, highly educated and very refined and cultured. On the other hand, they were also fierce…
Susan Rutherford asked made the following comments and asked some pertinent questions. “The samurai class interest me a great deal. These men and women were not simply soldiers as we in America envision soldiers. These people were eventually considered upper class, highly educated and very refined and cultured. On the other hand, they were also…
Steve Pietrykoski from the UCSD dojo asks the following question: “In the “Aoinagi Karate Syllabus”, you discuss ki in chapter four. You wrote that ki “is a vital force, a spirit of unshakable strength. It is not a mystical power; it is an attitude.” When I started on the martial path short years ago, my…