Arte martiale

"In the first state, man and sword become one and each other. Here, even a blade of grass can be used as a lethal weapon. In the next stage, the sword resides not in the hand but in the heart. Even without a weapon, the warrior can slay his enemy from a hundred paces. But the ultimate ideal is when the sword disappears altogether. The warrior embraces all around him. The desire to kill no longer exists. Only peace remains."

Ok...zilele astea "bananaind" pe net, am gasit un filmulet cu o fata intr-o competitie de Karate la proba de kata. Fata lucra foarte bine...dar nu asta e partea importanta. Ce m-a intrigat au fost comentariile de la acel filmulet. Foarte multi au inceput sa intrebe care este utilitatea acestor kata, pentru ca practic in lupta nu sunt foarte utile, iar altii chiar considerau ca cei ce practica Karate sau alte tipuri de arte martiale traditionale de fapt nu sunt in stare sa faca fata unei lupte reale si ca totul este inutil, ca daca vor sa invete sa lupte cel mai bun mod este MMA. Atunci am realizat ca foarte multi nu inteleg semnificatia artelor martiale. Asa cum le zice si numele...sunt niste arte. Artele martiale nu sunt doar despre a te bate. De fapt, desi inveti tehnici de lupta esti in acelasi timp invatat sa nu le folosesti decat in situatii cand nu ai incotro. E posibil sa ai centura neagra si sa nu fie niciodata nevoie sa folosesti tehnicile de lupta pe care le-ai invatat. Dar ce vei folosi cu siguranta este stilul de viata pe care il inveti. 

Artele martiale te invata in primul rand respectul, fata de maestru (profesor), fata de colegi, fata de prieteni, fata de adversar, fata de dusmani si de rivali.

Apoi te invata sa perseverezi, sa te ridici atunci cand ai cazut, sa stii sa pierzi si sa continui sa te antrenezi pentru a deveni mai bun, sa iti cunosti adevarata valoare si sa te stimezi pe tine insuti fara a deveni mandru sau arogant. Te invata sa fii in armonie cu tine insuti.

Ce te mai invata este sa dai totul pentru a face un lucru perfect. In Japonia, chiar si in zilele noastre mai exista oameni care se antreneaza in lupta cu sabia (katana), dar la antrenamentele lor, mai important decat sa il invinga pe cel cu care lucreaza este sa execute cat mai perfect tehnica.

Asadar, cineva care practica arte martiale nu are ca scop (sau cel putin nu ar trebui sa aiba) sa invete sa ii bata pe toti, ci sa invete un stil de viata ghidat de anumite valori.

Singuratate

Once, a long time ago, there was a man. For as long as he could remember he had always, always been by himself. If he climbed down the mountain, he knew that he would meet people, but chose to be by himself. Having the strength of a thousand men. Having the lives of a thousand men. That man having a thousand memories, he knew that he was different from other people. This man was afraid of other people, he was afraid of getting hurt. While he had so many powers, he was afraid of this self that he knew was so different from the world.
And so to him a cat came one day. The cat bowed his head and said : "I have been following you for some time. You have a most unusual aura, I can't help but be drawn to you. I realize I am but a stray cat, but won't you please let me stay by your side? Please, God!". Since then, as he said, the cat never left the man's side, he never left for a moment and that made God so verry happy that a thought came to him. "Perhaps, I can get along with them if it was a being other than a human. If it is with beings how have had similar experiences, then we can have a fun banquet."
And so, God wrote out many invitations. In return 12 animals arrived to see God. Following that, the 13 animals and God had a banquet each night in the moonlight, singing and dancing and laughing with each other. At the banquet, for the first time, God laughed out loud. Even the moon watched quietly over the beings who did not look human. However, after some time, the cat collapsed. His life has come to its end and there was nothing they could do. Every one of them cried. Every one of them realized eventually, everyone would die. No matter how fun it was, the banquet would end.
Then God cast one spell. He drew a circle in the water with his finger. He had the cat take a sip of water. Then he turned to everyone else and said : "Let us make out friendship last for eternity. Even when we die, let us be bound by our eternal friendship. No matter how many times we die, no matter how many times we are reborn, again, in the same way, no matter how many times, let us have another banquet. Everyone getting along for all of time. Let us be in eternal bliss."
Everyone nodded in agreement and the rat took the first sip. Then was the ox, the tiger, then the rabbit. In their turn the water was divided equally.
At the end, when the last drop was gone, the cat began to gasp:
"God...God, whay did you make me drink that? God, I don't want eternity.I don't want eternal bliss."
Those were unthinkable words to say. To God and all the other animals it was rejecting words. Everyone was sad to hear them and they all turned against the cat. Even so, the cat said :
"God, even though you are frightened, let us accept everything ends. Even though it is sad, let us accept that life ends. God, even if it was just for a short time, I was happy being by your side. If i were to die, be reborn and meet you again, the next time, rather than in the moonlight, I want to see you smile in the sunlight. The next time I meet you, I want to see you laughing surrounded with people." And for the last time, the cat raised his tail and died peacefully, but none of the animals cared about the cat anymore, because everyone felt they had been betrayed by the cat.
After that, one by one, they all died, and so god was alone once more. And eventually, even the day came that God died too. But he was not afraid because his promise to everyone supported him. "We will have a banquet again...and again...always, no matter how alone I am right now."

Fiecare cu stilul lui...

What would you do if the bird does not sing?
Oda Nobunaga said "Kill it if it does not sing."
Toyotomi Hideyoshi said "Make it want to sing."
Tokugawa Ieyasu said "Wait until it sings."