The desire to better yourself

It is a well known concept of the East that an empty cup is of more use than a full one. So it is only positive, for a newcomer to a Dojo, to bring with him as less as possible. His concerns, thoughts and troubles should be limited in how to learn the Art…
On the other hand a Master's trouble is all that stuff a newcomer carries, that sooner or later will emerge, in order to become an obstacle in the student’s path.
Ideally there is one thing only that a student could bring into his training, which would not be an annoyance to his teacher.
And that is… the headline of this text!

Sometime youngsters dream of being somebody else, somebody better. It is not the case of every youngster to do so, but odd as it may sound, it is exactly that material and this kind of spirit, that can turn dreams into actual plans that will work.
Aikido is a vast desert to cross. If one feels too sure about himself in any way, he will probably fail in crossing it…
You want me to say it? He will definitely fail!
A person that carries the desire to change himself, is more likely to find his way through, because he will transform himself in the process, in order to reach there.

What haunts a Master (who cares) is that he can’t teach that. Oh yes, he can provide a student with everything necessary, and sometimes even more, in order to “arm” his student. But this one thing, the desire of a student to better himself, is totally up to the learner…
And if he does not provide this, all a Master can do, is sit back and watch a person walk into his failure, yet again…

Let’s face it, in life nobody dreams of becoming an undertaker or an accountant. But many surely dream of becoming an astronaut, an artist, an explorer, a scientist, or maybe a professor… that sort of stuff…
Of all things that one could desire to become, to be a Martial Artist is made out off pure dream material. I carry a great deal of respect for any of the true Martial Arts (and any other serious study in general) but especially for a sophisticated Art like Aikido, this dream has twice the distance.
In order for it to become realized, one should dream it so intensely, that it would cross the line of becoming a nightmare…
One of the major points in the study of Aikido has to do with the fact that it is learnable by any person and under any condition, no matter how great the external difficulties are. Mark my words: Aikido it is an Art that already lies within you, and travels through you! So, there are no excuses in not being able to learn it, outside the ones that are your own…

An instructor can encourage you, provoke you or wake the desire that is in you, but that is all.
The desire to better yourself, is all up to you.

December 28, 2007