I just received a private email from my teacher, Stephen K. Hayes, emphasizing the importance of the Evocation event going on in Dayton October 17th and 18th. The email was to school owners and senior black belts, reiterating how critical it is to develop oneself on the inside as well as the outside.

I agree with this view so deeply that I run a meditation program out of our own dojo. The whole reason that program exists is because I feel it is so critical to address fear and suffering at the very root, in the mind, even as we learn to battle it and reclaim the power of the body in our martial arts program. It is all To-Shin Do to me.

Mary and I are going to Evocation, along with three Boulder Quest students who have the dual blessing of the capability to go and the discernment to see the enormous value. Please consider what it would take for you to go, this time or in the future. I know it isn't easy... but it is deeply worth it!

I was talking recently with some friends about what it means to "keep it real" in martial arts. We had all encountered martial artists (not in our To-Shin Do world) that constantly talked about how their martial art keeps it real, with extreme examples like practicing blindfolded against six guys with knives.

Our first thought was, "Really? That's what you regularly encounter?"

I understand that these self-styled hardcore fighters are trying to make a statement in contrast to martial systems that are focused on acrobatics or synchronized dance routines to the point that their self-defense value is questionable.

On the other hand, my students share with me their real-life To-Shin Do victories. It usually does involve a strong and angry man looking to dominate someone quickly. That part we share with our military and cage-fighting friends. However, the part we don't share is that the aggressor is usually only semi-committed, driven by emotion rather than paycheck, and the fight happens in a public social setting with lots of words before and after the physical contact.

By no coincidence, To-Shin Do is really good at handling those factors. For us, addressing social nuance, uncertainty, and verbal precursors is the ultimate in keeping it real. To my view, a gang of killers in a basement is much easier - absolutely no social or moral ambiguity. If only all the bad guys wore ID badges... but, in our training, we've got to keep it real.

Recently, Erich Smith (Chapel Hill Quest) and I were having an exchange on Facebook. I thought his realizations and connections were so cool that they needed to be shared with more people. Erich gave me permission to repost his ideas here. Thanks Erich!

I was inspired today by your fantastic new window posters! I was thinking also about the recent post about the dojo phrases we internalize.

We've accreted several phrases at the CHQC over the years, but the core have always been:

Keep your...
knees bent,
back straight,
eyes open and on the bad guy,
and...
move your feet!

[We repeat these] over and over and over again. Today, I tried to listen to them with fresh ears, and heard something completely new (to me):

knees bent - CHI
back straight (movement with head over hips over feet) - SUI
eyes open and on the bad guy - KA
move your feet - FU

From a certain point of view, each of the elements could be viewed as isolated (for learning's sake) explorations of the dynamics presented in the cardinal rules.

If I had to pick a dojo phrase for void/KU, I'd go with "It's always my turn!"

We have a lot of folk wisdom in the dojo. "Keep blood in your skin sack". "It's always your turn". "Hard weapons=soft targets". But I think my favorite is the one we aren't allowed to say "I can't". If you say those words on the mat, you'll quickly find yourself doing push-ups but you'll also have an instructor right there to talk to you to phrase what you really mean. It could be that you think "This is really hard" or it could be "I have no idea what you mean". These two statements are very different and making the distinction between them will allow your training to progress. The words "I can't" stop all future growth; you just stop dead and now you start trying to prove how you really can't. You can. Maybe not today or even tomorrow but if you keep trying eventually you'll say "I did it"!