Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Know the Old - Learn the New

The study of Budo, and it's sister arts has been a fascinating ride for me. I believe Budo to be a living spirit. I moves between teachers and students through the power of touch and the ki of words. Once the student receives enough, they become ready to hand the spirit on while they continue to cultivate it within themselves.

Budo is a chain through time and space. I can trace my lineage of teachers back 1000 years. A hopefully through me a 1000 years more of students of the art will emerge. It links us to a spirit of feudal warriors, and we have taken the art and polished it so it will be useful for the modern man of peace.

"Know the old, learn the new"

This phrase of budo instructs us to look back, and gain inspiration from the masters who have walked the path before us. But it reminds us of something more. A zen phrase "Ima Koko" Right Here, Right Now. It is now our art, and we must learn or relearn the new.



The paradoxes of Budo practice! Learn an art of war to know peace, learn the old ways to make the new ways. Train in structure, so we can execute technique outside of structure.

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