Openmindedness in Martial Arts

  The other day we had a visitor in the dojo named Wade. He was from South Carolina and is a Ni-kyu in Seidokan Aikido.  I love having visitors and as always we learned something new from him – an excellent way to end Kokyu-Nage(elbow chop) with a simple twist of the arm and a pin. It reinforced for me my personal philosophy of learning as much as possible and being 100% open minded to other styles. Some Associations are so introverted that they won’t allow any outside instruction or even the sharing of ideas. I always associate Martial Arts with music and with that closed minded attitude a musician who plays rock music would never even listen to blues or jazz. How empty and unrounded that individual would be. Takama Hara translates as “All Encompassing Universe”. Let’s use that thought as inspiration in all aspects of our lives, not just martial arts but with our careers, our relationships, our nutrition and even our mundane tasks of the day. We should strive to get a better understanding through open-mindedness and the acceptance that we may not know everything.

 -Theron