生死の術

Philosophical Extraction

The Art of Life and Death

Lessons in Budo from a Ninja Master

Sleiman Azizi & Daniel Fletcher · Foreword by Masaaki Hatsumi · Tuttle Publishing

There are no secrets in budo — only lessons we refuse to learn.

Section One

Core Thesis

Budo is art. The budoka is a bugeika — an artist whose medium is war.
Budo is not a fighting system. It is a way of living that protects life.
Every technique in the scrolls was paid for with a human life.
Real budo lives between the written forms. Everything nameable is the shell.
The master moves without technique, without plan, without strength — and the opponent destroys himself.
Survival is the goal. Not winning. Not glory.
Become weak enough, empty enough, and sensitive enough to survive.
Budo cannot be possessed. The moment you grasp it, it disappears.

Section Two

The Core Message

The dead are the teachers. The densho were written with their blood.
Training is speaking with the dead. Respect is owed.
Budo will change you — and you cannot get the old you back.
You will feel inadequate, physically ill, shocked. You will lose friends. You will have nightmares.
One day you will not recognise your own face in the mirror.
There is no shame in walking away.
Survival is continuing to exist after what came for you has passed.
Do not become an irresistible force. Become infinitely movable in the path of any force.
A bullet cares nothing for rank. An earthquake cares nothing for lineage.
The Feeling is everything. It cannot be taught — only transmitted person-to-person.
Without the Feeling, all skill is nothing.

章の分析

Chapter-by-Chapter Philosophy

Chapter 1 — Caveat Emptor

Buyer Beware

Budo is a mystery. It crosses all boundaries of language and geography.
Budo is a beast. It tears the heart open.
Budo is costly. It gives with one hand and takes with the other.
The price is paid in pieces of the soul.
Budo becomes you. The old you does not return.
If you don't need budo, don't study it.

Chapter 2 — Nature

If It Isn't Natural, It Isn't Right

Nature does not follow our rules. Only we are bound by them.
Nature is warm and beautiful. Nature is also savage and indifferent.
Nature is infinite — both nothing and everything.
Learning budo in most dojos is like studying animals in a zoo.
Real nature will tear you to pieces and eat you. So will real budo.
Like geese migrating, you move freely with change or you die.

Chapter 3 — Change

Budo Is Change

Without change, no life. Without life, no budo.
Kimattenai — nothing is decided.
Change is continuous. No beginning, no end.
The master is not in the right place. He is just changing.
The opponent creates the circumstances. The master changes until the opponent kills himself.
He who can no longer change dies first.
Never think "now I'll use my budo." Just keep changing with the opponent.
A light heart, freed from knowing, floats from one moment to the next.

Chapter 4 — Patience

To Wait Is to Survive

If you cannot wait until the very last moment, you will die.
The kanji for ninja and shinobi both mean to wait, to endure, to put up with.
When the opponent commits, his mind enters his weapon. That is your window.
Do only what is absolutely necessary. Then wait for things to change.
Stand there without a plan for victory. Sense with every inch of skin.
The more you wait, the more you know what will happen next.
Patience allows you to see what is around you. Without it, you only see yourself.

Chapter 5 — Deception

Budo Is Kyojitsu

Every battle is lost by the one who is eventually surprised.
Kyojitsu — the interplay of truth and falsehood — is the playground of the budoka.
Deception is self-inflicted. The opponent's belief becomes his trap.
Self-deception is the quickest killer on the battlefield.
Do not train to be powerful. Train to detect the power of others.
The more you believe in your own power, the deeper you descend into delusion.

Chapter 6 — Letting Go

The Most Important Thing

You cannot possess budo. In a real way, it is not yours.
Luck survives, not strength. Luck can be cultivated.
No matter your skill, weapons, or cause — there is no guarantee.
Accepting that fact increases your chances.
Being able to perform a technique in a fight means nothing.
Let go of definitions, contingency plans, rank, power.
At the top of the mountain there is no glorious view. Only a swirling darkness.
Don't go in with a plan. Let every attack be a surprise.

Chapter 7 — Pride

Be Small Enough to Hear the Whisper

Pride is a disease. It must be cured before you progress.
Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself.
Pride deafens. The sound of budo is a whisper.
The prouder the heart, the louder the heartbeat.
Knowledge, skill, strength, long training — all kyusho that breed pride.
Being strong in one way makes you weak in every other way.
Anyone can defeat you. Even a child. Even accidentally.
Think of yourself as an egg. Vulnerable. Easily broken.
Do not become a tiger. Tigers are hunted.

Chapter 8 — Death

Budo Is Killing

Budo is not self-improvement. It is not social. It is not fitness.
Train every technique with the idea that one of you is going to die.
Know the human body and its fatal vulnerabilities.
Accept your share of the blood and the nightmares.
Budo comes from violence but is not itself violent.
The ultimate secret of the sword is revealed when you sheath it and put it away.
You are not learning to fight. You are learning to control evil.

Chapter 9 — Living Between the Lines

Budo Starts Where Words End

Real budo exists between the written forms, between the static.
The scrolls are incomplete, vague, and contain intentional mistakes.
Words are signposts. Staring at a sign does not get you to your destination.
The waza are gravestones. Learn from them. Don't build a house with them.
Become a blank canvas. Let the opponent paint a bloody self-portrait.
Budo can never be written down. It can only be transmitted.

Chapter 10 — Danger

Sense It Before It Arrives

Even an insect can sense danger without seeing it.
Waiting for pain to indicate danger is a childish failure.
When the teacher shows a punch, don't assume the fist is only a fist.
If he can touch you, he can kill you. The reverse is also true.
Recognise dangerous places, people, weather, moods.
The difference between a knife and an icy road is only a matter of perception.
Ideas can be poison. Beliefs can be chokeholds.
It is more important to not be there when something bad happens.

Chapter 11 — The Empty Cup

Better to Know What Budo Is Not

Keep a small hole at the base of the cup so bad ideas drain out.
Listen to everybody. Learn from everybody. Let obstacles drain away.
In budo, it is certain that what the student knows is wrong.
Do not rearrange the furniture in someone else's house.
The question is not what you know — it is whose student you are.
Everything you have learned up until now is nothing.
Go to the dojo to receive, not to give. This is ukemi — acceptance.

Chapter 12 — Sex and Feces

Budo Is Comedy

Budo is not a priesthood. Budo is stinking, hairy humanity.
Without humour, the weight of it will drive you mad.
Some parts of budo cannot be understood without earthy metaphors.
Think of yourself as a hunter. Know how animals sleep, eat, mate, defecate.
Be a playful demon.
Do not be shocked by what you are capable of doing.
If you cannot find the humour, you will not survive your own feelings when it's over.

Chapter 13 — Faith

The Leap Into the Abyss

Belief is common. Faith is rare.
Without faith, you will never progress beyond where you are comfortable.
Faith is a light in the darkness.
Maneuvering your heart to match your thoughts is not faith. Do the opposite.
When someone has faith, you see it immediately in their movement.
Throw away your consciousness. It is your consciousness that gets you into trouble.
Budo is wisdom that flows from God, through man, into the world through taijutsu.

Chapter 14 — Joy

The Dance of Unexpectedness

Budo starts fun. Becomes confusing. Becomes horrifying. Finally all three at once.
The Feeling of budo is unmitigated joy — a dance of unexpectedness.
"Why me?" becomes "Thank you for letting it be me."
Develop your natural instinct.
Accept the dark joy without judgement or it will eat you alive.
Budo is the art of self-resurrection.
You will die and be born again, and float out of the river and into the clouds.

Chapter 15 — Ninja Weapons

Anything, Nothing, Everything

Ninja weapons only exist at the moment of Kimon — the Demon's Gate.
Choke with the sword. Cut with the teacup. Paralyse with a pen.
The limitation is in the user, not the weapon.
Real budo is the art of witnessing an accident.
If you try to use a weapon, you will be no good.
Once the fight is over, lay down the weapons as if you never held them.
Forget the word "ninja." Just stay alive.

Chapter 16 — Buyu and the Dojo

A Place for Confession

The kanji for dojo read "path-place." Perhaps we are the dojo.
The dojo is a hospital. You are here to be fixed.
Budo is a solitary pursuit. You are alone in the dojo.
Even in a room of a thousand, if you are truly listening, you are his only student.
Your training partners are trying to kill you. Your teacher is trying to kill you.
When class ends, you can be friends again — but class is never really over.
Every budoka trains alone.

Chapter 17 — Mushin, Zanshin and Kyusho

The Three Most Misunderstood Words

Mushin is not no-mind. It is active denial of self and refusal to plan.
Remain undecided even after the fight is over.
Move like a puff of smoke in the wind of your opponent's intentions.
Zanshin: victory will be your most vulnerable moment.
Zanshin can exist after war. It is not always pleasant.
Kyusho are not fixed points. They appear and disappear with circumstance.
The kyusho flow. They are not set.
A very strong part of the body, twisted or stretched, becomes very weak.

Chapter 18 — Perfection

It's Not Perfect, Therefore It's Perfect

Perfecting the forms is for beginners.
Budo is formlessness. Force it to exist and it disappears.
Chase perfection and it stays further away.
Budo is a series of mistakes. The budoka changes with each one.
If real budo ends and you feel good, something was wrong.
Your first feeling may be guilt — even if you saved a life.
Techniques are studied in order to learn budo. Not the other way round.
Camouflage is not looking like a soldier. It is looking like nothing.
Do not fear mistakes. In budo, there are none.

Chapter 19 — Teaching

Never Be a Teacher

The moment you become a teacher, your budo dies.
Always be a student. Never think you are good.
Budo is non-knowledge. It cannot be taught — only learned.
Syllabi and curricula remove change, contradiction, and chance — the very stuff of budo.
Anyone can teach physical forms. Budo is infinitely larger than forms.
A real teacher must be able to hide.
How many pupils did Michelangelo have? Art cannot be taught — only nurtured.
Teaching is a heavy responsibility. Don't teach. You'll feel more relaxed.

Chapter 20 — Power

The Ability to Stop

Physical power is the weakest form of power.
Power is the ability to stop.
A man who can resist all temptation is dangerous indeed.
Train at roughly 60% commitment. Be able to change direction entirely at any point.
If you must complete the technique, you have already lost control.
Use the strength of weakness.
You cannot out-power a bullet. Once it leaves the gun, you are finished.
How much power does it take to flick an eyeball?

Chapter 21 — The Feeling & Natural Justice

The Bee in the Cupped Hand

Squeeze the bee and it stings. Cup the bee and it does not know it has been caught.
Every lesson is a lesson on the Feeling.
The Feeling cannot be known. It can only be recognised and accepted.
The Feeling is you not being there.
The opponent attacks a void of his own making.
You hurt him by not hurting him.
This is Natural Justice. The opponent judges himself.
Find Kimon — the Demon's Gate, also the Life Gate. Where it seems scariest, you are safest.
Without the Feeling, skill is nothing.

Chapter 22 — Tales of Budo

The Journey of Aho the Donkey

Aho climbs Mount Impossible alone after his friend Gari abandons him.
Every creature he meets embodies a false path in budo.
At the peak, a stone reads simply: Fly.
The other animals scream he must first decode scrolls, carry the rock, put an onion in his ear.
Aho ignores them. He flies.
Full breakdown in the Allegory section below.

Chapter 23 — A Final Word

Budo as Seatbelt

Budo is not a tool for taking life-threatening risks.
It is a wisdom that reminds us of the value of staying alive.
The ninja were known for avoiding conflict at all costs.
There is a time for peace and a time for war.
Old soldiers never die. They just fade away.
There is no real final word in budo. It just keeps going.

Section Four

Core Philosophical Framework

Over Fighting

Surviving

Over Strength

Sensitivity

Over Form

Change

Over Technique

The Feeling

Over Planning

Patience

Over Knowing

Not Knowing

Over Truth

Kyojitsu

Over Teaching

Transmission

Over Power

The Ability to Stop

Over Victory

Natural Justice

Over Perfection

Mistakes

Over Fear

Joy

生きる原則

Living Principles of Budo

Budo is survival. Not victory. Not glory.
Do not add budo to yourself. Let budo change you.
Never think "now I'll use my budo." Just keep changing.
The most important moment is just before the fight — sensing what is coming.
If he can touch you, he can kill you. Act accordingly.
Train slowly. Speed hides danger. Slowness reveals it.
Never take a knife to a gunfight.
Train at 60% so you can stop at any point and change direction.
Control the opponent with nothingness.
Every punch you throw is being cut by an unseen blade. Train like this is true.
The worst-case scenario is failing to recognise the danger in the first place.
Think of training partners as killers. Class is never really over.
Be a playful demon. Never forget to smile. Never be surprised.
Do not be shocked by what you are capable of doing.
The dojo is a confessional. Heal yourself of what budo reveals in you.
You are alone in the dojo.
Follow your teacher, not your peers.
Let go of techniques. Let go of rank. Let go of being right.
Do not become a teacher. Stay a student.
Survive the fight. Then survive the memory. Humour allows the second.
Power is the ability to stop.
Find Kimon. Where it seems scariest, you are safest.
Hurt the opponent by not hurting him.
Do not fear mistakes. There are none.
At the summit there is no view. Only darkness. Go anyway.

驢馬の旅

The Allegory of Aho the Donkey

Gari the Parrot

Chatters constantly. Plans to "reach the sun today."
Full of ambition. Cannot sit with silence.
Abandons his friend the moment a flatterer offers comfort.
The martial artist who treats budo as a scheduled goal.

The Friendly Salamander

Lives at the base of the mountain in a house built from summit stones.
Never climbed there himself.
Smiles warmly. Calls everyone friend.
The teacher who trades on the appearance of having arrived.

The Two Mad Monkeys

Push a potato up the mountain while arguing about what a potato is.
Never notice anyone else is there.
The work is forgotten in the debate.
Martial artists consumed by technical argument.

The Famous Panther

Famous for being a famous hunter.
Cannot remember when he last hunted.
Decides a donkey must be terrified of him. Runs past in a proud blur.
The instructor whose reputation has replaced the work that earned it.

The Stern Koala

Stands with a potato strapped to his head.
To climb, first make yourself heavier. Then remove the potatoes.
Pure procedural nonsense delivered with authority.
The teacher whose "secret method" creates dependency.

The Fast-Talking Puffer Fish

Sells sandwiches but calls them water.
Carbonates them for "fizz in the biz."
You don't eat water — you strap it to your head.
Swells larger the more he talks until he floats away.
The marketer whose jargon inflates him off the ground.

The Thoughtful Rooster

Refuses to look at his reflection — then glances at it constantly.
Performs as a news-summariser. Every metaphor earns applause.
Self-regard dressed as humility.
The social-media sensei.

The Leaping Pony

Leaps and shouts "How great it is to be wild and free!"
Same phrase. Same leaps. Same sequence.
Wears blinkers engraved "Hello, I'm a pony."
The student who repeats the same kata for thirty years and mistakes it for mastery.

The Angry Goat

Rams his head into a rock to reach the summit "from within."
Takes every question as an insult.
Rams harder whenever contradicted.
The martial artist whose only response to obstacle is more force.

The Peak

A stone says: Fly.
A crowd screams he cannot. He must carry the rock, decode the scrolls, put an onion in his ear.
Aho ignores them all.
He flies.
They keep screaming as he rises.

You can only go so far in the dojo with technique. After that, you either fly or you go no further — no matter how many years you keep training.

Section Seven — 180 Principles

Complete Unfiltered Archive

A. The Nature of Budo

22 Items

A01

Budo is a living, human museum. Every exhibit was paid for in blood.

A02

Budo is not fighting. It is ancient, concentrated truth.

A03

Budo is art. We are bugeika, not budoka — artists whose medium is war.

A04

Art is a mystery and never-ending creation. Looking at paintings does not make you a painter.

A05

Budo is connected to all other arts. Even in the midst of battle, art can be found.

A06

There are no secrets in budo — only lessons we refuse to learn.

A07

Budo is a mystery, a beast, and a cost. It crosses every boundary.

A08

Budo is powerful. Touching the heart of human suffering is traumatic.

A09

To study budo is to study change. To understand change, you must be changed.

A10

There is no shame in turning away. Budo can break your heart.

A11

Real budo lives between the written forms, between that which is static.

A12

Budo is formlessness and constant change.

A13

The scrolls are incomplete, vague, and contain intentional mistakes.

A14

Words are signposts. You do not reach your destination by staring at a sign.

A15

Real budo has nothing to do with making friends. It is a solitary thing.

A16

Budo is non-knowledge. The less you know, the more likely you are to understand it.

A17

Budo is a living thing, always changing. Technique collectors are not budoka.

A18

Budo is comedy. Humour keeps the student from madness.

A19

Budo is blood and guts, semen and feces — not a priesthood.

A20

Budo is feeling, not form.

A21

Budo is not a fighting system — it is a way of living that protects life.

A22

Good budo has nothing to do with the average person. The person watching cannot see.

B. Nature, Change & Survival

28 Items

B01

If it isn't natural, it isn't right.

B02

Nature is infinite — both nothing and everything. It has unfathomable power.

B03

Nature does not follow our rules and limitations. Only we are bound by them.

B04

Nature can be ruthless, coarse, and violent — as well as peaceful and beautiful.

B05

Real nature will tear you to pieces and eat you without warning. So will real budo.

B06

Learning budo in most dojos is like learning about animals in a zoo.

B07

Budo is change. Without change, there is no life and no budo.

B08

Kimattenai — nothing is decided.

B09

Change is a survival strategy. All life disappears if it cannot change.

B10

Change is continuous. It has no beginning and no end.

B11

Never think "now I'll use my budo." Just keep changing with the opponent.

B12

Masters are not in the perfect place. They are simply changing.

B13

The opponent creates the circumstances. The master changes until the opponent kills himself.

B14

In budo, he who is no longer able to change dies first.

B15

A light heart, freed from knowing, floats from one moment to the next.

B16

Survival is the goal of budo — not winning and certainly not glory.

B17

There is no guarantee you will survive. Accepting this increases your chances.

B18

Luck is an integral part of budo. Cultivate it.

B19

Find the lucky resolution to each problem. The luckiest person survives.

B20

Do only what is absolutely necessary. Then wait for things to change.

B21

You must be infinitely movable in the path of any force — not an immovable object.

B22

Like Canadian geese, you either move freely with change or you die.

B23

In the actual fight, you begin by moving the body. Then you change, endlessly.

B24

Your ability to change instantly will sap the opponent's will to fight.

B25

In the empty moments, change yourself. Then be ready to change again.

B26

Following predetermined forms in a real situation is a death-trap.

B27

Every time you dance the tango, your feet land in a different place. It is still the tango.

B28

The best jazz musicians cannot play a simple song the same way twice.

C. Patience, Deception & Letting Go

30 Items

C01

If you cannot wait until the very last moment, you will die.

C02

The kanji for ninja and shinobi both mean "to wait, to endure, to put up with."

C03

Budo is about waiting. Self-restraint is its basis.

C04

When the opponent commits, his mind goes into his weapon. That is your window.

C05

It takes guts and heart to just "be there" without a plan for victory.

C06

The more you wait, the more you will know what happens next.

C07

Ishiki o nobasu — the full-body extension of awareness.

C08

Budo is kyojitsu — the interplay of truth and falsehood.

C09

Kyojitsu — the interplay of truth and falsehood — is the playground of the budoka.

C10

Deception in budo is self-inflicted. The opponent's belief becomes his trap.

C11

Self-deception is the quickest killer on the battlefield.

C12

The more you believe in your own power, the deeper you descend into delusion.

C13

In budo, one does not train to be powerful. One trains to detect the power of others.

C14

Beyond doubt, truth and falsehood are like light and darkness — dependent opposites.

C15

The interplay between reality and illusion is budo in motion.

C16

Letting go is the most important thing.

C17

You cannot possess budo. In a real way, it is not yours.

C18

Being able to perform a technique in a fight means nothing.

C19

The need to hold onto forms, names, and skills is seductive — and fatal.

C20

Let go of definitions, contingency plans, rank, and power.

C21

Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.

C22

At the top of the mountain there is no glorious view — only a swirling darkness.

C23

If you can let go of what you do not need, you will keep rising.

C24

Don't go in with a plan. Let every attack be a surprise.

C25

Anybody can be good at doing techniques. That is irrelevant to budo.

C26

The best fishermen don't even go fishing.

C27

You cannot rely on being strong to keep you from getting killed.

C28

Don't be afraid to let go of the sword.

C29

Expectations are handholds hidden in ideas, beliefs, and hopes.

C30

Handholds do not keep you up — they hold you down.

D. Pride, Death & Danger

28 Items

D01

Pride is a kind of disease. It must be cured before you can progress.

D02

Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself — worse than copying others.

D03

Pride deafens. The sound of budo is a whisper.

D04

The prouder the heart, the louder the heartbeat.

D05

Knowledge, skill, strength, long training — all kyusho that breed pride.

D06

Anyone can defeat you — even a child, even accidentally.

D07

We must think of ourselves as eggs — vulnerable and weak.

D08

Being strong in one way makes you weak in every other way.

D09

Budo is not about becoming a tiger. Tigers are hunted.

D10

Traps don't exploit stupidity. They exploit desire.

D11

The strong tend to be straightforward. They are easily tricked.

D12

Budo is killing. Make no mistake about this.

D13

Every technique must be practised with the idea that one of you is going to die.

D14

The densho were written with their blood. You owe the dead sincere respect.

D15

Budo comes from violence but budo itself is not violent.

D16

Takamatsu Sensei taught killing, not techniques.

D17

I am not teaching you to fight. I am teaching you to control evil.

D18

The ultimate secret of the sword is revealed when you sheath it and put it away.

D19

Even an insect can sense danger without seeing it.

D20

When the teacher shows a punch, don't assume the fist is only a fist.

D21

If he can touch you, he can kill you. The reverse is also true.

D22

Recognising danger is more important than trying to overcome it.

D23

Waiting for pain to indicate danger is a childish failure.

D24

It is more important to not be there when something bad happens.

D25

Recognise dangerous places, dangerous people, dangerous weather, dangerous moods.

D26

In time, the difference between a knife and an icy road is only a matter of perception.

D27

Ideas can be poison. Beliefs can be chokeholds.

D28

Budo protects you on the outside and on the inside.

E. Mushin, Zanshin, Kyusho & Kimon

22 Items

E01

Mushin is not no-mind. It is the active denial of self and refusal to plan.

E02

Remain undecided even after the fight is over.

E03

The attack will tell you where to go — to Kimon, the Demon's Gate.

E04

Move like a puff of smoke in the wind of your opponent's intentions.

E05

Zanshin: victory will be your most vulnerable moment.

E06

Zanshin can exist after war — and it is not always a pleasant thing.

E07

Kyusho are not fixed points. They appear and disappear with circumstance.

E08

The kyusho flow. They are not set.

E09

A very strong part of the body, if twisted, becomes very weak.

E10

Remove yourself and be courageous in your consistency in the spaces between.

E11

Kimon can also be read as Life Gate. Where it seems scariest, you are safest.

E12

Kimon is life for those who head there — and death for those who avoid it.

E13

Ninja weapons pop into existence only at the moment of Kimon.

E14

Real budo is the art of witnessing an accident.

E15

Choke with the sword. Cut with the teacup. Paralyse with a ballpoint pen.

E16

The limitation is in the user, not the weapon.

E17

Ninja weapons are a state of mind. Forget the word "ninja" and just stay alive.

E18

Once the fight is over, lay down the weapons as if you never held them.

E19

If you try to use a weapon, you will be no good.

E20

There is life in the weapon. Through that life, you live.

E21

Use any weapon in every way it was never designed to be used.

E22

Save your bullets for emergencies. Use the gun in other ways as long as you can.

F. Perfection, Teaching & the Empty Cup

26 Items

F01

Perfecting the forms is for beginners.

F02

The more you chase perfection, the further it stays from you.

F03

Budo is a series of mistakes. The budoka changes with each one.

F04

Do not fear mistakes. In budo, there are none.

F05

It's not perfect, therefore it's perfect.

F06

If real budo ends and you feel good, something was wrong.

F07

Ninshiki wo shinobu — endure the realisation that we are killers.

F08

Techniques are studied to learn budo — not the other way round.

F09

Camouflage is not looking like a soldier. It is looking like nothing.

F10

Control the opponent with nothingness.

F11

Never be a teacher. The moment you are, your budo dies.

F12

Budo is non-knowledge. It cannot be taught, only learned.

F13

Blueprints and syllabi remove change, contradiction, and chance — the very stuff of budo.

F14

Anyone can teach physical forms. Budo is infinitely larger than physical forms.

F15

A real teacher must be able to hide.

F16

How many pupils did Michelangelo have? Art cannot be taught — only nurtured.

F17

Teaching is a heavy responsibility. Don't teach. You'll feel more relaxed.

F18

It is better to know what budo is NOT than to know what it is.

F19

Rather than an empty cup, keep a small hole at the base so bad ideas drain away.

F20

Do not rearrange the furniture in someone else's house.

F21

Be clear on whose student you are. That is the question.

F22

Everything you have learned up until now is nothing.

F23

We go to the dojo to receive, not to give. This is ukemi — acceptance.

F24

Man creates fantasy. God creates mystery. Teachers confuse the two.

F25

Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.

F26

You must hear and speak with your heart.

G. Power, Faith & The Feeling

24 Items

G01

If you never learn to move without strength, you have no future in budo.

G02

Physical power is the weakest form of power.

G03

Power is the ability to stop.

G04

Train at around 60% commitment so you can stop at any point and change entirely.

G05

A man who can resist all temptation is dangerous, indeed.

G06

The strength of weakness. The heart is what you cultivate.

G07

Every lesson is a lesson on the Feeling.

G08

The Feeling cannot be known. It can only be recognised and accepted.

G09

Words are not enough to describe the Feeling.

G10

The Feeling is you not being there. Your opponent falls into a void of his own making.

G11

You hurt him by not hurting him.

G12

Squeeze the bee, it stings. Cup the bee, it does not know it has been caught.

G13

This is Natural Justice. The opponent judges himself.

G14

Your action, quite literally, is his.

G15

The Feeling makes weakness out of strength and babies out of heroes.

G16

Without the Feeling, all the skill in the world is nothing.

G17

Belief is common. Faith is rare.

G18

Without faith, you will never progress beyond where you are comfortable.

G19

Maneuvering your heart to match your thoughts is not faith. Do the opposite.

G20

When someone has faith, you see it immediately in their movement.

G21

Budo is wisdom that comes from God, through man, into the world through our taijutsu.

G22

Don't play what is there. Play what is not there.

G23

Develop your natural instinct.

G24

Become aware of your own existence.

Budo is art. We are not budoka. We are bugeika — artists.