Monthly Archives: March 2015

Niju Kun Part 2

Niju Kun Part 2
by Dan Blackmore
31 Mar 2015

In Part 1 of my interpretations of O’Sensei Gichin Funakoshi’s Niju Kun I discussed four of the principles.  For this piece, I will look at the following:

  • First you must know yourself.  Then you can know others.
  • Spiritual development is paramount; technical skills are merely means to the end.
  • You must release your mind.
  • Misfortune comes out of laziness.

First you must know yourself.  Then you can know others.
Strong karate comes from a connected body: the arms, legs, hips, torso, and head must be in sync to perform an effective action.  Each individual trains to acquire this body connection, no matter their shape, size, or levels of athleticism and flexibility.  Everybody has their own set of strengths and weaknesses.  As you train independently and with partners, you learn which techniques and tactics work best for you and your body.  Knowing your weaknesses allows you to focus on reinforcing or supplementing them in your training.  Self-improvement is good, but it is also important not to lose perspective on what changes have occurred that brought along the improvement.  For example, was it a change in your tactics, your form, or in your body conditioning/flexibility that improved your performance?  By discovering and recognizing the reasons for your own improvement you can begin to detect signs of vulnerability in others.  Knowing why something had failed for you in the past will allow you to apply pressure to an opponent’s vulnerability, giving you the advantage.  In the context of training with partners, the intent of applying pressure in this same way is to allow the partner to discover his/her own vulnerabilities for future improvement.

This principle reminds me that although we need the benefit of training with our student peers, progress cannot be measured against others; it is measured against oneself.  It can become easy to judge others, but unless called for, doing so holds little benefit for anyone.  It is more difficult to judge yourself, but understanding your own strengths and weaknesses helps you to focus your training and to form a stronger base from which to offer constructive criticism when called for it.  People need to make sense of things for themselves and to organically discover what they can get out of karate.  Although intentions may be good, calling out your fellow students on flaws or areas of weakness often comes out as being condescending.  The best way to help out your fellow students is to respect them by allowing them to discover things for themselves.  You accomplish this by improving yourself and by being on-target and appropriately swift during partner exercises.  If you must verbalize, acknowledge successes, rather than what needs improvement – “Ah, good, you caught me on that one!” or “Nice kick!”  Poor targeting, timing, connection, or distance are things that don’t need to be verbalized because you will come to know yourself whether a technique or tactic you employed was good.  No need to beat yourself up over every little flaw you come across within yourself, but be mindful of things that keep recurring.  Keep training under the guidance of your instructor and senior students, and work with your peers to round you out as you improve – to me, this is how Shotokan training works.

Spiritual development is paramount; technical skills are merely means to the end.
Training karate is more than just repeatedly practicing blocks, kicks, punches, and kata.  Imagine a dojo where there is only body conditioning, kihon drills, technical perfection of kata, and no discussions.  Such an environment may encourage a feeling of isolation in each student.  Interests will wane and students will attend training less often, until they won’t return at all.  The ones that do stay form a tunnel-vision about their art.  Attitudes get more extreme about what body types and levels of toughness or aggressiveness are required to “get good” at karate.  Asking questions or proposing alternatives are seen as an affront to the knowledge and experience of the senior students and instructors, and is often discouraged – “Just get back to doing the drill!”  Focusing only on the physical motions will eventually leave practitioners unfulfilled and under-prepared.  We need something more.

A dojo must feed the mind and spirit along with the body.  The keyword is “spirit” – it is a general term that can be applied to many different things, but it represents the feelings of confidence one has for him/herself.  A healthy sense of self-confidence is paramount to attempt to accomplish anything.  Further, a healthy self-confidence tempers successes and failures so that our ego doesn’t inflate too large when we succeed, and that we are not discouraged from continuing to move forward or from trying again when we fail.  It is for this that the physical aspects are far less important, because they can always be worked on at any point, but the attitudes one forms for oneself and towards the art can have much larger impacts on the individual outside of the dojo.  Let me put it this way: interchange the Shotokan techniques that we train with Aikido, or Judo, or anything, but maintain the dynamic of the dojo and keep the same individuals.  Over time we will learn the new skills if we keep at it, but will we change as individuals?  Are the techniques that we perform what determines the kind of people we are?  Of course not – the dynamic established in the dojo acts as a framework for relationships to form and interactions to occur among students and teachers.  This framework influences the way in which people develop their spirit in the dojo, and their self-confidence outside of it.

You must release your mind.
Releasing your mind comes two-fold: first, as we train and perform karate, we must be able to calm our thoughts, and second, we must always be ready to learn.  A calm mind is crucial for good karate.  If we spend too much time and concentration on trying to analyze the position and timing of every muscle as we learn a technique, and exhaust every tactical possibility that may lay before us in a fight, we end up not moving well at all, and most often with a slower reaction time.  Engaging the mind while performing karate adds an extra step in the process and diminishes the chance to imprint the physical motions to your body.  If you were to try to consciously control every motion of your stride while walking, you might end up tripping over your own feet.  Likewise, if you were to spend time in a fight trying to form a scenario in your mind and then analyzing your opponent to find the opportunity to act the scenario out, you might end up being caught off-guard instead.  There is just no time to engage the mind while performing karate!  The mind must be used to reflect upon one’s training and exercises after their completion, when we have the time to do so.  While in the moment of executing an action, we cannot pause to think.  Like crossing a road, if we choose to hold back and not cross it, we’re safe, and if we choose to cross at a good opportunity, we’re safe.  We’re not safe if we go partway, then pause to analyze our decision or to judge how well we are crossing the road because traffic is coming!  There is no doubt that we must use our minds to analyze our performance and to absorb lessons from others to better our karate, but when we are in the moment, our minds must be free.

With regard to being ready to learn, you might have heard the phrases “Emptying your cup.” or “Going back to white belt.” in your dojo.  Both of these phrases allude to the same thing: if you see yourself as already having full knowledge of a subject, you can’t learn anything new.  This is not to say that you just chuck everything you know out the window and start from scratch.  No, instead you need to be receptive to teaching to experience learning.  A teacher doesn’t magically stuff knowledge or understanding into your brain, he/she lays the information out in front of you and builds a framework for education.  It is you who must go through the experience of learning.  Like leading a horse to water, only the horse can take the drink.  As we grow as martial artists, and as individuals, it is important to have the ability to empty our cups to remain receptive to learning to facilitate further development.  As discussed earlier, you can miss out on a lot when you focus only on the physical aspects of karate.  Releasing your mind while engaged in the art/act allows your body to respond better, and releasing your mind to remain receptive to learning allows you to benefit from someone else’s perspective and experience.

Think about how we learned how to walk.  When we’re babies we don’t have the mental faculties to think about how our own limbs move and how best to manipulate them to stand up, gain balance, and begin walking.  Despite this blissful disconnection from intent and action we all learned how to walk just the same.  Our bodies and brains almost automatically trained themselves, through trial and error, how to coordinate the muscles, nerve responses, and motions of our limbs and begin a new method of locomotion.  Now that we have matured, we have many more mental tools at our disposal that helps us greatly as we attempt to learn something new, but they can be misused, too.  We must not let our knowledge and experience close ourselves off to learning.  Too much focus and micromanagement of every motion as we go through them can end up slowing down our progress.  Also, even knowing what is wrong does not automatically mean we solve the problem – our bodies must still be trained.  Like with walking, the body must be able to perform unconsciously.  Allow yourself to relax the mind and give the body the chance to learn through repetition.  Use the mind afterwards to analyze yourself, along with the guidance of your peers, senior students, and instructor to improve for next time.

Misfortune comes out of laziness.
To me, this principle ties in very nicely with the others discussed in this piece.  We have discussed that karate is not about the techniques; that spiritual development and humbleness are key traits to have for true success in martial arts.  One’s education in karate must involve the training of the mind, the body, and the spirit.  To me, this is an uplifting thought – your physical stature or condition does not limit your success in learning a martial art.  So long as you put the effort in, show improvement in yourself and your ability, and endeavour to improve, you’re succeeding on a personal level.  However, this principle also reminds us that we must take care not to become lazy on either of these three fronts, not just the physical one.  Again, like the horse to water, your peers, senior students, and instructor, who are there to guide you, cannot make you drink; you must take the steps to achieve all on your own.  Some diligence and discipline are required on your part to strive to improve; to endeavour.  It can be said that there are no bad students, only bad teachers.  In the beginning, this statement may hold some truth; the way that you are taught and the dynamic that is established between student and teacher are the responsibility of the instructor.  However, as you rise in rank and experience, and begin to take the reins over your own education, you also take the responsibility for the quality of what you produce in your art.  This principle is a gentle reminder that failing to endeavour to develop the mind, body, and spirit as you train may one day catch up to you.

That’s it for Part 2 in my series of discussions of the Niju Kun.  I hope these writings inspire you to form interpretations of your own!  Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for Part 3.

Discourtesy in the Martial Arts

Discourtesy in the Martial Arts
By Bob Davis (Edited by Dan Blackmore)
12 March 2015

Recently I have been thinking about the Niju Kun, and this has lead me to reflect upon some personal experiences I have had throughout my years of training in different arts.  O’sensei Gichin Funakoshi wrote the twenty precepts to guide karate practitioners as they train.  One precept states “everything begins with rei and ends with rei”.  This goes beyond just bowing.  Bowing itself is a sign of respect.  Respect for each other, the art, and for oneself.  Some recent events have compelled me to write on the topic of the “loss of courtesy” in the Martial Arts.  Sensei Egami wrote “He who would follow the way of karate must be courteous, not only in training but in daily life”.  This brings in another precept of O’sensei Funakoshi, “karate is not only dojo training.”  The lessons we learn in the dojo, carry over into how we live and act in our daily lives.  The responsibility and respect that you give and are given in the dojo reflects the way you behave outside the dojo.  Courtesy and respect need to extend past the dojo walls.

Within Martial Sports like Tae Kwon Do and Judo, there is a certain amount competitiveness.  The desire to win comes along with competition. You view your opponent as someone who needs to be defeated.  A little competitiveness can be good but the ego can take over if not guided properly.  In the pursuit of the win, sometimes poor sportsmanship or a poor attitude is excused for someone who possess a high degree of skill.  A coach or sensei might excuse these students’ behaviours as a necessary evil to place high in competitions.  They establish that cultivating an ego is what hones the competitive edge and gives the competitor his drive.  I do not believe that a sacrifice in the personality of the competitor is necessary at all.  I would go so far as to say that the more contact there is in an art and the greater the chance of injury, the more courtesy has to be maintained.  The competitors bow to enter the ring, give their complete focus and control to outmatch their opponent, and bow to exit the ring and return to being comrades.

The loss of courtesy is not exclusive to the sport side.  The focus is on self-defence in Martial Arts like Aikido and Karate, with less emphasis on competition.  Still, the ego can become inflated if not kept in check.  Sensei Stanley Pranin coined the term “Macho Cruncher” for those who show a lack of courtesy in Aikido practice.  There will always be some minor injuries in all practice that has contact, but whenever these individuals are involved, injuries tend to be more frequent.  In my Aikido-training days, I have encountered my share of these individuals.  Often this person a senior student, sometimes a sensei, and usually male.  In a dojo that I visited often there was a senior student that loved to twist students’ wrists too far, slam them to the ground very hard, and often wore a gi that was too small so it would come flying open when he practiced.  Luckily, Aikido tends not to attract too many non-courteous folk, as the art is non-aggressive in nature; blending with your opponent instead of meeting with force.  Still, the prospect that these “elbow straighteners and shoulder expanders” are in the senior ranks of dojos, is a little concerning because they are supposed to be the example for students to follow.  Nurturing healthy attitudes throughout a student’s journey in the martial arts is the best way to prevent bigger problems down the road.

The appearance of the “macho cruncher” is even more prevalent in more aggressive arts, like Shotokan karate.  Within the karate circles, a new term has arisen; the “Karate Douche”.  Once again, they tend to be males within the senior student and sensei ranks.  Karate is very self-defense oriented but there is a certain amount of competition as well.  I remember once asking a senior student a question about Ashi Barai (leg sweeping) techniques, only to have my legs kicked out from under me repeatedly without any explanation or assistance in break falling.  Needless to say, I didn’t ask that question again.  This same senior would also use any opportunity in class to punch and kick students a little too hard when they were used for demonstration.  He never did this in kumite or kumite drills, where there was a chance of reprisal.  This particular dojo seemed to applaud this type of behaviour, and in fact had 2-3 seniors just like this.  The attitude became that you had to be tough enough to handle it, because that’s what makes strong karate.  There is a line in a Macklemore song that rings true here: “If you preach hate at the service, those words aren’t anointed, and that Holy Water, that you soak in is then poisoned”.  The lessons in the dojo flow from the sensei to the seniors to the juniors.  There were derogatory remarks made of females, differently-abled students, and other martial art styles.  I have personally been the recipient of disparaging remarks about tattoos, piercings, being “too courteous” in nature, not blocking or hitting hard enough, and had more injuries than I can count.  You will find that once this behaviour is ignored or approved of by the seniors or sensei, it will spread like a virus.  The students that accept this lack of courtesy, they will replicate it, and the students that reject it, will leave the dojo.  The only reason why I tolerated any of this was because of the good seniors and sensei also in the dojo.  Find me a dojo that has no children, no colored belts, no females, or differently-abled students, and I will show you a dojo where “courtesy” is not part of the curriculum.

Courtesy should carry over into our day-to-day lives outside the dojo.  Once you have made karate a way of life, it becomes part of your personality.  Unfortunately, poor attitudes and behaviours that are tolerated or even promoted by your seniors, may become a part of you as well.  If you have an elevated position in karate because of your rank or tournament success, you have a duty to those who look up to you.  You have influence over the next generation of students in the way you present yourself.  The example you present, has an equal chance of breaking the “Cult of Karate” as well as perpetuating it.  To earn your rank or success and then show a lack of courtesy is inexcusable, even if it is tolerated in your dojo!  Bad behaviour begets bad behaviour.

The internet has become a big influence to students outside the dojo.  Very early on I developed a profound respect for what this technology could do: share information on a world scale.  Just because something is digital and your audience is not physically present, doesn’t make them any less “real”.  Facebook is a great social platform and it can do a lot of good, but it seems to have become the pulpit from which senior karate people are choosing to be discourteous.  I have had to separate myself several times now from seniors making disparaging remarks about other organizations, styles, philosophy, people, and the “correct way” of doing things on Facebook.  Not necessarily because of the content of the remarks – I might agree or disagree – but because Facebook is not the right venue to debate anything.  In the end, it accomplishes nothing, and becomes a “flame war” between two sides.  All that happens is you may lose a little respect for someone who goes a little too far, or people may lose some respect that they had for you because of the way they act online.  The written word is the written word, regardless if it is a book, a newsletter, a website, an email, a blog, or a tweet.  Once something is out there, it’s out there forever.  If someone has seen it, you can be sure someone has saved it, taken a screen shot of it, shared it, forwarded it, or tweeted it.  You now have the ability to reach a million times more people, and therefore do a million times more bad or good, depending on how you act online.

I think the problem here is not only the lack of courtesy, but a failure to understand what courtesy actually means.  Karate is not merely technique and courtesy merely bowing.  O’sensei Funakoshi was a great philosopher as well as a great technician.  He did not establish the Twenty Precepts of Karate and the Dojo Kun for them to be ignored by future generations.  These principles are based on Bushido and Zen, and form the guiding principles to practice karate.  O’sensei Funakoshi wrote: “The ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the character of the participant”.

In some karate dojos, the students recite a version of the dojo kun either when bowing in or bowing out for each class.  The dojo kun includes: seek perfection of character, be faithful, endeavor, respect others, and refrain from violent behavior.  It would be wise to remind yourself and all of your students of this important element.  Have your students recite the kun in class, research it, and write about it.  Once it is perfected in the dojo, along with the techniques, it will spill over into their daily lives.  As O’sensei Funakoshi said “the spirit of karate would be lost without courtesy”.

References:
http://blog.aikidojournal.com/2011/09/01/aikido-and-injuries-by-stanley-pranin/
http://www.metrolyrics.com/same-love-lyrics-macklemore.html
http://www.shotokai.com/ingles/gallery/introbeyond4.html

Niju Kun Part 1

Niju Kun Part 1
by Dan Blackmore
10 Mar 2015

Father of Shotokan, Gichin Funakoshi wrote for his students a list of twenty principles to keep in mind while training karate.  These are known as the Niju Kun; “Niju Kun” literally means “Twenty Instructions.”  They were first published in 1938 in a book titled, “The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate.”  In the text, each principle is listed as “Hitotsu” or “first,” which signifies that no one principle is more important than the others.  Karateka are meant to reflect upon the Niju Kun to discover what karate means to them.

This entry will be part one in a series of blogs about the Niju Kun.  It would be too much to present all twenty at once, so I will break them up, in no particular order:

  • Karate is not only dojo training.
  • Don’t forget that Karate begins with a bow and ends with a bow.
  • In Karate, never attack first.
  • One who practices Karate must follow the way of justice.

I will discuss my interpretations for each principle.  These are not the definitive interpretations, just some ideas to get some thoughts flowing.  Everyone is encouraged to reflect on what the Niju Kun means to them as they train.

Karate is not only dojo training.
Several ideas come to mind when considering this principle.  First, the lessons learned throughout your training are carried with you outside of the dojo.  Yes, we all gain skill through training that may be applied in real life, but we may also gain some insight about ourselves that may be applied in a number of situations.  We may gain confidence in ourselves and a healthy sense of pride in one’s abilities.  We can increase our physical condition and flexibility, which can lead to better health.  We build relationships in the dojo and build a sense of kinship.  Such personal development, both in the body and mind, will always stay with us.

This principle can also mean that one’s development does not solely come from within the dojo.  One must also be both introspective to discover what karate means for him/herself and extrospective to use resources outside of one’s own dojo to gain perspective.  Of course everything starts in the dojo with the training, support, and guidance you receive from your sensei and fellow students, but as you grow, you gain more independence.  Nowadays there are many resources available to feed curiosity and nurture that independence – books, articles, and editorials to read, training seminars to attend, many videos found online or distributed on DVD to watch, and sometimes other dojos to visit to observe, chat, and participate.  These resources are especially helpful as you make the transition to Shodan, and beyond.  They can supplement your dojo training and help you in your personal development.

Thirdly, the idea that karate is not just a belt/uniform that can be put on and removed; it should always be present in oneself both inside and outside the dojo.  If karate were a switch, it should never be turned off.  Not to say that one must be always on “high alert” as we go through life, edging on paranoia.  Let’s say that karate is more like a dimmer switch where the intensity can be raised or lowered, but it should never be turned off.  Be aware of yourself and your surroundings.  Pay attention to the world around you as you walk/run/travel – try not to deafen yourself with headphones and too-loud music, and keep your eyes focused ahead and not preoccupied on a phone, for example.  Be cautious of treacherous/slippery ground.  Be alert when walking at night, and avoid secluded, closed-off areas.  Also, watch out for others, whether to avoid suspicious individuals or to keep an eye out for friends, family, and passersby that might need a little vigilance.  Being aware of yourself and staying alert and connected to the world around you, is the first step in self-defense.

Finally, looking at the bigger picture, a karate/martial arts dojo would not exist in your area without support from a larger network/community.  A considerable amount of preparation and organization has gone into each dojo that exists, from the big to the small.  The content, or “dojo training” taught in a dojo may be different than another – Shotokan, Aikido, Judo, Jujutsu, Kobujutsu, etc. – but each dojo must face similar logistics problems and investments of time and money to come to fruition.  Thus, it is crucial for the leaders of the art to consider more than just the content.  For the art to persist into the future, there must be a means or structure to train the next generation of instructors and organizers to take the reigns.  If everyone focuses only on the dojo training without regard for educating the future dojo leaders in the organization and governing processes, everything would come to a halt when the current leaders stop.  Without a mechanism for renewal, a dojo will eventually perish.

Don’t forget that Karate begins with a bow and ends with a bow.
To me this is a reminder of dojo etiquette, and that whether training or competing, the bow is a sign of respect and recognition that the dojo floor or tournament mat is a place where you give your complete focus and attention.  While down the road the goal of training and competing is to simulate real aggression, there should be no hard feelings harboured among students, competitors, and sensei.

In the context of a class, the bow signifies mutual understanding that the student is here to be open and receptive to learning, and that the sensei will do his/her best to teach.  In the context of a partner drill, or competitive fight, the mutual understanding is that each person will be fully focused and controlled while engaging in the exercise/bout.  Generally for exercises, the attacker adjusts him/herself to the level of the defender by starting off slowly and the intensity/speed increases as progress is made.  Deliberately punching/kicking off-target does not help you to better learn proper control, focus, and distance, and it does not allow your partner to learn how to properly defend.  It all breaks-apart if you are at all hesitant about executing a technique.  You will not gain confidence in your skills if you train without trust in yourself and your partner.  The bow is a sign that everybody is participating equally for their own development as for the development of their peers.  At the end of class, exercise, or fight, the bow signifies the return to reality, where there are no “enemies” – we can leave any drama behind and reflect on any lessons to be learned from the experience.

In Karate, never attack first.
Philosophically speaking, this is a lesson that the skills learned should only be used in self-defense; never as an instigator.  To strike first is to become a bully.  In the original “Shotokan” – the house of Gichin Funakoshi – only kata was trained.  There are still some groups today, such as the Shoto-kai that maintain the philosophy that kumite has no place in karate.  The main reason is because kumite is seen to encourage both competitors to chase and defeat the other, leading to aggression.  Also, kumite is seen as artificial because the competition rules do not permit the use of any dangerous or lethal moves.  While I can respect these positions, I believe that kumite and competition can be great tools for one’s development.  Even though one is limited to a set of acceptable techniques in kumite, the same senses of distance, timing, synching-up with your opponent, and application of footwork are still required.  It’s a safe arena for karateka to gain some live experience with many different people to further their skills in these areas.  Additionally, the rules of competition can be made to assign an attacker and defender to more clearly distinguish that, in the end, karate is all about self-defense.

Tactically speaking, this principle reminds us that we are vulnerable during the transitional phase of our attacks.  This is because we are entering into the range of our opponent, and we do not know how he/she will handle our advance.  Meanwhile,  we have shown our hand and committed ourselves to an action.  By attacking first, we have given the advantage to our opponent; he/she can detect our path of travel, shift out of the way, and counter.  If you move-in first you are less likely to land a strike and more likely to receive one (or two, or three, or more).  Takano Sazaburo was a sword master from the 19th Century that said, “Don’t win after having struck, but strike having won.”  In the context of sword fighting, random motions can lead to death.  More often than not, the stakes are lower with karate than with live sword fighting but the lesson is clear: you either land a strike or you don’t, and a prepared opponent will most likely not be there when you chase with attack.

One who practices Karate must follow the way of justice.
This is not meant to say that you become a form of super hero after taking some karate training.  No, to me this is a statement that while anyone of any age can train karate, karate must be reserved to individuals who are decent citizens that can control their tempers.  No dojo of any credit will keep supporting the training of students who are violent troublemakers.  Some dojo are non-profit and some are for-profit, but all have the right to refuse membership to individuals who act as thugs or criminals, in or outside the dojo.  In the same breath, I believe in second chances, and individuals who have shown reform after having been expelled due to behaviour may be accepted back in the dojo – it depends on the situation.

For us good citizens, this instruction is a reminder that although we are gaining skills in something violent in nature, we must keep our heads.  There may be situations where we might have to defend ourselves, or even feel that we could help someone in trouble.  We must do all we can to prevent a situation from escalating to violence before having to resort to it.  Avoidance, talking, or running are alternatives to fighting; use your better judgment, and always call the police when it is appropriate.  If a fight cannot be avoided, then one must not be hesitant to defend him/herself.  While defending yourself, always do what is necessary, but refrain from use of excessive force.  Perhaps you’re facing a violent child – still a threat not to be taken lightly, but would any adult be looking to knock a child out with fists?  Maybe there is no call to pummel an attacker’s body and face if they can be thrown or controlled to the ground.  Once an attacker is subdued, that should be the end of the fight – seek an opening to escape and get out of there.

Here’s an anecdote from the book “Moving Zen” by C. W. Nicol that I think is relevant to this topic: Nicol recounts the three years he spent living in Japan and training karate full-time.  He points out that at the beginning of his journey, he was quick to anger and less likely to turn away from the opportunity to fight, and has since mellowed himself and lost some of his foolish pride.  After having earned his black belt, he came to realize that he can do more damage than he could before and that he must be more responsible in controlling his impulses.  His method to steady himself when facing any rude, belligerent men was to imagine the full consequences of using his new skills to punch the guy out – the broken bones and blood, the calling of the ambulance and police, having to go to the police station to file a statement, to be in a holding cell overnight, having to go to court, spending time in prison, being away from loved ones, and losing their respect – and ask himself if it would all be worth it.  The answer was always to seek another way to deal with the problem, of course, and never to pick a fight.

These four points are enough to think about for now.  Be sure to reflect upon these, and the rest of the Niju Kun during your own training.  Stay tuned for Part 2 at a later date.