The Door
Ken Harding
The understanding of our art, Budo Taijutsu, is like a door-- a door equally open to all. But it is a door in a darkened room, however, and it is equally dark on the other side. You will not be able to see it. If you try to find it by yourself, it is very unlikely that you will ever do so. You won’t even be sure in which direction to search. The darkened room is very big, with many hidden obstacles, holes, traps and dead ends. To search for the door yourself inevitably leads nowhere. In this sense, it is impossible to teach yourself martial arts. You cannot learn it from a book or video.
Teachers of this martial art are those people who have already walked through the door; they know exactly where it is, and can walk through it at any time. I have come from the other side of the door to assist those who wish to cross over. It is my task to point my students in the right direction. Initially, no one is pointed toward the door. I take the student by the shoulders, and aim them in the right direction. But I cannot make you walk towards it. Only you can do that.
You start out, pointed to the left of the door. I aim you straight at it, but after a step or two, you are pointed too far to the right. I correct you again, setting your feet on the right path. A few more steps again, and you are once more too far to the left. And so we proceed. It is easy to get frustrated, and think that the art constantly eludes your grasp; that no matter how far you’ve gone, you still aren’t where you want to be.
But there is hope. As you walk toward the door, always off track, you are actually getting closer to it, step by step. But you can't see that-- you're in the dark and can't notice your own progress. But I can. You are much closer now than when you began. Much patience is required.
An airline flight to Hawaii spends most of its time over the ocean, and for most of the time it is off course, by a few degrees right or left. But the pilot constantly makes course corrections, to keep the plane pointing towards its destination. But it's said that a flight from the continent to Hawaii spends 99% of its time off course. This is also the way of training. I am here to give you course corrections, as you get closer to the door. All you have to do is keep walking-- even if it feels like you are fumbling in the dark. Each class is one step: a realignment towards the door. Each student should ask me often if they are pointed in the right direction.
It is possible to walk in the wrong direction. This art is about naturalness, a deep understanding of correct body movement and alignment, balance and positioning. It is also about understanding the Warrior's Heart. Therefore, to ignore these factors and pursue other methods-- namely brute force, speed, and to feed one’s own ego-- is to turn yourself away from the door and head in the complete opposite direction, and with each practice session to walk further and further away from the truth. Such people will never walk through the door of understanding. You must stay constantly on the alert for improper training practices, and always strive to put forth the best, most pure and honest effort.
What is the purpose of this article? To relieve some of the frustration that naturally occurs with training. It is difficult to notice your own progress. At times it feels as if there is no improvement. But that is not necessarily the case. Right effort counts for far more than does temporary success. Remember that in your training.
The fact is that the truth is complicated. Trying to simplify it too much leads to incorrect versions of the truth that appear too distorted to accept. When that happens, one is just as likely to accept a totally false idea as the truth, passing over the actual truth because it has become so distorted through misrepresentation and oversimplification that it has become unbelievable.