In 1979, Soke Masaaki Hatsumi, grandmaster of the nine martial traditions that make up the core training of the Warrior Concepts Mastery Programs, wrote a book entitled Mono-no-Mikata, Kangae-Kata ["Ways of Seeing, Ways of Thinking."] In it, he wrote a section called Deshi-iri which, translated from Japanese, means "Becoming a Student" or, more literally, "Entering an Apprenticeship."
I'm sure that many of you have noticed that, in my articles, I write more about mental aspects than anything else. The purpose for this is that you should realize the importance of your attitude before you enter martial arts training, especially the kind of authentic warriorship training that I focus on in my programs, as opposed to the general or conventional kicking/punching sport-activity that so many get involved with these days.
Martial Art Training
Unlike today, the traditional means for a person to be accepted as a student of a warrior master were quite different. Today, a person enrolls in the training and, from day-one, the teacher says, "Fine, step this way" or "do this technique like this." But, according to Hatsumi-sensei, imagine that an aspiring student, someone hoping to learn the martial arts, comes to the dojo hoping to train. The teacher of the dojo did not accept that student immediately. He decides whether to admit him or her after watching them on repeated visits, burning with the desire to become a student, and observing their attitude. So, that type of person would be accepted.
The Karate Kid, Part II [Blu-ray] Review.
