WHEN YOUR HAND GOES FORTH....

 by Phillip Starr

Humans are certainly very emotional creatures. From the moment we enter this strange, uncertain world until we take our last breath, we experience many different emotions. These range from feelings of love and affection to happiness, sadness, grief, jealousy, greed, and anger, just to name a few. As devoted practitioners of the martial ways, we strive to free ourselves of what we consider “negative” emotions while doing our best to regulate those on the “positive” list. At least that's how many of us see it. To some extent, it's correct...but on the other hand, we have to be careful that we're not turning ourselves into some kind of creature that looks human but which is void of feelings.

For all of us, there are some things that really raise our ire and that's okay. However, we have to learn to control our feelings so they don't take control of our minds and spirits. In the Japanese martial ways we sometimes hear the expression, “mizu no kokoro”, which translates roughly as, “mind like water.” If we look into a pond of still water, the reflection we see will be accurate. However, if ripples appear, the image becomes distorted. The bigger the ripples, the greater the distortion. In the practice of the martial arts we strive to keep the mind calm, like the surface of undisturbed water. Uncontrolled emotions act like pebbles that are tossed into the pond. The more severe the emotion, the larger the “pebble.” Some emotions, such as anger or fear, can become so large that they act like large boulders that crash into the “pond and produce large waves!”

When the water is distorted by ripples (or waves), we can't see clearly and hence, our judgment is clouded. Our actions and reactions may be altogether inappropriate. This brings to mind a story about a young, hot-tempered Okinawan man who had taken up karate. With time and lots of practice his skill increased and as his skill continued to increase, his teacher would give him advice from time to time. On one occasion, his instructor reminded him, “When your hand goes forth, withhold your temper. When your temper goes forth, withhold your hand.”

One night when the young man quietly entered his home (being careful not to awaken his wife), he saw two shadows on the screen that separated the bedroom from the rest of the house. One silhouette was that of his wife, but whose was the other? He studied the figure and determined that it was another man!!! He was furious; his temper flared and he began to advance towards the bedroom, intent on killing the other man. It was then that his teacher's words came to him...”When your hand goes forth, withhold your temper. When your temper goes forth, withhold your hand.” Gritting his teeth, he walked into the bedroom.

His wife looked up and smiled. The young man's uncle was sitting beside her. “I asked your uncle to stay here until you returned,” she explained. “I am afraid to be in this house alone at night.” The young man smiled and thanked his uncle for his kindness. He realized that had he given play to his temper, the results could have been disastrous.

A good friend of mine who often competed in karate tournaments developed a fine tactic for unnerving his opponents; after they had exchanged bows and squared off, he'd blow a little kiss at the other competitor. Oftentimes, his opponent became angry and would attack aimlessly, intent on knocking the little pipsqueak to the floor! But my friend was very skilled and was expecting such a reaction. As they drove in with their attacks, he'd easily evade them and respond with a powerful counter-attack and win the match.

I've also known people who have especially bad tempers and they're proud of the fact, as if being ill-tempered is a positive thing. They don't understand that this is actually a character flaw, a weakness that must be brought in under a tight reign and controlled. Otherwise, they allow their emotions to control them and that's a luxury that the serious martial arts practitioner simply cannot afford.