EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED

 by Phillip Starr

A line from an old Japanese martial arts maxim tells us to “Expect that which is unexpected.” This is sage advice and should be closely followed by all martial arts enthusiasts. But what, exactly, does it mean? An old story about a tea master and a local samurai illustrates this idea pretty well...

This incident occurred long ago, when armed samurai roamed the streets of old Japan. Back then, it was pretty easy to inadvertently insult such a noble and such things were often settled with a quick draw of the sword. Anyway, it happened that a local tea master was walking down the street and accidentally bumped the saya (scabbard) of a passing samurai who was wearing his sword in the common manner (thrust through the obi; a wide sash).

This was regarded as a form of insult and disrespect and the warrior turned quickly and bellowed at the frightened citizen that such an indiscretion would cost him his life. Cringing, the older man apologized profusely, knowing that he was very fortunate that the samurai hadn't instantly taken his head. But his words fell on deaf ears. The samurai ordered the fellow to meet him at a particular place on the following day and they would settle the matter with blades.

Terrified, the tea master told his opponent that he didn't own such a weapon but this did nothing to dissuade him. The angered samurai said that he would bring an extra sword for the unskilled fellow to use.

The tea master, frightened beyond words, walked glumly back to his home. There was no doubt that this was his last day on this earth. Early the next morning, he walked out to the spot indicated by his opponent who was already there. He handed his hapless victim a sword and stepped back, assuming a fighting posture. This was going to be a quick and justified kill.

He could see that the old fellow had never held a sword until today; he didn't even grip it properly and he didn't take a proper fighting stance. The tea master knew this was it; he was certainly taking his last few breaths and sweat rolled down his face.

The samurai tired quickly of waiting; he quickly stepped forward to cut the sweaty old fart down. The horrified tea master turned his head and shut his eyes as he thrust out with his blade. It was the only thing that he could think of to do...and his unexpected thrust pierced the heart of his foe who unwittingly impaled himself on it! The samurai's face paled and grimaced as he fell to his knees and dropped his weapon. The fight was over.

The samurai had neglected to expect the unexpected. He was too self-assured for that. This was to be a quick, one-sided duel. He was figuratively “wearing blinders” both physically and psychologically.

Please be careful that you don't don a set of “blinders” at any time; not just in the training hall, but in day-to-day life as well.