Mike Selvon Shinshii(sensei), that was truly a great a bridged
statement for Go Rin No Sho, Book of Five Rings. I was kind of
wondering sir, how old you might be. Practitioners that make it to
the understanding you presented, are typically upper 40s etc... to
understand such knowledge.

Not many in modern age can make the Martial Arts a way of Life. To
many looking only for the money. Not the reward of your student
returning to dojo, with story of how Martial Arts improved or helped
their life. To make it a Way of Life, not easy. Again Mike Selvon
Sensei, thank you and I appreciate such words.

Charles desu


--- In sabaki@yahoogroups.com, "Hoosain Narker" <ashihara@...> wrote:
>
> People often try to separate martial arts business from martial arts
> lifestyles and martial arts traditional teachings. This is a
horrible thing
> to do, as it turns a way of life into nothing more than another
sport. The
> philosophies and histories can be applied to all parts of life.
>
> Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings is a classic example of
incorporating
> traditional martial arts training into business. All of the
traditional
> martial arts principles and strategies of the samurai in feudal
Japan are
> applicable to the business world today. There is no reason why you
can't
> take your traditional martial arts training into the boardroom.
Traditional
> martial arts training teaches more than how to fight and defend
yourself --
> it builds your mind and spirit too. While you strengthen your body,
you
> strengthen your mind and spirit. You become more confident with
each lesson
> you learn or test you successfully pass. Hard work, dedication and
> confidence in oneself are what make a successful martial artist --
and those
> same qualities make a successful executive.
>
> Musashi divides his strategies into the classic five elements that
can be
> easily applied to martial arts business: Ground, Water, Fire, Wind
and Void
> (spirit). Each of these strategies has the qualities of the
elements they
> are named after.
>
> Ground represents strategy. This element provides the foundation
upon which
> all the others are built. Ground is all about seeing the "big
picture", like
> reading a roadmap that gives you the lay of the land.
>
> Water teaches us how to be adaptable in any situation. Through
Water, we
> learn how to flow around our obstacles to reach our goals. Water is
probably
> the single most powerful element next to Wind, or air. Water can
slowly wear
> away anything in it's path, it can also nourish and give life.
>
> Fire is all about energy, fighting and a strong will to succeed.
You can
> have a helpful fire that brings warmth and the spark of inspiration
to
> others, or you can have a brush fire -- a raging inferno that
destroys
> everything in it's path. Sometimes destruction is a necessary evil,
as you
> get rid of what is no longer working to make way for new life to
grow.
>
> Wind is tradition. Wind teaches us to remember our roots, where
we've been
> and how we got here. Wind also teaches focus. It makes us realize
when we
> have blown off course and need to get back on track.
>
> Finally, there is Void. As Bruce Lee said in Enter the
Dragon, "Don't think.
> FEEL. It is like a finger pointing away to the moon. Do not
concentrate on
> the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory." Void is all
about the
> journey, not the destination. While it is good to have goals, you
shouldn't
> be so focused on the end result that you fail to see the whole
process.
> Learn how your project or business works, find the rhythm and use
it to your
> advantage. The martial arts business hasn't forgotten any of these
> principles and it's been around for thousands of years.
>
> As has been pointed out, the martial arts business has been using
these
> principles for thousands of years. Would you like to create a
business that
> lasts for thousands of years? Traditional martial arts teachings
aren't a
> magic key, of course, and won't solve all your problems -- but they
can
> certainly give you the building blocks to start.
>
> Mike Selvon
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>