A Winter's Mind

James Shell (Baltimore Aikikai)

In the winter the trees are bare and the trunk is clearly seen.

Life is like summer and winter in the woods; in summer there is much heat and you cannot see far because of all the leaves. In the winter there is no heat and the leaves are gone and you can see further and with clarity.

The cutting edge of the sword is its winter part. The side of the blade can block an incoming strike; the back of the blade can block an incoming strike and break bone. Every different part has its own potential and use. However, the cutting edge is the reason for the sword to exist. The cutting edge of the sword is by its own nature the very smallest part. The edge is ground, filed, honed, and polished to get it down to the most concentrated area possible. It is clean of all other things. The cutting edge of the sword is the winter part of the sword.

Whether you are practicing or defending yourself in the street, you must have a winter's mind - Clear of all distractions, focused, and honed to the smallest cutting edge.

Honor, pride, tradition, hate, love, revenge, illness, bad decisions, all and more of these will get you onto the field of battle. Make no mistake a "field of battle" can be a dark alley, a boardroom, a home break-in, an open field with ten thousand on each side, where ever an opponent is Ð that is where the battle takes place. Like the tree that loses its leaves in the winter, you must drop all the reasons for why you are where you are and concentrate on what you are doing now that you are there. Please take note that I did not say what you are going to do or plan to do. At this point it is what you are doing, very much in the present tense. Hone your thoughts and actions like the sword's edge, to the smallest, sharpest, most concentrated area possible.

When you are cutting down a tree you do not cut down each leaf before getting to the tree trunk. You must see past the leaves. When traveling along a path and coming to a boulder you do not try to move the boulder - you walk around it. To destroy an opponent it is unnecessary to destroy the entire opponent. Once you have removed his head or heart you can leave the rest untouched.

Do not fight every distraction. Distractions that I have seen most often are (I am sure there are more than I could ever list, but these are the most common), "I cannot do that because," "I just cannot learn that because," "it is just to hard," "I will never get that." My advice is to ignore these thoughts, you do not have to fight them or get rid of them. Just go past them to your goal with a clear mind. If you feel you have lost something of importance you can feel guilty or simply apply your favorite distraction(s) to something else. You have to be careful because the more you practice a winter's mind the less you will be able to get back to your favorite clutter.

You must have clarity of mind. Your mind must become as uncluttered as a tree in winter. You must have a winter's mind. If you come to the field of battle with a mind full of leaves, turn around and run home. When you can come back with a winter's mind and the heart of a sharp steel sword, only then should you step onto the field of battle. You may still fall but you will do so as a warrior not a confused tree.

In the winter the trees are bare and the trunk is clearly seen.