| In 1979, Soke Masaaki Hatsumi, grandmaster of the | | | | senior's training clothes, work on the meals and |
| nine martial traditions that make up the core training of | | | | cooking, and run errands. It was only once the teacher |
| the Warrior Concepts Mastery Programs, wrote a | | | | recognized that this person's personality could put up |
| book entitled Mono-no-Mikata, Kangae-Kata ["Ways of | | | | with these mundane inconveniences, that he was |
| Seeing, Ways of Thinking."] In it, he wrote a section | | | | taught the martial arts and put through the often |
| called Deshi-iri which, translated from Japanese, means | | | | remorseless training on a regular basis.When I say that |
| "Becoming a Student" or, more literally, "Entering an | | | | this training is not for everyone, I'm not just talking |
| Apprenticeship."I'm sure that many of you have noticed | | | | about it in a sport or preferential way......like |
| that, in my articles, I write more about mental aspects | | | | basket-weaving is for some and ice hockey for |
| than anything else. The purpose for this is that you | | | | others.Especially here in the West where we have |
| should realize the importance of your attitude before | | | | been taught that, if we are a paying consumer, we |
| you enter martial arts training, especially the kind of | | | | can get whatever we want......the business has to |
| authentic warriorship training that I focus on in my | | | | prove itself.No, what I'm talking about is the difference |
| programs, as opposed to the general or conventional | | | | between someone who wants to do something |
| kicking/punching sport-activity that so many get | | | | because it "looks neat" and someone who feels so |
| involved with these days.Unlike today, the traditional | | | | compelled to do something that they will endure |
| means for a person to be accepted as a student of a | | | | whatever they have to along the way to fulfilling that |
| warrior master were quite different. Today, a person | | | | desire.Training in Budo ("martial ways") is tough.Those |
| enrolls in the training and, from day-one, the teacher | | | | who lack a martial artist's insight are either dismissed |
| says, "Fine, step this way" or "do this technique like | | | | or eventually fade away. This is not meant to be cold |
| this." But, according to Hatsumi-sensei, imagine that an | | | | or uncaring, it's just the way it happens. Teachers can |
| aspiring student, someone hoping to learn the martial | | | | see who has the potential within them and who does |
| arts, comes to the dojo hoping to train. The teacher of | | | | not......regardless of what any one particular person |
| the dojo did not accept that student immediately. He | | | | says or does to try to prove otherwise.Jeffrey M. |
| decides whether to admit him or her after watching | | | | Miller is the founder and master instructor of Warrior |
| them on repeated visits, burning with the desire to | | | | Concepts International. A senior teacher in the |
| become a student, and observing their attitude. So, that | | | | Japanese warrior art of Ninjutsu, he specializes in |
| type of person would be accepted.Students in the | | | | teaching the ancient ways of self-protection and |
| mastery leadership and SWAT instructor training | | | | personal development lessons in a way that is easily |
| programs at Warrior Concepts should remember that | | | | understood and put to use by modern Western |
| a recommendation was necessary and certain criteria | | | | students and corporate clients. Through their martial |
| had to be fulfilled before we even sat down to discuss | | | | arts training, his students and clients learn proven, |
| your becoming a full student under me. Still, this is | | | | time-tested lessons designed to help them create the |
| different from the traditional training in that a teacher | | | | life they've always dreamed of living, and the skills |
| usually did not teach Budo right away.This "trial" period | | | | necessary for protecting that life from anything that |
| may have lasted several months or even years. The | | | | might threaten it. |
| new person was made to clean the dojo, wash his | | | | |