He is alone in the same tiny stall measuring 6 feet by 6 feet, where he spent his youthful days apprenticing with his father and his father before with his. In the center is a low table where stacks of paper are held in place with a paperweight made of a jade remnant that his grandfather found as a youth. On the other end of the table is his workspace where he kneels working by the daylight flickering through the rustling leaves. Behind, sitting against the back wall, is a chest of drawers that keeps his other papers, ink sticks, and cleaning supplies safe and sorted. Finally, displayed on top of the chest are his collection of at least one hundred brushes passed down from the generations.

A traveler walks by and notices the stall. Studying for a moment, he is moved by the diligence of the master calligrapher at work. The pinned calligraphy then catch his eyes and he is touched as though they could have been by Monet. Awestruck, through an interpreter, he asks the calligrapher if he could find time to accept a commission by him. The calligrapher grants the request and within one minute a unique poem was brushed and being pinned into the soft cypress slats that make up the shabby walls. When is was time to pay, the interpreter said an amount equivalent to one hundred dollars in today’s value of currency. The tourist was surprised. He inquired that if it only took him one minute of labor and less than a penny of ink to brush this poem, why would the bill come to one hundred dollars.

The interpreter began to explain. “It did not take just one minute to do this poem, it took two generations, eighty years, and one minute.”

I read this story somewhere or perhaps heard a narrative on television. The fable is said to have taken place generations ago. It does now and as it did then, speaks volume to the hidden wisdom found in excellence. Whether it is in art, sport, a vocation, or even a relationship, its face value is not a representation of its underlying efforts and sacrifice. It is in this same way that a world class sprinter cannot express in 10 seconds, the years of effort it takes get to that level. Endure. (Where have we heard that before?)

I don’t know if the story ends with the traveler purchasing the art but if I were wearing his dirty soles, I would want to buy two scrolls if my budget allowed.

Shinobu/Nin Oct 2009

There are masters in title and then there are masters in heart. Master YAGI Meitetsu is a master in the heart. Every since a toddler, he witnessed his father (YAGI Meitoku Dai Sensei) lead a life of prestige as one of Okinawa’s premier Karate masters. Dai Sensei is revered for his unwavering  loyalty to Okinawa and its cultural distinction within Karate-Dou. In 1952, Dai Sensei was the first student of Chojun Miyagi to open a dojo officially under his own identity known as the Meibukan. Today its president, YAGI Meitetsu, recognizes the challenging task of filling his father’s shoes.

It is a summer evening and we are drenched from the strenuous training of Master YAGI and his son YAGI Ippei Sensei. The master calls us in to sit and gather around for session in philosophy. Out of respect, most of us sit in seiza – a kneeling position unnatural for those of us in the west. He tells a personal story of someone he knew in his early years who seemingly had everything going for him. His peers had high hopes for him in the future. Nevertheless, with such a gift of potential, his life was unexpectedly cut short. Tragically, the youth had taken his own life. Out of this unfortunate experience, Master YAGI had realized that while training to be physically strong is important for one’s health, so should the mind be equal in strength.

“We must endure.” Master YAGI concludes. “If something is too unbearable, just think to yourself that it is a challenge that God has found you worthy to overcome. If God believes in you, so should you. This shall give you strength.”

Our Master continues to explain the Kanji known to us as “NIN – 忍” or endure. He points to it as being 2 separate characters combined. The top one is of a knife and the bottom is heart. To endure feels like your heart is being pierced with a knife. As the son of Dai Sensei, he has witnessed his father experience many instances of NIN. Combined with his own, Master YAGI is very aware of what it takes to rise to the top within the world of Karate. The ability to endure hardship is one trait of a leader and anyone recognized as being great has always had to endure and overcome unimaginable challenges. Our teacher passionately shares these lessons with us in the pursuit of contributing to a better world.

Master YAGI is a Hanshi. He is a teacher of teachers and must also be exemplary in his role as the patriarch of our system. He embraces that challenges of his role as his destiny and takes to heart the lessons that he teaches us. He also wishes to be true to his father’s legacy. His lessons teach us of the silent battles that we must all overcome to help deal with the challenges in our daily lives. Even though we are all human and mistakes happen, we must remember that we have an opportunity everyday better ourselves.

He leaves us with the message, “Endure. Always endure.”

Somehow sitting in seiza doesn’t feel so difficult after all.