by Toshihiro Oki – IJC Judo Athlete
“A chance to try your technique is in one instant never to be regained, so try it without hesitation” – judoka Kyuzo Mifune (born 1883)
While this references the practice of judo a century ago, I am often reminded about it in my everyday life. Whether at home or at work, situations regularly arise. Depending on how you look at them, these can be opportunities of the least expected. You can choose to observe it, or you can choose to do something about it. At age 45, I chose to do something about it, and this is where my judo began. At the time, I figured this would be a good balance of mind and body with a good dose of excitement, but with each year of practice, the more I realize how it can be a guide to understand oneself.
From my view, judo starts with the laws of physics and gravity, which allows one to understand the mechanics of a throw. This connects to the laws of Nature as everything around us moves in similar ways. But we are also human, so the ‘mind’ comes into play as we need to commit to do it. This goes beyond physics and something more into the realm of ‘spirit’. To do something ‘without hesitation’ sounds simple but not always so in practice. In fact, ‘without hesitation’ is a reminder when confronted with a chance. And to be comfortable with the uncomfortable is a learning method to deal with it. Normally, trying and failing is a fear. But acknowledging and accepting it as learning process releases the fear and thus the hesitation. Continually trying will eventually mean getting to the next step, so it means moving forward. At my age of 51, this may take longer than the younger judoka, but that is perfectly fine. And realizing this makes aging feel natural, as I can see progress in a bigger scheme of things. Making sense of the process is perhaps one of the keys to maturing, and it’s reassuring on such a long journey.
In my professional life outside the dojo, I am an architect involved in unusual buildings. Assembling and working with a large team of engineers, consultants and contractors is a big endeavor full of challenges. Operating budgets are quite large, so the prudent way may be to minimize challenges and repeat what has been done before. But we as a team strive to do better on each project, so we embrace these chances to find new ways. When I came across Mifune’s quote, I realized that design and construction is not so different from judo, or any other endeavor that requires commitment. If a chance presents itself, you commit without hesitation. Otherwise, hesitation can mean failure when the stakes are high. Not only is this applicable to the individual, but also to the entire team. When you believe in each other, the entire team can operate without hesitation. The sum of each part completes the whole. This can even scale up to the level of society where we believe in each other and mutually prosper as a result. This concept in judo is ‘jita-kyoei’.
Judo is practiced world wide – from very young to very old. When you step on the mat, your background or resume do not matter. You are a judoka, and we are all judokas. It makes me wonder how this all came about. Even the largest and best-run corporations in the world struggle to bring together such mutual cohesiveness. Maybe it’s that judo acknowledges the challenges of being human and gives a us a path to navigate it as individuals and as a society. Maybe it gives us a fundamental outlook as we all search for meaning that is positive and universal. But I always remind myself that the starting point is ‘without hesitation’.