Master Funakoshi's Nijyu Kun
by Master Teruyuki Okazaki
In this issue, we examine the fourth of the twenty
principles set out in Master Funakoshi's nijyu kun:

(from the Spotlight magazine of ISKF) 

 Mazu onore o shire, shikashite ta o shire
Know yourself first, then you can know others

Master Funakoshi's fourth guiding principle tells us to study ourselves carefully. Get to now who you are and what you represent. Once you understand your abilities and skills, polish them. This practice of "knowing yourself" will help in all phases of life:
social, business, personal and karate training.

Most of my students have lived all or a good part of their lives in a Western culture, and they may say to themselves, "I have heard this idea." The famous line: "know thyself," is from a Western philosopher from ancient Greece. It is a basic, simple idea. And yet, too few people even try, or know how. We're all different. We all have different abilities, different talents. In order be the very best person you can be, it is very important for you to recognize what your abilities and talents are. And what is the single greatest impediment to this? Your own
ego. When the ego gets in the way, we cannot see the truth, about ourselves, and therefore in the world around us. That is why humility is so important. That is why we emphasize the development of humility through karate training.

When you bow, or clean the floor before training, you are developing humility in yourself. You are breaking down your ego. You are developing your ability to see clearly, to see yourself for who you really are. Without your ego in the way, you can recognize your weaknesses. It's okay to have weaknesses. Everyone has them. But it is through recognizing those weaknesses that we can most clearly see our strengths.
It is especially important that karate instructors understand this principle, and show a good example to their students and others. Once you are high ranking you must practice harder and longer. To progress and advance you must train at one hundred percent every time you practice.

Most people think they are good. Many students, even instructors, think, "Oh, I'm good; I'm better than he or she is." But this feeling is wrong. As soon as this idea occurs, the mental and physical discipline begins to decline. You must keep training, because once you stop practicing, your skills will decline. Think of the discussions following a tournament. You will hear all kinds of comments and complaints about how the judges missed this punch or that kick in a kumite match. Or you may hear that the judges did not judge a kata fairly. These complaints are a waste of time. Instead, you should go back to your dojo and train harder
so that your techniques are so fast and crisp that no judge could miss your point. Only champions do not complain! A true champion has developed the proper degree of humility, and is therefore able to see her weaknesses. She can then see what she needs to improve.

You must always study yourself and improve what you already do well. Then, work on those areas that do not come easily to you. They will also improve if you train at one hundred percent. When you know yourself, then you understand your level of training and technical ability. When you know yourself, without your ego in the way, you can see things more clearly in the world around you. When you see that you are better than
someone at something you both do, help that person to be as good as you are. That will inspire you to improve even more. On the other hand, if you have a weakness in your training, pick up pointers from others. No one person can be the best in everything. That is why we must all work together to help each other and make one strong unit: whether it is a club, an organization, a business, or a relationship.

We are all heading toward one goal-perfection of character. To be able to pursue this goal to the best of your ability, you must always endeavor to know yourself. Then you can "know others," which is to say, then you can better see the things in the world around you for what they really are.
This is an important part of self-development.