United States Judo Association Coach Education Program Level 1

Training in the martial arts leads to technical prowess associated with the development of a grace and economy of movement as well as strength and speed. With the learning comes power. With power comes responsibility.the greater the power, the greater the responsibility. Power is something that should be used for the benefit of all. Do not confuse power with force. With power come deeper levels of compassion and caring. True power always leads to higher states of being and a recognition that power flows through us rather than being used by us. One of the most important lessons of the martial life is to learn compassion for our fellowman and to actively seek situations in which we can help those who can benefit from what we have (or are learning). Perhaps this also leads us back to the precept of Chi.....the acquisition of wisdom. I would have to say at this point in my own journey that compassion and wisdom are often related. I have yet to meet a single person whom I would consider as being compassionate who was not also wise in away that transcended my normal expectations. If what I have just written has any validity it may be found in a sense of justification of choice. I choose the martial way because it draws me out of my weaker self towards a higher self, so that I might become a more useful tool of humanity both with regard to my responsibility to all life and to the planet.