We practiced on rock with nothing between us and the earth or the sky.
We have a nice dojo. Wood floor, lots of light. But we don’t need it to train.
We have a wonderful group. Dedicated and strong. So valuable. But our training does not depend on a group. Nor does it depend on approval, certification, secrets, recruitment, retention, marketing, sales, cash flow, growth, contracts or branding.
We have purpose and we have skill. They are with us wherever we go. They are the foundation of our practice. They are as dependable as stone. They are like a well that never runs dry, no matter how much we draw from it.
We are independent. Not solitary, not isolated, not separate from one another, or from our style and its heritage, or from the people, known and unknown, who have fortified our lives.
We are independent because we come together freely, to collaborate. We are free because we take what we have done and share its spirit freely, wherever we are.
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Post and photo by Jeffrey Brooks, Mountain Karate, Saluda, NC, Yamabayashi Ryu Karate, author of The Good Fight – The Virtues and Value of the Martial Arts and The Rhinoceros Tale – Martial Arts and the Path to Freedom.
Copyright © 2022 Jeffrey Brooks and Mountain Karate Dojo, LLC