The world needs you strong.
People think the age of heroes is over. It is not over. It is here.
You will play that part. It is not far away. It is not imaginary.
It is happening right now.
Some people wonder what that has to do with karate. Am I talking about a movie scenario? I am not.
You trained hard tonight. Soon you will rest and recover. Make the most of both.
Tonight, nearby, there are families trying to sleep, in borrowed tents, the kids wrapped in blankets, praying the propane will last the night.
Across the country fires are blazing, moving down the streets, burning lives, houses and neighborhoods. The civilization that people took for granted was their own, would continue to be theirs, is being consumed.
There are many theories about the causes of the fires and floods. There are many questions.
There is no question that some people were able to take action to save themselves, and that some weren’t. Some had the strength, skill, presence of mind and decency to help the people around them out of danger and into safety.
Some did not.
Some preyed on the victims; fed on the remains of their homes and property; playing the part of vultures, crows, demons and worms.
It is not hard to torch a structure. Or bankrupt a business. Or vandalize a culture. It is hard to build them. It seems it takes no special talent to destroy people. It is very hard to give them life.
It is not hard to hurt people. Look around. The proof is everywhere. It is hard to rescue them.
What you do is up to you. It is up to everyone. Unlike the vandals, builders need to prepare.
People wonder what that has to do with karate.
If you are taking your boat down the river there will be times and places where the river is wide and smooth and slow.
There are times when you will hit whitewater, fast, treacherous, impossible to know what is ahead, or how long it will last. We can’t worry too much about that.
It is not that we don’t care. We care. If you are complacent then, when the flow is smooth you allow the current to carry you along. Drifting nicely, you will hang up on the bank, on a snag, and get stuck. People, in times of ease, live that way, and die that way.
Some, getting carried along, hit turbulence they never expected. They freak out, terrified, helpless, angry that things didn’t go their way, that no one told them about this.
Be warned. Everyone will face turbulence, and calm. We prepare now.
Our bodies are under attack from the mechanics of modern human culture. Sitting, watching and eating fake food. Inert bodies and agitated minds, preoccupied with trivia, threats and omens, anxious, lacking purpose, seeking pleasure in addiction and meaning in fantasy, we are encouraged to emulate arrogant fools.
We, all of us here tonight, defend against that.
We recover our lives. We master our bodies, get healthy and strong.
We master our minds, learning the difference between right and wrong, wholesome and harmful. We train ourselves to do what is right.
What does that have to do with karate?
It has not much at all to do with the corny, silly, performative martial arts that people encountered and properly rejected as lame.
Which is completely different from what we are doing.
We can go into the seclusion of our dojo and free ourselves of the pollution and nonsense of the culture of decline. It is hard to build them which surrounds us. We can meet in the place where strength and decency are fostered and respected.
We can go out to re-engage with the world and the people around us, our family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and co-workers, and many we have never met before and may never see again, able to do what we need to do.
It will not be easy.
With the kind of training that you are doing it will be possible.
When we focus, in training, on the details of movement, technique, focus, strengthening, flexibility, body mechanics, maneuver, interpretation, when we collaborate and challenge one another in action under stress, we are building the body, mind and character we need.
We cannot rush. And we cannot wait.
We can train.
Not everyone understands this. You do.
That is why the world needs you. And needs you strong.
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Post copyright © 2025 Jeffrey Brooks, MountainKarateNC.com, Yamabayashi Ryu, Mountain Karate, Saluda, NC
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read True Karate Dō by Jeffrey Brooks
“One of the best books I’ve read in years, inviting and compelling. Jeff Brooks moves effortlessly from martial arts to Buddhism to consciousness studies, self-transformation, and related fields in this wide-ranging and Illuminating study that has much to offer both novice explorers and veteran practitioners. A splendid achievement.”
— Philip Zaleski, Editor, The Best Spiritual Writing series