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RELIABILITY
Osu! What does it mean to be Reliable? This definition has haunted man since the beginning of time. The term means to be consistently good in quality or performance, also to be trusted or to provide what is needed. It means to be a person of one’s word therefore having integrity. As I stated in the first line this has haunted man since the beginning of time. God trusted Adam and Eve to take care of the garden, but due to their inability to be reliable and being easily influence they exercise poor judgment causing them to be kick out of paradise. God could no longer rely on them. There was a time though when a man\women WORD meant something it was their BADGE of HONOR. Nowadays it has become just a cliché with no foundation like a puff of smoke evaporating into the air. As leaders, it is our duty to be reliable; it is our mandate to follow through on what we commit ourselves to do. We all including me fall short at times in fulfilling an obligation, but the least thing we can do is to ensure those whom we have made a commitment too we follow it through. Intentions are just that intentions; what make intentions valid are the actions that follow. Being unreliable has cause nations too lose their power, organizations to crumple, relationships\friendships to wither away like ashes in a fire. Asks yourself what do you rely\depend upon and trust. Our students rely, depend, and trust that we will make them disciplined martial artists (Honoring Those Who Lead Us). The only way this can be accomplished is by incorporating this attribute (Reliability) into our daily lives. We must be reliable to those who depend on us to show them the true path of Kaifuku Kerai Shin. This is not just a name to a karate system it is a lifestyle; RESILIENT SERVANTS OF GOD to Kancho, Shihan, Instructors, Students, Families, and friends. My martial art’s spirit weeps for Mas Oyama who relied upon those he trusted to further his system of karate, only to destroy it because they became UNRELIABLE. The Bushido Way is embedded in a system based on reliability, dependability, trust, loyalty, commitment, dedication, respect, unity and most of all love. OSU! OSU! OSU!
LEADERSHIP
As leaders there will be times when you might make a decision that might be wrong, but at the time it was the right decision. A great leader learns from the wrong decisions he or she makes and has the humility to admit it.
Osu! The last line in Dojo Kun states “Through DEDICATING ourselves to karate, we will achieve the ultimate meaning of Kaihuku Kerai Shin.” A dear friend of mine whom I looked up to as a spiritual mentor and an awesome pastor shared with me that he will no longer be a pastor. Upon hearing this, my heart sank for several reasons and one in which I was being very selfish because I wanted him to be my religious spiritual teacher. I wanted to learn from this man of God, but he stated he has been a pastor for 20 years and found no more joy in being a pastor. I thought how could this be, how could someone lose their joy serving God or being God’s messenger. I thought this was one of the highest offices a person could hold being God’s servant, but as with anything else we can lose our desire and not dedicate ourselves even to serving God as His pastor. I then thought I could relate to this and it did happen to me when I left Islam, but I never lost the joy of serving God as a teacher. For 40 years of my life I have been serving God in some capacity and I could not ever imagine not doing so or losing my joy to teach His Word. As many of you know I have been in the martial arts over 40 years and at times I have become tired of teaching, but I can never recall losing my desire to teach or train in some fashion. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about God or martial arts, this is who I am a SERVANT OF GOD (TEACHER OF HIS WORD), AND A MARTIAL ARTIST, and I could not see myself doing anything else. I accepted this calling and I have DEDICATED my life to doing both no matter what as long as God continues to bless me with good health, mind, body and soul.
The definition of DEDICATION is an act or rite to a sacred use; a devoting or setting aside for a particular purpose; self sacrificing devotion; committed to a task or purpose. Synonyms of dedication are (1) Diligence, (2) Tenacity, (3) drive, (4) perseverance, and (5) Zeal. This definition describes those who do what they do because they were called to do it, found joy in it and most of all love doing it. I would love all of you to experience (I believe all of you do) what I, and most of you know regarding Shihan Greg and that is our love, desire, commitment, DEDICATION and JOY we have to teach karate and be martial artist. We eat, drink, dream karate (I think Shihan more than I lol) and we share a common attribute IT BRINGS US JOY. Through this JOY we are DEDICATED to teach to anyone who wants to learn so one day they might experience the same feelings we have about what we love to do. THE LAST LINE OF DOJO KUN IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LINE-----TO ACHIEVE THE ULTIMATE MEANING OF KAIFUKU KERAI SHIN.
LET NOTHING STEAL YOUR JOY OR BURN YOU OUT.