Wholehearted Person

Whole Heart Way

In Isshinryu systems, all the various tribes or factions regardless of the obvious differences, tend to believe and promote the idea of "wholehearted practice of Isshinryu, the wholehearted system of Okinawan Karate-do." When it comes to where the "rubber meets the road" do any one of us actually understand what that means?

I firmly believe Isshinryu coupled with the ken-po goku-i provide keys to achieving wholehearted practice of Isshinryu - this applies to any martial system be in karate, kung-fu, Aikido, etc.

In the training facility, the Dojo, I speak of "Reishiki" which to me means something like "courtesy, consideration, respect, etc." It is an action that reflects what is in my heart. This can be faked by performing flawlessly those outward actions that promote the idea of reishiki but how do we "know" if one is actually a wholehearted person?

Time! No one can keep up that type of face all the time and for long periods of time. We are humans and a human will always drop back down into that true space of what is in their heart - good or bad as the case may be. Bad folks can display charismatic personalities yet sooner or later the true heart of a person comes up like bubbling water from a natural spring.

One reason we might say, it matters not what you say but what you do, so show me on the dojo floor. Even this brings out the truth in "time." Time reveals actions as wholehearted or simply a false front that is "fool-hearted."

I train and practice and study to achieve a the way of the "wholehearted person." It requires many things but a chief one is balance in all things - seeing, hearing, feeling, sensing both sides of the coin of life.