These days, sources of stress take on many forms. Daily it during their next one.
heir next one. They never allowed their egos to
challenges may not become real psychological or emotional
threats until they start'to snowball. "It's not an expensive car
repair," you might say. "It's just that I need the car to pick up my
cousin at the airport tomorrow. It wouldn't be a big deal, but
with my reduced hours at work .....
Just like the ninja of old, we can't control our environment,
but we can control ourselves. Remember to keep breathing,
smile and never lose your 360 degrees of awareness. You've
no doubt read countless articles that explain the concept of
"tunnel vision." Frustration, fear and anger can narrow your
awareness to the origin of those emotions (your attacker). As a
result, you're exposed to the possibility of multiple assailants.
This principle applies psychologically, too. Spend your time
frustrated or angry over your circumstances, and you're liable
to miss out on opportunities that are dangling just outside your
peripheral vision. Opportunity is present in every stressful sit-
uation. Recall how persecution and warfare helped transform
the ninja not only into survivors but also into legends.
THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE LEARNED FROM EVERY-
THING.
The ninja referred to this principle as shikin harimitsu dai-
komyo, which roughly translates as "every moment holds the
potential for enlightenment." The ninja's enemies enjoyed su-
periority in numbers, weapons and supplies. The ninja, how-
ever, realized there was one thing their enemies could not take _
away: their ability to learn something new from each encoun-
ter, This principle was embraced and eventually woven into
the fabric of ninjutsu.
The beauty of historical ninjutsu is that training and living
were the same. The only thing that separated failure from
lesson learned was the mindset of the person involved. They
strived to take something new from each encounter and apply
ilL \C"IIEI:nL\C.C<l\l
get in the way of revisiting that vital first stage of learning.
Thomas Edison outlined this principle well: "I have not
failed 700 times, I have not failed once. I have succeeded
in proving that those 700 ways will not work."
CONDITIONING YOURSELF WILL HELP YOU
SUCCEED IN STRESSFUL ENVIRONMENTS.
The third principle is one that separates martial artists
from sports competitors, and it lies at the heart of nin-
jutsu. Bruce Lee reminded us that the best training for
the event is the event. Separating excellent training from
mediocre training can be challenging because we nor-
mally can't participate in the event we're training for. As
explained above, however; the ninja were able to combine.
the actual event with their training, and they worked out
a system for learning from each attack.
A complete martial art trains you to remain comfort-
able in stressful or dangerous environments. To do this, it
must push the boundaries of your comfort zone periodi-
cally to condition you to succeed under pressure. Modern
practitioners of the art accomplish this in many ways:
training with the lights off, defending themselves while
wearing blindfolds or handcuffs, fending off multiple at-
tackers, overcoming environmental obstacles and defus-
ing verbal attacks.
Remember that the goal isn't to eliminate fear. It's to re-
main comfortable in the face of fear and not be paralyzed
by it. )0(
About the author
A martial artist for 39 years, Chuck Cory has taught the FBI, DEA and
regional law-enforcement agencies in the United States. Europe. Central
America, South America and Asia.
.I \:\1),\11)' ~()Il I IIL\CK liEU 83