Winning

By Ken Harding
Bujinkan Shidoshi, Missouri Budo Taijutsu Dojo
Missouri, USA

Hatsumi Sensei has often used the phrase "Don't think about winning" when he teaches, and I have often commented on it. But what does it mean, really? When you fight, certainly you want to win, don't you? Let's consider this.

First off, it is not a statement just about fighting — it is also a statement about training. When you train, you should not think about prevailing against your partner. That is the wrong attitude. It is incompatible with learning and growth for the simple reason that if you constantly strive to overcome your partner, you are willing to do anything to win, including muscling and worthless short-cuts... proper technique and movement methods get tossed out in the frantic struggle, and nothing is learned. In order to benefit from your practice, you must not resort to actions that teach you the wrong things. This leads you backwards, undoing all of the progress that you seek to make towards understanding and the cultivation of Taijutsu. Therefore, it is important that you discard the idea of wanting to win. Instead, hold onto the idea of seeking to understand. "It doesn't matter if I beat my partner, I just want to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing." You might be asking yourself here, "If I never focus on winning, how will I ever be able to?" The answer is that you just will. By not focusing on winning, you will be able to win.

After a time, you will always be able to win, by not having dwelt on it. If this is not clear yet, think deeply on it. By not having obsessed about succeeding, but focusing deeply on understanding every action you make, and the reasons behind those actions, you will have instilled in yourself the proper foundation of Budo Taijutsu. But focus only on winning, and your ego takes over, crowding out the possibility of true learning, by resorting to brute force. In the beginning, it may feel as if you need to rely on excessive strength, but as time goes by, you feel this need less and less.

The other point is that when Hatsumi Sensei or I speak of this concept, we are talking about real fighting. If you think about winning, you will lose. Your mind will be caught up with the idea of winning, and your actions will be unable to flow freely. Carry no thoughts in your mind when you are in the midst of a violent conflict. And just as the thought of winning causes you to muscle and struggle with your opponent during training, the same situation is created in real fighting. Muscling and forcing do not allow proper Taijutsu and technique to operate. Also, equally importantly, you should not think about winning because Budo Taijutsu is not about winning, it is about surviving. They are not the same thing — it is possible to win without surviving, and to survive without winning. If this does not make sense to you, contemplate deeply on it during your times of meditation.

Ken Harding Shidoshi,
Missouri Budo Taijutsu Dojo (USA)

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Originally published by Paul Richardson in Jinja, Vol 4 No1 from January 2000, the newsletter of Bujinkan Lincoln Dojo UK

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