Tamashii 不屈 – Indomitable Spirit

Tamashii is one of the most important precepts in all of martial arts. This idea of the power of persistence is so important now as we continue to recover from, arguably, the most devastating in U. S. and world history. It also is important to understand how many of us, who are arguably less talented then others, achieve a degree of success and competency in the martial arts and other areas because of passion, commitment, motivation, perseverance and Tamshii.

In Japanese Tamashii translates as “Indomitable Spirit” and is the real essence of the character of a true warrior. In order to accept one’s God given place on this earth and to proceed down one’s path in life, based on your true principles, it is imperative that one does not let anyone or anything prevent them from achieving their objectives.

This attitude is reflected in stories of the warriors of old where duty and loyalty dictated they did their best in battle, even if they knew they would eventually die that day. This attitude, the willingness to take on a problem, enemy or task with the mental attitude of never giving up, is imperative in becoming successful at anything. Great achievements are often accomplished after several devastating defeats or “learning experiences”. What separates the winners from the losers is the attitude of persevering and of never giving up. We follow the old adage “Nana korobi ya oki”
“down seven times, up eight times”. You never fail until you quit.

Martial artists train the mind, body and spirit to understand and develop the way of Tamashii. We learn to turn our backs to thoughts of failure and to eliminate negative phrases such as “I can’t” completely out of our vocabulary. Instead, we focus on the solution rather than the problem. We focus on thoughts of which tactics would help us reach our objectives more quickly.

Slowly you will see the transformation in nonverbal communication… the body language where the self-confidence and discipline shines through as the charisma of a confident and yet not cocky warrior.

I hope each of you take on the remainder of this year and the years to come with a renewed sense of focus and confidence. Know that as long as you don’t quit, anything is achievable. Nothing is an insurmountable problem. We face challenges, which enable us to sharpen our winning tactics and indomitable spirit.

If you internalize the feelings of Tamashii in your life, you will find that you will be able to accomplish more in a short period of time than most people do in their entire lifetime.

Tamashii is an important attribute on the way to understanding Bushido and Warrior spirit.