１９。Good social skills born from harmony

Good social skills born from harmony

Not only is it possible to practice effectively when everyone of all ages mixes together,  but learning this sense of harmony will also help you grow into a person who is polite, proactive, and attentive to others socially.

There seems to be a variety of ideas about the meaning of "freedom" nowadays, as some people think that formalities are hierarchical and strict, or that people should be “freer”.

There is a tendency, especially among recent cultural figures, to advocate a privileged freedom, and it seems that it is now fashionable for many people to advocate since of entitlement from free spirit equality etc. Even in schools these days, it seems that these are taught, without teaching the necessary elements needed to generate these phenomena.

However, freedom and equality are not something that can be obtained simply by making decisions and laws. It comes with effort from every individual. Bushido teaches us that, we must be attentive, caring and being mindful respecting others, to obtain real freedom. And instead of forcefully making declaration on equality, respecting the differences is what makes people to be truly equal.

If the freedom is misconceived, we will not be able to coexist, and on the contrary, conflicts will increase, and society will become confused. There is even a danger that a society that pretends to be free, such as a controlled society, will be created along this line of thought, resulting to people losing their true freedom.

True freedom is a upgraded freedom that can only be achieved through the individual efforts, is what the bushido teaches us.

Thorough martial arts, we learn that true freedom is born from harmony, and that this requires individual efforts to respect formality, which is the spirit needed to form a good society in the future. This is an important reason why our dojo, which emphasizes learning the spirit of harmony, emphasizes formality.