Meditations on God

As The Group Develops, So Do I
Are you training for yourself or something more?

Some activities are individual pursuits, solitary paths for personal enrichment and improvement. Other activities are intended for and best experienced in groups, whether with family, friends, or, in some cases even strangers. Martial arts lie somewhere in the middle of this spectrum.

Most often, martial arts are sought out as an individual pursuit with individual motivations and goals driving the decision to start. What one finds, however, is that, in general they must be practiced with others. One of the unique characteristics of classical Japanese martial arts is that they are actually designed to be practiced with other.

The paired kata, partner (and sometimes solo) pattern drills, that are the foundation for classical Japanese martial arts require that, in order for an individual to improve, the group must improve as well. This creates a cyclical process of group improvement leading to group improvement and vice versa. Likewise, as the individual gets stronger, so to does the group and, as the group gets stronger, so to does the individual.

Selfishness, then, really has no place in classical Japanese martial arts because one cannot, must not, excel past the group and leave the rest behind. The group develops at its own pace because it is more important than individual goals or aspirations. Conversely, if an individual cannot or will not keep up with the group’s progress perhaps that individual is not the right fit for that group.

-Robert Van Valkenburgh teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Kogen Dojo

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March 25, 2019

group training, japanese martial arts, kata, kogen dojo, koryu, Martial Arts, personal goals, taikyoku budo
Room To Grow
Much like flowers cannot grow in competition with weeds that rob them of water, nourishment, and sunlight, so to do noise, distraction, and other people’s selfish or fleeting priorities smother our creative natures so that we cannot grow and bloom into the truest forms of ourselves. Our creative natures are like seedlings that hold within them an entire universe of potential waiting to grow out of us, but they cannot do so in the shadows. They need space and light. We need space and light. We need room to discover who we are, to be who we are, and to nourish that delicate, fragile essence of our being so that it may bring joy and purpose to our lives and value to the lives of those around us.

-Robert Van Valkenburgh teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Kogen Dojo
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March 24, 2019

bloom, blossom, creativity, flowers, growth, nature, potential, universe
Remembering Who You Will Be Tomorrow
It is easier to know where you want to go when you know where you are from.

Certain people are energized by going out, being around people, and experiencing new things. I have never really been one of those types of people. While I enjoy the company of certain people and like having done new and different things, the stimulation also drains me. It is when I can withdraw and process the experiences I have had that I truly find value and meaning in them.

Some experiences, however, are so profound and so life-changing that I cannot help but to be overwhelmed by them with pure joy and amazement. Visiting the land of my ancestors with my wife and daughter was one of those times. I knew, down to the essence of my being, that this moment I was in was special, to be cherished, and to be appreciated for what it was, with all distractions, prejudices, and anxieties pushed aside. It was transcendent and, as with all such experiences, I was transformed by it, walking away an entirely different person, unable to go back to who I was, or thought I was, prior to that moment.

As I write this, I find myself longing for another life-changing travel experience. While that is on the horizon, I am reminded of the blessings in my life right now. With as hectic and fast-paced as my life has been in recent years, I am occasionally able to find the time to get out with my wife and my daughter to enjoy a simple lunch and perhaps a coffee and a pastry. We are able to be together and to transcend who we were just a moment prior, becoming new together with a clearer focus on who and where we want to be.

-Robert Van Valkenburgh teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Kogen Dojo

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March 23, 2019

dutch, food, food travel, netherlands, transcendence, travel, valkenburg
Jita Kyōei: We Are In This Together
Training for mutual welfare and benefit (自他共栄 jita kyōei).

Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, did much to revolutionize Japanese martial arts. From older, more violent martial systems, Kano compiled the techniques that were both safe for everyday training and most effective in randori (sparring). His goal was to create a system of physical and moral development for everyday Japanese people, especially for the youth. The result was a martial art that lives on to this day as one of the most popular and widely practiced in the world.

An educator and an idealist, Kano began with principles and valued and created the system of judo based on these. One of Kano’s principles was that judo should be practiced for mutual welfare and benefit. In the older systems (koryu), there was a strong sense of group development within the individual ryu, but other schools and systems were seen as enemies. Through judo, Kano wanted to transcend this clan-like mentality and give people a way to practice and a competitive outlet through which they could train and improve together, not just for the betterment of an individual or a particular group, but for everyone, including society as a whole.

Training for mutual welfare and benefit means that practitioners train in a way that both keeps everyone safe and makes everyone stronger. This means not only training in such a way as to avoid injuries, but also in such a way that is cooperative and purposeful. There is no room for selfish egoism in this kind of environment because the practice is all that matters. Not only does this make practitioners better martial artists, but it also creates lifelong bonds and friendship among all involved.

-Robert Van Valkenburgh teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Kogen Dojo

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March 22, 2019

bjj, brazilian jiu-jitsu, japanese martial arts, judo, kogen dojo, Martial Arts, mutual benefit, taikyoku budo
Be Great At Being Yourself
Is it the title, the money, or the prestige you are seeking? Or is it something else?

For his whole career after the military, my grandfather, my mother’s father, worked for the telephone company. This was when there was one, single telephone company for the entire country, before it got split up into the multitude of smaller companies we have now for our phone services. Most of his time with the phone company was spent in a leadership role, as a manager to a group of repair teams, each of which was made up of a foreman and multiple repair technicians.

One of the things he liked to do as a manager, was to ride along with different technicians as a way to get to know them and their goals and aspirations. He thought that it was important to understand the motivations of the people who worked for him, even the people who were several levels below him in the company’s hierarchical structure. There are multiple stories that my grandfather told me about these ride-alongs with the technicians, most of them meant as leadership lessons for me to contemplate in my own career. One of these stories has been on my mind a lot lately after his recent passing and it is especially pertinent with regards to my present career path.

During one of these ride-alongs, my grandfather began asking the technician he was with questions about his life and what he hoped to achieve with the phone company. “I want your job,” the technician told him. “Why is that,” my grandfather asked. “It’s okay to be a technician, you know? With overtime, you make about the same amount of money as a foreman and I don’t make much more than that. Money can’t be the reason. If it’s about prestige with your neighbors and you’re ashamed of being a repairman, all you have to do is wear a suit to the shop and change into your coveralls when you get there. Then, change back into the suit again when you’re done and wear it home. Your neighbors will think you have a white collar job. If money and prestige are not the reasons, let me ask you, are you a leader? It’s okay if you’re not. There is no shame in that. It’s better to be a great repairman than a crappy leader.”

-Robert Van Valkenburgh teaches Taikyoku Budo & Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Kogen Dojo
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March 20, 2019

aspirations, career, goals, leader, leadership, management, manager, repairman, technician, wisdom, words of wisdom

As The Group Develops, So Do I

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Room To Grow

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Remembering Who You Will Be Tomorrow

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Jita Kyōei: We Are In This Together

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Be Great At Being Yourself

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