12 AUG 2025

My two ninja teachers, Dante and Chris, taught me a lot of really good stuff about both Taijutsu and everyday life. One taught me that I need to let other people go through their human process. The other taught me to not beat myself up so much when I make mistakes.

Recently I've been bringing the vibe of, "I'm happy that works for you," from the book "Jinsei No Mutodori" into my daily life. The more I practice and the more I write for my site, the more I start to understand a certain tiny piece of it.

"I'm happy that works for you," is showing me that both Chris and Dante's lessons are the same thing just pointed in different directions. It's just me trying to overstate my point outward or overthink my point internally, but either way I'm still speaking instead of listening.

With outward speaking, "I'm happy this works for you," has kept me from needing to be perfectly understood at all times. I know I can speak clearly. I can pace myself. I can slow down. I can control what I can control. That's it. Don't do too much.

With internal speaking, "I'm happy this works for you," is me finally listening to myself. Pacing myself outward starts with pacing my thoughts. I wasn't trying to stop overthinking, but doing too much externally starts with doing too much internally. It was kind of accidental!!

This isn't really like a "full circle" moment of finality or anything. If there is a "full circle" here, it's just one revolution around the sun. I've had this sort of moment a lot of times, and I'll have it a lot more times!

I guess there's an ura side to "Shut up and train," too, in that you need to quiet your mind, too!

External Link:
• Seki Ryu Bujinkan Dojo