Okuden
Okuden
– Inner Circle Teachings
The
average student joins a martial arts school and begins training
in the basics. As a student advances in rank, he begins
to develop more complex moves and learns to integrate these
techniques into an over all strategy on how and when they
are to be used. It is at the highest level that a student
is taught the true inner concepts and principles that are
the real key to success within a system. This knowledge
is usually only handed down to an inner circle of students
that is chosen very carefully. While this ancient martial
arts custom has been this way for a long time, it is a common
tactic with most mentors and coaches today.
The
absolute best way to progress in any endeavor is to find
a teacher that has already accomplished great success in
a specific area, and then duplicate the strategy and tactics
the instructor used to get to that position. The remarkable
thing is that most people that have achieved any level of
success are usually more than willing to share their secrets,
but at the same time do not wish to waste their time on
unworthy students. The prerequisites with most mentors for
acceptance are usually the same as they are with a martial
arts teacher – a sincere desire to learn, as well as, the
willingness and discipline to stay the course.
A
good mentor will look into the future in order to see what
a student will potentially do with the knowledge once he
has attained it. This is where the character test is used.
To share the summation of a life’s study in any area is
seen as a priceless gift and therefore should not be given
to someone that doesn’t appreciate that value. If knowledge
is indeed power, then every serious mentor or sensei carefully
screens his students before he shares the fruit of a lifetime
of work. The gift of knowing the little things and how they
are integrated into the overall system can save years from
learning the old fashion way of trial and error. This concept
is true in business, personal relationship and the martial
arts.
In
the dojo the sensei watches the students as they train and
sees which ones train hard and which ones tend to coast
during their training. He watches to see which ones are
disciplined and are always respectful to others. He looks
for the student that trains the way he is told even though
he doesn’t understand the reason just yet. Little subtleties
are shared about protocol, which allow other senior teachers
to recognize who is “senior” and deemed worthy of higher-level
training. Gradually the student progresses into an inner
circle of students that the teacher begins to share things
that the average student will never see.
A
person is always only as free as the options they maintain
in their forte. Most of the time the truly best developed
alternatives are not common knowledge and are only shared
with a small specific group. Knowing where to find this
knowledge and the proper etiquette necessary in order for
this information to be shared is a big step towards black
belt excellence. Many times the okuden of a classical martial
art is based on character, etiquette and behavior as much
as it is on physical techniques.
