A Harmless Man...


 


Remember Bruce Lee's famous movie Enter the Dragon? 


If you are a martial arts enthusiast and you haven't watched it, you have to check it out!  

Near the beginning of the movie he is traveling on a boat out to the infamous island where this secret tournament was held. On the way there one of the competitors was goading Bruce to fight him. 

After much taunting, Bruce finally told him he'd fight him, but not there on the boat, over on the shore. Bruce suggested they he get on this small dingy so they could row to shore and conclude their duel. 

So this guy got on the small dingy, however, Bruce didn't join him, rather, he pushes the boat off stranding the man on the small dingy tethered behind the main boat that they were on. 

Bruce laughed as the man yelled at him. 

I remember watching that when I was a kid. 

What I didn't realize back then is that story comes from a much older source. 


The "No Sword School"


Born in 1490, Tsukahara Bokuden is one of the most prominent figures in samurai history. Over the course of 19 duels and 37 battles, Bokuden went undefeated, garnering a reputation as the most deadly samurai during the Warring States Period.


Then, at the age of 37, Bokuden became convinced that the true challenge was settling disputes without combat. In one famous tale, Bokuden reportedly incurred the wrath of a young samurai while traveling on a boat. 

When the young warrior noticed how unmoved Bokuden was, he was enraged and not knowing who he was dealing with challenged the old master to a duel.

Bokuden told him,

 "My art is different from yours. It consists not so much in defeating others but in not being defeated.”


Bokuden called this method Mutekatsu Ryu meaning:

 "To defeat an enemy without hands."

The young samurai saw this as cowardice and demanded satisfaction so he told the boats-man to stop at an island so they could do battle there. However when he jumped into the shallow waters to make his way to the fight venue, Bokuden got hold of the boats-man’s pole and proceeded back to deeper waters minus a now irate young samurai. 

The wise old master laughed and shouted to his would-be adversary,

 "here is my no sword school!”

Take the Wind Out of Their Sails

This is a valuable lesson...


It's hard to to duel with someone who isn't engaged in the battle. 


Think of how this strategy can be used in your personal and professional life. 

Think of how you can use it when someone trolls you online. 

Think of how you can use it with your kids, your spouse. 

...Life!


The PeaceWalker Way

As you may have guessed, this is the PeaceWalker Way. 

It's an interesting thing to note...

Both Bokuden and Bruce were physically capable of defending themselves. They didn't have anything to prove to anyone, nor themselves, so they could choose a more Peaceful way of resolving the situation, knowing full well that if push came to shove they could take care of business so to speak. 

More?!

Check out my Free Home Study Course here:


Let me know if you have questions. 


Keep going,
~Craig

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