Riffing on the Niju-Kun: Enemies beyond the gates are closer than they appear

Maxim 16 says that when you venture beyond your gate, you face a million enemies. While a million may sound a tad on the paranoid side, no one ever said that all enemies were human. Nor did it say anything about the enemies all being violent in nature. And sometimes, one can be ones own worst enemy - many times over.

My point?

I currently live in the murder capital of Canada, yet I fear the number is blown out of proportion. I know there are people who commit these crimes, but they are not the folk I concern myself with. I confront people daily who are not what they seem and who send off a bad vibe. I encounter youth who are tough beyond their years and their means. Yet I still find myself unconcerned by them. I am still wary of them, but I grit my teeth, remain mindful of their existence and let the world carry on around me. I constantly scan my environment. I pay attention to the things that I see and process them for they are and what they may be. And even in my worst PTSD moments, I am still whirring and clicking and processing that which is happening in my environment, good and bad. I am, for lack of a better ideal, a voyeur for all the right reasons.

I see all sorts of people, however, who bury their heads in the digital sand. They listen to the iPods, they play on the smartphones. They talk on their cellphones. Yet, they refuse to seem to want to recognize the dangers around them. They get wrapped up in conversations with friends, arguments with loved ones. They are embroiled in their books or glued to their newspapers. They are aware of nothing except that which they allow themselves to be aware of. And that awareness is narrow.

Why is awareness so vital and why can it be your worst enemy? Because it is the one fatal flaw that can lead all the other enemies to you. It permits you to be the victim of a crime of opportunity. It leads you into missing cues or signs of danger. It leads you to lose your 'bearings' as to your surroundings. Nod if you have ever lost track of where you were when you were driving or missed a turn because you were distracted because you were 'thinking'. Shake your head if you have ever injured yourself doing menial tasks using tools or other handy devices. Feel shame if someone has ever scared you on a street because you were totally engrossed in something and neglected to realize they were near you until they were upon you.

In the Art of War, Sun Tzu says that if you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in 100 battles. The notion of "knowing" is a tricky concept; from the concept of being aware (and that means self-aware), one has to remain open and in the moment. Reading your opponent and sensing your own abilities and weaknesses in the moment is just one way to look at Sun Tzu;s words. It may not be the way he intended it, but it does make sense, no?

Walking beyond your gate, the maxim challenges you to remain vigilant, present and resolute. Ready for anything without being overly wired or paranoid. Yet, how many of us do that. And have we ever stopped to think of what may happen to us if and when we nod off at the proverbial switch?

More importantly, what does this have to do with our karate?

Look at it this way: next time you are practising, take a mental note of what is going on with you. Can you feel your feet? Do you know where your hips are? Are you able to sense where your classmates in relationship to yourself? How's your breathing and what is it doing? Do you feel the tension and relaxation in your body, your muscles when you perform a technique? How about flow?Are you in tune with these checks? Or is your brain whirring with a to-do list, a rehash of the discussion with your boss and the sound of your spouse's voice telling you to pick something up from the .

Ut-oh, did that foot on your backside break your break from concentration?

Perhaps you need to spend more time paying attention to your body, your techniques and your focus rather than phoning in your performance on the dojo floor. Hard to tune into other if you can't tune into yourself and what you are feeling or doing. Feeling for your technique, feeling for what is going on in your body (loose, tight, anxious, relaxed), feeling for what is happening with your opponent, what they are doing, what they are thinking of doing - all of this can be told by being aware and being present in the relationship/ exchange with your partner - be it in sparring, partner drills or defensive situations. Close your mind to both the within and without, and Sun Tzu says you're through.

So, wait a minute, I am saying you are your own worst enemy? Yes, you are. In a quasi-ADD state of mind, you lose sight of all the other danger around you: the car careening along the sidewalk towards you; the drunk and belligerent person on the bus who will not leave passengers alone; the guy who is sitting near the ATM watching people come and go. These are the real enemies. But, unless you are tuned into to what all that is going around you, and even then, in only a superficial way, you miss more than is good for you.

First start is to step beyond your gate, open your senses to all that is going on around you. No all of it will be a threat. In fact, most of it will be quite pleasant, if you are lucky. But, there are dangers out there, and if you are not cognizant of them, you may find them making their way to you.

After all, the victory over a million enemies starts with a single glance away from the Blackberry.