|
QUALITY
Nagasone Kotetsu was one of the most famous Japanese swordsmiths of his time. He lived during the 1600s in feudal Japan. His father was an armorsmith and for the first 50 years of his life, he followed in his father's footsteps and learned his trade. At the age of 54, utilizing all of the skills that he had learned from his father he began to manufacture swords. Due to the high quality of his weapons they were coveted among the samurai of his time. In fact, it is believed that he only made and signed thirty-one swords before he died at the age of 73. Although his swords were not as flashy and ornamental as others, to this day, the design and workmanship of his swords are frequently copied. Swords are made of a combination of carbon and steel. If the sword contains too much steel, then it will be flexible but cannot be sharpened into a fine enough edge to effectively cut. If the sword contains too much carbon then it will be able to be sharpened to a very fine edge but will not be flexible and will be more likely to break. Kotetsu, through his experience as an armorsmith and through his own trial and error utilized the perfect combination of carbon and steel in order to produce swords experts agree were some of the strongest and sharpest produced during his time. The temper line of Kotetsu's blades was rather plain. However, if you look very closely, you can see a very fine, bright, even line of "nie" which are very hard particles in the steel from the tempering process which gives the edge its incredible strength.
One day early in his career as a swordsmith, he was summoned by a famous samurai interested in purchasing one of his swords. When he arrived at the residence, he presented his work to the samurai. The long sword was rather plain with a shark skin handle wrapped in cotton and a blade that was not ornately decorated. It contained this inscription, "Originally I lived in Echizen until at half a hundred; my residence is Edo in Bushu. In this way, this worker devotes his spirit to forging." The samurai carefully inspected the sword after which he asked the price. Kotetsu told him that the price was 100 gold coins, to which the samurai told him that it was not worth that much. Kotetsu took his sword and without saying anything, with one clean stroke, cut off the corner of a stone lantern. When the samurai saw this, he immediately offered 150 gold coins to which Kotetsu said, "This blade is no longer for sale."
This legendary story has been told as an explanation of why Kotetsu named one of his swords Toro-Kiri which means stone lantern cutter. However, the real lesson to be learned from this story has a much deeper meaning. If the samurai in this story paid attention to the fine detail of the sword and understood what constituted quality in a sword, he would have looked passed the rather plain handle and noticed the "nie" within the temper line. This detail was the evidence of the quality and workmanship of the blade that he only understood when Kotetsu showed him the quality by cutting off the corner of the stone lantern.
In our society we are constantly bombarded with messages attempting to convince us that we should be striving to obtain certain showy, name-brand material possessions. Many people are willing to pay top dollar for a name brand item when frequently what they are paying for is the label or the name rather than quality. If we don't recognize this then we will be fooled by the flashy advertising, logos or labels instead of looking more deeply for quality and workmanship. We should make it a point to evaluate everything and everyone in our lives with regard to quality. I can assure you that when we educate ourselves as to what defines true quality and attention to detail we will not regret what we purchase or how and with whom we spend our time. Many people we encounter project an ego filled, showy exterior but when we look deeper beneath the facade they lack substance and quality of character. Others may on first impression seem simple and unassuming but below the surface are filled with tremendous inner strength, wisdom and immeasurable depth of character. We are fortunate to be surrounded by many of these incredible individuals within our school.
Certainly, when you look at martial arts education with a discerning eye for quality you will realize the attention to detail and quality of training that makes up The Center for Humane Living. Most other martial arts schools prominently display their trophies and uniform patches and emphasize flashy techniques and breaking to draw students into their school but then the training often does not include a strong foundation of basics and attention to detail and is void of philosophical teaching and character/leadership development. Thankfully, we are blessed with masterful leadership that provides us with quality training in the physical aspects of the martial arts compassionately linked to a curriculum of philosophical, spiritual and character development within a loving supportive community of practitioners.
As a martial artist, athlete, student, parent, teacher, employee, leader, or executive it is important to pay attention to the details of everything that we do in life and strive for the finest quality. When we think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best, we will begin to look at everything, including ourselves, with a discerning eye toward quality and in doing so we will find that everyone and everything of quality pays careful attention to the details.
KAIZEN!!!!
Steven M. Erickson
© Copyright 2009-11 Steven M. Erickson, MD
All rights reserved. Ki Inspiring Thoughts.
The Center for Humane Living. |
