Many years ago, one of my students gave me an inspirational greeting card. The card contained observational commentary from perhaps the greatest football coach of all time, Vince Lombardi. Coach Lombardi’s observation is not only accurate but rich in its description of the nature of man. Submitted for your consideration in Coach Lombardi’s commentary.
It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. . . .And in truth, I’ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn’t appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.
I don’t say these things because I believe in the “brute” nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour – his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear – is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he’s exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.
It is near impossible to improve on Coach Lombardi’s comments; however, I submit that there is one way to enrich the Coach’s words. After nearly four decades of attempting to quench my thirst for Karate-Do, I submit that an essential characteristic of Karate-Do is the ultimate understanding that the Karate-Ka (One who engages in Karate) seeks to pursue inner perfection. As such, I submit that the only manner in which one can enhance Coach Lombardi’s commentary is to read and comprehend his words with the understanding that the supreme competition on the field of battle is the one that is found within each and everyone of us. The inner field of battle being the archetype battleground for the pursuit of evolving into a complete and enriched human being. It is on that inner battle field that we work our “heart out in a good cause” and emerge exhausted but “victorious”; victorious knowing that we are the most evolved person we can be. Self-realization is perhaps then the ultimate actualization of man’s competitive nature.
This inner battlefield wherein one competes solely against oneself brings to mind another of the Coach’s comments. The following comments are appropriate in terms of our inner quest to achieve victory on our subjective battle field:
We will relentlessly chase perfection knowing full well we will not achieve it, but we will relentlessly chase it and in the process, we shall find excellence.
In closing, I remain, a simple player on the eternal playing field called, “Life”. I invite you all to play along.
Sensei John Szmitkowski
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