My belief is that when Morihei Ueshiba spoke of warriorship, he was speaking about the past history of martial culture, but, unknown to many, he was also, in his uncanny wisdom and closeness to divinity, sending a message to the future, which to us is now.
Present day warriorship is no longer, for most of us, about martial combat; it is about facing our deepest fears - not overcoming them, not dismissing them, not avoiding them. But facing them squarely, feeling the shaking in our core, feeling our heart quivering, yet keeping our centre and observing, waiting, breathing.
That is the moment where Ueshiba said we "face the live blade of the adversary," we are literally facing Death, the death of the ego. The only possible choice for a warrior is to keep One Point. Then, in a flash, anything can happen...
Within the opportunity of fear, facing the fear, and keeping One Point in that moment, are possibilities that we cannot even imagine.
"The true purpose of the methods...is to teach the warrior how to receive and fill his mind and body with a valorous spirit - one must polish one's ki and forge the spirit within the realm of life and death.
Realise that your mind and body must be permeated with the soul of a warrior, enlightened wisdom, and deep calm."
Morihei Ueshiba, Budo (1938)
