The Strength in Bowing

"The supreme art of war

is to subdue the enemy without fighting." 

— Sun Tzu

In the Dojo, everything begins with a bow. Our classes, our kata's, our self-defense practice and our sparring matches all begin with that simple sign of respect. That bow isn't just tradition—it's a recognition. It says: I see you. I respect you. We're going to challenge each other hard, but at the end of this, we're going to be better because of each other. The world needs more of this.

The Warrior ethos is often misunderstood. People think it's about dominance, about winning at all costs, about crushing those who oppose you. But the true warrior knows something deeper. Sun Tzu understood it twenty-five centuries ago: the highest form of skill isn't defeating your opponent—it's finding a way forward that doesn't require defeat at all. It's about resolution, not domination. It's about seeing the person across from you as a human being first, and everything else second.

This is harder than fighting. Anyone can dig in and armor up. Opening up to others takes real strength—the kind we work to cultivate in our Dojo. Here, we remember something that I think is being forgotten more and more in society at large: that the person standing across from you is not your enemy. They're the person who makes you better. They push you, challenge you, and sometimes frustrate you. But without them, you don't grow.

It's simple: if our kids are going to inherit the world we want for them, we need to right now be able to look for what's good in each other, even when we disagree. To acknowledge that the person we're in conflict with probably loves their family, has been hurt, has hopes and fears just like us. This doesn't mean abandoning our principles or pretending differences don't exist. It means remembering that before we're anything else, we're all just people trying to figure this out.

The fights worth having aren't won by crushing the other side. They're won by finding the courage to stay in relationship, to keep talking, to keep looking for the best in people even when they're not showing it to you. That's warrior work. That's the supreme art. And that's the world we're trying to build here—one respectful bow at a time.

-Shihan K