Humility

[gene smithson]

Our Summer Immersion Camp t-shirts, read...
Strength, Courage, Humility.

I was wondering if anyone would want to comment on any of these attributes, in particular humility, and how that influences Systema training.

thank you
gene
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gene smithson

[Val Hainley]

Gladly.
Characteristics assigned to one by other person(s). Otherwise, lack of humility is painfully obvious.
Whenever there is an "I' present -there is no room for humility.
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All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed; second, it is violently opposed; and third, it is accepted as self-evident. --Arthur Schopenhauer

[Clive Jefferies]

All tough nuts to crack.

The key?

Hard work?
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Poznai sebia :: Photos :: Videos

[Bradley Scheel]

Quote:

Whenever there is an "I' present -there is no room for humility.

Except there are two I's in humility.
I suppose one could say that there is I and an(other) I (Ich und du)...

To parapharse Paul Tillich a bit: You have to have the courage to be humble and the best way to do that is to have an inner strength not dependent upon external rewards. Humility from a base of strenght is oft times viewed as weakness, albeit mistakenly.

Specifically to Systema training: humility tames the ego, which helps relax the tension in ones work. Being mindful of others. Not forcing the work upon others, but allowing the work to happen. Just my thoughts here.
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Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders & says..."Oh sh&t*....he's awake!!"

[Andre Vangeldorp]

I think it's more of a mystic (spiritual) nature. I think that 'humility' is to show us, to learn us how small a creature we are in the eye of Creation. That we never must regard ourselves as better or greater than others, and that each time we train we have to thank the other for giving us the insight and the possibility to grow (I really lost it now, didn't I...) And that takes courage and strength to do so. Hence “poznai sebia” or “know thyself”.

There are (if I'm not mistaken) three pillars in Systema? Maybe all good things come in three...?

All the best,

Andre.
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"You'll have to be aware for the things you don't expect" - Mariska Veres

Milyen szép az élet és milyen boldogok vagyunk.

[Eric Peltz]

Some interesting thoughts that a mentor shared with me concerning pride and humility:

- Pride always speaks about self. Humility is always interested in others.

- Pride is not a good listener. Humility is a great listener.

- Pride believes and speaks lies. Humility believes and speaks the truth.

- Pride projects and maintains a false image of self. Humility is only interested in understanding what the true self really is.

- Pride always gives self the benefit of the doubt. Humility always gives others the benefit of the doubt.

- Pride is easily embarrassed, offended and hurt. Humility is not easily embarrassed, offended or hurt.

- Pride thinks that it deserves things. Humility is thankful and honored to receive things.

- Pride does not think that it needs to practice or train. Humility is constantly practicing, training and striving to become better.

- Pride will not follow instructions because it thinks that it already knows a better way. Humility is happy to receive and follow instructions.

- Pride is an arguer and is very defensive. Humility is a listener and is thankful for the opportunity to be taught.

- Pride will always ruin a good apology with an excuse. Humility will accept blame, apologize, and change the behavior.

- Pride does not want to be taught or corrected. Humility invites teaching and correction.

- Pride always wants to be first, in charge and the boss. Humility always wants to serve and to be a help in whatever area that help is needed, no matter how small or menial.

- Pride makes excuses. Humility makes adjustments.

- The degree of your humility determines the limitations of your usefulness to God.



Thankfulness is one of the greatest tools available to cultivate a lifestyle of humility. The more that we are thankful, the more that we realize how many things that we have been blessed with that we don't deserve. Fasting is a great way to bring perspective, and the realization of thankfulness for some of the most basic things in life, like food.

As a Systema practitioner, the above listed thoughts, among others, have been a guiding light for me in training and in life. My prayer for each of us is that we will come to a true understanding of what it is to be humble, and that this understanding will multiply the quality of our life and the lives of those around us.

Happy training my friends.

Godspeed,
Eric Peltz
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Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.

Psalm 141:5 NKJV

[Clive Jefferies]

[Keith Whatley]

Those were all great posts. Well worth reading a second and third time for me.

I would add that Humility comes from Faith. The more Faith one has, the more he has let go of his/her ego.

I would also add that humility is the basis of strength and courage. Often the most humble of us can achieve the greatest things.
Courage with ego is often false courage. A strong man without faith is only strong outwardly and is hollow - faith requires humility and a man with faith is a man that is strong inside.
It's like a triangle with humility at the base, if that makes sense. Once needs humility to achieve true courage and true strength.

[Anthony Heaverlo]

I guess it would depend on how you define humility.

Thomas Aquinas defines "the virtue of humility" that "consists in keeping oneself within one's own bounds, not reaching out to things above one, but submitting to one's superior".

Not something I personally strive for. In addition, overt humility can become false modesty.

However, humility in the sense that one recognizes their own faults, and acknowledges the strengths of others, is something that (in my opinion) is important for all aspects of life.

I find in my training (and life), being able to admit when I am wrong or someone else is right, being able to tell myself that I need improvement, and being able to laugh at my own mistakes and shortcomings is essential And fortunately, my mistakes are in great supply!
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"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

Mark Twain

[David Orman]

For me, when I train hard and stay present in my training, Humility finds me. I do not have to search to any degree. This is a challenging art and we all quickly find our weaknesses. Somewhere in the discovery of weaknesses, Humility comes visiting.

The flip side, Humility also brings valuable lessons which if we remain open, can be applied to Systema and to life.

Welcome it with open arms!
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David Orman
www.OrmanInstitute.com

[RachelKlingberg]

One small aspect of humilty is training with an good attitude - acceptance of yourself as a student of the System. It sounds so simple - why else would anyone set aside time and money to learn Systema if not to be a student of it? That is true of the vast majority of students, but I have seen students on their very first day of class, who clearly have no experience in martial arts, instructing their partners. Yet I have also seen masters of other martial styles, people who have taught martial arts for twenty or thirty years, join the Systema class with a humble desire to learn as a student. I know that many people believe we are all teachers of Systema and if any random person wants to teach you, then you ought to accept instruction. However I would venture just the opposite - we are all students of Systema. If you want to teach Systema, there's more to it than just showing up in any Systema class and starting to teach. It takes some hard work and dedication, yet most people who truly desire it can attain the certificate. Likewise even the certified teachers recognize that students have the free will to choose their instructors based on qualifications and personality, not have instruction imposed on them based on proximity and the desire of whims of passing strangers.

To learn any skill, not just Systema, we must accept that we have room to improve, that there is knowledge and skill towards which we can strive. Just like the famous Zen analogy of 'emptying your cup.' Though many people would be loath to admit this, it can be scary to undertake learning a new skill, joining a class in which most everyone else is knowledgeable. It took me many years to stop angsting over asking someone to partner with me during Systema class. Most people are more brave about it, but I still have a certain respect and admiration fort first-timers. I remember how nice and helpful everyone was when I started, in the fledgling Systema class which has since tripled or quadrupled in size. I try to model myself on those guys, who were so pleased when I made even the smallest progress. I like that Systema is not competitive except in a friendly way. If my partner is stuck and I can see that a small step or movement will lock, topple, or trip me, then I have nothing to lose by sharing that with him. It doesn't always have to be relative - that for one partner to succeed, the other must fail. It is entirely possible for both people to learn together and improve their skill and knowledge, even if their background and foundation are different.

So I believe that learning anything requires humilty, and that is especially true with martial arts. The world is vast and we can only know a little of it in the time we have. Just like the day I suddenly realized, despite my love of reading, and how avidly I consume books, I'll never read every book written in English, never mind all those published in every language. Thus in Systema and in life, there's always more to learn.

Just my $0.02. As always, *vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel
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There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact. - Sherlock Holmes

[Juan Pedro Serna]

As many others, the first time I have made an approach to Systema I did it thinking on my martial knowledge after more than 20 years training people. But I understood quickly that Systema was different: the best way to learn it was to "forget" my past martial art background. For me it was amazing to discover a new way of training. And I have to say that Systema philosophy has helped me to understand more about ego and humility. Systema has made me better.

On the homepage of a good friend and martial artist (Systema practitioner/instructor too), we can see the following: "Always a student". For me it is a great principle, and the only way to improve ourselves in any kind of knowledge. "Always a student" means "always humility".

But as Rachel said, they are "students on their very first day of class, who clearly have no experience in martial arts, instructing their partners". During the training, others students are always saying that what we are doing is like the techniques of an other martial art they have practiced, and showing their "skills" (showing their ego?). And the worst, in my opinion, is people who thought that because they have practiced during many years other martial arts, they are able to master Systema or to be Systema instructors just training a few time. Not humility, not true martial art practitioners, not true masters.

"Always a student" is the only way. The way of humility.

Best wishes to all of you.

[johnpark]

I met systema at a time in my life when things were just "not going the way I planned." Life was frustrating and I was expecting to learn more on hand-to-hand combat skills to boost myself up at a time when all seemed to be against me. This was clearly not the case.

I am relaxed, but why is my teacher telling me to relax? And how was I supposed to punch without using the shoulder? And why was it that people didn't fall when I was taking them down?

Outside of training, my pride was being hit by rejections and other failures, in training, I was hit first by a fist, then by self-pity, and later, the feeling of failure from my inability to recover (talk about trinity!).
The irony was that when I had multiple attackers rather than a partner, I felt more free from these hits, whether psychological or physical. I was definitely freaking out in panic, but now I couldn't afford to protect my pride. All I had was honest breathing and honest movement.

I'm still very tense and frequently feel sorry for myself when my pride is hit; but the more I see this, more I appreciate systema training. The sense of freedom from self-pity when pride gets hit is worth training for.

[HerbMartin]

<Begin confession>
Using the most common definitions of "humility", I am not a big fan of it -- nor of "pride", using what is commonly meant by that word either.

Realistic assessment is a goal I try to reach, avoiding false pride and avoiding thinking my (little) successes mean more than they do.

I don't find (inaccurate) humbleness attractive in others either, but at least it is more pleasant than false pride and bragging <grin>

<End confession>

And so, I prefer to define humility a bit differently than the dictionary would state.

Perhaps some of you might enjoy these excerpts from:

"Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why" By Laurence Gonzales p. 91
<http://books.google.com/books?id=QVkd1xjRfTQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22Deep+Survival%22&ei=Sez0SZO1IYrClQSrk4mYCg#PPA91,M1>

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The practice of Zen teaches that is is impossible to add anything more to a cup that is already full. If you pour in more tea, it simply spills over and is wasted. The same is true of the mind. A closed attitude, an attitude that says, "I already know," may cause you to miss important information. Zen teaches openness. Survival instructors refer to that quality as "humility."

In my experience, elite performers, such as high-angle rescue professionals, who risk their lives to save others, have an exceptional balance of boldness and humility. So do astronauts.
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When he [the author's father] took the podium, he always began by saying, "Fellow students..." He taught me the humility of knowing that we are all, always, students, and that to stop being a student was to stop living.
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[Bradley Scheel]

I guess the gap between theory and practice is the grave site of humility.
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Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders & says..."Oh sh&t*....he's awake!!"