One thing that often separates a traditional martial arts school from most sports or MMA schools is meditation. For instance, in my school, before a student even sets foot into the dojo they are expected to meditate. We have a narrow hallway in which I lay down some carpets for the students to sit cross-legged and meditate. Students are expected to close their eyes, clear their mind and focus on their breathing.
The purpose of the meditation is to prepare oneself for class. If a student steps into class without meditating they may have lots of thoughts running through their head that could negatively affect their karate training. For instance, perhaps they had a bad day, had a quarrel with someone or are stressed about a family issue. All these things take space in the mind and affect a person from performing at their best. In clearing out these thoughts one can relax and live in the moment without the baggage of these other thoughts weighing you down. Think of meditation as a tool to help you focus, relax and therefore perform at a higher level.
Meditation may conjure up images of a yogi sitting in the lotus position, chanting "Om" and hovering over an Indian rug. But, it doesn't have to be that complicated. A person can meditate in a chair just by closing their eyes and taking deep breaths. In fact, a person can even meditate standing up, walking or laying in bed! The important thing is that meditation is NOT sleeping. Some meditations even encourage you to keep your eyes open. In meditation a person is relaxed and is focused on one thing. The one thing can be your breathing, your heart beat, a single word, a candle flame, the sound of a bell, a sound in nature, a positive affirmation or a bible verse. These are just some ideas on what you can use to focus your meditation. You may find other things or thoughts that you wish to use in meditation. Whatever you choose, it should not be a distraction or annoyance. It should be something that helps you focus and brings you peace.
I believe that everyone can benefit from meditation. As a student, a meditation right before a big test can help you focus and perform better. As an adult, before an important presentation at work, a meditation can help relieve stress. As a job seeker, meditation can help ease the nervousness that often accompanies a job interview.
One particular meditation that I find especially helpful is a morning meditation. In my life I have spoken to many successful entrepreneurs and business people who attribute morning meditation as an important part of their life. For most people the morning is a rush to get ready, eat breakfast, complete last-minute tasks and quickly shuttle out the door to school or work. It's rush, rush, rush from the get go without stopping to focus on the positive. Would you like to change your life? Would you like to start each day with a smile? Try this morning meditation on for size:
Step 1. Get up 15 minutes earlier (it may mean going to bed earlier)
Step 2. Get a cooking timer that you can set for 5 minutes at a time.
Step 3. Find a quiet, private spot that you can meditate in a comfortable position. For instance, a cushion on the floor, a chair or a place out doors.
Step 4. You will do three 5-minute meditations.

• Gratitude: pick one thing that you are thankful for, say it outloud and meditate on it. I.e. "I am thankful that I have a nice place to live.."
• Affirmation: pick something about yourself that you would like to improve but make a statement like it has already happened. I.e. "I am happy that I am physically fit and slim."
• Highlight: pick something about the day that you are looking forward to. This is something that you believe will be the highlight of the day. Something positive that you look forward to. I.e. "I look forward to going out to eat with my family tonight."
  

Meditate on each of these thoughts for five minutes each and breathe in with your nose and out through your mouth. Try doing a morning meditation for a whole week and write down what happened and how you felt. You may be surprised at what positive changes occur in your life!

     In the Okinawan dialect, there is no word for "retirement." Instead, they use a word called ikigai. Ikigai (pronounced ee-ki-guy) translates roughly to "purpose" or "that which makes one's life worth living." Okinawan's live with a sense of purpose, whether it be raising a happy healthy family, nurturing their vegetable garden, playing a musical instrument or practicing karate. Ikigai is something that brings enjoyment or fulfillment. It gives you a sense of satisfaction in what you are doing. It makes you happy to do it.
     Karate or the martial arts can be that for some people. I know it is for me! If karate is not your ikigai, it may give you the physical or mental tools to find the ikigai in your life and keep you physically ft enough to continue experiencing it.
      Your ikigai is the passion in life that drives you and that motivates you.  It may be a hobby that you enjoy. It may be your job. It may be a sport that you participate in. It may be something that you create or express. The important thing is that it's something you enjoy doing so much that you can't imagine not ever being able to do it again.      
    Knowing your ikigai is important. It one of the key traits that leads to longevity in life. And, the Okinawan's have a long history of living very long lives as they have one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world. In fact, Okinawa is considered a Blue Zone. Blue Zones are places in the world where people live to 100 and stay healthy. However, finding your ikigai can be hard work to figure out. You may need to do a lot of soul searching to find yours. Here are a few tips on how to find your own ikigai:

• Don't confuse pleasure with purpose. Just because you enjoy doing something doesn't make it meaningful to you.  i.e. eating ice cream may give you pleasure, but isn't meaningful. Where helping out at the food bank may be hard work and heart breaking, but it makes you happy by filling you with a sense of accomplishment. Your ikigai should bring you purpose. It's something that may take a lot of hard work, but it brings you happiness despite all the hard work. 
• Make a list of at least 10 meaningful activities that you've done, are doing or would like to do.  Ikigai can be creating something, pursuing an ideal, spending time with someone or something or simply making breakfast. One way of thinking of this, is if you had a completely free Saturday morning with no pre-planned activities, what would you really like to do that would get you excited about getting up in the morning? Perhaps you can recall a past "day off" in which you were excited to do something. Here are some other questions to ask yourself to help create your list. What achievements are you most proud of? What do you enjoy talking about? What do you like to search for on the internet? What do you enjoy reading? What do you love to do or have a desire to learn more about? How do you see yourself when you describe your skills? When you travel, what types of things do you like to do? Who do you most admire and what talents or skills do they have that you wish you had? What do you believe you are really good at doing or have been told you are good at?
• Now look objectively at your list, circle the items on the list that excite you the most.  Things that you would like to invest more of your time and energy into. 
• Take the items you've circled and work them into your life so you can do them more often. Schedule them as part of your life, if they aren't already. And, see what happens in your life. You may very well find that you have discovered your life's purpose.

May you find joy and purpose in all that you do so that you always live a happy and fulfilled life.