Giri is a Japanese word that was fully engrained in the culture of the Japanese people. In the days of the Samurai and the Ninja - Giri was a word used amoungst warriors which was used to live and die by. The story of the 47 ronin is one of the most famous stories of Giri known to martial artists everywhere and worth reading.
Giri - basically means dedication to ones master, parent and family at any cost. Life is a matter of choices, at L.I. Ninjutsu Centers our Student Creed quotes "Do not distance yourself from one's parents, family, friends and teachers, try deeply to master ones culture and the culture and philosophy of the art of Ninpo."
No matter how sucessful one becomes, how rich, how famous, how proficient at martial arts, they should always remember their roots. If you could look at your life through a time machine and see the direction you will go based on the lessons you learned, or how your life would have been based on the decisions you have made due to what you have learned and the influence of your parents and teachers, you would be amazed. These reasons, realized and unrecognized are the reason for Giri. A great explanation is the movie the Butterfly Effect, starring Ashton Kutcher. This movie explained how one simple change could alter your entire existance.
"The flapping wings of a butterfly could start a tornado a thousand miles away"
A student always is indebted to their teacher, a debt you can never repay. Even in hard times, life-lessons are being taught to those individuals. Whenever you are mad at your parents or your teachers, lessons are being learned, in spite of the teacher or the student. Giri - is hard to understand and live by and loyalty is a dieing word. Never fall into the trap of forgetting from where you came and who helped you to achieve those results.
It is very easy to forget and takes a great deal of strength to remember the reasons why you become who are. I had a student who trained with me for a very long time, he had a drinking problem initially when he started and his life was spinning out of control. I helped him stay focused and by teaching him the martial arts he gained the strength to continue and never drink again. Life was changed forever - this student dedicated his time to help around the dojo and in his early days couldn't stay away. Always training and doing things for the dojo like performing construction and many of other appreciated tasks, never asking for a thing. In fact he even met his spouse at the school. The person went on to run a school and achieve his black belt. Later on in his life he decided he was being taken advantage of, and thought all of his time as wasted.
When we spoke I asked if all of those benefits he had received had disappeared, and how he now was looking back in time and decided it was all a waste. After all the very fact that he was making this decision from a clear heart and mind, avoided alc oholism, possible death from drinking and driving, gained his health, learned all the lessons, gained the respect of his piers as well as all the years of fun, excitement and comraderie was the reason for Giri. It is very easy to forget but hard to remember. We live in a WIFM - society, "whats in it for me" - it is very hard to remember what is in it for you is the lesson, the development of one's spirit and life. This is another reason for Giri - undying dedication to the teacher. to your family and even to those who hurt you. Sometimes our worst enemies can teach us the most profound lessons.
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