Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Kunshi [君子]

The characters/ideograms mean “man of virtue; person of high rank, wise man; a person of courtesy, propriety and morals.” The first character means, “mister; you; ruler,” the second character means, “child; sign of the rat; first sign of Chinese zodiac.” 

Kunshi is considered in martial communities as a specific trait of model sensei, i.e., one who expresses themselves at all times with courtesy, propriety and respect as if a wise man with emphasis of in the dojo where the teachings are directly about conflict and violence. This becomes apparent when defining and translating modified terms, that are derived from kunshi, as Kunshi-hyouhen and Kunshi-hyouhen-su, i.e. indicating a person who is wise, who will remain open minded geared toward overcoming the human instinctual drive of not changing, i.e., one who changes his mind while the fool remains steadfast in their beliefs even when confronted by irrefutable facts. 

Kunshi refers to becoming a well rounded, respectful individual. A person who is able to exercise good manners in all situations with self-discipline and respect, who is able to assume accountability for his actions, and is able to maintain his integrity. This epitomizes sensei in martial dojo who go the distance to remain even tempered and respectful to all practitioners regardless of skill levels. 

Many talk the talk, but few walk the walk!

Kunshi Hyouhen [君子豹変]

The characters/ideograms mean, “the wise readily adapt to changed circumstance; the wise quickly acknowledge mistakes and correct them; the wise make no scruple in suddenly changing thier demeanor.” The first character means, “mister; you; ruler,” the second character means, “child; sign of the rat; first sign of Chinese zodiac,” the third character means, “leopard; panther,” the fourth character means, unusual; change; strange.” 

Kunshi Hyouhensu [君子豹変す]

The characters/ideograms mean, “A wise man changes his mind, a fool never.” The first character means, “Mister; you; ruler,” the second character means, “child; sign of the rat; first sign of Chinese zodiac,” the third character means, “leopard; panther,” the fourth character means, unusual; change; strange.”

Bibliography:
McKenna, Mario. "Gentleman." Kowakan Blog. "http://www.kowakan.com/gentlemen/"

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