The Life-Changing Impact of Martial Arts: Insights from Adam Mitchell

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The Journey of Learning and Teaching Martial Arts

Transitioning from a violent past to discovering purpose in martial arts, Adam shares his journey of learning the craft and eventually becoming a teacher himself.

Finding purpose through the practice of martial arts

Nick: One of the joys of having a non-Japanese guest on this podcast is I learn new words and great insight to an area of Japanese culture that they're passionate about. So what you're passionate about, and I'm may not really be familiar with.

So I think we'll dive into many themes on this episode. Obviously, one will be *do ‘*the way or the path.’ But before we do all that, do you want to give me a bit of background and share your journey to how you have dedicated much of your life to the study and teaching of Japanese martial arts?

Adam: Sure, yeah. Like probably most of your guests, I'm not a huge fan of talking so much about myself. But my journey really starts when I was young, and I was really influenced heavily by doing judo as a child.

As I got older, I moved around with my mom, things were broken up in my family a bit, and ended up looking to the streets for family and community, and ended up in community with other kids who, let's just say were of that, like mind. Violence became a thing. Taking the wrong path was usually the decision that I made.

However, there was always this kernel of morality and making the right choice that I think had been put in place early on as a child through judo. And through some other experiences that I had connected to that. So when I had just gotten exhausted, as a teenager, of fighting, and being involved in the street life, I had been given a break by someone and they asked if I wanted to work at their nightclub, I was only 18 at the time.

The story is really that he knew that I was a tough kid, and that I could channel that in another way. I had spent some time in working in a factory and I was trying to get my life on the right track. And to make a long story short, I got myself back into jujitsu. This is long before UFC and mixed martial arts. And I ended up also getting into doing some light competition.

Things had gotten better for me through martial arts, and I began to sort of rediscover that path. And I was refereeing one day in my early 20s in a competition in Long Island. I was refereeing between two young people in a tournament, and I watched this one girl really demolish this boy.

Nick, they were maybe 11 or 12 years old. And this was a turning point for me because I had channeled all of this young aggression back into martial arts, back into the pathway to self-control, back into sort of some self discovery, where had I continued in the direction that I was in, it certainly would have led to either, you know, being in a grave or being behind bars, there's no doubt about that.

So fast forward a few years, I was in a dojo across the street from this factory that I was working in New York, and then I'm now at this competition in Long Island. And this little girl, just really, through the, almost this sort of Colosseum-esque feeling—hundreds of people, in this huge hotel, this conference center, and all these competitions and people yelling and screaming, this little girl's parents are behind her, and this little boy's parents are behind him.

And she comes out and she just hits this kid and knocks him down, they get back up one point, she gets in, throws a kick, knocks that kid down again. Second point, three points, she went. So she comes in like a tiger, she does a flying kick to this kid’s stomach, and he falls, his feet come out from under him and he falls flat on his face.

He looked up at me. In my world, a black belt doesn't mean so much now, but back then it really did. And I'll never forget this little boy looking at me through those padded helmet that he had on, and the girl's parents are screaming for her and the little boy's parents are behind him, and they're just sort of like, they're not happy at all. And the boy's eyes are tearing up.

I'll never forget, his eyes shifted to my belt. And then he looked at my face. And then he looked back at my belt. And it occurred to me that I had watched two children hurt each other. And I understand. I understand that the spirit of competition, and I fully support this exposure to making young people resilient, pushing themselves.

But this was something much further beyond that. And that little boy looked at my black belt, and then he looked at me. And I think at that moment, that young man had defined something in him. And the definition had changed for him what that role meant. And it had certainly changed for me because I walked off the mat. And I never looked back and I made my way to Japan.

I said, there's got to be something more to this, there has to be deeper meaning, there couldn't have been so many men and women, who in this path of traditional martial arts, and not necessarily only Japanese, but also Chinese as well as many of the European arts.

But these primitive arts, there had to be something more there's something that I'm missing. It couldn't come to me standing in a conference center in Long Island watching two children beating the living hell out of each other. And that was awesome.

So I had really once again found myself going down the wrong path. And that young man's stare, put me into this path of discovering what this was about. And that's really where I started.

Establishing a Dojo: A Space for Immersive Learning

Adam founded a dojo in Hudson Valley, New York, named 'The Yasuragi Center.' The name 'Yasuragi,' meaning peace of mind or tranquility, was given by one of his former senseis, reflecting the primary objective of his dojo - to provide a peaceful environment for its practitioners.

A place of peace for martial arts practitioners

Nick: So let's touch on your dojo, which is called ‘The Yasuragi Center.’ I think our listeners will be familiar with the word dojo. But as you run one, I think you can give us more insight to what a dojo is and a purpose it serves. So what is a dojo?

Adam: Well, dojo is, the word itself, dojo is a place for immersive learning. Oftentimes, it's translated as the hall or the place of the way of the doubt. More accurately it has origins in Zen, so Zendo is oftentimes something that you hear.

Yasuragi was a word that was, or a name that was given to my dojo from an old Sensei. At the time, my dojo was in a part of New York in the Hudson Valley, where, back in the turn of the century, there had been a lot of iron ore mining. So there was a lot of deposits on these hills, and there was a lot of like rust, and there was this redness.

And the name was, he had said that yasuragi, even though it's like a place of peace, he said it should be a peaceful place along a hillside is what his vision of the dojo was. Now, I know that literally, it doesn't translate to that. But the feeling, the intention, that one has when I speak of yasuragi should convey that. So yeah, that's the origin of the word, and that's what it means.

Nick: Yeah, I had to look that up. So I did come across terms such as tranquility, sincerity, the gentle feeling of inner peace, where your heart is calm at ease, harmony within yourself. Which might even seemed like a paradox to the idea of learning a martial art.

But this is what's fascinating about martial arts, in particular, maybe Japanese martial arts. There's a balance or there's this idea of the internal and external. We talked about it on your podcast, I guess, kokorozashi.

So it's fascinating how Japanese martial arts encapsulates not just that the practice of training, but a philosophy behind it, of gentleness, of peace. So I probably wished I explored that when I was younger.

Adam: It's not too late.

Preserving the Essence of Martial Arts

Martial arts are not solely about beating someone up. Adam emphasizes that there is much more to them—there are values that people can acquire and incorporate into their daily lives. Hence, he believes in the importance of preserving the practice of traditional martial arts.

Martial arts being part of one’s indentity

Nick: One thing I've noticed from our conversations, and what I've read on your website, is your desire to both be respectful, and preserve Japanese tradition. That's something that's important to me. So yeah, why do you think it's important to you?

Adam: That's a great question. The preservation of the art that my teacher is teaching me is the most important responsibility that I have as a student, is to not learn it, and then make it my own, and completely manipulate it and create some other thing from it.

But in understanding Kobudo (traditional martial arts), look, I could put on a pair of khaki shorts and a T-shirt and teach anybody in a park or a concrete room, the same techniques and how to beat someone up. That's not what Budo is. That's not what Kobudo, more accurately.

What I study and teach is in that prefects ‘ko’ meaning like classical budo, or in which is the martial arts. So the old martial arts, that there is an understanding of, first of all, how to learn. And to study in a model of how we are taught of Shu-Ha-Ri, and I'm sure you're familiar with this.

But the first is really just doing as you're told, doing as you see, following exactly how your teacher shares it with you. And to not ask questions, but to simply do. And I know too many here in the West, that people have a challenge with that.

And then the second, that Ha stage, which is much much further down the line than most people would think, is this is where you begin to introduce different variables and you begin to pressure test it just a little bit. That those basics, those foundational lessons that you have, now they begin to expand through exposure and pressure and variation, but you don't change the root form or the principles, or we'll use the word kakehiki, where, like the tactics and the timing or the rhythm has to stay pure.

And then from there eventually, and you don't know, at least ell me you don't know, but eventually, the Ri, you let go of it, and it becomes something that's natural, it becomes part of who you are. Now, in order for that to happen, you have to follow that progression. And that takes an enormous amount of patience, and respecting the path to be able to follow that correctly.

So to me, it's very important that the values that I've taken from that and how that's changed my life, how it's changed my perspectives on living, how it has brought me so much value, and the people around me, how it's benefited my children, how it's benefited my family.

I mean, I could go on and on with this. That can't exist without Shu Ha Ri and it can't exist, if I sort of create my, if I put my own sticker on it and call it my own. But there's a balance there, Nick. I can't take this template and put it in a punch press and then expect the next generation to do exactly that.

At a certain level, my sensei expects my character now becomes part of the art, because it's not, there is a bujutsu, this is a different thing. There is the bugei, there’s like the science of the craft of warriorship. There's the bujutsu, which is like the Spartans, all 300 of us marching forward with the spear in that same formation.

But the budo ‘the path’ is something entirely different. However, in order to get to that place, we need to listen, then, when we’re given the opportunity, we need to be taught how to test and push ourselves forward to let our teacher say, no, you can do this.

Because all those narratives of self-defeating narratives are gonna run wild in our head. But when our teacher says, do this, we do it, because there's a degree of trust that we have. And then eventually we get to this place where we're released from it. And it becomes the art, it becomes the ‘do’.

Not that ‘do’ is the art, but a martial art is not a martial template. At a certain point, it becomes you and you become it. And this is where very much my interest in ikigai comes in. Where at this point now, it becomes my way of living. It becomes my bright future.

I know that budo is a way to age gracefully, it is a way to contain power within; and that power could be anger—power of anger, power of hate, power of some greed, maybe, some of those emotions and feelings that I have as a man that could leak out sideways in so many different ways.

Feelings of possible loneliness or abandonment that so many of us struggle with. But the study of this budo and how I've learned it has given me the methods to be able to regulate that to be able to convert that energy into something that's going to be beneficial for me to be able to convert that negative power into something positive.

To not ignore it, to not suppress it, to not sedate it, but to actually use it and to nurture it, and to be able to find balance in it. And when I'm able to find that balance, then everything in life, all the different strings of my life are able to be tuned and be harmonious with one another.

So this is what budo is, and this is where a lot of people misunderstand and they say, ‘Well, you know, I'm not going to study Aikido because MMA is better or Brazilian jujitsu, I want to get my kids involved in boxing. I don't want them doing that old karate stuff where they stand there and they do ‘kata.’ But that's not what it's about.

Understanding Jissen Kobudo (Classical Martial Arts for Real Combat)

Adam discusses the collective style of martial arts he practices, known as Jissen Kobudo.

Jissen as a more realistic fight

Nick: Let's dive into budo a bit deeper. And you have a collective style of martial art called Jissen Kobudo. So what is Jissen Kobudo?

Adam: Jissen meaning realistic fight, more realistic. Kobudo, as we already talked about, is more like a classical martial arts or the traditional martial arts. And it gets really interesting. Sometimes when I traveled to Japan, I have to carry certain tools depending on what the topic is going to be, what we're going to be studying.

I'll go there two times a year. And every time I go through customs, I have a fukuro shinai, like the padded sword. So unlike the kendo shinai, which I'm sure many of your listeners are familiar with, where it's like the split bamboo, and it's used for hitting and striking, and not breaking bones or doing a lot of damage.

However, shinai will really hurt if it hits you. However, it's not meant to break bones underneath protective armor. Fukuro shinai however, has a bit like a leather sleeve to the split bamboo. And we don't wear protective armor. And carrying this through customs, when they look at my bags, they say what is this?

And I say it's a shinai. And they say like, kendo? No. I said, here we go. I say Kobudo, and they're like what kind of Kobudo? And I say jissen kobudo. And I can only imagine US Customs having a group of Japanese people coming over to study civil or like revolutionary war trench fighting.

It's kind of like, I can't imagine the mindset that they must think when we study this, but that's really what it is. It is very much the study of true applications of battle where it's not so much the sport or like Morihei Ueshiba, or sensei of Aikido, created very much while retaining much of the origins of the data he had learned from his teachers.

And having at the time a quite combative art that he had developed. He implemented deep spiritual dimensions to it where Jigaro Kano really wanted to move Japan forward into Western athletics and knew these old schools of these koryu of jujustsu, would be very beneficial if modified into a sport.

And would also be great for the physical fitness program of Japanese youth. So there's these new dimensions that were brought into the old arts and much of the actual combat of like the biomechanics of lacerations, and when you cut the shoulder here versus here, what are the difference?

Well, these are the things that are written and recorded in many of the densho, or the old the scrolls or the old writings of these old schools. So a lot of that has been removed. And Kendo, Aikido, Judo, were made in, you know, as we came into the modern era, where what I study, that information is still retained. And it's a very important part of what we do.

Echoes of Influence: Leaving a Lasting Impression

Adam thinks back on his life-changing meeting with his sensei. It showed him how amazing it feels to find the perfect mentor just when you need them the most.

Timing being opportune

Nick: Well certainly it sounds that you put a lot of care, effort, and your whole life into what you do. And obviously there's this very important relationship you have had and continue to have with your sensei. So would you like to talk about Unsui Sensei and your relationship with him?

Adam: Yeah, I'd love to. In fact, I could have this whole podcast be just about him and not even mention my name. My dad and I are very close. I'm very fortunate to have been raised by a great man, and I hope dad that you hear this episode. Because I can't be thankful enough for the men in my life such as my dad, such as my grandfather.

However, when I met Sensei, he was a piece of leadership that I had been, it's not that I had been missing, Nick, it's that I never knew I needed until I had discovered that. And the way that sensei had treated me in the dojo when I would go and train.

When sensei retired from the military, he and his best friend, also a retired Lieutenant Colonel, they both retired, and they moved to, of all places, Baltimore. There's a reason behind that, They bought a house in Baltimore, they came here because they wanted to nurture our organization, it was young at the time.

So that gave me a great opportunity in the early 2000s, to spend a lot of time with Sensei. Because I could make a cup of coffee at 5am here in New York, and I could be bowing in with Sensei by 10am in Baltimore, and spend the day there and train and drive back that night.

So I was able to spend a lot of time at his dojo when he moved here for a short period of time. When I experienced that, I really knew that I was fortunate because seldom in someone's life do they encounter a moment where they know they're in the right place at the right time with the right person. And when they realize this, they acknowledge there's a certain gift here that is somewhat beyond definition.

And kind of like you, we were talking about with your ikigai experience, when you had been asked that question and you know, in your whole sort of intuition on following your own path, I had found my place with Sensei, and I connected with him. I felt just he was stern, there was no BS with sensei. It was expected you would do what was said.

However, there was this fierce gentleness that he had, where I knew I was in the right place, like I just said, and I knew that if I continued, and I stayed on this path, this is where I was meant to be. And it would lead to great things for me.

Nick: Love that expression, fierce gentleness. I might embrace that, that's beautiful. I'd like to quote your sensei. So here's a quote from Unsui Sense:

“For myself, when a person's time to die comes, being able to say ‘I'm satisfied, thank you, everyone’ is the highest attainment of one's life. In addition, I feel that it is much better to do and then regret it rather than not do and regret that inaction. Consider this, if you will, and please continue to the end. Continuation is power.”

And kind of made me relate to, in some way, ikigai—this idea of learning new things, doing new things, learning, or living life. And even if we have our ups and downs, but we learn from our downs just as much or perhaps even more from ups.

So this idea of it is better to do something and if things go wrong, you regret it and then move on. Rather than imagine years later, decades later, regretting something you didn't do. So sounds like a very wise sensei.

Adam: Yeah, I think what you just read there was very impactful to me because I realized that through his teaching, and when I just said that, you know, you have to keep going; this is something that we say quite a bit in our life, just keep going.

And that doesn't come as a pat on the ass. It doesn't come as ‘hey, you just just keep going.’ Actually it's a direction, keep going. Like do not quit. And that doesn't mean stay in one line, and don't look to the sides, just keep going straight blindly. It's not that.

In fact, it is this path. Like I said, where I can age gracefully, I can age with power. And when I mean age, I don't just mean physically, but I mean, I can mature and I can continue to grow even into my 90s, I will still be expanding in this ‘do’ in this way through sensei’s teaching.

And I'm really fortunate for that. It is a real gift. And I feel that anybody who finds their way, their ikigai, for me, this is it, my dojo is my ibasho. And there's so much to unpack about this that's so beautiful.

The Importance of Continuous Learning in Martial Arts

In martial arts, it's crucial to keep learning all the time. Getting really good at skills and techniques takes a lot of hard work. Adam emphasizes how important it is for students to imagine what their opponents might do and to push their own limits.

Trying to learn how to learn

Nick: That's a really powerful concept, the beginner mind, and it removes the ego. No matter how good you are, or how many years you've spent learning something, as soon as you embrace this beginner mind, sho shin, it's like I'm free to learn again. And it's a really beautiful, powerful concept.

So two themes are coming up when I'm thinking about our conversation now, Adam, is this theme of learning, and then sharing or teaching. And as you know, in my book, I touch on manabigai, the value of learning. So manabu is the verb to learn.

And then oshiegai, so osheru is to teach, so oshiegai would be value in teaching. Obviously, you experience both, almost every day or throughout your week, you're learning, you're teaching. So is is learning and teaching martial arts, one of your, obviously, it's one of your main sources of ikigai.

Adam: Wow, that's another good one that I'm gonna kind of sit in and think about here. The martial art itself, like, I'll give you an example. The constant learning, not just the technique, not just the history, not just the art, but the learning to learn part.

So in Budo, there's this concept of kaso teki, this imaginary enemy, the sort of the hypothetical opponent. And when we train, I've never studied Iaido, but I believe that this is a pretty big thing among the Iaido community.

But for us, and when we do our own jishu geiko, the solo training, it's called. The learning how to visualize and minimize the variance of our different opponents to be able to look at someone who's maybe six foot tall, a little bit taller than me, maybe their skill level just a little bit above or possibly a little bit below. Maybe they're a little heavier, bulky upper body.

But I'm trying to picture this person that I maybe had a challenge with when I was studying in Japan or at another dojo, and they got in on me and they were able to get. So I want to go back to that, and I want to visualize this. And I'm right now in this place where I'm trying to…

Part of my learning how to learn, is really trying to visualize in front of me what I'm doing without an actual opponent to play it out. And this is something as a teacher of children, one of the first things that we teach is this, these leaping techniques.

And we would teach this little gesture of long jump forward. I would get kids to jump one tatami. About 12 years old, most kids can jump on tatami at 12 years old. So we start with the length of their body from their feet to the top of their head, and we put a piece of tape on the ground and they can't have a running start, they have to bend their knees to squat and leap forward and kind of like the jumping from one tree stump to another.

And if they lose their balance, they have to go back and try it again. But eventually we get them up to where their feet, their toes are against the seam of the tatami. They're leaping in their heels clear the next scene. In order to do that, I have to take them through some, they close their eyes, and I have them feel this cool tatami under the soles of their feet, bend their knees, launch themselves forward, visualize the tatami going underneath their feet and then seeing the next scene go under and they pass it.

I can't guide them through that as they do it, we have to go back and they have to replay that. They have to recall that in their mind and visualize themselves doing it. And 3000 kids, 25 years, every single kid has done it, for the exception of the ones who may, because of the physicality just can't.

However, I create their threshold, their threshold is in that place where they feel limited that they can't do it. Well, that's where we start and you give yourself permission. And through the power of visualization, we push yourself past that point. This is extremely important in your own solo training, that you don't just sit there and wave your arms around with a wooden sword.

Or you don't just do like a karate, just doesn't stand there and do forms in a mirror and swing their arms around, that they're actually creating in using the intention of the language of their body. And they have a purpose in front of them, always in front of them. And this is where I'm at right now.

So when we talk about that, like always a student, always trying to learn how to learn. Well, here I am with those children jumping over the tatami, I'm still doing that. I'm still trying to figure that stuff out to make myself just a little bit better.

For the full podcast conversation, go to: Beyond Self-Defense: Exploring the Transformative Power of Martial Arts