Symbols: I am often asked why I sometimes present students with a knife or sword after a significant achievement. I believe strongly in the value of symbols in our lives as a means of clarifying, representing and reminding us of ideas that are important, and I believe blades have a good deal of symbolic meaning in martial arts. Bladed tools and weapons were one of the first great instances of technology taking mankind from our primitive beginnings at the bottom of the animal kingdom and taking us out of the common food chain as dominant over other animal species. Naked, we humans are among the most feeble of animals, but with spear in hand, we among the most formidable. Just as Jiu jitsu is a technology that takes us from feeble helplessness in the face of confrontation to a formidable adversary for even much stronger and more aggressive tormentors. Knives, like Jiu Jitsu, are morally neutral. They can be used to perform good deeds, save lives – and they can be used for murder. Like Jiu jitsu they are only as good or bad as the person using them. Steel, the basis of blades, goes through a metamorphosis from clumps of iron ore and through knowledge, refinement and extreme pressure, is forged into beautiful shining steel, just as we begin as unpromising, clumsy white belts and are subjected to pressure and knowledge that transforms us into black belts. Steel requires maintenance, just like the skills of Jiu jitsu. Even the finest steel will lose its edge and rust if poorly cared for, just as your skills will soon deteriorate without continual training and care. Blade steel must seek to satisfy inherently conflicting demands between toughness and hardness – this is the true riddle of steel. Softer steel is tough and won't chip or break with rough use, but because it is soft it won't hold a sharp edge for long. Hard steel holds an edge well but chips or even breaks due to its brittleness. So too with our training. We seek hard training for realism, but softer training for longevity and technical development – finding the right compromise between those two is our riddle. And so every time you see a beautiful blade you are reminded of these Jiu Jitsu themes
