Musashi's Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone)

Insurance Executive:
As a person and as a martial artist—after all these years they are
virtually one and the same—I have developed a self-honor, if you
will, to live my life righteously, to respect others, have compassion

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for others, care about the world, do what is best for my family, and to
put in an honest day’s work. To this end, I follow my self-imposed
discipline to be the best person I can be. I truly expect this of myself,
but I realize after having been alive these many years, to not always
expect it from others.
My study of self-defense isn’t only to protect myself but also to
protect my family, friends, and strangers, in short, anyone unable to
protect themselves. Additionally, I would use my abilities to protect
an animal, whether from a predicament it got into by its own
innocence or from a person bent on harming it. In fact, I would love
to stop someone from committing a cruel act on an animal. For sure
it would require all my self-restraint to use only the necessary force.
By virtue of having established this code of honor for myself and by
creating a creed that I will be there to protect people and animals
unable to protect themselves, I like to think I would sacrifice my own
personal safety—my body—to do what I deem right.
Honesty of character and personal integrity is rarely seen these
days. As I write this a new presidential race is underway, so the
mudslinging is in full force. It’s pretty tough to find an ounce of
honesty and integrity in the motley crew vying for our votes. You
think any of them would jump on a tossed grenade to save a room
full of constituents? I don’t either. Would I “abandon [my] own body”
to protect them? I like to think so.
Living a life of honor is a practice. The word “practice” in this context
means to apply my belief and ideas about my personal honor every
day. I practice it by figuratively protecting my family and husband by
letting them know I love them, helping in any way I can with their
problems, striving to make their lives happy, and just simply being
available for whatever they need from me. I have yet to physically
fight for them, but I like to think my powerful sense of honor will have
me charging into the fray no matter what the personal cost to my
person.
It’s said in war that the best strategy crumbles away when the first
shot is fired. Boxer Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan ‘till they

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get punched in the mouth.” Likewise, a weak sense of self-respect,
self-dignity, and self-honor can quickly crumble in the heat of anger
and in the turmoil of violence. It’s important, therefore, to ingrain your
code of honor and to fix it in place so it remains no matter how
tested. Think about it now, when all is well. Think about all aspects
so you understand it, believe it profoundly, and act upon it daily. Only
then will it be there when the you-know-what hit’s the fan.