Fudoshin

Acknowledge fears and recognize weaknesses

A person cannot grow if they are unable to recognize their weaknesses and build upon them. A person will not always be at the top of his or her game; there is always sickness, injuries, or age. Therefore, people must believe in themselves enough to take or create an opportunity. If he or she does not believe, the tendency is to wait, which passes the opportunity to the opponents. By not overcoming the fear of failure, one fails. Tony Dorsett of Dallas Cowboys fame won the Heisman trophy. At the beginning of his senior year Howard Cossell stuck a mike in his face and asked him, "What are you doing to win the Heisman, Tony?" Dorsett’s response was something like, "Last year I got hit a lot and I don’t like that. I have been lifting weights and doing wind sprints all summer. This year I am twenty pounds of muscle heavier and a lot faster. This year I intend to be the one doing the hitting."

This may seem a strange indicator for Fudoshin, but survival of the fittest in humans most often relates more to intelligence and grace, than to physical strength and athleticism. Reading allows the reader to build a mental experience of fortitude without experiencing the physical pain. 

Focus on strengths

The old joke about not taking a knife to a gunfight applies here. If you are a good boxer, avoid grappling, and vice versa. Fight your fight; do not fight the other person’s fight. During Desert Storm, the Iraqi had set up in dug in, scorched earth, defensive system. Instead of fighting the Iraqi on their terms, the collation took air superiority by bombing the Iraqi planes on the ground.