Productivity Principles from Japan II - ShuHaRi

Productivity is often a function of learning. We are only as productive as we are skilled and improved skill is a great accelerator to our productivity. This is the second post in my 2-part series on productivity principles from Japan. You can read the first one here. In this post, I share the Japanese principle of ShuHaRi - a martial arts concept that presents the student’s journey to mastery in an elegant 3-step framework – Shu-Ha-Ri.

Understanding ShuHaRi will give you a glimpse into what to do and what to expect as you develop a new skill so that you get the most out of each stage of your learning.

I call it the Hai – Why – Bye principle. You will see why shortly. Let us begin.

Shu

Shu is the first stage in the student’s journey. At this stage, the student is subject to rules and rigid forms. She is allowed no creativity and very little flexibility. The student learns from the master exactly what to do in a very strict fashion.

The focus here is to develop a deep familiarity with the concepts as laid down the teacher (sensei). In Japanese, shu means to “protect” or to “obey”. This will give you an idea of what this stage is about.

When in Shu, here’s what you do

The best thing for the beginner to do at this stage as far as Shu Ha Ri goes is to study intensely and do as you are told by the teacher. Sound harsh? You see, a lot of us adults in the individualistic societies of the West are averse to the concept of just following instructions. We are “sovereign individuals” after all and should be allowed to be creative as we learn. Right? Not so fast.

You can only be creative with concepts you have. Or like the old saying goes, you cannot get more out of a bag than is in it. Yet we crave this thing called “creativity”. We exalt it in our peers and encourage it in our children. But here’s the thing.

You cannot get more out of a bag than is in it - Old saying

Often, what a neophyte produces and declares as creativity is simply something someone else already did (often a long time ago) of which the fledgeling was unaware—like a child “creating” the colour purple by mixing blue and red watercolour. Exciting for the child, no doubt. But not much use beyond that.

Truly valuable creativity, the kind that people get paid for, is the kind that comes out of the knowledge of what’s already there and then improving on it. And you can’t get more out of the bag than what’s in it.

For Shu, the right response is Hai Sensai (Japanese for Yes, teacher)

Ha

Ha is the stage of questioning. It means to “break free”. This is the stage after the rigorous work of Shu, that the student turns the table on form. That is, having conformed to form for so long, he begins to make form conform to him. He begins to ask questions of the teacher and adapt the rules to his own individuality.

Ha is Michael Phelps – legendary swimmer, breathing on every stroke in his butterfly swim (you usually breathe every second stroke). Ha is the 4-time Olympic gold medal and 8-time championship gold medal sprinter Michael Johnson’s stiff upright and short-step technique that (almost literally) flew in the face of the conventional technique of pounding arms and high-knees.

Ha is you when you have mastered Shu and know enough to bend and even break the rules effectively. It is when you begin to experiment and distill concepts down to their essence so that you can manipulate them to your purposes. You develop impressive fluidity and flexibility with your skills free from the bounds of convention while upholding the core.

In short, you are discovering which are the mobile, and which are the load bearing-walls of your structures—what walls can you move around and what walls need to stay fixed for your structure to stay intact.

Shu says Hai Sensai. Ha asks WhySensai?

Ha is often good enough for most people. In fact, few ever really reach the full potential of Ha – and they often don’t need to. Life is good at Ha. But it is at Ri, that true Mastery emerges.

Ri

Ri is when the student no longer needs the teacher. Having completely mastered the techniques and the form and having fully adapted them, she is able to act in complete freedom and creativity.

This is Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton who literally created new knowledge—Relativity and Calculus respectively. Having mastered the knowledge available at the time, they set out to create (some would argue discover) new information, and the world was never the same again.

At Ri, your teacher is now your peer, and in some ways, your student also. You have moved from instruction to knowledge, to wisdom. You have arrived. Yet, I suspect, it will feel like your journey has only just begun.

Shu says Hai Sensai, Ha asks Why Sensai, Ri says Bye Sensai.

The blend of ShuHaRi

While usually presented in a linear way, the three stages can often overlap. The person in Ha may continue to learn and practice principles in a rote fashion and even at Shu, the student can adapt and manipulate ideas and concepts. But understanding where you are mainly at every point helps you to make the most of each stage and accelerate your advancement to the next.

Until the next post, be your best and do your best.