This is the first post in a new series titled Sensei’s Stories. Over the years I’ve been training karate, my sensei has told a wide variety of stories, each of which has its own lesson to be learned. I’m going to share them with you, both because the lessons reach far beyond karate, and because I want to avoid losing them down the road.

This story is about two brothers named Gamban and Takwan.

These two brothers began training in martial arts when they were young, and they quickly distinguished themselves as exceptional students. Their martial prowess became so renowned, in fact, that people would gather from nearby towns and villages just to see the brothers practice.

One day, while the brothers were training, Gambon looked over and noticed a small bird resting on a nearby bench. “Brother,” he said, “Let us see if we can catch that bird with our bare hands as proof of our speed and knowledge.”

Carefully, quietly, Gambon crept up to the sparrow, who seemed not to notice his approach. Then, in a flash of speed, Gambon snapped his hands out and clasped them around the bird. When he opened them to the crowd, sure enough, there was a dead sparrow in his hands. The crowd cheered.

Now it was Takwan’s turn. He waited until another bird landed, crept up quietly, and reached for the bird. He was a little bit slower than his brother, however, and the bird notice and flew away at the last second. The people were disappointed, but reassured Takwan that he would do better next time.

As time passed, the brothers both became senseis themselves, opening dojos of their own. Gambon’s fame quickly spread after word got out that he could catch a bird with his bare hands (he repeated this trick often, as it was good for business), and his dojo flourished. Takwan, meanwhile, kept trying and failing to catch a sparrow, and his dojo struggled to retain students. Eventually, Takwan was forced to close it down.

One day, Gamban happened upon Takwan at a nearby lake, once again trying to catch a sparrow. “Brother,” he said, “why do you continue to try to catch the sparrow? You have so many other talents, and you can show people your skill in other ways.”

Takwan ignored him, continuing his approach toward the bird as an elderly fisherman watched with mild curiosity. Moving silently forward, he reached out and closed his hands, then turned around to face Gambon and opened them up again.

There, sitting in his hand, was a live sparrow. It chirped at him, before spreading its wings and flying away as the fisherman watched with amazement.