This is the fourth post in a series titled Sensei’s Stories – a collection of stories told by my sensei, each of which contains a valuable lesson. You can read the first post here.

There was once a sensei who was famous for his martial arts skill. He was old, but his knowledge was such that he was able to best others who were several decades younger than him. This skill meant that many who wished to study martial arts would seek him out and request to learn from him.

One day, three young men visited the sensei’s home in the countryside and requested exactly that.

“Very well,” said the sensei, reaching into a pouch and handing each of the would-be students a small stone. “I want you to keep this stone with you at all times, and polish it with your thumb every single day. Training begins tomorrow.”

Confused, but not wanting to upset their new teacher, the students took the rocks and left for the day. When they returned the following morning, the sensei began teaching them basic techniques. Each day, he would ask the students to show him the stone he gave them. They obliged, and he nodded. And then it was back to training.

It didn’t take long for the first of the students to become impatient.

“All we do is basics, and why do we have to polish this stupid stone anyway?” Frustrated, he reached into his pocket and threw the stone into the nearby stream. “I quit. I’m going to go find a sensei who can teach me real martial arts.”

The other two students watched him leave, then returned to their training.

Months passed. It took a while, but eventually, the second student began to grow weary of doing the same basics over and over again, and rubbing a stone that appeared to stay exactly the same day in, day out.

“I’m sorry sensei,” said the student, handing sensei his rock back, “I can’t do this anymore. Thank you for your teachings, but I need to look elsewhere to further my studies.”

The third student continued training under his sensei for years, polishing the stone in his pocket every day throughout. One day, the sensei informed the student that it was time to begin learning some more advanced techniques.

To his surprise, these techniques came to the student quite easily, even though they were significantly more complex than the basics he had been practicing.

“How is this possible sensei? All we’ve been doing has been basics, day in and day out for years!”

“Look in your pocket,” was the sensei’s cryptic reply. The student reached into his pocket and removed the stone he had been polishing, his eyes going wide.

Where once there was a dark, dirty, dull stone, the student now held a radiant diamond.

And at that point, he understood.