It natural to think that justice would decree that the skills you worked so hard to develop in the dojo would stay unblemished with you for a lifetime once you gained them – given that ownership came at such a steep price in sweat and effort. This is an illusion. Of all the things you own – your skills are the most perishable. Against an opponent of similar skill and experience – you are only as good as the last one hundred and fifty days of your training. Gaining skills is only the first battle – keeping them is a much longer and lonelier one.
