Shu – Ha – Ri
There is always a new technique to learn and master an art or knowledge. To try and check what works for oneself might take some work that has to be done. To learn something that is new is challenging yet exciting. To have it done in a bit easier way, you could just follow a simple disciplined way where you can break down the problems into smaller bits and master it.
One such manner used could be ShuHaRi. Originating from Japan, this technique is called the route to master an art, meaning a concept in traditional martial arts which describes the stages of learning. This Japanese learning system is divided into three parts, Shu – where the student copies what the teacher does without any doubts or questions, Ha – the student learns to question, and Ri – the student follows his own path once he understands the concept and tries improvising to make it better. Let’s have a better understanding of what ShuHaRi means.
Shu, when translated, means to keep or protect. It also means to learn from the traditions. The characteristics of this stage are protection and being defended by the teacher, obeying the order of the teacher, observing the teaching and keeping one’s eye open to the teaching process. Like an empty vessel, the student listens to the teacher and learns everything they have to offer without any question or logical thinking. The decision of whether the student is moving from Shu to Ha is left to the teacher and not the student. As there is a repetition in the learning pattern, this linear approach makes sure that the learning has been done efficiently.
Ha means to tear open or find the exceptions and reflect on the truth. This is a dynamic stage wherein the student breaks out of tradition and tries to find out the positive side of the denial stage. This action leads to self affirmation. The student is attempting to break the chains from tradition so that he can reflect on meaning and the purpose of his learning. This makes them have a deeper knowledge of what they had acquired by just blindly following their teacher.
This deepening of the knowledge is now turned into muscle memory and they have certain logical reasons behind their learnt techniques which back them while using the skills.
Ri is the stage where the student exceeds the teacher and transcends the acquired knowledge. The students break themselves free from the boundaries and put their knowledge to practical use which helps them to think on their own and knows how to test it in reality. It is in this stage that the student becomes independent of a teacher and doesn’t rely on any external guidance, mentally or spiritually.
ShuHaRi isn’t a linear progression of mastering a concept but the fundamentals remind the same whereas the application of those concepts vary with each student and their ever progressing personality. In problem solving, ShuHaRi can be applied so that the problem is understood better which helps in bringing out possible solutions at the earliest. The understanding of the problem deeply and all that is underlying in it comes under the Shu, to learn what is causing the problem and how to find a solution for that falls under the Ha, and if the problem is known or you know the steps that has to be followed in order to arrive at the desired, and you doing that part is in the Ri stage.
As told, to know the problem in depth is equal to half of the solution. To know how to break down the problem will lead you to the result which is nothing but the mastery of art. Knowing how and where to question and knowing how and where to use the knowledge is the key to becoming a master in any field of knowledge.
