“Karate is my ‘ikigai’, my purpose in life, practicing until the end. I have many foreign students, I want to help them develop further. I hope karate grows and grows, even after I’m gone.” 
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Kiyomasa Maeda 10th dan Shogen Ryu Karate-Do
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Ikigai (生き甲斐) is a Japanese concept that means “a reason for being.” The word “ikigai” is usually used to indicate the source of value in one’s life or the things that make one’s life worthwhile. The word translated to English roughly means “thing that you live for” or “the reason for which you wake up in the morning.”
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Each individual’s “ikigai” is personal to them and specific to their lives, values and beliefs. It reflects the inner-self of an individual and expresses that faithfully, while simultaneously creating a mental state in which the individual feels at ease.
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THE 10 RULES OF IKIGAI (an example)
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1: Stay active; don’t retire.
2: Take it slow.
3: Don’t fill your stomach.
4: Surround yourself with good friends.
5: Get in shape for your next birthday.
6: Smile.
7: Reconnect with nature.
8: Give thanks.
9: Live in the moment.
10: Follow your ikigai.
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Have you found your “Ikigai?” 
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