Giri is a Japanese term that can be translated into functionally correct English but that really has no equivalent in English if one refers to the emotion behind it.

Giri roughly means “obligation” but to the Japanese, it means “life-long commitment” as in repaying something that was done for you or to help you. This “life-long commitment” is not a one-timer’; that is, it’s not like the “markers” that Americans use to denote a favor you did for someone and now you’re calling in that marker and once they do a favor for you it’s done and now you’re even.

Nope. Being assigned or your accepting a “giri” means that you were given something so important, so life-changing, or so life-saving that you pay back forever because that obligation becomes critical to who you are. You must pay it back or you lose all honor and besmirch your character.

To Japanese, this failure can become a form of being socially ostracized; to an American who understands the concept, this failure becomes an internal albatross that you wear around your neck and that wears on your insides until you make good. Either way, you have to engage in payback. You have to give back what you were gifted.

In martial arts this “payback” is the “giri” or obligation to teach beginners and for that matter, anyone who is Kohai or lower in kyu or grade to you. Someone likely spent a lot of personal time that they could have used for their training but instead, they devoted time to teaching you. You in turn have now accepted the giri so you must teach others the way in which you were taught. To not pass on the knowledge and to refuse or hesitate to teach the beginners is a form of arrogance and egocentrism that has no place in Budo or any dojo that teaches do or “the way”.

Originally published July 24th, 2008