Faith, hope, and love remain, writes St. Paul in the familiar second reading from 1st Corinthians for today's Mass, but the greatest of these is love. Love is the greatest virtue. Without love, the habitual practice of the other virtues loses meaning. Love is the anchor.
What is the greatest virtue in the practice of shotokan karate and crossfit? The development of strength over time is certainly a contender. And flexibility another. Sharper technique, more focused power, better kata, fiercer sparring, more correct form in weight lifting, all these are training virtues.
But showing up is the greatest training virtue it seems to me because all the other training virtues rely on this. The 11th Precept of Karate by Funakoshi Sensei states "Karate is like boiling water, if you do not heat it constantly, it will cool." Go to CrossFit. Go to the dojo. Show up. Because by showing up, we cultivate the habit of doing something that is better than not doing.
And the virtue in regular training is the training of regular virtue.
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