The history of Kendo Nagasaki can be found in many places, from his own website and many other internet locations, but behind that story is that of the man behind the mask, Peter Thornley. Peter’s autobiography lifts the veil on the less-told story of his difficult beginnings and many early-life challenges, and while it’s enlightening and charts his successes, it doesn’t illustrate how he became able to overcome his disadvantages and transcend their negative impacts upon him.

Subjectivity is interesting – one’s own ideas of what one’s own life is about – but it can become filled with anguish when one experiences social contrasts. A dyslexic child initially knows only that the hieroglyphs taught in school are incomprehensible, until they become ridiculed because all the other children have a mysterious fluency with these on-paper mysteries, which is judged to be a form of superiority. Then, particularly for older generations, dyslexia became shameful.

Poverty is irrelevant to a child because all it knows is that its needs are being met, until it encounters the privilege of others; this is often accompanied by experiencing the expectations and senses of entitlement and superiority of the privileged others, and poverty then becomes a badge of shame.

The loss of a parent at a young age is undeniably devastating for a child, and if the family environment isn’t capable of regaining balance, it can add further confusion and distress. Then, even seeing other children and their enviably stable and complete families can cast a cruel contrast on one’s own existence; even a young child can feel profoundly undermined by such an experience.

Of course, children grow and adapt and establish their own realities as far as they can, but external circumstances such as mentioned can become inculcated, absorbed as fundamental defining aspects that limit what life is and will continue to be. With Kendo Nagasaki as the vehicle, Peter Thornley was able to transcend all his early limitations and disadvantages, and he now wishes to share how he did it.

At the age of 17 Peter met Kenshiro Abbe, the Japanese master judoka who brought not just extreme judo teaching skill to the UK, but also Kyu Shin Do as a technique in the discipline. Growing up as a Buddhist, Abbe knew well the benefits of Zen meditation, but at university his reflections on western philosophers’ takes on subjectivity inspired him to also envisage Kyu Shin Do as a self-empowerment philosophy. As Peter learned Abbe’s judo teachings he excelled, but by applying Kyu Shin Do to his subjective reality, he also began to dissolve the limitations he’d grown up with. The rest, as they say, is history – Kendo dominated wrestling, Peter’s life became an unqualified success.

Peter now wishes to share the magic of Kyu Shin Do with everyone. It can transform any limitation in our lives and unlock our full potential as if we’d never been impeded. From dyslexia to damaging social status judgments to bereavement and grief to insecurity over one’s own sexuality to a general lack of confidence and what may seem to be insurmountable obstacles to living a more successful life, all limitations can be swept away and our full potential can be liberated with Kyu Shin Do.

If this sounds fanciful, then the first thing to do is believe in the possibility of your life being better – hanging on to old limitations may feel comfortingly familiar, but doing as Peter did in achieving the Buddhist ethos and becoming the best you can be is infinitely more rewarding, for you, your family, and the whole of society around you. Like Peter, with Kyu Shin Do, what you can achieve, who you could become, can be boundless.

Watch out for ‘Kyu Shin Do – Your Pathway to Self-Empowerment’, Kendo’s targeted guides, and until then, see Kendo’s previous Healing Messages for clues to this transformative way forward.

Now as never before, Onwards!