In Neh
In the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do, In Neh is one of eight key principles. It speaks to endurance, perseverance, and patience—a quiet but powerful commitment to cultivating an indomitable spirit.
During my years of training as a martial artist, I came to love not just the physical practice, but the philosophy that shaped it. While I appreciated the movement (and, if I’m honest, was less fond of sparring), it was the deeper principles that truly resonated with me—especially In Neh.
Endurance and perseverance are asked of all of us at different points in our lives. In times of happiness, we rarely think about them. Joy comes easily; it asks little of us. But in darker moments, when life feels uncertain or overwhelming, we are called to go inward—to find a place of resilience, of safety, of quiet strength. It is in these moments that In Neh reveals itself.
There is a quote from the 17th-century samurai and poet Mizuta Masahide that has stayed with me:
“My barn having burned down, I can now see the moon.”
This idea—that even in loss, something new becomes visible—has anchored me through difficult years marked by profound uncertainty and change. To find even the faintest glimmer of hope in those moments is not naive; it is necessary. Without hope—or even the belief that hope exists—what remains?
In martial arts, endurance is both physical and psychological. It lives in those moments when your body says “stop,” but something deeper says, “keep going.” While this is learned in the training hall, it becomes far more meaningful in life itself—when we are tested in ways that reach beyond the physical, into the core of who we are.
In those moments, it is natural to think, I can’t handle this. But alongside that thought, there can also be another:
I have endured before. The smaller challenges, the quiet struggles—they prepared me for this.
And perhaps that is the essence of In Neh: not the absence of difficulty, but the steady, often unseen strength that carries us through it.