Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Almaty Management University, founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of KUSTO Group Yerkin Tatishev spoke at the Shamal forum.
Shamal 2023 is a large-scale five-day networking event in which 10,000 people from the business sector took part.
Truly, Tatishev’s performance was extraordinary. His proud figure, dressed in a black kimono, immediately aroused the interest of the public. He introduced them to the world of “kendo”, which is a modern Japanese martial art of fencing with bamboo swords. “Kendo is an art with a thousand–year history. All the rules were written in the blood of the fighters who died in the battles. More than 15 years ago, I began my journey into the world of kendo. Recently passed the fifth dan,” the fighter-entrepreneur began his story.
We present to your attention extracts from Mr. Tatishev’s speech. He went from an entrepreneur who is engaged in martial arts to a kendoka who is engaged in entrepreneurship.
Yerkin Tatishev:
How will you become a master if you don’t teach others?
The teacher teaches everyone and gives you everything. Sensei teaches you about things that you have to go through all your life to understand for yourself. They come and give you all this knowledge, they share it openly. This is the power of masters, they easily share their skills, their results, and knowledge: if you know something, tell it, show it, if you know how, share it. Otherwise, your path will stop there. How will you become a master if you don’t teach others?
I understood why chefs cut perfectly and have fun
“Life is a routine. Family, work… Everything in life is cyclical. Any job is a cycle, a routine. As a result, it will turn out as psychologists say “burnout”. Over time, I began to think “about every ippon.” During the training, I began to reflect on each stroke. And one and a half, two hours of training passes like 20 minutes. And if you think about the routine, it will become very interesting. I understood why chefs cut perfectly and have fun. They can cut for an hour and have fun. This happens to many people: masters in music, they can play instruments for hours. They enjoy themselves and do not get tired. Why? Because he’s all inside, he’s “in ippon.” He looks for “ippon” in every sound, in every movement. And accordingly, he lives by it, and he has no fatigue, no boredom. Therefore, if you can make “ippon culture” a part of life, life will become brighter. You will discover a lot of interesting things for yourself.
Sacrifice yourself for the sake of victory
“Sutemi” is translated from Japanese as a seed. There is an ancient Japanese poem that says that the seed grain sinks even in a fast river. And the empty seed is carried away, and it is important for the seed to go deep. “Sutemi” also means “sacrificing yourself on impact.” When I decided to strike, there were no backsides, no fears and doubts. Sacrifice yourself for the sake of victory. It’s important to be in this state. Many do not do this, and “ippons” do not happen. They are losing this battle of life.