Codes & Virtues

The Tenets of Taekwondo consists of these five words: Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control, and Indomitable Spirit. I have always wondered about the difference between Perseverance and Indomitable Spirit. There is some distinction. I would say Indomitable Spirit is holding your ground, while Perseverance is driving forward; however, is that distinction enough to warrant an entire word? I mean there are only 5 of them…. Let’s take a look at another popular doctrine, the Code of Bushido. We have seven words here: GI (Integrity), Rei (Respect), Yu (Heroic Courage), Meiyo (Honor), Jin (Compassion), Makoto (Honesty and Sincerity), and Chu (Duty and Loyalty). Doesn’t Gi and Makoto kind of sound like the same thing? Gi (Integrity) is keeping your word. Makoto (honesty and sincerity), I guess, would be speaking the truth and being genuine. These are subtle distinctions to my English-speaking mind. It makes you wonder if these words don’t hold a more divergent meaning in Japanese. Still, as much as I love both the Tenets of Taewondo and the Code Bushido; I feel like we are missing the opportunity to take bigger linguistic steps and capture more meaning—for there are a lot of great virtues out there. What values do you espouse that are not covered by the two previously mentioned codes?