ARETE – a·rête – /əˈrāt/
I’m a strong believer in the idea that language has power. Words mean things when associated with beliefs, principles, and action. Codes, Mantra’s, Virtues, etc… they’re all ‘Power Words’ used to inspire behavior and growth.
ARETE is such a concept.
Arete Athletic is an idea created to represent and support the goals and virtues we pursue in the Fargo BJJ Academy every day.
It is derived from ancient Greek to describe the classical heroes of myth and legend, but we will use it to inspires us to be the ‘Modern Heroes’ of today’s world!
ARETE translates to ‘excellence of any kind’. Since its appearance in Ancient Greek, it is bound to the notion of the fulfilment of purpose… to living up to one’s fullest potential.
In the Trojan War epic ‘The Odyssey’, Homer uses the term Arete to describes ALL the hero’s, male and female, from both the Greek and Trojan sides.
A person of Arete is of the highest ‘effectiveness’ using all of their faculties… Strength, Intelligence, Bravery and Will… to achieve REAL results.
Arete involves all abilities and potentialities available to humans.
It is believed that the mind, body and spirit need to continually be developed in order to be living a life of Arete.
I believe certain words can have a power far beyond their use on a page. They can inspire and be the source of power and purpose around action.
Arete and it’s appearance on our Academy Cloths, GI’s and gear is to remind us every day to develop ourselves in all of our abilities, live our lives to our fullest potential and find our purpose!