SHU HA

RI (in Scrum)

Shu Ha Ri are three kanji (Japanese symbols) which describe the cycle of training and progress of a student
in a martial art. The application of Shu Ha Ri is not confined to the study of a martial art, but can also serve
as a basic model of learning and mastery of many practices and disciplines, including Scrum.
Shu (or Mamoru) means to keep, protect, keep or maintain. During the Shu phase, the practitioner builds the
technical foundation of knowledge and practice. Shu also implies a loyalty or persistence in a single
instructor, coach or mentor. In Shu, the student should apply the techniques as coached without modification
and without attempting to explore the rationale of the techniques. In this way, a lasting foundation is built on
which the deeper understanding can be based.
The point of Shu is that a sound technical foundation can be built most efficiently by following the most
disciplined route to that goal. Mixing in other schools of thought or variations or departures from the core
practices prior to an understanding of the discipline is an invitation to go down a wrong path a path where
the techniques developed might not have sound theoretical or practical value. In the traditional interpretation
of the Shu stage, it is the coach who decides when the student moves from Shu to Ha, not the student. It's
up to the student to follow the coach's teaching as an empty vessel to be filled up. Variation from the core
foundational practices is not prudent in Shu.
The second stage of the process, Ha, means to detach. Here, the student breaks free from the traditions of
the coach to some extent. In the Ha stage, the student must reflect on the meaning and purpose of
everything that she has learned and thus come to a deeper understanding of the theory than pure repetitive
practice can allow. At this stage, since each technique is thoroughly learned and absorbed into the muscle
memory, the student is prepared to reason about the background behind these techniques. In academics,
the Ha stage can be likened to the stage where enough basic information is available to the student that
research papers of a survey nature could be expected.
Ri means to go beyond or transcend. In this stage, the student has become a practitioner. The practitioner
must think originally and develop from background knowledge original thoughts about Scrum and test them
against the reality of his or her background knowledge and conclusions as well as the demands of work. In
the Ri stage, the practice truly becomes the practitioner's own and to some extent his or her own creation.
This stage is similar in academia to the Ph.D. or beyond stage.
There are three things which the lonely Scrum practitioner needs to address. These are:
1. How to manage the Shu stage lacking qualified coaches, mentors or guides.
2. How to handle the progression from Shu to Ha to Ri without the guidance of a mentor, coach or guide.
3. How to judge your progress and the correctness of your practice.
The key to handling the Shu phase is to locate a good Scrum coach / mentor and visit her as often as
possible. From her guidance, you have to build, as rapidly as possible, a picture of Scrum practices and
principles you're trying to learn. Throughout your own practice you must continually and honestly compare
your own actions against your model. There likely won't be a Sensei handy to tell you what you're doing
incorrectly so you may need to be your own instructor; go slowly and carefully.

Examine your model once more against what your coach / mentor is doing when you visit or are visited by
him. Bit-by-bit, refine your model and what you are doing. You will progress slowly, but self-examination and
careful observation are the only tools you have. When you have access to a coach or mentor, listen to
*everything* he has to say. Be honest and transparent about your challenges and problems, and how you
have coped with them. Don't be in a hurry. Don't jump into free practice; spend your time applying the basics
and the techniques and advice provided by the coach.
In the classical model of Shu Ha Ri, the transition from stage to stage is managed and timed by the instructor.
The instructor knows properly at what time the student is ready to move from phase to phase due to his or
her greater experience in both the art and in the progression of students through their training. The lonely
student does not have the benefit of this advice however and must self-manage the timing of this transition.
Important questions to ask are:
1. How does Scrum work and why does Scrum work (or not)?
2. Do I (and my team) apply Scrum according to its rules; if not, why not?
3. What do I (an my team) need to do to apply Scrum more effectively?
It is not enough to simply accept your own answers to these questions. How are they being answered by
others inside and outside the team? As you develop experience in the use of Scrum and can honestly assess
(or be assessed) that you can use it correctly, you will need to expose yourself to as broad a range of
practitioners as possible. As you watch others, you should ask and answer three questions:
1. Which other practitioners do I respect and admire?
2. How is what they do different from what I do?
3. How can I change my model and practices to incorporate those differences that I think are valuable?
This phase is a combination of the ideals of Ha and Ri. Your constant questioning, testing and incorporation
of the results of your conclusions will bit by bit lead to both a deeper understanding of your art as well. The
three latter questions to some extent embody the closing of the cycle. The first two questions are definitely in
the province of Ha. The last one requires you to modify your learning beyond that which you have received
from your coach / mentor and is part of the concept of Ri. However in application, the answer includes
elements of Shu as well since you will loop back to the beginning once you attempt to change your practices.
Shu Ha Ri in classical interpretation is a linear sequence which leads the student with minimal deviations
down a path of learning. The student progresses from imitation, to reasoning to creating. When applied to the
student with limited access to a coach or mentor, Shu Ha Ri becomes a four stage cycle of imitate, reason,
create, and test, cycling back to imitation again.
Shu Ha Ri was developed in response to a need to build a learning method in martial arts where the only
testing was actual combat. In these circumstances, cycles could not be tolerated since a failed test would
leave the student maimed or dead. In the modern practice of the martial arts, where qualified instructors are
not always available, competition, free practice and other forms of nonfatal testing are possible. This leads to
a more cyclical piecemeal application of Shu Ha Ri as a tool for the 'lonely' artist. This same learning
process can be applied to Scrum practitioners.