This fall we will have our 秋修業 Aki Shūgyō on Oct 20. This training event sets the Bujinkan theme for our fall training. The training theme is set to take over the season. We will move from 哀れみ Awaremi to 楽しみ Tanoshimi.
Not for Everyone! Only the most dedicated teachers are willing to go on a 修業 Shugyo. Only the most dedicated students commit to the adventure. Are you in?
text or call: (424) 272-6307 to RSVP
Our theme comes from the clue Hatsumi Sensei gave us when he matched the seasons with 喜怒哀楽 kidoairaku, or human emotions. In fighting, we normally strive to remove emotion, or at least, not let it control us.
But the ura waza, or hidden technique, is to harness the power contained in emotion. We draw it out of our enemy to use against them. Maybe on a deep level, we can even tap the power of emotion from within ourselves.
Hatsumi Sensei told us we must learn 遊びの中真実 Asobi no naka shinjitsu, or the truth hidden within play.
This is training Fresh From Japan. 修業 Shugyo is the pursuit of knowledge. Learn about Bujinkan themes straight from my recent Japan trip. And Get connected to the most current training.
text or call: (424) 272-6307 to RSVP
Can you do the work? A 修業 Shugyo is not supposed to be easy. You get hours of hard training. And inspiration for months of discovery.
Hidden Alcove at 戸定邸 Tojō-tei. photo by Michael Glenn
Within the 九法の力 Kyū-hō no chikara, or the power of the 9 methods, there is a kuji that holds the 秘技 higi or secret technique to overcoming a hundred enemies:
「護攻虚変争精神不動」GoKoKyoHenSeiShinFudo
This kuji, or gokui, repels any method of capture or defeat. You protect yourself by changing the attack itself with an immovable spirit. This is the time to do or die. You are prepared for death, but you’d rather do the enemy in.
How do you do instead of die? In that single moment of life and death you remain unmoved in the middle. That middle place is the key to ninjutsu.
On a very hot day in June, I learned about this. The air was loud with the harmonic drone of 蝉 semi (cicadas). But we were training anyway. Hatsumi Sensei told us to train in accordance with the temperature.
Two opponents attacked and Soke slipped behind the first attacker. He did this while trapping the second guy in his own attack. Then Hatsumi asked the uke to give his impression of what just happened. The confused student described his inability to get a fix on Hatsumi Sensei as a target.
Soke replied that this is not the movement of sports or the “so called” martial arts. This is something far above that. This is true ninjutsu. Make your techniques transparent. Make them see through.
Hatsumi Sensei told us not to just punch on the surface, but to strike through the body. He said when your arm goes through their spine it makes the sign of the cross.
Soke gave us a warning
「九字を許すも十字を許すな」kuji are permitted but not juji.
If you go beyond kuji and allow juji then you have “crossed the line.” Maybe you cross the line of life and death. You could end up facing 十王 Jū-ō the ten judges of the dead.
In Buddhism, there are nine states from Hell to Bodhisattva. The highest level, the tenth level, is becoming Buddha. But the 仏 hotoke (Boddhisatvas) are the souls of the dead, to be commemorated by their descendants.
I toweled the sweat away and scribbled my notes after training. What did I learn that day?
Make yourself and your technique transparent;
Go to the line but don’t cross it;
Remain unmoved by life or death in that spot.
This is the secret to 心中を突く也 Shinjū o tsuku nari, piercing the heart of the enemy.
This summer, I was honored to be invited to Québec to teach and share the Bujinkan training I've been doing in Japan. My hosts Bernard and Francine were gracious and wonderful. The students were very skilled, attentive, and curious. And Québec City was an amazing place to visit!
I covered many Bujinkan topics during the seminar. Here is an extended preview video:
The contents of the full Bujinkan training series is available below.
Part Two: Kukan and Tension. In this video I demonstrate how to shape the kukan. Then in this space we create tension that allows us to throw our opponent without strength. I also share some of the training I did with Hatsumi Sensei in Japan last month. FULL VIDEO https://www.rojodojo.com/quebec-bujinkan-kukan-and-tension/
Part Three: Draw and Disarm. First I show how to shift the kukan to draw your knife or take the attacker’s knife. Next I demonstrated how to precisely target kyusho with any weapon. Then I shared details about 平一文字の構 Hira Ichimonji no Kamae. I showed how to use 六法の構 roppou no kamae which naturally includes 鷹の舞 taka no mai. I finished the training with knife disarms that I studied with Hatsumi Sensei in Japan. FULL VIDEO: https://www.rojodojo.com/quebec-bujinkan-draw-and-disarm/
Part Four: Shinbo and Kyusho. We began in 音無し之構 otonashi no kamae with the hanbo. This led into an examination of the principle of 辛抱一貫 Shinbo Ikkan that I learned from Hatsumi Sensei in Japan. Then I continued with 半棒術 hanbōjutsu using 挟み捕り hasami dori. I also shared the Bujinkan Kuden of kirigami as it applies to kyusho. FULL VIDEO: https://www.rojodojo.com/quebec-bujinkan-shinbo-and-kyusho/
Part Five: Weapon Retention With 支点 Shiten. We began with hanbo weapon retention from 無念無想の構 munen muso no kamae. The basic forms of this apply the principles of 手解 tehodoki. Then it becomes more advanced using a quality of 支点 shiten that I have learned with Soke. The initial grab provides a place of connection that can become a fulcrum. This captures all of the opponent’s power and focuses it down to one point. This creates some powerful throws while using no strength or force. We did variations from 型破の構 kata yaburi no kamae that drop one side or the other, or even twist about the center. FULL VIDEO: https://www.rojodojo.com/quebec-bujinkan-weapon-retention-with-shiten/
Part Six: Kodachi Kihon And 天眼 Tengan. We began by creating structure with our kamae, then dropping away in the kukan. Next I explained Hatsumi Sensei’s idea of あも一寸の玉 虫 amo issun no tama mushi, this is a gokui from 高木揚心流 Takagi Yoshin Ryū. We moved into some secret draws and 小太刀 kodachi kihon that I studied with Soke. These come from the 十方折衝 juppo sessho. Then we wrapped up with a high level strategy called 天眼 Tengan. This came directly from Hatsumi Sensei during my recent Japan trip. FULL VIDEO: https://www.rojodojo.com/quebec-bujinkan-kodachi-kihon-and-tengan/
Part Seven: Tachi Dori And Kusari Fundo. We began with the 無刀捕 Mutōdori of 太刀捕 Tachi Dori. I taught two methods that I learned from Hatsumi Sensei in Japan. These are done by feel rather than looking for the sword. I explained some small details about 不動明王の目 Fudōmyōō no me like 天地眼 tenchigan. I added the 鎖分銅 kusarifundō to trap the Tachi. The true skill of Bujinkan students is often revealed with their handling of flexible weapons. I finished by sharing some critical details on how to do 中振 nakafuri with the kusarifundō. It becomes infinite like happō. FULL VIDEO: https://www.rojodojo.com/quebec-bujinkan-tachi-dori-and-kusari-fundo/
Gekkan is a technique from Shindenfudo-ryu in the Bujinkan Dojo, it is also included in the Yudansha book on page 130. Here is a variation on this technique demonstrated by the author of this book.
I recently covered the concept of “Mochikaeru” after a class by Nagato Sensei. (1)
But Mochikaeru has another meaning which is close to juggling. (2)
When you “transfer something from one hand to the other,” you are juggling. What is interesting is that it is not valid only in the physical world. You can also juggle with ideas and concepts. In fact, Kyojutsu is the art of juggling between truth and falsehood. Remember the difference between Kyojitsu and Kyojutsu. Kyojutsu is a technique using Kyojitsu techniques, i.e., using deception. (3) (4)
Sensei’s Budō is only about manipulating the space to deceive the attacker. I want to add that I see the Mutō Dori of 2019 as pure Kyojutsu. Sensei’s Budō keeps juggling with Uke’s perceptions and change his perception of reality. We offer Uke a “fake reality” to make him fall into the Kūkan. (5) You have to juggle between his reality and yours. To reach the “juggler state,” you have to train using Kyojitsu Konkō and mix up reality. (6) You have to force your reality into Uke’s appreciation of the situation. Some practitioners will develop the ability after many years. Some never reach this level. They will remain on the ground and never take off.
When I’m training at the Bujinkan Honbu, I often see two main types of students. The “Waza collectors” that have no Kankaku. And “Kankaku exclusives” with no knowledge of the Waza. Try not to belong to one of these two groups. Stay in the middle as if on a path with Waza on your left, and Kankaku on your right. The Monk Shinran and the Jōdo Shinshū speak about the Niga Byakudō, the “white path between two rivers.” (7)
In Nature, many caterpillars never get to become beautiful butterflies. It reminds me of one of my favorite book called “Illusions” by Richard Bach. Richard Bach is a famous American writer who wrote. He wrote, “What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly. (8) (9)
Unfortunately, you cannot learn this “Kyojutsu / Mutō Dori” in a book. It has to go through a long process, and it is hard work. This is precisely why our Bujinkan system is an art and not a sport. A Japanese expression for that, it is: “虚実皮膜, Kyojitsu Himaku.” “The difference between truth and fiction in Art is very subtle; Art abides in a realm that is neither truth nor fiction.” (10)
Sensei often says that “anyone can replicate a Waza, but that his Art is difficult.” Let me take an example here. If you copy a painting by some famous painter, your copy will never “taste” the same as the original. Beyond technique, something extra exists, this is Kankaku, feeling. Only an artist can include that into his work. Sensei is a great artist, and an artist is not a regular person. He is someone who sees the world with a different set of senses. An artist always starts as an apprentice of the form and the technique. It is only when he can exceed his knowledge that he turns into an artist. The goal of Hatsumi Sensei is to turn us into artists to develop our vision of Budō. In the past, Sven, Peter, Pedro, and I had a similar understanding of the Bujinkan. Today, our perception of Taijutsu is different. Each time we meet is an excellent opportunity to learn from one another. Our unity is the glue of our differences.
If you want to move from the apprentice level to the artist level, you have to train with your heart and your spirit. This is why the Bujinkan arts are a “Kokoro no Budō” as stated by the late Takamatsu Sensei.
So study and learn the Mutō Dori based on Kyojitsu to get to your next level and turn yourself into an artist. This is a tough path, and many get lost. Deception and manipulation are applied to the opponent, not to you! Kyojutsu is only a technique to win over adversity, it is not an end in itself.
Use the tools of Gomakasu (11), but be a Komakasu, a barbarian artist to trust. (12)
1 持ち帰る, Mochikaeru: to bring back; to carry home; to take out (e.g., food) / See one of my May posts written in Japan.
2 持ち替える, Mochikaeru: to change the way one holds something; to transfer something from one hand to the other
3 虚実, Kyojitsu: truth or falsehood
4 虚術, Kyojutsu: the technique of deception
5 空間, Kūkan: space; room; airspace; Space
6 虚実混交, Kyojitsu Konkō: a mishmash of truth and untruth; a mixture of fiction and fact
About the Niga Byakudō, read https://nembutsu.info/blacker.htm. This is a long text, go straight to the end, you will find it in the 4th paragraph before the end
10 虚実皮膜, Kyojitsu Himaku” means that “the difference between truth and fiction in Art is very subtle. So, Art abides in a realm that is neither truth nor fiction.”
11 誤魔化す, Gomakasu: to deceive; to falsify; to misrepresent; to cheat; to swindle; to tamper; to juggle; to manipulate
