Month: April 2010

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumafr

get him to fix the ind and attack somewhere else

With the study of tachi kumiuchi we entered this year into a new dimension of sword fighting. This is why this year is really important for your martial evolution.

Zen masters have explained martial arts things better that some practitioner. Takuan is one of them and his explanations are so simple that I am quoting here a paragraph of  one of his books.

In the “unfettered mind” Takuan writes: “Although you see the sword that moves to strike you, if your mind is not detained by it and you meet the rhythm of the advancing sword; if  you do not think of striking your opponent and no thoughts or judgments remain; if the instant you see the swinging sword your mind is not the least bit detained and you move straight in and wrench the sword away from him; the sword that was going to cut you down will become your own, and, contrarily, will be the sword that cuts down your opponent”.

In budô if your mind is stopped on the weapon attacking you, on your hand holding the sword or if you give power to your fear, you will not be able to react freely. This is the whole point of sensei‘s teachings. If you want to handle the fight correctly (sabaki) you have to be free in your mind (see the post on isaku kaitatsu) and the solution adapted to the situation will manifest itself freely in your actions.

Being free means not trying to do anything, if you try to do a technique you will die and Hatsumi sensei‘s budô is about staying alive.

Train with no preconceived idea and you will be free. This is the gokui (essence) of budô.