From blogurl:tazziedevil.wordpress.com - Google Blog Search by Duncan Stewart
Don`t seek to improve. Seek to learn how to endure and maintain the spirit of Heijoushin and Fudoushin. There is no limit to Budo. There are limits to sports. People must retire or become a coach after a certain period in the sporting world.… Read MoreYear: 2012
Deadline for t-shirts have passed!
From Sweden Taikai 2012 by alexander
Due to lead times to print T-shirts, you can no longer reserve one. We will make a few extras, but from now on, it’s on a first come, first serve basis. See you in a few weeks!
… Read MorePath to the Heart of the Flower (III)
From The Magick & The Mundane » Bujinkan by Shawn Gray
In Part I and II of this adventure, I wrote about how I made my way to Japan in 1990 to teach English, pursue Karate training, and look for ninja grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi. I had arrived in Japan in early August, and now, finally, in October, after getting settled into my apartment, teaching schedule, and Karate training, it was time to set off in search of the ninja master.
Getting information about ninja masters wasn’t as easy in 1990 as it is today. There was no Internet, at least not as we know it now. I remember writing letters home that would take a week to ten days to get from Japan to Canada, and a ten-minute phone conversation to connect with family cost me $100. The only information I had to base my search on was contained in two books on the ninja that I had brought with me to Japan. Both of these books were authored by the same American student of the grandmaster, and both of them pointed to the Iga region as the home of the ninja clans. Eager to meet Hatsumi Sensei for myself, I made plans to visit the area, the city of Iga–Ueno, located in present-day Mie Prefecture.
To plan the trip from Hiroshima to Iga–Ueno, which took around 6 hours at the time (I assume travel times have shortened in the time since), I went to the tourist information centre in Peace Park in central Hiroshima, about 200 metres from where the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945. (I had lived across the street from this location the first month I was in Japan, before relocating to the suburbs, and had been able to see ground zero out my kitchen window.) While the lovely ladies at the desk looked up train connection options, I watched televised footage of the carnage that was going on in Kuwait at the time. Saddam had torched the Kuwaiti oilfields, prompting George Bush Sr. to order the invasion that would drive him back to Baghdad.
Train information and tickets in hand, I was finally ready to make the trip. It was only a weekend trip, two days and one night, so I packed light, but made sure to take my two ninja books with me for reference. I got as early a start as possible, and made it to Iga–Ueno station early on the Saturday afternoon, images of the mystical ninja floating in my teenage head. Exiting the station, the reputation of the city as the home of the legendary shadow warriors was immediately apparent.
Iga-Ueno Station – October 1990
I couldn’t bring myself to pose behind the mask. I was looking for the real deal, not a propped up wooden cut-out for tourist photos.
From the station, I made my way to the ryokan inn where I would be spending the night, checked-in, and then excitedly made my way to the ninja museum, where I was sure to find the next clue in my search for Hatsumi Sensei. The ninja exhibit was fascinating, complete with purple-clad kunoichi female ninja agents, a creaking nightingale floor, hidden compartments, and trap doors. But I was really after information about the living master himself.
Proceeding into the museum proper, I slowly made my way past the many exotic artefacts, pausing to inspect them, unable to decipher the Japanese descriptions. Approaching one glass display case, I stopped in my tracks – I had seen something that I recognized. Underneath the glass was a partially unfurled makimono scroll. I had seen this very scroll before – there was a photo of it in one of the books I had brought with me! I excitedly ripped open my pack and quickly leafed through the book until I found the corresponding image. There was no mistake – the photo in the book was of exactly the same object I was looking at, as if I had taken it myself only moments before. This was a valuable clue in my search – it provided a link between what I had read about the ninja warriors and the exact place where I was physically standing in that moment. Surely a meeting with Hatsumi Sensei himself was only moments away!
I flagged down one of the few staff floating about the place, and in my awkward Japanese asked about Hatsumi Sensei. Her response was a blank expression. Hatsumi Sensei? Bujinkan? Another blank look. When I persisted, she wandered off to find a more senior person who might know more, and soon returned with an elderly gentleman. Between my dreadful Japanese and his attempts at English, he made it known in no uncertain terms that he knew nothing of the whereabouts of Hatsumi Sensei or of anything regarding the Bujinkan organization. I couldn’t believe my ears. I had come all this way to find him. And the photo in my book was proof that I was on the right track! How could the staff not know anything? I tried again to get more information from them, but they simply shrugged, and as the afternoon waned, I left the museum, crestfallen.
On the way back to the ryokan, I tried to make sense of what had happened. I was obviously at the right place – the photo in my book was proof of that. There could really be only one explanation. The staff had lied. There must have been some invisible, unspoken test that I had unknowingly failed and, having been deemed unfit for acceptance into ninja training, I had been sent away empty-handed. From what I had read of the elusive ninja in the books by the American student (who, by his own account, had managed to gain acceptance into the clan himself), it was likely that they were watching me right now, monitoring my movements. Maybe the ryokan staff themselves were also in the employ of the clan. Perhaps if I conducted myself well, someone would appear and tell me that I had passed the test after all. These were the thoughts of a 19-yr old from a small Canadian country town, brought up on fantastical ninja books and then transported into the mystical homeland of the ninja warriors, only to be denied in the end.
No ninja appeared at the ryokan that night. Or the next morning. There was little else to do but have a look around Iga–Ueno, including the castle. Photos were not allowed inside, but I did take a picture of an old palanquin from the doorway. This would have been carried on the shoulders of two retainers, the person of importance, such as a regional feudal daimyo lord, seated in the red box-like structure in the middle. I also got a shot out across one of the tiled roofs – tiled roofs are very exotic – and one of the castle moat, which conveys the mystique that I had come to associate with the image of the ninja through the books I had read.
The day was passing and it was time to return to Hiroshima. No ninja having appeared, it was with a heavy sigh that I boarded the train and watched the misty mountains of Iga pass slowly out of sight.
I may have waited just a bit too long for the ninja to appear – I missed my connecting train in Kyoto. It was already late at night by this time. It was dark and the temples were closed. The only thing I found open was a portable ramen noodle stand close to the station. I had a bowl of hot noodles to console myself and, as I had little extra money, curled up to sleep on the concrete sidewalk in front of Kyoto station, using my pack as a pillow. It seemed an appropriate finalè to the ill-fated trip. I caught the first train back to Hiroshima the following morning and just managed to make it to my first English class on time. It would be another four-and-a-half years before I finally caught up with the legendary ninja master…
… Read More
Secrets of 歩き Aruki
From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael Glenn
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| Takayuki Ishihara photo By CobraVerde |
After typing this I already sense people clicking some other link. Looking for the next flashy blog post or training video. Or worse, being convinced they already understand this "secret." Sensei often reminds us that enlightenment is under our feet. This is like 脚下照顧 kyakkashouko, where the best way to begin to know yourself is to look where your own footsteps fall. So let's start walking.
We have many types of walking in the Bujinkan to consider. Some of these skills are called ashi. I've written about many of these types of walking before: Like a Walk Through Yūgen 幽玄
But today I want to explore some ways to make your footwork more dynamic. If you are ready to really learn, here are some drills you can begin with:
- Use yoko aruki to lead into or out of sanshin striking. This will strengthen both your footwork and give you new insight into sanshin. Now do it in eight directions.
- Then yoko aruki evasions (with an attacker!) in eight directions transitioning into all varieties of kaiten, nagare and taihenjustsu.
- Then yoko aruki evade and strike before taking evasive ukemi. Striking after the aruki creates interesting distance and angling puzzles. Use many different fists and kicks to target specific kyusho.
- Do some 足馴らし ashinarashi walking practice. Focus on ukemi with 膝行 shikko transitions between each roll. I have found nothing as powerful as this to improve your kamae and overall ukemi ability.
- To really know how to move effectively, one should practice 膝行 shikko in all directions. Work on forward, backward, and sideways. Do ukemi from shikko with shikko transitions.
- Do shoshin gokei from shikko. Prepare for some sore and raw knees, especially with the pivoting required.
- Do taijhenjutsu and ukemi using yoko aruki footwork. Practice 3 timings: aruki before the roll, during, and after. Otens are particularly challenging depending on when you yoko aruki.
- 骨指基本三法 Kosshi Kihon Sanpō using yoko aruki. Look at the inside cross, then the back cross. And eight directions! Both of these have unique considerations for our kamae and structure in the kukan.
All of these footwork drills can also be done with happo tenchi tobi. Leaping skills are a unique and fun type of footwork. They come from the basic footwork ability but with increased distance and energy.
- Next add a grappling component starting with a drill called the Jūtaijutsu shuffle. Starting from kumiuchi, you may begin with a three step variation. for example, right foot forward, left to the side, and right foot back. There are many variations depending on the foot or direction of the steps. Each step breaks the uke's structure a little more till he is thrown. This drill is about setting the footwork to take the uke's balance for the throw.
All of these drills should also be done with weapons. As Soke often says, it is all based on walking. You can learn the most elaborate sword technique or have the quickest iai, but if you don't know how to walk it will be useless.
- Train on basic sword kamae kihon. Do walking and drawing drills connected to each sword kamae. You must develop the proper rhythm to draw effectively while walking.
- Practice all the different types of sword draws while walking in 膝行 shikko. When you have mastered these (:o) move on to aruki variations. Then combine aruki rolling and drawing.
This brief review of some basic walking drills should get you started. Many people walk in a stilted robotic fashion where they pose in the beginning, middle, and end positions of any technique. This is what happens when learned from a book or video or poor teaching. But if your teacher understands the nature of these aruki, then you can be more dynamic.
Schedule is up!
From Sweden Taikai 2012 by alexander
The schedule is finished and can be found both in this post and on the information page. I’d also like to remind anyone that have NOT received an e-mail containing a unique number and payment instructions to PLEASE contact me ([email protected]) to sort it. We’d also like to ask you all to pay for the seminar as soon as possible!
Tai Kai Sweden 2012 Schedule