2013 - NinZine 3.0

Yama Michi

kumafrMarch 6, 2013

In a recent and interesting article Dan Ordoins quoted Emerson: “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Thank you Dan this sentence made me think a lot!

What does it mean for a Bujinkan practitioner? How can we manage it own trail while obeying to our master?

In my opinion it is possible if we rewrite it as follow: “once you have acquired the necessary knowledge and reached the jûgodan level it is not anymore necessary for you to go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”.

In japanese 山道 yama michi (mountain trail) gives this idea of difficulty of trekking but also the importance of 道 michi or dô (the path, the way.

Therefore “leaving a trail” is creating your own taijutsu and this can only be achieved if you reach the level where it creates itself.

In a private discussion with sensei a few years ago, he told me that all jûgodan were turning into little Sôke…and that it was good because it meant that he had been able to transmit the essence of ninpô.

This is this essence that matters but it can only be found if you have a guide, a master, a “sensei” to teach it to you.

Without a real sensei, without the be respect and obedience you owe him there is no way you can “leave a trail”.

Bujinkan is about survival, so choose wisely your next step.

Kachikan Leads to Jiyû

kumafrMarch 5, 2013

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumafr

The majority of Bujinkan practitioners will never fight for their lives. And this is good!

So even if our martial art system has proved its valor in numerous encounters, its power resides in the values that sensei is teaching.

Only a master can do that and in our case this our Sensei Masaaki Hatsumi. But his teachings can bear fruits and benefits to the receivers (us) only if we recognize him as a Master. This is only through this special relation linking the master and the disciple that this transmission can be done properly.

Today the Bujinkan has spread all over the world and each country is filled with qualified teachers. But these technicians when they are able to do the techniques correctly are not always getting the intention hidden in the movements. We said in an earlier blog entry that waza is only the omote. The ura is formless and it develops itself into our heart through the values expressed by Sensei during class. This is why it is important to travel regularly to Japan as this is the only way to understand his way and to consider him as your true master. This is the Shin Gi Tai. The Gi (waza) and the Tai (body) are nothing if one doesn’t get the Shin (spirit).

Without accepting the master and his values, one stays trapped in his ego.

I am who I am because back in 1987, I decided to obey to one man, Hatsumi Sensei. I accepted to see the world through His filters and to abandon my freedom of decision in order to get more freedom. It might sound paradoxical but if you are looking for freedom the best way is then to let it go voluntarily. Less freedom momentarily leads to more freedom permanently.

The waza becomes the means to free yourself from your own certitudes. I compare that with Zen. In order not to think you monopolize your thinking on the mechanical posture. This is the same in Budô, we focus on the movements to learn not to think. By doing so, the rest of your brain is at peace. Even in meditation the kamae is the key to our understanding.

価値観 Kachikan (values) is developed by our ability to get rid of your 自由 Jiyû (freedom). Train with no intention (no reward), obey without thinking, learn the forms to forget them, and you will become free.

Sensei often speaks of 住 jû (living) in his classes. Please be alive through jû in order to become 自由人 Jiyûjin, a free spirit.

If you miss this fantastic opportunity Sensei is giving us, you will end up 自由刑 jiyûkei and be “depraved of your freedom”.

Tachi Leads To Ken

kumafrMarch 4, 2013

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumafr

Studying the Bujinkan arts is like going back in time. In this respect the study of sword is typical.

Historically, the Chinese Ken evolved into the Tachi, that evolved into the katana.

In the Bujinkan we have always studied the sword but some years were specifically dedicated to it.

In 1996 we studied the kukishin biken jutsu.
In 2003, the shotô.
In 2004, the Kukishin again.
In 2010, the Tachi waza.
In 2013, the Chinese Ken.

As you know I am training and researching a lot to understand the theme of this year. The many hours spent so far with this new weapon lead me to find similarities between the ken, the hanbô and the Tachi.

The Tachi is the closest type of sword to the Chinese Ken that we have in the Bujinkan. surprisingly knowing Tachi waza was a great help to understand the basics of Chinese Ken.

The Japanese samurai were using the Chinese Ken at the origin but the development of horsemanship has created a need for a different weapon. They created the Tachi.

Tachi waza is one hand as the Ken is.
Tachi is used mainly to stab not to cut. Exactly like the Ken.
Tachi can change from right hand to left hand. The Ken too.

The Japanese developed the techniques from Ken to Tachi to katana but in the Bujinkan we are studying it reverse. Why is that?

My understanding is that the only way to be proficient with these weapons was to learn it that way. Going back in time allowed us to rediscover the reasons for which the movements were created.

Hatsumi sensei once again made it possible for us to increase or understanding if this fantastic. And he used the best approach possible: going back in time.

Learning the katana facilitates the learning of the Tachi.
Learning the Tachi facilitate the learning of the Ken.

Koimartialart just uploaded the Tachi waza online. The Kukishin and Togakure biken jutsu are also available there.

You want to be proficient with the sword? Good! Then study hard.

Knowledge comes only through and with physical training.

The Tragic Trap of 無理心中 Murishinjuu

Michael GlennMarch 2, 2013March 2, 2013

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael Glenn

candlelighten paperhouse photo by Konstantin Leonov

Tonight's class was entangled with violent local events. I will share them here because I have compassion for the victims and because they expose a deep concept for our own training and lives. This idea was expressed by Takuan 沢庵 as,

心こそ、心迷わす心なり、心に心、心許すな "It is the very mind itself that leads the mind astray; of the mind, do not be mindless."

An hour before my class, I heard news that two police officers had been shot and killed in Santa Cruz. I didn't know them, and this unfortunate event has no direct impact on my life. This could be just another tally from the daily news but tonight felt different for some reason.

When I arrived to our training area, the roads were shut down with police barricades. As I followed the stream of cars being detoured around the perimeter, I noticed the officers manning the barricades had their assault rifles at the ready.

I asked one of them if there was access to where we train. He said it was open, but the roads were closed. So I drove around to the nearest point and parked. I saw many pedestrians streaming past the blockades without interference from police, so I followed to see what was going down.

I approached the center of the gathering crowd. I saw SMPD’s SWAT, Beverly Hills Police Department, and the Santa Monica Fire Department as well as HAZMAT trucks. Wow, ok, maybe we were not having class tonight.

I asked some bystanders what was up. They said there was a hostage situation in one of the residential houses. I peered down the street, past the second level of police barricades. In the dark I could see the house they were focused on. It was far enough from our training location for us to be safe with our class.

So I coordinated parking for some students then we walked over as a group to the training area. Along the way, I asked several police, park rangers and other "official" looking people if it was safe for us to be there. No one would give me an easy answer. They just shrugged and said they didn't really know what was going on.

I told everyone to keep their gear contained and ready in case we needed to make a fast exit.

After our class warm ups, several TV news vans arrived and parked near us. Then the Red Cross van showed up to provide information and refreshments to the neighbors who had been evacuated from the area. We continued training on the kata 輦輿 renyo.

A friend of mine who is a media photographer arrived so I took him aside and asked about the situation. A man (later I learned his name was John Carroll Lowery) had tied up his 15 year old son and 86 year old mother in law. The son escaped and called police.

Later that night, he let the mother in law go. The police crisis negotiators said he seemed depressed and indicated marital troubles when they communicated with him. After the communication stopped, the police made entry around 4:30 in the morning and found he had shot himself.

There have been a lot of 無理心中 murishinjuu (murder-suicides) in the U.S. and around the world recently. I think about how the person who commits these acts has cornered himself. The trap he is in is lonely and all in his own head.

This illusion of being trapped then sets the person on a timeline or course of action that leads to being trapped for real by violence. Thoughts have immense power. They are life and death.

Later when I was alone in our training area, a breeze swept over the park with the breath of tonight's desperate action. Then stillness.… Read More