2015 - NinZine 3.0

How to Use 精神 Seishin to Rearrange the Body

Michael GlennMay 24, 2015May 24, 2015

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael Glenn

Michael Glenn visits 鬼の子の木 by 熊澤未来子。Ichigayatamachi, Tokyo

I watched as Hatsumi Sensei brought his really big, central European opponent to his knees. He did this somehow without force. Even on his knees, the guy was almost as tall as Soke.

Then Soke snapped a sharp kick to a kyusho on the man’s leg. He yelped like a hurt pony. As he twisted to get away from the pain, we all saw that it was a trap that Hatsumi Sensei had set to pin the guy’s other leg.

How does Hatsumi Sensei break down bigger opponents so easily?

Maybe you’ve heard Hatsumi Sensei’s recommendation that we drop technique. Or not to focus on technique. Or that technique is a trap.

For many people who attend a martial arts class, this seems counter intuitive. We came to class for a reason. Why would we be there if not to learn technique?

Many martial artists get stuck at this level. They are happy obsessing over their technique and endless variations of it. You know the type, the ones who argue endlessly about the “correct” way to do kihon. Or which lineage is the “real” one.

Soke has in mind a larger purpose for budo. The purpose of growing human potential. We come together in the pursuit of martial arts to polish each other’s hearts and be polished.

But the mirror of the heart gets clouded by thoughts of technique, rank, of winning or losing, of honor or proving oneself. To study with a clear mind you must drop all of these thoughts. Kakusan Shidō, founder of Tōkei-ji said,

“If the mind does not rest on anything, there is no clouding, and talk of polishing is but a fancy.”

This is the approach of the pure spirit of 精神 seishin. Seishin is the spirit or soul, heart or mind. This is the part of you that defines yourself. Hatsumi Sensei says,

精神が己であり、己が精神でありまして、精神から離れた己はなく、己から離れた精神もないわけです。
Seishin is the self, the self is found in seishin. There is no self apart from seishin, and this is why seishin doesn’t exist without the self.

In martial arts study, we try to teach this part of ourselves through the physical means of budo. Fighting your way to enlightenment may seem odd to an outsider. But combat has a stark clarity. And it quickly cuts through the noise of ego to hit your body and affect your spirit.

There is even a ninja secret to protect the spirit. Have the perseverance of Ninniku Seishin: "hiding spirit" hide your intentions, don't show off everything, be patient, wait and endure to succeed. This is how you protect seishin.

One of Takamatsu Sensei’s teachers, Toda Shinryuken, The 32nd Soke of 戸隠流忍法 Togakure Ryū Ninpō, said,

己を空にして, また体に配す
One must empty oneself and then arrange the body again.

Arrange the body again? What does that rearrangement look like? This cannot be explained or even thought about. It is what Soke wants us to study with the Bujinkan theme for 2015. Hatsumi Sensei has not even spoken much about it, because it really is beyond thought, beyond words.

“Think the unthinkable. How to think the unthinkable? Be without thoughts, this is the secret of meditation” Dogen Zenji

This is also the secret for the student in the dojo. Have you ever had training like this? Try it next time and you might see what your teacher is really teaching beyond techniques.… Read More

The Monkey Theory

kumafrMay 22, 2015

From Shiro Kuma's Blog by kumafr

PARIS TAIKAI REGISTRATION >>>> CLICK HERE <<<

What “monkey see, monkey do” is an American expression from the 20s.
Wikipedia (1) tells us that it “refers to the learning of a process without an understanding of why it works”. This is the western approach to the legendary “don’t think!” by Hatsumi sensei.

For a few years now I have considered myself like a silver back, mimicking sensei on the mats, to grasp the essence of his budô. And I have extended that nickname to all students and during seminars. This is the monkey theory.
When you teach, you need to understand why it works the way it is, but when you train, your only concern is to do without understanding. Sensei explained this a few years ago when he said “action led to reflection”.

Since Descartes we were trained to do the opposite, this is the famous “Cogito ergo sum” (2) that has chiseled the western world. But this only applies to non-conscious ribs, not to the human. In the 70s, the Palo Alto Mental Research Group, with Watlawicz already exposed that in human relations (the study was about family relations), only action could be first.
Now to immerse yourself in the action, the only thing is to stop thinking. On the mats, when acting as a student we have to stop understanding and begin to do. We have to become a monkey and act like a monkey. When I watch a wildlife documentary on chimps, I’m always amazed watching their ability to roll. And I don’t think they ever had a teacher or a dōjō.
They learnt by applying the trial and error approach. In fact the Japanese martial arts and is ryûha system is exactly the same. The collection of techniques we have in the Bujinkan survived the battlefields of the period of unification. Only the best techniques and the most efficient reached the 21st century. To put it simple, all waza that was not good enough didn’t make it to us.
Acting like a monkey is the best learning experience we can have. Never try to understand, do it! I remember Senō Sensei explaining that we first try to reproduce a waza we make big mistakes, and then by repeating the waza we tend to lower the amount of errors. This “cleaning” is possible because, after each try, you debrief yourself and learn from your errors. This is Kûden.

Kûden is not only what secrets your sensei will reveal; it is mainly what your inner observation tells you. Making mistakes is normal, learning from them too. What is wrong is when you do not learn from them. In fact, Shikin Haramitsu Dai Komyô exactly means that. Each experience is beneficial to our understanding.
Applying the monkey theory to your training is the best chance you can give yourself to improve your abilities faster.

So be happy to be a monkey!

Arnaud Cousergue
DSBSB (3)
______________________

1. Wikipedia
2. Cogito ergo sum (sorry he was French)
3. DSBSB aka Dai Shihan Bujinkan Silver Back

T-shirt designed by Pablo Giannazzo, Jûdan, Bujinkan Argentina

Att instruera

IwatoMay 18, 2015

From Sida 14 – Iwato 1810 by Iwato

Det finns nog inget mer vanskligt än att instruera i självförsvar. Så har det inte alltid varit för mig, det var mycket lättare förr. Men efter 45 år inom budo så känner jag att det är svårare än någonsin. Budo´s innersta kärna är goshinjutsu; självförsvar, själförsvar och livsskydd. Budo brukar översättas till ”stridens väg” och om vi jämför den vägen med radien för en cirkel så skulle jag kunna föra följande resonemang.

r = radie
d = diameter

r = budo, och den utgår från cirkelns mittpunkt, dvs ur min kunskap.
Cirkelns area A = πr², medan dess omkrets O = πd (där d står för diametern) (och π = pi).

När min träning i och erfarenhet av budo ökar, dvs radien blir längre, så ökar även min kunskaps area. Cirkelns gräns, som här är det samma som O, är gränsen mellan det jag vet och inte vet om budo.

Så när min kunskap om budo ökar, så ökar faktiskt min okunskap också, eftersom jag blir mycket mer medveten om vad som kan hända och om alla de risker som finns vid utövandet av budo i allmänhet och självförsvar i synnerhet.

Det finns självförsvarssystem där man kan bli instruktör efter 60 timmars träning, en relativt kort r med andra ord. Men det finns en fördel med detta också. En oerfaren instruktör kan med liv och lust gå in för sin träning. Hen ser inga problem, bara möjligheter. Denne har en hammare och alla problem är spikar. Kunskapsarean är liten, men det gäller även omkretsen, dvs kunskapen om allt jag inte vet.

Inom amerikanska Marinkårens system (MCMAP) kan man graderas till instruktör och ”svartbälte” efter 150 timmars träning. De lär sig några fler verktyg, men har samma entusiastiska inställning till problemlösning. MCMAP innehåller dessutom en del lektioner i moral och etik, så ett visst mått av själförsvar finns också med på schemat. 150 timmar är mer än dubbelt så mycket som 60 timmar, men är i sammanhanget ändå ett litet steg.

I vår dojo erhåller man svartbälte, 1 dan, efter ca 1000 timmars träning. Men innebär inte att man är instruktör eller någon form av ”mästare”. Det är så många timmar som krävs för att man ska kunna få en insikt om vad budo går ut på. Tusen timmar innebär också att ens gräns mot det okända är kraftigt mycket större och det gör att man måste ha en ödmjuk inställning till läran.

För att bli instruktör, en shidoshi, krävs det ca 5000 timmars träning. Och då är man bara i början av sin utveckling till shihan som kräver upp emot 10 000 timmars träning.

Syftet med ursprunglig budo är inte att egoistiskt skydda sig själv och slå ned motståndarna, vilket man lätt kan tro om man enbart har kampsport perspektivet på budo. Äkta budo är altruistiskt. Jag tränar för att skydda mina närmaste och min omgivning. Men jag är ändå av någon anledning lite avundsjuk på de instruktörer som bara har 60 timmar bakom sig… allt var så mycket lättare då .…

八方睨み Happonirami: Stop Staring at Me!

Michael GlennMay 15, 2015May 15, 2015

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael Glenn

Daruma with 八方睨み Happonirami eyes, which way is zen? photo by Michael Glenn

I grew up in the southwest United States. Where the desert sky is so big that at night you feel like you can run away from the moon. This feeling grows while driving very fast. You feel as if you are pulling away, but then you look back and the moon is following you.

In Japanese there is the phrase 八方睨み happonirami, which means staring in all directions. There are many famous paintings of dragons and phoenixes with eyes that follow the viewer.

Maybe you’ve seen a creepy picture like this. No matter where you stand it seems to be looking at you. Hatsumi Sensei has even painted Daruma this way.

But happonirami is also a way to ward off evil. By watching in all directions, you are vigilant and can see the enemy approach. How do we do this?

One key is to not look at any one thing or dwell on technique. Unfocus. One day Hatsumi Sensei told us,

“Don’t look at the attack. Don’t watch it. If you try to evade, block, and take a kamae you will be too slow. Be like stardust in the sky.”

If you go stargazing (放心状態 houshinjoutai), you become abstracted or dazed out. You lose the self and any technique along with it. Your mind can be empty and clear like the starlight.

But don’t focus on attacking or defending. Don’t let your gaze fall on any one spot. If you do, your mind becomes cloudy.

Another day Soke told us,

“You're not looking at a specific place to kick. You're feeling where to kick. In budo you don't use your eyes to look at a specific place.”

In Bujinkan training and in all martial arts, there is the problem of perspective. When you study something deeply, you get too close to it. You don’t see the bigger picture that might be obvious to someone on the outside.

We have a phrase in English that says when you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Or, if you hold a gun in your hand, every argument looks like a target. Someone who doesn’t have a hammer, gun, or martial arts will find a different solution that could be better.

Most fights are over something that only the combatants care about. Anybody watching the fight might just be amused. That is why the crowd gathers.

Arguments occur because people get attached to their position. Instead, don’t take any position, or you take one that allows you to see a bigger picture… Like 傍目八目 okamehachimoku, which means having the perspective of a bystander. Or, 岡目八目 okamehachimoku, that suggests you can see in all directions from the top of a hill.

Have this distance or perspective to see the big picture. For example, if you watch sports you often see more than the players do. Some people even yell at the TV because they saw an opportunity to score that the players didn’t see.

We have a ninpo gokui in our Kukishin Ryu Densho about the moon,

    月影の　いたらぬ里は　なけれども　眺むる人の　心にぞすむ
    Tsukikage no itaranu sato wa nakeredomo nagamuru hito no kokoro ni zosumu.


    Though the moon shines all over the world 
    Leaving no corner in darkness, 
    Only those who gaze upon the moon 
    Appreciate its serene light.

Make your technique soft like moonlight. Disappear like stardust. Not only will you see from a great distance above everything, but you take on the ephemeral quality of magic and nothingness.

… Read More

Kajou Chikusei

Kasumi An Study CenterMay 14, 2015

From Kasumi An Study Center 　霞庵スタディセンター by Kasumi An Study Center

Kajou Chikusei.

I often write Kajou Chikusei in my calligraphy, paintings and pottery. It seems like it was one of the first gokui (inner teachings) of Ninjutsu that Hatsumi Sensei taught me. So it feels natural to share it with you here as I start this new journey at the kasumian. At the kasumian, you will find many paintings and references to this teaching though out the center. Here is a translation of Sensei talking about Kajou Chikusei from way back in 1964. Before I was even born! I hope you enjoy.

Kajou Chikusei,
This means that if you want to reach to the highest inner teachings of Ninjutsu, you must have the kindness of the flower in your heart and the pliability/flexibility (sunao) and straightness and up righteous heart (masugu) of the bamboo.

This is the heart of the martial path, the warriors heart. And the warrior`s heart is, as it almost goes without saying, the pure heart (magokoro).

If the ninja does not have this heart, it simply becomes only a skillful manipulation of the forms of ninjutsu. Something quite ordinary. low, vulgar, and worldly. (俗物- zoku butsu).

*Sunao has the idea of being honest and pliable in an accepting way, kind of opposite to hard headed or stubborn. For example, a sunao person can accept well founded criticism and new ideas.

Here is the original Japanese for those who wish to read the original.

花情竹性(かじょうちくせい)

忍術の極意に達するためには､花のようにやさしい心掛と､竹のように素直な､真直ぐな心掛けがなくてはならないという意味です｡
これが､やはり日本の武道の心､武心なのですね｡そして､武心とは､とりもなおさず真心ということなのです｡
忍者にこの心がなければ､ただ忍術的形態を器用にこなす俗物というだけですね｡

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Year: 2015

How to Use 精神 Seishin to Rearrange the Body

The Monkey Theory

Att instruera

八方睨み Happonirami: Stop Staring at Me!

Kajou Chikusei