2016 - NinZine 3.0

Chikara wo Nuku 力を抜く

Kasumi An Study CenterMarch 2, 2016

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

In the dojo, you often here the expression, Chikara wo Nuku. Chikara 力 means power or force. Nuku 抜く means to pull out or withdraw. You may hear for example `katana wo nuku`, to pull out (unsheathe) your sword. This concept is not only important in martial arts but the married life arts as well. Married couples can appreciate the importance of knowing the timing of pulling out the sword!! There is also an expression when a fighting couple makes up, moto no saya ni osomatta 元の鞘に納まった.- the sword is re sheathed in it`s old (original) scabbard. But enough of my sukebe (lewd) talk!

Chikara wo nuku is the ability to drop or release power in a proper manner and timing when you feel resistance in an exchange with the opponent. In taijutsu, you can either create a tension and release it or you receive tension from your opponent and skillfully misdirect and release it. Properly executed, you can create moments of great surprise for your opponent. like accidentaly stepping off a curb, or when an airplane hits an air pocket and the plane suddenly drops. Those moments when you catch your breath in unexpected shock. As we progress in our taijustu, we must start to create these air pockets for our opponent to fall into. When the opponent is surprised, his power is often disrupted and creates moments of receptivity in him where he can receive more easily. When you are surprised, you gasp or breath in. This is when the opponent is receptive or soft and can be more easily controlled. Try pushing a heavy object when you are breathing in. It is almost impossible! So when the opponent is tense with power, think of letting air out of a tire, it gets softer and softer. We create moments of letting the air out. satottaskull_1024

Maybe this original composition I painted yesterday can help you let some air out. It says`Finally I am enlightened.`!

Good comedians are like ninja as well. They lead us down a path and at the last moment take us somewhere unexpected which makes us laugh. Hatsumi Sensei does this all the time in conversation. A good ninja will have this ability in not only his taijutsu but his daily interactions as well. So when you are up the creek without a paddle, having a struggle, Chikara wo Nuku and let the river carry you home!

無の力学、 Mu no Riki Gaku

Kasumi An Study CenterFebruary 29, 2016

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

Previously, we discussed, Datsu Ryoku or the the release of tension. Recently, Hatsumi Sensei has been using the phrase Mu no Gaku Riki, or the Science (study of) the Power (dynamics) of Nothingness. 無の力学。Zen Monks often draw an enso (round circle in ink) to represent nothingness. This is an enso with some bamboo inside with the inscription, `pure wind`. I drew it based on an old painting by a well know zen monk.

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It reminds me of a story about a useless tree.

Lao Tzu was traveling with his disciples and they came to a forest where hundreds of woodcutters were cutting the trees. The whole forest had been cut except for one big tree with thousands of branches. It was so big that 10,000 persons could sit in its shade.

Lao Tzu asked his disciples to go and inquire why this tree had not been cut. They went and asked the woodcutters and they said, “This tree is absolutely useless. You cannot make anything out of it because every branch has so many knots in it – nothing is straight. You cannot use it as fuel because the smoke is dangerous to the eyes. This tree is absolutely useless, that’s why we haven’t cut it.”

The disciples came back and told Lao Tzu. He laughed said, “Be like this tree. If you are useful you will be cut and you will become furniture in somebody’s house. If you are beautiful you will be sold in the market, you will become a commodity. Be like this tree, absolutely useless, and then you will grow big and vast and thousands of people will find shade under you.”

When you are strong or beautiful, or technically proficient, you can be used. You can be a commodity. The opponent can use you too. If you embody nothingness, nobody can use you. You are free.

We often forget that in nothingness or no use, there is great power. Often when I am uke for Hatsumi Sensei, his complete lack of interest in the opponent is very surprising. It disarms you. Often he does not even look at you. I find that whatever I try to do to him, there is no resistance. He does not resist the opponent. It is like when you think a door is locked and you push on it with great strength but it was actually open and you fly thru to the other side. Or we have all had the experience of walking along the street and accidentally step off the curb into nothingness. It is an amazing shock as you try to regain your balance. Only a drop of a few centimeters and it feels as if you almost dropped of the earth!

In taijutsu as well, harnessing the concepts of Mu-Nothingness and Datsu Ryoku will allow you greater control over yourself, your opponent, and any situation you encounter.

空き Aki: Fill Your Bujinkan Training With the Light of Emptiness

Michael GlennFebruary 25, 2016February 25, 2016

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael Glenn

Michael Glenn Holds the Empty Teapot, 深川江戸資料館

Hatsumi Sensei told us about a very scary moment in his training with Takamatsu Sensei. One evening they were relaxing at Takamatsu Sensei’s house. Takamatsu was drinking sake. He poured himself another big glass and held it up. He said, “Let’s go train!” And he gulped down all of the sake, slamming down the empty glass on the table.

They went to the nearby jinja. It was late and cold, but the moon was shining down on the shrine. Takamatsu Sensei took out his sword and said, “This is where you live or die. You must grab my sword.”

Hatsumi Sensei told us in that moment his fear left him. Takamatsu came at him with the sword. He instinctively grabbed the blade. He told us that it was a cold night and his fingers didn’t work very well, so he couldn’t fully grasp the blade. He thinks that is what saved his hand from being cut.

Soke said this fact was testament to how good Takamatsu Sensei’s teaching was. This made me laugh because it sounds more like madness than teaching. But, teaching is not necessarily a rational process. And, that Friday night in the Bujinkan Honbu dojo, Hatsumi Sensei could see us struggling to understand this type of technique. He told us,

“There's nothing to do. Wrap him up. The 空き aki, emptiness or the hole is important. In Spain you say aqui, but aki can also be this kukan this emptiness. you connect to this nothingness without doing anything.”

Soke called this idea shinjutsu. Another way of writing aki is 明き. This is like a bright light that opens up to fill the empty space. You don't think about it, but it's there when you need it. You can feel this connection with this kind of space.

Hatsumi Sensei went on to tell us the secret to make this happen,

“You won’t see any waza or technique here. You have to become nothingness, make your body nothingness (体無いし tainaishi) and stay in that nothingness. If you don’t have to do anything, don’t do anything. In the end it’s not a physical power that matters. It’s being transmitted through the space. It’s more of an energetic or spiritual thing. “

I bet that Hatsumi Sensei didn’t think about all of that under the cold moonlight so many years ago. Takamatsu’s teaching was an organic process that brought his student Hatsumi to this place of life or death naturally. The sword cut down, and in that moment when his fear left him, that's when he became nothing.… Read More

Can You Spend 22 Cts/day For Your Art?

kumafrFebruary 22, 2016

From Shiro Kuma's Blog by kumafr

KOI MARTIAL ART

ALL Courses Koi.png

Since I was a kid, I always loved libraries. At home, I have more than 2600 books (I read them all). I love books.

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Koi Martial Art gives you access to nearly 2000 techniques of the Bujinkan.

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ALL unarmed combat techniques from the Bujinkan Ryūha: Koto, Gyokko, Shinden Fudō, Takagi Yōshin, Kukishin, Togakure.
ALL weapons: kunai, shotō, katana, tachi, tsurugi, hanbō, jō, bō, yari, naginata, manriki gusari, nawa.
ALL basics and fundamentals of the Tenchijin Ryaku no Maki.
All Buki Waza basics of the major weapons.

For less than 22 cents per day (i.e. 80 euros/year), you can review and remember any technique of the Bujinkan.

Videos are better than texts because they show you more than a description.
Our 80 Go of videos will help your training better than any book.

But Koimartialart doesn’t replace the regular training in your dōjō, with your qualified instructor. Koimartialart is not an online course; it is just a new tool fitting the way we live today.

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Katana Is Not For Beginners

kumafrFebruary 22, 2016

From Shiro Kuma's Blog by kumafr

Biken 12 (1) We often hear that Katana is not for beginners. Obviously, when you begin training, training with a metallic sword would create more problems than giving solutions.

My advice in this is to limit the use of metal weapons, to the black belt or Shidōshi.

I have been using a real sword since the nineties, and I cut myself a few times, although not terribly.

My point here is that, even if you’re an experienced practitioner, there is always a risk to get cut when using live weapons.

A weapon is a weapon, and it doesn’t know if you’re a good guy or a bad guy. A live arm will behave like a live weapon and do as a live weapon do.

In my dojo, I prefer the students to use padded and wooden weapons, as it is safer for practice.

Students are expected to have three different type of “sword,” each one being used for various situations and parts of the training.

Each weapon has benefits and inconveniences; I am reviewing them with you now.

Padded weapons:
They are the best for learning the waza with a partner.

Positive side: you can be able to move it in your exchange with your opponent.

Negative side: padded weapons are often round in diameter which prevents you from knowing where the cutting edge is.
This is the major drawback to using padded weapons.

Training note: always match the type of padded arms to avoid accidents. Bamboo against bamboo, foam against foam, plastic against plastic. The resistance of the components of your padded weapons should be a perfect match.

Wooden weapons:
They are the best when you need to feel the momentum of the attack, the quality of your counters, or of the blocking of the assault.

Positive side: the weight of the weapon is developing your awareness of the momentum. As it is shaped like a real blade you know when you are using the cutting edge, the side, or the back of the blade.

Negative side: you might crush your knuckles or uke’s fingers. When I was a beginner, it happened to me quite a lot. Honestly, I think it is useless as it is slowing down the speed of the exchange with your partner.

Training Note: use a Tsuba to protect the fingers. We’re not training Aikidō. Add a scabbard to learn Nuki gatana.

The non-sharp metallic weapon is the real thing as it has the look and feel of a real sword.

Positive side: the weight is correct and teaches you not to overdo your movements (momentum, balance). Also, the sori (curvature of the blade) gives more than when doing the techniques. The scabbard becomes part of the art of swordsmanship.

Negative side: even if your blade is not sharp, a Tsuki will stab your partner.

Training note: avoid to buy a cheap one as it often has a poor balance.

For the advanced practitioners, if you buy a real sword, make sure it is not a modern sword designed for cutting straw poles. These swords do cut well, but they do so because they are modified with extra weight in the head of the blade. So it will not teach you the proper way to use a Japanese sword. Also, consider that buying a real sword is, financially, worth a few trips to Japan.

The title of this article says that “Katana is not for beginners.” I would add that Katana is not for training whatever your technical level.

There is another aspect to keep in mind. You need to take care of a live blade.
At the beginning of my Bujinkan training, I had an excellent friend who was a professional sword polisher. He studied sword polishing in Japan. I spent a lot of time with him in his shintō workshop (the area is like a shrine). There, I could feel and hold dozens of real blades.
When you have an actual Japanese sword, every year or so, you have to bring it to the polisher and pay a few hundred euros or dollars to get it sharpened, remove the rust, and to get it realigned.

Now, if you wish to get one, do it, but it means that you won’t train in Japan with Sōke for a long time.

Is it worth it?