Year: 2018

From Shiro Kuma by kumafr

DISCLAIMER: COMPLEX CONTENT

I have not been in the dōjō for three months, and I have the feeling that Sensei’s movements gained in subtlety. How can it be possible? I am amazed. After class last Friday, I spoke with Liz, a Canadian resident about it and she agreed with me.

I will not detail here what he does because every one of his moves is the expression of high-level Mutō Dori. It is beyond explanations.
Sensei controls his Uke from the very start, and all along the movement. When asked to share what he felt, Duncan said: “Sensei controls me at the very moment he calls me to attack him.” There are no more Waza, only natural adaptive movements.

But his teachings are also getting much more profound. And I want to share some of his lessons from Sunday here. I will give you a few keys to understand, but I will not try to explain them. You can share what you got from it, later in the comments.

Sensei introduced the class by speaking about 悟, Satori. (1) He said the Kanji contains three parts: Kokoro (2), five (3), mouth (4). This new sanshin links the Gojō (5) to the Gogyō. Understanding that, he said, is the goal of the Dai Shihan.

Before I expose the Gojō, I want to explain what a Dai Shihan is in today’s Bujinkan. I heard many people being critical about this evolution of Sensei’s vision. First, once again, Sensei does what he wants and if you are unhappy, then shut up or go away. Second, during the last class Sensei said that with the Mutō Dori of 2018, the real Budō was beginning. He noted that the Dai Shihan are entering the Shōden level of Mutō Dori. That means that we are only beginning to scratch the surface of a new dimension of Budō. Dai Shihan sounds much better than Ōkudo (old beginner), don’t you think?

The Gojō are the five virtues of Confucianism. (6)

In “Advanced stick fighting” (48), Hatsumi Sensei lists the Gojō as:

1. 滅の不施, Fumetsu no Fuse, endless giving
2. 真道の持戒, Mamichi no Jikai, awareness, right path of self-justice
3. 自然の忍にく, Shizen no Ninniku, perseverance, forbearance
4. 光明の悟り, Komyō no Satori, the light of enlightenment
5. 自然の超越, Shizen no Choetsu, natural transcendence (7)

Confucianism defines them also as (same order):

1. JIN: Benevolence, charity
2. GI, JINGI, O: Justice, rectitude, righteousness, morality
3. REI: Courtesy, politeness, tact
4. TOMO, CHI, SATOSHI: Wisdom, knowledge
5. NOBU, SHIN, SATORI: Sincerity, trust, fidelity (8)

Sensei has been using the verb Tsunagaru (to be connected to), a lot these days. (9)
So, the mission of the Dai Shihan this year is to “connect” the Gojō and the Gogyō, through Satori (Kokoro, Go, Kuchi).

I hope the next classes will shed some light on how to achieve that. Because right now, I am lost. I wish I were a Satori (10), a monster that can read minds.

Anyway, next Sunday is the first Buyukai meeting at Hana. I guess Sensei will give us the direction to follow during this year. (11)
Ganbatte! (12)

___________________________
1. 悟, satori: comprehension; understanding; enlightenment; spiritual awakening
2. 心, Kokoro: heart, mind, spirit
3. 五, go: 5
4. 口, Kuchi, mouth, gate, opening
5. 五常, gojō: the five cardinal Confucian virtues (justice, politeness, wisdom, fidelity, and benevolence)
6. More on Confucianism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism
7. The Five Constants are:
Rén (仁, benevolence, humaneness);
Yì (義/义, righteousness or justice);
Lǐ (禮/礼, proper rite);
Zhì (智, knowledge);
Xìn (信, integrity).
8. In a recent post, Duncan lists the Gojō as being:
滅の不施, Fumetsu no Fuse, Everlasting giving
真道の持戒, Mamichi no Jikai, Vow of the true way
自然の忍にく, Shizen no Ninniku, Natural resolve
自然の超越, Shizen no Choetsu, Transcendence of nature
光明の悟り, Komyō no Satori, Illumination of the awakening
9. 繋がる, Tsunagaru, to be tied together; to be connected to; to be linked; to be related to
10. 覚, satori: folklore monster that can read minds
11. Since January 2018, the Buyukai replaces the Shidōshikai. The new organization is now accessible to any practitioner. The first Buyukai meeting will take place at Hana. That is the usual restaurant in front of the old Honbu. Lunch begins at 2 pm after Sensei’s class.
12. A Personal message to Phil. So? What do you think?

PARIS TAIKAI REGISTRATION…

Read More

From Shiro Kuma by kumafr

I wrote many times about Japan being the country where one makes mistakes.
I arrived Thursday in Japan and made the first one on arrival. That made me think about Ishiki, awareness. (1)
Before I go further on the philosophical lesson learned, let me tell you the story.

Landing in Narita in the afternoon, I was happy to be there. After buying the yen, getting a wifi router, and a bus ticket to Kashiwa, I went for a smoke (yes, I know it’s terrible, but that is not the point here).

With my suitcase in tow and my small backpack, I went to the designated smoking area located outside the building. I let my luggage outside and went into the booth. A few emails needed my attention, and I answered them. Having finished, I went for a coffee.

Fifteen minutes later I felt that something was missing. My suitcase was still outside the smoking booth.

When this happens in any other country, you panic. But not here. Japan is so safe that nothing can go wrong. As I didn’t want to spill my coffee, I walked calmly to my luggage, and it was waiting for me. I was not even relieved as I was sure it would be there. And that is what I call my mistake.

In the “Lucifer Principle” (2), Howard Bloom explains that when not in danger, any species will die. In short, we only survive because there is a risk of dying. When potentially nothing is threatening you, you lower your defences, and you die.

In my story, the opposite happened. My “Ishiki” level was close to zero. Knowing that Japan is safe, I did something that I wouldn’t do in any other country.

The first lesson I learned is that, even when in a safe environment, you have to be ready for action. For a martial art practitioner, Ishiki must be a permanent state of mind. And not something you activate once in a while. It doesn’t mean you have to become paranoid; it means that you have to be having a permanent awareness.

See that as the “black swan” of Bujinkan.

“The black swan theory is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a significant effect, and is often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit of hindsight.
It comes from an ancient saying which presumed black swans did not exist until we discovered them in Australia.”

In short, it is not because something never happens, that it will not happen.

In martial arts, we train to be ready for anything. Friday night I met my friend Christophe Ayen (French Dai Shihan), and I told him my little adventure. He said, “I know what you mean.” I looked at him, and he continued. “Last week I was training at the Honbu with Noguchi Sensei when he got an urgent phone call. He had to go. He came to me and said Christophe can you please finish the class? He went, and I finished the class in English, even though I don’t speak English!”.

You can use Ishiki at any moment inside or outside of the dōjō. Don’t let your awareness down only because you feel safe. Always be ready so that, as Takamatsu sensei said, “there will be no surprise.” Banpen Fugyō.

The second lesson is that smoking is terrible. But that I already knew.

___________________

1. 意識/ishiki/consciousness|awareness; sense|mano-vijnana (mental consciousness, cognizer of sensory information)
2. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lucifer_Principle by Howard Bloom
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory

PARIS TAIKAI 2018 JULY 13th to 15th…

Read More