Year: 2019

From Shiro Kuma by kumafr

I was reading an article about the discovery of a new black hole that wasn’t respecting conventional physics. And I found some similarities with Sensei’s Budō. Like a star, Hatsumi Sensei has accumulated a lot of mass/knowledge over the years. That is why his Taijutsu is far beyond our understanding.

What is a black hole? “Black holes are volumes of space where gravity is extreme enough to prevent the escape of even the fastest moving particles. Not even light can break free, hence the name ‘black’ hole. (…) With so much mass in a confined volume, the collective force of gravity overcomes the rule that usually keeps the building blocks of atoms from occupying the same space. All this density creates a black hole.” (1)

Like a black hole, Sōke has accumulated so much, that the “building blocks” of Taijutsu become formless. And they merge into something different that we cannot comprehend.

About this newly discovered black hole, the article says that such an object should not exist. “One possibility, however, could be a fallback supernova, in which material ejected from the dying star falls immediately back into it, resulting in the direct formation of a black hole. (2) Isn’t it what we witness when training with Sensei at honbu? His no-power Taijutsu should not exist either. It goes against everything believed to be “martial arts.” We see what he does, but we don’t get how to reproduce it. I have been training with him for over thirty years now. If I can see what he is doing, there is no way I can naturally do it myself.

When you watch him, his movements don’t seem very hard or complicated. But no one, and I include the Japanese Dai Shihan, can do what he does. His Taijutsu, like a black hole, has surpassed the level of normal biomechanics. His movements are so polished that even if you can see them, you are unable to do them the way he does. There is no strength, no power, yet it is only strength and power!

These days Sensei only speaks about control. Full control of the opponent is only possible once you have surpassed the form. You don’t have to think about what to do, you are the movement. No intent, only natural response to the stimuli created by Uke.

After we collected every forms possible, I hope we can destroy them and reach his level to become a black hole too.

Hatsumi Sensei turned up 88 years old this December. “8” when horizontal means “infinite, so I guess that now he is like a “double infinite, no wonder we can’t copy what he does.”
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1 https://www.sciencealert.com/an-impossible-black-hole-has-been-found-in-the-milky-way-galaxy
2 https://www.sciencealert.com/black-holes…

From Shiro Kuma by kumafr

In the Bujinkan, everything comes down to the quality of your footwork. As Hatsumi Sensei puts it, “move with your feet, the hands will follow.”

Since we are babies, our hands are the first tool we use to discover the world, not the legs. As a consequence, our feet are under-trained, but Bujinkan training modifies that. The Bujinkan way of moving and walking in particular.

Throws and immobilizations define Jūdō. Armlocks and circles represent Aikidō.  And Karate is about Kicks and punches. In the same way, our footwork defines the Bujinkan way of fighting.

But the term “footwork” is more diverse than you think. A translation is often accepted for what we believe it means, and not for the rich diversity of the language. In Japanese, there are many meanings for footwork. And they show different aspects of the same reality.

In Japanese, “footwork” is either Ashi Waza, (1) or Ashi Sabaki, (2) or even Ashi Hakobi. (3) And each one shows a different understanding in action. In his book “word and object,” Quine defines what he calls “conceptual schemes.” Words convey different interpretations that are often lost between languages. When translated into another language, some unsaid cultural aspects are lost in the process.

Each one of the three expressions for footwork bears a different meaning:

• Ashi Waza refers to a leg technique. It is purely mechanical.
• Ashi Sabaki insists more on how to “deal with” a situation, by using your legs. In a way, you “sort the problem” by using a leg technique. We can say that Ashi Sabaki uses Ashi Waza. (5)
• Ashi Hakobi is more about how you move your legs to take advantage of the attacker. Whether you are applying a leg technique or not. It also implies controlling your balance by keeping a low center of gravity. (6)

As you can see, the three concepts of “footwork,” contain more than what the translated term implied. Furthermore, the “move your feet” does not cover the reality of the movements you have to perform. In fact, we should say, “move your body.” Because when the body moves, the legs are moving too. But we don’t say it only because students would not get it. They would then move only the upper limbs instead of the legs. Humans are like that. Try to explain footwork by saying, “move your body” to a group of fresh beginners, and you will see what I mean.

When Sensei speaks about moving the feet, you have to understand what he means. The way I see it is, “move your body and your legs altogether so that your hips always stay above your moving leg.” (7)

After many years of teaching, I understand that to learn a Waza, you should first get the correct “footwork.” The rest comes naturally, and “your hands will follow.” Change the way you move your body with the legs and see how better you are performing the techniques. The improvement will amaze you. You can test it in your dōjō with a simple exercise. From Shizen no Kamae, “fall” into Ichimonji no Kamae. (8) You do it by pulling your hips backward (9) and keeping them above your leg. Don’t step back, but fall backward with the whole body. It is harder than you think, but it is the Bujinkan way.

Next class, try this, and begin to think with your feet!

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1 足技 Ashi Waza: (judo) foot technique; footwork
2 足さばき, Ashi Sabaki: footwork (in martial arts, sports, etc.)
3 足運び, Ashi Hakobi: gait; manner of walking; footwork (e.g., in sports)​. Characteristic way of moving, keeping the center of gravity low (center)
4 “Word and Object” by Willard Quine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_and_Object
5 捌く, Sabaku: to handle well; to handle deftly​; to deal with; to manage; to settle; to sort; to process
6 運, Un: fortune; luck; progress, advance
7 The “moving leg” is the one doing the step. It is the front leg if you move forward. And the back leg, if you move backward.
8 In Japan, they tell you to “fall” into the Kamae. Not to “step back.” Here too, words are essential. They give you a hint on how to do it the correct way.
9 As if someone was pulling you from behind at hip level.

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From Shiro Kuma by kumafr

Today many practitioners are more interested in collecting Waza than understanding their purpose. Not so many try to find out the aim of a Waza.

Maybe they get Sensei wrong. “Play!” doesn’t mean to remain all your life at kid level. You have to grow up! And the first step is to understand what a Waza really is.

A Waza is a “series of simple movement” designed to give good basics to practitioners. During feudal Japan, wars were permanent. Each technique was created on the battlefield, with a Yoroi on. When they worked, they could be transmitted. When they didn’t, well, the Samurai would die, and so wouldn’t share it. That is how our Ryūha came into existence. Only what was working was kept. No second chance. Call it natural selection if you will.

But to teach these techniques to the young Samurai (aged 6 to 14), you have to make them simple. They have to be simple because kids can’t memorize anything too complicated. And also, they had to teach the necessary habits that will make sense, when fighting with a Yoroi. So they changed the way to do them and kept only the essence. That is why, sometimes, they don’t make sense until you put the armor.

But knowing the Waza is not an end. It is only the beginning. Don’t take my words for it, listen to Hatsumi Sensei. He said, “learning a technique is not an end in itself; it merely indicates where you need to start.” And this is why collecting techniques is going nowhere. Don’t get me wrong. You need to learn the Waza to be able to adapt them unknowingly in the “fog of war.” (1)

In battle, your senses are more powerful, and your body reacts without thinking. It is once you have acquired your basics that you can adjust a Waza to the situation. There is no planning. You respond to your best, that’s all.

In a fight, your heart is beating fast, adrenaline rushes through your system, and your throat is dry. You focus more and create a “tunnel effect,” and you get the feeling that everything happens in slow motion. If you want to know more about this, read “the gift of fear,” by Gavin de Becker, it will teach you many things. (2)

A technique, as Sensei explains, is not an end, it is a start. When you reproduce a Waza from a book, you are copying a “dead” result. And that is not the way to achieve the expected result. I have explained this a few times already here. A Waza is what would happen if every basic movement was correct. But many teachers only copy the text, and consider it as some sort of checklist! The form is not the spirit. This is wrong in many aspects. If you dissect the technique to make it look like the result, you get nowhere. It is like dissecting a frog, hoping that it would resuscitate when putting it back together!

We train Waza to teach our body and our mind the possibilities of action, not to replicate them in a fight. It is only after that you destroy the form. And bring the essence out. Then use these essences extracted from the Waza to make your own survival tools.

“Waza is not an end; it is merely a start.”

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1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fog_of_war

2 https://www.amazon.com/Gift-Fear-Survival-Signals-Violence/dp/0440226198

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From Shiro Kuma by kumafr

Training is not limited to dōjō hours, homework is necessary. Once you have repeated many times the same moves, your Taijutsu gets better. To train your Kihon or your Waza has a name in Japanese: it is Tabi Tabi. (1)

Did you notice that drawings of Japanese fighters show them with the body bent forward? That is because when you fight outside, you have to get your body weight pushing down on the first half of your feet. This gives you a good Kinkō, a correct balance. (2) Today we mainly train in a dōjō, but when they created the techniques, every fight was on the battlefield.

Outside, the terrain is not flat, nor horizontal, and can be slippery. Thus balance should be your primary focus. You fall, you die! When you keep your body weight forward, you have a better chance to stay up on your feet. This is the Kuden (3) of Shizen no Kamae. (4) When you assume Shizen no Kamae, put your body pushing down on the toes and not on the heels. Sensei said, “You must always be on your toes (and) yet be relaxed.” It means that your weight is always forward, in Kamae, and during the whole fight.

Now, the difficulty is to relax every part of the legs. If you try to put your weight forward, you will feel muscular tensions at various levels. At your calves, your thighs, and your hips. You will have to train a lot to get rid of them. To get the good Kamae, you must practice over and over again. This is “Tabi Tabi”.

The reason why Hatsumi Sensei says that you have “…yet to be relaxed” is then logical. Shizen, to me, is the hardest Kamae of all. Anatomy is also a good teacher. Look, for example, at the back leg of a horse. The joint at mid-level is nothing more than the calcaneus, the heel. And it never touches the ground when the horse walks! (5) And if you are training with Shika Tabi, be aware there is no support for the arch of your feet. So, I urge you to use your body weight forward, because if you don’t, you will get tendonitis. It happened to me back in the 80s. All Bujinkan techniques are coming from the Yoroi and the battlefield. The Japanese developed this way to stand and walk to keep the body safe in battle.

The Waraji, (6) and then the Zōri, (7) are also designed to help this. The soles of both sandals are only protecting the foot, not the toes. When I bought my first pair of Waraji, I told the shopkeeper they were too short. After he explained it to me, the young Gaijin understood that it was not the case. I was wrong (again). As your toes often touch the ground, it means your Tabi would not survive very long if you use them outside of the house. (8)

The Waraji supports only your sole. Your toes being on the ground, the body leans forward. This is a natural process. You can experience it by adding some heel support inside them, and you will see how it benefits your Taijutsu. You have to find ways to improve your skills, having à better footwork is one of them. Actually, what makes Bujinkan so unique compared to other martial arts is footwork. Never forget that everything we do comes from actual battlefield experience. Our Waza survived many wars. They survived and transmitted them to the next generation until today. Nothing we do happen by chance. It is the result of a long period of trial and error. Between the 12th and the 17th century, in Japan, errors often meant death. If we train these techniques today, it is because they were efficient in a real fight.

Back to Sensei and his “You must always be on your toes, (and) yet be relaxed.” Understand that being Kutsurogu, relaxed (9), is a demand of the Yoroi. The armor is excellent protection if you stay relaxed inside. If you are tensed, the many blows you receive go through your flesh and bones. I want to repeat myself here, “everything we do comes from real battle experience.” So, please don’t try to “reinvent the wheel” in your dōjō. Please do not add things exotic to the Sensei’s Bujinkan. (10) Follow the guidelines transmitted for centuries by generations of instructors. After all, this is what transmission means.

As I often tell students in seminars, and in my dōjō, “there is a reason.” If you don’t know it, search for it. Ask your teachers or, when in Japan, ask Sensei.
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1 度々, tabi tabi; often; again and again; over and over again; repeatedly; frequently​
2 均衡, Kinkō; equilibrium; balance
3 口伝, Kuden; oral instruction​, passing information by word-of-mouth​, oral tradition
4 自然, Shizen; natural; spontaneous
5 Horse anatomy https://mobility-health.com/pages/horse-anatomy
6 草鞋, Waraji; straw sandals. https://zenike.com/products/waraji-straw-sandals-tabi-socks-set-zen-outfit-accessory-well-craft-all-sizes
7 草履, Zōri; traditional Japanese thronged sandals
8 足袋, Tabi; Japanese socks (with split toe)
9 寛ぐ, Kutsurogu; to relax; to feel at home
10 If you want to mix different bits and pieces of other martial arts, it is fine with me. If it makes you and your students happy, fine. But then, don’t call yourself a Bujinkan dōjō.

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From Shiro Kuma by kumafr

It is your fault if you cannot do the movements correctly. I found a quote by Sensei saying, “Humans have yet to dwell upon the consequences of their actions. Most people spend their time finding fault in the action of others rather than their own.” This is Sekininkan, the sense of responsibility. (1)

On the mats, there is no way to escape your Sekininkan. When Uke’s fist hits your face, you cannot blame him for your lack of ability. And this is why I love Budō! In Budō, whatever wrong is happening to you is your fault. You have to accept it. With a sense of responsibility, you are Sekininwomotsu, responsible for your actions. Whether they are good or bad. (2)

Too often in our modern world, we don’t take responsibility for the wrong things we did. As Sensei said, “we find fault in the action of others.” When you get hit, it is always because Uke did not attack in the right way. When you cannot throw, it is because your partner is too stiff or too soft. The responsibility for your actions is one of the many lessons you learn when you train Budō.

It is your fault if you are not as good as you would like. You cannot download “excellence”! Your rank will not give you magic enlightenment! If your Taijutsu is not the best, it is your fault, by lack of training.

I saw a facebook video by my friend Cavin Pietzsch published two days ago. (3) He explains how necessary to train solo to get better. Here are some excerpts from his post:

 “In martial arts, it is vital to train on your own because dōjō time is never enough to shape up the details.”

 That is so true. I had the chance to open a few dōjō for my teacher, back at the end of the 80s. At first, no one would show up, so I had many hours of lonely training where I could polish my Taijutsu and make it better. I am sure that the level I have today comes from these self-training hours I spent back then. Nothing resists to hard work. Hatsumi Sensei used to say that “the dōjō is 6 to 10 hours a week; life is 24 hours a day! train more.”

“Training alone to improve your basics and work on your weaknesses is getting you out of your comfort zone.“

When you are alone, your choice of moves is quite limited. You do not have to interact with other humans. Thus, every essential step becomes a school of excellence. It impacts the quality of your body flows profoundly. Many people complain they cannot train because they have no one to train with. That is a lie. And another example of not taking responsibility.

During your life, the only success comes if you evolve, change, leave your comfort zone, and recreate yourself endlessly. Life is about blooming, it is not about getting stuck. It is always your fault if you feel you are stagnating. Life is about permanent change, and that is why you should adapt to the flow. Each time you stop, you move backward as things are continuing their course forward.

So, please stop blaming others for your lack of competence. Face your weaknesses and become the best of yourself.

As Cavin puts it: “(when) you change, (you) understand one of the basic principles of Bujinkan: Banpen Fugyō.” (4) (5)

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1 責任感, Sekininkan; the sense of responsibility
2 責任を持つ, Sekininwomotsu; to be responsible for; to bear the responsibility of
3Watch here:  
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10221492599090686&id=1422468549
4 万変不驚, Banpen Fugyō; 10 000 changes, no surprise.
5 Banpen Fugyō: read this interesting article:
https://classicalmartialartsresearch.wordpress.com/phraseology/banpen-fugyo-%E4%B8%87%E5%A4%89%E4%B8%8D%E9%A9%9A/

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