Author: Michael Glenn

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael Glenn

川蝉 Common Kingfisher photo by yamatsu

I was at a recent class at the Bujinkan Hombu dojo where Hatsumi sensei threw his opponents around all night. But mostly they were thrown. He emphasized, that he was not doing the techniques. How might this be possible?

He used a phrase "刀を抜くkatana o nuku, 力を抜くchikara o nuku." This has many layers but by dropping the power or the intention out of your technique it becomes effective. Even dropping the technique from technique. But there is a trick to this that many students of Sensei apparently neglect to understand.

Many people think they know what Soke means when he speaks. That night in class, one of Sensei's frequent translators came up to me and told me, "That's not what he said!" Meaning that the current translator had gotten it wrong. So then he explained to me what he thought Sensei meant.

I just listened to his explanation and didn't agree or disagree. I brushed this off as a personality conflict between translators. Or maybe it was due to the extreme difficulty of concise translation of Japanese in the dynamic environment of the Hombu. But when more people complained to me about the translation, I figured there might be more to this.

So in order to participate in the confusion, I will offer my own thoughts about what we were witnessing in that class. I haven't yet seen anyone offer the explanation I will make below. But maybe you all know this stuff already.

You cannot have 力を抜くchikara o nuku if you don't first have chikara. Otherwise there is no power to take out of the technique. One common way that I have witnessed Hatsumi Sensei and the other Japanese instructors do this is by going from  力を入れる chikara o ireru (using force, strength or exerting effort) to 力を抜くchikara o nuku.

I myself have had great results using this in my taijutsu. For a simple example, it is like the children's game of tug o' war. Two teams pull on a rope in the opposite direction. Whichever team is stronger pulls the other towards their side and wins. But when I was a kid, we thought it was great fun to 力を入れる chikara o ireru and pull with all our might, then quickly release the rope for 力を抜くchikara o nuku. Relaxing suddenly and letting go of the rope made the other team fall on their asses.

You will see this concept everyday in the Hombu as the uke seem to throw themselves.

So 刀を抜くkatana o nuku is something I have been practicing for quite a few years. I have a visualization that I use to explain the principle. To get the tip of the sword to the target in an effortless and quick motion, it is like releasing a bird from your hand and the bird flies directly to the target as if it is spearing a fish. But first you must be able to capture or hold the bird.

Hatsumi Sensei described this method of drawing to us that night. He said that with katana o nuku, you are not drawing the sword, you are letting it free from the saya (like my idea of releasing a bird). It is very dangerous, with this motion the sword will kill with no effort at all. The blade finds its target.

This is what I understood from Sensei's class that night. Other people who were there may have different ideas that are valid. I hope that sharing my thoughts helps you to discover your own understanding about our art.… Read More

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael Glenn

Bujinkan Hombu 畳 Tatami photo by Michael Glenn

In one Friday night class at Hombu, Hatsumi Sensei suggested a mode of perception that is at the heart of our training. Sensei used the words 過去 kako, 現在 genzai, and 未来 mirai. This loosely refers to the past, present, and future.

That night on the tatami of the Honbu, Soke was giving us a deep lesson. He said that we should keep the past, present, and future connected. Allowing one to drive the next. This happens with or without our participation.

If you can get with the flow of this connection, then you may ride it to victory. But in order to flow and connect with it, you must be able to see it. What does it look like?

Maybe you've had the experience of looking at a newborn child. You see your parents and grandparents in his or her fresh face. You see yourself and your partner reflected there too. And you also see a newness that is in the process of becoming. A new person with a future life stretched out ahead. Of course you see how these are all connected. Maybe you think about how your parents must have studied your own baby face with the same wonder.

Some people would rather forget the past. They may propose a toast to say, 過去を忘れるために乾杯 Kako wo wasureru tameni kampai, Here's to forgetting the past! Or even something like, The past is vile, the present is barely tolerable, but there's hope for the future.

When Hatsumi Sensei teaches, each technique is like a newborn child. He teaches based on a kata or concept that has been passed down through the ages in a lineage he inherited. If you look carefully, you will see the imprints or DNA of this 過去 kako or past encoded in the movement. All of the Bujin, the past Soke, and the warriors who lived and died with our art are contained there. Hatsumi Sensei has told us this directly.

But you also may see Hatsumi Sensei's living expression of the art in the present. This 現在 genzai is vital. It is what allows the art to stay relevant. Truthfully, it is the only thing protecting you should you need to use the art in combat. Hatsumi Sensei has clearly stated that the way he teaches now is what matters. If you are not connected to this current training, you are studying a dead art.

If you are really connected and observe carefully, you may even bear witness to where the art is leading us. As you watch Hatsumi Sensei teach, there is a palpable experience that anything can happen. And it often does. As he follows the unbroken connection in each moment, you begin to glimpse the path ahead or the 未来 mirai in our training. The sense of wonder this gives me as a student is indescribable.

This explains why nothing Hatsumi Sensei teaches is ever the same way twice. You may have seen him do the same kata years ago and thought what he did was a definitive rendition of this kata. But then he will do it again, entirely different, and this version will feel like the definitive version. If you try to hold onto either technique, you will miss the point and be left behind.

That night in Hombu, some people debated what Soke meant by his statements. But I just took in the spectacle with enjoyment. Because Soke did not care.

He simply told us to take ample space. With the proper use of space the attacker is defeated. But you aren't using the space! You just allow for it, and many wonderful techniques are born.

So when you are in actual combat, if you can connect to the three aspects of 過去 kako, 現在 genzai and 未来 mirai, you may enter the world of 幽玄 yugen. Your opponent will be operating in the fog and you may float outside of his influence.… Read More

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael Glenn

… Read More

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael Glenn

毘沙門天 Bishamonten photo by Satoshi Kobayashi

Some people talk about 要 kaname, one aspect of this year's theme,  like simply translating the Japanese to English explains its meaning. This is a bit shallow. Hatsumi Sensei would probably encourage us to look deeper than that.

My take on kaname is a bit different than other's I have spoken with. For me, one important aspect of kaname is being connected with 神通 jintsu and 神通力 jintsuuriki. These are mystical powers of heaven and earth that are connected to and pivoting through you.

In Buddhism, Jintsu is known as "direct knowledge" or even "supernatural knowledge." This leads to some interesting super powers like: 天眼通 tengentsuu divine eye or clairvoyance; 神足通 jinsokutsuu unimpeded bodily function like walking on water or walking through walls; 天耳通 tennitsuu clairaudience or divine ear; 他心通 tashintsuu or telepathy; 宿命通 shukumyoutsuu remembering past lives; and 漏尽通 rojintsuu which is the extinction of contamination, or a divine clarity of mind.

While these ideas seem impossible, if you broaden your experience to include this type of connection in your training you will experience some interesting results. I cannot teach anyone how to do this. But as an example, the connection we use in both taking AND giving the Godan test must not be severed. If you have experienced this connection, ask yourself, where does it originate? And how do you embody it in training?

Hatsumi Sensei suggests that one way to connect to this power is to repeat one technique a thousand times. The idea here is to cultivate mindlessness. You get the self out of the way and enter a state of 無心 mushin. What happens next is 神運に任せ jiuni makase. Your fate or luck is connected to kami or the divine.  

The resulting power of this connection leads to  変化必然 henka hitsuzen. These inevitable changes have immense power. In the 天津鞴韜馗神之秘文 amatsu tatara kishin no hibun, a secret teaching of ancient war strategies that informs several ryuuha in the Bujinkan, one very important principle is:

豹変して必ず勝つ hyohen-shite kanarazu katsu. Sudden change will always prevail.

This is what I think about with the idea of kaname. But my experience so far this year has also shown me that kaname is a reflection of one's heart.  If you have ever felt the power of this kind of change, ask yourself, where does it originate? How might you embody that in training?… Read More

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael Glenn

鬼ピキ photo by w00kie

One summer day we were having our normal class in the park when something interesting happened. As we were stretching, we watched a team building exercise that some company was doing in the same park as us. There were a lot of pretty women working for this company, so most of my students were riveted.

They began a game of tag. They used the entire park. Most of them were athletic, so it was a very aggressive and and fast paced game. At one point one guy came to stand next to us. We were all lined up on the periphery of the field watching this game. I realized immediately what he was doing.

Hatsumi Sensei tells us that "a person who understands play has life's greatest treasure." He says that in Kukishin-ryu this idea is taught as 鬼ごっこ onigokko (demon play) which is a children's game of tag. In this game the "oni" chases down the other children. As they are caught, they are "infected" and turn into oni. Until they all become little demons!

In 2011, there was a world record setting onigokko game played in a Toyama stadium. There were 1566 participants. It only took 7 minutes for all of them to be caught and turned into oni!

I said hello to the guy standing next to me. I asked him what company he worked for. He said TOMS shoes. I knew this company because my wife likes them and they are popular in the U.S.. I said, so are you hiding over here with us? He smiled and said he was just resting.

We watched as all the workers  ran around the park and got caught. Turning each into another demon. This guy had a great strategy. No one was even looking for him among our group as we stood there watching.

Finally the demons ran out of victims. As they searched the park their attention turned to us. The guy said to me, "I better run!" He took off and sprinted around the park. He dashed between his pursuers until they finally caught him.

Later when I got home, I looked up TOMS Shoes to see where their offices were, since I knew they must be nearby. It turns out that this guy with the great strategy of hiding out with us was the founder of the company, Blake Mycoskie. That day he definitely showed a good understanding of "play."… Read More