Japan Report Two 令和5年

MichaelDecember 26, 2023January 5, 2024

Morning Song at 月野宮神社 Tsukinomiya Jinja, photo: Michael Glenn

On this day of my Bujinkan Japan Training trip, I began with a visit to the the 月野宮神社 Tsukinomiya Jinja Flea Market. There, I found an impromptu concert from a local guy with a guitar. And I also found many antique swords, jutte, and miscellaneous weapons. I finish by sharing a lesson from Hatsumi Sensei about 弱いも支点 yowai mo shiten, using your weakness as a pivot point.

If you want to support my work, sign up to Rojodojo, and you can watch the full video: Japan Report Two 令和5年

During my train ride back to the dojo in Noda-shi, I stopped for lunch at a street festival on 大宮銀座通り商店街 Ōmiya Ginza-dōri shōten machi. This was random luck, I just popped out of the station and the party was on! Some nice people whipped up tasty and filling yakisoba for me and I ate it straight off the grill.

Once back in Noda, I had a great class with Furuta Sensei. He started the class with tehodoki. But his unique approach is informed by 雲隠流 Kumogakure Ryū. He had us match our own body and shoulder to his grab then change angle or levels. He even had us grabbing our own body or clothing for extra support.

Then he changed to hanbōjutsu against a knife attack. He did a flip strike to disarm. If that doesn’t work, pivot under to unbalance. Add a final strike to the hand to finish.

Then he showed receiving the knife in a vertical kamae with the hanbō alongside your own body. When he pivoted under, he extended one finger like a jutte to hook the attacking arm. Meanwhile the hanbō is passed behind the attacker’s head to lock his arm and choke.

He finished class with sword. He had us receive in 棟水之構 Tōsui no Kamae, then push the attacker’s sword aside. But your own sword must control the center line before you cut down to kote.

Great training so far. And up next from my Bujinkan Japan Training trip, Japan Report Three 令和5年
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Japan Report One 令和5年

MichaelDecember 15, 2023January 5, 2024

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael

Every Bujinkan trip I make to Japan feels like a gift. And I always share that with you all in my Japan reports. This trip, I decided to video a lot. Like every day. So there will be quite a few of these. The only issue is that it takes me time to edit all of this video, so these Japan reports may spread out into next year. The first video is here: Japan Report One 令和5年

The first day of any Bujinkan trip to Japan starts with a marathon. 20 hours of travel by Plane train, and automobile. Also, a lot of walking with a heavy backpack up and down stairs, through airports and train stations, and of course to the Honbu Dojo!

Because I’m crazy, I arrived at the airport and went straight to Noguchi Sensei’s class. The class was smallish, maybe 20 people. I was a little shaky on my feet so I slammed some milk tea to get my energy back up. I partnered with Mario From Croatia.

Noguchi began with 中伝之捌型 Chūden no Sabaki Gata from 高木揚心流 Takagi Yoshin Ryū. He put a lot of focus into what the opposite hand was doing (the non technique hand). Controlling the shoulder or elbow. Pushing the other side away while capturing a lock on the wrist, elbow, or shoulder. And lots of 虚実 kyojitsu!

I was intrigued by 腰投鎌 koshi nage gakari, because he pivoted under the grabbing hand using his head to pass through. Then he gripped the opponent’s belt from behind for the throw. What was hard to understand was that he really threw using his own head and body position against the back of the opponent’s arm. In fact he did many no handed techniques using just his head.

He did so much kyojitsu. In fact, during one technique, he said to cover 反対 hantai, so he turned his thumb down and covered the opponent’s rear hand with his elbow. But the elbow was a threat and became kyojitsu hiding the claw or finger strike to 五輪 gorin.

When I arrived in Japan, I first noticed all of the construction and changes since my last trip. Nostalgia made me reflect on something Hatsumi Sensei said,

Just because someone’s been training for 40 or 50 years it doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t matter how long I’ve been training, it’s nothing special. I’m still walking along behind Takamatsu Sensei. That’s what the tradition means.

It made me think that I am doing the same by following Hatsumi Sensei. As a Jūgodan and a Daishihan, I feel this as my duty and responsibility. Soke went on to tell everyone at the dojo,

There are many people at a high level, 15th dan and above. Please train with them. These people at the 15th dan level are showing this important feeling. They are moving at this high rank, but at my level I’m doing what I learned from Takamatsu Sensei.

Soke said this last part because he could tell we did not understand what he was showing us. How could we understand something that he learned from Takamatsu Sensei and that he has been perfecting for many decades? The reality is, we all only can see from our own level. The same happens with my own students. I am following in Hatsumi Sensei’s footsteps, but they are following in mine.

He said that the Daishihan are born from him. Training with people who have this connection is how you get a direct line to the teaching in Japan. It is also how to stay connected to the ancient lineage of all who have come before. I can trace my line from Hatsumi Sensei back to Takamatsu Sensei, and those who came before. And I remain a humble student following in their footsteps.

Forgive the video quality, I was testing a new app and quickly discovered I didn’t know how to use it. For all the future Japan Reports, I abandoned it and stuck to the familiar. My next Bujinkan trip report is here: Japan Report Two 令和5年

The Sound of Bujinkan 変化 Henka

MichaelNovember 6, 2023November 6, 2023

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael

One Friday night back in the old Honbu Dojo, Hatsumi Sensei moved to a very high level of training right from the start. After he asked someone to demo, he immediately went into counter attacks using his fingertips. And he said to be playful.

Hatsumi Sensei painted and hung a scroll in the corner of the dojo. He did this every year to express the yearly theme. This year it was 神韻武導 Shin'in Budō. You can read this as Budō of exceptional artistry. Or, when you look at the characters for Shin'in, it could be a Budō that expresses the sound of the heart, the soul, or even the kami.

神韻武導 Shin'in Budō scroll in the Bujinkan Honbu Dojo

神韻武導 Shin'in Budō, Bujinkan Honbu. photo Michael Glenn

Earlier that afternoon, I had made a pilgrimage of sorts to visit 矢切の渡し Yagiri-no-Watashi. The ferry that has been taking passengers across the Edo river for nearly 400 years. The Tokugawa shogunate did not build bridges over rivers to protect Edo. Ferry boats leading to the highway were strictly controlled, but ferries for farmers who had farmland on the opposite bank were allowed.

For people who were not allowed to enter Edo, they would cross on these ferries disguised as farmers. A good use of 変装術 Hensō-jutsu! Maybe a few ninjas made this crossing during their travels.

My student Jesse waits, 矢切の渡し Yagiri-no-Watashi pier

This ferry was the setting for the sad love story between Masao and Tamiko in Sachio Ito's novel ``The Grave of Wild Chrysanthemums''. It is also the setting for a popular song of the same name. I was surprised to discover that in 1996 the Japan Ministry of the Environment selected this ferryboat as one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan.

Besides the sound of rowing, you might hear the rippling water of Edogawa, some black headed gulls, and skylarks. These sounds were like a mediation for me, setting the tone to prepare for the dojo later. Sometimes what you do before and in between classes is almost as important as the training itself.

Now when I show up for a class like this, where Soke is teaching many subtle lessons in his quick and energetic manner, I might have a chance of keeping up. If I can understand just a little of his teaching, my whole trip to Japan will have been worth it.

The sound of training wisdom came just before break time. Hatsumi Sensei was showing a form of 指押さえる yubi osaeru, controlling just like I shared in my training reports from Japan. He grabbed a hold of Nakadai-san and really applied the pain. Nakadai yelped into the rafters from the intensity.

But while it may have looked like the finger manipulation was the key to this technique, Soke had actually shifted his shoulder and chest forward. He did this by dropping his left shoulder and raising his right. This made Nakadai’s 胸捕 mune dori almost useless. And it also fed into 親殺 oya goroshi right under Soke’s thumbnail.

The train from Atago station rumbled and thundered by at just that moment- rattling the whole dojo. Soke just laughed and chuckled his way through two more opponents. It was hard to hear what he said, but I was lucky to be right under him when he explained,

分散させる。変化させる。虚実、な？
bunsan saseru, henka saseru, this is kyojitsu, isn’t it?

Bunsan saseru means you may break up or scatter to create variance. You distribute your response to the opponent in a way that causes the breakup of his attack, his tactics, and even his mind or will to fight. Soke expressed the kyojitsu here by offering his mune on one side, but capturing the oya goroshi on the other.

While henka saseru allows you to create change. The transformation of the technique arises from shin’in. While Nakadai was screaming in pain up into the rafters, Hatsumi Sensei used his whole body to control from that one point. Then he said 次次次 tsugi tsugi tsugi Next next next... The kyojitsu is hidden in the Next.

One of my students who made the trip to Japan with me was on his own after that class. I wasn’t very conversational. I sat quietly on the train back to my hotel. I wrote some notes in my composition book. But I paused to listen to the sounds of Japan.

Bujinkan 鎖分銅 Kusarifundō: Truth and Falsehood

MichaelOctober 31, 2023October 31, 2023

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael

Buki-mobile at 鎌倉・山海堂商店, photo by Michael Glenn

Do you know the deepest levels of 虚実 kyojitsu lead down the path of 捨て身 sutemi? In a recent class I shared a dimension of kyojitsu that I’ve only ever heard expressed from Hatsumi Sensei. But is anyone willing to take this path?

During my class demo, I shot the weight of the 鎖分銅 kusarifundō out into the face of my opponent. A surprise 中振 nakafuri strike, but my use of it was for kyojitsu. The sound of the chain and the weight act as 目潰し metsubushi and caught the opponent’s attention. These sensations hid my next move.

It isn’t very safe to use a real kusarifundō in class. Unless your training partner likes dental work or a busted eyebrow, it is safer to use a short cord to practice. But then I noticed my students were missing a key aspect of this type of kyojitsu.

Most people think of kyojitsu as being a feint or fake. You mislead and distract the opponent from your real strategy. Many students stop there by using a fake-out. But, for kyojitsu to work, you must have both the truth and the falsehood.

You start with 虚 kyo… the illusion, and the next step is to see if your opponent believes it or not. If they do not, then you make the kyo into a real strike! The kyo becomes the 実 jitsu. If they don’t believe the lie, give them the truth. The truth hurts!

I shared more details about this during my Japan training with my kyojistu himaku article, where the line between illusion and reality is very thin. But I’m about to make it even thinner. So thin, even the words to describe it can be interpreted in many ways.

When I studied this technique with Hatsumi Sensei, he threw a tangled cord into his opponent's face. The more messy a rope or cord is, the more Soke seems to enjoy using it. Then he said something which contains a big clue for our use of weapons and kyojitsu.

From my Japan notes, I wrote the word for cord in Japanese is himo, and Soke said「紐全くてない」himo mattenai. On the surface this means no strings attached. Or, it could mean not being attached to the string yourself.

This concept is related to 捨て身 sutemi. Self sacrifice comes in the form of throwing away the self, dropping the ego, or even non-attachment to weapons. I allow the weapon to exist, but I don’t plan to use it. I only use it if it’s useful.

We’ve all heard Hatsumi Sensei advise us not to be attached to weapons. But if you focus on the use of a weapon, you yourself become trapped in its use. You may find yourself forcing techniques that are inappropriate for the situation. Or worse, fumbling with a weapon you do not know how to use, or that has malfunctioned.

Many people, when they hold a weapon, all of their focus goes to that weapon. I finished class with the hanbō, but unattached to it. I even throw it into the opponent’s face as a distraction. Throwing it all away leads to victory.

Remember that tangled cord that Hatsumi Sensei threw into his opponent’s face? Hatsumi Sensei did not try to untangle or force the rope to function in any particular way. He allowed it to be what it was. And somehow his technique tangled the opponent up in this mess.

It was like he attacked the opponent with the tangle itself. How did he do this? Well when you consider his advice, 「紐全くてない」himo mattenai, Soke was not telling us that we should be unattached to the rope. But that we must be one with it!

He reminded us to become one with our weapon when he said,

“You haven’t become one with the rope yet. You release it, and the rope becomes separate from your heart. If you learn to become one with your weapons then your movement will be the correct path of the heart.”

This path is the foundation for effective kyojitsu. Did you know that kyojitsu required this type of sutemi? I hope you get to explore this in your own training.

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Bujinkan Daikomyosai Party and Training Themes from Japan

MichaelDecember 30, 2022December 31, 2022

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael

What are the current Bujinkan Themes?

For my second week of Japan training, I begin with a visit to 上野東照宮 Ueno Tōshōgū. This shrine was built in 1627, and enshrines Tokugawa Ieyasu. I have visited many times, but they did an extensive remodel a few years ago. This was my first time going beyond the 唐門 Karamon and into the grounds. The entire 本殿 Honden is covered in gold leaf and looks spectacular with the gingko leaves fluttering down around me.

Michael Glenn at 上野東照宮 Ueno Tōshōgū

Later that night, I arrived a bit early for Nagase Sensei’s class. He had moved the class time back 45 minutes so I took the opportunity to review my notes from the prior class. He has been working with 十方折衝 juppō sesshō and the directions for 天地人 Tenchijin and the sanshin within it.

He described many aspects of Tenchijin. He would control his opponent at three points, high, middle, and low. He told us the Ten direction is 天照大御神 Amaterasu ōmikami. The Chi direction is 国常立尊 Kunitokotachi no mikoto (that’s how people pronounce these kanji). And the Jin direction is the spirit across from you, or your opponent.

Nagase Sensei and Michael Glenn December 2022

He also emphasized these three points on the jutte: the tip; the pommel; and the hook. He told us that we have sanshin in our training development. Learn taijutsu up to godan, bōjutsu from godan until judan, and kenjutsu until 15th dan. Then after that is what Soke teaches with mutō dori.

The next morning I dressed up to go to the Daikomyosai party AKA Hatsumi Sensei’s birthday party. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Soke has had some health issues and everyone in Japan is taking precautions for the virus. There was a joke going around that we would all line up in the parking lot and Hatsumi Sensei would drive by and wave like the Queen.

Since the Bujinkan Honbu Dojo is still closed (as of December 2022), People ask me about class schedules and where is there training in Japan right now? They see my photos of my training at various dojos in Japan and they want me to give them the location and the schedule. That is not how it works. These are private classes and you have to be invited or ask permission.

Technically you even need permission and must be a “member” of the Bujinkan to train at the Honbu dojo. But in actual practice, anyone can drop by a class if it is on the schedule. But we all know each other, and strangers stick out…

For private dojos, every teacher is different and has different expectations, but it is customary to ask first. This is why it is so important to form good relationships with the teachers. Or if you are new to Japan, your own teacher should have these relationships so they can give you an introduction.

Back to training updates from Japan. The next morning, I went to Furuta Sensei’s dojo in 茨城県 Ibaraki-ken. He came to pick us up from the train station for a 25 minute drive to his house. It is a nice old Japanese house with a garden and an out building for a dojo. We trained for a morning session, then had lunch in his kitchen. Then we did an afternoon session.

Furuta Sensei's Dojo December 2022

It seemed like Furuta Sensei had three years (pandemic years) worth of teaching waiting to get out. He had so much to share. He told us that many martial arts in Japan are like 化石 kaseki, or fossils. They are being preserved but there is no life in them.

Furuta spoke about kata and densho. He said these are like samples of a dish. You can take a bite of something to taste it, but that is not a meal. He said that people who only do kata or densho are missing the meal. This is something I often say to my own students. The Bujinkan is not just kata or the densho, it is also the kuden and direct transmissions from teacher to student that are not on any menu.

Furuta Sensei said ここ当たり koko atari

During training, he had some peculiar angles for evasion. He also showed various places to strike kyusho as he said ここ当たり koko atari, meaning “hit here.” I found out later why things looked strange to me.

After training, he took us out to dinner to a local Soba shop. If you didn’t know, Furuta will be the next Soke of 雲隠流 Kumogakure Ryū. So over dinner he shared that his recent training used the strategies from this school. He would hide himself in the space with subtle angling of his body, just like mountain hiding it’s slopes in the clouds.

Now I realized why all of my classes with him felt different. He had been expressing ideas from Kumogakure Ryū and I didn’t know it. Based on this new insight, I had to go back and revise my notes from each training session with him!

On the flight home from Narita to Los Angeles, I spent some time reflecting on Hatsumi Sensei’s birthday. The party was great fun for me. It had been 3 years since I had seen most of my friends here in Japan. Everyone was happy to let loose a little.

My friend from Senou Sensei’s dojo, Sasa, was entertaining our whole table. Sayaka, Ueki, and Hirotoshi kept things youthful and I enjoyed their wonderful smiles and energy. Nakagawa-san dressed up like some kind of scary geisha with unkempt nose hair and bad jokes.

Hatsumi Sensei and Michael Glenn Dec 2022

The restaurant has two levels. Hatsumi Sensei sat downstairs and we took turns visiting with our birthday gifts to him. I made this trip to Japan in his honor and I felt lucky I was able to see him.

I made a video about all of this while I was in Japan that you can watch here: Japan Report December 2022 Part 3
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Author: Michael

Japan Report Two 令和5年

Japan Report One 令和5年

The Sound of Bujinkan 変化 Henka

Bujinkan 鎖分銅 Kusarifundō: Truth and Falsehood

Bujinkan Daikomyosai Party and Training Themes from Japan

What are the current Bujinkan Themes?