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Kaigozan Newsletter #37

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

Hello!

The last newsletter was sent out in July, sorry for taking so long. From now on we will use this medium and merge it together with other news lists we promised, but did not have time to use. So if you are surprised seeing this it means that you signed up to one of our news lists and forgot about it because we didn’t use it for a long time. From now on we will try to send them out once a month. To unsubscribe e-mails follow the link at the bottom.

Here is the news summarized from the past months.

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Taikai 2009 Update

The web site has been updated, the application form is on-line, and the first batch of instructors have been confirmed.
International Bujinkan Taikai 2009

If you don’t know who these instructors is, click on their link above. More instructors might be added later, we have to see how much support for this Taikai we have first. Hopefully we there will be around 8-10 main instructors for the Taikai.

Web masters, please put one of these Taikai web banners to your web site, or at least a link to the TAIKAI web site! We will give you a link back to your web site!

The application form for TAIKAI is now on-line! On the taikai web site you can click on the button in the top right column from all pages. Sign up before the end of the year and you will receive a gift from us at the Taikai. Please spread the word!

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Budo Shop The new web shop has been up now for a while and it seems to work very well. We changed the shipping costs to flat rate shipping cost to 49 SEK to the whole world (gratis frakt inom Sverige!), we had to adjust some prices slightly to cover the p&p costs, the DVD prices is unchanged. We also have several new releases the last month.

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Web site updates

As you may have noticed I have been very busy updating all my/our web sites with new style and skins. Most of the sites is 100% XHTML validated, and should look the same on all browsers. They look best on Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Opera and iExporer (in that order!). Some of the sites that is updated is (in no particular order)…

Web sites (all is hand coded)
kesshi.com
kaigozan.se
taikai.se (runs on Drupal)
budoshop.se (runs on MagentoCommerce)
bujinkan.me

Blogs (all is WordPress MU with different skins)
bujinkan.me/blogs
kabuto.bujinkan.me/blogs
kaigozan.bujinkan.me/blogs
seminars.bujinkan.me/blogs

taikai.bujinkan.me/blogs
selfdefence.bujinkan.me/blogs
budoshop.bujinkan.me/blogs

Here is a direct link to the Bujinkan seminar RSS feed. When a new seminar is added to the database it will be posted here. Subscribe to this feed and you will get notified immediately when the seminar is adverticed.

For the full seminar list which is chronologically sorted to each month we still recommend you check out this page or this once on a while. If you use facebook, add this Facebook application.
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Seminars November-December 2008

For more seminars see the Bujinkan.Me/seminars list (here is also information how to add seminars to this database). Sponsored seminar…
Kaigozan Christmas seminar

2008-10-31/2008-11-02 – Kuopio, Nilsia, Finland
Tahko Camp, with Shihan Lauri Jokinen
For more information (prices and schedule etc.) please contact [email protected] More info… http://www.shinden.fi/

2008-11-01/2008-11-02 – Wels, Austria
Togakure Ryu Spirit, with Miquel Angel Sanz, Shihan 14th Dan
We are looking forward to seeing you at this international Bujinkan seminar with Shihan Miquel Angel Sanz. Instructions are in Spanish with professional translation into German and English. Registration is now open. Please, reserve your space now for an unforgettable weekend in Austria. Thank you. More info… http://www.ninjutsu-wels.com/Resources/Bujinkan_Seminar_Sanz_Registr.pdf

2008-11-14/2008-11-16 – Oulu, Finland
Oulu Camp, with Shihan Lauri Jokinen
For more information (price & schedule) and registrations please contact [email protected]. Accommodation is free of charge. More info… http://shinden.fi

2008-12-05/2008-12-07 – Tuusula, Finland
Christmas Camp, with Shihan Lauri Jokinen
For more information (price & schedule etc.) please contact [email protected] More info… http://shinden.fi

2008-12-19/2008-12-20 – Stockholm, Sweden
Hankyou 2008, with Many instructors
This is Kaigozan Dojo’s traditional Christmas seminar. We invite all instructors that want to come and share what they have learned this year (please contact us!). If you want to have good fun don’t miss this, the cost for the seminar is kept really low. More info… http://kaigozan.se/seminars

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Short news and Notes

  • Daikomyousau 2008, The dates is Nov 30′th, Dec 1’st and 2′nd (Sunday until Tuesday). Note it is at Zaosou in Shimizu-koen (new location, not the same as before!) , click on the link for more info.
    Personal comment: With so many people coming and not knowing how to behave properly in Honbu Dojo, around the teachers, and in general. You that know this have some kind of repsonsibility to teach them.
  • Next years theme will probably be officially announced at Daikomyousai.
  • This is one of the many unwritten rules, and it always needs to be reminded! If you are allowed to take video of the trainings, you do not automatically have ok to post the video clips anywhere on internet, selling or giving away to strangers. If this is something you intend to do, then you need to ask if this is ok. This is just common courtesy, show some respect and don’t take things for granted.
  • There was a Bujinkan Enbu at the Fuse Benten in Kashiwa in October, celebrating a 1200 year old shrine.
  • …Please send me news to put here!
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Kabutoshimen web site update

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

As you may have noticed I have been very busy updating all my/our web sites with new style and skins. Most of the sites is 100% XHTML validated, and should look the same on all browsers. They look best on Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Opera and iExporer (in that order!). Some of the sites that is updated is (in no particular order)…

Web sites (all is hand coded)
kesshi.com
kaigozan.se
taikai.se (runs on Drupal)
budoshop.se (runs on MagentoCommerce)
bujinkan.me

Blogs (all is WordPress MU with different skins)
bujinkan.me/blogs
kabuto.bujinkan.me/blogs
kaigozan.bujinkan.me/blogs
seminars.bujinkan.me/blogs
taikai.bujinkan.me/blogs
selfdefence.bujinkan.me/blogs
budoshop.bujinkan.me/blogs

todo (sites that need something)
budo-taijutsu.net (maybe? low priority)

I need to do a Site map of all my/our web sites is necessary, to keep track of them all, anyone have any ideas? Please comment!…

空間と間合 Space and distance

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

Yoroi in Honbu DojoWhen attacking with a straight punch for example you do not want to enter the opponents space square on. Because the defender can easily counter directly with a strike before you even get your hand out as a guard.

When moving in to his space you should already be in kamae to protect your kuukan. The body moves you forward and you extend the punching arm and hit the opponent.

You should hit through the target and not more. If you put your foot under or behind where uke was standing you are striking too deep. Maybe you unconciously do that because you know that he will step back. In reality you do not know that, so you should train there after.

One way of measuring the correct distance is to lean forward into the strike in a good “punching kamae.” Then bend the striking arm so that the elbow just touch the opponents chest. This is the “correct” distance.…

故人を偲ぶ Avoid beeing seen

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

One part of self-defence is not to make yourself a target for attacks. This can be as simple as not stand out in a crowd by looking or behaving in a such way that you get more attention than the others around you. By blending into the crowd you will less likely be a chosen target. In this way you will hide yourself and become invisible to persons that is looking for victims.

By concealing your feelings you do not give away the opportunity for someone to manipulate you and use your weaknesses. You hide your feelings.

If you don’t show what you know or don’t know you will always have the upper hand and the possibility to use the element of surprise. In a fight for example you do not take a kamae that reveal what style you are trained in. You hide what you know.

In Bujinkan we have this saying…

身を忍び Mi wo shinobi
心を忍び Kokoro wo shinobi
死を忍ぶ Shiki wo shinobu

Hide yourself, hide your heart, hide your knowledge.

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闇夜の烏 A crow in pitch black night

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

In budo and also in ordinary life, what is seen is not necessarily the truth or what it really is. In Japanese they have the expression 闇夜の烏 YAMIYO NO KARASU when they say something is indistinct, it literally means a crow in a pitch-black night. Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean that it isn’t there.

Sometimes things can be right in front of your eyes but you don’t see it. They also say that you can see ghosts or spirits by not looking directly at it, you can see it in the corner of your eyes. Next time you look at the godan test done in Japan, look where Soke is often looking.

Have you also wondered why some people have high ranks in Bujinkan, why we have generally much higher ranks than other martial arts. There is no need to be judgemental or distrust or disagree with Hatsumi Soke. Have faith in what he do, he have a lot more experience and can see more clearly than us. When I write see, you should read it as feel. He once said that we should look with our hands and smell with our toes.  So listen to what I say with your tongue ;-) .

In Bujinkan there is a poem that reads…

A (black) crow is stitched on black cloth.
A (white) crane is painted on white paper.

Unfortunately I don’t know which kanji is used with this poem, if anyone know, please post a comment or contact me.

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空間感覚 Sense of space

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

As you know this years theme is the Togakure school. And what we is studying is the 面 OMOTE, outside or the visible and the 空間 KUUKAN. Next year we will be studying the 裏 URA, the inside, what is not visible or the secret. Soke said that next year we will go beyond kuukan.

First I’d like to remind you of my previous posts about not going ahead too soon, and instead follow the natural way and do things with good timing. So what he meant by going beyond kuukan we can leave for next year… no need to worry about that now.

空間 KUUKAN means space, room or air space. The first kanji KARA means emptyness, vacuum or blank, also SORA means sky or the heavens. The second kanji MA means space, room, time or pause. It can also mean many other things, for example KEN which is a measurement used between pillars, the same length as a tatami mat, 1,818 meters. In Koto-ryu for example you should be able to jump 2 ken sideways.

Other Japanese budo arts use and emphasize the same kanji for 間合い MAAI (interval), but in Bujinkan we instead speak of kuukan which has a deeper meaning. It is not just the distance, it is more how you use the distance that is important. For example if you have a pistol on your right side of the hip, you should keep this side away from the opponent so that he cannot take your weapon, and also so that you have room to draw your weapon off need be.

So this year we are developing our 空間感覚 Kuukankankaku, our sense of using the space between ourselves and the opponent as well as everything else around us, including possible weapons, doors, trees, stones, cars, other people etc.

In art they also speak of kuukan. For example using a big white paper and not too much black ink. Instead of looking at the black ink you look at the big white spaces. Or a zen garden one stone in the middle of a big field, it is the same thing, kept very simple. Maybe the same thing can be said about budo, keeping the techniques simple and leave plenty of room that can be used if needed, instead of complicated techniques that leaves out the freedom to henka, change. The key is to keep it simple, I think.…

青銅 Bronze is better than gold

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

In sports the gold medal is the highest level but in Bujinkan we think that the bronze medal is the highest level.

青銅 The first kanji is AO and means blue or green (when some one says ao it can mean both blue and green!). The second kanji DOU means copper.

銅 DOU can lead electricity and is more useful than gold. In taijutsu we take the natural 道 DOU (way or path). The way is not decided until the opponent has taken his position, like electricity doesn’t jump from one place to another before it can. Taijutsu is the same, we can not do the technique before the opponent has given us the opportunity where it comes natural. This is the 道 we should take.

Then Soke said look how I take this punch with my 胴 DOU (body, trunk, waist) and laughed.

This is the play of words and kanji Soke often does. I think he does this to break patterns and make us think in different ways we usually thinks. Building new synapses in the brain. Shortly after this he spoke about hijoushiki (see my other post about that).…

非常識 Lack of common sense

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

Some people do the most unexpected things. They do what you think is impossible or what you think is stupid. Someone who is unexperienced in budo have their own theories of what works and not. They are not molded into a system that taught them how to do things, so they do what they think will work. Or it could be a martial artist from another style using techniques you never seen before.

Soke said the other day that we should develop this 非常識 HIJOUSHIKI, which means lack of common sense. We should learn to see these unexpected things coming and respond naturally and not be surprised. He did not say anything (as far as i understood) about “banpen fuugyou” ten thousand changes without beeing surpriced. But this came to my mind immediately, it is the same thing.…