From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael

Rikidōzan

During a recent Sunday class at Hombu, Hatsumi Sensei was showing techniques  against a double lapel grab. He made a point of demonstrating these techniques on some of the largest foreigners in the room. He tossed them around easily and made them groan or whimper in pain.

He then said that all of the Jugodans in the Bujinkan should be able to defeat any pro wrestler. He wasn't talking about the kind of pro wrestling we see now that is full of theatrics and largely staged, but he was referring to the kind of athletes and matches that were common during his youth.

Hatsumi Sensei then told us about a story from his past when he had accepted a grudge match against one of the most famous of those wrestlers, Rikidōzan.

Soke shared with us the surprise ending to this event, but first let's learn more about this legendary fighter. From the Rikidōzan Wikipedia entry:

Mitsuhiro Momota (百田 光浩 Momota Mitsuhiro?), better known as Rikidōzan (Japanese: 力道山, Korean: 역도산 Yeokdosan, November 14, 1924 – December 15, 1963), was a Korean Japanese professional wrestler, known as the "Father of Puroresu" and one of the most influential men in wrestling history. Initially, he had moved from his native country Korea to Japan to become a sumo wrestler. He was credited with bringing the sport of professional wrestling to Japan at a time when the Japanese needed a local hero to emulate and was lauded as a national hero.

Here is more about Rikidōzan from a Wrestling Revue article in 1964:

"Though born in Nagasaki in Kyushu, Rikidozan was of Korean descent. And in Japan, Koreans are usually objects of contempt, often discriminated against. Rikidozan fought hard to overcome this stigma. In the process he developed a trigger-like temper, rebelled constantly, against authority. "Nobody tells me what to do," he used to boast."

"Riki, who was given the Japanese name of Mitsuhiro Momota (literally, "Bright Child of the Hundred Ricefields"), never dwelled on his early years. But he was known to have been a sullen, bad-tempered youth who, shunned by his prejudiced schoolmates and deserted by his parents, left home at the age of 13 and journeyed 800 miles to Tokyo.

Seeking a living-and an outlet for his repressed hostilities-he enrolled in a sumo training gymnasium and after three years of incredibly arduous training was ready for his first match. All the bitterness erupted out of him as he tackled his opponent. Riki now weighed 300 pounds, with the big, blubbery but tough-as-steel belly characteristic of sumo wrestlers.

Despite his weight, blown up from downing 18 rice bowls and four cases of beer at a single sitting, he was as fast and agile as a cat. He could run the hundred yards in 11 seconds flat and was so superbly trained that he could write a letter by holding a pen between his powerful toes. Riki pounded his foe savagely. with every blow, every kick, he avenged the hardships he had suffered in the gymnasium-getting up at 2 A.M. to work outside in the freezing cold...smoldering at a thousand humiliations...absorbing insults and beatings from advanced classmates... Well, things were going to be different from now on, he vowed, as the fans hailed his victory.

With dynamic drive, he battled his way up in the sumo ranks. At 23, he made the sekiwake grade and was on the verge of entering the ozeki domain which would put him in line for the grand championship. Then he destroyed a brilliant future by quarreling with a gymnasium official over a technical decision. In a rage, he quit sumo forever.

Out of a job and missing the adulation of the fans, Riki was at a loss in the big metropolis. But not for long. Tokyo was starting to boom-it was during the MacArthur occupation-and he easily found work as a construction laborer. Swallowing his disappointment, he worked for a year.

In his spare time, he continued to train hard, concentrating on karate, the deadly art of open-handed fighting that later became his trademark. Then, with a small nest egg, he rented a hall for wrestling exhibitions. In no time he built up a rabid following. As his fame spread, he accepted an offer from promoter Al Karasick in Honolulu. Riki was a sensation there.

He followed with other triumphal tours, capturing a fistful of titles all over the world, beating Haystacks Calhoun, Fred Blassie and even the great Lou Thesz. He was now down to 250 pounds. A siege of illness had melted off 50 pounds and Riki decided to stay that weight after he saw what happened to Tamanishiki, a prominent sumo wrestler. Tamanishiki, a 400-pounder, joined his honorable ancestors when doctors were unable to cut through the mountain of blubber during a stomach operation. 

Except for Thesz, Riki had nothing but contempt for American grapplers. He sneered at their hippodrome showmanship, called them soft compared with the Japanese. He called Blassie the "dirtiest wrestler" he had ever met. In the boxing and wrestling stables that formed part of his vast business empire which also included hotels, night clubs, golf courses and apartment houses, Riki was a hard taskmaster, demanding the utmost from his men and whipping them with a bamboo stick when they failed to measure up to his stringent standards.

By December of 1963, Riki had successfully defended his "International Title" 19 times."

Around this same time there was a Ninja boom going on in Japan. Ninja were appearing all over the media and Hatsumi Sensei was in demand for TV interviews and sought out for demos and his expertise. Sensei has never hidden his idea that real budo and sport fighting cannot be compared. Maybe he said something in an interview, maybe Rikidōzan was simply seeking publicity by challenging and criticizing the legendary Ninja.

There were exchanges of words and letters back and forth. Rikidōzan basically calling Hatsumi Sensei out to a challenge. Hatsumi Sensei wrote to Takamatsu for advice. Takamatsu being a veteran of many such matches in his youth, told Sensei to accept the challenge and began coaching Hatsumi Sensei on how to handle this opponent.

A week before the fight was to occur, Riki was killed by a Yakuza in "the chrome-striped restroom of a plush Tokyo night club." Here are two versions of the murder,

"On December 8, 1963, while partying in a Tokyo nightclub, Rikidōzan was stabbed with a urine-soaked blade by yakuza Katsuji Murata who belonged to Bōryokudan Sumiyoshi-ikka. Reportedly, Rikidōzan threw Murata out of the club and continued to party, refusing to seek medical help. Another report states that Rikidōzan did indeed see his physician shortly after the incident, and was told the wound was not serious. He died a week later of peritonitis on December 15."

Another account:

"On the night of December 8, tragedy struck. Riki, whose business interests brought him into contact with one of the numerous gangs which dominate Tokyo's night life, was in the restroom of the New Latin Quarter when a gangster approached him. The gangster reportedly warned Riki to "stay out of this territory." Riki, who never took any lip from anybody, told him to go to hell. They tussled. A switchblade flashed, And Riki collapse, spilling blood. Rushed to the hospital, Riki was told the wound was minor and would soon heal. But a week later, after bleeding copiously, he died of peritonitis at the age of 39."

Hatsumi Sensei simply stated to us that the wrestler was knifed by the yakuza. Sensei went on to tell us that it was a lucky break for him because he would have likely been destroyed by the wrestler in the fight.

Lucky indeed. I have also heard him say that Ninjas make their own luck.

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From 自然行雲流水 by 自然行雲流水

Warm thoughts, Cold fingers.

Budou teaches you how much you don`t know. It is about coming to terms with the nature of ones true self, warts and all.
You need Gaman がまん to keep going through times of self doubt.
When your techniques feel like they are not working, when you don`t think you are learning anymore, when people look to be improving faster than you, and when people seem to remember more about the waza, history, or philosophy than you, it is important to endure and keep going.
It is in these times that we have the chance to really come to understand what relinquishing the self and returning to "zero" can really feel like.
It is about finding the kyusho in the kukan - Our weak points in the space we inhabit.
It is about peeling off the layers and accepting ones true "space". Often it is a very scary place to see and be. It is hard to accept but, we must not fight the truth that we are seeking through the study of budou. If we fight the truth, we may as well stop or not even begin training.
Budou is ultimately the study of "knowing the self". From this point, we have a chance to control our opponents and our lives, not before ( Sun Tsu ).
We are studying the Arts of War to learn about our mortality and the preciousness of all life. The heart of the martial artist is about sincerity.
This sincerity is not foolishness. It is being true to oneself while feeling for the correct path in our lives. Sincerity is found in nature. To be sincere does not mean to be always kind. Often nature is cruel to be kind to achieve balance and maintain the harmony within the Universe.
Budou teaches us about developing the right heart and spirit to maintain the harmony. Often "white lies" are fine to achieve this ( Buddha ).
There are many good people and honest people. But many people manipulate them. Understanding the spirit of the martial artist is to know Kyojutsu is the basis for survival. Without Kyojutsu, there can be no harmony. The principles of taijutsu ( distance,angles and timing ) manifest themselves in all realms. Everything we learn in physical training corresponds to the spiritual. They are not separated, but connected within the space ( kukan ). Taijutsu training is like a moving meditation that enlightens us to the kukan ( life space ). This space is where we become to understand the breath of nature and the right way to live.
To live is to first understand that everything happens when the timing is right. It is not timing that suits Our life`s desires or conditions, but the timing of the Universe. This is where the kukan teaches us to Wait. We wait for the environment to move us. This is also trust, and we can see the beginning of this understanding of trust when one passes the Godan test. This trust is not about "what we want", it is about the subconscious, the knowing of the soul through relinquishing ones self to the way of nature - Ninjutsu.

道場 Dojo Code
1. To know that patience comes first.
2. To know that the path of mankind comes from justice.
3. To renounce greed, laziness, and obstinacy.
4. To recognize sadness, worry, and resentment as natural and to seek the immovable heart (fudoushin).
5.To not stray from the path of loyalty and to delve always deeper into the heart of budo pursuing the ways of both the literary and martial arts with balanced determination.
Toda Sensei.

Enduring through hard training we aim to develop the heart of the warrior.
This heart is to know that the Secret of Taijutsu is the foundation of peace.

I think by reviewing the dojo code, we can come to see just how important the words written by Toda Sensei are. As Sokes says, " read between the lines". It is important to breath and think deeply about the words and how they affect our lives.

南虎…

From 自然行雲流水 by 自然行雲流水

目指心臓 Gan Shi Shinzo ( Eyes, Fingers & Heart ). 
Soke takes your fingers with his, the pain takes your sight ( metsubushi ) and destroys your fighting spirit ( heart ). Soke defeats your spirit, but leaves you with your life. This is the mercy of the warrior. 
The connection is the thing. Everything is interlinked, just like the meridians that run bilaterally through our body.
南虎…

From 自然行雲流水 by 自然行雲流水

Give.

"Having the chance to be Uke for Soke is an Honor" - Nagato Sensei.

It is often that I feel that I will never understand his teachings or absorb the transmissions into my soul.
Sokes class always ends for me with a pleasant fatigue of the body and mind while vaguely smiling at the inner confusion of the experience.
To me, the role of Uke is the " art of surrender ". As uke, we take on the role of walking forward into death. With the correct mind, we can understand this as a lesson in Sutemi and developing the "guts" of the warrior. To be uke means to "give" yourself to tori. We can view this as also "give and return ", because we are recieving lessons from our selflessness. Those that cannot let go of the Ego and cannot allow their training partner to throw,kick,punch, or inflict pain on them have, in a sense, turned their back on learning. The first move to transcend the ego is to acknowledge it. We must then have the "guts " to step aside of ourselves and become an empty tea cup ( if you will ) to recieve direct transmission from the body ( taiden ) Sprit/Heart ( Shinden ) and Verbal lessons ( Kuden ). These are like a Sanshin ( three hearts ). It is so important to develop the heart of Sanshin, I feel. This heart is like that of a three year old child. It is said that the heart of a three year can live on for a hundred years. So, we must try hard to capture this correct heart for the chance to learn the "Art of correct living."

It is easy to become annoyed or frustrated with oneself for not immediately being able to understand Sokes teachings. I think it is important to acknowledge the fact that, these teachings are not meant for everyone.
Even those that recieve regular time as Sokes uke, does not automatically guarantee that they will "get it". Everyone is on their own Shugyo.
Absorbtion of the Art is a lesson also of the principles - Distance,Angles and Timing. Please look at these three principles in a manner like a human relationship or that of the way of Society and how people and communities grow.
In my eyes, I view being uke as a " conditioning for the future ". For me, I try to just open myself as much as possible. As a result, I hope that I will naturally absorb the transmissions into my subconscious and hara.
From there, I just keep training. I believe if one intellectualizes this Budo too much, the conscious mind will create things that are not really there. Over time, ones movement will develop in a direction different to that of the teachings. It is important to understand that Taijutsu is the Art of the Body. Learn through "doing", not "thinking". The thinkers in the dojo become stagnate in their taijutsu, they become narrow minded, yet still think they are doing the right thing. The proof is in the pudding.
This opens us to the concept of Rokkon Shojou or the purification of the six senses. Our training is always revolving around this. We aim to purify our sense to be able to "see" what really is. As a result, we will make correct decisions, know when and when not to act, and move freely.
The initial stages of learning requires people to mimic. This is an essential skill to have. If one cannot mimic, one cannot learn. This relates to Sainou Kon KI - the Talent, Soul and Capactiy of the person.
The greatest compliment in the initial stages of training in the dojo is to move like your teacher. This shows the teacher that you are open to learning and his instruction. Is this not what every teacher wants?
The more pure of heart the student is, the greater capacity. The student can absorb teachings without the clutter or distractions of the mind and what IT thinks IT has seen, heard or felt.
We often see that self purification practices are listed at the beginning of training in the Ryuha. If the student of the martial arts does not have a clear and pure heart, eventually, they will act with clouded judgement and cause problems. Peace is the foundation of budo. We must first make peace with ourselves. Eventually we may be lucky to obtain the "Mind and Eyes of God" - Kanjin Kaname.

Soke has recently used Gan Shi Nankotsu as the theme for the past year. It has a relationship with Womans Self Defence, of which was taught to him directly by Takamatsu OSensei. This type of training is as applicable to men as it is to women. As men age, so to does their abilities of strength. If one required strength to defend oneself during old age, they would surely loose to a younger, more stronger opponent. This is common sense. And, the progression of budo training over the years is a logical one as well. All we have to do is watch Soke.
Soke, however, has instructed the 15th dans to ensure that their students understand taijutsu before teaching "finger techniques". If not, the students will misunderstand that teachings and just use "finger power" and not taijutsu. In fact, this skillful use of the fingers is possibly the result of mastering Shin Gi Tai Ichi - the unification of the spirit,technique and body.
Shin Gi Tai is the base behind everything we do. We can also possibly acknowledge that giving the Godan test is in fact a test of this unified ability.

I often have seen hight ranking instructors being held down by Soke, trying to "stop" him from applying pain with the fingers to various parts of the body. This is terrible. Wen one thinks about it, the person trying to avoid the pain is in fact trying to avoid the teachings. It is important to "give yourself" and trust Soke. He is giving you lessons of the highest.
It is an honor to recieve pain from him!
Soke once said after inflicting pain on me quite hard, " I can do this on Duncan because he trusts me." I am speaking from experience.
I am not trying to make myself sound better than anyone else, I am just stating my belief on what it is to be uke within the Bujinkan.

You may not understand why you are being called upon to be uke, and you may not even understand what was done to you. The most important thing is that you accept the teachings. Eventually, I believe, when the time is right, the answer or knowledge will come. But, if you stop training, it will not. You have to keep training!

Don`t ask questions with your head, let the questions and answers come through the body. It is when the answer comes from within, that you know it is the truth and you have really understood it. This answer will never be forgotten because it has been learned through Shin Gi Tai, and not your brain. It is called Tai-jutsu NOT Atama -jutsu.

南虎
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