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Facebook friends and who we associate us with

From 8þ Kabutoshimen by admin

20110625-074959.jpgI just got another friend request from someone who claims to be a “Ninja Sōke” (I only know one and he is not on fb!). I usually say yes to everyone who seems to be a Bujinkan member, or someone I know. This guy probably just want my name to add credibility to what he is claiming. I see we had 37 mutual friends, all (I think) is Bujinkan members. I wonder why do you add people like these as your fb friend, unless you know them?

It’s like saying, hi I’m a ninja master and look at all my high ranking Facebook “friends” from other styles who know and respect me and my style. When in fact they never met each other. His poor students he con might not know this. At least I don’t want my name associated with someone like this.

On the other hand I say yes to all friend invites from people who seems to be a Bujinkan member. We have probably met, and I don’t remember names easily. Or we will probably meet each other in the future, being in the same organisation and travels around frequently.

So what I meant with this rant is that I think we should be more careful on Facebook, and who we associate us together with.

The post Facebook friends and who we associate us with appeared first on 8þ Kabutoshimen.…

平常心 Heijōshin: a Heart Like Clear Water

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

Water Sunset, Tokyo. photo by xxspecialsherylxx
I don't spend a lot of time in front of a mirror. Those of your who know me may think, "that's obvious." But when I do get in front of a mirror, after I get over the shock of my appearance and really look to see what is reflected there, it makes me smile. The smile comes from a recognition of my own spirit reflected back at me. Thankfully, that is a happy reflection.

In training it is said that we are polishing each other's hearts so they are clear like a mirror. If we get this natural clarity we will have 平常心 heijōshin and reflect the hearts of our training partners (or opponents) back to them.

One of the songs of the gokui says,
"If you possess a heart like clear water, the opponent is reflected as though in a mirror." 
This state of mind is like 無念無想明鏡止水 munen muso meikyōshisui,  "Without worldly thoughts, clear and serene as a polished mirror or still water."

This is very powerful advice. Reflecting your opponent's technique, rhythm, and spirit is a strategy that has many rewards. Not just for battle. It works in sports, business negotiations, and your own personal communications.

One of the primary ways to achieve this is through heijōshin. Just like the cat in the Neko No Myōjutsu story who defeats the furious rat by mastering this principle of life and death.

Hatsumi Sensei wrote that:
"Gokui means to live an ordinary life, to possess an "everyday mind" (heijōshin), and it is naturalness epitomized."
A mirror reflects everything because it has no form of its own and is completely clear. So with heijōshin, If your mind is formless and clear, whatever stands before you is reflected. This will allow everything you do to be effortless.

How can we get to this clear state? Well, it is both simple and easy, yet profoundly mysterious. One answer comes from Zen: 渉念無念、渉着無着 Shonen munen, shochaku muchaku - "Use thought to arrive at No-Thought; use attachment to be nonattached." 

Or, as I heard Hatsumi Sensei suggest to us once in 2009, right after he had dropped three guys into a tangled pile on the floor,
"Humans get caught up in thinking. throw that away, release yourself from it. Cultivate this reflection of life (生命反射 seimei hansha) in your taijutsu."
I guess the strange character staring back at me in the mirror is just a reflection of my life... and I have to smile.


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Receiving vs. Avoiding: “Blocking” in Martial Arts

From The Magick & The Mundane » Bujinkan by Shawn Gray

As we all know (or at least, as anyone who has seen the worst kung-fu ninja movie ever knows), martial arts involve not only attacks, but also defenses. Not only kicks, strikes, punches, and throws, but also defensive maneuvers like blocks, evasions, sweeps, and the like. Probably the most common martial arts defense word that we hear is the word “block”. We hear things like “Block the punch” and “Her kick was blocked”, etc. This word “block” is the most common translation for the Japanese word “ukeru (受ける)”. Another common martial arts defense term that we hear is “avoid”. This is a common translation of the Japanese word “sakeru (避ける)”. When we think of blocking, we often think of hitting or clashing with an incoming weapon. Contact is made, and pain is usually a result, whereas when we think of avoiding we normally think of a graceful passing that is by far the preferred approach. One can imagine that if the interaction between attacker and defender is a course of energy, why would you want to “block” it? Would you want to block a pipe or a drain? Why would you want to block an opponent when you could let him just go right on by? The concept of avoiding has come to be viewed by some as superior to blocking.

Seminar in Norway

This is a misunderstanding due to the common mis-translation of the Japanese word “ukeru (受ける)” as “block”. More literally, “ukeru” means “to receive”. Rather than a complete avoidance (“sakeru (避ける)”), ukeru refers to the processing of an attack. It involves the conversion or diversion of an attack into something or somewhere other than the target. This process involves engagement and contact – it is not a hands-off avoidance. The incoming attack is dealt with physically, “hands-on”. This direct contact not only allows you to apply pain or a technique to the opponent the instant that you receive his attack, but it also acts as a bio-feedback loop – you are in physical contact and thus have a kinesthetic awareness of where the opponent is in space, in which direction he/she is moving, how fast, etc. You do not have this kind of instant physical feedback if you don’t have physical contact.

This same principle can be applied to the way that we deal with many things in our daily lives. Do we choose to interact and process, or avoid? It’s interesting to train with people in the dojo – in time you can see the connection between their style of body movement (“taijutsu“) and their personal style of interacting with others outside the dojo. Those who engage with you as a training partner, giving you a realistic attack, going neither limp nor overly tense and rigid the instant that you start applying the technique, are often the ones that you will see actively engaging outside of the dojo as well, taking on responsibilities, not shying from making decisions and commitments. On the other hand, dojo training partners who try to thwart you by not letting you apply the technique correctly, jumping away unrealistically early, falling over when you didn’t do anything, flinching away when you haven’t done anything, quitting their own technique before it’s complete – these people are often the ones outside of the dojo who are afraid of commitment, flaky, indecisive, escapist, melodramatic or passive-aggressive.

Blocking got a bad rap somewhere along the line – it should really be receiving: Engaging, Sensing. Feeling. Responding. Converting. Transforming. Transmuting.

And so on.


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JIN RYAKU NO MAKI (v1.5) with MATS HJELM

From Budoshop by BUDOSHOP.SE

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This 62 minute video is from a seminar with Mats Hjelm teaching at the Kaigozan Dojo in June 2011. On this video he teaches the Bujinkan Dojo Budo Taijutsu fundamentals. This is the third and last part from his Mudansha Guide, or more known as Jin Ryaku no Maki (the third part of Ten-Chi-Jin Ryaku no Maki). He taught…

Suwari kata : Five techniques from a sitting position.

Katate-dori kata : Five techniques from a one hand grab situation.

Ryote-dori kata : Seven techniques against two handed grab situations.

Haibu-yoru kata : Five techniques from grabs from behind.

Tsuki-uchi kata : Nine techniques from a punching situation.

Keri ni taisuru ukemi kata : Five techniques from kicking attacks.

Tsuki to keri ni taisuru ukemi kata : Four techniques from striking and kicking attacks.

Nage kaeshi kata : Nine techniques from throwing attempts.

Tonso kata: Three release, attack and escaping forms.

Muto-dori kata: Four techniques from knife and sword attacks.

All these 56 techniques is shown 2-3 times from different angles and explained shortly. This was filmed outside and it is sometimes difficult to hear what is said, but the way Mats teaches is very easy to understand by body language, so don’t worry about that. The instructions is all in English.

Sample clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-4GYgaStao

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陰陽 In and Yo: The Fists and Breath of 仁王尊 Niou

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

Sugimoto-dera temple, Kamakura. photo by Flowizm
I took the concept of In and Yo for granted. I had heard about this idea since I first began studying the Bujinkan in the mid '80's. But my mind always glossed over it. I was like yeah, yeah, In Yo - dark and light, yin and yang, positive negative - i get it. They are opposite but the same. Now show me that cool sword draw again!

But I didn't get it.  Maybe I needed more life experience to understand. Maybe I needed a teacher who could do more than just talk about the concept but one who actually lived it. Whatever it was, I now find myself feeling like a beginner being inspired by this concept as if for the first time.

One of the songs of the Gokui that Hatsumi Sensei has shared with us:
"The two guardian gods take the form of In and Yo. The movement of their fists, and also the breath."
Hatsumi Sensei changes the kanji to help us understand that this sacred song (seika 聖歌), can only be understood if we make it a living song (seika 生歌).

How do we make this idea come alive?

To begin with, don't get lost in the philosophy. The symbolism in our art also has a real physical manifestation. I mean, you can use it in a fight.

陰 (In) can be shown by tranquility and inaction; and 陽 (Yo) can be shown by movement or action. Before fighting, you should have a calm exterior(In). While your mind remains active and alert (Yo), flowing yet fixing on nothing.

When attacking, your body goes into action (Yo) while your mind should stay calm and quiet (In). These flow from one into the other.
"... I do not fight for gain or loss, am not concerned with strength or weakness, and neither advance a step nor retreat a step. The enemy does not see me. I do not see the enemy. Penetrating to a place where heaven and earth have not yet divided, where Yin and Yang have not yet arrived, I quickly and necessarily gain effect." - Takuan Soho 
In the Gokui song the two guardian gods are the Kongou Rikishi or the Niou 仁王尊, shown in the temple gates in the photo above. They represent the use of overt power and latent power. Naraen is also called Narayana. As a pair, the Niō complement each other. Misshaku (aka Agyō 阿形) represents overt power, baring his teeth and raising his fist in action, while Naraen (aka Ungyō 吽形) represents latent might, holding his mouth tightly closed and waiting with both arms tensed but lowered.

A movement of fists and breath:
The one opens his mouth, in the "agyou 阿形" position (the shape of mouth saying "a" あ ) and sometimes holds a thunderbolt, while the other closes his mouth, in the "ungyou 吽形" position (the shape of mouth saying "un") and may hold a large sword .

They may appear different, but we must understand the connection and flow between these two. As Soke said some years ago,
"Life & death are connected. Like in-yo (yin-yang). This is my teaching theme for the year. Like a magnet and metal, life and death are attracted to each other, always getting closer. If you are born and given a life, death is inevitable. When death comes do not be surprised or shaken. Get on the rhythm of life. Get in balance with it."
This connection is like a rope or a spider's thread that you don't want to break. If you try to unravel In and Yo they dissolve and harmony dissolves with them. One is necessary for the other.

In fighting, If your body is active (Yo) and your mind is also in motion, you can become uncoordinated and easily defeated. This is like lashing out with a mind clouded by anger or fear. Conversely having an inactive body (In) and inattentive mind is like being caught off guard or being helpless and incapable of fighting.

Better to have one connected to the other so that as one shifts the other shifts in harmony.

Hatsumi Sensei recently described the Godan test as having a connection from the Kami above down through the upraised sword and heart of the person cutting... connected down to the heart and spirit of the person sitting. Neither person should sever that connection if they want to live through the test.

In class, Sensei told us to go further than even that:
"No technique or form, no yin or yang, or kyojitsu. Go beyond this. Do Kamiwaza. I teach things you shouldn't be able to understand."
This gets us to the real secret of InYo. As in the picture of the temple above, you have to pass THROUGH the middle and beyond In and Yo to get to the true meaning inside. Don't be frightened by the fierce expression on the temple guardians' faces. Just walk through the gate.

I've been exploring this in my life and in my taijutsu. Allowing the inside and outside to be as one. Keeping this connection from above alive and fluid has made for many wonderful techniques in my training, but also creates moments of wonder and surprise in my life. But it's not me doing it. It's just part of the natural flow.


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Iro 色: Attach to Color, Follow the Color

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

Purple Grid - Yokohama, Japan photo by OiMax
Many of you have seen Hatsumi Sensei's purple hair. Everyone wants to know what that is about. Iro 色 (color) is a very important symbol in Japanese culture and martial arts. Let's look at that idea first, then Soke's hairstyle.

In martial arts Iro 色 is something that can be observed. For example: the color of your face, color of your sword, color of your attack, color of your Kamae, etc. The opponent's attack or his desire to win is often times described as Iro.

I describe hearing Sensei refer to this on my blog post, Beyond Striking and Kiai Into the Mysteries of Toate No Jutsu:
I was at a Friday night class with Hatsumi Sensei in the Hombu Dojo when Soke described toate no jutsu as a kiai or projection of spirit (maybe 気迫 kihaku?). Sensei said it was like the color of your heart projecting into space. That color comes from your character or can be that which you decide to project. He said all this with his purple hair and made reference to Kabuki theatre in which a purple scarf on the head denotes death.
The concept of Goshiki 五色 can be 5 colors. Usually we hear this word as 5 consciousnesses (Goshiki 五識). From the Great Buddhist Dictionary (仏教大辞典、小学館) we can learn the following:

"The five basic colors are Green, Yellow, Red, White and Black. They refer to the five Skandhas (goshiki 五識), the five Wisdoms (gochi 五知) or the five Buddhas (gobutsu 五佛) as an expression of the various Buddhist teachings.

In Japan there was the custom during the Heian period to hang a scroll of Buddha Amida Nyorai in front of a dying person, whith a fivecolored string (goshiki no ito 五色の糸) coming from the hand of the Buddha extending to the hands of the person. If you hold it firmly during your last minutes, you were assured a strait passage to the Paradise of the West (Amida Joodo 阿弥陀浄土).

One of the objects in the hand of a Kannon with 1000 Hands (Senju Kannon 千手観音) is a Fivecolored Cloud (goshikiun 五色雲).

The water poured over the head of the statue of Shakyamuni as a child during the festival for his birthday on April 8 (kanbutsu-e潅仏会) is called Fivecolored Water (goshikisui 五色水)."

You can also see these colors in 5 types of Daruma dolls, or Tibetan and Japanese prayer flags (goshiki ban 五色幡) .

These flag colors also represent the 5 elements:
Ku: Blue is the sky;
Fu: White is for the clouds;
Ka: Red is fire;
Sui: Green is water; and
Chi: Yellow is for the earth.
Each wave of the flag by the wind is considered one complete reading of the prayers printed on the flags.

On an ancient battle field,  5 colored flags were used for moving troops.
YELLOW shows the location of base camp or rally point.
When the other flags are raised:
BLUE:    Frontline Troops will GO EAST
RED:     Frontline Troops will GO SOUTH
WHITE:  Frontline Troops will GO WEST
BLACK:  Frontline Troops will GO NORTH

This is where we get the expression "色につき色にしたがふ" (attach to color, follow the color) and even though these ancient battle field strategies have been forgotten, the expression survives till this day in kenjutsu practice.

In a Japanese Shrine, you may find four animal flags in each direction:
East: Blue Dragon
West: White Tiger
South: Red Peacock
North: Black Turtle

So what about Hatsumi Sensei's purple hair? If you ask him you may not get the answer you expect. He told someone I know that it was to protect him from STD's (sexually transmitted diseases). For a straighter answer, here is what he told Doug Wilson: Smoke On The Water.

We can learn a lot about the color Murasaki 紫. In Feng Shui it symbolizes Yin, spiritual awareness, physical and mental healing. A purple Daruma (there are some!) is for a long life and preventing disasters. The pigment Murasaki is taken from the root of the plant  with this name and in Japanese poetry it denotes perseverance.

Murasaki iro 紫色 also suggests high rank and leadership. In the ancient courts of Japan, there was The Twelve Level Cap and Rank System (冠位十二階 Kan'i Jūnikai), established in 603. The highest rank was assoiciated with the highest virtue. At the top was 大徳 Daitoku Greater Virtue and it was represented with purple.

紫の雲にいつ乗るにしの海
murasaki no kumo ni itsu noru nishi no umi

on purple clouds
when will I set sail?
western sea
-Issa


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YSTT Update Jun 2011

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

In exactly 30 days the Yûro Shi Tenno Taikai of Paris begins!

This year has passed so fast that I am amazed that this is already the time for this major seminar. The Paris Taikai has evolved a lot since its creation back in 2007.

This is a very special seminar that was designed to give a chance to get the « Taikai feeling » of the old days to the newcomers to the bujinkan and a sense of « the good ol’days » to the old bujinkan members.

This seminar is special for many reasons:

First, this is the only remaining seminar where the « Shi tenno » are teaching together. Since 1993 Sven, Peter, Pedro & Arnaud have been teaching together in Spain, France, England, Ireland etc…

Second, the four friends are used to teach together which gives a kind of « family feeling » to this event;

Third, this is a 3 days seminar like the taikai of the past when Hatsumi sensei was travelling the world to spread his teaching;

Fourth, the group of participants is divided into four groups by technical level. This means that a beginner will receive a class that he or she can understand; but also that a high rank student (judan and above) will also get something to improve his or her understanding;

Fifth, each day is divided into small training sessions of about 1 hour where each group has the chance to train with each one of the shihan in a private class;

Sixth, the 3 training halls (mats or wooden floor) allow each one to spend a full day of training in different environment;

Seventh, the free t-shirt, the hot meals, the free lodging (during, before or after the event), makes it a big opportunity to exchange with the many practitioners from all Europe but also to take the chance to visit Paris;

Eighth, the final party at the end of the third day is always a good moment before going back home and parting from 150 new friends coming from 15 to 18 countries.

The YSTT is a very good opportunity to meet your buyu from Europe, to exchange, train, and learn a lot of things in a very friendly environment.

This year, this is the 27th year of my bujinkan training. SO I decided that each participant that is booked online will receive a FREE 2 months unlimited access to our online streaming website displaying more than 600 bujinkan techniques.

Thank you for your support!

A. Cousergue
Bujinkan Shihan

REGISTER HERE


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