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News update, June 29′th

From Sweden Taikai 2011 by Sweden Taikai 2011

Hatsumi Soke with Shindenfudo-ryu Sword in STHLM 1998

Hatsumi Soke with the Shindenfudo-ryu Sword in STHLM 1998

We updated the web site with a new video of Steve Olsen who will be one of the four Shihan teaching at the Sweden Tai Kai in September.

We have the venue booked now. We wanted the bigger venue, but it was fully booked. But we booked another gym hall we used many times before (same place where most of the Kaigousuru Taikai in the past was). The address is…
Lilla Alby Skola, Humblegatan 19-21, Sundbyberg, Stockholm, Sweden.

Apparently Hatsumi Soke started teaching Shindenfudo-ryu Iai, as a second theme for this year in May. In 1998 Hatsumi Soke taught Shindenfudo-ryu taijutsu and sword, you might want to check out the videos from 1998 to see how Soke used this big sword. However, he might teach with a different sword now (I don’t know). However there is still three more months for the guys in Japan to figure it out. I’m sure the Taikai will be interesting for everyone attending, I hope you can make it.

The sign-up form will be available later in July.

On the Facebook event page we can see that there is 51 attending, 118 maybes, and 776 people who hasn’t made up their minds yet. This is interesting for us to see, but from experience we can’t trust this system. People have confirmed before and never showed up, it is to easy to just say yes without meaning it. The only way to confirm your place is through our sign-up form that will be up later in July.

We also updated the Information page, please read it before sending us questions!

Edit: I also added a new video with Duncan Stewart.

Pictures of Sundbyberg and Stockholm

STHLM, Värtahamnen o Kaknästornet SBB, Albygatan close to the station SBB, Albygatan, KGZ dojo down there SBB, entrance to KGZ dojo SBB, Lötsjön SBB, Train-, Metro-, Bus- station SBB, Vintergatan SBB, Tornparken SBB, Tornparken2 SBB, Vattentornet SBB, Storkyrkan Hatsumi Soke with Shindenfudo-ryu Sword in STHLM 1998

Happy training!

/Mats

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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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64 minutes, 782 Mb for $14.99

Only available as download

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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