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Munenmusō  無念無想: Free From Worldly or Worthless Thoughts

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

photo by Frogman!
There is a common saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.  We see this all the time in training.  People begin to grow in their skill with taijutsu and two things often occur:

  • They injure themselves or others.
  • Or... they stop learning because they think they got it already.
This blind spot is very dangerous, because by their nature the person that is full of "knowledge" is unaware that they are ignorant.  And sometimes they convince others that they know something or have "secrets".

Hatsumi Sensei talks about this knowledge as if it is a burden.  A weight that should be shed.  Soke said that people want to possess the densho or secret scrolls.  But that when people learn the secrets they were searching for, they become too tense to move freely.  They are burdened with the knowledge and trying to use it correctly.
I am sure it is a great mistake always to know enough to go in when it rains. One may keep snug and dry by such knowledge, but one misses a world of loveliness.  - Shakespeare
Sensei likened this to kareteka who used to train with iron geta.  This is a similar principle to the modern fitness training with ankle weights.  At first they are heavy, but eventually the wearer gets used to them and doesn't even notice the burden.  But how freeing and light it will feel to remove them entirely!

I am amazed at people who attend classes or train at a seminar yet miss everything being taught because they are full of knowledge already.  Their consciousness is heavy with what they know.  Leaving no room for anything new.

A great example for us is the theme for 2011.  How many people think they know kihon happo?  There are teachers already teaching this theme or planning their seminars for 2011.
Alexander Pope shared this idea:
That a little knowledge is apt to puff up, and make men giddy, but a greater share of it will set them right, and bring them to low and humble thoughts of themselves.
 I watched Hatsumi Sensei write the scroll with this theme for my teacher on November 23.  He said it was the first time he had written the theme for next year.  But the kanji were not the "normal" way kihon happo is written.  This signifies Sensei's intention to take a fresh approach to the kihon.  Or, at least, to get us to drop our preconceptions and learn it anew.

So what effort in learning can you make?  Sensei suggests:
From nothing (not thinking), something (an action) comes forth, and the person who masters this idea is the one who can comprehend the secret teachings.  This understanding in your heart is more important than the techniques.  The mind of "munen muso" (no thought, no mind) in the heart is the real secret teaching rather than the waza.


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Klubbläger, Lör 15:e Januari i Kaigōzan dōjō

Vi kommer att ha ett klubbläger Lördag den 15:e Januari i Kaigōzan dōjō. Träningen kommer att ledas av alla Shidōshi (instruktörer) i Kaigōzan dōjō; Mats, Eric, Kent, Viktor, Daniel. Detta är ett ypperligt tillfälle att lära känna alla instruktörer i Kaigōzan dōjō.

Träning kl. 11:00-17:00 med kortare raster. Ta med mellanmål så att du klarar dig, vi tar ingen långlunch!

Priset är en symbolisk summa på 100 kr. Alla är välkomna, nybörjare, fortsättare, avancerade. Medlemmar från andra klubbar är också välkomna!

Efter träningen blir det middag tillsammans på Bishops Arms.

OBS! Vi har inget speciellt anmälningsformulär, men anmäl gärna erat intresse här på Facebook.…

the [youtube] rss feed

The videos to Y*uTub£ did not link correctly for a long time on mobile devices since they changed their API. Now I had some time over to look into it. So from now on I hope all the video links will be correct. I also filtered out [bujinkannice] which have spammed the feed the past months.

I know there are video’s uploaded to YT I wish never was uploaded, computer animated cartoon bears uploaded by an anonymous angry person with an agenda. Mr historian guy who demands answers from Hatsumi Soke who doesn’t even use computers, and when he don’t get an answer within a few hours he calls Bujinkan an fake art based on something he found on the internet. And then there are the persons who doesn’t even train in Bujinkan, but still tag their videos with “Bujinkan” in desperate need to get a bigger audience. So filtering out all this would be impossible unless doing it manually, which I don’t have time to do daily or even feel like. With all this in mind, don’t take the videos posted too seriously.

Happy training!

/Mats…

中途半端 Chuuto Hanpa: Betwixt the Half Assed

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

photo by roland
Something many of us have heard Hatsumi Sensei say during his classes is the term "chuuto hanpa."  He has been using this phrase for many years to try to communicate an idea that is difficult to teach.

中途半端 chuuto hanpa / "unclear, betwixt and between, vague, half-hearted"
chuu / to / han / pa
The meaning of the first Kanji is "middle." The second Kanji means "way." The third and fourth Kanji mean, "half" and "end," respectively.

Chuuto means "halfway" or "along the way." Hanpa means "to be on neither side and be vague." Chuuto hanpa indicates the state of things which are left unfinished or the state of someone or something that is vague and unclear.

So what are some of the things this can teach us?

One is to let go of technique.  We all learn technique.  Some of us become good at techniques.  But technique is a trap.  The minute you try to apply a technique, people's survival instinct naturally drives them to actively resist or evade somehow.

It is an even bigger trap for learning.  You see your teacher show a kata, and remember, "I know xxx kata, I recognize this technique."  Then you may stop learning and fall back on habit.  Meanwhile, you missed what the teacher was REALLY showing you.  This is why Sensei advises us again and again, don't collect techniques, or memorize kata.

Here is a tip: be a beginner again.  It is like you are an expert guitar player and reading a book on basic guitar.   It is hard to be a beginner there.  Instead pick up a flute and do the same lesson.

When your technique is strong, drop it and try something where you are no good at all.  If you want to learn.  The best teachers create a class where this happens for you.

Another lesson of chuuto hanpa, is that of freedom.  By not taking any fixed technique or point, you may move freely.  When an opportunity arrives you can take it freely because you are not fixed on any technique or situation.

And a surprise awaits-  By half applying one technique and moving half into another, the effect is greater.  For example, if you apply musha dori while doing an omote on the same wrist, you can do something quite powerful without force!  Your opponent cannot counter or resist easily because you are never fixed.  That musha dori could finish with seoi nage, or nothing at all.  How do you counter that?

A greater surprise awaits even further into the esoteric whereby you float in the middle space, opening up the possibility for divine technique to enter.

This may be part of your life journey.  When you have become a great person in your field and are puffing up with pride, move to some other path where you are small and know nothing and be nobody again.  That's where learning happens. 


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