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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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Crash, Bang, Daikomyosai!

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

photo by Joi

Daikomyosai has started with a crunch.  Hatsumi Sensei started the morning
wearing armor that he said was like that worn by Tokugawa.  This armor was meant to have no weak points or openings.  It was impenetrable and an impressive gold color for when the shogun would lead the way into battle.

Duncan and Holger were also in armor.  Sensei used Duncan as his uke and
proceeded to demolish him and his armor stitch by stitch.  As Duncan put it, "my armor is now rubbish."  And he later told me, Sensei used his armor against him as a weapon.  It appeared very disconcerting for Duncan.  Duncan is good with ukemi and there was really no useful ukemi for what he was enduring.

Sensei really has been focusing on the 15th dans while I've been here.  He
wanted them all to show something that they have been exploring in their
training this year.  It was a great chance for us to see how the Bujinkan is being taught around the world.  Sensei called on teachers from Spain, England, Russia, Venezuela, Israel, Argentina, the United States, Australia, Canada, and more from around the globe, to share with us.

He also has been instructing the jugodans directly about the godan test.
Sometimes he even speaks during the test itself.  I won't say here what he has been saying, but it's obvious he is trying to improve the way the test is taken and given.

Day 2 was more crash and smash in yoroi.  Sensei had all of the Shihan battle Duncan and Holger with tachi and yari.  Their movement looked great and Sensei pointed out to us that it was all unrehearsed.

Then Sensei pushed and coached Duncan and Holger into sort of randori with yoroi on.  It was smashing and crashing. When they were taking turns winning sensei encouraged them not to give up.  There was no submitting.  The energy rose and those two really got into the spirit of bushinwa.  Everyone in the room felt the specialness of this moment and erupted with a very enthusiastic applause.

After the first break some of the new godans were asked to demonstrate something with the tachi and they did well for being put on the spot.

The afternoon session was mostly tachi.  The use of the tachi is very
different than that of the katana.  So many people have not trained well with katana, and the tachi is even more foreign for them.  Even to the point of not knowing how to wear or hold the weapon.  Since that has been part of the theme for 2010, people still have time to study.

My training partners and I were called on to demonstrate a technique, so we went to the middle, it was a two swordsmen vs one tachi scenario.  We began our attack, the defender clocked the first attacker with the kashira of his weapon right on the bridge of the nose.  Blood spurted.

I hesitated with my attack.  The audience urged us to continue.  I attacked and was thrown.

By now he blood was really gushing from a cut on the guys nose and dripping all over the tatami mats of the budokan.  I decided we should not continue and held off on attacking further.  The other poor attacker had to get bandaged up for the rest of the day.

Control of distance and of the kukan is paramount with tachi or yoroi kumiuchi.  I saw many lessons being learned the hard way today.

Then Sensei asked the Shihan to explain how to give the godan test for the
jugodans.  I won't repeat these lessons here, but there was a lot to consider.  I think this is very important for the future of the Bujinkan.

Day 3 was great with a real family feeling throughout.

Sensei said the jugodans were always taking the sakki test.  He referenced a throw that someone did as sakki nage.

Steve showed us some wonerful tai sabaki using his wheelchair.  And later Brian who is missing his lower legs and half one arm was simply amazing.  Sensei had us all work on the samurai walk along with suwari waza to get the feeling he conveyed.  He and Steve were extremely well spoken and moved me greatly in sharing their experience of this Daikomyosai.

And I think their sentiments were shared by most people.  This was the warmest and most heart filled Daikomyosai I have ever attended.

Soke had the Jugodans share some more of their experiences with training and there seems to be more camaraderie than I have seen before.  Really special.

Then Sensei gave us maybe a bit of a preview for the new year with an exploration of kihon happo.

Sensei said that in the Bujinkan, there is always tomorrow and a chance for a new beginning.  I definitely am looking forward with a renewed heart and spirit to many tomorrows in this art that has opened up my international family.


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Yoroi Kumi Uchi

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Today we had an amazing demonstration of yoroi kumi uchi by the Sensei , the Japanese shihan and Duncan and Holger. Yoroi kumi uchi is not about doing a technique it is about seizing the opportunities arising in the middle of the fight. At one point today, Duncan lost his helmet and immediately used it as a weapon against his opponent.

Sensei congratulated him and explained that in a fight everything should be used to stay alive. Often martial art practitioners are more interested in looking good in their techniques rather than being in a position of staying alive. This is during the Muromachi period that Japan has developed what has become the martial arts of today. But in that time it was not about being precise, it was about not dying on the balltefield. Too often people think of the Edo period (beginning in 1603) as the best period of Japanese Budô. This is wrong!

Everything has been discovered much earlier during the Muromachi period. Muromachi began in 1333 so the Japanese had nearly 3 centuries to develop the arts of war. Sensei insisted once again today on the goshin (ken, tachi, juo, katana, nukes) being the real “gorin no sho”. If I understood well he will speak about that extensively in his new book due in a few months. Tachi waza is the weapon of the Muromachi together with the use of the yoroi.

Japanese budô and the culture of the katana came shorlty after the peace time of the Edo period. Japan being unified, there were not so many battles anymore and the Japanese warriors stopped wearing the yoroi rendered unnecessary. This is when they developed the blade to be cutting like razor blades as it was possible (without the protection of the yoroi) to cut the opponent instead of stabbing him. Tachi waza doesn’t include cutting only stabbing.

In the yoroi kumi uchi it is obvious. The body can take any blow at short distance (less momentum) the objective being to open uke in order to find a hole in the protection and to stab him in one of the openings created in the action. Therefore our movements do not have to be perfect they have to be created “on the spot” and adapted to what is possible. Sensei insisted a lot today on this aspect of fighting, we do not try to apply a waza we “read” the openings, take the balance and do what we can to stay alive. Once again we are learning survival not kata.

Furthermore, yoroi kumi uchi makes it obvious that speed is not  the priority as our movements are limited by the weight and encumbrance of the yoroi. We move to keep our balance and to take uke’s balance. Whether we a re doing mutô dori, tachi waza or yari waza is just an add-on to our body movements. The dvd on the dkms will be an eye opener for many bujinkan members as it was one for those who were lucky enough to watch it today.

Train with a yoroi in mind and a tachi in your hand and adapt your good looking movements so that they can be of any use in a real fight.


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Jin no Budô

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Sensei with Peter King

From today’s training at the dkms I really enjoyed one sentence from sôke: “we are not training Japanese budô but  jin no budô, the budô of mankind”. As humans we are all equal and there is no one better than any other one. The kumite of the bujinkan is not only Japanese and it is obvious when you see so many people (around 400 today!) coming from all over the world and joining to train together here in Tokyo. Sensei’s budô is beyond borders and by spreading it in our countries we are actually working to better humanity. Jin budô is the same in every country and the techniques developed in Japan are no different from the ones that developed in the other cultures. This is why the bujinkan is a world budô. When sensei demonstrated the yoroi kumi uchi today he was taking anything that would be possible: helmet, sode, ropes hanging, belt, weapons. And with this in hand he would take the balance of his uke. At the end of the session, Duncan’s yoroi was a wreck. Efficiency is not in the techniquess but in the attitude one has when facing an opponent. As Nagato sensei said once: “it does not have to look good it has to be efficient”. Our budô is beyond the forms. We have to learn the basics and the schools and the weapons in order to create this space where everything is possible. By not finishing the techniques (hanpa) and by using the josei no goshin jutsu, we can adapt our movements without putting any thought within them. Uke attacks and we simply react, taking his balance and crushing him. In sannin dori this ability is necessary and hanpa gives us the possiblity to overcome the intentions of the attacker. In traditional budô everything follow a predefined pattern and creativity disappears behind the veil of the form.

In real fight, this cannot be as we have to be aware of the dangers of the situation. By not finishing a particular technique, we are free to move and deal with a second attacker. In sport there is only one opponent in real fight there are often more than one. Dwelling only on a “Japanese form” is not possible for those who want to survive. The only way to survive is to open up and become creative, by sensing the changes occurring in our environment and by reacting to these influences. Jin no budô is the ultimate level of fighting because it implies our whole being and not a set of technical forms. Jin no budô is freedom and when we can manifest that in the dôjô it changes our perception of reality and allows us to apply it in our daily lives. Bujinkan practitioners for their majority still consider the bujinkan to be another martial art and they only focus on the “martial” and not enough on the “art” part.

Sensei wants us to become creative like an artist not to become a budôka. And this is the objective of such a seminar.

Tomorrow will be another interesting day!


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