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Bô: Kûkan & Distance

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Distance is power

Bô jutsu is one of the key to enter the kûkan as it gives access to distance. Too often in training we  are trapped by the form (waza) and do not dwell enough into the feeling (kankaku). When sensei introduced us to the “cycle of weapons” in 1993, many bujinkan members were surprised as bô jutsu did not seem to be “ninja” enough to them.

But bô jutsu was only an excuse to excel. Bujinkan is footwork. When we train the bô, the technique traps our brain and our movements follow a “1, 2, 3″ sequence. After repeating those forms long enough, something fresh comes out of them. Through mechanical repetition the brain frees itself and a natural movement is created only because footwork adds itself to a new understanding of distance.

In one of the bujinkan schools, it says: “ahead lies paradise” meaning that in a fight you get protected by entering the distance to the opponent. By accepting the encounter, you actually enable yourself to be safe and free in your actions. This knowledge of how to distance yourself correctly is the first thing you learn with the use of  long weapons. This freedom has created a kûkan of which you were not aware of before. Through the study of bô jutsu you are now able to enter this kûkan and bring your taijutsu up to a new dimension.

Weapons are our best teachers. We move our bodies and we now learn to do it with an artifical extension offering new possibilities.

Bô jutsu is not “ninja“? maybe not, but our skills improve a lot through this type of study. We understand now distance and angles in a wider sense and can play freely with a new created space.

Maybe this is why divinities are often represented with a long staff. :)


…

Dean Shihan in STHLM June 12-13’th

Dean Rostohar from Croatia just returned from another trip to Japan. Hatsumi Soke asked him many times to teach a new technique for Soke to expand on. Soke almost always ask one of the most senior Shihan’s attending to teach the beginning technique. Soke asked Dean to do this many times this trip, he also did this many times in the past. What do you think this means? Why do Soke pick someone to demonstrate a technique that he can work on? I think he does this once or twice with most of the Shihan coming for a short training trip out of courtecy, he is a gentleman after all. But when he asks a particular Shihan more than a couple of times it must mean something else to, right?

So I think that when Hatsumi Soke asks Dean to teach a technique in practically all trainings that he attends, that Soke thinks that Dean have something important to teach and share.

I write this message because it is only one month left to our seminar with Dean Shihan, and we have so few people signed up, that I’m thinking about cancelling!!!

Maybe Soke didn’t say explicitly that you should go to his seminars. Many times people seem to be very bad understanding signs. Many people need things in writing, or a word to understand. It is actually what someone do that is important and have a true meaning. I think this is especially true for the Japanese culture and that we all should come to understand better.

…And now you have the chance to train with Dean for a whole weekend, don’t pass that by!

http://kaigozan.se/seminars/2010-06-12/

Happy training!

/Mats…