Hidden Alcove at 戸定邸 Tojō-tei. photo by Michael Glenn
Within the 九法の力 Kyū-hō no chikara, or the power of the 9 methods, there is a kuji that holds the 秘技 higi or secret technique to overcoming a hundred enemies:
「護攻虚変争精神不動」GoKoKyoHenSeiShinFudo
This kuji, or gokui, repels any method of capture or defeat. You protect yourself by changing the attack itself with an immovable spirit. This is the time to do or die. You are prepared for death, but you’d rather do the enemy in.
How do you do instead of die? In that single moment of life and death you remain unmoved in the middle. That middle place is the key to ninjutsu.
On a very hot day in June, I learned about this. The air was loud with the harmonic drone of 蝉 semi (cicadas). But we were training anyway. Hatsumi Sensei told us to train in accordance with the temperature.
Two opponents attacked and Soke slipped behind the first attacker. He did this while trapping the second guy in his own attack. Then Hatsumi asked the uke to give his impression of what just happened. The confused student described his inability to get a fix on Hatsumi Sensei as a target.
Soke replied that this is not the movement of sports or the “so called” martial arts. This is something far above that. This is true ninjutsu. Make your techniques transparent. Make them see through.
Hatsumi Sensei told us not to just punch on the surface, but to strike through the body. He said when your arm goes through their spine it makes the sign of the cross.
Soke gave us a warning
「九字を許すも十字を許すな」kuji are permitted but not juji.
If you go beyond kuji and allow juji then you have “crossed the line.” Maybe you cross the line of life and death. You could end up facing 十王 Jū-ō the ten judges of the dead.
In Buddhism, there are nine states from Hell to Bodhisattva. The highest level, the tenth level, is becoming Buddha. But the 仏 hotoke (Boddhisatvas) are the souls of the dead, to be commemorated by their descendants.
I toweled the sweat away and scribbled my notes after training. What did I learn that day?
Make yourself and your technique transparent;
Go to the line but don’t cross it;
Remain unmoved by life or death in that spot.
This is the secret to 心中を突く也 Shinjū o tsuku nari, piercing the heart of the enemy.…
This summer, I was honored to be invited to Québec to teach and share the Bujinkan training I've been doing in Japan. My hosts Bernard and Francine were gracious and wonderful. The students were very skilled, attentive, and curious. And Québec City was an amazing place to visit!
I covered many Bujinkan topics during the seminar. Here is an extended preview video:
The contents of the full Bujinkan training series is available below.
Part Two: Kukan and Tension. In this video I demonstrate how to shape the kukan. Then in this space we create tension that allows us to throw our opponent without strength. I also share some of the training I did with Hatsumi Sensei in Japan last month. FULL VIDEO https://www.rojodojo.com/quebec-bujinkan-kukan-and-tension/
Part Three: Draw and Disarm. First I show how to shift the kukan to draw your knife or take the attacker’s knife. Next I demonstrated how to precisely target kyusho with any weapon. Then I shared details about 平一文字の構 Hira Ichimonji no Kamae. I showed how to use 六法の構 roppou no kamae which naturally includes 鷹の舞 taka no mai. I finished the training with knife disarms that I studied with Hatsumi Sensei in Japan. FULL VIDEO: https://www.rojodojo.com/quebec-bujinkan-draw-and-disarm/
Part Four: Shinbo and Kyusho. We began in 音無し之構 otonashi no kamae with the hanbo. This led into an examination of the principle of 辛抱一貫 Shinbo Ikkan that I learned from Hatsumi Sensei in Japan. Then I continued with 半棒術 hanbōjutsu using 挟み捕り hasami dori. I also shared the Bujinkan Kuden of kirigami as it applies to kyusho. FULL VIDEO: https://www.rojodojo.com/quebec-bujinkan-shinbo-and-kyusho/
Part Five: Weapon Retention With 支点 Shiten. We began with hanbo weapon retention from 無念無想の構 munen muso no kamae. The basic forms of this apply the principles of 手解 tehodoki. Then it becomes more advanced using a quality of 支点 shiten that I have learned with Soke. The initial grab provides a place of connection that can become a fulcrum. This captures all of the opponent’s power and focuses it down to one point. This creates some powerful throws while using no strength or force. We did variations from 型破の構 kata yaburi no kamae that drop one side or the other, or even twist about the center. FULL VIDEO: https://www.rojodojo.com/quebec-bujinkan-weapon-retention-with-shiten/
Part Six: Kodachi Kihon And 天眼 Tengan. We began by creating structure with our kamae, then dropping away in the kukan. Next I explained Hatsumi Sensei’s idea of あも一寸の玉 虫 amo issun no tama mushi, this is a gokui from 高木揚心流 Takagi Yoshin Ryū. We moved into some secret draws and 小太刀 kodachi kihon that I studied with Soke. These come from the 十方折衝 juppo sessho. Then we wrapped up with a high level strategy called 天眼 Tengan. This came directly from Hatsumi Sensei during my recent Japan trip. FULL VIDEO: https://www.rojodojo.com/quebec-bujinkan-kodachi-kihon-and-tengan/
Part Seven: Tachi Dori And Kusari Fundo. We began with the 無刀捕 Mutōdori of 太刀捕 Tachi Dori. I taught two methods that I learned from Hatsumi Sensei in Japan. These are done by feel rather than looking for the sword. I explained some small details about 不動明王の目 Fudōmyōō no me like 天地眼 tenchigan. I added the 鎖分銅 kusarifundō to trap the Tachi. The true skill of Bujinkan students is often revealed with their handling of flexible weapons. I finished by sharing some critical details on how to do 中振 nakafuri with the kusarifundō. It becomes infinite like happō. FULL VIDEO: https://www.rojodojo.com/quebec-bujinkan-tachi-dori-and-kusari-fundo/
Gekkan is a technique from Shindenfudo-ryu in the Bujinkan Dojo, it is also included in the Yudansha book on page 130. Here is a variation on this technique demonstrated by the author of this book.…
[…] of ninja mythology named Daisuke Togakure, allegedly established a lineage of ninjutsu called Togakure-ryū. The story goes that he settled in the mountains of Kii after a failed uprising against the central […]
I recently covered the concept of “Mochikaeru” after a class by Nagato Sensei. (1)
But Mochikaeru has another meaning which is close to juggling. (2)
When you “transfer something from one hand to the other,” you are juggling. What is interesting is that it is not valid only in the physical world. You can also juggle with ideas and concepts. In fact, Kyojutsu is the art of juggling between truth and falsehood. Remember the difference between Kyojitsu and Kyojutsu. Kyojutsu is a technique using Kyojitsu techniques, i.e., using deception. (3) (4)
Sensei’s Budō is only about manipulating the space to deceive the attacker. I want to add that I see the Mutō Dori of 2019 as pure Kyojutsu. Sensei’s Budō keeps juggling with Uke’s perceptions and change his perception of reality. We offer Uke a “fake reality” to make him fall into the Kūkan. (5) You have to juggle between his reality and yours. To reach the “juggler state,” you have to train using Kyojitsu Konkō and mix up reality. (6) You have to force your reality into Uke’s appreciation of the situation. Some practitioners will develop the ability after many years. Some never reach this level. They will remain on the ground and never take off.
When I’m training at the Bujinkan Honbu, I often see two main types of students. The “Waza collectors” that have no Kankaku. And “Kankaku exclusives” with no knowledge of the Waza. Try not to belong to one of these two groups. Stay in the middle as if on a path with Waza on your left, and Kankaku on your right. The Monk Shinran and the Jōdo Shinshū speak about the Niga Byakudō, the “white path between two rivers.” (7)
In Nature, many caterpillars never get to become beautiful butterflies. It reminds me of one of my favorite book called “Illusions” by Richard Bach. Richard Bach is a famous American writer who wrote. He wrote, “What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly. (8) (9)
Unfortunately, you cannot learn this “Kyojutsu / Mutō Dori” in a book. It has to go through a long process, and it is hard work. This is precisely why our Bujinkan system is an art and not a sport. A Japanese expression for that, it is: “虚実皮膜, Kyojitsu Himaku.” “The difference between truth and fiction in Art is very subtle; Art abides in a realm that is neither truth nor fiction.” (10)
Sensei often says that “anyone can replicate a Waza, but that his Art is difficult.” Let me take an example here. If you copy a painting by some famous painter, your copy will never “taste” the same as the original. Beyond technique, something extra exists, this is Kankaku, feeling. Only an artist can include that into his work. Sensei is a great artist, and an artist is not a regular person. He is someone who sees the world with a different set of senses. An artist always starts as an apprentice of the form and the technique. It is only when he can exceed his knowledge that he turns into an artist. The goal of Hatsumi Sensei is to turn us into artists to develop our vision of Budō. In the past, Sven, Peter, Pedro, and I had a similar understanding of the Bujinkan. Today, our perception of Taijutsu is different. Each time we meet is an excellent opportunity to learn from one another. Our unity is the glue of our differences.
If you want to move from the apprentice level to the artist level, you have to train with your heart and your spirit. This is why the Bujinkan arts are a “Kokoro no Budō” as stated by the late Takamatsu Sensei.
So study and learn the Mutō Dori based on Kyojitsu to get to your next level and turn yourself into an artist. This is a tough path, and many get lost. Deception and manipulation are applied to the opponent, not to you! Kyojutsu is only a technique to win over adversity, it is not an end in itself.
Use the tools of Gomakasu (11), but be a Komakasu, a barbarian artist to trust. (12)
1 持ち帰る, Mochikaeru: to bring back; to carry home; to take out (e.g., food) / See one of my May posts written in Japan.
2 持ち替える, Mochikaeru: to change the way one holds something; to transfer something from one hand to the other
3 虚実, Kyojitsu: truth or falsehood
4 虚術, Kyojutsu: the technique of deception
5 空間, Kūkan: space; room; airspace; Space
6 虚実混交, Kyojitsu Konkō: a mishmash of truth and untruth; a mixture of fiction and fact
About the Niga Byakudō, read https://nembutsu.info/blacker.htm. This is a long text, go straight to the end, you will find it in the 4th paragraph before the end
10 虚実皮膜, Kyojitsu Himaku” means that “the difference between truth and fiction in Art is very subtle. So, Art abides in a realm that is neither truth nor fiction.”
11 誤魔化す, Gomakasu: to deceive; to falsify; to misrepresent; to cheat; to swindle; to tamper; to juggle; to manipulate
Every year in Japan there is a vote for the most popular new word. In 2007, the word of the year was “KY,” which stands for “Kuuki wo Yomenai,” literally translated into English means: “Air read cannot.” This calls for an adaptation and through this adaptation, it can be translated as: “One who cannot read the air (atmosphere) of a certain situation.”
For example, last night I saw a man on a train eating potato chips. He had obviously been drinking and was trying to combat his drunkenness with food (we all know that being drunk on a moving train is horrible). The man, oblivious to the other passengers noisily munched his chips with myopic dedication. It should be noted that even though all the surrounding people ignored his munching (the Japanese are masters at pretending not to notice), his actions were unabashedly “KY.” One does not eat potato chips…
Each time I do a Takagi
Yōshin-ryū seminar I show this. I hope it gives you an idea of how deep the
art is, and everything you need to sacrifice if you want to learn something;
the price is always heavier than the sacrifice itself.
This is only one densho,
there are three like this and four makimono,
and I have only one. The others I have only seen, I don’t have the level yet.
This is Takagi
Yōshin-ryū densho (高木陽心流傳書),
and there is Takamatsu’s Uncle’s signature.
Takagi Yoshin-ryu Densho 高木楊心流傳書
Here is Takagi
Yōshin-ryū Shiron (史論),
this is the modern history of the tradition. What happened just a little bit
before Takamatsu Sensei, maybe one or two generations before. Here you can see:
Takamatsu sensei, one, two, and three generations.[1]
Short genealogy before Takamatsu Toshitsugu
After you have the Yobun
(前文),
a sort of introduction as to what level you should reach before starting this
school.
Here we have Takagi
Yōshin-ryū Shinden (高木陽心流心傳),
it’s the level of transmission of the heart, the kind of mind you need to have
when practicing. In another scroll they have this in more important (detail?).
There’s Takagi
Yōshin-ryū Jūtaijutsu first level, what we’re going to practice: Shoden (初傳). After, there is Ura
Gata (裏型),
more complicated techniques.
A glimpse into the densho, Ura Gata (裏型).
After there is Shime waza, a way of choking. It’s not like in Jūdō, it’s very different. And then there’s Chūden Gata (中傳型), a middle level. After there’s the part called Tai no Kata (體之型), which is more difficult to read, I think it’s on purpose.
At the end of each section there’s an explanation of the
technical level you need to reach technically and spiritually. And it’s always
signed by one of the different generations of the school. Each generation
brings something more.
Now it’s Mutō Dori
(無刀捕之型),
this is when you face someone with no weapon [of your own] and they attack you
with a sword, or spear. This is the highest level in martial arts, because you
need to understand the use of weapons, if you don’t this is impossible to do.
And again, at the end of the section you have the sōke, the writing, and the date.
After this theirs is another section called Daisho Sabaki (大小捌), this is with two swords, a small
one and a long one. Sometimes you have the two and don’t use them, or you use
the two, sometimes just the one. These [techniques] are very complicated.
And all the enemy you fight is a skilled warrior, which means he already killed people, he knows how to fight. It’s not a friend, or a sportsman, it’s someone who’s been on the battlefield, killed, raped, doesn’t care, children, everyone. A specialist of fighting. Or rather, of war, fighting and war is not the same thing; it’s very different. Fighting, you get hurt, you go to sleep, tomorrow, you’ll see [intelligible dialogue overshadowed by translator], it’s alright, tomorrow it’s better. War, you lose you lose.
This is Okuden (奥傳之型), the
highest level. And this is divided into two sections: Shirabe Gata (調型)
and Moguri Gata (潜型). Shirabe is very difficult because it is when someone wants to do a
technique, and he stop you, you must stop him again. So, it’s how to read
someone’s movement. This means psychology, sociology, environment, feeling, a
lot of things.
And from here we go into the art of Iai (居合), how
to draw. And then Torinawajutsu (捕縄術),
how to use the rope, and jutte (十手).
Atemi (当身) diagram.
And here it’s talking about Kasatsu Jizai (活殺自在),
this is how to put someone down, how to break, tear away, tie everything with Hajutsu no hō (破術之法), which is for example all the
finger grabs, similar thing. At the same time, it’s also how to heal, which means
if you know how to kill you know how to heal. The history of medicine and many
cool things start’s like that. You have some mistakes first.
So, this is just the first part of the scroll, and I’m going
to read to you the last page, I keep [it separate] because I don’t want to lose
it.
“What we just presented is called mokuroku (目録)”, which means a kind of technical index, which doesn’t look like it when I show that here is history, physiology, etc., it’s more than that. “After you master this, there is Chūgokui (中極意), Gokui (極意), and when you have this, you receive MenkyōKaiden (免許皆傳). This is the four degrees of practice.”
“The mokuroku is
made of thirty techniques of omote, and thirty-nine techniques of Ura that you have to practice deeply.
You need to learn all this in one year. The level of Chūgokui must be learned in one-and-a-half years. The level of Gokui is learned in five months. Finally,
when you do this, you receive mankyo
kaiden.”
Generally speaking, after doing all this, this would be like
the level of nidan. When I read this,
it makes me understand the reality. Some people say that the Bujinkan is full
of crazy people, like everywhere, people think they are good, it’s really
complicated.
[1] In another seminar, Kacem explained, “At the end of this history section, there is the genealogy, and here it shows Yanagi, and his three students: Fujita, Ishitani, and Ishitake. And they had three students, Mizuta, Ishita, and Ishitake. And here Takamatsu sensei.”…
Disclaimer: The class was so dense that this article might be a little too long. Sorry about that.
A class with Sōke these days is a succession of many moments. Relying on the Dai Shihan to show the techniques, he gives his advice from his chair. He only shows when a move requires his expertise.
Also, he often begins the class by showing the new swords he bought for his museum. He recently did a sword exhibition in Noda to explain to the public, the 200 blades he already has.
Friday night he displayed à few interesting Tantō that he got. Some of them had a Kozuka inserted in the scabbard. It was a first for me. (1)
Each time Sōke tells of being aware of the danger of live weapons. And shows the correct way to pass or receive a naked sword from hand to hand. Not aware of…
When I studied for an MBA at CSUC back in 1981, my 11 pm routine was to watch SNL. (1) And I remember a sketch with John Belushi disguised as a bee, and grading a student with a “Bee +.” (2) Well, today at Honbu, I had my Bee+ moment.
Today was my last class for this trip. It is always sad, but back home, I will the time to digest the new feelings acquired here during these two weeks.
I had my “B+” moment for two reasons. First, Sensei used me as Uke, and I could “feel” what he was doing to me. Actually, I should say, “what he was not doing to me.” It was weird. There was nothing, and I kept losing my balance. I had to give one Tsuki, and he responded with several light touches that made my body react. There was no pain and no strength. I had the feeling that the points of contact he was offering vanished when I tried to support my body weight. His touches were light as feathers, and I could hardly feel them.
Second, these touches were like a bee pollinating from flower to flower. Hardly touching them. I remembered the Japanese saying that Sensei uses: “Amo Isshun no Tamamushi.” (3) “If you trap a bee in your hands, it cannot sting.”
I felt trapped like the bee. Hatsumi Sensei’s touches were like flowers. Each time I tried to recover my balance, my support (his hand or finger) was gone. The many information Sensei was giving by touching me, prevented me from moving. I was controlled by nothingness. Between contact, there were “air pockets” like in Ishitobashi, the skipping stones. (4)
The quality of his footwork, his nonchalance, and the softness are extraordinary. It is only when you have the chance to be Uke and to experience it, that you understand the exceptional level of Sensei’s Budō.
Hatsumi Sensei’s Budō is fantastic, and I am happy our paths crossed back in 1987, and to have followed him since then. (5) The person I am today is his doing, and the result of his singular vision of Budō.
The Bujinkan is nothing without him. And for over a half century, he is transmitting his understanding on the mats. He is making us not “Bujin,” but “Bujin,” better human beings. (6)(7)
In fact, today was not a “Bee +,” but a triple AAA!
Thank you, Sensei, for your patience.
Epilogue:
I told Sensei that for professional reasons, I might not be able to come to Japan before April next year. Holding my hand and looking me in the eyes, he said: “Get back!”
Side note: My friend Leandro from Seinin Dōjō in São Paulo asked me this week about the origin of the Sakki test. As I had no clue, I asked Sensei. The Sakki test is not from any system in the Bujinkan. Takamatsu sensei invented it. I thought you would be happy to know it.
1 SNL is the acronym of the “Saturday Night Live” show (Europeans don’t know it). In 1981, the main actors were: John Belushi, Dan Akroyd, Gilda Radner, Chevy Chase.
2 You can find a few sketches of the late John Belushi on Youtube.
3 中一瞬 の 吉丁虫, Amo Isshun no Tamamushi: 中 amo: center, inside, during. 一瞬 isshun: one moment. 吉丁虫 tamamushi: jewel beetle or bee
4 石飛ばし, Ishitobashi: skipping stones (on a body of water); skimming stones
5 I began training Bujinkan in June 1984 with Sylvain Guintard. And we attended the first European Taikai organized in 1987 in London by my friend Peter King. And again in 1988 in Stockholm in a Taikai organized by Sveneric Bogsater. Then Pedro brought me with him to Japan at the beginning of the nineties. Since then, I visited Sensei about 70 times in Japan. A successful Life is the result of the people you meet on your path. Thank you, Sylvain, Peter, Sven, Pedro, and Sensei for helping me to be the man I am today.
6 武人, Bujin: a military man
7 武神, Bujin: divine warrior
During the break, I asked Sensei for calligraphy to use it as a logo for the Paris Taikai next July.
He made up “Ninkū,” a pun with the word “Ninku,” but written with “Kū.” instead of “Ku.” If “Ninku” exists, and means “endurance.” (1) “Ninkū with a long “ū” doesn’t. It was made by Sensei, associating “Shinobi” and “Kū.” (2) (3) He replaced “endurance” by “stealthy emptiness.” And it is like what Sensei is showing in class. His movements are so empty that Uke falls into the void.
The Mutō Dori of 2019 is now dealing with a lack of presence. There is nothing to see and nothing to feel. The control of the attacker results of a lack of control. In a recent post, I introduced you to Mutōsei, “uncontrolled.” (4) To me, Ninkū is precisely this feeling. Sensei controls you without control. As if he was able to express the emptiness itself.
Like many high-level feelings, it is difficult to express it with words even if you had the chance to feel it from Sōke. Buddhism, says that you can share Satori, only with those who experienced it. I guess this is the same. (5)
If you watch Sensei from the outside, it looks like magic. This is why he asks his Uke to explain their feeling after the technique.
Ninku, (1) also means Stoicism, it also seems correct. To succeed in Budō, you have to endure a lot of pain and disillusions. The training is about endurance. It has no end. We begin to practice one day for the wrong reasons, and we stay without knowing exactly why. This is pure Stoicism.
Noguchi sensei told me once that in the old days Sensei was quite brutal. He was so violent in training that the wooden floor under the mats would sometimes break! When it happened, they would stop the practice, get the tools, repair it, and go back to train. Sensei repeats that he doesn’t teach us. But it seems that this “non-teaching” of him, started a long time ago. Noguchi sensei said that Sōke used them as Guinea pigs. Sensei wanted to learn the techniques he was receiving from Takamatsu sensei by mail. (6)
Noguchi sensei admitted that twice he nearly quit unable to see the need for so much pain.
When you see how good he is today, I guess that staying in the Bujinkan was the right decision. He “endured” the pain to become one of the best teachers of the Bujinkan. And the same applies to the first generation of Sensei’s students.
We can now see more with clarity that Ninku is the Omote, and Ninkū is the Ura. I will share this new feeling in my next seminars, and at the Paris Taikai in July.
Sōke said recently that it takes 10 years of hard training, passing through a lot of hardship to study basics. So how many years do we need to get to Ninku and Ninkū?
We have to be resilient and cultivate our patience!
1 忍苦, Ninku: endurance; Stoicism 2 忍び, Shinobi: stealth, traveling incognito, ninjutsu, ninja, sneak theft; sneak thief, tolerance 3 空, Kū: empty air; sky, Shunya (emptiness, the lack of an immutable intrinsic nature within any phenomenon). Meaninglessness, void (one of the five elements) 4 無統制, Mutōsei: uncontrolled 5 悟り, Satori: enlightenment; spiritual awakening; understanding, comprehension 6 Sensei was visiting Takamatsu Sensei every two months (and not every two weeks as the legend says). He had the scrolls with him. Between visits, Takamatsu was sending two letters per week with many technical details.
