From Shiro Kuma by kumablog

The Sakki test is an essential part of the Bujinkan training. But it is wrapped in so many layers of fantasy that it is time to write about what the test is.

At the Madrid Taikai in 2000, Sensei let us give the Sakki test. It was the first time that someone would give the test instead of Sensei. I remember walking with Pedro to the examination room. I was telling him, “it is no big deal, we saw Sōke performing it so many times, it is easy.”
To be honest, I thought the test was only a marketing tool to get the westerners excited. I was so wrong!

Each one of us did the test twice. No big deal. But less than a half hour later, I felt so tired that I had to go to my room to have a nap. I had seen Sensei perform 30 or 40 tests in a row at Taikai, and he didn’t look tired. But me, after only two tests, I was a wreck. It was an excellent lesson. But let’s destroy a few illusions here.

The Sakki is not something you get, you are born with it. Education, life, make it sink deep into your brain. And it takes five to ten years to crack the lock and make it appear again.

When I explain it, I like to use the following analogy. See your brain as a recipient full of dry mud. The Sakki is like a light buried down under, below several layers of dirt. Through consistent training, some cracks appear. On the day of the Sakki test, if you are ready, the Sakki feeling will move upward, and you will dodge the sword. There is no magic! All animals have it, and we are animals. We just overthink and let the feeling of danger guide our lives. Modern society kills this natural human ability.

People refer to it as “to sense the killing intent.” If this etymologically correct, this is not what is the Sakki test. (1)

First, you sit in front of a guy with a sword, knowing that he will hit you in a minute. There is no surprise attack. There is no “thirst for blood” from his part. And if there is, then the guy should see a doctor.
Second, the Sakki test concerns both participants. The emitter and the receiver. Many transmitters do not know how to do it correctly, and many receivers expect the gods to make them move. This is not how it works.
Third, the Sakki manifests itself only when both participants have a connection. You can see the sword as the link between the two persons. Once there is a connection, the test can be performed.
Fourth, the Sakki test is as hard for the emitter as it is for the receiver. In fact, both are taking the test. Failing the test is not always the receiver’s fault, it is often because of a lousy emitter.
Fifth, the emitter with his eyes closed “feels” when he has to cut. It is not his decision; the sword goes down by itself. Only the quality of the connection makes it possible. If it is not magic, as I wrote earlier, but at least, it is mysterious.

A friend and student came back from Japan recently. He shared with me Sōke’s vision: “Passing the sakki test is spreading out energy to the applicant. It is not a killing feeling, It is only energy.” He added that Sōke was paying more attention and was evaluating the one giving the sakki test to the applicant.

When last Friday Sensei told me to give the test, I was expecting something particular. After giving the test since 2000, I can say I’m used to it. But on this night, it felt like a test because instead of one or two applicants, they were eleven. (2)

When I positioned myself behind the first one in the series, I needed a few deep breaths to get ready. To my surprise, I was not tired at all after the tests. My Sakki training had paid off.

Today I see the Sakki test as a way to improve our understanding of Sensei’s budō. To the Sakki, “killing intent,” I prefer another “Sakki” meaning “to make your spirit blooming.” (3) After all, the seeds of Budō will bloom one day and transform us into real Bujin.

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1. 殺気, Sakki: a thirst for blood; bloodlust; determination to kill​
2. 8 passed it on the first try, 1 with Nagase sensei. The last 2 got it correctly on Sunday.
3. 咲く気, Sakki (Saku Ki): blooming spirit…

From Shiro Kuma by kumablog

Today Nagato sensei taught a new approach to Mutō Dori. Somehow his Taijutsu has evolved since I was there a few months ago. I shared this feeling with my friend Oliver Piskurek, who agreed. It amazes me that teachers like Nagato sensei can still improve their movements.

Nagato sensei is still moving in the same way, but it looks lighter and more powerful at the same time. In today’s training, I noticed two things. First, there is a new quality in his dynamic distancing. And second, he has increased the angling of his body in the footwork.

This is the new approach to Mutō Dori I was referring to.

Concerning the dynamic distancing. Nagato sensei receives the attacks with tiny backward steps. That keeps him out of reach but still able to get Uke’s balance at any moment. He will move backward to receive a Tsuki with a series of three or four small steps. This allowed him to stay at the limit of extension of Uke’s arm. Controlling the hand/forearm, he can then place his elbow to wrap Uke and throw him with a Ganseki nage or Ō Soto Gake. His typical style (changing hands, using the angles, hitting hard between the moves) remains. The only change is this more dynamic footwork keeping him off distance at all times.

Combined with this distancing is the angling of his body. He is often turning or pivoting his whole body at a 90-degree angle to receive the first attack. This angle forces Uke to twist his upper body. Because a double fist attack is fast, Uke has to launch his second fist at the same time he is turning the torso. The result is an off balancing of the body. This opens many Suki in Uke’s posture that Nagato sensei uses to destroy him. (1)

He said many times is that we have to learn to move like him step by step, and slow. Learning a complex sequence one move at a time is the best way to get it right.

We often train too fast. As a result, our brain and body cannot memorize the moves. Fast Taijutsu is the enemy of good Budō.

During class, Nagato sensei was always referring to his movements as being “Mutō Dori.” And I must say that it showed another facet of it. Each video by Hatsumi Sensei has “martial arts of distance” as a subtitle. That is what we trained today, a perfect illustration of how to master correct distance.

Copy that and keep your distance with Nagato!

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1/ 隙, Suki: chink (in one’s armor); chance; opportunity; weak spot​

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From Shiro Kuma by kumablog

I teach Dai Shihan Only!
This is how Hatsumi Sensei opened the class today. Classes are still opened to anyone. But what he teaches now is for those who, supposedly, understand the Bujinkan martial arts.

I write “supposedly” on purpose. With over 800 Dai Shihanacross the planet, I doubt all have the vast knowledge to teach students. This is sad and has been like that since the creation of the Bujinkan.

So for the sake of this post, we will assume there are only good ones.

Teaching only to Dai Shihan means that Sensei is moving away from the techniques to enter a new aspect of Mutō Dori. I would call it “Mutōsai Dori” or grabbing without control. (1)

He spoke of “Mutō Dori no Sekai,” the “dimension of Mutō Dori.” This is a new layer of the Bujinkan structure based on the proper understanding of Juppō Sesshō. (2)

Before the class, he showed us some new swords as he is doing now. What he explained might help you to get what is above.

After repeating he now has more than 200 rare swords of value, he presented us with a Kogarasu Maru blade. Please note the return of the god crow Yatagarasu.

This type of sword has a second cutting edge on the last part of the Mune above the Kissaki. The name is Kissaki Moroha Zukuri. (3)
The Kogarasu Maru blades with Kissaki Moroha Zukuri are a thing from the past. They were in use until the 12th century. With the need for more efficiency on the battlefield, they disappeared. They came back into “fashion” around the 19th century. (4)

I liked that Sensei showed how to put the sword back correctly into the Saya. At least if you want to keep your scabbard in one piece, and keep all your fingers. If you sheath the blade like a regular one, you will cut the wood inside the Saya and more likely cut yourself.

Then he showed two new Ninjatō. From the outside, they look like regular swords. But with a smaller blade, you can draw it faster even in a confined space by pulling the Saya to the back with the left hand. He said, “this is the iai of ninjutsu.”

Later during class, he asked a few Dai Shihan to show a technique from Tōsui no kamae. The metallic blade of the Ninjatō was black to avoid reflection. The Ninja would use a special charcoal coating. The smell of the charcoal layer was specific to each Ryū. So you knew if your opponent was from the same Ryū or not, by the scent of his blade. And you never fight a fellow member.

During all the demonstrations today, he insisted on the fact that “the reality is often fake.” We have to be aware of the unexpected. This is Mutō Dori no Sekai, you control Uke “by keeping an uncontrolled attitude, you are ready for anything.” It is like the concept of “Banpen Fugyō” from the Gyokko Ryū.

This is the type of Budō he wants us, Dai Shihan, to understand. Anyone can fight one opponent in a dōjō. The real fight always includes more than one attacker, and often not facing you. They attack when you do not watch, and carry hidden weapons. Fair play in a fight exists only in movies. To survive, we have to develop our sixth sense, be aware, and expect anything.

When you watch Sensei, it looks like Uke loses not by Sōke’s moves, but by his own expectations. “Don’t think!” now makes sense. And this is the only way to fight.

I also noticed that Sensei changed his way of teaching since the last time I was there. He is correcting the Dai Shihan when they do wrong.
From his seat, he yells: “your kamae is too stiff,” “use your knees,” “stop doing a technique,” “move freely with your blade,” “stop thinking.” That is new and refreshing. My students will stop complaining.

So, my advice. If you are a Dai Shihan but don’t feel like being corrected, then don’t bother coming here because as he said, he is “teaching Dai Shihan only!”.

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1/ 無統制, Mutōsai: uncontrolled
2/ 無刀取りの世界: Mutō Dori no Sekai then is “the dimension where the control is done by not controlling.”
3/ 切っ先諸刃空くり, Kissaki Moroha Zukuri: point of a double-edged blade thinning out​
4/ http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/kissakimoroha.html

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From Shiro Kuma by kumablog

Sensei introduced the class with a three-legged crow (stuffed). He told us that Yatagarasu (the crow) guided Emperor Jimmu in the Japanese invasion. (1)

Yatagarasu represents the will of heaven, it emanates from the sun goddess, Amateratsu. He added that Yatagarasu is often described also as a Karasu Tengu. (2) It is Ninjutsu related.

This excellent introduction done, he showed us two old ninjatō that he recently acquired. Their huge Tsuba were impressive. Small blades, but not straight; and with long scabbards like regular swords.

This is also 虚実, Kyojitsu, alternating truth, and lies. Deception is the essence of Ninjutsu. He said that we have to trust our feelings and expect the unexpected (like a short blade in a regular scabbard). Everything we train now is about Kankaku: feeling. (3)

A few years ago, Senō sensei told us that Kankaku and Waza were like our legs. We need both legs to walk. It is the same in Budō, we need technique and feeling. One leg is the Waza, and the other is Kankaku. If you develop only one leg, you get tired and don’t reach your destination.

As always with this language, there are many ways to understand “Kankaku” in Japanese. It is “feeling” and “intuition” at the same time. Intuition, from the Latin “intuitus” means to watch thoroughly or to contemplate. So, are our feelings linked to the way we look at things? If so, why is it translated by feeling? To understand this paradox, we must study each kanji.

When you separate the characters composing Kankaku, you get “Kan” and “Kaku.” “Kan” alone means “feeling.” (4) “Kaku” is more interesting, it means “to be able to read the mind.” (5) This ability to read the invisible; to read between the lines, is what we train now at Honbu. We have to hone our skills to feel the situation, space, and attacker altogether. Inside and outside. Twice during class, Sensei told us to be aware of our surrounding. We must “see” (intuitus) what we feel. During training, he asked us to attack our neighbors while doing the techniques.

Also, some Dai Shihan demonstrated the movements with their partners. But Nagase and Nakadai sensei were attacking them from dead angles. Sensei explained that the battlefield is a mess. Attacks often come from unseen directions. If you only focus on your opponent, you might end up dead.

In Kankaku, Kaku, (3) alone, is “Satori,” the same character for “enlightenment” they use in Zen. I guess that when you reach Satori, you can read your own mind. He also referred to Zen Buddhism after painting a circle on a piece of paper. It seems that all is connected, at least it felt like that yesterday night.

Our problem is that it is impossible to do. I guess this is why Sensei told us not to try to do things, but to move freely. One day it will work by itself. Then, this is why memorizing forms is useless.
But is it really unnecessary? (6) Playing with the sounds of “Kankaku,” it is interesting to see that “Kakueru” also means to “memorize.” (7) So could it be that we have to “memorize the feeling” to move without intent?

Also, 看過苦, “Kankaku, written in this way, could mean “turning a blind eye to pain.” (8) (9) Remember that we don’t know which “Kankaku” he is referring to when he says it. Is it 感覚 or 看過苦? We don’t know.

Trusting your feelings is the way to go after you learned the forms. There is no shortcut, It is only when you know something that you can forget it, and be natural. (10)

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1. 八咫烏, “eight-span crow,” Yatagarasu: “Yatagarasu as a crow-god is a symbol specifically of guidance. This great crow was sent from heaven as a guide for Emperor Jimmu on his initial journey from the region which would become Kumano to what would become Yamato, (Yoshino and then Kashihara). It is generally accepted that Yatagarasu is an incarnation of Taketsunimi no Mikoto, but none of the early surviving documentary records are quite so specific”. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-legged_crow
2. 鴉天狗, Karasu Tengu: crow-billed goblin. This is the famous tengu with beak and wings that you see in Jiraya. Check the Wikipedia page HERE
3. 感覚, Kankaku: sense; sensation; feeling; intuition
4. 感, Kan: feeling; sensation; emotion; admiration; impression
5. 覚, Kaku is satori: Satori; folklore monster that can read minds
6. Note: Memorizing the form is useless, once you have learned it. Remember the concept of Shuhari. You need two legs to walk.
7. 覚える, Kakueru: to memorize; to commit to memory; to learn by heart; to bear in mind; to remember / to learn; to pick up; to acquire
8. 看過, Kanka: overlooking; turning a blind eye
9. 苦, Ku: pain; anguish; suffering; distress; anxiety; worry; trouble; difficulty; hardship
10. Too many high ranks listen to sensei at the Omote level. They understand what they want, and do not follow the path of evolution Sensei has gone through. What he teaches today is the result of a whole life of training. Walk his path from the beginning, and don’t skip any lesson.

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