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Your Vote for My Next Video
From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael
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| Michael Glenn Somewhere Below 7th Floor Kashiwa Plaza Hotel |
If you haven't seen any of my videos, you can find them here: Michael Glenn's Bujinkan Videos
I really appreciate all the support and feedback everyone has given me when I travel, or through all the great emails you guys have sent my way.
Your Vote for My Next Video
From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael
|
| Michael Glenn Somewhere Below 7th Floor Kashiwa Plaza Hotel |
If you haven't seen any of my videos, you can find them here: Michael Glenn's Bujinkan Videos
I really appreciate all the support and feedback everyone has given me when I travel, or through all the great emails you guys have sent my way.
The Theme for 2013 is Like a Dragon Wrapped Around a 劍 Tsurugi
From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael
As part of the theme for 2013 in the Bujinkan we are studying the straight sword 劍 tsurugi or ken. At first, I didn't know what to make of this, since Japanese swordsmanship is largely devoted to curved single edged blades. But after my recent trip to Japan and being exposed to the symbolism AND practical use of this weapon, I am absolutely blown away.
When I first saw Hatsumi Sensei using this weapon this year, it literally seemed to writhe in the space like a snake. This got me thinking. 2013 being the year of the snake, how might these things connect?
As I looked around hombu, and during the kunoichi taikai at Ayase, I saw many types of ken in use during training. Which one are we studying this year? I think the answer is all of them, but Hatsumi Sensei showed up with an impressive example to put on display:
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| The Arrival of Hatsumi Sensei's 三鈷剣 Sanko Ken. photo by Michael Glenn |
For example, one of the origin stories of the vajra comes from India. The god Indra used the vajra as his main weapon. In the Vedas, Indra used this weapon to fight and kill a dragon serpent form of Asura Vritra. Indra became known as the slayer of the first born of dragons.
The five pronged vajra symbolizes the five elements. It looks like six, but the central prong is counted as one. Or, in the form of a sword, this blade was used by mountain yamabushi or mikkyo priests to clear a path through weeds and undergrowth. The blade came to represent cutting away illusion.
In the stories of the origins of Japan, the sword came to Japan as a gift from the gods. Amaterasu's brother, Susanoo, killed an eight headed serpent and cut off one of its tails. Inside its body was the 草薙劍 Kusanagi no Tsurugi which is one of the three sacred treasures of Japan.
You will find this blade held by Fudō-myōō 不動明王, Senju Kannon 千手観音, and Monju 文殊 in their depictions. One of the most interesting examples for us this year might be "The Akafudou 赤不動 of Myououin 明王院 on Mt. Kouya, who holds a sword with the dragon Kurikara 倶利迦羅 wound around it." A couple of weeks ago, I watched Hatsumi Sensei paint snakes and serpents on students' swords and scrolls. So this feeling must be on his mind.
I could not help but think of this symbolism and feeling when in one class at the hombu, we were using the ken to do the kata 飛龍之剣 hiryu no ken. As the flying dragon was coiled around my sword in the kukan, my opponent suddenly found himself wrapped around his own delusions. My sword had snaked around between his arms to wrap and slice into a musha dori.
I bet you've never thought about dragons and serpents when doing musha dori! Me neither, until this year. Should be quite a ride. Hope you hang on with me.
The Theme for 2013 is Like a Dragon Wrapped Around a 劍 Tsurugi
From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael
If you want to know how to use the ken, do it like you have a dragon wrapped around the blade. That is my advice after studying this weapon in Japan. Let me explain how I got there.As part of the theme for 2013 in the Bujinkan we are studying the straight sword 劍 tsurugi or ken. At first, I didn't know what to make of this, since Japanese swordsmanship is largely devoted to curved single edged blades. But after my recent trip to Japan and being exposed to the symbolism AND practical use of this weapon, I am absolutely blown away.
When I first saw Hatsumi Sensei using this weapon this year, it literally seemed to writhe in the space like a snake. This got me thinking. 2013 being the year of the snake, how might these things connect?
As I looked around hombu, and during the kunoichi taikai at Ayase, I saw many types of ken in use during training. Which one are we studying this year? I think the answer is all of them, but Hatsumi Sensei showed up with an impressive example to put on display:
|
| The Arrival of Hatsumi Sensei's 三鈷剣 Sanko Ken. photo by Michael Glenn |
For example, one of the origin stories of the vajra comes from India. The god Indra used the vajra as his main weapon. In the Vedas, Indra used this weapon to fight and kill a dragon serpent form of Asura Vritra. Indra became known as the slayer of the first born of dragons.
The five pronged vajra symbolizes the five elements. It looks like six, but the central prong is counted as one. Or, in the form of a sword, this blade was used by mountain yamabushi or mikkyo priests to clear a path through weeds and undergrowth. The blade came to represent cutting away illusion.
In the stories of the origins of Japan, the sword came to Japan as a gift from the gods. Amaterasu's brother, Susanoo, killed an eight headed serpent and cut off one of its tails. Inside its body was the 草薙劍 Kusanagi no Tsurugi which is one of the three sacred treasures of Japan.
You will find this blade held by Fudō-myōō 不動明王, Senju Kannon 千手観音, and Monju 文殊 in their depictions. One of the most interesting examples for us this year might be "The Akafudou 赤不動 of Myououin 明王院 on Mt. Kouya, who holds a sword with the dragon Kurikara 倶利迦羅 wound around it." A couple of weeks ago, I watched Hatsumi Sensei paint snakes and serpents on students' swords and scrolls. So this feeling must be on his mind.
I could not help but think of this symbolism and feeling when in one class at the hombu, we were using the ken to do the kata 飛龍之剣 hiryu no ken. As the flying dragon was coiled around my sword in the kukan, my opponent suddenly found himself wrapped around his own delusions. My sword had snaked around between his arms to wrap and slice into a musha dori.
I bet you've never thought about dragons and serpents when doing musha dori! Me neither, until this year. Should be quite a ride. Hope you hang on with me.
Nagato Sensei: A Very Strong Nurse
From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael
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| Nagato Sensei with Michael Glenn |
Patients may act violently and react with aggression. Hatsumi Sensei suggested that we learn to
"Move in such a way that the opponent doesn't resist. He doesn't continue to fight or create more agrression."Of course in these jobs, one of the key challenges is to calm, subdue, or control the patient without injury to them or the staff. This can be difficult in a chaotic situation where accidents may occur. Another strategy Soke gave us was,
"to move in such a way that it doesn't give the opponent any feeling. Once you feel something, you need to be able to change. Otherwise there will be an accident or something will happen. Move in such a way that you're not a catalyst for an accident."Sensei also advised us to use our surroundings. For example using a chair to unbalance or as a barrier between yourself and the opponent. He said,
"This is important, because the obstacle… the chair becomes a weapon."Since there were no chairs on the mats at Ayase, Sensei asked Nagato to be a chair. Nagato crouched down on all fours. This itself was a lesson to everyone.
I've seen Hatsumi Sensei ask his senior students to do things that are somewhat embarrassing or seemingly beneath someone of their stature. Yet, they never seem fazed or unwilling to cooperate. They have so much respect for their teacher, and Sensei always makes these requests without ego or pretense. I don't think Nagato would very likely pose as a piece of furniture for anyone else except Soke.
So Nagato Sensei is posed on the ground as a chair. Soke knocks the "patient" down across Nagato's back and says, "Then the chair picks him up and takes him away."
Nagato stands up with the guy slung across his back and walks away. Hatsumi Sensei says, "he might be a very strong nurse!"
Nagato Sensei: A Very Strong Nurse
From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael
|
| Nagato Sensei with Michael Glenn |
Patients may act violently and react with aggression. Hatsumi Sensei suggested that we learn to
"Move in such a way that the opponent doesn't resist. He doesn't continue to fight or create more agrression."Of course in these jobs, one of the key challenges is to calm, subdue, or control the patient without injury to them or the staff. This can be difficult in a chaotic situation where accidents may occur. Another strategy Soke gave us was,
"to move in such a way that it doesn't give the opponent any feeling. Once you feel something, you need to be able to change. Otherwise there will be an accident or something will happen. Move in such a way that you're not a catalyst for an accident."Sensei also advised us to use our surroundings. For example using a chair to unbalance or as a barrier between yourself and the opponent. He said,
"This is important, because the obstacle… the chair becomes a weapon."Since there were no chairs on the mats at Ayase, Sensei asked Nagato to be a chair. Nagato crouched down on all fours. This itself was a lesson to everyone.
I've seen Hatsumi Sensei ask his senior students to do things that are somewhat embarrassing or seemingly beneath someone of their stature. Yet, they never seem fazed or unwilling to cooperate. They have so much respect for their teacher, and Sensei always makes these requests without ego or pretense. I don't think Nagato would very likely pose as a piece of furniture for anyone else except Soke.
So Nagato Sensei is posed on the ground as a chair. Soke knocks the "patient" down across Nagato's back and says, "Then the chair picks him up and takes him away."
Nagato stands up with the guy slung across his back and walks away. Hatsumi Sensei says, "he might be a very strong nurse!"
Tsurugi: The Divine Sword
From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog
Sensei taught a lot of things related to the Chinese sword during the last day of the Taikai.
This sword that we call Jian or Ken is in fact Tsurugi.
This is the weapon of the high level warriors.
Even though the Chinese jian / ken does not carry any “social meaning” the Japanese when referring to Tsurugi include their myth of creation in it. As you all know this is Kusanagi no Tsurugi * given by Susanô to his sister, the sun goddess Amateratsu. She later gave it to Ninigi no Mikoto** the grandfather of the famous emperor Jimmu as a proof of his divine origin.
Kusanagi no Tsurugi is one of the three regalia of the Japanese Emperors.***
So where “ken” is a simple sword, Tsurugi is linked to the divine.
Sensei introduced the day by insisting on the fact that it is impossible to understand Japanese warfare if one doesn’t study the three types of sword that created Japanese warfare expertise: Tsurugi, Tachi, Katana. Each refers to a specific period of development of Japan.
The use of the Tsurugi is so old that no written techniques have survived. They were recorded on animal skin or bamboo slivers (thin blades) and didn’t resist the passage of time. These times were chaotic times and Japan was not one country but a group of multiple little clans run by warlords.
The Tachi was the weapon of choice of the Bushi cast he said when permanent fighting was happening. The Katana became popular with the forced peace time set by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1603) and therefore was the weapon of the Samurai.
To make it clear only the Tsurugi and the Tachi were used in fight and Japanese martial arts are the result of using these weapons.
Sensei opened the morning session by asking a few Jûgodan to demonstrate their vision of Chi no Kata; and from there we moved to the Tsurugi. I must say that the Tsurugi is really a fantastic weapon that renders alive our taijutsu. Nagato sensei said in his class that if you don’t have a good taijutsu the Tsurugi cannot be used properly.
To begin sensei explained that the Tsurugi is stuck at the hip level ad that the footwork puts it naturally into the opponent attack. There is no thinking process. The sword pivots from this contact point right into uke’s attack. Deflecting the attack the tip of the blade is immediately pointing to uke’s body. The Sanshin motion of Chi no Kata becomes a natural reaction and no intention can be deciphered by the opponent.
Once again sensei said that this was mutô dori. We all know that mutô dori is a technique where you are unarmed facing an armed attacker. So it took me some point to figure out exactly what sensei was trying to say. I understood that the weapon was simply an added extension of the body. As you don’t think the word and as the sword moves with the body movements, you are moving naturally as if you had no weapon. And that is exactly what I meant earlier when saying that the Tsurugi was making your taijutsu alive. I honestly don’t know what people who didn’t attend the class can understand from what I’m writing here. But if you simply stick the Tsurugi to your hip and use your taijutsu, I’m sure that the majority will get what I’m trying to say here.
During the morning break, my friend Elias who like me had been used by sôke as uke came to me to share what he experienced. The situation we had to face were the same. Sensei asked us to attack and we stopped immediately because the tsurugi was aiming (on its own) towards our face. What Elias said to me was that the way sensei moved the tsurugi from the pivoting point at the hip made it impossible foe him to see it coming. And the reason was that sensei was keeping his elbow low so that no shoulder movement was being perceived. And when you did, it was too late. When hee asked me to attack him sensei modified his movement slightly. Instead og being completely invisible, he did some kind of seigan no kamae and got my attention on the tip of the blade a few centimeters away from y face. Then in both cases, sensei moved his forward foot a little more and stabbed us in the throat.
These two examples are quite interesting because they summarize the essence of fighting with the tsurugi. Elias didn’t see the second step forward because he couldn’t see the blade. I couldn’t perceive it either because my focus being on the blade the foot was hidden by it. Both examples demonstrate a high level of 見えない 技 mienai waza, techniques you cannot possibly see. But in both cases the end was the same, death.
To summarize this sensei said that tsurugi waza followed a specific sanshin: foot, spine, fingers. We already explained in various posts here the importance of the fingers. The fingers are the extension of your leg movement relayed by the spine. You must be able to change your fingers positioning while moving the body so that the blade is arriving straight to the 隙 suki (gap, space, weakness) in uke’s defense.
Another point that was important is distance. Sensei said that the difference between life and death in a fight often resumes itself to the thickness of a sheet of paper. When you master taijutsu the body moves at the exact distance of uke, not too far, not too close. And when you add the tsurugi your body must find the new perfect distance to be far and close enough of uke. A wrong distance will create new opportunities for uke. A correct distancee will stop uke in between two movements.
After thinking a lot about the tsurugi and thanks to this fantastic day I want to share here now two things that make it easier for me to use this sword:
1. You only have to do taijutsu, the blade moves by itself. Forget the blade. For example if you do a basic uke nagashi, do it with the tsurugi in your hand and see what is happening. Do not try to do anything with the sword, let it react on its own (mutô dori principle).
2. I spoke with sensei last Tuesday during training and he confirmed that I was right to think “hanbô jutsu” when training with the tsurugi. So next time you train use a hanbô. When you have the movement correct, replacce the hanbô by the tsurugi and see how similar they move. The tsurugi is not sharp on the major part of the blade so there is no risk for you.
Next week, I will record the basics of tsurugi for Budomart and koimartialart, and I will use all the knowledge I got this time to make it easy for all of us to learn this fantastic weapon.
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusanagi
**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninigi-no-Mikoto
***http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Regalia_of_Japan
…Inryoku: Attraction
From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog
Attending a class by Noguchi sensei is always a good moment. To me it is similar in many ways in having a very nice dinner at a grand restaurant in Paris.
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His taijutsu is full of flavors, very refined, elegant and classy; and I always feel sad when it is over. I am a student like any other and sometimes, even in Japan, I don’t feel like going to training. I do it but sometimes reluctantly. But when his class begins, suddenly you feel happy as his joy is visible. After the class you feel more rested than before.
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His Bujinkan interpretation expresses itself through feeling, and the class tonight was deep, innovative and will change (again) my understanding of Budô. But if you have already attended one of his classes, you know exactly what I mean.
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Tonight a TV crew was there and that added some rhythm to a class that usually is not missing it. In 90 minutes, Noguchi sensei creates a world of possibility and an infinite number of variations. He doesn’t do a technique, He is the technique.
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We covered some of the Takagi Yôshin ryû techniques during the class. None of these techniques of the Shoden no kata were new to us: kasumi dori, dô gaeshi, karame dori, kyoto, katamune dori, oikage dori, iki chigae, ransho, kobushi nagashi. But what was new was the way Noguchi did them using more than ever the 引力 inryoku (principle of attraction). Each technique was done in such a way that uke was “sucked into” the worst possible situation. Every action he was taking was leading him into a trap.
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This concept of inryoku together with the concepts of 重力 jûryoku (gravity) and 磁力 jiryoku (magnetism) are three keys to understand the Gyokko ryû Kosshijutsu and were taught extensively back in 2001 during the Gyokko Ryû year.
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But is is one thing to discover some concepts one day and to see their evolution 12 years later. And this is exactly what we witnessed tonight. The way Noguchi sensei is trapping his opponent is simply amazing. As usual there is no hits, no inflicted pain. Uke is down not by using strong movements but by creating the illusion of these strong movements. Uke reacts to the pain he “feels” is coming and the consecutive tensions create a kûkan in which he falls every time. From the outside it looks that uke is swallowed into a black hole.
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This inryoku turns any movement into a death trap for uke. Noguchi sensei by alternating the fake tensions with a total relaxed body attitude, creates a situation where uke does not understand what is happening and rushes into the trap.
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To be able to attract uke is not easy at first, but after many years of repeating these movements with him, one becomes capable of expressing it. This is real 虚実 kyojitsu, alternating falsehood and truth and the essence of Hatsumi sensei’s ninpô.
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Attraction is created by moving the body lightly at a slow speed that cannot be perceived in time by uke’s brain and by emitting fake intentions so strong that uke cannot avoid to react to them. This is the practical application of proprioception* as defined by scientists.
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But Noguchi sensei is not only using attraction in Budô. He is a shining and attractive human being full of joy and light. Attending his classes is the best remedy I know to feel better when life is tough.
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Thank you sensei for your magnetism and for sharing with us your budô vision.
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* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception
…Kukishinden Ryū Happō Biken – article translation
From Wanderings in Budo by bujinshugyo
九鬼神伝流八法秘剣
後醍醐天皇の守護についていた薬師丸蔵人隆真を始祖とする。後に功により九鬼姓を賜わった。棒、槍、薙刀、手裏剣、体術などの8法に剣術が加わる。剣が特に素晴らしい。当時は戦争の時代だったから殺人剣が多かったが、後に平和な時代になるとそれが活人剣になる。九鬼水軍が船の上で用いたため、腰を低く落として安定した構えが基本になった。
Kukishinden ryū happō biken
The founder Yakushimaru Kurando Takanao was a military governor (shugo) under Emperor Go-Daigo. The Kuki family name was an honour granted later. Kenjutsu is added to the eight methods that include bō, yari, naginata, shuriken and taijutsu. The sword (technique) is especially wonderful. At this time it was an era of war and many people were killed with the sword. Later in the period of peace it became the life saving sword. The Kuki naval forces worked on board ship so the fundamental became dropping the hips for a low stable stance.
九鬼神伝流八法秘剣 Kukishinden ryū happō biken – nine demons divine transmission style, eight methods, secret sword.
The 鬼 ki of kuki is generally translated as demon, however could also mean spirit or ogre (read Oni), more importantly this does not have the evil connotation that the word demon in English (or Judeo-Christian languages) does.
Shinden can variously be translated as ‘teachings of the gods’ ‘teaching conveyed from the gods’ ‘transmitted to the soul’.
Happō can be eight methods, laws or principles, bearing in mind that eight can imply ‘numerous’.
薬師丸蔵人隆真 Yakushimaru Kurando Takanao
薬師丸 Yakushimaru – medicine man, chemical expert
蔵人 Kurando – keeper of imperial archives or a sake brewer
隆真 Takanao – noble truth – the same kanji can also be read as Takamasa, Takanori, Ryūma, Ryūshin and various others – as there is no furigana in the article to indicate the pronunciation I’ve left it as Takanao.
守護 Shugo – military governor in the Kamakura and Muromachi period
後醍醐天皇 Go-Daigo Tennō – the later or second to bear the name Daigo, equivalent of saying Emperor Daigo II. Tennō – heavenly emperor/Emperor of Japan. Lived 1288 – 1339 and reigned from 1318 – 1339.
Go-Daigo in 1336/7 (transition from Kamakura to Muromachi period) set up the southern court and so began the period of two courts Nanboku-chō (Southern and Northern)
1185 – 1333 鎌倉時代 Kamakura jidai
1333 – 1336 建武の新政 Kemmu no Shinsei
1336 – 1573 室町時代 Muromachi jidai
1336 – 1392 南北朝時代 Nanboku-chō jidai (a subdivision of the Muromachi)
The lineage chart shows Kukishinden ryū, originating with Yakushimaru Kurando, passing through Ōoka Kihei Shigenobu to Ishitani Matsutarō Takakage who then passes it on to Takamatsu Toshitsugu to arrive at Hatsumi Masaaki. Note here that in the Japanese article 大岡鬼平重信 Ōoka Kihei Shigenobu is written – usually this person is 大国 Ōkuni Kihei Shigenobu – this may be typo from when the chart was edited for the magazine…
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