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SHIKIN HARAMITSU DAI KOMYOU

From BUJINKAN TASMANIA by Mats "Toryu" Hjelm

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The Bujinkan Dojo is a new entity, yet holds within it the cultural treasures and traditions since the dawn of Amaterasu. Soke has said that he is worried that the Japanese culture is moving in a direction where “traditions” are being forgotten. The role of the Bujinkan Dojo is to preserve the essence of the traditions through the martial arts while adapting to survive with the evolution of man and world he lives in.

If people care not about the traditional aspects of budo, we are in a sence ” killing ” the art or saying that tradition is not important any more. The Bujinkan is a holistic art form.  We must learn from the past to assist with the development of the future. Nagato Sensei during his classes often states that there are no shortcuts and that the larger more traditional forms must be practised and studied well, especially in regards to long weapons etc.

In the Bujinkan, we do this from kata. Kata helps us appreciate the history, traditions and culture of the martial arts of Japan. We also come to experience how culture and people have evolved in both mind, body and spirit. This is, in a way, a practical or ” hands on ” sociological or anthropological study of not only the Japanese culture but the cultures of the world. In a very natural sence through the study of budo, the practitioners of the martial arts become Anthropologists and Philosophers. 

Budo requires individuals to come together ( often as groups ) and physically enter movements of combatative study. For many, this is an extremely challenging step. The dojo holds within it a great chance for each individual to truly develop a working knowledge of their humanity,mortality, and place in the world. The dojo is a sanctioned area by Kami ( god ) to learn through hardship the purpose and correct manner in which to connect with others to minimise violence. It is quite a dichotomy really. However, it is the only way to truly learn to value human life. 

The fighting arts within the Bujinkan all commence with “spiritual purification”. This is extremely important. The practitioner must develop with a balance. If the person does not evolve with a balanced mind, then they will never naturally know when to act and not to act. Violence is to be avoided at all costs, yet the martial artist without the mind for peace, may rush into violence. Often it is said that all a good man has to do to defeat evil is to do nothing. Many people will see this comment as pacifist in nature. But to me, it is not. I have watched and listened to Soke, and I believe he follows the path of natural justice. I have thought about his manner of dealing with various issues and seen the results of this path way lead by Soke. I now try to build a greater capacity to trust in it as well.

It is in fact strategy of the highest nature and maturity. It is allowing the Universe to uphold natural justice. To relinquish ones own desires and allow the power of nature to take it`s course is knowing the “mind and eyes of god”. Those that need to be in control and have to take charge, are in their own ego. The release of the ego is to understand Mushin. To move from a state of nothingness or zero, is to move as dictated by nature and not your own selfish desires. The martial arts is about relinquishing oneself to a higher power. It is often a very difficult thing to do because we cannot see this power. As a result, we cannot trust in it and hold onto what we know and believe with our own consciousness.  A step to trusting this power is the godan test. This test for both the giver and reciever is a move toward acknowledging and trusting in a greater power than ones own. In regards to the godan test, it is often discussed that the giver must emit a killer intention. This killer intention ( as described once to me ) is actually an act of compassion. It is also a test of the givers unification of shin gi tai. The ultimate goal of the martial artist is to win without entering the fight. The emission of sakki and making the reciever move is one way of testing this. We must consider why sakki is emitted? Any professional would try to hide this “killer intention”, as he does not want his adversary to move or have the chance to defend himself. So, the emission of Sakki is for a variety of reasons.  

 

These things come to mind through the experience of training. The mind cannot understand alone. You have to learn through the body ( practise ). This is patience. If you do not have patience to learn this way, there will be the desire to ask questions ( with the mind ). People ask questions and want to know the answers to things that are too advanced for their actual ability and understanding. They may recieve the answers but, they still do not know the real truth because of their lack of training. It is the same with the Densho. It matters not who sees the densho, even if they are translated in all languages and can speak fluently in Japanese. The fact is, very few people have had the depth of training and life experience to understand the teachings of the waza.

I am one of these people. I`m a person who in actuality, understands barely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the martial arts and the art of living. I am a lowly student trying to live the way of budo. I study the Bujinkan within my capacity. This is all I can do.

I was once approached by a person at a seminar after I mentioned a “secret teaching” ( unknowingly by this person from one of Sokes books ). They said ” Why are you giving away secrets?” I said ” Do you understand what I said?” They said, “No.” I said, ” Well, it`s still a secret then!”

 

南虎

 

PHOTO BY SHEILA HADDAD


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Ishiki Kara 意識空: How to Disappear Completely

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael

Rearview Graffiti, Ameya-Yokochō アメヤ横丁 photo by Michael Glenn
You should know when you understand something and when you don't. Have enough room in yourself to acknowledge it. When you don't, you are trapped in yourself. And you will not learn.

If we go beyond what Hatsumi Sensei calls 一般的 ippanteki, 初歩的 shohoteki - the general, rudimentary or surface level of what we think we know there are many treasures to be discovered. For instance, these very words I write have power in them. It is a transfer of meaning from my thoughts to yours. This power should not be ignored or taken lightly. Do you know how it works?

Hatsumi Sensei refers to this as 口伝言魂 kuden kotodama. This is the spirit or power of language. But it is not simply about thought. This same phenomenon can be harnessed in self defense. This 目的論 mokutekiron or teleology of kuden can be for the sake of survival.

An example is found in muto dori. You don't simply evade the strike. You disappear. But how does one do that, practically?

Here's how Hatsumi Sensei describes it. He says "意識空 ishiki kara" which is making your intent, consciousness, or self disappear.  Or he says  "意識を避ける ishiki o sakeru", or even "意識を割ける" which is evading the consciousness or intent of your opponent, or simply separating from it.

These methods of hiding the self or evading and enduring are ninjutsu (意識を忍ぶ shiki o shinobu) and stem from the same power that we give to words. It's not a question of avoiding at a specific geometrical angle or by so many centimeters. This is another dimension of evasion. This is not a purely physical phenomenon.  

This subtle effect of 隠身遁形の術 onshin tongyou no jutsu comes from 天津鞴韜 amatsu tatara and teaches us how to disappear.…

Ishiki Kara 意識空: How to Disappear Completely

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael

Rearview Graffiti, Ameya-Yokochō アメヤ横丁 photo by Michael Glenn
You should know when you understand something and when you don't. Have enough room in yourself to acknowledge it. When you don't, you are trapped in yourself. And you will not learn.

If we go beyond what Hatsumi Sensei calls 一般的 ippanteki, 初歩的 shohoteki - the general, rudimentary or surface level of what we think we know there are many treasures to be discovered. For instance, these very words I write have power in them. It is a transfer of meaning from my thoughts to yours. This power should not be ignored or taken lightly. Do you know how it works?

Hatsumi Sensei refers to this as 口伝言魂 kuden kotodama. This is the spirit or power of language. But it is not simply about thought. This same phenomenon can be harnessed in self defense. This 目的論 mokutekiron or teleology of kuden can be for the sake of survival.

An example is found in muto dori. You don't simply evade the strike. You disappear. But how does one do that, practically?

Here's how Hatsumi Sensei describes it. He says "意識空 ishiki kara" which is making your intent, consciousness, or self disappear.  Or he says  "意識を避ける ishiki o sakeru", or even "意識を割ける" which is evading the consciousness or intent of your opponent, or simply separating from it.

These methods of hiding the self or evading and enduring are ninjutsu (意識を忍ぶ shiki o shinobu) and stem from the same power that we give to words. It's not a question of avoiding at a specific geometrical angle or by so many centimeters. This is another dimension of evasion. This is not a purely physical phenomenon.  

This subtle effect of 隠身遁形の術 onshin tongyou no jutsu comes from 天津鞴韜 amatsu tatara and teaches us how to disappear.…

Shikomi O-Tanto

From Paart Budo Buki by Mats "Toryu" Hjelm

here is one Shikomi Tanto made by customer request, so I call it Shikomi O - Tanto,
because blade is 27 cm, normally I could make it even longer, all by your choice

enjoy in pics






and this was before back paint, so it could be also natural wood or brown, red etc.



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Shikomi O-Tanto

From Paart Budo Buki by Mats "Toryu" Hjelm

here is one Shikomi Tanto made by customer request, so I call it Shikomi O - Tanto,
because blade is 27 cm, normally I could make it even longer, all by your choice

enjoy in pics






and this was before back paint, so it could be also natural wood or brown, red etc.



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Sonkeishin: Respect

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

hs3The Bujinkan is growing in quantity but it seems to me that some of its original qualities tend to disappear. And 尊敬心 sonkeishin (respect) seems to be the first one on the list of endangered qualities.

I train Bujinkan because I deeply respect our Sôke Hatsumi Masaaki. The respect I feel for him has nothing to do with the arts he is teaching or showing us but with the man he his. I have been in contact with a few “great men” in my life but none, so far, has been able to mould me and influence me the way he did. I am who I am because  I had the privilege to meet Sensei in July 1987 at the first European Taikai organized by Peter.

That was nearly 25 years ago (more than half my age) and through Hatsumi sensei’s permanent teachings (martial and non martial) I was trained to become a true human being.

The Bujinkan Arts  mainly develop one feeling and this is intuition. The Sakki test is the pragmatic proof that one has reached this level of intuition.

In Latin, “intuition” is “intuitus” and means the “act of looking at things”. Our Bujinkan training develops our “vision” and we gradually become able to see or “sense” any situation better than many others. The sixth sense is common to all living creature but is rarely accessible to humans. Luckily, the long hours of strenuous training unearth it from within our brain and makes it available to us. Through Hatsumi sensei’s teachings we learn to become more intuitive, i.e. aware of things without apparently thinking. “Don’t think!” as he often say it in class.

Intuition is also 感覚 kankaku in Japanese and means “feeling”. The more we “feel” (through our 5 senses) and the more we develop our sixth sense.

Now funnily, the word 尊敬心 sonkeishin (respect) is somehow linked to the way at which we look at things. But as “kankaku” exists only in the present, “sonkeishin” is linked to the past.

To respect someone is to look at someone’s actions in the past. The Online Etymology Dictionary says it comes “from Latin respectus ”regard,” literally “act of looking back at one,” pp. of respicere ”look back at, regard, consider”.

What someone has achieved in his life is what creates respect. But the Bujinkan growing in quantity I have the intuition that less respect is shown to the elders. Remember that you are who you are because these elders made it possible for you. Look at how Sensei speaks about Takamatsu sensei. This is how you should feel about those who shared with you what you are so proud to have today. Getting a Jûgodan doesn’t free yourself from sonkeishin, on the contrary.

With time some arguments, disagreements, and fights might appear with your elders, but you should never show a lack of sonkeishin to them.

If you do so then 尊敬心 sonkeishin (respect) will turn into 損敬神 sonkeishi (loss of reverence) and the Bujinkan magic will be lost.

Thank you Sensei for your guidance all through these years, and for your help to become an adult.

Respectfully, your student Arnaud


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CONGRATULATIONS!

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

ImageCONGRATULATIONS! You did it!

ImageAfter 5 years (plus one week) you have visited this blog over 250,000 times!

It is a quarter of a million! and represents 50,000 visits per year. This is something we can proud of. Thank you!

During all these years I tried to deliver, through my articles, my feelings about the Bujinkan and all the “secrets” I could get from Hatsumi sensei’s teachings.

I have the chance to go to Japan three times a year I created this blog primarily to help those of you who cannot travel to Noda as often as you would like, so that through these articles you could get a glimpse of what sensei is teaching in his classes.

Even if this is my interpretation, I will continue as I have the feeling that it is helping many Bujinkan members.

This blog is now available in 4 languages and I want to thank here the translators. First of all is my friend Elias who has been doing that for a long time and who is the first one to translate the articles. And also Christophe and Raphael who began to translate them too. Thank you guys I deeply appreciate your help.

Now I have a message for you the reader. Many of your buyû are not able to read English so why don’t you volunteer and translate them into your own language? Send them to me and put them also on your own website. There is nothing to gain here except maybe the pleasure to do something useful for our warrior community.

Contact me if you want to be part of it and help us build a stronger Bujinkan. Remember that information is power.

Thank you again “merci beaucoup” for your endless support.

 

Arnaud Cousergue

Bujinkan Shihan


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Ken Tai Ichi Jô

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

 

In the Bujinkan there is the concept of  劒体一条 ken tai ichijô (body and weapon are one).

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This concept makes a lot of sense when wielding a heavy sword in 片手 katate (one hand) because the free arm is often in the way. And this is even more difficult to manage as the blade is double edged.

We discovered this same problem when we studied the Tachi. But with the Ken this is even more accurate.

In the Kukishin ryû one of the kotsu is to “keep the elbows/arms close to the body”, this is for the same reason. If you train with the 万力鎖 manriki gusari this is also mandatory.

When I was stationed in Lebanon for the UN, I attended a very interesting Kukri* demonstration by the Nepalese Army. It was impressive and I noticed that the 200 soldiers moving in unisson always kept their free arm off the weapon for themselves and also for their neighbours. I took a video that I might post here one day.

So, as we are discovering the Ken, please keep your free arm as close as possible to the body at all time. Whatever you do with a new weapon has to begin slow. The first achievement is to avoid getting injured by it.

  • A weapon has no conscience and no intention. It moves naturally following the laws of 重力 jû ryoku (gravity).
  • A weapon is not impressed by your rank, it will do what your body movements make it do.
  • Therefore a weapon has to become truly a “natural extension” of your body/mind in order to avoid accidents.**

Confidence and ease are the natural results of heavy and long rehearsal. So please train slowly your katate movements, they are very powerful and devastating with such a heavy sword. Your security (and the one of your neighbours) should always be your first concern in training. Don’t be too presomptuous about your own abilities, learn step by step, and keep your free arm to your body.

If you don’t pay attention and don’t learn these movements correctly in slow motion then, instead of   劒体一条 ken tai ichijô, we will do  献体一冗 kentai ichijô, and ”give your useless body to a hospital for medical research”. Interested?

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*The khukuri (Nepali: खुकुरी) (alternatively spelled khukri or kukri) is a Nepalese knife with an inwardly curved edge, used as both a tool and as a weapon.For more information check THIS Wikipedia page.

**This is also valid for any object or weapon.

NB: In a previous post I wrote about the weakness of the wooden Taichi sword that can break easily when stopping an attack in the dôjô. Those of you using one, add a layer or two of duct tape and it will increase the security and lower the risks of injury during training. Also it will add a little more weight which is even better.

 


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