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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 buki stolar

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 buki stolar

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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Ken no Sui no Kata

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Image

The Ken is heavy and needs a lot of circular momentum to cut into the opponent.

To apply an “omote shutô-like” cut to the side of the neck and to be sure to slide the blade in between the helmet and the yoroi (shoulder level) you must use your taijutsu and the kosshi of the Gyokko ryû.

3 Key points:

  • the sword is in line with the body above the head.
  • the wrist is reverse and broken
  • the blade is as flat as possible

 

Start from an Ichimonji like kamae with the blade lying flat on the arm. From the kamae lift the sword above the head and support it with your extended fingers. Then “lasso” the blade still as flat as as possible above the head with a full body movement using the tenchi (body axis) as a pivoting point. The pivoting action to throw the body is done at the left toe (forward leg). The body weight is transferred gradually from the back leg to the front one (hips still leveled), this slides the body axis forward inducing an acceleration of the blade.

The speed of rotation of the blade added to the body movements creates a devastating power to cut/crush the opponent.


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