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Tai Kai DVD from 2011 is ready to be shipped

From Sweden Taikai 2012 by Sweden Taikai 2012

Sveneric Bogsäter from Holland together with Rob Renner, Duncan Stewart and Steve Olsen from Japan was invited to teach at this Swedish Tai Kai organized by Mats Hjelm and Svenska Bujinkanförbundet. There was two DVD’s and two download videos released from this seminar. This Video is one part of this set.

At the Taikai all instructors had three classes each, one class with the whole big group, one class with all Shidoshi (5′th dan and above), and one class with Mudansha & Yudansha (beginners up to fifth dan).

The instructions is all in ENGLISH. The DVD is Region Free and NTSC (US/Japan format, works on modern DVD players)

Available for 239.00 SEK at BUDOSHOP.SE

On this DVD – Sveneric Bogsäter & Rob Renner

This two hour DVD is packed with good demonstrations and instructions from Sveneric Bogsäter and Rob Renner. Sveneric had recently been in Japan, and Rob Renner has lived in Japan for many years, so what they taught was very much the feeling from Japan trainings with Hatsumi Soke and the Japanese Shihan.

Sveneric taught Kihon-happo variations against one or two opponents to the whole group. At the Shidoshi-class he taught Taijutsu and Hanbojutsu. At the Mudansha & Yudansha class he taught Taijutsu

Rob taught how to understand the distance and footwork with unarmed and with a Hanbo to the whole group. At the Shidoshi class he taught how to do the Kihon-happo techniques against someone who is resisting, directions, balance breaking and distance. Against one and several opponents. Rob’s Mudansha and Yudansha class is available on download file only (click here!).

Duncan Stewart & Steve Olsen

Available for 239.00 SEK at BUDOSHOP.SE

On this DVD – Duncan Stewart & Steve Olsen

This two hour DVD is packed with good demonstrations and instructions from Duncan Stewart and Steve Olsen. Both Duncan and Steve has lived in Japan for many years, so what they taught was very much the feeling from Japan trainings with Hatsumi Soke and the Japanese Shihan.

Steve taught Taijutsu to the Shidoshi class and to the class with the whole big group. The Mudansha and Yudansha class is available only as download video (click here!).

Duncan taught drills how to learn the correct distance to the opponent, and Taijutsu techniques with or without small concealed weapons. To the whole big group he taught and demonstrated Taijutsu with devastating efficiency. Unfortunately there was no footage of his Mudansha and Yudansha class.

On This video – Steve Olsen

20 minutes, 243 Mb for $6.99
Only available as download

This video is 20 minute where Steve Olsen taught the Mudansha and Yudansha class (ranks below 5′th dan). He taught a little sword cutting technique but mostly Taijutsu.

On This video – Rob Renner

32 minutes, 388 Mb for $6.99
Only available as download

This video is 32 minute where Rob Renner taught the Mudansha and Yudansha class (ranks below 5′th dan). He taught footwork, distance, taijutsu and unarmed training drills that will make you understand the basics better.

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死門 Shimon: Gates of Death

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael

Old City Gate photo by cliff1066™
Hatsumi Sensei tells us that we should awaken to the fact that we are only living in the space between life and death.

I've had a lot of death in my life recently. Every year that goes by, it seems that I know more and more people who are no longer around. That is natural as I grow older I guess. But in noticing this I also determine that death is always there, I just am not aware of it.  This awareness is an important quality in Budo.

People can misunderstand the famous quote from Hagakure, "The way of Bushi is the way of death." I think Soke is leading us to different understanding of that phrase. He says,
"All worldly things are impermanent; life and death are but one. Bushido is what runs through the Wabi and Sabi (transient beauty) of nature. Yet I feel compelled to say that enduring to the end no matter what happens, persevering with life despite being prepared for death at any time, is actually the secret of Bushido."
This "secret" has opened up important lessons for me in my training and my life. That space between life and death exists in the kukan. One day in class Soke told us to make space in the kukan where we could live. It confused me at the time. But I'm beginning to discover how to use that in the midst of danger. This is one aspect of the idea 九死一生 (kyuushi isshou, nine-deaths-one-life), meaning “a narrow escape from death,”

Sensei quotes the famous Zen Samurai Suzuki Shōsan,
"Knowing life and death; therein resides enjoyment."
Being aware of death in this way can get us intimately aquainted with the effects of impermanence. Shōsan taught that no one should forget their own mortality. But how does one find enjoyment in that?

As I write this, the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs just passed away. Here is his take on death awareness,
“Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” – Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Address
If you take this lesson to heart you won't waste time being a 八方美人 (happou bijin, eight-directions-beautiful-person) or someone who tries to be all things to all people. You may quickly find yourself at the 死門 shimon gates of death. In buddhism this is the gate, or border of death, leading from one incarnation to another.

As I think of all my friends and family that I have lost recently, I try to remember that there is a connection from birth, through life to that 死門 shimon. I cannot honor the joy that their lives brought me without also accepting their death. Or that my own path will follow theirs. Sensei says,
"Life and death are connected. Like In-Yo. Like a magnet and metal, life and death are attracted to each other, always getting closer."
So if you truly want to understand our training, it won't be morbid or wrong to do as Shōsan suggested: "Make the one character "death" master in your heart, observing it and letting go of everything else."


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STEVE OLSEN from SWEDEN TAI KAI 2011

From Budoshop by BUDOSHOP.SE

20 minutes, 243 Mb for $6.99
Only available as download

Sveneric Bogsäter from Holland together with Rob Renner, Duncan Stewart and Steve Olsen from Japan was invited to teach at this Swedish Tai Kai organized by Mats Hjelm and Svenska Bujinkanförbundet. There is two Tai Kai DVD’s and two download videos released from this seminar. This Video is one part of this set.

At the Taikai all instructors had three classes each, one class with the whole big group, one class with all Shidoshi (5′th dan and above), and one class with Mudansha & Yudansha (beginners up to fifth dan).

On This video – Steve Olsen

This video is 20 minute where Steve Olsen taught the Mudansha and Yudansha class (ranks below 5′th dan). He taught a little sword cutting technique but mostly Taijutsu.

Sample clip

Later…

About the download

Click here for more information about our download files and how it works!…

ROB RENNER from SWEDEN TAIKAI 2011

From Budoshop by BUDOSHOP.SE

32 minutes, 388 Mb for $6.99
Only available as download

Sveneric Bogsäter from Holland together with Rob Renner, Duncan Stewart and Steve Olsen from Japan was invited to teach at this Swedish Tai Kai organized by Mats Hjelm and Svenska Bujinkanförbundet. There is two Tai Kai DVD’s and two download videos released from this seminar. This Video is one part of this set.

At the Taikai all instructors had three classes each, one class with the whole big group, one class with all Shidoshi (5′th dan and above), and one class with Mudansha & Yudansha (beginners up to fifth dan).

On This video – Rob Renner

This video is 32 minute where Rob Renner taught the Mudansha and Yudansha class (ranks below 5′th dan). He taught footwork, distance, taijutsu and unarmed training drills that will make you understand the basics better.

Sample clip

Later…

About the download

Click here for more information about our download files and how it works!…

Paying problems and Facebook comments.

From Budoshop by BUDOSHOP.SE

It has come to my attention that some of you had problems paying and download. I think it has to do with Payloadz credit card gateway only allowing a few countries. If you have problems, please try to use the PayPal option instead. PayPal also allows payment with credit cards, and from a lot more countries. So please use the PayPal as Payment method.

Facebook comments

I also noticed that the comment option was not working (I don’t know for how long because no one said anything since I installed and tested it, and it worked). Please feel free to go and add comments to each video. You need a Facebook account to do it, I know some don’t use FB but this way we will filter out 99% of the spam comments.
We won’t censor the comments, we think that everyone can stand for what they say even when everyone can see who said what (compared to anonymous posts with silly comments). …

Tenchijin University 2011

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Reminder: Tenchijin University in PAris from October 15th to 19th (late). We will cover all the techniques and fundamentals of the Tenchijin Ryaku no Maki established by Hatsumi Sensei as the prerequisite for the study of the bujinkan martial arts back in 1983.

We will work on the revised structure by sensei from 1987.

Classes will bein French and English and 9 manuals will be given to follow the classes and to take notes.

Trainings will be partly indoor and partly outdoor

Lunches (sandwich) are provided as well as free lodging at night in the dôjô.

If you are interested please visit the website: http://tenchijinuniversity.wordpress.com/


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Kill Assumptions with 捨て身 Sutemi

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael

Hatsumi Soke Painting For Me
Assumptions are deadly. They kill the chance to learn anything in class, and they can get you killed in combat. Sometimes they are subtle and you are not aware that you are making them. One simple interaction I had with Hatsumi Sensei illustrates this.

I was training at Hombu dojo one Sunday. Sensei was generously making calligraphy and ink paintings for the students. When he had my blank shikishi 色紙 board in front of him, he took one look at me and said,

"You like manga right?"

For some reason this question threw me. Sometimes Sensei takes requests from people. People often request calligraphy of a certain phrase or kanji that is meaningful for them. Some people just let Sensei decide.

In the many times Sensei had painted something for me before, he had waited for my request. This time he did not. He just asked that question.

So what were my assumptions? I had two. And they were both off the mark.

One had to do with my poor understanding of Japanese. When he said the word "manga," in my mind that translated to Japanese comics. That's how most people define manga back home.

But Soke may define manga differently. He says,
"I am expressing inner secrets in three ways - through painting, pictures, and a combination of pictures and calligraphy. It is my sincere wish that people can grasp a feeling of the inner secrets."
and,
"Here we use the word manga 漫画 for picture. Change the characters and it becomes "infinite pictures" 万画. Flip the order and change the characters and it becomes "perseverance" 我慢. Indeed, it is because we persevere that we receive the power to draw the infinite pictures."
The day before, when I was thinking about what picture to request from Hatsumi Sensei, I thought I would just let him decide in the moment unlike other times when I had requested something specific. But when he said manga, all of my presumptions about what that meant and what he thought I wanted jumbled up in my mind so that I had no response to his question.

He didn't wait for my answer. He just seized the moment and made a beautiful picture for me. I went home with my picture and everything was fine, but for some reason this moment stuck with me.

Another assumption I made was that he would have just done this regardless of who he was painting the picture for. But as I thought about this, and I looked at all the pictures Sensei has made for me over the years - I realized that I almost always requested some sort of picture rather than any specific kanji.

Hatsumi Sensei probably remembered this when he saw me, and that's why he asked that question. It never occurred to me that he would remember out of the many hundreds of paintings  he makes every year.

If I make assumptions about things this simple and I am wrong or muddled in my understanding, what other faulty assumptions do I make about my teachers and what they are teaching?

This is an aspect of sutemi 捨て身, throwing yourself away or sacrificing yourself. My friend Paul Masse describes it as "Being caught in yourself means stopping the flow." Throw away your assumptions before you come to class or you will be as lost as I was.


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Modern warrior coming to Stockholm in October

From 8þ Kabutoshimen by admin

Dean with the Bufuikkan menkyo

There are many people in the Bujinkan who claim to teach reality based techniques without any real experience. There is however a few people that can do this, and do it very good. And one of the best one I know is my close and good friend Dean Rostohar Shihan from Croatia. With his experience from the civil war in former Yugoslavia, and as a former police officer he certainly knows what he is talking about.

Dean goes to Japan to train with Hatsumi Soke and the Shihan several times per year. He always train three trainings per day, to make out most of his time in Japan. Hatsumi Soke always put him up to teach about his experiences. When he was there earlier this month even more so, Soke used him as Uke often to teach the real feeling. Soke also awarded him with the Bufu-ikkan menkyo which he only give to his top students.

When Dean doesn’t go to Japan he practice in his own Dojo with over 100 students. He also attend many courses and seminars and further his studies in many areas with instructors outside the Bujinkan. He also practice shooting and military tactics with SPECWOG, and teach many seminars and courses.

In October 29-30′th I’m organizing a seminar with him in Stockholm. I can’t emphasize enough how important a seminar like this is for everyone training in the Bujinkan system. Especially if you want to learn self defense and tactics how to defend yourself against a knife or pistol. Running backwards on a flat floor in the dojo all the time until the opponent overextend himself and fall down is fine, but how reality based is the training, really? Your instructor may say this is reality, and then do something pretty stupid and cover it up with a henka and flow so that you don’t see how stupid the first response really was. OK, sorry! The word “stupid” might be a strong word, I know there is good teachers out there, but far from all. Being “stupid” is also a learning process that we all need to go through, but staying on the stupid level is just stupid ;-) .

I know there is many seminars all the time, and find the time and money to all is difficult. All I ask of you is to ask yourself what do you want from the training? If you think it is fun as it is in your dojo and you don’t care much about reality then fine, good luck! If you on the other hand think that being able to defend yourself is important, then you should really try to attend this seminar (or any other Seminar with Dean)! I promise it will be very eye opening, and you will see your training with different eyes.

Both knife and pistol is very scary weapons, defending against them is very difficult. But it is possible if you also know how to use them as weapons. If you don’t know how to use the weapons properly how can you say that you know how to defend yourself against them.

Dean Rostohar together with Noguchi Shihan, Hatsumi Soke and Kan Shihan.

This is the feeling Hatsumi Soke teach in Honbu dojo all the time. All instructors take what they want and do what ever they feel like for various reasons. By Hatsumi Soke using Dean in Honbu dojo so much, and constantly ask him to teach and explain in front of him, as well as being his Uke must mean that Hatsumi Soke appreciate what Dean is doing. I think also that Hatsumi Soke is learning from Dean as he watches.

So with this I really recommend you to come to this seminar! The web site is in Swedish, but there is translation buttons on top of the web site. If you have problem with the language, you can always contact me, I know the translator is not always 100% correct.

Remember to sign up, because the places is very limited!

 

The post Modern warrior coming to Stockholm in October appeared first on 8þ Kabutoshimen.…

百景 Hyakkei: One Hundred Famous Views of My Mind

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Michael

Footprints, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. photo by tallkev
Well I've done it. Something no one else in this office would ever have thought possible. I've done something that most would consider a foolish and wasted effort. Something that only history will judge in it's fickle wisdom:

I've written ONE HUNDRED blog posts. This one makes 101.

I never set out to do that many. In fact, I don't know what I set out to do exactly. I simply started writing. One every week. And then I persevered.

Just like people start with training. They start for many reasons. None of those reasons matter so much. Just starting and then showing up for class every week. It's the perseverance that leads to growth and enlightenment in our art. You eventually find yourself with a lot of knowledge under your belt. Enough knowledge so that you are courageous enough to admit you know nothing.

Hatsumi Sensei says that he didn't start out to teach:
"When I first started accepting students, it was not truly for the purpose of teaching but rather for my own self-study and training"
I started my own classes here in Santa Monica for the same reason. And I still conduct my classes with this goal. The side effect of this is that some students join me on my journey, and as we travel the path together, we go further than we could by ourselves.

The funny thing is, I didn't realize I was starting my blog for the same purpose. I thought I was starting it for two reasons. One was to share, because when I was a young student in the Bujinkan I would have loved to have a weekly blog to read.

The other reason was that new students always ask me for a training manual. I don't really believe in training manuals, so I thought posting my thoughts on a blog would help my students with some information they were seeking.

But, as my blog grew, the reason for doing it evolved. It became about my own "self-study and training" as Hatsumi Sensei described. But more than that, as I started getting visitors from all over the world, It became part of my connection to the Bujinkan community and this path we are all on together.

Together the path becomes greater. We may travel farther.

I heard Hatsumi Sensei say a couple of years ago that even though his teacher Takamatsu had passed a long time ago, Takamatsu was still growing and walking ahead and Sensei was still following along in the footsteps of his teacher. May we also continue in the footsteps of the Bujin and the warriors who have travelled before us.


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9-10 Dec – KGZ Jullägret 2011 med Mats Hjelm o vänner

Kaigozan Dojo’s årliga julläger, som vanligt Fredag och Lördag.

– Fredag kl 18:00 – 21:00
– Lördag kl 11:00 – 17:00 (30 min lunch paus!)

Om det finns intresse så kan vi käka hämtmat i dojon efter träningen, eller gå ut på restaurang.

Kostnad 100 kr för Kaigozan medlemmar och 200 kr för övriga,
Gratis för de som varit i Japan och tränat i år!

Anmäl er gärna på Facebook (frivilligt!), men betala kontant på plats.
Annars är det ingen föranmälan!

Övernattning i dojon är okej för deltagare.

Välkomna!…