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Ayase Report (080422)

From The Magick & The Mundane » Bujinkan by Shawn Gray

Class started out tonight with a demonstration of one of the first techniques of Togakure-ryu Ninjutsu by Noguchi Sensei. Soke then did his spin-off thing and soon had the full class in a state of confusion. Nothing unusual about tonight in that regard. :-)

We did a lot of work with “fist changing” tonight – using multiple strikes against the opponent, changing the strike from one form into another along the way. From a shishinken to a boshiken to a shutoken for example, 3 consecutive strikes with the same hand. It wasn’t as if we were just standing there hitting the other guy repeatedly with one hand though. Sensei stressed the necessity of *walking* through the technique. With every step, a strike would be applied. A step was used to power every strike. Sensei often uses the term “juppo sessho” (’10 ways of interacting’ is one rendering of that phrase) in relation to this “fist changing.” The number 10 represents infinity and circularity, continuous, never-ending change. The martial *artist* must be able to continually adapt his attacks and strategies to best fit continually-changing circumstances, “changing as change is necessary” to accomplish that which [s]he wills to do.

From the number 10, Sensei went on to talk about the “bugei juhappan”, 18 martial skills to be learnt by the common Japanese warrior (bushi). (“Ninjutsu practitioners also study Bugei Juhappan alongside with Ninja Juhakkei (the 18 Ninjutsu fighting art skills).”) Sensei said that by adding this extra dimension, we arrive at the number 36, which is a significant number in ‘fuusui’ (風水, pronounced ‘feng-shui’ in Chinese). He didn’t elaborate, leaving it up to the listener to figure out for themselves. (I could turn it into a ‘93′ by turning it around, but…) He did leave a hint though by stressing the *simplicity* of the concept, stating that its simply a continual circulation in two (or more) directions at the same time, much like the simultaneous circulation of blood through both the arteries and veins through the body. Once again we were left with the teaching that budo is simple, but its simple on a grand scale.


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Seminar in Gefle with Serrano Shihan

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

The past weekend I went to a seminar with Bujinkan Shihan Manuel Serrano from Spain. It was a very good seminar I wish that more people would have attended. Anyway there was about 35 people in total, Serrano brought seven students with him.

The first day Serrano taught variations of Taihenjutsu ukemi from Togakure-ryu. And some Taijutsu henka, along with (strange) fun and games. One guy in the middle was jumping on one leg and chasing everyone else and when he whip someone with the belt every one attacked the guy and whipping him with their belts until he got to the safe zone. Then it was his turn to chase the next victim.

The second day more games, and some techniques from Zanto Tonko no Kata. Also some interesting techniques using a rope, since most people didn’t have a rope we all used belts instead.

Thanks to Serrano Shihan for coming and Patrik Johansson and the staff at the Bujinkan Gefle Dojo for organizing this seminar.

You can see the pictures at http://kaigozan.se/album/ I also uploaded pictures from the last two seminars at Kaigozan this year.

This weekend I will be going to Riga, Latvia :-) …

Keiko09 – Tim Bathurst

From New Products from Budo Shop Store by New Products from Budo Shop Store

Title: Bujinkan Keiko #9

Instructors: Tim Bathurst - 13\'th Dan

Theme: Roppô Kuji no Biken + Rokushakubô-jutsu - (Bujinkan Sword, Taijutsu & long staff)

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden August 2004

Format: DVD/R which plays on all computers using and ordinary DVDRom. It also plays on most DVD players (check your manual!).

135 Minutes playing time top quality.

Language: English

Who is Tim Bathurst
Good question… Tim is a senior student of Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi, living and training in Tokyo Japan. After a few visits starting in 1990, Tim moved to Japan in 1997 and is one of the few foreigners to have earned the title of Shihan while living in Japan. Presently graded at Judan-ka (10th Dan-Fire level…13th Dan to some.)

Tim has never been in the Military, never served as a police officer, never done personal security, never been to war... Actually, the only thing he has really done is train with the best of the Bujinkan for the last dozen years or so.

If you\'ve been to Japan in the last 5 years or so you would have seen Tim at Hatsumi sensei\'s or Nagato sensei\'s dojos. If you\'re unlucky you will also have to put up with him translating from Japanese into his own Australian version of English… and occasionally into rather poor Spanish.

One of the huge benefits of training for so long in Japan is that Tim has learnt his weapons technique as well as his Taijutsu directly from the Grandmaster and the top Master students of the Art.

From his own web site... http://www.timbathurst.net

What is on the video
In August 2004 he came to visit us in Stockholm, Sweden to give a seminar on this year’s Bujinkan theme, Roppô Kuji no Biken. He taught sword, unarmed defence, and the rokushakubô. Tim explained what would work and what probably would not work in a real situation. The theme of this seminar was very much Shinken-gata, true or real combat methods.

He taught
ukemi with sword,
basic kamae,
basic drawing and cutting,
and many sword techniques... Engetsu Sappô,
Nito-ryû, Hiryû-ken,
Tsuki-komi,
Tsuki-iri,
Datô no ken,
Kochô-gaeshi and many more.

He also taught Mutô-dori, stopping someone to use his sword, how to use the sword if stopped and much more. Also the six foot staff technique Gohô was covered in detail.

The first hours of Sunday morning is not on this video, it will be on the \"Kihon Happo Video\" with Tim together with the x-tra training class he did right before the seminar in Kaigozan Dojo.

Skr239.00

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The past Holger K seminar

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

We had a very good seminar here recently with Holger Kunzmann, I really encourage everyone to go to his seminars! On the extra training on Friday we had asked him to teach Kihon Happo, and he did. He went through all eight techniques on Friday extra training and Saturday morning. Sunday morning he did Sanshin no kata for warm up training.

But the main theme for the seminar was Togakure-ryu Santo Tonko no Kata.
- Three unarmed techniques against an unarmed opponent
- Three unarmed techniques against a sword attack
- Three armed techniques against several opponents

He taught many very good applications and said many interesting things. One thing related to all the past years of training themes is that if you take each theme and make a map of each theme you can clearly see each theme’s structure. Then make them all semi transparent and put them on top of each other and look through them all, this is what we are doing now in training.

Let’s take it even further, take all maps and put them together, press them together really hard (under heat and pressure) until it become a raw diamond. What we try to do next is to cut the diamond, so that we can look through each prism. This I would like to think is the Jewel of Bujinkan.

An interesting thought, right? Remember when Soke said 10 years ago or so that he was going away like a rocket from now on, and if people did not train with him frequently they would be left behind. If you honestly look in the mirror and ask yourself, only you know the true answer. What other people think of you is really not important, as long as you can stand in front of the mirror and see your own weaknesses and try to strengthen them, then it is ok. If you do that I say “ganbatte kudasai”, if not I’m sorry to say that you have completely misunderstood the Bujinkan training completely. Our training is about “masai” constantly polishing our art.

If you just started training or was left behind, don’t worry, just follow the rockets that is following the main rocket. Not all rockets is following the main rocket, so be careful :-D

Well, enough rambling for today… Keep on going!…

Be like Seaweed in your training

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

We must train our basics to be like water; in fact we must become like seaweed. Seaweed under water is attached to the ground. Like some kind of water Tenchijin, we must become seaweed and sway without tension in the stream of life. Stop hugging hard onto things. Let go of your beliefs and mental structures and discover the true freedom of life. The Bujinkan is a tool that is to be used mainly out of the Dojo. 

Hatsumi Sensei explained it once: “training in the Dojo is only a few hours per week, life is 24 hours a day”. 

The more you “keep going”, the more likely you will reach this higher state of freedom you are looking for. 

Here is a poem called “Seaweed”, by D.H.Lawrence explaining it perfectly: 

Seaweed sways and sways and swirls

As if swaying were its form of stillness;

And it flushes against fierce rock

It slips over it as shadows do, without hurting itself


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new DVD title, Hankyo 2007 + pre order Iaito

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

28'' Stainless steel iaito
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28″ Stainless Steel Iaito, mirror polish. Total length including blade and handle is 102 cm, the weight is 1087 gr. If anyone is interested in pre ordering this sword, please contact us!
Also, we have only one Togakure-ryu Shinken in stock, if you have other requests please contact us!

The Hankyou 2007 DVD is ready to be ordered, sorry for taking such a long time! I will start shipping the pre orders today, if you don’t get it please contact me!

We still have a limited stock of indoor Tabi from size 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29. Some of the T-shirt sizes are sold out at the moment. Please let me know if there is any interest for sold out sizes so that I know if it is worth ordering more T-shirts. I haven’t got any indication that these t-shirts are popular, I’m stuck with some sizes and want to get rid of at least half of them before I make a new order.

Hankyou 2007
Christmas seminar (Hankyou 2007)
Many instructors from Sweden went to Japan to train with Hatsumi Soke and the Shihan. Many of these instructors came to share their knowledge and feelings from their training trips.

Instructors: Mats Hjelm, Christian Spicker, Petter Swedin, Daniel Åberg, Daniel Neiberg

Note: All instructions is in Swedish!

DVD, 91 minutes, only 239 SEK ($34 / 29 €)

ordernow
Order now click here

If you want the full version log in to Budo Shop and subscribe to the newsletters…

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Bujinkan India: memories of a fantastic experience

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Dear Buyu from India, I first want to deeply thank you for the profound sense of community I found here in Bangalore sharing my thoughts, interpretations and movements with you. I often give seminars around the world, but the quality of the depth of the commitment I encountered here, was really refreshing to me. And I want to thank you all for this as it is the promise of a successful future for the Bujinkan community of India.A Dojo is complex mix between a teacher and his students. If the teacher is evolving the students are improving, and a group of dedicated students evolving positively pushes the teacher to improve his skills even more. After such a small training time, you have achieved this mix better than in many Dojo I have been teaching to.Reading your comments about the seminar on the Shidoshikai forum, I found that many of you were expecting something different, maybe something including more pain. Pain is important in the learning phase of Budo but it is not the most important thing. Physical pain is an accepted consequence of the training but it is nothing compared to psychological pain. And maybe you have got a glimpse of that during these four days. This is the best lesson you could learn.

Even if our seminar was dedicated to Ninpo, the theme for 2008, many comments speak about how this seminar has (or is going to) improve your basics in Ukemi, Uke Nagashi and Sanshin no Kata. In one of the many late discussions I had, we came to the understanding that everything we do in the Bujinkan has to be easy if we want it to be natural. Water will always find the simplest path to the sea; this is the same with our Budo. If you cannot do a movement it is often because your thinking process is blocking the way as a dam would do it to a small river flow.

Please don’t stop, keep going you are heading towards what real Budo is. Your energy and willingness to improve is an example for all Bujinkan members all over the world, be proud of it. The waythe group  has been structured and taught  explains it but without your willingness to learn, nothing would have been achieved so beautifully.

Someone quoting me wrote: “Noise on the mats is pain outside”. It seems to have been the seminar’s motto. The Dojo is the place where you can make all the mistakes you need to get things correctly. As we explained it several times, you are allowed to make mistakes in the Dojo in order to, hopefully, avoid them in Jissen (true fight) and in Jissen (real life). The Bujinkan is teaching us to become real human beings, living a full and happy life.

After a week in India with you, I came to understand even better the power of what Hatsumi Sensei is teaching us, life. Life is what struck me while I was there. India is a boiling, fast expanding and blooming country that is going to be of major importance for the world in a very near future.

This dynamism is also present in your training and I honestly loved teaching your group. I hope there will be more other seminars like that to follow this first one. I can say that I learnt as much as you did. This is the best lesson of “Shikin Haramitsu Daikomyo” I was ever given. Thank you all for this present.

I want to thank you all for your time and hospitality in Bangalore; for the many exchanges we have had during this week; and for making us feel at home. We feel richer after this trip than ever before.

Chukrya,

Arnaud Cousergue
Bujinkan Shihan


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