From Shiro Kuma by kumablog

I recently covered the concept of “Mochikaeru” after a class by Nagato Sensei. (1)
But Mochikaeru has another meaning which is close to juggling. (2)

When you “transfer something from one hand to the other,” you are juggling. What is interesting is that it is not valid only in the physical world. You can also juggle with ideas and concepts. In fact, Kyojutsu is the art of juggling between truth and falsehood. Remember the difference between Kyojitsu and Kyojutsu. Kyojutsu is a technique using Kyojitsu techniques, i.e., using deception. (3) (4)

Sensei’s Budō is only about manipulating the space to deceive the attacker. I want to add that I see the Mutō Dori of 2019 as pure Kyojutsu. Sensei’s Budō keeps juggling with Uke’s perceptions and change his perception of reality. We offer Uke a “fake reality” to make him fall into the Kūkan. (5) You have to juggle between his reality and yours. To reach the “juggler state,” you have to train using Kyojitsu Konkō and mix up reality. (6) You have to force your reality into Uke’s appreciation of the situation. Some practitioners will develop the ability after many years. Some never reach this level. They will remain on the ground and never take off.

When I’m training at the Bujinkan Honbu, I often see two main types of students. The “Waza collectors” that have no Kankaku. And “Kankaku exclusives” with no knowledge of the Waza. Try not to belong to one of these two groups. Stay in the middle as if on a path with Waza on your left, and Kankaku on your right. The Monk Shinran and the Jōdo Shinshū speak about the Niga Byakudō, the “white path between two rivers.” (7)

In Nature, many caterpillars never get to become beautiful butterflies. It reminds me of one of my favorite book called “Illusions” by Richard Bach. Richard Bach is a famous American writer who wrote. He wrote, “What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly. (8) (9)

Unfortunately, you cannot learn this “Kyojutsu / Mutō Dori” in a book. It has to go through a long process, and it is hard work. This is precisely why our Bujinkan system is an art and not a sport. A Japanese expression for that, it is: “虚実皮膜, Kyojitsu Himaku.” “The difference between truth and fiction in Art is very subtle; Art abides in a realm that is neither truth nor fiction.” (10)

Sensei often says that “anyone can replicate a Waza, but that his Art is difficult.” Let me take an example here. If you copy a painting by some famous painter, your copy will never “taste” the same as the original. Beyond technique, something extra exists, this is Kankaku, feeling. Only an artist can include that into his work. Sensei is a great artist, and an artist is not a regular person. He is someone who sees the world with a different set of senses. An artist always starts as an apprentice of the form and the technique. It is only when he can exceed his knowledge that he turns into an artist. The goal of Hatsumi Sensei is to turn us into artists to develop our vision of Budō. In the past, Sven, Peter, Pedro, and I had a similar understanding of the Bujinkan. Today, our perception of Taijutsu is different. Each time we meet is an excellent opportunity to learn from one another. Our unity is the glue of our differences.

If you want to move from the apprentice level to the artist level, you have to train with your heart and your spirit. This is why the Bujinkan arts are a “Kokoro no Budō” as stated by the late Takamatsu Sensei.

So study and learn the Mutō Dori based on Kyojitsu to get to your next level and turn yourself into an artist. This is a tough path, and many get lost. Deception and manipulation are applied to the opponent, not to you! Kyojutsu is only a technique to win over adversity, it is not an end in itself.

Use the tools of Gomakasu (11), but be a Komakasu, a barbarian artist to trust. (12)

1 持ち帰る, Mochikaeru: to bring back; to carry home; to take out (e.g., food) / See one of my May posts written in Japan.

2 持ち替える, Mochikaeru: to change the way one holds something; to transfer something from one hand to the other

3 虚実, Kyojitsu: truth or falsehood

4 虚術, Kyojutsu: the technique of deception

5 空間, Kūkan: space; room; airspace; Space

6 虚実混交, Kyojitsu Konkō: a mishmash of truth and untruth; a mixture of fiction and fact

7 About Shinran: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinran.

About the Niga Byakudō, read https://nembutsu.info/blacker.htm. This is a long text, go straight to the end, you will find it in the 4th paragraph before the end

8 In “Illusions, the adventures of a reluctant Messiah, book by Richard Bach. https://www.amazon.com/Illusions-Adventures-Reluctant-Richard-Bach/dp/0440204887

9 Listen to the audiobook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX8vp_nW0OU

10 虚実皮膜, Kyojitsu Himaku” means that “the difference between truth and fiction in Art is very subtle. So, Art abides in a realm that is neither truth nor fiction.”

11 誤魔化す, Gomakasu: to deceive; to falsify; to misrepresent; to cheat; to swindle; to tamper; to juggle; to manipulate

12 胡任す Ko Makasu: a barbarian to entrust…

From Shiro Kuma by kumablog

When I studied for an MBA at CSUC back in 1981, my 11 pm routine was to watch SNL. (1) And I remember a sketch with John Belushi disguised as a bee, and grading a student with a “Bee +.” (2) Well, today at Honbu, I had my Bee+ moment.

Today was my last class for this trip. It is always sad, but back home, I will the time to digest the new feelings acquired here during these two weeks.

I had my “B+” moment for two reasons.
First, Sensei used me as Uke, and I could “feel” what he was doing to me. Actually, I should say, “what he was not doing to me.” It was weird. There was nothing, and I kept losing my balance. I had to give one Tsuki, and he responded with several light touches that made my body react. There was no pain and no strength. I had the feeling that the points of contact he was offering vanished when I tried to support my body weight. His touches were light as feathers, and I could hardly feel them.

Second, these touches were like a bee pollinating from flower to flower. Hardly touching them. I remembered the Japanese saying that Sensei uses: “Amo Isshun no Tamamushi.” (3) “If you trap a bee in your hands, it cannot sting.”

I felt trapped like the bee. Hatsumi Sensei’s touches were like flowers. Each time I tried to recover my balance, my support (his hand or finger) was gone. The many information Sensei was giving by touching me, prevented me from moving. I was controlled by nothingness. Between contact, there were “air pockets” like in Ishitobashi, the skipping stones. (4)

The quality of his footwork, his nonchalance, and the softness are extraordinary. It is only when you have the chance to be Uke and to experience it, that you understand the exceptional level of Sensei’s Budō.

Hatsumi Sensei’s Budō is fantastic, and I am happy our paths crossed back in 1987, and to have followed him since then. (5) The person I am today is his doing, and the result of his singular vision of Budō.

The Bujinkan is nothing without him. And for over a half century, he is transmitting his understanding on the mats. He is making us not “Bujin,” but “Bujin,” better human beings. (6)(7)

In fact, today was not a “Bee +,” but a triple AAA!

Thank you, Sensei, for your patience.

Epilogue:
I told Sensei that for professional reasons, I might not be able to come to Japan before April next year. Holding my hand and looking me in the eyes, he said: “Get back!”

Side note:
My friend Leandro from Seinin Dōjō in São Paulo asked me this week about the origin of the Sakki test. As I had no clue, I asked Sensei. The Sakki test is not from any system in the Bujinkan. Takamatsu sensei invented it. I thought you would be happy to know it.

1 SNL is the acronym of the “Saturday Night Live” show (Europeans don’t know it). In 1981, the main actors were: John Belushi, Dan Akroyd, Gilda Radner, Chevy Chase.
2 You can find a few sketches of the late John Belushi on Youtube.
3 中一瞬 の 吉丁虫, Amo Isshun no Tamamushi: 中 amo: center, inside, during. 一瞬 isshun: one moment. 吉丁虫 tamamushi: jewel beetle or bee
4 石飛ばし, Ishitobashi: skipping stones (on a body of water); skimming stones​
5 I began training Bujinkan in June 1984 with Sylvain Guintard. And we attended the first European Taikai organized in 1987 in London by my friend Peter King. And again in 1988 in Stockholm in a Taikai organized by Sveneric Bogsater. Then Pedro brought me with him to Japan at the beginning of the nineties. Since then, I visited Sensei about 70 times in Japan. A successful Life is the result of the people you meet on your path. Thank you, Sylvain, Peter, Sven, Pedro, and Sensei for helping me to be the man I am today.
6 武人, Bujin: a military man
7 武神, Bujin: divine warrior

PARIS TAIKAI 2019 – JULY 12th TO 14th
WITH PETER KING – SVENERIC BOGSATER – ARNAUD COUSERGUE …

From Shiro Kuma by kumablog

During the break, I asked Sensei for calligraphy to use it as a logo for the Paris Taikai next July.

He made up “Ninkū,” a pun with the word “Ninku,” but written with “Kū.” instead of “Ku.” If “Ninku” exists, and means “endurance.” (1) “Ninkū with a long “ū” doesn’t. It was made by Sensei, associating “Shinobi” and “Kū.” (2) (3) He replaced “endurance” by “stealthy emptiness.” And it is like what Sensei is showing in class. His movements are so empty that Uke falls into the void.

The Mutō Dori of 2019 is now dealing with a lack of presence. There is nothing to see and nothing to feel. The control of the attacker results of a lack of control. In a recent post, I introduced you to Mutōsei, “uncontrolled.” (4) To me, Ninkū is precisely this feeling. Sensei controls you without control. As if he was able to express the emptiness itself.

Like many high-level feelings, it is difficult to express it with words even if you had the chance to feel it from Sōke. Buddhism, says that you can share Satori, only with those who experienced it. I guess this is the same. (5)

If you watch Sensei from the outside, it looks like magic. This is why he asks his Uke to explain their feeling after the technique.

Ninku, (1) also means Stoicism, it also seems correct. To succeed in Budō, you have to endure a lot of pain and disillusions. The training is about endurance. It has no end. We begin to practice one day for the wrong reasons, and we stay without knowing exactly why. This is pure Stoicism.

Noguchi sensei told me once that in the old days Sensei was quite brutal. He was so violent in training that the wooden floor under the mats would sometimes break! When it happened, they would stop the practice, get the tools, repair it, and go back to train. Sensei repeats that he doesn’t teach us. But it seems that this “non-teaching” of him, started a long time ago. Noguchi sensei said that Sōke used them as Guinea pigs. Sensei wanted to learn the techniques he was receiving from Takamatsu sensei by mail. (6)
Noguchi sensei admitted that twice he nearly quit unable to see the need for so much pain.

When you see how good he is today, I guess that staying in the Bujinkan was the right decision. He “endured” the pain to become one of the best teachers of the Bujinkan. And the same applies to the first generation of Sensei’s students.

We can now see more with clarity that Ninku is the Omote, and Ninkū is the Ura. I will share this new feeling in my next seminars, and at the Paris Taikai in July.

Sōke said recently that it takes 10 years of hard training, passing through a lot of hardship to study basics. So how many years do we need to get to Ninku and Ninkū?

We have to be resilient and cultivate our patience!

1 忍苦, Ninku: endurance; Stoicism
2 忍び, Shinobi: stealth, traveling incognito, ninjutsu, ninja, sneak theft; sneak thief, tolerance
3 空, Kū: empty air; sky, Shunya (emptiness, the lack of an immutable intrinsic nature within any phenomenon). Meaninglessness, void (one of the five elements)
4 無統制, Mutōsei: uncontrolled
5 悟り, Satori: enlightenment; spiritual awakening; understanding, comprehension
6 Sensei was visiting Takamatsu Sensei every two months (and not every two weeks as the legend says). He had the scrolls with him. Between visits, Takamatsu was sending two letters per week with many technical details.

PARIS TAIKAI REGISTRATION…

From Shiro Kuma by kumablog

Disclaimer: The class was so dense that this article might be a little too long. Sorry about that.

A class with Sōke these days is a succession of many moments. Relying on the Dai Shihan to show the techniques, he gives his advice from his chair. He only shows when a move requires his expertise.

Also, he often begins the class by showing the new swords he bought for his museum. He recently did a sword exhibition in Noda to explain to the public, the 200 blades he already has.

Friday night he displayed à few interesting Tantō that he got. Some of them had a Kozuka inserted in the scabbard. It was a first for me. (1)

Each time Sōke tells of being aware of the danger of live weapons. And shows the correct way to pass or receive a naked sword from hand to hand. Not aware of the distance, there is a danger to be cut or killed. The translators sometimes get too close to him, and some nearly got cut. When you receive a naked sword from someone, you have to be close enough to take it, but far enough not to be cut.

Sōke teaches us these things because he doesn’t want the Bujinkan Dai Shihan, to look stupid. He said that people training Kendō or other martial arts don’t know the dangers of live weapons. Because they lack awareness. The Japanese wars created our systems on the battlefield, not during peacetime in a Dōjō. (2)

We did some Waza with the Daishō, and Sensei stopped the class to teach us how to wear them. That was interesting as many practitioners do not have a clue there is a proper way of doing things. One thing to keep in mind is that our fighting systems originate from the military. In the military, they keep everything that works fine. They reject what doesn’t. Each time your teacher asks for a precise movement, try to understand the reason to do it that way. When you know the hidden reasons to do things, your Taijutsu improves. Nothing we do is by chance, there is always a reason behind.

How to wear the Daishō? (3) First, insert your thumb into the Obi and put the Kodachi, then put the Katana in this order. (4) Sōke asked us to train this to master it. He said the Dai Shihan, should have real blades to get better the essence of Mutō Dori. (5) We have to understand what is fake and what is real. He added that Takamatsu Sensei always showed him the practical aspects of Budō. The Bujinkan is not Gendai Budō, we don’t do sport. (6)

Sensei moved back to Taijutsu. After the technique, his Uke explained that he was so focused on the pain on his finger, that he didn’t see the rest. This is “Mienai.” Sensei was using his other hand to take Uke’s balance. (7) Mutō dori uses Kakushi waza whenever possible. (8) Uke can see is not what matters.

Against a knife attack, Sensei stopped the attacker and began to speak to us. Uke lost his concentration, and Sōoke peeled the knife from his grip. This is Metsubushi. (9) We use Metsubushi to confuse the opponent and are not limited to Ninja blinding powder. It can be physical or by talking. If you speak, Uke cannot avoid listening to you.

In unarmed combat, we rely too much on the hands. Sōke said that “Sebone,” the backbone, is what does the action. He asked us to try it and insisted on keeping a relaxed body and on keeping the legs unlocked. (10)

In the end, Sensei said that now the Daishihan are in charge. And if they don’t understand it is ok. Because when you get the movement by yourself, you are your own teacher. Let the action be, and do not overthink everything.

Ethics is the backbone of our soul, this is “Kikotsu.” (11) But when you only rely on physicality, you are not a Bujin but another “Kikotsu,” an eccentric. (12)

_________________________________________
1 Kozuka: This small knife was usually hidden in the Saya of a Katana, close to the Tsuba.
2 War Time vs. Peacetime: The Bujinkan systems are born during wartime (12th to 17th century). One exception is the Takagi Yōshin Ryū, formalized in the 18th century.
3 大小, Daishō: matched pair of long and short swords
4 The original Obi were larger and longer. Because of the length, there were at least three layers of belt. First, you put he Kodachi between the first layer close to the body and the second layer. Then you slide the Katana between the second and the third layer. This is a way to protect the lacquer on the Saya. This keeps the blade sealed in the scabbard and avoid humidity to damage the sword.
5 I have been using a real Katana for more than 30 years. I cut myself as expected. But when you have à real blade, you stop moving like they do in B movies. Never underestimate the danger of using a real weapon. The same goes for firearms and swords.
6 現代, nowadays; modern era; modern times; present-day.
現代武道, Gendai Budō: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gendai_bud%C5%8D
7 見えない技, Mienai Waza: Invisible technique (that Uke cannot see)
8 隠し技, Kakushi Waza: Technique for hiding; concealing; being hidden; being concealed​
9 目潰し, Metsubushi: sand, ash, etc., thrown in the eyes to blind someone. Throwing something at someone’s eyes to blind them​. Poking someone’s eyes during a fight to blind them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metsubushi
10 背骨, Sebone: spine; backbone; spinal column
11 気骨, Kikotsu: (moral) backbone; spirit; soul; grit​
12 奇骨, Kikotsu: eccentric

PARIS TAIKAI 2019 CLICK HERE …