strategy - NinZine 3.0

Hiding Dog - Sapporo, Japan. photo by MJ/TR (´･ω･)

We have a profound strategy in the Bujinkan which often goes unnoticed. I think it is not obvious because the name creates a certain idea. Mutō Dori 無刀捕 (no sword capture). People hear that and they already have an idea in their head about dodging sword cuts.

Hatsumi Sensei makes reference to this strategy not just when he is unarmed facing a sword wielding attacker, but also during unarmed taijutsu, and while using all manner of weapons.

So forget the sword for a moment, and let's discover some hidden layers in Mutō Dori.

First, relying on any weapon or technique is a trap. If you become an expert, your mind will get stuck there. Use your weapons or techniques with the same mindset as mutō dori. This is a natural, everyday mind.

In avoiding a sword, if you think about avoiding, you will be cut. If you think about not avoiding, you get cut. You should think about nothing and when the sword cuts, naturally get out of the way. Wherever your mind stops is a trap.

Second, don't try to take your opponent's weapon or defeat him. Use 虚実 kyojitsu. If he responds to the 虚 kyo (illusion), give him the 術 jutsu (true form). Or if he has decided not to be fooled by your misdirection, and his mind stops there, determined not to be faked out, the kyo becomes real. It becomes the jitsu. You win by not attaching to either.

Third, Don't let your own weapon or technique be taken. Don't get cut. Makes sense at a basic level- of course you don't want to get cut. But this only occurs when you know the mind or intentions of the opponent.

Hatsumi Sensei says that he was told this by Takamatsu:

"In the instant that the opponent creates a Kiai, you need to avoid the attack."

This is not when you hear or notice the Kiai, but the instant it is created. You must be open and connected enough to the spirit of the opponent to recognize that moment when his mind or intent has shifted (or he has decided) to attack.

So to explain these three strategies in a slightly different way,

You must handle weapons freely, yours or his, no matter what kind of weapon and without being attached.

Understand and master the mindset of mutō dori. Not only in your own mind, but the opponent's mind also.

Be able to win without using a weapon.

Make a connection in the kukan without being cut (or cutting the opponent).

Wait, WUT? a connection to what? That is a whole other topic, one that I am just starting to explore in my own training, but don't know how to share yet. Sensei has been talking about these connections a lot the past few years.

Hatsumi Sensei quotes Zeami,

"秘すれば花 Hisureba Hana" (That which is hidden is beautiful)
and then Soke goes on to say,
"Those that live within kyojitsu and uncommon sense (秘常識 hijoshiki) possess a hidden sense."

When I glimpse that in training… or I am lucky enough to experience it myself, I definitely find it beautiful.

偸眼 Chugan: Eyes Like a Dragonfly Thief

Bujinkan Santa MonicaJune 3, 2011June 3, 2011

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

photo by TANAKA Juuyoh (田中十洋)

When I was a young man, one of my favorite movies was "The Karate Kid." The Sensei in that movie, Mr. Miyagi, played by Pat Morita, was full of patient but stern advice for his young student, Daniel-san. In one memorable quote, he chastised Daniel for looking down,

"Look eye!, always look eye!"

Very good advice for self defense. But there is a lot more to be understood about the eyes in our training. And, despite my fondness for that simple time in my life when a movie meant so much to me, I will break from Miyagi Sensei to suggest you don't always look eye.

There is a lot of psychology in a glance. A lot of nonverbal communication that takes place before a fight. Looking someone in the eye can be perceived as aggressive and create tension or make you a target for their anger. At the same time, the right type of look can cause the opponent to back down.

Takamatsu said that truly skilled martial artists can decide a fight by looking at each other. The better fighter knows he is better and graciously gives his adversary an opportunity to back down. If the weaker has any skill at all, he will perceive his opponent's superiority and concede to him.

A proverb says that the eyes are the window to the soul. This creates weaknesses and opportunities. If, you give away too much in your own eyes, your opponent can see your bluff, or know what your next move will be. Or, if you look in his eyes and see fear. You could easily reflect or manifest that same fear in yourself.

On the other hand we have the idea of Seigan, ‘Correct eye’ 正眼 with the feeling that you can manipulate your enemy and control his mind. As Soke says,

"to cloud the mind can be another important way of blinding the eyes. I would like you to know that it is the core of the metsubushi techniques to make the eye stop working."

This brings us to a more advanced use of the eyes for mind control. Ganko Issen is a sudden flash or glint of light of the whites of the eyes which can create the effects of Fudo Kanashibari and is also a basis for Toate no jutsu (striking from a distance).

"I have no eyes -- I make the flash of lightning my eyes." - unknown samurai c.1300

Hatsumi Sensei says that it is possible to "see" without using the eyes, and to "hear" without the ears. He says that, "In Ninpo your whole body must act as your eyes and ears."

This brings us to the concept of 偸眼 Chugan - looking askance; pretending not to look, or stealing a look. Maybe another word for it is tōshi 盗視 or 偸視 a stealthy glance; furtive glance. I see Hatsumi Sensei do this all the time. In fact he often advises us to do this.

偸眼にして蜻蜒伯労を避く。
With a pilfered glance, the dragonfly evades the shrike.

This idea has many layers. One is that by not looking directly at your opponent you can make your focus broader to take in the whole environment. People and animals often do this naturally when surrounded. Looking nowhere but everywhere. This can be called Happo Nirami (staring in all directions). One benefit here is that your opponent's actions will be caught in your peripheral vision which responds very well to sudden, quick movement.

Another layer is that you can confuse your opponent by shifting his mind along with your line of sight. This can be simple misdirection like looking at one target on his body with your eyes but attacking another. As in 二目遣い Futatsumetsukai from Noh theatre which is a double glance where you look first but your mind does not stop there; or you look at your opponent when you appear not to be looking.

But it is also something more profound. When he attacks, especially if done with anger, he is looking to confront another soul directly. By shifting your awareness, it is like you are sidestepping his intent (like shifting your spirit back at 45 degrees) and his attacks will dissipate when they encounter nothing.

Hatsumi Sensei is constantly saying things that allude to this concept. Like "dissipate" the attacks, or you just "disappear" in the face of the attacks. Become zero.

Thank you Miyagi Sensei. I was sad when actor Pat Morita died in 2005, but his lesson is immortalized on film. And I'm sure he would agree, acting is all about the eyes.

Seimeisen 生命線: Walking the Line of Life and Death

Bujinkan Santa MonicaApril 15, 2011April 15, 2011

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

Photo from Gifu Prefecture by tallkev

One of the hiden 秘伝 (secret teaching) ideas of the sword is that life and death are just flip sides of the same instant. The reason this is a secret is not because no one talks about it, but because you must discover its mystery for yourself. Hatsumi Sensei is always reminding us that just as we can end life with the blade, we can also protect life or what he calls, the "life giving sword."

So what about this secret and how does this translate into sword technique? When you are in kamae, and about to cut or thrust to your opponent's suki, there is a Seimeisen 生命線, or an invisible lifeline between you. If your sword is on this line, it is "live," if not it is considered dead. This line is very fine and there isn't room for two blades there. So only one blade can give or take life. This is also an aspect of Shisen 死線, the point between life and death.

To truly understand this lifeline requires a state of fudoshin. That is the only way you can stay on the line without being diverted. And when you are in that place it gives you a mysterious perspective that allows for some useful sword strategy:

後の先 Go no sen when you know where your opponent will strike so you let them strike there before you counter.

先の先 sen no sen is where you know what your opponent will do so you strike him first before he can move. Similar to tai no sen.

先々の先 Sen sen no sen where you sense what the right strategy is by intuition alone and subtly guide your opponent's strategy so that you may win.

Sen 先 and Saki share the same kanji but one meaning is future and one is previous. So Saki no Saki may be a more familiar feeling to anyone that has taken the Godan test.

How to Win a Sword Fight

Bujinkan Santa MonicaMarch 7, 2011March 7, 2011

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

Edo Wonderland Sword Fight, photo by -ratamahatta-

If you are any good with a sword, Hatsumi Sensei says you can win without drawing your sword. He suggests this to us by pointing out the example of the famous Zen sword master, Yamaoka Tesshū (山岡鉄舟, June 10, 1836 - July 19, 1888), a famous samurai of the Bakumatsu period, who played an important role in the Meiji Restoration. He is also noted as the founder of the Itto Shoden Muto-ryu school of swordsmanship.

One day Tesshu had a sword contest with a famous sword teacher, Asari Gimei. They fought for half a day and Tesshu was defeated. Tesshu became Asari's student and threw himself into Zen practice to try to understand the nature of his defeat.

As part of his search to understand what happened to him, he was given a koan to study by Tekisui Roshi'

"Crossed swords; neither permits retreat.
The sword-master, like a lotus in the fire,
Has a heaven-soaring spirit."

This advanced koan shows both the problem presented by a fight and the solution. Tesshu sums up his problem here:
'[When] two swords cross, all thoughts turn towards striking the opponent.'
Tesshu explains that the desire to strike an opponent while avoiding being struck is deluded. Not because this is a physical impossibility but because 'Originally, the mind is thoughtless like a bright, unclouded mirror...When the mirror is completely clouded, nothing can be reflected.' He continues 'When confronting an opponent, thoughts of striking or being struck indicate ignorance and illusion.'

Tesshu struggled with the crossed swords koan for three years of training. One morning while sitting in Zazen, he had a breakthrough. He stood up and went to fight his teacher Asari in the dojo. Asari realized right away that Tesshu had pierced through the lesson and declined to fight. He formally named Tesshu his successor and never again picked up a sword. Tesshu became a famous sword instructor who taught the way of the sword as a spiritual path.

So what happens when you cross swords with an opponent? If you are not in Zanshin, you may experience two states of mind. One is a calculating, worrying state where the mind is constantly questioning: Can you hit your opponent? Can he hit you? How can you enter, is there an opening? Does he see an opening? Can you trick him? Can you try this move or attack? Does he know that strategy and will he use it? This state is limiting, creates fear and you are defeating yourself. The limiting thoughts are never ending...

The other state lets the whole universe run through you. You erase the self and there is no you, just boundless possibility, unafraid of being cut or cutting. Your opponents efforts are no problem whatsoever. Attacks dissipate like mist.

Hatsumi Sensei says that Tesshu found this enlightenment by hearing the song of the gods in his heart. Soke describes this gokui (essense):

"In the world of martial arts, one should not stick to strength or weakness, softness or hardness; rather one should transcend physicality and understand the void, 'ku,' regarding the body also as empty."

Hatsumi Sensei goes on to explain how to use this gokui to win without drawing your sword,

"...prepare your body and show courage, the true gokui is the mind. Win without without drawing your sword. If you draw, do not cut down; bear patiently, and know that taking a life is a grave thing."

Hatsumi Soke Says to Live Like Momotarō 桃太郎

Bujinkan Santa MonicaJanuary 13, 2011January 28, 2011

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

photo by barto

Modern life is difficult. Some people may even feel they are enduring in a kind of hell. If you are going to live in hell, you'd better learn how to survive. Hatsumi Sensei gives us a clue for how to negotiate these difficult times and circumstances. He says we should be like Momotarō 桃太郎 who is a popular hero from Japanese folklore:

The Tale of Momotaro

Once upon a time an old couple lived in the hill country of Okayama in Japan. The old man went everyday into the mountains to cut wood, while his wife went to the river to wash their laundry. One day the old woman was washing clothes by the riverside when a great, golden peach came floating down the river! It looked so delicious that she decided to roll it home to surprise her husband.

When the old man came home, the old woman cut the peach open. To their great surprise, a small boy leaped from inside the peach! Instantly, they loved the little boy because they had never had any children of their own. They decided to call him Momotaro, which means, “peach boy”.

The old couple raised Momotaro well. He grew big and strong. One day he told his parents that he would leave to make his fortune. He wanted to rid the land of the horrible Oni (demons or ogres) that inhabited Onigashima 鬼ヶ島 (Island of Oni).

Though the old woman was sad to see her son leave, she fixed him some delicious kibi-dango, dumplings made from millet, for his journey.

As Momotaro hiked to Onigashima, he made friends with a monkey, a dog, and a pheasant, giving each of them a dumpling for their companionship. He was glad for their company when he arrived at Onigashima. Momotaro and his companions found that the gate to the Oni's fort was locked, but the pheasant flew inside and found the key. Once the pheasant opened the gate, Momotaro and his friends fought fiercely with the evil Oni. The pheasant pecked their eyes, the dog bit their legs, and the monkey clawed their backs. Finally, the Oni surrendered their horde of treasure, and Momotaro returned to his village a hero. Momotaro and his parents lived happily ever after.

There are many versions of this tale with each version the story takes on different details to suit the region and the times, but only from Hatsumi Sensei have I seen these details:

Momotaro's monkey excelled at wisdom, vicious wisdom. The pheasant had an ability to predict earthquakes. The dog looks faithful, but it can become like a ninja and smell the differences at work, using various means and tricks.

Sensei goes on to say that to live well in troubled times we should practice these three elements and embody each animal with our body and soul.

Here is a fun animated version of this story: