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Katana o Nuku, Chikara o Nuku

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Katana o Nuku, Chikara o Nuku

In his last classes, Hatsumi Sensei has developed a new set of concepts, namely “katana o nuku, chikara o nuku”, “iai o nuku”, kakogenzaimirai”. I would like here to dwell into these concepts as they are, in my opinion, defining where the Bujinkan is heading to in 2013.

Each trip to Japan is a fantastic occasion to get a new understanding of what sensei is trying to transmit. For years, because of our lack of understanding, he was mainly trying to get us into the “omote” of movements. Then starting in 2003, we entered the world of Juppô Sesshô.

Sensei began to use deep philosophical ideas linking this “omote” to a type of “ura”. But this was only the “ura” of the physical world.

For me this was the Omote of Juppô Sesshô (2003-2007).

In 2008, we began to consider this physical Ura (Juppô Sesshô of 2003-2007) as another Omote as he began to speak about the Ura of the Ura. This time the physical expression of movement doesn’t count anymore, we are playing with consciousness, shiki (14).

This is what I call the Ura of Juppô Sesshô.

As we explained many times in this blog, it seems that sensei (willingly or not) is following a 5 years pattern:

  • 1993-1997: bô, yari, naginata, biken, jô.
  • 1998-2002: taihenjutsu, daken taijutsu, koppô jutsu, kosshi jutsu, jûtaijutsu.
  • 2003-2007: Juppô Sesshô (omote): sanjigen no Sekai, yûgen no sekai, kasumi no hô, shizen, kuki taisho
  • 2008-2012: Juppô Sesshô (ura): Menkyô Kaiden, Sainô Konki, Rokkon Shojô, Kihon Happô, Jinryû no Kaname o Mamoru.

Next year will see the beginning of the next cycle of 5 years, and my guess is that we will focus on Goshin jutsu (as this is the theme of next March Taikai in Japan). But I am sure that he will come up with some more concept to put around. So these new concepts detailed below should be seen as the introduction to next year’s theme.

Note: At the end of this article I put the English meanings for each one of the terms used in this article in order to ease the understanding of the text and at the same time to give you a wider understanding of the image depicted in one single Japanese word.

“katana o nuku, chikara o nuku”;  ”iai o nuku”:

When you look at the two kanji: 刀 (1) and 力 (2) you see that those kanji are linked in some way. As you all know, because this is the upper kanji of shinobu 忍 (10), the 刀 represents the saya (11) protecting the blade, and “丿” (12) is the blade. In chikara 力 (2), the blade  ”丿” is going through the saya. Chikara (2) therefore can be seen as physical strength, energy; but also as surpassing our own limits.

The old kanji “nuku” (4) is often replaced today by “nukeru” (5) this is why I put both here. Both nuku and nukeru have this idea of releasing or to let go. And this idea of surpassing our limits has been emphasized by Sensei later during the class when he added the idea of “iai no nuku” (6).

You have to let go of everything you know, every form to be in full symbiosis with uke’s inention. When you achieve that you are always “surfing” on uke’s movements and can redirect his chikara against him. Uke when attacking is fully committed to get you, he is using a lot of strength and intention. If you are neutral you follow the movements like the branchees of the willow tree moving freely in the wind. As you have no intention you cannot be read by uke. This was the first thing we learned in 2003 when being introduced to the world of Juppô sesshô through the Sanjigen no Sekai. Uke when attacking makes a decision (intention). This locks him into his “present”, genzai (8), a moment that will become “the past”, kako (7) when he begins to move. Now his intention is focused towards a given target in his “future”, mirai (9).

“kakogenzaimirai”:

This is the “kakogenzaimirai”. Uke is never in the present, genzai (8) as he is trapped by his intention in his future mirai (9) and still attached to his past kako (7). This is like a boat still attached to the pier and going at sea, it will last the time for the length of rope to be fully extended, and the tension will pull it back to the pier or stop it.

Tori having no intention is always in the present and adapts permanently to the changes (like the branch of the willow tree moving freely with the wind). In fact there is no good or bad timing, there is only present.

Last week, Sensei said in class there was no timing. But maybe he meant that time doesn’t exist.  the permanent present of nakaima  (13), the middle of now only exists. The “now” is only a spark of time renewing itself permanently. When you think; when you prepare a counter movement to what you expect will do, you become also trapped in the dark side of the sanshin of the kakogenzaimirai world.

Be soft and relaxed, stay in this permanent present and you will always be able to surf the positive aspect of kakogenzaimirai.

At the end of the class, Sensei added that we now have to become gentlemen and not to use chikara at all. In fact we should develop a more feminin way of behaving, more subtle, using no strength and above all not grabbing. We simply have to redirect uke’s intention and force.

There is no technique there is only opportunity. This is goshin jutsu.

Get rid of the forms, don’t finish a movement, surf freely.

This is the elegant simplicity, the Yûgen (15) of a true Art.

“katana o nuku, chikara o nuku”

1 刀 katana (single-edged) sword; katana;
2力 chikara force; strength; might; vigour; energy;capability; ability; proficiency; capacity; faculty; efficacy; effect; effort; endeavours; exertions; power; authority; influence; good offices; agency; support; help; aid; assistance; stress; emphasis; means; resources;
3温 nuku idiot; dummy; slow person
4抜く nuku to extract; to omit; to surpass; to overtake; to draw out; to unplug; to do something to the end;
5抜ける nukeru to come out; to fall out; to be omitted; to be missing; to escape; to come loose; to fade; to discolour; to wear out (to the point of forming a hole, e.g. Clothes); to leave (e.g. a meeting); to be clear; to be transparent (e.g. of the sky);

“Iai no nuku”

6居合 iai art of drawing one’s sword, cutting down one’s opponent and sheathing the sword afterwards

“kakogenzaimirai” and other words

7過去 kako the past; bygone days; the previous; a past (i.e. a personal history one would prefer remained secret); one’s past; (Buddhist term) previous life
8 現在 genzai now; current; present; present time; as of
9 未来 mirai the future (usually distant); the world to come
10 忍 nin endurance; forbearance; patience; self-restraint

11 The upper strike looking like a reverse V symbolizes the scabbard

12 the lower strike: “丿” symbolizes the sword

13 中今 nakaima the present (esp. as a privileged moment in eternity).  Nakaima is explained in the “Way of the ninja”, book by Hatsumi Sensei;
14 識 shiki (Buddhist term) acquaintanceship; vijnana (consciousness);
15幽玄 Yûgen subtle grace; hidden beauty; mysterious profundity; elegant simplicity; the subtle and profound; the occult

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Is Change Always Positive?

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

The new waitress…

Because I was in the UN, I was absent from Japan for eight months. Eight months is very long by Japanese standard and many things are changing.

This trip is my 50th and since 1999 I have stayed at the Kashiwa hotel. Even though I’m always amazed by the Japanese ability to change their processes I am sometimes wondering if a change is always a good thing.
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In the Bujinkan we use to say that “the only thing that never change is change itself”. Because change is permanent. But is this change always an improvement? I don’t know.When I arrived at the hotel changes can be seen everywhere. The ulala cafe which has been our major meeting point for years has reduced its smoking zone. We (the evil smokers) are now parked in a kind of “aquarium”.
Many of the old and nice ladies have been replaced by young ones. They don’t speak English either but it is ok.
But the strangest change is that you now have to use and pay an automat (see picture) to get the drinks or food you want (the names are only in Japanese).
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So is change always positive?
I just witnessed two Japanese men ordering their food at the machine. The get their order it took them at least 5 minutes. When they finally sit they push the call button and 5 minutes later a waitress came. They gave the various tickets to the waitress but she had to come back twice to understand exactly what they wanted. And the second time she changed their order because they didn’t do it correctly. And they were Japanese adults in their 30s! Meaning that the written language was not a problem for them…
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So is change always good?
Sensei teaches us to adapt our techniques to these permanent changes surrounding us in order not to be surprised. But when change make things more complex thenit is time to get out of the system. I always appreciated the Japanese for their efficiency. Things were evolving towards more simplification, but today they are changing towards complexification and this is not a good sign.After thinking a lot about this “change thing” I went  to the Honbu to attend Noguchi sensei’s class. We did the first level of Koto Ryû and I felt a little awkward as it seemed that these techniques that I have been taught during so many years here in Japan were different. Noguchi sensei’s taijutsu has become so refined that it is difficult to find the  1, 2, 3 steps composing the initial techniques.
That was a big change.
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He changed his taijutsu but unlike the hotel this change is heading towards a flow making every move like being simple. And as always, I couldn’t do half of what he was doing.
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Changing, to have some value, must be conducted in order to benefit the result. If you make a change in a waza but didn’t master it, then this is not changing this is betraying. To change something you have to know it perfectly. Often people when training do not even try to repeat what is being taught. In fact they think they understand and make things more violent, more inefficient, and totally useless.
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Noguchi sensei’s movements are becoming so subtle that beauty and elegance are emanating from them. Elegance or art said Sensei once is “to render the invisible visible”. This ability cannot be decided it has to bloom naturally from years of mechanical practice and training. If you want to make a stone shine you will have to polish it, again and again.
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The word change 異 means “strange or curious” but the verb “to change” 移 is “to drift or to pass into”. The verb “to change” gives an idea of evolution whereas the word “change” is static and only takes into account something unusual (positive or negative).
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So is change positive?
Yes if you want “to change” 移
but No if you want “a change” 異
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Ninpô Ikkan! (keep going!)
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Ps: 15 minutes ago I went to the automatic vending machine to order another coffee and a sandwich … I’m still waiting for my order to arrive.
Ps2: Next March I want “to change” too and I will drift to another hotel for my trips to Japan.

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Shinrabanshô

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

In each class with sensei I wait for “the word” that will give a new turn to my taijutsu. Last friday night at the honbu the word was “shinrabanshô”, 森羅万象 (all thing in nature, the whole creation).
I had the privilege to open the class. On a fist attack, you slide to uke’s left and take his hand, rotate the body leftward while pushing up on his elbow, therefore extending his arm. The left hand controls uke’s left shoulder. This turns naturally into a kind of Ô gyaku and uke falls at your feet still in control.
After a few tries by everyone, sensei did it “his way” on me and I got the feeling that he vanished in front of me. In fact when I was asked to explain what I felt, the only word that came to mind was “nuku” (see http://kumafr.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/1012/).
Sensei is moving slightly before you have the time to get him. His moves are not fast they are just in tune with everything, this is when he began to speak about “shinrabanshô”. The “whole creation” is one with him and his actions are so natural that the time you see them it is already too late. I insist here on the fact that a movement being natural is not “human”, it is a manifested yûgen (幽玄) action of “elegant simplicity”.  As everyone was lost, he reminded us that “I’m teaching at fifteenth dan level”.
Then he went on explaining this idea of “”shinrabanshô”. I must say that most of it went passed my level of understanding and I began to feel bad. But then he said that understanding was not important (good for us, gaijin and Japanese altogether), the kaname is to “hear it”.
He added that the vibration of  the words (like in a sutra or a prayer) is the thing that only matters, the meaning is secondary. Prior to the class I was speaking with Maria Somera (Mexico) and Craig Olson (Canadian resident) about the translation of his book “Chihayaburu kami no oshie wa tokoshie ni tadashiki kokoro mio mamoruran”* to Spanish. At one point Craig said that the last sound of the last word “mamoruran”, the “an” was similar to the buddhist “a un”, the end and the beginning of things. And this is exactly what sensei was told us that night: “sound is life and this is why the sound is more important  than the meaning”.
Sensei added that we should not try to remember the things he says or do during his classes as long as we attend the class. “if you put it in writing, it loses its power of creation”. I understand what he said but I wanted to share it with you in writing anyway.
To me this was the first time I truly understood what a kuden is. As you know the meaning of kuden (口伝) is oral transmission. For years I have been wondering why a kuden would be written. It must be, so that the sôke would be able not to forget it. Yesterday I understood that the kuden is a natural expression of life and that, if you have the level, your connection to the divine will find a way to express it through your words.
In the kûkan created by nuki waza, the sakki is revealed, this is the kaname of Hatsumi sensei’s teachings these days.**

* The “Chihayaburu” is said by the bujinkan teacher prior to the “shikin haramitsu daikomyô” at the beginning and at the end of the class. Here is the text in Japanese:

千早振る神の教えはとこしえに正しき心身を守るらん - chihayaburu kami no oshie wa tokoshie nitadashiki kokoro mio mamoruran. There are a few websites giving some explanations on the meaning of it but I advise you to get the book by Craig which covers this prayer/Mantra in more than 100 pages as he spoke a lot with sensei when writing the first edition of the book. A short and maybe inappropriate translation would be: “With a pure heart the kami will guide you through a happy life”, but there is much more in the book.
**note: we did also many techniques during this class, but I will explain that in a future post.



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Hojo & Kotsu

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Today’s class was about hojo 補助 (assistance, support) of the basics in every movement. This foundation is the key to get the natural flow in your taijutsu. I am always amazed by Senô sensei’s saino,  才能 (ability), nagare, 流れ (flow) and  kôseido, 高精度 (precision). 

I remember asking him one day how he became so good at locks, footwork and at off balancing uke effortlessly. “When I began, I trained by myself a long time testing the efficiency of each degree of twisting applied to each joint of the body”. Once again, the best “ninja book” you can buy is an anatomy book. If you learn the bio mechanics of  the body then you don’t need to use any strength.

Remeber that self training is an important path of excellence and bujinkan students should do their homework more often. The fact that we get promoted fast in the bujinkan has created a negative side effect as westerners often think that “rank = proficiency”. But this is wrong. Our ranks rarely reward our technical skills. In fact we are given ranks to be worth them one day. Let me tell you a personal story.

I was at sensei’s home one day and he complimented me on the evolution of my taijutsu (what can you say?) adding: “I will give you 14th dan”. I replied that I was not yet worth the 13th and that he could give it to me four month later when I be back.* “No”, he said “I will give it to you now. But you are right to think that you do not deserve it now but you are improving and soon you will be worth your 13th. This is why I give you the next one today”. uncomfortable, I insisted that he could get it at my next trip, to which he said -and this is the key of the ranking system in the bujinkan- “no, I want to give it to you now because if I die before you come back, you will have the rest of your life to be worth it!”.

Ranks in the bujinkan are only a hojo 補助 (support) to help you in your training. They are an excuse to “keep going” and so that you develop the necessary skills. They are given “a priori” and not “a posteriori”. It is sad that so many people think they deserve the rank they have without actually training to develop the skills they are supposed to develop. Senô sensei and the other shihan have worked hard to get to the level they have today. Copying their movements (sensei’s and the shihan’s) is only good if you have the proper foundation in your taijutsu. But if you are lacking this foundation then you are just behaving like a monkey, mimicking without knowing.

Hojo, 補助 (assistance, support) was the keyword of this class, and Senô sensei’s insisted a lot on it. Your taijutsu is “supported” by the skills you have developed when learning your basics and by reviewing them often. In France, in October, every year, I give a 5 day seminar covering the whole taijutsu of the tenchijin. Beginners and high ranks join in to review or learn the basics. It you are a piano player or a ballet dancer, you repeat your basics every day, so why should it be different in budô when bad basics mean death?

Seitairikigaku, 生体力学 (biomechanics) is: the science (学) of giving life (生) and power (力) to the body (体). You need good basics so that you do not need strength. Senô sensei said that seitairikigaku is supported (hojo) by saino, 才能 (ability) to use “ashi sabaki”, 足捌き (footwork);  “karada”, 体 (body), and kyori, 距離 (distance). This is why “chikara”, 力 (strength) is not needed. Hatsumi sensei keeps saying it in each class in Japan. We use strength because we  are unable to read the balance of uke.

I wrote about the importance of training with the various shihan here in Japan. If we compare this Senô’s sensei class with the classes of Nagato sensei, we can see the differences. Nagato sensei teaches something closer to “street fighting” and Senô sensei a bio mechanics study course. Both are important, and both will help you improve your survival skills.

To the techniques we studied today, and echoeing with what Hatsumi sensei taught yesterday about small hidden weapons, we added a teppan (鉄板)** (or shaken) to the movements. What was really interesting was that the edge can be used as a pivoting point or a supporting point where it is in contact with uke. This chûshin action emphasizes the movements of  the body and facilitates the off balancing of uke. A corner of the teppan can be used either to inflict pain to uke or as a pivoting point or increasing leverage, the body turning softly around the attacker to take his balance. This is done with no strength simply by applying your knowledge the bone structure of the body. 

Playing with the words we can say that: the kotsu, 糊 (sizing) is to know the kotsu, 骨 (bones) of the joints, in order to develop the kotsuzui, 骨髄 (true spirit) of taijutsu in a kotsu, 忽 (instantly). So I kotsu you, 乞 (invite) to find the kotsu, 骨 (secret) and develop the kotsu 骨 (know-how) to become kotsu, 兀 (dangerous).
*note: like many I travel to Japan three times a year to train with my teacher.
**note: a teppan is like a shaken but it is square with no hole in the middle, and the size of the palm of your hand. Bigger or smaller than the palm and the teppan will be not as efficient. Like any shaken it is not sharp. Usually it is not to be thrown at the opponent (you can) and it is used to hojo (support) your controls on uke’s body.

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Shihanden at Bujinden

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

In the last five days, I had the chance to train three times with Nagato sensei and I noticed a new “trend” in his way of teaching. I have been training under him for over twenty years and I see when things are changing. As it is (should be?) the case for all of us, he is still evolving and he keeps improving his taijutsu.
師範伝 武人伝 The shihan ways at Bujinden:
Each one of the Japanese shihan has developed his own taijutsu over the years. I remember telling Hatsumi sensei one day that when in Japan I had the feeling that I was training the bujinkan with him and the Oguri ryû, Noguchi ryû, Nagato ryû and Senô ryû. He answered that I was correct and that it is the way things should be. 
As a sidenote, I want to add that when you have the chance to be in Japan you should not limit your training only to sensei’s but take the opportunity to learn different ways to train by visiting as many shihan as possible. Our body movement is the melting pot of all these experiences and the more experiences you have the more likely you will find what is suiting your body. Yesterday for example I was training with my tall friend Robin. At some point I was totally unable to apply the technique on him as he is much taller than me and that in a ganseki like movement, I couldn’t lock his arm without holding it with mine. His arm kept popping out of my shoulder (angle). So I had to change the technique and do a regular ganseki to do it. Later on a hip lock technique Robin was unable to do it on me, I was too low. Each time he would try it, this would create openings for counter. I liked his comment at that time: “this one is not for me, I will never do that”. And this is the main point of training with different teachers. Everything they demonstrate and teach cannot be fitting us but be recognizing it we learn to avoid those movements detrimental to our survival.

Another point is that apart from being students of Hatsumi sensei, each one of us is more or less the student of a given shihan. I mean that we received our taijutsu foundation from one particular shihan at the beginning. And from there we evolved by training with the others. It was obvious yesterday, Robin is a Nagato sensei student, I am a Noguchi student. And our taijutsu are quite different because of our different origins. From 1993 and until the opening of the honbu dôjô (10th heisei, 10th moon, 10th sun, 10th hour, 10th minute)* sensei ordered me to train exclusively with him and Noguchi sensei. After this opening I was allowed to train with the sole shi tennô and only when they were teaching at the honbu. I had been training with Nagato sensei before 1993 and I liked his taijutsu that was looking more powerful and more efficient. Gaman was permanent during his classes. I remember him stopping the class one day saying: “I don’t hear the hits!”… Next time you visit sensei in Japan, I invite you to ask him with whom you should train in particular. Depending on who you are and from where you are coming sensei will direct you to one or many shihan to help you unfold your own taijutsu.

Over the years, like many of us, Nagato sensei pure power was replaced by a more softer approach of the fight and mental pain replaced body pain. He didin’t lose efficiency though. We can say the same with Hatsumi sensei too. But Nagato sensei’s style has always been focusing on “real fight”, real encounters. Even when his taijutsu became softer he was still having this nice powerful flow of movement, changing his hands permanently, crossing the arms and unfolding uke to take his balance and finally stab or hit him from a blind spot.

So what is this new “trend” and this evolution in his taijutsu? It is: metsubushi, gassho, ganseki nage, sha ha ashi, mienai waza. Let’s review some of the points we studied this week:

目潰し Metsubushi, blinding powder: In each technique Nagato sensei insists that we are using metsubushi to blind the opponent. This “metsubushi” action of the hand and finger can be real or not, the idea is that uke reacts to it. Whether you are throwing  something at him or not doesn’t matter as log as your action opens up new holes in his guard. Remember that illusions can be powerful.

合掌 Gasshô, hands in prayer: Speaking of guard, he still insists a lot on guarding yourself from uke’s reactions but this time he is putting his hands together and extended both arms towards uke. This allows you to rapidly change thedirection of your and and body, to free your elbows ans to control uke’s balance. Remember that the attacker outside of the dôjô doesn’t attack in line…

岩石投げ/落し Ganseki nage/otoshi: This “prayer” move will open uke, extends his arms and allow you to place a devastating ganseki like movement. Many techniques we did ended up in ganseki age or ganseki otoshi. This created more space to turn around and helped to guard ourselves from any short weapon attack. This was the kaname. Remember that kûkan is everything.

斜八脚 Sha ha ashi**, moving the legs in all directions: In many throws we often create a body reaction from uke resulting in a failure. By using the footwork and the sha ha ashi moves we unlock these tensions and become able to throw or crush uke. Remember that distance is given by footwork.

見えない技 Mienai waza, invisible technique: We also did some knife applications (weapon in the left hand) where we used it as a natural extension of the hand, always hidden from uke’s sight. Instead of grabbing the attacking hand we would simply place softly (Kochô gaeshi) the knife on the forearm, hidden under our other arm crossed over uke’s chest. 

Nagato sensei said that: “it is easy to use a knife in plain sight but not showing it is smarter”. This is the same with our fighting skills, don’t show them and you will keep an advantage over your opponents. If you look strong and powerful you are asking for troubles.

*note: Numerology rules Japanese lives. The inauguration of the honbu dôjô took place on the auspicious day of the 10th october of 1997, at 10:10pm. The repetitive “10″ can be seen as the completion of the cycle (kû); and also as the beginning of the bujinden, the transmission of the bujin to the world. 
**sha ha ashi is a concept explained in “togakure ryu taijutsu”, first tenchijin book published in 1983 by Hatsumi sensei. it is also in the 1987 edition reedited by Solkan. Sha diagonal, ha all directions and ashi leg. It is using the legs on the shin bone, heels, foot to apply lever on uke’s legs and take his balance. It is sometimes referred as “Ashi rau”.

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Meridian, Speed & Excellence

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Each action should be following each other in a logical manner. In the technique, we move to one point of control to another as if climbing a rope, as sensei put it we “should control the opponent as if going up or down an acupuncture meridian.”*
But sensei’s was not trying to teach us any japanese medicine or acupuncture**, he was using this image in order to explain that “like on a meridian” each point of control belongs to the same line. Uke cen be controlled on any point of the same logical line. Balance is taken the same way on each point of the same logical line. Balance is lost when we control a point on one line and then move to another point located on another line.
This is why it is important in your training to understand the bio mechanics of the human body. By moving from one point to another point of the same line, you keep the off balancing at all time and it doesn’t matter if the first point is at the arm and the second one at the belly or the leg.
Often these days this control is done with the legs using the sha ha ashi principle. This has been done repeatedly by sensei, Senô sensei, Nagato sensei and Noguchi sensei. This gokui of taijutsu is used a lot. By using your legs to continue the off balancing of uke you free your hands and ready them for another action. Also as uke reacts according to what he perceives and see, uke will often be unaware of what is going on at ground level. This mienai waza is a real asset in your taijutsu.
This natural action of your legs also frees your body and you can then develop your intention. But to be really efficient you should know when to show your intentions and when not to show it. In the tenchijin of 1987 it is said that you should “be able to bend when there is wind, and not to bend hen there is no wind”. Adapting our behaviour to uke’s perceptions, to our environment, and to our intuition is the goal of taijutsu.
Waza without Kankaku is only a dead movement if you are not able to change it according to the situation and to uke’s reactions. In Nagato sensei’s class today, he mentionned the fact the “doing a good looking but inefficient technique is stupid. It is better to do something “ugly” but efficient than dying doing a beautiful waza. The Kankuku is what allows you to adapt the kata.
A few years ago, Senô sensei explained that a kata was to be considered as a channel. A kata includes some kaname that you have to pass in order to achieve the result you are looking for. At first, your kata is mechanical and inefficient. With hundreds of repetitions you acquire the nagare (the flow) and turn a dead movement into a part of your taijutsu. The Kata becomes alive with the adding of the kankaku.
Be careful as the kankaku alone will not suffice. You do have to learn the form to discard it. You learn an “inanimated” kata to “channel” your body mechanical movement. You train a kata to “animate” it and put life into it. You destroy the kata to express your natural body movement. And this destruction arrives only and only when you have mastered the initial form. Nagato sensei was complaining the other day that in the bujinkan too many students (high ranks included) didn’t put enough effort in learning the forms.
I see many bujinkan teachers applying “henka” without having the essence, the kaname of the original technique. Without hard work there is no improvement possible. This lack of work often leads these teachers to train fast, use force and be violent (and dangerous to their students). This is not  the proper way of training.
Please never forget that there is no shortcut ot excellence, it takes time, effort, and requires hundreds of repetitions***.
As Nagato sensei likes to put it: ”Only stupid people train fast, try to be clever, train slowly”.
*note: The human body has 12 meridians: 6 on the hands and six on the feet. There are also 2 additional ones going around the body. These two meridians are called tenmo and chimo (ten and chi) and link the front of the body (tongue to scrotum) and the back of the body (upper palatal teeth to scrotum), creating a ring flowing up and down the body. On a different logic the Japanese consider the fingers as the five elements. They are counted from chi, the little finger; to kû for the thumb. If you add tenmo chimo and the elements you get a tenchijin.
**note: I remember one student asking him about the kyûsho and the acupuncture meridians and his answer: “if you want to learn them then become a therapist, we are doing budô here not medicine”. Don’t loose the objective.
***note: If you have no plug behind your head you are still in the matrix and you have to learn the hard way. Excellence and proficiency cannot be downloaded to your body.

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Sanshin is Kihon Happô (2)

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

First of all I want to thank you for your comments on the this subject, and if you did not read them, I invite you to do it now on the blog. 

After publishing the first article on this subject, I remembered that I forgot to tell you a few things. It is mainly about chance and memory.

1. tenchijin 1987:
When I received the first version of the tenchijin in English back in 1987, the “shoshin gokei gogyô no kata” (gogyô) was described as: “chi-mizu-hi-kaze-kû” this is the reason why it caught my eyes when I discovered it in the first edition of the “unarmed fighting techniques of the samurai”.
At first I thought that this were the real names but then one day, I was on skype with one of my students. Because I wanted him to discover this by himself I asked him to go on the sanshin no kata page and to read them. He did. But there was no comment at all. I insisted that he read them loud and this is when I discovered that his edition was different from mine. I couldn’t believe it so he showed his book on the screen. This is how I discovered it.

Sensei often says that we have to “create chance” and until that day I didn’t understand what he meant by that. I think that I understand it better now. Chance is keeping your eyes and your mind open. Keeping your mind open develop your intuition. Intuition comes from “intuitus” in latin that means “glance”. If you watch carefully what you see around you, then the illusion of what you want to see vanishes and you see the things the way they are, and not  the way you think they are. 

Keeping your mind open is also important. The way we see and understand the world is conditioned by our education or, sometimes our lack of education. Some time ago I gave sensei a book called “the black swan”. The whole idea was the following: “All swans must be white because all historical records of swans reported that they had white feathers”. This proved to be wrong when black swans were discovered in Australia in the 19th century. It is not because we don’t know something that this something doesn’t exist. In the book the author details a theory about “unexpected events of large magnitude and consequence”. (more on this at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory).

We learn to create chance by expecting the unexpected. In a technique if you react according to what you think is going to happen, there is big probability that you will fail. Remember the words of Takamatsu sensei: “opening his eyes and his heart, a ninja can react  adequately to the subtle changes from heaven so that there should never be for him anything called surprise” (in “ninjutsu” by Takamatsu sensei).  If you expect the unexpected, there is no surprise and you learn to create chance for yourself and for those around you.

2. Kihon Happô of Gyokushin ryû:
At the turn of the century, whike in Japan, I asked sensei about the Gyokushin Ryû. He told me that we had lost the techniques* but that the concept remained alive in our taijutsu. Then he decided to show me some of these concepts. We were in his house and space was difficult to find. I was stuck between the table covered with piles of documents and objects, the ground was supporting piles of videos and books, and the small corridor between the wall and the piles was about 50 cm width. No space to move at all.

Nevertheless he showed me the “kihon happô of  the Gyokushin ryû”. In fact he showed me the feeling of the Gyokushin ryû, but instead of showing me the kihon happô as hesaid he would, he did the sanshin no kata. In the Gyokushin he explained, you have to “be” the element you are manifesting. For example, when doing ka no kata, you move as if you are walking barefoot on burning coals, in the sui no kata you move as if you were swimming in water. After throwing me on the wall, the armchair and the table, and after I added some mess by crashing all over to the messy room, I asked him: “sensei why did you say “kihon happô and did the sanshin no kata to me?”. He looked at me and said: “the sanshin no kata is the kihon happô”. I looked stupid, behaved as if I understood, and accepted his answer.

We know that both sets of techniques are origining from the Gyokko ryû**. The kihon happô is the entry point of the school and the sanshin no kata is the juppô sesshô of the school (the exit point). They are the beginning and the end; the alpha and the omega; the hen and the ka. 

Permanent changes and permanent adaptation are only possible when you stop asking “why? and begin to ask “how?”

*note: sensei told me once that we have no techniques either for the kumogakure ryû, only the concepts. This is why we never studied those two schools as we did for the other ones.
**note: Gyokko ryû gave birth to the Gyokushin ryû and to the Gikan ryû

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Nuku Dummy!

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Last Sunday, Nagato Sensei insisted on the idea of nuku 抜, in this case drawing out the body in the middle of the technique. When uke reacts in tension expecting contact you use this tension against him by removing, withdrawing, your body from the expected contact. The kûkan created confuses uke’s balance (body and mind) and he falls by himself.

This is someting that sensei is using a lot tricking both our body and our brain. When you are uke with sensei there is nothing and you are reacting to an illusion of physical presence. This type of movement is also called kûki nage, 空気投げ (throwing by emptiness) and from the outside, it looks like uke is thrown by an invisible opponent. Falling apparently for no reason, uke looks like a fool which is normal as nuku 温 means also “idiot” or “dummy”.*

This concept of nuku is familiar to all of us when training biken jutsu. In the bujinkan getting the blade off the scabbard is called nuki gatana, 抜き. The nuku action is done not by pulling the sword off the scabbard but by “peeling off” the scabbard from the blade. This nuki action proves to be faster and more accurate in a real fight. I understand that it was the correct way to draw the sword during the Muromachi period. My guess is that this was done to have the time to free the whole blade of the tachi. Also sword fights were mainly about stunning the opponent, taking his balance and stabbing the unprotected part of the body through the holes in the yoroi. When the Tokugawa period began and peace established they abandoned the yoroi so the swords became smaller and the unsheathing of the sword was replaced by the iai action as cutting was now possible.

There is a good way not to forget this difference with other sword system: I have been told that in Japan they use “nuki” when peeling the skin of a banana. Obviously when you eat a banana you do not pull the fruit off the skin but peel the skin to eat the fruit.

The nuku action explained by Nagato sensei is possible only if uke is attacking correctly. By attacking correctly, he meant that the body of the attacker should be behind his attacks. He didn’t mean that we have to use violence but simply to be true in our intentions even if training with no speed. He added that many times he watches bujinkan members not attacking properly and that it is wrong. Because without a real intention these high level techniques cannot be revealed.

To add to that I encourage you to train more and to master the tsuki (and the uke nagashi). These are fundamental techniques of basic taijutsu and they are not trained enough in many dôjô. Train your kihon happô at each class and when you have the chance to be uke, train on your attacks. After a while you will notice a real improvement in your taijutsu as a whole. I remember once someone asking sensei about tsuki and kicks and telling him that they were not really taught in the bujinkan. Sensei answered dryly: “and why do you think we train the kihon happô for?”.

A good and long study of the kihon happô will benefit to your whole taijutsu and this is why sensei asked us to train them at each training session. This is something he told us long time ago but I believe it is still true today. If you do not train the kihon happô and/or the sanshin no kata in your dôjô at every class then please print this and give it to your teacher. 
Call it is a direct transmission of the Sôke from last century.

With good basics in your taijutsu you are capable of attacking in a true manner and those beautiful nuku moments can be yours. 

* “nuku” has also the meaning of “doing something to an end” if you want to be a good bujinkan practitioner this is what you should do, train to master the basics then move to the weapons and the schools. On a side note, there is another meaning to “nuku” but it would be incorrect to explain it here. :-)

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Chûshin & Chôwa

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog


Even though the theme for the year is “ken”, sensei speaks a lot about kaname, 要 (essential point, pivot) in his classes. Since the beginning of the year you can see on the right side of the shinden a calligraphy reading “jinryû no kaname wo mamoru”  which can be approximately translated as “the main point of the heavenly dragon is protection”.
But maybe it makes more sense when you know how Fudô myô is represented symbolically: a chinese double edge sword with a vajra as a handle with a dragon wrapped around it. In  the martial arts Fudô myô is a major deity protecting those walking on the path and bringing back on track those who are lost. Fudô is a protector, this is his kaname. The bujinkan teaches us to protect ourselves and the others. Last Sunday, sensei half joking said that the technique he was doing was coming directly from heaven and that there was nothing to do, only to let it flow through the body. This illustrates this concept of jinryû (神竜).

During his last class, Senô sensei’s  spoke a lot about the chûshin principle, 中心 (pivot) which is another translation for kaname. In a technique, he said, you have to include those pivots in your actions. By not grabbing the opponent but simply – and softly- guiding him you create pivoting points from which uke’s balance can be broken. Chûshin also has the meaning of “balance” or “focus”. Therefore by directing your “chûshin” (focus) on these “chûshin” (pivots), you break uke’s “chûshin” (balance).
To use these pivots efficiently find them and rotate from the contact points without using any strength. It is as like dancing with your partner. When you dance you are in “chôwa”,  調和 (harmony), with uke. This harmonious way of moving is what seems to be the main aspect of today’s classes with sensei and the shihan in Japan. Being in harmony with uke you can resolve any situation.
Going deeper in the harmony concept, Senô sensei said there are no techniques but only a permanent adaptation to the various tensions of uke, and this is the reason why not grabbing is important. When you grab uke with force, your grip prevents you from feeling uke’s tensions. For example when uke throws a punch, receive his attacking hand in a sort of berth (thumb inside, extended fingers outside) and pivot your hand with your body to open new angles. By pivoting with the whole body you create leverage (teko). Your thumb is the center (fulcrum) and the extended fingers the lever. If you try that you will find out that uke’s body not being stressed by strength (you are only receiving his hand in your hand) will follow the movement and open up.
As you all know, “teko shiten” is one of the key principle of the Takagi Yôshin Ryû. Once uke’s balance is taken by this chûshin, you can bring him to the ground “harmoniously” with a simple sha ha ashi action of your leg. This off balancing by the leg is done with no strength at all and with the whole body. During this ovement, Senô sensei said “chikara janai” many times: “don’t use any force”.
On the technical side, an efficient sha ha ashi, 斜八足, is done by pivoting on the toes of the foot, not the ball or the heel.* This toe pivot gives your body the proper distance needed. Because each uke moves differently you must adapt the distance and the technique. To be succesfull your actions have to be chiseled to the opponent’s body reactions. There is no shortcut to get that, and only through experience and years of training will you learn when to increase the distance or when to decrease it. Chôwa (harmony) between you and the attacker is important. Work on it.
Often people ask how is it possible to do these techniques if no strength is used. Understand that strength can be used but only when the soft approach has failed. See this as a gear box in a car, as long as driving on fifth gear is fine it saves energy but if the traffic changes it might be necessary to retrograde your gears to have more power and control over your vehicle. Remember that the more energy you save, the longer you are able to survive. This goes for everything in life.
If you keep your balance and take uke’s by using these soft pivots; if you can move in harmony with your opponent at all time, then strength is not needed. The concept of chûshin goes very well with the idea of kûkan. When Senô sensei was speaking about it I remembered the “kûkan no kyûsho” of  the last daikomyô sai when sensei wanted us to find, or at least to be aware of, the weak point or the entry point of the empty space.
Maybe can we see here the chûshin as being the kaname of kûkan.
*reminder: the foot is divided into three sections Ten/toes, Chi/heel, Jin/ball

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