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雨遁 Uton no Jutsu: a Rainy Day Escape.

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

photo by J.J. Verhoef
Tuesday night my class was training on an aspect of Ongyojutsu 隠形術. This topic is vast and one not often covered in most Bujinkan dojos. We have the fortune of training outdoors in an area that is part urban and part natural so we were able to explore.

Out of the 30 methods of escaping, let's look at one that is contained in the tenton juppo section: 雨遁 Uton no jutsu (Rain Evasion). Using the elements of weather to aid in escape and evasion is a very natural technique, but that same weather can work against you. The trick is to be in harmony with nature's laws. As Hatsumi Sensei says, "... everywhere in the world, the trees are growing towards the sky and the rain falls towards the ground." Bearing this in mind, remember that Soke has also stated that modern military stealth methods may supersede the old densho and that we should keep up with the times. But there is still much to learn in our tradition.

To begin to use the rain, it helps to know if it is coming. Forecasting is an old and honored tradition, one that is sometimes filled with pseudoscience but will work when paired with observation skills. This is what is known as tenmon. Soke says that in the old days people observed closely the natural cycles:
"they studied the animals and plants and found ways to make predictions. For example, if sparrows enter the thicket or stay high up in their trees after busily eating food, or if insects start to enter buildings, or carp jump out of the water, or frogs start to croak, it is a premonition that rain is going to fall."
Of course modern weather forecasting and meteorology gives us some advantage, but there is still no substitute to sticking your head out the window or being in tune with the weather patterns of your region. Sensei says it is "natural to be alert."

Here's what the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency says about a product they designed for evasion and survival:
"When Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady was shot down over Bosnia during June 1995, one of the items he acknowledged that assisted in his survival was the Evasion Chart (EVC) he carried in his vest pocket. In addition to using the chart to pinpoint his exact location, he used this unique product in a seemingly unusual way, but in fact one way that it was designed for--as a protection against the elements.  Sized specifically to fit in aircrew flight suit pocket, the EVC can be used:To catch rain for drinking water; As a shade from wind and rain, and as a shelter, cape and blanket; As a bag to haul and purify large quantities of water or food; As a liner in a hole to serve as a wash basin; As ground cloth on moist ground, or as camouflage when sleeping; To wrap clothing in when swimming or fording streams; To wrap torso with as an extra layer of clothing; To wrap sleeping gear in it during foul weather; To splint a broken wrist..."
Once the rain starts, we can use it in many ways, practical and mysterious.
  • The sound of the rain can mask the noise of your movement. Even the soggy leaves and twigs become quiet when we step on them. Be careful of splashing and slipping!
  • People tend to stay inside and off the streets. The rain can cause patrols to change. Guards are maybe not as alert while they try to keep dry. Some may abandon their normal posts to seek refuge indoors. Of course, that means you are also getting wet. Your gear and clothing may not function as well. And your stamina or immune system may become weakened.
  • Rain can be caught for drinking. This may make you lighter if you don't have to carry your own water, or just save your butt if you didn't have any. But rain does make your clothing and gear heavier.
  • Rain affects vision. Visibility decreases and at night and heavy rain reflects light back to it's source, creating a blinding effect. Umbrellas are also useful cover against cameras and being identified.
  • Another aspect of rain is that it changes geography. Large puddles or flooding washes make areas inaccessible or impassible. This creates opportunity for evasion or escape into areas where you will not be pursued. Don't drown or get trapped!
Here we come to some mysterious effects. Rain creates a definite feeling of yugen. Places and activities that would seem normal in the sunlight can take on another quality in a gloomy rain. This can be used for psychological effect.

Observing how rain and water itself falls, or human and animal behavior in the rain gives many lessons for evasion. Sensei says that rain takes on different aspects and a Ninja makes use of each phase.
"Rain becomes water vapor, rises into the skies, turns into clouds, and then becomes rain again, or a heat haze. Turning and turning, it is in a perpetual, cyclical motion."
Being rained on by the 幸雲　Cloud of Happiness (Good Fortune)
Hatsumi Sensei says that "one can perform uton no jutsu using cigarette smoke." and "If a ninja detected a stimulus from the outside world, no matter how slight, they would respond immediately."

Soke describes this feeling of gokui as that of being a jellyfish floating in the ocean. And he says that,
Takamatsu Sensei used to call himself senile and then drift about in the air of Kashiwara City, drawing and painting, and finding joy in it. This is to drift and feel the existence of the world, empathize with flowers and enjoy the harmony, and to reach heaven as a live human being."
Perhaps like smoke rising among raindrops.


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Dissipate Your 隙 Suki With 正願 Seigan

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

Ginza Rat photo by OiMax
Suki are strange vermin. You think you see one, then it's gone. You train your ass off to get rid of them, then find they are all over, and in places you never looked! And if you ignore them, they seem to multiply.

What are these intransigent vermin and what can be done about them? 隙 "Suki" is the Japanese term for "opening" or "gap" and refers to a weakness in your or your opponent's defenses. Suki can present opportunities to attack or be presented to draw an attack. These suki can be found in the timing, distance, angle, mind, or even spirit. This is partly what Soke Hatsumi means about being Zero. He says,
"If one reaches to a higher rank, he need only eliminate his faults. It may sound easy, but eliminating faults is very difficult to accomplish, because we tend to think we are faultless. Faults can be translated into something different in Budo. They can be suki (unguarded points), or carelessness, presumption, arrogance, etc. - they all become our fault. No fault, zero condition is the best."

Suki 好き can also mean likes or preferences. So the things you like and your desires or attachments can become suki. The kamae seigan when done properly gives no easy opening. To defeat this kamae maybe you look for an opening of desire. This is why seigan is sometimes written as 正願 "correct desire," to help you purify your desires and give no 隙 suki.

We first try to learn about suki through kamae. An ideal kamae has no suki. No openings or opportunities for attack. It also means no wasted or futile movement.

Next we learn about suki through ukemi. Paraphrasing Jim Vance: we learn more through assuming the role of uke, the focus on receiving techniques or sutemi allows the uke to feel the connection between them and their partner, or how a particular technique affects them. The uke is feeling suki (openings) in the connection; the body can feel suki through ukemi, it is aware of suki through sutemi (there is no self and other, only the connected unit).

Hatsumi Sensei describes this:
Takamatsu-sensei often told me, 'Mr. Hatsumi, to receive techniques is to take a person in, to take in their whole being--in other words, if a person's capacity for generosity and courage are not great, they will not be able to do it.
' An uke who selfishly tries to escape is not an uke.

Suki discovered through kamae and ukemi are the basic suki. They appear during regular and consistent training. Suki such as "a weakness of the mind” or “a weakness of the spirit" are more difficult to ascertain. And more esoteric still are the suki of the kukan or the universe.

Ueshiba (the founder of Aikido) wrote: As your Bujutsu training approaches perfection you will be able to detect the [weakness in the enemy's technique], the suki, even before he can, and as if to satisfy some deficiency in him, you can fill the opening [weakness] with your technique."

There is a feeling when you take your opponent's suki as if you are filling a void. Just be careful not to be sucked in by the emptiness!

The Zen monk Takuan Soho wrote about avoiding “suki” by means of the “mind abiding nowhere.” 

Hatsumi Sensei describes this as a point where there is no difference between attacker and defender. It is all one. The suki or opening is between your mind and his mind. Your body and his body. As you close that opening, you may sense his weakness and your own... and surely you know how to exploit that!

Soke also suggests to us that being shielded or having suki ultimately are inseparable concepts.  He says that being connected in the Kukan can create Kukan no tate, where the kukan itself protects your openings. Further, there is Kukan no suki whereby your life is in the kukan and you open up a space (suki) for you to live.

Or, as Doug Wilson describes it, you "allow your shield to protect your openings and your openings to lower the shield of the opponent."


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Don’t be Dekunobō  木偶の坊, Have Shinbo 辛抱 Instead.

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

photo by roy costello
One night I was training in Hombu dojo with Hatsumi Sensei. It wasn't very crowded and he had us working with the bo which is definitely rare in the Hombu nowadays. He did a technique that left a very odd impression on his uke and those of us watching. It was as if he released the bo in the kukan, and the bo acted as his agent, throwing the attacker and tying him up. Wow. That was odd.

Soke seemed to notice the confused looks around the room, because he explained to us that this was Shinbo. The translator looked confused as well, so Soke pointed up above the kamidana to the picture of Takamatsu Sensei holding the bo. Sensei explained that was why he wrote Shinbo beneath that picture.

So what did Soke mean by Shinbo?  I am probably more lost than the translator, but Soke has referenced that idea before.

There is a related concept called 花情竹性 "Kajo Chikusei where we strive to be as gentle as a flower, and as straight, or straightforward, as bamboo. In this idea, the heart of a warrior means having a sincere heart. Sensei says Ninjutsu is a great warrior's path open only to those whose heart is in the right place.

There is this interplay between being soft, gentle, and warm hearted or strong, brazen, and bold. Both qualities in balance. Soke says "It is not always the case that big techniques beat everything; it is a fact that sometimes small techniques can beat big ones."

Hatsumi Sensei encourages us to live upright like a bo. Honest and straightforward in heart. But this doesn't mean being naive. If you know how to use a bo, you know the tricks and deception possible with it's use. Meaning in your stance of being a straightforward person, you are ready for people who are not, and who may use deception against you.

Sensei says that when a young man appears to be a dekunobō 木偶の坊 or でくの坊 (wooden doll or useless stick), if he endures long enough he can become a strong man someday. This endurance can be seen as 辛抱一貫 Shinbo Ikkan.

As for the astonishing and inexplicable technique Hatsumi Sensei showed us that night, he says:
"Few people have been taught the Kasumi no Den ("message of the mist") known as Shinbo ("true, enduring stick"). You project a shadow image of yourself into the void.

Hmmm. One of me is too many. I'll have to make room for my shadow...


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Kage No Keiko: Don’t Ask a Shadow for Answers

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

Photo by OiMax
There is an old tale about a teacher whose students asked him, "Where does your teaching come from?  What is its source?  Who is your teacher?"

The teacher replies,
You are not ready for my answer.  If I say that my teaching is from inspiration, you will consider me crazy.  If I say it is my own teaching and skill, some will worship me and never learn.  If I name my teacher, many will turn to him to ask the same dumb questions while ignoring real study.

In the Bujinkan, Hatsumi Sensei has told us that training is a process of developing the eyes to be able to see true budo. Hatsumi Sensei talks about different types of keiko or training, even in dreams.  He says that when he is training intensely, he will have weird dreams.  He tells this story about his teacher Toshitsugu Takamatsu,
He would draw from 5:00 a.m. to noon every day.  One day, he painted a picture of a dragon for his friend.  A few nights later, my teacher dreamed about a dragon that had no eyes.  The dragon said to him, "I want eyes."  The next morning he called his friend and his friend told him that the painting of the dragon had no eyes.
Sensei says that this dream training comes when you are having a hard time mastering something.  He says the "secrets of budo are introduced as "dreams from the gods."  Soke tells us that the best way to train is to learn physically first, then understand the theory.  Devote yourself to constant keiko.  Have the feeling of Ninpo Ikkan.

He says that if you get stuck you can focus even though you cannot move forward.  This is when you pass into kage no keiko (shadow training).  I wrote about the phases of training and other types of keiko here: Beyond Godan Into Wakaranai-Keiko

The teacher from the old story continues, "If, after being told a hundred times that the teachers are all one and the techniques are meaningless you still look for the source, you will never find it."

The students ask, "Then what shall we do?"

The teacher responds,
"Stop imagining that, just because you can ask a question, you can perceive the answer without any of the foundation necessary for such a perception to occur."


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中途半端 Chuuto Hanpa: Betwixt the Half Assed

From Bujinkan Santa Monica by Bujinkan Santa Monica

photo by roland
Something many of us have heard Hatsumi Sensei say during his classes is the term "chuuto hanpa."  He has been using this phrase for many years to try to communicate an idea that is difficult to teach.

中途半端 chuuto hanpa / "unclear, betwixt and between, vague, half-hearted"
chuu / to / han / pa
The meaning of the first Kanji is "middle." The second Kanji means "way." The third and fourth Kanji mean, "half" and "end," respectively.

Chuuto means "halfway" or "along the way." Hanpa means "to be on neither side and be vague." Chuuto hanpa indicates the state of things which are left unfinished or the state of someone or something that is vague and unclear.

So what are some of the things this can teach us?

One is to let go of technique.  We all learn technique.  Some of us become good at techniques.  But technique is a trap.  The minute you try to apply a technique, people's survival instinct naturally drives them to actively resist or evade somehow.

It is an even bigger trap for learning.  You see your teacher show a kata, and remember, "I know xxx kata, I recognize this technique."  Then you may stop learning and fall back on habit.  Meanwhile, you missed what the teacher was REALLY showing you.  This is why Sensei advises us again and again, don't collect techniques, or memorize kata.

Here is a tip: be a beginner again.  It is like you are an expert guitar player and reading a book on basic guitar.   It is hard to be a beginner there.  Instead pick up a flute and do the same lesson.

When your technique is strong, drop it and try something where you are no good at all.  If you want to learn.  The best teachers create a class where this happens for you.

Another lesson of chuuto hanpa, is that of freedom.  By not taking any fixed technique or point, you may move freely.  When an opportunity arrives you can take it freely because you are not fixed on any technique or situation.

And a surprise awaits-  By half applying one technique and moving half into another, the effect is greater.  For example, if you apply musha dori while doing an omote on the same wrist, you can do something quite powerful without force!  Your opponent cannot counter or resist easily because you are never fixed.  That musha dori could finish with seoi nage, or nothing at all.  How do you counter that?

A greater surprise awaits even further into the esoteric whereby you float in the middle space, opening up the possibility for divine technique to enter.

This may be part of your life journey.  When you have become a great person in your field and are puffing up with pride, move to some other path where you are small and know nothing and be nobody again.  That's where learning happens. 


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