I’d like to start this blog by thanking the readers who have expressed their appreciation for the posts I’ve made thus far. Thank you for your feedback and letting me know that you’ve found what I’ve written to be helpful to you. My intention was to make one entry per month, but last summer became very busy, and that continued right through the end of the year, so that whenever I would prepare to write an article, I’d think to myself, “Is this really the most productive thing that I could be doing right now?” The answer most often was, “No.” And so the blog went quiet for a few months – but in the meantime, I’ve kept an active list of interesting topics that I want to write about, so these will gradually be coming out in the next little while.

What I wanted to write about today is the latest DVD set from Hatsumi Sensei. Last summer, I received a handout at Hombu Dojo that asked Bujinkan instructors in Japan to speak with their students and see what questions they would like to ask Hatsumi Sensei. The questions could be about anything – directly related to training or not – and we were told that Sensei would discuss the questions received on a DVD. This DVD set (2 DVDs, 2 hours each) was released for sale at Daikomyosai 2011, and is entitled, “Hitsumon Bujinden (必問・武神伝): Wisdom Necessary for Quest.”

In evaluating this 2-volume set, my opinion is that although the production quality is lacking in some aspects, the content more than makes up for it.

In speaking of production quality, I’m referring to the spacing and punctuation of the English text on the DVD case, as well as in the subtitles in places. Simple things like having a space after a period can make a big difference when it comes to the impression of the quality of the product. The quality of the translation is also not 100% in some places. The production company was on a tight timeline to have the product ready for sale at Daikomyosai, but were behind schedule, so the Japanese text (transcribed from the video by a Japanese native) was sent to the translator later than originally planned, and the video content was not sent to the translator until the day after the translation was supposed to have been completed. When the translator checked his translation of the text against the video, he realized that the Japanese transcriber had made a number of mistakes and omissions, leaving out things that Hatsumi Sensei had said, misunderstanding things Sensei had said, and using incorrect kanji characters for words that sound the same (for example, using the kanji for Banpei (番兵, sentry), when what Sensei actually says on the video is Banpen Fugyo (万変不驚)). The translator made recommendations for changes in these cases, but not all of these were implemented by the production company, ostensibly because they were too strapped for time in regard to their target release date. The result is that the English subtitles appear a bit disjointed in places (and in a couple of places even include numbers, where the video editors mistakenly copied in parts of the time-stamp code from the original video).

All that being said, the content of what Sensei talks about in these DVDs makes them well worth having. Sensei discusses many things related to training, as well as many teachings and philosophical ideas. Some things he talks about he hasn’t spoken openly of before, to my knowledge, like details of his family background and upbringing, which was not always smooth. It struck me how well he processed his own background, and how he turned it all into positive, into good. Sensei refers to this as using bad experiences as fertilizer with which to foster a positive life. It occurred to me how essential this processing of negative experiences in our lives helps us grow spiritually. Aside from any considerations of enlightenment, perhaps it is the degree to which we process negative life experience and turn it into good that is an indicator of spiritual advancement. Sensei seems to have answered the big questions of his own life. Each of us have our own questions that need to be answered as well.

Although Sensei is in interview mode, the DVDs don’t just show him speaking – there are still shots and video footage of his early life, training with Takamatsu Sensei, and his work as an advisor for film and TV programmes, in addition to scenes from training seminars, Taikai, and Hombu Dojo down through the years. I feel that the photos and video give a wonderful overview of Hatsumi Sensei’s martial arts career, and that what he talks about in the interviews provides valuable teaching and advice for life – both for training in the Dojo and in living daily life.

This is one of my favourite DVDs with Sensei to date – highly recommended.

Shawn

Eastern Slope of Mount Fuji, photo by by ninja gecko

I'm going to take a risk here. I'm going to risk trying to inspire you. The reason I want to take this risk is because I am inspired every day in my training and I want anyone who trains to find that for themselves.

How do I get inspired? Remember what it felt like the FIRST time you trained? You were new and hopeful and open to try anything. As a new student your mind was just ready to open up. Almost every class with Hatsumi Sensei feels like that. At least for me it does.

Is Bujinkan just a martial art? As a student I can tell you that it has given me a lot more than the study of combat. And as a teacher I work for moments of clarity in training that open the training up so that it is more than just a martial art and expands to reflect the lives of me and my students.

If you don't believe this is possible in Bujinkan training, then why are you studying? You should answer that question. And the mystery to this is that the answer you come up with is based only on what you have learned about training so far. It is based on what you already know. If you leave it at that, then you don't even need to go to class anymore. If you want to learn, then you must risk going beyond what you already know.

In fact, the great fun of training is in discovering ideas and movement that lead you to that "aha moment." What makes you say, "Aha!" Or "yes" is that you felt there was something more and then a teacher shows you where it is. When that happens for me it is satisfying. And it keeps me coming back to see that teacher. It is also satisfying to help students have those aha moments. Because it reflects back to me and expands my own learning.

A good teacher can help you see past the edges of your own knowledge. A good Bujinkan class can open up your awareness to something bigger than yourself.

I hope you find teachers to provide insights that you cannot easily comprehend at this moment. Give them your trust and your training will accelerate to provide clarity in your life and expand what the meaning of training is for you.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 11th, 2012! Doug Wilson will be in the USA leading a martial arts seminar focusing on effective kihon of budo taijutsu and the aspects of distance angles and timing. Doug will be joined by other ...

We are happy to say that the work with Tai Kai 2012 in Linköping is humming along nicely. There are many details still in the air, but the big picture is almost finished. We can confirm that Sveneric Bogsäter and Duncan Stewart are returning for this Tai Kai, and the two other slots are just about set (hint: you’ll recognize these faces!)

We will be posting a lot of information in the weeks and months to come, but we’d just like to give you all a heads up that there are a few conferences and similar going on in the Linköping area at the same time as Tai Kai 2012, so there are preciously few hotel/hostel rooms to be found. We are going to pre-book a certain number of rooms, but the details are not yet quite set.

Stay tuned!

I need to kindly ask the cooperation of the Bujinkan Community to assist me in spreading the word to remove all and any video of Oguri Shihan from the internet. Oguri Shihan did allow a few individuals to take video, but he did so only after ...

"My father Koichi Oguri had a long long sleep..."

 Thank you Oguri Sensei for your wonderful spirit and training. I will miss your infectious laugh, and the way you held your hand on your hip right after you put me in a body crunch.

I also appreciate all the easy conversations we had. Even though the language barrier was awkward, you were never impatient with me.

We will train hard for you tonight!

If anyone has pictures or would like to share memories of Oguri Sensei, please comment below or email me: bujinkansantamonica@gmail.com


You can read about one class I had with Oguri Sensei here:

The Power of Juuji in Taijutsu, Discovered via Oguri Sensei

Monomania-Light and Its Grand Narrator, photo by DerrickT

How do you train to be a ninja nightmare? I was attending a class with Hatsumi Sensei when he did something terrible to his uke. I mean it was so hideous and gross I don't want to repeat it here. Maybe later in this article I'll work up the nerve.

Then he looked at the expressions of everyone watching and told us,  as if we just didn't get it... When you are dealing with bad people, you have to do worse than they'd expect.

This idea gets to the heart of a big problem with training. We get too comfortable in our dojos and our knowledge. Training becomes habit. We lean on technique. We become reliable and complacent in our ability.

Bad people, or desperate and crazy people willing to do bad things, are the opposite. They will go to any lengths. They will have no technique. They will do things that just don't make sense. That is hard to defend against.

So we can take a lesson from them and drop the "common sense" or the group think or dojo inbreeding that gets everyone training sensibly. Anytime anyone says that "this" or "that" is the way something should be done, I try recognize that for what it is… a trap.  I think, "Maybe that's the way YOU do it!" Memorized kata or techniques are a disease.

Sensei urges us to separate ourselves from the waza so that we see the whole picture. If you think in your own mind, "this is the common sense way to do the technique," that is very dangerous. He has told us to use 非常識 hijoushiki which is a lack of common sense.

I'm definitely not using common sense in giving away my current training notes. I explain why I'm doing this here: 稽古記録 Keiko Kiroku

Hijoushiki. This idea is not new to Budo. It goes back to some of the earliest documents in Japan. An example is the Shinden Kohyō no Hikan where the "Starving tiger" or even "Nursing tiger" kamae might reflect this spirit.

But beyond this is a secret or hidden sense. Another kanji for hijoushiki is 秘常識. This feeling is described in the Koteki Ryoda scrolls. Here you develop the uncommon sense or the secret sense yet still very natural ability to predict, sense, and see through things.

Sensei tells us that if you try to memorize these forms you will end up trapped. He says that any conventional "common sense" about the martial arts prevents you from adapting or changing. He writes,

"In real life, people who live beyond the bounds of common sense attack you suddenly, with scant regard for rules of combat."

Soke punched the guy in the throat. Not from the outside like common sense would lead you to believe. His fist was in his uke's mouth and he said to punch it down the esophagus and then maybe rip the tongue out as you withdraw. It was shocking to witness. His poor uke definitely had to learn some sutemi that night.

So when dealing with bad or crazy people, this might be the only way to communicate some sense in a language they can relate to. Do worse than they'd expect. Be worse than their nightmares. They can't prepare or defend against that.

????(shinryuyogo). 11 Wednesday Jan 2012. Posted by ariesbudo in Uncategorized. ? 1 Comment. One must protect the essence of all things. We will study taijutsu and the ken in the new year of the divine dragon. Kihon happo is finding ...

Asakusa photo by kalcul

I try to keep it real. But there is real and there is REALITY. It is important to remember that training is not reality. Sometimes reality gets in the way of training.

When I was in my twenties, I used to spar with some very large guys. I often lost because of their size and strength advantage. When they locked in on me with their strongholds I would feel desperate and trapped. Then I would instinctively claw and struggle to no avail.

Now I don't have that problem even though I am older and not as strong. In my training I developed another type of strength that Hatsumi Sensei described in one class as 臨機応変 rinkiōhen. This is adapting oneself to the requirements of the moment. Musicians know this feeling as improvisation or playing it by ear.

In this class Hatsumi Sensei was working on Suwari gata. He did one henka on Nagato Sensei where he kicked him in the neck three times before taking his arm.

The same kata demonstrated on Senno Sensei was very different. Soke was able to trap both arms instantly to the point of breaking. He even remarked at how fragile the human body is.

Soke said that if he tried to do to Nagato the same technique he just did on Senno, it would not work because Nagato's arms are as big as Senno's legs.

臨機応変 rinkiōhen is a manner that shows flexibility in response to what the situation demands. In this case, to be able to take one of Nagato's arms required three kicks to the throat to soften him up.

In western culture we have the concept of Ad hoc. It is Latin that reads "for this." As in "for this" moment or situation. It may be a response for a problem or endeavor that only applies to this specific situation and probably will not work in another moment.

Sensei described 臨機応変 rinkiōhen as an aspect of kyojitsu tenkan. If you are resourceful in this moment of truth and falsehood you will find the answer you seek.

Hatsumi Sensei says you must adjust your technique so that you are using the strong points against the weaknesses of your opponent. This could be your own strong points, or the strong points of the technique, or, as I learned recently, the extremely powerful and strong points that are kyusho present in the moment of the kukan. The results I've gotten from this have felt almost supernatural.

So 臨機応変 rinkiōhen may be an old expression but one that we can understand through kyojitsu when we constantly change and adapt to whatever comes up in our moments of reality.