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Ultimate Teaching

Posted April 22, 2012 By kumafr

Today was my last class with sensei during this japan trip and it was a very nice class where we could train also with long weapons. As sensei was coming a little late I was asked to begin the class and when sensei arrived, we started by a three tsuki attack demonstrated by an American friend.

From there I got lost as sensei used no strength at all and was playing with uke as if uke was unable to see that he was going to die. Shawn Gray, after being sensei’s uke, commented that each one of the uke nagashi was piling up on top of the previous one, and that he became aware of his loss of balance only when it was too late.

Sensei’s movements reminded me of some form of “kotonoma”, 空と海は (verb, sound) and “kokyû”, 呼吸 (breathing) demonstrated by Ueshiba sensei in his Aikido videos. Friday night he insisted to pay attention to the breathing of the opponent and to our own breathing too. If you hit uke while he is breathing in you increase the power of your hits. This is why you must take your time and wait for uke to breath in. If you rush to do the technique you will be less efficient. Timing is essential (kaname?).

When Hatsumi sensei is moving his body turns into the “chûshin”, 中心 (pivot, center) of everything. Even though he didn’t speak about “shinrabanshô”, 森羅万象 (all things in Nature) today, he was expressing it in each one of his movements. He was the “shinrabanshô no kaname”, 森羅万象の要, the center of the whole creation.

Whatever his uke was doing he was speeding up the destruction process. Like in the theme of 2007 ”kuki taisho”, 九鬼大笑 (the laughter of the ninth demon), tori has no fear. If uke attacks, he dies; if he doesn’t, he lives. That is his call. What was really amazing was to see how easily sensei, with very little movements of the whole body can deal with the opponent. It took me quite a long time (gracias Hector) to figure it out, and even when I got close to get it, I was miles away from sensei’s movements. Sometimes I find it frustrating to attend his classes. You see the technique, you understand it, and you are incapable. This can be quite depressing.

His movements are so subtle that if you don’t pay atttention to everything at the same time, you don’t see them. As Shawn said later, the motion of sensei’s hands is catching his attention and the body movements were getting his balance totally unnoticed. When facing sôke, you are drawn into a sort of “uzumaki”, 渦巻 (whirlpool) feeling, from which there is no escape. It is interesting to watch but it is scary to feel it. There is no strength at all and uke falls because he cannot be standing up anymore. From the observer’s perspective it is as if nothing is applied to him. It is magic!

Each point of contact between tori and uke (today mainly the elbows) turns into a kaname as sensei keeps pivoting softly using his legs to do that. He spoke again about kaname, explaining it to be the highest expression of taijutsu. Once you can find the kaname everywhere there is nothing impossible. But what is impossible is to understand it solely at the intellectual level.

He said that this cannot be understood or acquired by “researchers”, it is coming from real experience, this is not mental. Over the years how many times did we hear him saying out loud: “don’t think!”. He also said: “there are too many researchers in the bujinkan and the kaname concept is out of their grasp as long as they keep their knowledge at the intellectual level. It was like what he told us about kuden on Friday night: “kuden cannot be written, this is why it is an oral transmission”.

Sensei repeated again that understanding his words or the movements were not important: “if you get out of the class with the feeling you remember nothing it is ok because I teach the jûgodan”. I hope I was not the only one totally lost.

Feeling this kaname action through the body is teaching the mind. I went to ask him to demonstrate it on me and when he did, it was like fighting a “puff of smoke”. There was no information sent to me, nothing. I felt like falling into the kûkan.

As not so many people attended the class today, we applied these techniques with sword, bô and naginata and it was nice to learn how to use the space available. With a weapon or not, when facing sensei you are not afraid, you are simply frozen. You stop moving because it is comfortable and safe. We don’t use the weapons, we use our taijutsu with the help (hojo?) of the weapons.

The sakki test ended the class and I went to his house where I joined Sayaka Oguri, Lubos and some of his students. Sensei showed us many new swords he got recently including one that belonged to a Togakure general (yoshitaka?) with the togakure crest on the scabbard. Another tachi was wearing the shingon crest, and the blade was engraved with the Fudô myô sword on one side and three bija letters representing Fudô myô, Marishi ten, and Dainichi nyorai. He also showed us a very nice tantô in an orange scabbard that looked like a big caterpilar. He also showed us a beautiful kyoketsu shôge, 距跋渉毛 with the sword and dragon of fudô myô on one side, and the double edged sword with a vajra tsuka on the other side (you can see the pictures of those weapons on facebook).

We were departing when sensei asked us to the new storage room next to his house. It was like entering an antique shop! Various types of weapons and pieces of art are there, waiting for an hypothetic museum. What caught my eyes were the few long yari that he showed. Each blade was around 80 cm! No wonder why the yari was considered to be the most dangerous weapon of all. I read somewhere from an archeological study that between Muromachi (1333) and Meiji (1868), death by swords only accounted for about 20% of the casualties, and the majority happened after the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603). The yari was the weapon of choice of the samurai, and the Japanese yoroi was initially designed to fight it.

Before leaving sensei, and after thanking him for the time he spent with us, he gave Lubos and me two omamori from the Kashima Katori shrine from the Miyagi prefecture that he signed with his martial name.

It was indeed a very nice day today, thank you sensei. I am sure we will speak about it with Lubos tomorrow as we are sharing the same flight back to Europe.

Sayonara

Categories: Contributors

tags: General thoughts, Japan Trip

Bujinkan seminar sponsored by Kaigozan Dojo in Stockholm Sweden

Hankyou 2005 – Kaigozan Christmas Seminar

Posted April 21, 2012 By BUDOSHOP.SE

Reflections of this years Bujinkan theme, Gyokko-ryu kosshijutsu. Many people went to Japan this year and they all came together to share on this seminar.

The instructors was Christian Spicker, Ola Grönlund, Martin Berg, Fredrik Markgren, Roger Mattsson, Petter Swedin, Kristoffer Metsälä, Christer Westberg, Mats Hjelm, Jonas Stenlund, Arvid Karlsson, Arne Elmlund.

Most of the instructions is in Swedish, some instructors spoke in English!

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden December 2005

Note: Some of the instructors spoke Swedish, and others English.

This movie is available on DVD (click here!) or available as download, click button below.

125 minutes, 884 Mb for $11.99

Instructions are in SWEDISH!

Categories: budoshop, Contributors

tags: 2005, Arne Elmlund, Arvid Karlsson, budoshop, Christer Westberg, Christian Spicker, Download, Download movie, Fredrik Markgren, Gyokko-ryū, Jonas Stenlund, kaigozan, Kristoffer Metsälä, Martin Berg, Mats Hjelm, Ola Grönlund, Petter Swedin, Roger Mattsson, tabi, videos, weapons

BUDOSHOP.SE is the only place you can buy Sweden Taikai DVD with Masaaki Hatsumi Soke

Hankyou 2004 – Kaigozan Christmas Seminar

By BUDOSHOP.SE

Reflections of this years Bujinkan theme, Roppo Kuji no Biken. Many people went to Japan this year and they all came together to share on this seminar.

The instructors was Mats Hjelm, Fredrik Markgren, Hans Nilsson, Roger Mattsson, Arne Elmlund, Petter Swedin, Kristoffer Metsälä, Ola Grönlund and more. Något av det som lärdes ut var falltekniker med eller utan rustning, budo no kiso, daisho jûtaijutsu, tachi waza, yoroi kumi uchi, taijutsu m.m.

Instructions are in SWEDISH!

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden December 2004

Note: Some of the instructors spoke Swedish, and others English.

This movie is available on DVD (click here!) or available as download, click button below.

116 minutes, 819 Mb for $11.99

Instructions are in SWEDISH!

Categories: budoshop, Contributors

tags: Arne Elmlund, biken, Budo no kiso, budoshop, Christmas seminar, Download, Download movie, Fredrik Markgren, hankyo, Hans Nilsson, kaigozan, Kristoffer Metsälä, Mats Hjelm, Ola Grönlund, Petter Swedin, Roger Mattsson, Roppo Kuji, tabi, videos, weapons

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Shinrabanshô

By kumafr

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.

Categories: Contributors

tags: Japan Trip, Thoughts on Budo

Hojo & Kotsu

By kumafr

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.

Categories: Contributors

tags: Thoughts on Budo

Klubbläger med Kent T – 5:e Maj

Posted April 20, 2012 By KGZseminars

Kent T

Kaigozan Dojo har under terminen byggt om shomen. Nu när den är färdig vill vi fira detta med en dags träning. På kvällen blir det samkväm och filmvisning.

Instruktör: Kent T, nyss hemkommen från Japan

Pris: 300 kronor, kan betalas på plats

När: Lördag 5:e maj, 10.00 – 18.00 (och senare om du deltar på kvällen)

Var: Kaigozan Dojo, Albygatan 117, Sundbyberg

För frågor kontakta Johan Björklund

Categories: Contributors, kaigozan

tags: bujinkanf, keiko, Kent T, Kommande seminarier, läger, Träning

Shihanden at Bujinden

By kumafr

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”.

Categories: Contributors

tags: Thoughts on Budo

Falling Flowers of Fear

Posted April 19, 2012 By Michael Glenn

恐怖!! photo By *嘟嘟嘟*

How do we overcome fear in combat? Fear can be crippling. It can make us avoid taking actions that need to be taken. It becomes an invisible obstacle to reaching a goal. It can turn our taijutsu into hesitation and clumsiness. It even causes involuntary tension in our muscles so that they will not respond the way they were trained.

I had a teacher in college who defined F.E.A.R. as False Evidence Appearing Real. The idea here is that fear is a construct of our own minds. And since our minds create it, our minds can also release it.

What is this false evidence? In combat, the false evidence is death. You don't want to die so you fear being killed. But while you are fearing, you are not dead. So the evidence is a death that has not occurred and might never occur.

Hatsumi Sensei describes it this way: "If it seems that the blade is not yet positioned at your heart, then both life or death are stopping your heart… You must immediately cast out this mind. Essentially have nothing."

There is a famous section from the science fiction novel, Dune:

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

A commonality can be observed here. The power of nothingness. This is what we speak of as Mu. Or a power we can actually harness to our favor with the 空間 kukan. I personally can attest to this power. When you learn to connect to this emptiness there is strength and power beyond any training or physical prowess. But you must discard what you consider to be "empty space."

What do you think Kukan is made of? This very question already takes us away from an answer. Groping about in the darkness of space, we are caught in a fight with our own subjectivity.

Hatsumi Sensei says if you wish to understand the 空間 kukan, then you must ask one of the ten great disciples of the Buddha, Subhūti, who understands the importance of Ku.

Subhūti shows us the potency of emptiness in this story:

"One day Subhūti, in a mood of sublime emptiness was sitting under a tree. Flowers began to fall about him.

'We are praising you for your discourse on emptiness,' the gods whispered to him.

‘But I have not spoken of emptiness,' said Subhūti.

'You have not spoken of emptiness, we have not heard emptiness,' responded the gods. This is the true emptiness.' And blossoms showered upon Subhūti as rain."

Let your fear fall softly as flowers showering down in the Kukan.

Categories: Contributors

Happô Biken

By kumafr

Today I gave a class on biken jutsu at the honbu and we studied the kukishin sword. The two hours passed so fast that we didn’t have time for a break as we use to have here in mid class.

It was nice to dwell gain into the waza of the school as we mainly apply the kankaku of the various schools into our classes with sensei and the shihan. This is what sensei explained to me over lunch last Sunday.

Since we entered the world of Juppô sesshô in 2003, everything we do now is based upon the taijutsu with weapons using the “flavor” of each style and mixing them together. what we study now during class with Sôke is not anymore the waza but something we can call 風味の技 (fûmi no waza), a flavored technique. Last year for example we did a lot of sword techniques with the fûmi of Shinden Fudô ryû. But beginners need to have a from to start from and the kukishin biken jutsu (and the togakure biken jutsu) are there to give them that. So it was nice to review the techniques again.

The kukishin happô biken is quite complete with 9 techniques divided into 3 sets of 3:

tsuki komi, tsuki gake, kiri age
kiri sage, kinshi, kochô gaeshi
shi hô giri, happô giri, tsuki no wa

Each one of these basic techniques is then completed by a set of 9 sayû* gyaku; and a set of 9 henka. Which makes a theoretical total of 27.

What I understood last year in April when training with sensei is that we can see the sayû gyaku (左右逆 - left right reversing forms) as how to apply the basic form to the left or to the right of the opponent. Each sayû gyaku contains in fact more than one or two forms. Then the henka (変化 - beginning of change/end of change) is how to apply the basic form while moving forward or backward. Here again you have more than two ways of doing each one of them.

So from the 9 basic forms listed above with the added sets of sayû gyaku and of henka, we get an infinity of possibilities to adjust the technique to the fighting conditions. Maybe this is the reason why Toda sensei told Takamatsu going to challenge Ishitani, sôke of the kukishin: “don’t use sword techniques against Ishitani sensei as his kukishin biken jutsu is much more powerful than our togakure happô biken”.

The reason why I separated the basic forms into three sets is that if you study these techniques carefully you will notice that they do not apply on the same timeline. The first set is used when you react after the attack begins (nijigen no sekai); the second set while the attack begins (sanjigen no sekai); and the third one before the attack begins (yûgen no sekai).

Also in each group you will see that the first technique of each group is a ten (going up); the second one a chi (going down); and the third one, a jin (going to the opponent). These groups (tenchijin and up/down/forward) actually define a matrix of actions that can be adapted through the sayû gyaku set and/or the henka set.

Maybe this is what sensei meant also by naming it “kukishin ryû happô biken”.

*note: sayû is the Chinese pronunciation of hidari migi.

DVD: I recorded the basic techniques and also their tachi version on video. Those interested can find them on www.budomart.com

Biken jutsu (2 dvds basic and kukishin)
Tachi waza (3 dvds)

Categories: Contributors

tags: General thoughts, Japan Trip

Meridian, Speed & Excellence

By kumafr

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.