Warrior Harmony-Canadian Style

I would like to take quick minute to inform everyone of the up and coming Canadian Shihan Taikai arranged by our local Buyu Craig Olson.  Craig is a long time translator for Soke and member of the translation team that worked on the up and coming book, Budo Taijutsu.

 All the instructors for this event, if not residents of Japan, visit Japan for training with Soke on a fairly consistent basis.

 As per Craig, please see below:
 
For anyone who ever dreamed of exploring one of Canada’s most exciting cities, get in on the training adventure by checking out the: 
 
Canadian Shihan Taikai 
Toronto
22 / 23 March 2008
 
http://bujinkancanada.org/

Making the Connection

There seems to be quite a bit of popularity with the post “Do or Don’t”.  This topic, although not a new one, seems to be misunderstood and over discussed.

So how do we train?  Well the truth is that it is really up to you, and depends on what you intend to achieve in your life.  Training should be specific and comes down to your own ability to reflect within and know your strengths and weakness and then take the necessary action.

I see so many people talking about what is best, what is more effective. 

There is no question about the effectiveness of the technique of the Bujinkan.  It is the ability to execute what you have learned and how far you have internalized that is in question.  Most importantly, it comes down to your mindset and having the guts to act or not act when necessary.

Not acting when you should is the same as acting when you shouldn’t.  It is a duality and this is why it is Budo. 

I might ruin some body’s dream here, but there are NO secret techniques, not in the Bujinkan and not in any other martial art.  Do you think that if Soke stood up and said “here is the secret”, that we would be surprised?  What Soke teaches is the mindset.

Gaining a level in Budo comes down to individual ability, creativity and training combined with the inspiration from a teacher who has gained a level through training. With this inspiration you can discover how to open your eyes, mind, heart and spirit.

Furthermore, there is no distinction between soft and hard training, they are the same. Soke may appear to be soft in his movement, but this is a misconception. He is both and we should be both.  If you only train soft, then you will not have the hard and vice versa.  If you lack one or the other, then there is no balance and therefore no”0″. Kyojitsu works for you and against you. 

Also, we should understand that the Bujinkan has grown to the point where it is a community and organization with culture.  Therefore, we should not jump to the conclusion that everyone is here for the same purpose.  Training is an individual endevaor. If you assume without proper observation, then you are not reading your environment.  This is a point Soke repeatedly makes clear.  Too many jump to conclusions and pass judgement.

To offer a solution-In my humble opinion self training is a very powerful way to make the connection.  How many of us do this on a regular basis, or do we just train only at the dojo? 

Just to give an example from my own training -I remember the year we were studying Bo (1993), since I had quite a bit of free time as an exchange student in Japan, I spent several hours a day in a park swinging and hitting trees with the Bo.  You will learn quickly how a soild oak Bo will bounce back once it makes impact.  This teaches you to quickly make the adjustment in your taijutsu to avoid injury and maintain control of the Bo.  There are many ways to discover realness through self training and this discovery process is also training.

The truth is there are no shortcuts or secrets, there is only training.

Keep Going!

Book of Secrets

Many have been asking, so I will let you know that the translation of the new book is complete.The English text has been submitted to Kodansha and we should see the release sometime around April this year, if all goes well.

Without getting myself into trouble, the following is a basic outline of the content per memory:

-Mindset on Budo Taijutsu

-Kihon Happo

-Chapters on the main Ryuha (the ones we have focused on) including step by step explanation of the waza for the various levels.

The cool thing is that at the end of each Ryuha Chapter, the record of Takamatsu sensei or Hatsumi Soke is there, as well as a few columns from Soke regarding training.  So in a sense, very much in the format of what one would imagine the Densho to look like.

It will be a great asset to anyone studying Budo.

Do or Don’t

      Late last year, just before the year -end break, Noguchi Shihan approached me at training and said, “before, training was different, we used to really hit each other and Soke used us as experiments for what he learned from Takamatsu sensei”. I stood there, with an obvious smile on my face, and asked him, “can I ask why you are telling me this?” and his response was “I don’t know, I just thought that you might want to know”.  Funny how things work, but the days of being surprised are long over-Banpen Fugyo.

He continued to explain that in the early days of training, the Shihan tested everything that was taught, and Soke did the same by beating them silly, using them as experiments for what had been taught.

Soke once weighed close to 100 Kg and was very strong.  There was a time when he was giving the Godan test and his Sakki was so strong that he flipped the circuit breaker and the room went black. 

Noguchi Shihan explained to me that those days training was different and therefore the kihon happo is even more important.  I asked him, “So how must we get this type of training?” and he replied “it is up to you to get this training, Soke is not teaching this way anymore.”

Coincidence? I don’t think so.

So look at the timeline of the Bujinkan and see where you fit in the continuum. If you missed something, it is your responsibility to fill the gaps.  Some of us have been there and some of us have not, but don’t make the mistake of assuming who has been there and who has not.

Soke ofter states that the biggest sign of immaturity in Budo is to jump to conclusions.

If you are here to train, then do so, if not then step aside because there is no other way up the mountain. (Merci Arnaud!)

New Years Resolute-Theme 2008

     More than a week has passed since the first day for training 2008 and more than that has passed since my last post. I want to thank all the supporters of the blog for their kind comments and support; I will continue to express my thoughts and experiences here in 2008.

This year is year of the Rat in Japan, and the Rat plays in to the concept of the Ninja or Ninjutsu.  This year we will study the concepts of Togakure Ryu and the mindset associated with Ninjutsu.  Soke also mentioned that Kukishin will also continue to some degree.

So what will we study in the year of the Ninja Rat?  Well, maybe that there is a thing such as truth and false hood and how that plays into our daily lives and training. For us in the Bujinkan, training is our daily lives.

Soke mentioned on the first day of training 2008 that Budo is a lifelong purist and to think that one has achieved a level in Budo or has “got it” has not.  Budo is not something that can be developed academically pursued or deemed as knowledge.  Budo is something that must be lived, experienced and absorbed via the senses.   If you think you have it, it will most likely work against you and what you see with your eyes will often deceive you. 

Soke often teaches this, and it is a lesson that many overlook.  What you often see and perceive to be the truth is often not the truth and in order to learn the truth, you must learn to look in a different way.  Additionally, there is focus on not showing what is the secret to the technique.  Just as a good magician does not show the trick, the Ninja does not reveal the technique.  What you see is not the technique.  What might appear as losing, would be winning and what might appear as right, may well be wrong. 

Therefore, in this year’s scroll (in the picture) Soke has written the words Menkyo Kaiden.  Normally the characters would be 免許皆伝, but Soke has used different characters for “Kyo”and “Kai” as 免虚怪伝. The “Kyo” is the kanji for Kyojitsu and “Kai” is for mysterious. 

Let the Year begin…