Bujinkan Santa Monica

影電話 photo By shokai

Do you know how to use a shadow shield? If you've dropped all your fantasies of being a Ninja and only focus on dojo martial arts, you may have forgotten about what attracted you to being a ninja in the first place. So let's be mysterious Ninja for a moment.

We have a skill, yes, a skill in our training called 遁影 ton'ei. This is sometimes translated as "shadow shield," but there is more subtlety for us to understand. Shadow is not just a nickname for Ninja, it is an aspect of ton'ei no jutsu.

So this is a tactical strategy as well as a mysterious one. For the tactical, you simply fight with the sun at your back so that the opponent is blinded and has trouble seeing you. As Hatsumi Sensei says you are casting your shadow forward. Hiding in the sunlight is the real shadow of budo.

For one mysterious aspect of 遁影 ton'ei, learning this skill can start with kamae. Soke says that even as you stand in any specific kamae, your heart and mind must be in Kage Kamae.  The shadow in this case is what your heart is feeling. From this shadow kamae you may attack hidden targets. One may even use what is called kage no ken or moguriuchi.

In one of the gokui from our Kukishin Ryu Densho we may discover more secrets for this.

月影の　いたらぬ里は　なけれども　眺むる人の　心にぞすむ
Tsukikage no itaranu sato wa nakeredomo nagamuru hito no kokoro ni zosumu.
 

Though the moon shines all over the world

Leaving no corner in darkness,

Only those who gaze upon the moon

Appreciate its serene light.

This gokui no uta suggests to us that that the shadows and light of the moon exist for everyone whether you gaze on it or not. But only a few appreciate its mystery.

Another version of this poem is

月影の照らさぬ里はなけれども眺むる人の心にぞ住む



"The village, illuminated by the moonlight, exists in the heart of he who looks upon it."

So here is a secret. It exists in the heart. Your kage no kamae exists there. But when you project that shadow forward, it will also exist in the heart of "he who looks upon it."

This shadow projection is like a clone that your opponent perceives as a threat. Then he will be haunted by your shadow as if by 後神 Ushirogami which a type of 妖怪 youkai. One depiction of an Ushirogami shows its front and backside are the same. One of its arms faces forward and the other backwards.

This Ushirogami is connected to 臆病神 Okubyô-gami and will produce cowardice and confusion for your enemy. When he thinks you are in front of him, you are behind. So he turns around, and there is nothing.

As you project this escaped phantom 遁影, your opponent's mind is clouded with regret, anxiety, fear, and anger. This is your shield. It is as easy to hide from his mind as the moon hides behind clouds.

But you may trap yourself if you are not careful. In Japan, some fisherman have a legend of 影ワニ a shark that feeds on shadows. There you are... fishing by moonlight. You see a shadow pass under your boat...

You stand to get a better look. Then you see your own shadow fall across the water. CHOMP! the shark eats your shadow and you are dragged down into the sea or die right there in your boat.

地震體驗室 photo by Anav Rin

If you follow the news this week, or any week on earth, really… violence (暴力 bouryoku), disaster, and tragedy never make sense. Sometimes the more you learn about a violent act or violent person and his motives, the less you understand. You can study a disaster like a historian. But you can never comprehend the scope, depth, or impact on real lives of the event itself.

A few years ago, Hatsumi Sensei told us that our training should pass into areas that can't be understood. I wrote about what he said here: Beyond Godan Into Wakaranai-Keiko

What can you do about this in your training? If you learn the concept of 万変不驚 Banpen Fugyo, then you can embrace the incomprehensible in your training. So how do you start doing this in the dojo?

Last month when I was training with Sensei, he explained more about this strategy for dealing with these events in our lives. He said,

"We're doing these things that can't be understood. And in real life people are killed by things they can't see or understand. We are studying how to survive things you can't understand. No matter how many techniques you study, they might actually interfere with your ability to live if you get stuck on them. And bit by bit you just end up collecting techniques. So get rid of those. Erase them."

These points are at the heart of what it means to study the Bujinkan. If you are not studying this way, or you are unwilling to look at your own training methods through this lens, you cannot understand Soke's art. And I see MANY students and teachers who refuse to look at this.

I get it. It's hard. People want something like techniques to hang onto. Just like people search for explanations for senseless acts of violence. People literally crave this.

As natural as that may be, that very human impulse is a trap and a luxury that true warriors cannot lean on. Survival requires it. And if you want your Bujinkan training to be more than typical sports or commercial martial arts, you should learn to not understand.

Edo-Tokyo Architectural Museum. photo by kanegen

I guess I didn't understand kukan. I was in a class with Hatsumi Sensei, and the things he did and said made that clear to me. For example he said,

 "When he's close, then use a sanshin strike. Let's think that this strike is a strike on the kukan. No one will think you'll do this."

and another time he said to "Bounce the opponent off the kukan." and to "use the kukan as a shield." Hatsumi Sensei then added,

 "you're not "doing" a technique. Being able to control without holding on in the kukan. It's like juggling in the kukan. This is the most important thing for the upcoming kunoichi taikai. Because you don't need strength to juggle."

And the effect on his opponent was palpable. I could see it happening in front of me. He was being "bounced."

OK. So the simple physics don't match up with any western translation of kukan I have heard. For example one dictionary defines 空間 kukan as: space;  room;  airspace. And I always understood it to mean the space between, in and around the fight and the fighters. But this is empty air! How the heck do you strike it? And when you do, what would that accomplish?

Let's look an eastern concept for this idea. The first character in kukan is 空 ku, one of the five elements in our training. It roughly translates to empty;  sky;  void;  vacant;  vacuum.

But in another blog post about bojutsu I described another meaning for kokū 虚空:

We usually think of this as meaning empty space or empty sky. But this word is sometimes used to refer to the mind (which has no form or color) of your opponent. Kokū 虚空 can be read as emptiness or even "false" emptiness. Another way to write kokū is 真空, which is a true emptiness. Or even kokū 心空 emptiness of mind.

So how do you bounce somebody off empty space? Maybe with the mind of the attacker? The space looks empty but it is filled with intentions and thoughts.

Soke ended the class by suggesting that we do it without feeling. Kankaku denai 感覚でない... But isn't that how badly we always do it?

Michael Glenn Somewhere Below 7th Floor Kashiwa Plaza Hotel

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If you want to know how to use the ken, do it like you have a dragon wrapped around the blade. That is my advice after studying this weapon in Japan. Let me explain how I got there.

As part of the theme for 2013 in the Bujinkan we are studying the straight sword 劍 tsurugi or ken. At first, I didn't know what to make of this, since Japanese swordsmanship is largely devoted to curved single edged blades. But after my recent trip to Japan and being exposed to the symbolism AND practical use of this weapon, I am absolutely blown away.

When I first saw Hatsumi Sensei using this weapon this year, it literally seemed to writhe in the space like a snake. This got me thinking. 2013 being the year of the snake, how might these things connect?

As I looked around hombu, and during the kunoichi taikai at Ayase, I saw many types of ken in use during training. Which one are we studying this year? I think the answer is all of them, but Hatsumi Sensei showed up with an impressive example to put on display:

The Arrival of Hatsumi Sensei's 三鈷剣 Sanko Ken. photo by Michael Glenn

I was told by the Japanese teachers that this type of ken is called 三鈷剣 sanko ken and is not used in combat but for ceremonial purposes. This type of sword, also called a vajra sword (金剛杵 kongō-ken), or treasure sword (宝剣 hōken), has some incredible symbolism, but had its origins in combat. What manner of combat you ask? The slaying of snakes!

For example, one of the origin stories of the vajra comes from India. The god Indra used the vajra as his main weapon. In the Vedas, Indra used this weapon to fight and kill a dragon serpent form of Asura Vritra. Indra became known as the slayer of the first born of dragons.

The five pronged vajra symbolizes the five elements. It looks like six, but the central prong is counted as one. Or, in the form of a sword, this blade was used by mountain yamabushi or mikkyo priests to clear a path through weeds and undergrowth. The blade came to represent cutting away illusion.

In the stories of the origins of Japan, the sword came to Japan as a gift from the gods. Amaterasu's brother, Susanoo, killed an eight headed serpent and cut off one of its tails. Inside its body was the 草薙劍 Kusanagi no Tsurugi which is one of the three sacred treasures of Japan.

You will find this blade held by Fudō-myōō 不動明王, Senju Kannon 千手観音, and Monju 文殊 in their depictions. One of the most interesting examples for us this year might be "The Akafudou 赤不動 of Myououin 明王院 on Mt. Kouya, who holds a sword with the dragon Kurikara 倶利迦羅 wound around it." A couple of weeks ago, I watched Hatsumi Sensei paint snakes and serpents on students' swords and scrolls. So this feeling must be on his mind.

I could not help but think of this symbolism and feeling when in one class at the hombu, we were using the ken to do the kata 飛龍之剣 hiryu no ken. As the flying dragon was coiled around my sword in the kukan, my opponent suddenly found himself wrapped around his own delusions. My sword had snaked around between his arms to wrap and slice into a musha dori.

I bet you've never thought about dragons and serpents when doing musha dori! Me neither, until this year. Should be quite a ride. Hope you hang on with me.

Nagato Sensei with Michael Glenn

During the Kunoichi Taikai, Soke asked Vanessa Adán to show some things from her experience dealing with mentally disturbed or drugged patients at a hospital. Patients are often bigger and stronger than the nurses who have to deal with them. Especially for smaller women nurses.

Patients may act violently and react with aggression. Hatsumi Sensei suggested that we learn to

"Move in such a way that the opponent doesn't resist. He doesn't continue to fight or create more agrression."

Of course in these jobs, one of the key challenges is to calm, subdue, or control the patient without injury to them or the staff. This can be difficult in a chaotic situation where accidents may occur. Another strategy Soke gave us was,

"to move in such a way that it doesn't give the opponent any feeling. Once you feel something, you need to be able to change. Otherwise there will be an accident or something will happen. Move in such a way that you're not a catalyst for an accident."

Sensei also advised us to use our surroundings. For example using a chair to unbalance or as a barrier between yourself and the opponent. He said,

"This is important, because the obstacle… the chair becomes a weapon."

Since there were no chairs on the mats at Ayase, Sensei asked Nagato to be a chair. Nagato crouched down on all fours. This itself was a lesson to everyone.

I've seen Hatsumi Sensei ask his senior students to do things that are somewhat embarrassing or seemingly beneath someone of their stature. Yet, they never seem fazed or unwilling to cooperate. They have so much respect for their teacher, and Sensei always makes these requests without ego or pretense. I don't think Nagato would very likely pose as a piece of furniture for anyone else except Soke.

So Nagato Sensei is posed on the ground as a chair. Soke knocks the "patient" down across Nagato's back and says, "Then the chair picks him up and takes him away."

Nagato stands up with the guy slung across his back and walks away. Hatsumi Sensei says, "he might be a very strong nurse!"

Michael Glenn in a mirror, Bujinkan Hombu Dojo just after Nagato's class

Beautiful spring day here in Chiba. Very warm.

Yesterday was blustery, but not cold. I haven't had a break from training since I arrived here. 2-3 classes every day starts to make me physically and mentally exhausted. So I was determined to take a break yesterday.

I decided the night before. And I woke up still convinced I was taking a break. Then I found myself looking at training schedules. Ok... maybe one class.

But which one. I couldn't decide. So I flipped a ten yen coin (similar size and weight to a quarter.) Heads I was going to the first afternoon class, tails I would not. It came up tails.

I put the coin away and went to class anyway. What is wrong with me? I need the break. I'm going to get injured.

So I went to Nagato Sensei's class, thinking I would find a relaxed training partner so that we could train safe and gentle. Before I found anyone, Peter Crocoll grabbed me.

Peter likes to train safe and gentle. He has been training so long, that experience has taught him that you learn more when you are not injured. And that bashing and smashing each other is really not what the teachers here are teaching.

Nagato asked for someone to start the class off. He wasn't looking in my direction so I didn't step forward. But I was body checked from behind out onto the mat. It was Peter! He had shoved me out there in the middle.

So much for being an easy class. I showed the first thing that came to mind, which was 行違 Yuki chigai, since we had been working on this in my class at home recently. Nagato had me repeat it a few times. So at least I got to throw Peter around in front of everyone.

So, as you may know, Nagato then uses the person who demos the technique as his uke. I prepared myself to be worked over. But Nagato was quite gentle.

Since this technique is like an ambush to the uke, I was confused at times whether he wanted me to attack. I know he showed at least one counter.

Nagato had some really interesting variations on catching the opponent's rhythm as you walk past. Some had kamae like a helicopter, picking up the uke's collar. Another henka had you reverse to walk backwards to catch his hand in a really subtle way.

I was surprised when he asked me to now show another technique. I had no clue what to do, so I just motioned for Peter to grab my lapel. Again, didn't wait for an attack, I just used Peter's elbow on the grabbing hand to affect his balance, Then covered his opposite side, before picking that arm up for an omote.

Nagato asked me to do it again. I did, with some refinement. The he said do it again. A few times. So I did it again. and again. Each time exploring henka. I was flowing along ok, then Nagato started counting. Each Henka I did, he counted, "One, Two, Three…" I'm not sure how many but I was throwing Peter all over the place.

I received a number of compliments afterwards from other people in the class, but I'm not sure what was going on there. Peter said Nagato was giving me a chance at revenge  for him having pushed me out there. Maybe Nagato did enjoy seeing Peter get thrown around a bit.

So again, I expected Nagato to work me over, but he did not. He did a variety of henka, trapping the grabbing hand with his elbow, receiving a punch and ending with a hon gyaku. It was a bit of a blur for me.

After class I received more congratulations and compliments. I said thank you. Then it was time for the next class. I didn't need to flip a coin this time.