Skip to main content

Beyond Striking and Kiai Into the Mysteries of Toate No Jutsu


There are mysterious things in life. Or maybe not so mysterious if you understand the secret behind such things. Then they become normal, or just part of being alive.


One mysterious thing in our art is the idea of Toate No Jutsu (techniques for striking from a distance). How can this be real? If you haven't experienced it or delivered such a strike youself, then perhaps it is not real for you... Yet.

If you subscribe to my training notes (if you aren't a subscriber yet, you miss a LOT of free Bujinkan notes), you know that we studied this the other night in my basics class.

One secret of this technique lies in connecting to your opponent and the void. And in trying to understand this mystery it can be useful to make connections. So here we go,

I was at a Friday night class with Hatsumi Sensei in the Hombu Dojo when Soke described toate no jutsu as a kiai or projection of spirit (maybe 気迫 kihaku?). Sensei said it was like the color of your heart projecting into space. That color comes from your character or can be that which you decide to project. He said all this with his purple hair and made reference to Kabuki theatre in which a purple scarf on the head denotes death.

He asked Someya Ken'ichi to describe a time when Sensei "threw" a shuriken at his foot. There was no shuriken but Someya felt frozen in place and the spirit drained from his body. You can find a more detailed description of this event in "My experience of Toate Fudo Kanashibari no Jutsu" (Someya Ken'ichi, this article originally appeared in the Bujinkan Sanmyaku Densho in 1996)

Soke then went on to say that a true Bugeisha does not maim or kill, but rather removes the fighting spirit and the will from the enemy. Have you ever done this? Do you know how? Or do you just punch and kick about blindly without connection? I have heard Soke say many times, there is no attacker or defender. No distinction if you are connected.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Comments

  1. DerekPadulaOctober 19, 2011 at 11:55 PM

    These are fascinating anecdotes. I am researching the subject of toate-no-jutsu for my book, The Dao of Dragon Ball, where I talk about this subject through the lens of Dragon Ball Z. Wish you all the best, and do well in your training!

    ReplyDelete
  2. MichaelOctober 20, 2011 at 12:44 PM

    Thanks Derek! I'm glad you found them helpful in your research.

    BTW, your blog and project looks great!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ride the Tiger: Japan Report Seven 令和6年

Michael tries cola flavor Ninja gummies, a gift from 中川将志 Nakagawa Shōshi I went out to do some laundry and grocery shopping before training. Along the way, I stopped in at the bookstore to find some inspiration from Hatsumi Sensei’s painting. As I flipped through the pages, my eyes settled on a painting of 毘沙門天 Bishamonten riding a tiger. Support my work and watch the FULL video: https://www.rojodojo.com/ride-the-tiger-japan-report-seven-reiwa6/  Hatsumi Sensei gave the painting the title of 坂上 田村麻呂 Sakanoue no Tamuramaro. This historic figure was one of the first Shōgun in Japan. Legends around him grew over the centuries and he was considered an avatar of Bishamonten, a god of war, and warrior king. Hatsumi Sensei wrote some poetry from 虎倒流 Kotō Ryū on the painting. Soke said that when he visited Takamatsu Sensei, Takamatsu recited this poetry to him. The poem extols the virtues of a figure like Sakanoue, but I suspect Takamatsu Sensei was also honoring Hatsumi as h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Japan Report Six 令和5年

I was invited to Furuta Sensei’s home dojo out in the countryside. He is very generous and picked us up from the train station. The only problem is that he plays a Lady Gaga CD on repeat during the drive. Furuta’s home dojo is very rustic with traditional tatami mats. He started training with ukemi and my cotton tabi really slid across the straw! His exploration of 基本八法 Kihon Happō is influenced by his study of 雲隠流 Kumogakure Ryū. As the next Soke of Kumogakure Ryū, he is hard at work learning and studying this school. And I feel lucky to be part of this journey every time I study with him. At one point he showed a detail of how to attack the 急所 kyūsho 血止 chidome and 血ダメ chidame. The name of this kyūsho means to stop the blood. Obviously this would incapacitate an opponent if you pull it off. But Furuta Sensei used a hooking strike into chidome to unbalance with one finger. The kyūsho becomes a 支点 shiten. The pressure creates a pivot or a fulcrum to affect the oppon...
Post a Comment
Read more

Japan Report Seven 令和5年

I began the morning in a hurry because I had to get to the dojo early. My days in Japan are very busy. I run and gun to fit in all of the classes, recording my video reports in between. And I still have to find time for food, laundry, sleep, as well as tourism and shopping.  Today I planned three classes, Furuta Sensei, Nagase Sensei, and Noguchi Sensei. But I didn’t have time to review my notes until the next morning in a cafe. The coffee sure helped. The FULL video review can be found here: https://www.rojodojo.com/japan-report-seven-reiwa-five/ The first class was at the Bujinkan Honbu dojo with Furuta Sensei. We began class wearing a lot of knives. He said you should wear at least 9 knives. He didn’t mean that literally but the number 9 implies an infinite amount. So you have the ability to respond or attack infinitely. He kept hiding behind the attack of his opponents. I learned this approach from him a few years ago during our study of 雲隠流 Kumogakure Ryū in ...
Post a Comment
Read more