Skip to main content

Kyusho of Zero in Three Easy Steps

Three Lamps, 日本民家園 Nihon Minka-en. photo by Michael Glenn
I have found three easy steps to make 神韻武導 Shin Gin Budo happen. Sounds great even if it might be a lie. But could it be easy? Let's see…

One thing I know for sure about this year's theme is that it's difficult to teach. I went to Japan last month to study with Hatsumi Sensei. And he gave me a lot to work on. So I have been working.

Like many things Soke shares with us, this theme is connected to many previous themes. It did not suddenly appear this year in our training. And I personally am grateful to have this as a focus because I have been working on this very idea for several years in my own training.

But I always tell my students, this is what I am doing and studying myself, but I don't know how to teach it. Sorry.

Yet, thanks to Hatsumi Sensei's focus this year, I have new insights that I can share. Maybe they will help anyone trying to get a grasp on Shin Gin.

As I mentioned in another post about the 2014 Bujinkan theme,  this idea is like entering a divine space. But first you have to find it. And Hatsumi Sensei says we should make it ourselves. Make our own kukan where we can be safe, where we can survive and live. So, how do you start?

Step 1: 阿吽の呼吸 aunnokokyuu

 

One way to begin is with 阿吽の呼吸 aunnokokyuu. Hatsumi Sensei used this term which means harmonizing.  Like yin/yang or in/yo. Connect the Mind, body and spirit, with that of your opponent.

If you do that, the fight will never happen in the first place. But if it does, anger and aggression tend to dissipate when there is this kind of harmony. And even still, if the attacks come, you are so connected that it would be like you punching yourself. How hard is it to avoid that?

Go ahead, try it. Punch yourself. I'll wait right here while you do. 

If you are not masochistic, then you either won't do it at all, or it is very easy to avoid. This is what it feels like when you are harmonized with your opponent. But the theme this year is larger than this.

Step 2: 空間を陽空 kuukanwoyokuu

 

After using 阿吽の呼吸 aunnokokyuu, you enter your own space. Either by finding it or creating it. Soke said it is like an air pocket.

Hatsumi Sensei said 空間を陽空 kuukanwoyokuu. This is Yang empty space. A positive,  safe space. Like seeing daylight when emerging from a prison. Or the clouds parting after a storm.

This is where things get mysterious. Shin Gin.  Budo guided by divine resonance.

Step 3: 神韻武導 Shin Gin Budo

 

Once in that space, you can harmonize and connect with the heavens. Through this connection you are a lot more powerful than your own strength, ability, technique, or wit could ever be when fighting by yourself. You gain a natural 抑止力 yokushiryoku, the ability to deter attacks.

And as for offense,  Hatsumi says you can strike opponents with your spirit. You strike the space itself. 空間の九勝 Kukan no Kyūshō. Soke said,
"Lift the opponent up into the kukan and then blast them away with your spirit. It's the kyusho of air. It's the kyusho of zero."
3 easy steps, right?

What a crazy, wonderful, and powerful art we study! I would never believe any of this if I hadn't witnessed it in person, felt it directly, or done it myself. I hope you can find this in your training this year.

Comments

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

Ninja Morality of Kogarashi Monjiro

This time of year is often spent helping, giving or thinking of others.  There are many people who misinterpret the life of a ninja as one of a solitary, dark and shadowy existence.  A lone wolf sneaking in and out of other's lives to accomplish some mission. Sensei suggests to us that this is not a healthy view.  He says that it is an ideal to have others depend on you.  People think they are too busy to help others, but if you decide to ignore everyone else, trusting only yourself, you will soon become one of the busiest of all men.  He continues, To give a helping hand to poor people and to want to save them is the humanity of Japanese, and of a warrior's heart. Hatsumi mentions the character Kogarashi Monjiro from the novel and 1970's TV series set in the Edo period, originally written by Saho Sasazawa. Acted by famous samurai actor Atsuo Nokamura.  Monjiro lived the wandering life of a gambler.  He had a nihilistic attitude and sought to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Kaname of 神眼 Shingan

真是厲害的鏡頭 photo By *嘟嘟嘟* Hatsumi Sensei has suggested that another reading of 神眼 shingan is kaname. As we study this years feeling it might become important to see with the divine eyes of shingan. To truly comprehend this principle requires we understand how to connect to the divine. In my recent video about 不動座 fudouza , I suggested some symbolism that connected the heavens, down through the conduit of our physical bodies, and into the earth. The way Hatsumi Sensei describes this connection, it's not him doing the techniques, but they are being created through this connection. No matter your beliefs or religion, it is crucial to understand the foundations of Japanese symbolism to get the feelings behind our art. Hatsumi Sensei says that one way to learn this is through Sanshin no kata that is connected to the heavens. It is connected through heaven, earth, and man (tenchijin). He further describes this as  天動説 tendousetsu, 地動説 chidousetsu, and 人動説 jindousetsu. 天動説 tendousetsu is...
Post a Comment
Read more