Japan Report Two 令和5年

Morning Song at 月野宮神社 Tsukinomiya Jinja, photo: Michael Glenn

On this day of my Bujinkan Japan Training trip, I began with a visit to the the 月野宮神社 Tsukinomiya Jinja Flea Market. There, I found an impromptu concert from a local guy with a guitar. And I also found many antique swords, jutte, and miscellaneous weapons. I finish by sharing a lesson from Hatsumi Sensei about 弱いも支点 yowai mo shiten, using your weakness as a pivot point.

If you want to support my work, sign up to Rojodojo, and you can watch the full video: Japan Report Two 令和5年

During my train ride back to the dojo in Noda-shi, I stopped for lunch at a street festival on 大宮銀座通り商店街 Ōmiya Ginza-dōri shōten machi. This was random luck, I just popped out of the station and the party was on! Some nice people whipped up tasty and filling yakisoba for me and I ate it straight off the grill.

Once back in Noda, I had a great class with Furuta Sensei. He started the class with tehodoki. But his unique approach is informed by 雲隠流 Kumogakure Ryū. He had us match our own body and shoulder to his grab then change angle or levels. He even had us grabbing our own body or clothing for extra support.

Then he changed to hanbōjutsu against a knife attack. He did a flip strike to disarm. If that doesn’t work, pivot under to unbalance. Add a final strike to the hand to finish.

Then he showed receiving the knife in a vertical kamae with the hanbō alongside your own body. When he pivoted under, he extended one finger like a jutte to hook the attacking arm. Meanwhile the hanbō is passed behind the attacker’s head to lock his arm and choke.

He finished class with sword. He had us receive in 棟水之構 Tōsui no Kamae, then push the attacker’s sword aside. But your own sword must control the center line before you cut down to kote.

Great training so far. And up next from my Bujinkan Japan Training trip, Japan Report Three 令和5年

Comments

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 ...

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...

Japan Report Four 令和5年

I start off my Japan Report Four video going to Hatsumi Sensei’s house and the Bujinkan Honbu office. I do this on every trip because this is how I submit my rank paperwork for my students. In the video I talk about my “secret” route to his house. I also recall past times when I could just visit and have tea with Soke. During my walk to his house, I review some of my notes from old classes with Soke. During one class he said 自分の第六感兼ねあいうち Jibun no dairokkan kane aiuchi. This is when you make your intuition match reality. Or, more directly, your intuition is combined with something concrete such as a strike. Later in that same class, Hatsumi Sensei said 意識をさせない Ishiki o Sasenai. He was telling us not to allow our opponents to sense our intentions. Don’t put out any intention for your opponent to read. I thought it was fascinating to think about dairokkan and the use of intuition while also hiding your intentions. Hatsumi Sensei’s classes were full of subtle lessons lik...

Bujinkan Santa Monica

Search This Blog