Skip to main content

Memories of Jesse

I don’t know what to say. Last week I got terrible news. One of my senior students and friends passed away. He had been an integral member of our dojo since around 2009 when he started as a white belt. 

I watched him and his son grow as they trained with us. Now his son is a smart young man in college who has lost his best friend and role model. We are empty with grief.

I quickly went through my personal photo collection and video archive to find some images that reflected Jesse’s time as my friend. But I can’t get everything he meant to me from those images or into these words.

がんばって Jesse…
Labels:

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