Bujinkan Santa Monica

Hiding Dog - Sapporo, Japan. photo by MJ/TR (´･ω･) We have a profound strategy in the Bujinkan which often goes unnoticed. I think it is not obvious because the name creates a certain idea. Mutō Dori 無刀捕 (no sword capture). People hear that and they already have an idea in their head about dodging sword cuts. Hatsumi Sensei makes reference to this strategy not just when he is unarmed facing a sword wielding attacker, but also during unarmed taijutsu, and while using all manner of weapons. So forget the sword for a moment, and let's discover some hidden layers in Mutō Dori. First, relying on any weapon or technique is a trap. If you become an expert, your mind will get stuck there. Use your weapons or techniques with the same mindset as mutō dori. This is a natural, everyday mind. In avoiding a sword, if you think about avoiding, you will be cut. If you think about not avoiding, you get cut. You should think about nothing and when the sword cuts, naturally get out of the ...

photo by TANAKA Juuyoh (田中十洋) When I was a young man, one of my favorite movies was "The Karate Kid." The Sensei in that movie, Mr. Miyagi, played by Pat Morita, was full of patient but stern advice for his young student, Daniel-san. In one memorable quote, he chastised Daniel for looking down, "Look eye!, always look eye!" Very good advice for self defense. But there is a lot more to be understood about the eyes in our training. And, despite my fondness for that simple time in my life when a movie meant so much to me, I will break from Miyagi Sensei to suggest you don't always look eye. There is a lot of psychology in a glance. A lot of nonverbal communication that takes place before a fight. Looking someone in the eye can be perceived as aggressive and create tension or make you a target for their anger. At the same time, the right type of look can cause the opponent to back down. Takamatsu said that truly skilled martial artists can decide a fight by ...

Photo from Gifu Prefecture by tallkev One of the hiden 秘伝  (secret teaching) ideas of the sword is that life and death are just flip sides of the same instant. The reason this is a secret is not because no one talks about it, but because you must discover its mystery for yourself. Hatsumi Sensei is always reminding us that just as we can end life with the blade, we can also protect life or what he calls, the "life giving sword." So what about this secret and how does this translate into sword technique? When you are in kamae, and about to cut or thrust to your opponent's suki , there is a Seimeisen 生命線, or an invisible lifeline between you. If your sword is on this line, it is "live," if not it is   considered dead. This line is very fine and there isn't room for two blades there. So only one blade can give or take life. This is also an aspect of Shisen 死線, the point between life and death. To truly understand this lifeline requires a state of fudoshi...

Edo Wonderland Sword Fight, photo by -ratamahatta- If you are any good with a sword, Hatsumi Sensei says you can win without drawing your sword. He suggests this to us by pointing out the example of the famous Zen sword master, Yamaoka Tesshū (山岡 鉄舟, June 10, 1836 - July 19, 1888), a famous samurai of the Bakumatsu period, who played an important role in the Meiji Restoration. He is also noted as the founder of the Itto Shoden Muto-ryu school of swordsmanship. One day Tesshu had a sword contest with a famous sword teacher, Asari Gimei. They fought for half a day and Tesshu was defeated. Tesshu became Asari's student and threw himself into Zen practice to try to understand the nature of his defeat. As part of his search to understand what happened to him, he was given a koan to study by Tekisui Roshi' "Crossed swords; neither permits retreat. The sword-master, like a lotus in the fire, Has a heaven-soaring spirit." This advanced koan shows both the problem pr...

photo by barto Modern life is difficult.  Some people may even feel they are enduring in a kind of hell.  If you are going to live in hell, you'd better learn how to survive.  Hatsumi Sensei gives us a clue for how to negotiate these difficult times and circumstances.  He says we should be like Momotarō 桃太郎 who is a popular hero from Japanese folklore: The Tale of Momotaro Once upon a time an old couple lived in the hill country of Okayama in Japan. The old man went everyday into the mountains to cut wood, while his wife went to the river to wash their laundry. One day the old woman was washing clothes by the riverside when a great, golden peach came floating down the river! It looked so delicious that she decided to roll it home to surprise her husband. When the old man came home, the old woman cut the peach open. To their great surprise, a small boy leaped from inside the peach! Instantly, they loved the little boy because they had never had any children o...

Seeing Totoku Hiyoshi No Kamae for the first time can be misleading.  Usually a student's first exposure to this kamae is seeing someone hold a sword out in front of themselves while someone else throws shuriken at them.  Then the instructor hands the sword to you and says, "Next." by eflon This aspect of Totoku is often perceived as one of those quirky things in our training that we may try out, but never take seriously.  After all, who has had to dodge shuriken for real?  I'm not counting the dishes your girlfriend threw at you during a recent argument.  Maybe you try this out, maybe block a few rubber shuriken and then forget it. Totoku forms part of some very rich strategy in our art.  And the more you look for it, the more you will encounter.  I personally have heard Hatsumi Sensei reference it many times, and it wasn't anything to do with shuriken blocking.  It is a running theme in our taijutsu that has to be experienced from a qualified...