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Heres an excerpt: 19,000 people fit into the new Barclays Center to see Jay-Z perform. This blog was viewe abo!t 74,000 times in "01". #f it were a concert at the Barclays Center, it wo!l ta$e abo!t % sol -o!t performances for that many people to see it. Click here to see the complete report. Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment Shi Tenn Posted on ecember 10! 2012by kumafr
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Recently Hatsumi Sensei honored me by awarding me with a diploma o Shi Tenn. Historically! the Shi Tenn were the our "celestial emperors# protecting the our directions o $orth! South! %ast! &est. Shi'tenno (literally! ")uardian *ings!# but most o ten translated as "+irectional )uardians#, are deities! protectors o -uddhism! who guard each o the our directions o the compass (north! south! east! and west, rom harm ul and dangerous in luences. .riginally rom /ndia! the +irectional )uardians were transmitted to China during the Tang dynasty (about 011 2+,! and rom thence to Tibet! *orea! and 3apan. The )uardians appear in paintings! such as mandalas! and especially in temple sculptures! where they usually surround and protect a central -uddha image. (4, They are known as: 5ocho Ten (South,! *omoku Ten (&est,! -ishamon Ten ($orth,! and 3ikoku Ten (%ast,. (source &ikipedia,. /n 6778 9edro! 9eter! S:en and me! were the irst non 3apanese students to be promoted to 61th dan. 2nd we began to gi:e seminars altogether all o:er the &orld. Twice a year a ter these seminars! we would send sensei a postcard to tell him what we were doing. .ne night! at 2yase! he re erred to us as being the "Shi Tenn# o %urope. Since then we are known as the ";<ro Shi Tenn#. The 3apanese Shihan: .guri Sensei (=,! $agato Sensei! $oguchi Sensei! Sen Sensei are named the "Shi Tenn#.

This title is not a rank! Hatsumi Sensei is re erring to the nickname gi:en by *ano Sensei to his our best students who tra:elled 3apan to spread the *odkan 3<d in the 67th century. >ike *anos students! we would tra:el %urope and the &orld gi:ing seminars and spreading his teachings to the $orth! &est! %ast and South. Today the only remaining so called "Shi Tenn Seminar# is the one / organi?e in 9aris e:ery year in 3uly. Since the 71s! the -u@inkan has grown a lot. >ast dkms Sensei said that the -u@inkan was now 881111 practitioners! 8811 Shidshi! 881 3<godan. %:en i / think that these igures are more symbolic than anything! it must be close enough to reality to understand that our organi?ation has now reached a mature state. Ay best student and riend Hugues recei:ed it or me while / was in >ebanon or the B$! but it was only yesterday that he ga:e it to me. .:er the years! / ha:e recei:ed all the diplomas possible rom Sensei: Shidshi (67C7,! 3<dan (6778,! )old medal o the -u@inkan (677D,! 6Eth dan (F11D,! Aenky *aiden in Tachi &a?a (F11D,! Shingitai (F166,! but this one diploma has more :alue or me or many reasons. Girst there will always be only D "Shi Tenn# and / am really proud o it. Second! this title is coming rom the heart more than rom any technical ability. 2nd Third like or the Shin )i Tai +iploma it has the )olden patch on it. +omo 2rigato Sensei or this :ery special honor.

Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment +kms8: 2materasu Hmikami 2nd The *@iki Posted on ecember $! 2012by kumafr
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Before etailing what &ensei spo$e of !ring the last ay of $ms, # have to tell yo! that it was very ense. 'riting abo!t it # iscovere that the comple(ity of what &ensei sai !ring that ay allows !s to follow his very partic!lar way of reasoning. This is why # have eci e to eliver it chronologically in this article the way it was isplaye to !s last &!n ay. )oo l!c$*

.n the last day o dkms Sensei spoke o many concepts and he introduced the day by displaying an old painting on a scroll depicting the moment when the gods tried to orce 2materasu no *ami! the Sun goddess! outside the ca:e where she was secluding hersel . That was a little too much e:en or my twisted brain! but / will try to make it understandable. 9lease excuse me or the apparent lack o logic in senseis explanations. -ut i you are amiliar with his "Iuantum way o thinking# you will get something out o it. 2lso do not orget that / might ha:e not get it correctly but that is ine too as knowledge (as you will disco:er later in the text, is not the only way to understand nature. Gor those o you not amiliar with the legends and myths o old 3apan! here is a short reminder. The *o@iki explains in three :olumes (tenchi@in, how mankind was established on earth. Check &ikipedia at "ko@iki# and "2materasu Hmikami# to know more. &hat / remember is that the Sun goddess 2materasu was li:ing amongst the other gods. %ach morning 2materasu would bring light on earth by stepping out o her ca:e. Her brother made a hole into the roo and while she was wea:ing with other goddesses (J,! her brother threw a dead goat or dead horse (J, into the hole that created panic. 2materasu got angry and decided not to get out anymore. %arth was in permanent night. The other gods tried to negociate with her but didnt succeed. They decided to organi?e a big east right in ront o the door so that the laughters! the songs and the dancing would attract her outside and restore light on earth. 2 ter some time they succeeded. The scroll presented by sensei on the last day depicts this exact moment where 2materasu Hmikami is nearly going back to light the world. The door in the mountain (ten, is orced open by one o the gods (@in,! we can see the irst rays o light going through the door panels (ten,. Gacing the door! a emale goddess (@in, is dancing with a yari pointing to the earth (chi,! our gods on the middle to the le t (@in, and two other ones are at the bottom center are watching the dance (chi,. Two roosters are on the middle right (J,. The sun disappearing on earth is also to be ound in other traditions: the Sumerian! the /nca! the -ible. So my guess is that the earth stopped turning at some point and this act ga:e birth to many legends all o:er the world. Symbolically the scroll shows that Aankind tries to bring down the "light o knowledge# rom hea:en to earth (another common myth,. -ut what was interesting is that sensei began to speak about @shiki! knowledge (/ think he said shishiki instead o @shiki, and he made another shishiki with the idea o kyo@itsu ( alseKtruth, as "shi# is "DL which is death! and "shiki# consciousness. / think he meant that knowledge is only one side o the practice and that we should also de:elop our ability to trap uke in his own knowledge (security, in order to use his predicted reactions as tools to ser:e our mo:ements. Trapping uke in a world o knowledge allows us to use it against him. / remember him telling me one day that we must read and study all the ancient texts on strategy to be sure to come up with a new strategy that had ne:er been done be ore. -y doing something new you are sure that no counter strategy has been prepared. /

think this is the same idea he was trying to con:ey on the last day o the dkms. He repeated again that we had to be "?ero# (no orce! no power! ootwork! no grab! no intention, and said that we ha:e to ind the "lucky ML (shichiki, . Remember the se:en deities o good luck in China are shichi uku @in. Then he added the "1L to the "ML and we naturally began to speak about 3ames -ond "11MLN Shawn was called by sensei to tell us about the historical 3ohn +ee who was a spy o Iueen %lisabeth 6st o %ngland and who signed his letters with "11ML. The "ML was only a long line abo:e the 11 meaning G;%.. -ut another reason behind the "ML is astrological. /n the 6Eth century many decisions were made a ter checking the sky! the stars and the planets. ;ou can see here a link with the scroll at the beginning o this article. /n the 6Eth century we knew only M planets! there ore "ML became the symbol o ull knowledge! and there ore was chosen by her ma@estys spy as a good luck charm. This planetary explanation allowed sensei to speak about the astrological approach in the martial arts. Sensei said that the $orth star Hokushin is :astly used in the ancient bud systems. Hokushin is the inmo:able center o the sky as e:erything rotates around it. -ut the main "satellite# is the big dipper ! shichi sei4 which is also constituted o M starsN /n the *ukishin Ry<! the Sun and the -ig +ipper are the two ma@or systems in use or day and night combat. The *ukishin men were wako (pirates, and at sea they would use the sun and the big dipper to na:igate sa ely. -ut when they became the warriors we know they kept their "knowledge# o nature and applied it to a di erent ield o practice: strategy. Gor example i you want to get into the de ense o the attacker you ha:e to use his knowledge against him. This is mainly what kyo@utsu is about. Symbolically the opponent is Hokushin and you are shichi sei ! the 3apanese name or the -ig +ipper. Ao:ing around Bke like the big dipper! your mo:ements surround him. ;our target is always at the center! whate:er he does. %:erything is already de ined. 2nd at the right moment you control him de initi:ely. Sensei said that in licting pain was not what mattered in a ight! the main ob@ecti:e! what really mattered was to control the opponent! body and mind. This is why we ha:e to get rid o unnecessary orce. Remember what he said a week be ore: "Chikara o nuku#! ree yoursel rom power# to sur:i:e. This is done by using only MEO o our abilities in order to always ha:e a margin to react correctly. This new 9areto law is MEKFE. He ended the day speaking o "-u@in wao motte ttnasu# or "the heart o the warrior re:ers peace#. 2 true warrior kills no bad intention and always keeps a compassionate heart. Sensei said during the dkms that we ha:e to beha:e like real gentlemen! only then can we get a new k@iki ! the consciousness o a >ord.

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+kmsF: yubi! kansetsu! aruki Posted on ecember &! 2012by kumafr

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The second day o the dkms was intense with Sensei insisting on :ery small technical points. This year the theme was kaname (essential points,! and the kaname is to be ound in many details. The irst thing he said was that there was no duality in the encounter. There is no opposition Bke and tori when they meet are not F but 6. &e ha:e to get rid o duality. +uality creates thinking! analysis! errors as our interpretations cannot get the understanding o the ull picture (situation,. &hen we oppose uke we create the conditions o his success. This is wrong. &e ha:e to create a new mathematical truth where 6=6 P 6. This new "6Lcreated leads to "1L. This is what he meant when he said: "5enten Tenchi# . 5enten represents "all hea:en# and is the "uni:erse#! or "nature#! or "sphere#. This could mean that at the "1L le:el! one can mani est the uni:ersal truth o nature. -ut to be per ectly honest! maybe did he spoke o "5enten Tenshin# . 2 ter the training / asked a ew translators about it and they werent sure which was the one he used. /n this other "5enten Tenshin#! Tenshin means # hea:enly gods#. This could mean that all our actions when reaching this "1L state are dictated by hea:en (the gods,. Gunnily both are correct as they are typical o senseis way o speaking. -y not resisting ukes actions we melt into his mo:ement and use his own strength to ser:e our reactions. &e experienced that with some haibu yori ( back! ollow, techniQues. Sensei showed many :ariations around a basic Tai Hodoki by applying di erent timings (reacting a ter the grab! during the grab! or be ore the grab,R and also by changing the angles (back! sides! DE degrees,. %ach time it was surprising to see him mo:ing with no strength and no speed and to be able to "peel o # uke naturally rom his back. To achie:e such an ama?ing result! sensei explained that the only thing to do was to be relaxed and to use micro mo:ements rom and with the shoulders: inward! outward! one up one down! or a mix o all these mo:es. He also ad:ised us to use the shoulders alternati:ely in a

tense manner immediately ollowed by a ull relaxation. 2lternating tension and so tness creates a k<kan where uke alls into. So a ter this new understanding o haibu yori! maybe he meant Tenchi! ! the matrix (blue pill! red pillJ,. R 2ll day long sensei insisted on the importance o a new sanshin made o : yubi! kansetsu! aruki . 2s there is no grabbing! the tip o the inger is the point o contact between uke and tori. The angle o the arm @oint (elbow, added to the direction o the walking motion! creates a lot o power and takes ukes balance. 9ower comes rom ootwork! angle and direction. Strength is not used at all. %:en i the explanation is simple! i ound it :ery di icult to add it in my tai@utsu. 2t some point / was senseis uke and / elt like stupid. There was nothing! not e:en pain but / was unable to get my balance back. 2nd / ell. .nce ukes balance is taken Tori is using the ingers to hook the mouth or to dig in with either shito ken or shishin ken. The power is in the inger action when done with the whole body. To do so! the trick is to lock the shoulder in place. The shoulder being locked the ootwork will power the inger. remenber ;ubi ippon @<bun (one inger is enough,. Then we mo:ed to b @utsu and ken @utsu. Sensei had two weapons in his hands and was using the concept o Togakure ry< o itt nage. To do so he would throw one o the weapon to the attacker in a metsubushi way in order to orce the opponent to parry the weapon. The parrying would open ukes de ense and he would not be able to block the real attack. /tt nage is a techniQue to be done only when you ha:e at least two weapons. /t would be stupid to use it with only one weapon at handN (&hen holding the weapons! the ore ingers are inserted between them to aster release,. *ogure san rom Iuest told me a te rtraining that it was the irst time that sensei was taching that. To summari?e the day he inished by speaking once again o ;<gen no sekai! ! elegant simplicity. /t reminded me o the kurage ! (@elly ish! medusa, o last year. &hen no orce is used! when no intention is gi:en then uke has the eeling that tori is not there. Tori alternating orce and relaxation! presence and absence! seems to ha:e no consistency! no bone structure. Tori is :irtually not there. Bke aces something in:isible but present! some kind o "kurage no hone#! something that one would not expect to exist. !"!

Thoughts on Budo | ( 'omments +kms6: /kken Hass! Ttoku Hyshi! Shitakara Posted on ecember 1! 2012by kumafr
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Griday was the beginning o the dkms. The day began well as Sayaka .guri @oined us in *ashiwa on the train going to Shimi?u *oen. .n arri:al the "dkms eeling# was palpable. Sensei was in great shape today as i his birthday was gi:ing him some extra energy. This is something strange that / ha:e always noticed since 6771 when / irst :isited 3apan or dkms. +uring this period o the year Sensei looks like he is "inhabited#. / am always ama?ed by his ability to mo:e so ast at his age! he is an example or all o us. The morning session was like training in the og as 3uan'Aanuel and / were Quite lost during the class. Sensei spoke again about the "kasumi no h# (#$ S theme o F11D, eeling and ha:ing the deeling we were ighting in the og and / must say that 3uanma and mysel were totally in tune with this idea4 / / had to de ine in three words what we did / would say: /kken Hass (Shinden Gud Ry<,: This is taken rom the irst le:el o Shinden Gud Ry< and means "one ist! all directions# but / pre er the idea o "unity within multiplicity# which gi:es a deeper meaning to it. /n act it would be di icult to explain what Sensei is demonstrating. The only thing that can be repeated again and again is: no orce! no tension! no intention! no idea. -ack to the *asumi no H concept! it was as i he was creating og that would trap the uke and render them blind to whate:er was happeing to them. / ha:e been uke a ew times and it is like is "not there! but there# as 9edro said once. ;ou are totally lost. The techniQues were demonstrated by :arious Shihan and sensei would "change# (see pre:ious posts, the orm into a ormless thing. 2 ter the day o training with my partners 3uan'manuel Serrano and StTphane >adegaillerie! / had no memory o what we actually did. +ay 6 was "totally ogged#. Ttoku Hyshi: /n the a ternoon Sensei played with the concept o Ttoku Hyshi that we know rom biken @utsu ( or the newcomers this is the one were rom suwari you dodge the shuriken with your blade acing lat and :ertically the opponent,. 2s you can see belowR the "ttoku# has the meaning o shielding yoursel with the blade.

Sensei used this concept explaining that the warriors in the past (possibly at the beginning o 6Mth century a ter peace was established and yoroi abandoned,! had metal rods along the orearm and that you could dodge a cut by putting the orearm in ront o you. %:erything is a Question o timing (Hyshi, and your shielding with the :ertical orearm comes at the right moment. This Ttoku Hyshi not only protects you but gi:es away ukes balance. Shitakara: This last concept was detailed a ter we trained the Ttoku Hyshi or some time. Aany o us were more reacting with the arm instead o the body e:en though Sensei insisted a lot on using the karada (body, in e:ery mo:e done. Shitakara ( rom below, is the way you would un old the twisted body resulting rom the Ttoku Hyshi reception. 2s you know in ttoku hyshi you gi:e your pro ile to the opponent. Here due to the distance! once you ha:e blockedKdodged the attack! your body is twisted. Bntwisting the body to inish uke has to come rom the ground. The grabbing is not allowed as well as the simple upper torso mo:ement. &hat Sensei explained during this irst day o dkms is that in order to show no strength and no intention you should only react with aruki wa?a (walking,. To get the upper body in action the mo:ement must come rom the legs. The theme this year was to use the ingers andKor to trap the ingers o the opponent. This action must be supported by the body mo:ement and not be decided by your brain. $atural mo:ement is achie:ed when you only react so tly to ukes mo:ement without deciding what to do. "Chikara o nuku#: by letting go o all the orce you ha:e you create the conditions o becoming aware o the next step always in accordance with your en:ironment! with the attacks ( rom one or more opponents,! with the distance. 2nyway the )ogy are created rom the ground (Chi, and go up to the sky (*<,. The Tenchi is replaced by the Chiten! a point. /kken hass then takes a lot o sense as one can deal with an in inity o situations. %:ery point o the uni:erse con:erge to one. 2nd unity is ?ero.
% ichi one) & ken s*ord +originally esp. a doubled,edged s*ord-) sabre) saber) blade) ' t. s*ord) katana) ( toku shelter) shield) hide )* toku to solve) to ans*er) to untie)

+musical- time) tempo) beat) rhythm) the moment) the instance) chance -. hy.shi front cover) binding
+, hy.shi

/ shita belo*) do*n) under) bottom) beneath) underneath) 01 karafrom +e.g. time! place! numerical /uantity-) since) from +originator-) 2 kara emptiness) vacuum) blank 3 chiten site) point on a map) spot

Thoughts on Budo | " 'omments )yo u: &e 2re /mperial Gishermen Posted on 0ovember 2%! 2012by kumafr
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>ast week Hatsumi sensei said that we must know ight like gentlemen using no strength but only adapting our body to ukes attacks but with some kind o high class touch. &e do not want to ight but we do not want to hurt either. >ater during the class he spoke o his mo:ements as being similar to catching a ish on a line! chgyo (6,. &hen ishing you put a bait on the hook. The ish bite the bait and hooks himsel . but the Quality o the hookig depends on your ability to read the ish intentions. / you pull the ish too early! the ish is ree. / you let go the line then he gets ree. This is the same in the techniQue you ha:e to keep the connection with uke! "%n no kirinai#! dont se:er the connection with him. &hen you recei:e the attack you ha:e to play with ukes intention be so t and strong alternati:ely in order to create a k<kan (E,. -y using these inKyo tensions you create the conditions o his down all. but i you begin to apply a "wa?a# you lose the connection and uke is ree to attack or to go again. The subtlety o the connection is like an in:isible magnetic ield keeping uke prisoner o his own intentions. ;our mo:ements must not be technical but solely based upon the eeling o ukes tensions. The speed o your reactions and the actions you take a terwards are dictated not by your brain but by the Quality o your connection to the situation.

>ike the dragon o the koteki ry<da @upp sessh! you see the whole picture rom a superior point o :iew and you answer silently to the Question asked by your opponents body. 2ssuming this superior distance to the ight gi:es you the reedom to react naturally in the space created. -ut mo:ing at the exact moment reQuires a lot o courage. / you mo:e too early the attack will not unroll properly and uke will take ad:antage o the wrong timing to counter it. / you mo:e too late you get killed or in@ured. To become the per ect " isherman# (C, Sensei wants us to becomeR and to ish (6, uke correctly you ha:e to get this "imperial attitude# and superior guts! chgyo 45(F=8,. The space created! k<kan (E, will bring uke into k<kan 26 (0=D, the "perception o emptiness# where he will lose himsel as he will not be able to ind his way out. This eeling is the one you ha:e when Sensei takes you as uke. There is nothing! this is apparently pure emptiness! but there is nothing you can do. .nce you are a true /mperial isherman! gyo u (C,! you can en@oy kugyo (M, and eat the ish (uke,.

1 78 ch.gyo fishing) angling 2 4 ch. guts) bo*els " 5 gyo 1onorific2 imperial) emperor ( 6 kan perception) intuition) the si3th sense & 29 k4kan space) room) airspace 1: empty air) sky) $ 2 k4 2: void +one of the five elements5 :5 kugyo emperor6s meal 7 ;< gyofu fisherman Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment Change (F, Posted on 0ovember 27! 2012by kumafr
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Changes happen e:ery day. 2nd they o ten happen when you are not ready to recei:e them. &hen / arri:ed at the d@ on Saturday at 66am or Sen Senseis class! / was surprised to see Someya sensei waiting or me at the door. Hatsumi sensei has asked him to replace Sen Sensei who was not a:ailable or a ew days. Ske told him that / had to replace him (Someya, or his 1Fpm class. So / changed my plan accordingly and ga:e the class. / had to reorgani?e my day a terwards. .n Sunday a ter Senseis class at the Honbu! Ske in:ited a group o 6Eth dan to come with him to ;oshikawa city to :isit a shop selling old swords! yoroi! makimono! and other things (see the photos in my latest album on Gacebook,. So / changed my plans accordingly and spent three hours to see those nice old pieces o 3apanese history. / had to reorgani?e my day a terwards. To change is not always based on your decision! it is something that is o ten imposed to you! but to accept it when it comes gi:es you the ability to rearrange your perception o things in order to meet the unexpected. This is the real adaptation taught by Ske in his classes. &hen you change your plans! it is o ten because something potentially better is o ered to you. 2nd e:en i sometimes the "better# is not :isible at irst! be positi:e about it! accept it! and go with it! there is always some rewards at the end o a change. Changing is in act the best opportunity to disco:er new things. Changing puts you out o your daily routine! and i this change may appear negati:e! think o the new lessons you are learning while changing. /snt it a ter all the true meaning o "Shikin Haramitsu +aikomy#J Tonight at $oguchi senseis class his tai@utsu had changed totally. &e were training some o The Takagi ;shin Ry< techniQues. The names o the techniQues remained the same but his mo:ements were totally di erent rom the same techniQues / did with him so many times be ore.

-ut the *aname (D, o each techniQue was there! only the interpretation o this kaname was di erent. / learnt a lot tonight and this is exactly what changing is about: it is about learning and impro:ing. ;ou always ha:e to be ready to accept changing e:en i it goes against your belie s. Tonight during training / saw some students sticking to the old orms instead o accepting as a gi t what $oguchi sensei was demonstrating. 2nd it was sad as it was the proo that some high ranks are not real shihan (F,. Changing the orm o a techniQue is the real eeling that one must de:elop in the -u@inkan. / you accept to change then your body will not be trapped into the routine o the orm and become able to adapt reely to di erent situations. %:ery time you change you enter a new => hanretsu! a new paradigm where the :alues that ha:e brought you here ha:e to be rede ined! modi ied! and sometimes discarded or orgotten. 2 real shihan ?= (F, is the one who! beyond his rank! is able to create those shi ts in the wa?a and to lead the students into a new world o understanding. He is someone to ollow! this is the idea o "retsu# in hanretsu (8,. 2nd remember that the kan@i or "example! model# (F, is the same in hanretsu and in shihan ("shi# is teacher,.

1 => hanretsu paradigm 2 ?= shihan instructor; teacher; model 3 > retsu queue; line; row; column; sequence; string; train 1: pivot; 4 @ kaname 2: vital point; cornerstone; keystone;
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Katana o Nuku, Chikara o Nuku

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0ovember 25! 2012by kumafr

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/n his last classes! Hatsumi Sensei has de:eloped a new set o concepts! namely "katana o nuku! chikara o nuku#! "iai o nuku#! kakogen?aimirai#. / would like here to dwell into these concepts as they are! in my opinion! de ining where the -u@inkan is heading to in F168. %ach trip to 3apan is a antastic occasion to get a new understanding o what sensei is trying to transmit. Gor years! because o our lack o understanding! he was mainly trying to get us into the "omote# o mo:ements. Then starting in F118! we entered the world o 3upp Sessh.
Katana o Nuku, Chikara o Nuku

Sensei began to use deep philosophical ideas linking this "omote# to a type o "ura#. -ut this was only the "ura# o

the physical world. Gor me this was the .mote o 3upp Sessh (F118'F11M,. /n F11C! we began to consider this physical Bra (3upp Sessh o F118'F11M, as another .mote as he began to speak about the Bra o the Bra. This time the physical expression o mo:ement doesnt count anymore! we are playing with consciousness! shiki (6D,. This is what / call the Bra o 3upp Sessh. 2s we explained many times in this blog! it seems that sensei (willingly or not, is ollowing a E years pattern: 6778'677M: b! yari! naginata! biken! @. 677C'F11F: taihen@utsu! daken tai@utsu! kopp @utsu! kosshi @utsu! @<tai@utsu. F118'F11M: 3upp Sessh (omote,: san@igen no Sekai! y<gen no sekai! kasumi no h! shi?en! kuki taisho F11C'F16F: 3upp Sessh (ura,: Aenky *aiden! Sain *onki! Rokkon Sho@! *ihon Happ! 3inry< no *aname o Aamoru. $ext year will see the beginning o the next cycle o E years! and my guess is that we will ocus on )oshin @utsu (as this is the theme o next Aarch Taikai in 3apan,. -ut / am sure that he will

come up with some more concept to put around. So these new concepts detailed below should be seen as the introduction to next years theme. +ote, -t the en of this article # p!t the .nglish meanings for each one of the terms !se in this article in or er to ease the !n erstan ing of the te(t an at the same time to give yo! a wi er !n erstan ing of the image epicte in one single Japanese wor . 8katana o nuku! chikara o nuku#R #iai o nuku#: &hen you look at the two kan@i: ' (6, and A (F, you see that those kan@i are linked in some way. 2s you all know! because this is the upper kan@i o shinobu B (61,! the ' represents the saya (66, protecting the blade! and "C# (6F, is the blade. /n chikara A (F,! the blade #C# is going through the saya. Chikara (F, there ore can be seen as physical strength! energyR but also as surpassing our own limits. The old kan@i "nuku# (D, is o ten replaced today by "nukeru# (E, this is why / put both here. -oth nuku and nukeru ha:e this idea o releasing or to let go. 2nd this idea o surpassing our limits has been emphasi?ed by Sensei later during the class when he added the idea o "iai no nuku# (0,. ;ou ha:e to let go o e:erything you know! e:ery orm to be in ull symbiosis with ukes inention. &hen you achie:e that you are always "sur ing# on ukes mo:ements and can redirect his chikara against him. Bke when attacking is ully committed to get you! he is using a lot o strength and intention. / you are neutral you ollow the mo:ements like the branchees o the willow tree mo:ing reely in the wind. 2s you ha:e no intention you cannot be read by uke. This was the irst thing we learned in F118 when being introduced to the world o 3upp sessh through the San@igen no Sekai. Bke when attacking makes a decision (intention,. This locks him into his "present#! gen?ai (C,! a moment that will become "the past#! kako (M, when he begins to mo:e. $ow his intention is ocused towards a gi:en target in his " uture#! mirai (7,. 8kakogen?aimirai#: This is the "kakogen?aimirai#. Bke is ne:er in the present! gen?ai (C, as he is trapped by his intention in his uture mirai (7, and still attached to his past kako (M,. This is like a boat still attached to the pier and going at sea! it will last the time or the length o rope to be ully extended! and the tension will pull it back to the pier or stop it.

Tori ha:ing no intention is always in the present and adapts permanently to the changes (like the branch o the willow tree mo:ing reely with the wind,. /n act there is no good or bad timing! there is only present. >ast week! Sensei said in class there was no timing. -ut maybe he meant that time doesnt exist. the permanent present o nakaima (68,! the middle o now only exists. The "now# is only a spark o time renewing itsel permanently. &hen you thinkR when you prepare a counter mo:ement to what you expect will do! you become also trapped in the dark side o the sanshin o the kakogen?aimirai world. -e so t and relaxed! stay in this permanent present and you will always be able to sur the positi:e aspect o kakogen?aimirai. 2t the end o the class! Sensei added that we now ha:e to become gentlemen and not to use chikara at all. /n act we should de:elop a more eminin way o beha:ing! more subtle! using no strength and abo:e all not grabbing. &e simply ha:e to redirect ukes intention and orce. There is no techniQue there is only opportunity. This is goshin @utsu. )et rid o the orms! dont inish a mo:ement! sur reely. This is the elegant simplicity! the ;<gen (6E, o a true 2rt. 8katana o nuku! chikara o nuku# 1 ' katana +single,edged- s*ord) katana) force) strength) might) vigour) energy)capability) ability) proficiency) capacity) faculty) 2 chikara efficacy) effect) effort) endeavours) e3ertions) po*er) authority) influence) good offices) A agency) support) help) aid) assistance) stress) emphasis) means) resources) " D nukuidiot) dummy) slo* person to e3tract) to omit) to surpass) to overtake) to dra* out) to unplug) to do something to the (E nuku * end) to come out) to fall out) to be omitted) to be missing) to escape) to come loose) to fade) &E nukeru to discolour) to *ear out +to the point of forming a hole! e.g. 'lothes-) to leave +e.g. a FG meeting-) to be clear) to be transparent +e.g. of the sky-) 8/ai no nuku# art of dra*ing one6s s*ord! cutting do*n one6s opponent and sheathing the s*ord I after*ards 8kakogen?aimirai# and other words $H iai

the past) bygone days) the previous) a past +i.e. a personal history one *ould prefer K remained secret-) one6s past) (Buddhist term) previous life 7 LM gen9aino*) current) present) present time) as of % NO mirai the future +usually distant-) the *orld to come 10 B nin endurance) forbearance) patience) self,restraint 66 The upper strike looking like a re:erse U symboli?es the scabbard 5J kako 6F the lower strike: "C# symboli?es the sword the present +esp. as a privileged moment in eternity-. 0akaima is e3plained in the 8Way of the nin:a;! book by 1atsumi <ensei) 1( shiki (Buddhist term) ac/uaintanceship) vi:nana +consciousness-) subtle grace) hidden beauty) mysterious profundity) elegant simplicity) the subtle and 1& =4gen profound) the occult 1" PQ nakaima Thoughts on Budo | $ 'omments /s Change 2lways 9ositi:eJ Posted on 0ovember 2"! 2012by kumafr
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-ecause / was in the B$! / was absent rom 3apan or eight months. %ight months is :ery long by 3apanese standard and many things are changing. This trip is my E1th and since 6777 / ha:e stayed at the *ashiwa hotel. %:en though /m always ama?ed by the 3apanese ability to change their processes / am sometimes wondering i a change is always a good thing. The new waitress . /n the -u@inkan we use to say that "the only thing that ne:er change is change itsel #. -ecause change is permanent. -ut is this change always an impro:ementJ / dont know.&hen / arri:ed at the hotel changes can be seen

e:erywhere. The ulala ca e which has been our ma@or meeting point or years has reduced its smoking ?one. &e (the e:il smokers, are now parked in a kind o "aQuarium#. Aany o the old and nice ladies ha:e been replaced by young ones. They dont speak %nglish either but it is ok. -ut the strangest change is that you now ha:e to use and pay an automat (see picture, to get the drinks or ood you want (the names are only in 3apanese,. . So is change always positi:eJ / @ust witnessed two 3apanese men ordering their ood at the machine. The get their order it took them at least E minutes. &hen they inally sit they push the call button and E minutes later a waitress came. They ga:e the :arious tickets to the waitress but she had to come back twice to understand exactly what they wanted. 2nd the second time she changed their order because they didnt do it correctly. 2nd they were 3apanese adults in their 81sN Aeaning that the written language was not a problem or them4 . So is change always goodJ Sensei teaches us to adapt our techniQues to these permanent changes surrounding us in order not to be surprised. -ut when change make things more complex thenit is time to get out o the system. / always appreciated the 3apanese or their e iciency. Things were e:ol:ing towards more simpli ication! but today they are changing towards complexi ication and this is not a good sign.2 ter thinking a lot about this "change thing# / went to the Honbu to attend $oguchi senseis class. &e did the irst le:el o *oto Ry< and / elt a little awkward as it seemed that these techniQues that / ha:e been taught during so many years here in 3apan were di erent. $oguchi senseis tai@utsu has become so re ined that it is di icult to ind the 6! F! 8 steps composing the initial techniQues. That was a big change. . He changed his tai@utsu but unlike the hotel this change is heading towards a low making e:ery mo:e like being simple. 2nd as always! / couldnt do hal o what he was doing. . Changing! to ha:e some :alue! must be conducted in order to bene it the result. / you make a change in a wa?a but didnt master it! then this is not changing this is betraying. To change something you ha:e to know it per ectly. . ten people when training do not e:en try to repeat what is being taught. /n act they think they understand and make things more :iolent! more ine icient! and totally useless. .

$oguchi senseis mo:ements are becoming so subtle that beauty and elegance are emanating rom them. %legance or art said Sensei once is "to render the in:isible :isible#. This ability cannot be decided it has to bloom naturally rom years o mechanical practice and training. / you want to make a stone shine you will ha:e to polish it! again and again. . The word change R means "strange or curious# but the :erb "to change# S is "to dri t or to pass into#. The :erb "to change# gi:es an idea o e:olution whereas the word "change# is static and only takes into account something unusual (positi:e or negati:e,. . So is change positi:eJ ;es i you want "to change# S but $o i you want "a change# R . $inp /kkanN (keep goingN, . 9s: 6E minutes ago / went to the automatic :ending machine to order another co ee and a sandwich 4 /m still waiting or my order to arri:e. 9sF: $ext Aarch / want "to change# too and / will dri t to another hotel or my trips to 3apan. Thoughts on Budo | & 'omments 3apan Trip 2pril F16F S +iary Posted on >pril 2(! 2012by kumafr
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/ came back yesterday rom a antastic trip and / hope you ha:e been able to share with me the things / trained in $oda.

/ ha:e been asked in 3apan why / was writing so muchV. /t is to share with the community some o the knowledge we get in 3apan with Ske and the shihan. / hope it will help you to wait or your next trip. These textsV and these pictures are my attempt to gi:e a air image o what is happening in 3apan. This is why / ha:e added many pictures to these texts.

/ took many pictures and not all are good but please see them as a training documentary. 9ictures being orbidden during training! you will mainly ha:e pictures taken be ore and a ter the class. 2s today someone asked me to put a link here to access the pictures uploaded on acebook during my trip you will ind them below: The irst album contains the irst 61 days (o:er E11 pict,: https:KKwww. acebook.comKmediaKsetKJsetPa.887E86C6MD1FC.6DD067.601678MC11WtypeP8 and the second one only the last day (around 611 pict,: https:KKwww. acebook.comKmediaKsetKJsetPa.8D0D68688D86D.6DEMFD.601678MC11WtypeP8 %n@oy and comment them i you eel like it. V2ll the texts in this blog were uploaded in 2pril. / you want to read them again! click on "2pril F16FL in the home page and they will appear.

?eneral thoughts, @apan Trip | Leave a comment Bltimate Teaching Posted on >pril 22! 2012by kumafr
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Today *as my last class *ith sensei during this :apan trip and it *as a very nice class *here *e could train also *ith long *eapons. >s sensei *as coming a little late A *as asked to begin the class and *hen sensei arrived! *e started by a three tsuki attack demonstrated by an >merican friend. Brom there A got lost as sensei used no strength at all and *as playing *ith uke as if uke *as unable to see that he *as going to die. <ha*n ?ray! after being sensei6s uke! commented that each one of the uke nagashi *as piling up on top of the previous one! and that he became a*are of his loss of balance only *hen it *as too late. <ensei6s movements reminded me of some form of 8kotonoma;! +verb! sound- and 8koky4;! +breathing- demonstrated by Ceshiba sensei in his >ikido videos. Briday night he insisted to pay attention to the breathing of the opponent and to our o*n breathing too. Af you hit uke *hile he is breathing in you increase the po*er of your hits. This is *hy you must take your time and *ait for uke to breath in. Af you rush to do the techni/ue you *ill be less efficient. Timing is essential +kanameD-. When 1atsumi sensei is moving his body turns into the 8ch4shin;! +pivot! center- of everything. Even though he didn6t speak about 8shinrabansh.;! +all things in 0ature- today! he *as

e3pressing it in each one of his movements. 1e *as the 8shinrabansh. no kaname;! ! the center of the *hole creation. Whatever his uke *as doing he *as speeding up the destruction process. Like in the theme of 2005 ;kuki taisho;! +the laughter of the ninth demon-! tori has no fear. Af uke attacks! he dies) if he doesn6t! he lives. That is his call. What *as really ama9ing *as to see ho* easily sensei! *ith very little movements of the *hole body can deal *ith the opponent. At took me /uite a long time +gracias 1ector- to figure it out! and even *hen A got close to get it! A *as miles a*ay from sensei6s movements. <ometimes A find it frustrating to attend his classes. =ou see the techni/ue! you understand it! and you are incapable. This can be /uite depressing. 1is movements are so subtle that if you don6t pay atttention to everything at the same time! you don6t see them. >s <ha*n said later! the motion of sensei6s hands is catching his attention and the body movements *ere getting his balance totally unnoticed. When facing s.ke! you are dra*n into a sort of 8u9umaki;! +*hirlpool- feeling! from *hich there is no escape. At is interesting to *atch but it is scary to feel it. There is no strength at all and uke falls because he cannot be standing up anymore. Brom the observer6s perspective it is as if nothing is applied to him. At is magicF Each point of contact bet*een tori and uke +today mainly the elbo*s- turns into a kaname as sensei keeps pivoting softly using his legs to do that. 1e spoke again about kaname! e3plaining it to be the highest e3pression of tai:utsu. Gnce you can find the kaname every*here there is nothing impossible. But *hat is impossible is to understand it solely at the intellectual level. 1e said that this cannot be understood or ac/uired by 8researchers;! it is coming from real e3perience! this is not mental. Gver the years ho* many times did *e hear him saying out loud2 8don6t thinkF;. 1e also said2 8there are too many researchers in the bu:inkan and the kaname concept is out of their grasp as long as they keep their kno*ledge at the intellectual level. At *as like *hat he told us about kuden on Briday night2 8kuden cannot be *ritten! this is *hy it is an oral transmission;. <ensei repeated again that understanding his *ords or the movements *ere not important2 8if you get out of the class *ith the feeling you remember nothing it is ok because A teach the :4godan;. A hope A *as not the only one totally lost. Beeling this kaname action through the body is teaching the mind. A *ent to ask him to demonstrate it on me and *hen he did! it *as like fighting a 8puff of smoke;. There *as no information sent to me! nothing. A felt like falling into the k4kan.

>s not so many people attended the class today! *e applied these techni/ues *ith s*ord! b. and naginata and it *as nice to learn ho* to use the space available. With a *eapon or not! *hen facing sensei you are not afraid! you are simply fro9en. =ou stop moving because it is comfortable and safe. We don6t use the *eapons! *e use our tai:utsu *ith the help +ho:oD- of the *eapons. The sakki test ended the class and A *ent to his house *here A :oined <ayaka Gguri! Lubos and some of his students. <ensei sho*ed us many ne* s*ords he got recently including one that belonged to a Togakure general +yoshitakaD- *ith the togakure crest on the scabbard. >nother tachi *as *earing the shingon crest! and the blade *as engraved *ith the Bud. my. s*ord on one side and three bi:a letters representing Bud. my.! Harishi ten! and ainichi nyorai. 1e also sho*ed us a very nice tant. in an orange scabbard that looked like a big caterpilar. 1e also sho*ed us a beautiful kyoketsu sh.ge! *ith the s*ord and dragon of fud. my. on one side! and the double edged s*ord *ith a va:ra tsuka on the other side +you can see the pictures of those *eapons on facebook-. We *ere departing *hen sensei asked us to the ne* storage room ne3t to his house. At *as like entering an anti/ue shopF #arious types of *eapons and pieces of art are there! *aiting for an hypothetic museum. What caught my eyes *ere the fe* long yari that he sho*ed. Each blade *as around 70 cmF 0o *onder *hy the yari *as considered to be the most dangerous *eapon of all. A read some*here from an archeological study that bet*een Huromachi +1"""- and Hei:i +17$7-! death by s*ords only accounted for about 20I of the casualties! and the ma:ority happened after the beginning of the Tokuga*a shogunate +1$0"-. The yari *as the *eapon of choice of the samurai! and the @apanese yoroi *as initially designed to fight it. Before leaving sensei! and after thanking him for the time he spent *ith us! he gave Lubos and me t*o omamori from the Jashima Jatori shrine from the Hiyagi prefecture that he signed *ith his martial name. At *as indeed a very nice day today! thank you sensei. A am sure *e *ill speak about it *ith Lubos tomorro* as *e are sharing the same flight back to Europe. <ayonara ?eneral thoughts, @apan Trip | 2 'omments Shinrabansh Posted on >pril 21! 2012by kumafr
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/n each class with sensei / wait or "the word# that will gi:e a new turn to my tai@utsu. >ast riday night at the honbu the word was "shinrabansh#! TUVW (all thing in nature! the whole creation,. / had the pri:ilege to open the class. .n a ist attack! you slide to ukes le t and take his hand! rotate the body le tward while pushing up on his elbow! there ore extending his arm. The le t hand controls ukes le t shoulder. This turns naturally into a kind o H gyaku and uke alls at your eet still in control. 2 ter a ew tries by e:eryone! sensei did it "his way# on me and / got the eeling that he :anished in ront o me. /n act when / was asked to explain what / elt! the only word that came to mind was "nuku# (see http:KKkuma r.wordpress.comKF16FK1DK6MK616FK,. Sensei is mo:ing slightly be ore you ha:e the time to get him. His mo:es are not ast they are @ust in tune with e:erything! this is when he began to speak about "shinrabansh#. The "whole creation# is one with him and his actions are so natural that the time you see them it is already too late. / insist here on the act that a mo:ement being natural is not "human#! it is a mani ested y<gen (, action o "elegant simplicity#. 2s e:eryone was lost! he reminded us that "/m teaching at i teenth dan le:el#. Then he went on explaining this idea o "#shinrabansh#. / must say that most o it went passed my le:el o understanding and / began to eel bad. -ut then he said that understanding was not important (good or us! gai@in and 3apanese altogether,! the kaname is to "hear it#. He added that the :ibration o the words (like in a sutra or a prayer, is the thing that only matters! the meaning is secondary. 9rior to the class / was speaking with Aaria Somera (Aexico, and Craig .lson (Canadian resident, about the translation o his book "Chihayaburu kami no oshie wa tokoshie ni tadashiki kokoro mio mamoruran#V to Spanish. 2t one point Craig said that the last sound o the last word "mamoruran#! the "an# was similar to the buddhist "a un#! the end and the beginning o things. 2nd this is exactly what sensei was told us that night: "sound is li e and this is why the sound is more important than the meaning#.

Sensei added that we should not try to remember the things he says or do during his classes as long as we attend the class. "i you put it in writing! it loses its power o creation#. / understand what he said but / wanted to share it with you in writing anyway. To me this was the irst time / truly understood what a kuden is. 2s you know the meaning o kuden (XY, is oral transmission. Gor years / ha:e been wondering why a kuden would be written. /t must be! so that the ske would be able not to orget it. ;esterday / understood that the kuden is a natural expression o li e and that! i you ha:e the le:el! your connection to the di:ine will ind a way to express it through your words. /n the k<kan created by nuki wa?a! the sakki is re:ealed! this is the kaname o Hatsumi senseis teachings these days.VV / The 0Chihayab!r!1 is sai by the b!2in$an teacher prior to the 0shi$in haramits! ai$omy31 at the beginning an at the en of the class. 4ere is the te(t in Japanese, Z[\G]^_`ab^cdbefghG1i - chihayab!r! $ami no oshie wa to$oshie nita ashi$i $o$oro mio mamor!ran. There are a few websites giving some e(planations on the meaning of it b!t # a vise yo! to get the boo$ by Craig which covers this prayer56antra in more than 100 pages as he spo$e a lot with sensei when writing the first e ition of the boo$. - short an maybe inappropriate translation wo!l be, 0'ith a p!re heart the $ami will g!i e yo! thro!gh a happy life1, b!t there is m!ch more in the boo$. //note, we i also many techni7!es !ring this class, b!t # will e(plain that in a f!t!re post.

@apan Trip, Thoughts on Budo | 2 'omments Ho@o W *otsu Posted on >pril 21! 2012by kumafr
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Today6s class *as about ho:o +assistance! support- of the basics in every movement. This foundation is the key to get the natural flo* in your tai:utsu. A am al*ays ama9ed by <en. sensei6s saino! +ability-! nagare! +flo*- and k.seido! ! +precision-. A remember asking him one day ho* he became so good at locks! foot*ork and at off balancing uke effortlessly. 8When A began! A trained by myself a long time testing the efficiency of each degree of t*isting applied to each :oint of the body;. Gnce again! the best 8nin:a book; you can buy is an anatomy book. Af you learn the bio mechanics of the body then you don6t need to use any strength. Kemeber that self training is an important path of e3cellence and bu:inkan students should do their home*ork more often. The fact that *e get promoted fast in the bu:inkan has created a negative side effect as *esterners often think that 8rank L proficiency;. But this is *rong. Gur ranks rarely re*ard our technical skills. An fact *e are given ranks to be *orth them one day. Let me tell you a personal story.

A *as at sensei6s home one day and he complimented me on the evolution of my tai:utsu +*hat can you sayD- adding2 8A *ill give you 1(th dan;. A replied that A *as not yet *orth the 1"th and that he could give it to me four month later *hen A be back.M 80o;! he said 8A *ill give it to you no*. But you are right to think that you do not deserve it no* but you are improving and soon you *ill be *orth your 1"th. This is *hy A give you the ne3t one today;. uncomfortable! A insisted that he could get it at my ne3t trip! to *hich he said ,and this is the key of the ranking system in the bu:inkan, 8no! A *ant to give it to you no* because if A die before you come back! you *ill have the rest of your life to be *orth itF;. Kanks in the bu:inkan are only a ho:o +support- to help you in your training. They are an e3cuse to 8keep going; and so that you develop the necessary skills. They are given 8a priori; and not 8a posteriori;. At is sad that so many people think they deserve the rank they have *ithout actually training to develop the skills they are supposed to develop. <en. sensei and the other shihan have *orked hard to get to the level they have today. 'opying their movements +sensei6s and the shihan6s- is only good if you have the proper foundation in your tai:utsu. But if you are lacking this foundation then you are :ust behaving like a monkey! mimicking *ithout kno*ing. 1o:o! +assistance! support- *as the key*ord of this class! and <en. sensei6s insisted a lot on it. =our tai:utsu is 8supported; by the skills you have developed *hen learning your basics and by revie*ing them often. An Brance! in Gctober! every year! A give a & day seminar covering the *hole tai:utsu of the tenchi:in. Beginners and high ranks :oin in to revie* or learn the basics. At you are a piano player or a ballet dancer! you repeat your basics every day! so *hy should it be different in bud. *hen bad basics mean deathD <eitairikigaku! "#$% +biomechanics- is2 the science +%- of giving life +"- and po*er +$- to the body +#-. =ou need good basics so that you do not need strength. <en. sensei said that seitairikigaku is supported +ho:o- by saino! +ability- to use 8ashi sabaki;! &'( +foot*ork-) 8karada;! # +body-! and kyori! ) +distance-. This is *hy 8chikara;! $ +strength- is not needed. 1atsumi sensei keeps saying it in each class in @apan. We use strength because *e are unable to read the balance of uke. A *rote about the importance of training *ith the various shihan here in @apan. Af *e compare this <en.6s sensei class *ith the classes of 0agato sensei! *e can see the differences. 0agato sensei teaches something closer to 8street fighting; and <en. sensei a bio mechanics study course. Both are important! and both *ill help you improve your survival skills. To the techni/ues *e studied today! and echoeing *ith *hat 1atsumi sensei taught yesterday about small hidden *eapons! *e added a teppan +*+-MM +or shaken- to the movements. What *as really

interesting *as that the edge can be used as a pivoting point or a supporting point *here it is in contact *ith uke. This ch4shin action emphasi9es the movements of the body and facilitates the off balancing of uke. > corner of the teppan can be used either to inflict pain to uke or as a pivoting point or increasing leverage! the body turning softly around the attacker to take his balance. This is done *ith no strength simply by applying your kno*ledge the bone structure of the body. Playing *ith the *ords *e can say that2 the kotsu! , +si9ing- is to kno* the kotsu! - +bones- of the :oints! in order to develop the kotsu9ui! -. +true spirit- of tai:utsu in a kotsu! / +instantly-. <o A kotsu you! 0 +invite- to find the kotsu! - +secret- and develop the kotsu - +kno*,ho*- to become kotsu! 1 +dangerous-. Mnote2 like many A travel to @apan three times a year to train *ith my teacher. MMnote2 a teppan is like a shaken but it is s/uare *ith no hole in the middle! and the si9e of the palm of your hand. Bigger or smaller than the palm and the teppan *ill be not as efficient. Like any shaken it is not sharp. Csually it is not to be thro*n at the opponent +you can- and it is used to ho:o +support- your controls on uke6s body. Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment Shihanden at -u@inden Posted on >pril 20! 2012by kumafr
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An the last five days! A had the chance to train three times *ith 0agato sensei and A noticed a ne* 8trend; in his *ay of teaching. A have been training under him for over t*enty years and A see *hen things are changing. >s it is +should beD- the case for all of us! he is still evolving and he keeps improving his tai:utsu. ?=Y jkY The shihan ways at -u@inden: Each one of the @apanese shihan has developed his o*n tai:utsu over the years. A remember telling 1atsumi sensei one day that *hen in @apan A had the feeling that A *as training the bu:inkan *ith him and the Gguri ry4! 0oguchi ry4! 0agato ry4 and <en. ry4. 1e ans*ered that A *as correct and that it is the *ay things should be. >s a sidenote! A *ant to add that *hen you have the chance to be in @apan you should not limit your training only to sensei6s but take the opportunity to learn different *ays to train by visiting as many shihan as possible. Gur body movement is the melting pot of all these e3periences and the more e3periences you have the more likely you *ill find *hat is suiting your body. =esterday for e3ample A *as training *ith my tall friend Kobin. >t some point A *as totally unable to apply the techni/ue on

him as he is much taller than me and that in a ganseki like movement! A couldn6t lock his arm *ithout holding it *ith mine. 1is arm kept popping out of my shoulder +angle-. <o A had to change the techni/ue and do a regular ganseki to do it. Later on a hip lock techni/ue Kobin *as unable to do it on me! A *as too lo*. Each time he *ould try it! this *ould create openings for counter. A liked his comment at that time2 8this one is not for me! A *ill never do that;. >nd this is the main point of training *ith different teachers. Everything they demonstrate and teach cannot be fitting us but be recogni9ing it *e learn to avoid those movements detrimental to our survival. >nother point is that apart from being students of 1atsumi sensei! each one of us is more or less the student of a given shihan. A mean that *e received our tai:utsu foundation from one particular shihan at the beginning. >nd from there *e evolved by training *ith the others. At *as obvious yesterday! Kobin is a 0agato sensei student! A am a 0oguchi student. >nd our tai:utsu are /uite different because of our different origins. Brom 1%%" and until the opening of the honbu d.:. +10th heisei! 10th moon! 10th sun! 10th hour! 10th minute-M sensei ordered me to train e3clusively *ith him and 0oguchi sensei. >fter this opening A *as allo*ed to train *ith the sole shi tenn. and only *hen they *ere teaching at the honbu. A had been training *ith 0agato sensei before 1%%" and A liked his tai:utsu that *as looking more po*erful and more efficient. ?aman *as permanent during his classes. A remember him stopping the class one day saying2 8A don6t hear the hitsF;N 0e3t time you visit sensei in @apan! A invite you to ask him *ith *hom you should train in particular. epending on *ho you are and from *here you are coming sensei *ill direct you to one or many shihan to help you unfold your o*n tai:utsu. Gver the years! like many of us! 0agato sensei pure po*er *as replaced by a more softer approach of the fight and mental pain replaced body pain. 1e didin6t lose efficiency though. We can say the same *ith 1atsumi sensei too. But 0agato sensei6s style has al*ays been focusing on 8real fight;! real encounters. Even *hen his tai:utsu became softer he *as still having this nice po*erful flo* of movement! changing his hands permanently! crossing the arms and unfolding uke to take his balance and finally stab or hit him from a blind spot. <o *hat is this ne* 8trend; and this evolution in his tai:utsuD At is2 metsubushi! gassho! ganseki nage! sha ha ashi! mienai *a9a. Let6s revie* some of the points *e studied this *eek2 234 Metsubushi! blinding po*der2 An each techni/ue 0agato sensei insists that *e are using metsubushi to blind the opponent. This 8metsubushi; action of the hand and finger can be real or not! the idea is that uke reacts to it. Whether you are thro*ing something at him or not doesn6t matter as log as your action opens up ne* holes in his guard. Kemember that illusions can be po*erful.

56 Gassh! hands in prayer2 <peaking of guard! he still insists a lot on guarding yourself from uke6s reactions but this time he is putting his hands together and e3tended both arms to*ards uke. This allo*s you to rapidly change thedirection of your and and body! to free your elbo*s ans to control uke6s balance. Kemember that the attacker outside of the d.:. doesn6t attack in lineN 789: /;4 Ganseki nage/otoshi: This 8prayer; move *ill open uke! e3tends his arms and allo* you to place a devastating ganseki like movement. Hany techni/ues *e did ended up in ganseki age or ganseki otoshi. This created more space to turn around and helped to guard ourselves from any short *eapon attack. This *as the kaname. Kemember that k4kan is everything. <=> Sha ha ashiMM! moving the legs in all directions2 An many thro*s *e often create a body reaction from uke resulting in a failure. By using the foot*ork and the sha ha ashi moves *e unlock these tensions and become able to thro* or crush uke. Kemember that distance is given by foot*ork. ?@ABC Mienai waza! invisible techni/ue2 We also did some knife applications +*eapon in the left hand- *here *e used it as a natural e3tension of the hand! al*ays hidden from uke6s sight. Anstead of grabbing the attacking hand *e *ould simply place softly +Joch. gaeshi- the knife on the forearm! hidden under our other arm crossed over uke6s chest. 0agato sensei said that2 8it is easy to use a knife in plain sight but not sho*ing it is smarter;. This is the same *ith our fighting skills! don6t sho* them and you *ill keep an advantage over your opponents. Af you look strong and po*erful you are asking for troubles. *note !umerology rules "apanese lives# $he inauguration o% the hon&u d'(' took place on the auspicious day o% the 1)th octo&er o% 1**+, at 1) 1)pm# $he repetitive -1). can &e seen as the completion o% the cycle (k/); and also as the &eginning o% the &u(inden, the transmission o% the &u(in to the world# **sha ha ashi is a concept e0plained in -togakure ryu tai(utsu1, %irst tenchi(in &ook pu&lished in 1*23 &y 3atsumi sensei# it is also in the 1*2+ edition reedited &y 4olkan# 4ha diagonal, ha all directions and ashi leg# 5t is using the legs on the shin &one, heels, %oot to apply lever on uke6s legs and take his &alance# 5t is sometimes re%erred as -7shi rau1#
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Happ Biken
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>pril 1%! 2012by kumafr

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Today / ga:e a class on biken @utsu at the honbu and we studied the kukishin sword. The two hours passed so ast that we didnt ha:e time or a break as we use to ha:e here in mid class. /t was nice to dwell gain into the wa?a o the school as we mainly apply the kankaku o the :arious schools into our classes with sensei and the shihan. This is what sensei explained to me o:er lunch last Sunday. Since we entered the world o 3upp sessh in F118! e:erything we do now is based upon the tai@utsu with weapons using the " la:or# o each style and mixing them together. what we study now during class with Ske is not anymore the wa?a but something we can call lm n ( <mi no wa?a,! a la:ored techniQue. >ast year or example we did a lot o sword techniQues with the <mi o Shinden Gud ry<. -ut beginners need to ha:e a rom to start rom and the kukishin biken @utsu (and the togakure biken @utsu, are there to gi:e them that. So it was nice to re:iew the techniQues again. The kukishin happ biken is Quite complete with 7 techniQues di:ided into 8 sets o 8: tsuki komi! tsuki gake! kiri age

 kiri sage! kinshi! koch. gaeshi shi h. giri! happ. giri! tsuki no *a %ach one o these basic techniQues is then completed by a set o 7 say<V gyakuR and a set o 7 henka. &hich makes a theoretical total o FM.

&hat / understood last year in 2pril when training with sensei is that we can see the say< gyaku (opq ' le t right re:ersing orms, as how to apply the basic orm to the le t or to the right o the opponent. %ach say< gyaku contains in act more than one or two orms. Then the henka (rs ' beginning o changeKend o change, is how to apply the basic orm while mo:ing orward or backward. Here again you ha:e more than two ways o doing each one o them.

So rom the 7 basic orms listed abo:e with the added sets o say< gyaku and o henka! we get an in inity o possibilities to ad@ust the techniQue to the ighting conditions. Aaybe this is the reason why Toda sensei told Takamatsu going to challenge /shitani! ske o the kukishin: "dont use sword techniQues against /shitani sensei as his kukishin biken @utsu is much more power ul than our togakure happ biken#.

The reason why / separated the basic orms into three sets is that i you study these techniQues care ully you will notice that they do not apply on the same timeline. The irst set is used when you react a ter the attack begins (ni@igen no sekai,R the second set while the attack begins (san@igen no sekai,R and the third one be ore the attack begins (y<gen no sekai,.

2lso in each group you will see that the irst techniQue o each group is a ten (going up,R the second one a chi (going down,R and the third one! a @in (going to the opponent,. These groups (tenchi@in and upKdownK orward, actually de ine a matrix o actions that can be adapted through the say< gyaku set andKor the henka set.

Aaybe this is what sensei meant also by naming it "kukishin ry< happ biken#.

Vnote: say< is the Chinese pronunciation o hidari migi.

+U+: / recorded the basic techniQues and also their tachi :ersion on :ideo. Those interested can ind them on www.budomart.com -iken @utsu (F d:ds basic and kukishin, Tachi wa?a (8 d:ds,

?eneral thoughts, @apan Trip | 1 'omment Aeridian! Speed W %xcellence Posted on >pril 1%! 2012by kumafr
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%ach action should be ollowing each other in a logical manner. /n the techniQue! we mo:e to one point o control to another as i climbing a rope! as sensei put it we "should control the opponent as i going up or down an acupuncture meridian.#V -ut senseis was not trying to teach us any @apanese medicine or acupunctureVV! he was using this image in order to explain that "like on a meridian# each point o control belongs to the same line. Bke cen be controlled on any point o the same logical line. -alance is taken the same way on each point o the same logical line. -alance is lost when we control a point on one line and then mo:e to another point located on another line. This is why it is important in your training to understand the bio mechanics o the human body. -y mo:ing rom one point to another point o the same line! you keep the o balancing at all time and it doesnt matter i the irst point is at the arm and the second one at the belly or the leg. . ten these days this control is done with the legs using the sha ha ashi principle. This has been done repeatedly by sensei! Sen sensei! $agato sensei and $oguchi sensei. This gokui o

tai@utsu is used a lot. -y using your legs to continue the o balancing o uke you ree your hands and ready them or another action. 2lso as uke reacts according to what he percei:es and see! uke will o ten be unaware o what is going on at ground le:el. This mienai wa?a is a real asset in your tai@utsu. This natural action o your legs also rees your body and you can then de:elop your intention. -ut to be really e icient you should know when to show your intentions and when not to show it. /n the tenchi@in o 67CM it is said that you should "be able to bend when there is wind! and not to bend hen there is no wind#. 2dapting our beha:iour to ukes perceptions! to our en:ironment! and to our intuition is the goal o tai@utsu. &a?a without *ankaku is only a dead mo:ement i you are not able to change it according to the situation and to ukes reactions. /n $agato senseis class today! he mentionned the act the "doing a good looking but ine icient techniQue is stupid. /t is better to do something "ugly# but e icient than dying doing a beauti ul wa?a. The *ankuku is what allows you to adapt the kata. 2 ew years ago! Sen sensei explained that a kata was to be considered as a channel. 2 kata includes some kaname that you ha:e to pass in order to achie:e the result you are looking or. 2t irst! your kata is mechanical and ine icient. &ith hundreds o repetitions you acQuire the nagare (the low, and turn a dead mo:ement into a part o your tai@utsu. The *ata becomes ali:e with the adding o the kankaku. -e care ul as the kankaku alone will not su ice. ;ou do ha:e to learn the orm to discard it. ;ou learn an "inanimated# kata to "channel# your body mechanical mo:ement. ;ou train a kata to "animate# it and put li e into it. ;ou destroy the kata to express your natural body mo:ement. 2nd this destruction arri:es only and only when you ha:e mastered the initial orm. $agato sensei was complaining the other day that in the bu@inkan too many students (high ranks included, didnt put enough e ort in learning the orms. / see many bu@inkan teachers applying "henka# without ha:ing the essence! the kaname o the original techniQue. &ithout hard work there is no impro:ement possible. This lack o work o ten leads these teachers to train ast! use orce and be :iolent (and dangerous to their students,. This is not the proper way o training. 9lease ne:er orget that there is no shortcut ot excellence! it takes time! e ort! and reQuires hundreds o repetitionsVVV. 2s $agato sensei likes to put it: #.nly stupid people train ast! try to be cle:er! train slowly#. /note, The h!man bo y has 1" meri ians, 8 on the han s an si( on the feet. There are also " a itional ones going aro!n the bo y. These two meri ians are calle tenmo an chimo 9ten an chi: an lin$ the front of the bo y 9tong!e to scrot!m: an the bac$ of the bo y 9!pper palatal teeth to scrot!m:, creating a ring flowing !p an own the bo y. ;n a ifferent logic the Japanese consi er the fingers as the five elements. They are co!nte from

chi, the little finger< to $= for the th!mb. #f yo! a tenmo chimo an the elements yo! get a tenchi2in. //note, # remember one st! ent as$ing him abo!t the $y=sho an the ac!p!nct!re meri ians an his answer, 0if yo! want to learn them then become a therapist, we are oing b! 3 here not me icine1. >on?t loose the ob2ective. ///note, #f yo! have no pl!g behin yo!r hea yo! are still in the matri( an yo! have to learn the har way. .(cellence an proficiency cannot be ownloa e to yo!r bo y. Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment Sanshin is *ihon Happ (F, Posted on >pril 17! 2012by kumafr
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Birst of all A *ant to thank you for your comments on the this sub:ect! and if you did not read them! A invite you to do it no* on the blog. >fter publishing the first article on this sub:ect! A remembered that A forgot to tell you a fe* things. At is mainly about chance and memory. 1. tenchijin 1987: When A received the first version of the tenchi:in in English back in 1%75! the 8shoshin gokei gogy. no kata; +gogy.- *as described as2 8chi,mi9u,hi,ka9e,k4; this is the reason *hy it caught my eyes *hen A discovered it in the first edition of the 8unarmed fighting techni/ues of the samurai;. >t first A thought that this *ere the real names but then one day! A *as on skype *ith one of my students. Because A *anted him to discover this by himself A asked him to go on the sanshin no kata page and to read them. 1e did. But there *as no comment at all. A insisted that he read them loud and

this is *hen A discovered that his edition *as different from mine. A couldn6t believe it so he sho*ed his book on the screen. This is ho* A discovered it. <ensei often says that *e have to 8create chance; and until that day A didn6t understand *hat he meant by that. A think that A understand it better no*. 'hance is keeping your eyes and your mind open. Jeeping your mind open develop your intuition. Antuition comes from 8intuitus; in latin that means 8glance;. Af you *atch carefully *hat you see around you! then the illusion of *hat you *ant to see vanishes and you see the things the *ay they are! and not the *ay you think they are. Jeeping your mind open is also important. The *ay *e see and understand the *orld is conditioned by our education or! sometimes our lack of education. <ome time ago A gave sensei a book called 8the black s*an;. The *hole idea *as the follo*ing2 8>ll s*ans must be *hite because all historical records of s*ans reported that they had *hite feathers;. This proved to be *rong *hen black s*ans *ere discovered in >ustralia in the 1%th century. At is not because *e don6t kno* something that this something doesn6t e3ist. An the book the author details a theory about 8une3pected events of large magnitude and conse/uence;. +more on this at2 http2OOen.*ikipedia.orgO*ikiOBlackPs*anPtheory-. We learn to create chance by e3pecting the une3pected. An a techni/ue if you react according to *hat you think is going to happen! there is big probability that you *ill fail. Kemember the *ords of Takamatsu sensei2 8opening his eyes and his heart! a nin:a can react ade/uately to the subtle changes from heaven so that there should never be for him anything called surprise; +in 8nin:utsu; by Takamatsu sensei-. Af you e3pect the une3pected! there is no surprise and you learn to create chance for yourself and for those around you. 2. Kihon Ha o! G"okushin #"$: >t the turn of the century! *hike in @apan! A asked sensei about the ?yokushin Ky4. 1e told me that *e had lost the techni/uesM but that the concept remained alive in our tai:utsu. Then he decided to sho* me some of these concepts. We *ere in his house and space *as difficult to find. A *as stuck bet*een the table covered *ith piles of documents and ob:ects! the ground *as supporting piles of videos and books! and the small corridor bet*een the *all and the piles *as about &0 cm *idth. 0o space to move at all. 0evertheless he sho*ed me the 8kihon happ. of the ?yokushin ry4;. An fact he sho*ed me the feeling of the ?yokushin ry4! but instead of sho*ing me the kihon happ. as hesaid he *ould! he did the sanshin no kata. An the ?yokushin he e3plained! you have to 8be; the element you are manifesting. Bor e3ample! *hen doing ka no kata! you move as if you are *alking barefoot on burning coals! in the sui no kata you move as if you *ere s*imming in *ater. >fter thro*ing me on the *all! the armchair and

the table! and after A added some mess by crashing all over to the messy room! A asked him2 8sensei *hy did you say 8kihon happ. and did the sanshin no kata to meD;. 1e looked at me and said2 8the sanshin no kata is the kihon happ.;. A looked stupid! behaved as if A understood! and accepted his ans*er. We kno* that both sets of techni/ues are origining from the ?yokko ry4MM. The kihon happ. is the entry point of the school and the sanshin no kata is the :upp. sessh. of the school +the e3it point-. They are the beginning and the end) the alpha and the omega) the hen and the ka. Permanent changes and permanent adaptation are only possible *hen you stop asking 8*hyD and begin to ask 8ho*D; *note sensei told me once that we have no techniques either %or the kumogakure ry/, only the concepts# $his is why we never studied those two schools as we did %or the other ones# **note 8yokko ry/ gave &irth to the 8yokushin ry/ and to the 8ikan ry/ Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment Sanshin /s *ihon Happ Posted on >pril 17! 2012by kumafr
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The @apanese people are very found about numerology and sensei being @apanese A *as not surprised yesterday night *hen he said 8the sanshin no kata is the kihon happ.;. An this blog A already *rote a fe* articles referring to this and referring mainly to the kihon happ.. But the same can be done *ith the sanshin no kata. =ou can find it here2 http2OOkumafr.*ordpress.comO2010O10O1&Odoes,",&O but there other articles speaking about this in the blog. But ho* can the gogy. of the sanshin DE be e/ual to the kihon happ. FG=HM. Everyone kno*s that " doesn6t e/ual 7! at least for a Western mindset! but maybe it is time to begin to think like a @apanese. Before trying to understand this pu99le! let6s revie* *hat *e start *ith2

the 8sanshin no kata; is a set of & movements based on the five elements! the 8gogy.; +*hich true name is 8shoshin gokei gogy. no kata;MM! in the tenchi:in of 1%75- is made of the @apanese five elements +the 8dai gogy.; refers to the 'hinese ones-! The 8kihon happ.; is a set of "Q& *hich contains all the prinicples of movements and opens up in all directions! The 8kosshi kihon sanp. no kata; is used against attacks +aka 8sanp. no kata;-! The 8hoshu kihon kata goh.; is used against grabs +aka 8goh. no kata;-. Even though 8sanshin; means "! there are & elements. >nd if you add " +san,shin- Q & +go,gy.- the result is 7 +hachi-. This hachi plus 8h.; becomes 8happ.;. Etymologically 8happ.; +hachi Q h.- can have the meaning of 87 principles; =I MMor ;7 directions; =H) but in @apanese it is mainly understood as =H 8all directions; or can also be understood as a 8large hanging lantern;! maybe a big lantern sho*ing us the correct path of bud.D Therefore! the kihon happ. is a fundamental set of movements to move our body in all directions. This 8happ.;! lights the path to our progression in the martial *orld. But as you kno*! 8sanshin; refers to many things. =ou can see 8sanshin; as2 1- a sum up of the tenchi:in philosophy) 2- a set of three actions +kamae! uke nagashi! kaeshi-) "- a time line +before! during! after-) (- a space locator +for*ard! center! back*ard-) or &- having the mind and attitude of a three year old child. 9This is a another gro!p of @AB ma$ing another C*: >ll these interpretations are correct and *ere taught by <.ke over the years. They are all true and please remember that there is no hierarchy bet*een them. >ny one is as good as the other ones. 0o* *hy does " L 7D We have to dig a little deeper here. An the nineties *hile in transit from @apan! A had the chance to meet a russian specialist of both 'hinese and @apanese. >s *e had a fe* hours to *ait before getting into the plane he tried to e3plain the different visions of the t*o cultures. What he told me is that by tradition and culture! the 'hinese are Cra! they conceive a non,manifested *orld) conversely the @apanese are Gmote! they have a materialistic vision of the manifested *orld.

The @apanese see the *orld from the earth +chi- *ere the 'hinese see it from heaven +ten-. This e3plains partly the differences bet*een the 'hinese and @apanese gogy.. The 'hinese dai gogy. are *ood! fire! earth! metal! *ater. The @apanese and the Tibetans have the series *e kno* in the bu:inkan. But to make it a little more comple3! the @apanese gogy. can be seen *ith either a 'hinese approach +more spiritual- or a @apanese one +more grounded-. Hy Kussian specialist used the gogy. as an e3ample. 'hi and J4 are the same in both philosophies and they are similar to the 8alpha and omega; of the ?reeks! a circular flo*) or the henka cycle +beginning,end- of the @apanese *ere change is permanent. But things get even more intricate *ith the other three elements +sanshinD- because they are different both in name and nature. <ui +'hinese- is Hi9u +@apanese-. The 'hinese humidity of the air is opposed to the @apanese *ater in the river. 1i +'hinese- is Ja +@apanese-. The 'hinese sun is opposed to the @apanese bonfire. B4 +'hinese- is Ja9e +@apanese-. The 'hinese atmosphere is opposed to the @apanese *ind. The bu:inkan martial arts do not stop at the door of the d.:.. =ou have to train your brain and learn to think outside of the bo3MMM. A *ish that after reading all of the above you begin to consider that actually " can be e/ual to 7. But there is moreN Because of its success! 1atsumi sensei6s book 8unarmed fighting techni/ues of the samurai; has been republished t*ice. 0o*! depending if you have the first edition or the second one +A have both- you *ould have t*o different 8sanshin no kata; mi3 of the <ino,@apanese logicsF A guess that not so many bu:inkan practitioners noticed itMMM. An the first edition! the sanshin is described as chi,mi9u,hi,ka9e,k4 +or 11011- and in the second edition it is the regular chi,sui,ka,f4,k4 +or 10101-. The techni/ues are the same but the feelings you develop *hen doing the first set or the second one are totally different. Try them. Bunnily A noticed that *hen you put the t*o sets! one on top of the other you get a sort of 0> heli3. Af you train *ith the omote and the ura feelings! you *ill discover ne* things in your tai:utsu. An @uly 2011! A told him about my 0> discovery during lunch and about those differences A found bet*een the t*o editions. 1is ans*er *as2 8yes this is the same;.

But can you really trust a nin:a masterDN. or *as his ans*er much deeper than A thoughtDN / note, the b!2in$an 0$ihon happ31 is tuvw, 1C principles1 // note, 0shoshin go$ei gogy3 no $ata1 is xeyz {|} 0original five elements m!t!al benefit form1 9D: ///si enote, .verything $eeps changing even a boo$, so please remember that sensei often invites !s to 0rea between the lines1, maybe it is time for yo! to beginD
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$uku +ummyN Posted on >pril 15! 2012by kumafr

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Last <unday! 0agato <ensei insisted on the idea of nuku J! in this case dra*ing out the body in the middle of the techni/ue. When uke reacts in tension e3pecting contact you use this tension against him

by removing! *ithdra*ing! your body from the e3pected contact. The k4kan created confuses uke6s balance +body and mind- and he falls by himself. This is someting that sensei is using a lot tricking both our body and our brain. When you are uke *ith sensei there is nothing and you are reacting to an illusion of physical presence. This type of movement is also called k4ki nage! K9: +thro*ing by emptiness- and from the outside! it looks like uke is thro*n by an invisible opponent. Balling apparently for no reason! uke looks like a fool *hich is normal as nuku L means also 8idiot; or 8dummy;.M This concept of nuku is familiar to all of us *hen training biken :utsu. An the bu:inkan getting the blade off the scabbard is called nuki gatana! J(. The nuku action is done not by pulling the s*ord off the scabbard but by 8peeling off; the scabbard from the blade. This nuki action proves to be faster and more accurate in a real fight. A understand that it *as the correct *ay to dra* the s*ord during the Huromachi period. Hy guess is that this *as done to have the time to free the *hole blade of the tachi. >lso s*ord fights *ere mainly about stunning the opponent! taking his balance and stabbing the unprotected part of the body through the holes in the yoroi. When the Tokuga*a period began and peace established they abandoned the yoroi so the s*ords became smaller and the unsheathing of the s*ord *as replaced by the iai action as cutting *as no* possible. There is a good *ay not to forget this difference *ith other s*ord system2 A have been told that in @apan they use 8nuki; *hen peeling the skin of a banana. Gbviously *hen you eat a banana you do not pull the fruit off the skin but peel the skin to eat the fruit. The nuku action e3plained by 0agato sensei is possible only if uke is attacking correctly. By attacking correctly! he meant that the body of the attacker should be behind his attacks. 1e didn6t mean that *e have to use violence but simply to be true in our intentions even if training *ith no speed. 1e added that many times he *atches bu:inkan members not attacking properly and that it is *rong. Because *ithout a real intention these high level techni/ues cannot be revealed. To add to that A encourage you to train more and to master the tsuki +and the uke nagashi-. These are fundamental techni/ues of basic tai:utsu and they are not trained enough in many d.:.. Train your kihon happ. at each class and *hen you have the chance to be uke! train on your attacks. >fter a *hile you *ill notice a real improvement in your tai:utsu as a *hole. A remember once someone asking sensei about tsuki and kicks and telling him that they *ere not really taught in the bu:inkan. <ensei ans*ered dryly2 8and *hy do you think *e train the kihon happ. forD;.

> good and long study of the kihon happ. *ill benefit to your *hole tai:utsu and this is *hy sensei asked us to train them at each training session. This is something he told us long time ago but A believe it is still true today. Af you do not train the kihon happ. andOor the sanshin no kata in your d.:. at every class then please print this and give it to your teacher. 'all it is a direct transmission of the <.ke from last century. With good basics in your tai:utsu you are capable of attacking in a true manner and those beautiful nuku moments can be yours. * -nuku1 has also the meaning o% -doing something to an end1 i% you want to &e a good &u(inkan practitioner this is what you should do, train to master the &asics then move to the weapons and the schools# 9n a side note, there is another meaning to -nuku1 &ut it would &e incorrect to e0plain it here# Thoughts on Budo | ( 'omments the calligraphy o the year F16F
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@inry< no kaname wo mamoru

-ut it is also read "@inry< yg#: ~@ Than$s to Billy Eist!ccia Amage | Posted on >pril 15! 2012 by kumafr| 1 'omment Ch<shin W Chwa Posted on >pril 15! 2012by kumafr

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%:en though the theme or the year is "ken#! sensei speaks a lot about kaname! @ (essential point! pi:ot, in his classes. Since the beginning o the year you can see on the right side o the shinden a calligraphy reading "@inry< no kaname wo mamoru# which can be approximately translated as "the main point o the hea:enly dragon is protection#.

-ut maybe it makes more sense when you know how Gud my is represented symbolically: a chinese double edge sword with a :a@ra as a handle with a dragon wrapped around it. /n the martial arts Gud my is a ma@or deity protecting those walking on the path and bringing back on track those who are lost. Gud is a protector! this is his kaname. The bu@inkan teaches us to protect oursel:es and the others. >ast Sunday! sensei hal @oking said that the techniQue he was doing was coming directly rom hea:en and that there was nothing to do! only to let it low through the body. This illustrates this concept o @inry< (,. +uring his last class! Sen senseis spoke a lot about the ch4shin principle! (pi:ot, which is another translation or kaname. /n a techniQue! he said! you ha:e to include those pi:ots in your actions. -y not grabbing the opponent but simply S and so tly' guiding him you create pi:oting points rom which ukes balance can be broken. Ch<shin also has the meaning o "balance# or " ocus#. There ore by directing your "ch<shin# ( ocus, on these "ch<shin# (pi:ots,! you break ukes "ch<shin# (balance,. To use these pi:ots e iciently ind them and rotate rom the contact points without using any strength. /t is as like dancing with your partner. &hen you dance you are in "chwa#! (harmony,! with uke. This harmonious way o mo:ing is what seems to be the main aspect o todays classes with sensei and the shihan in 3apan. -eing in harmony with uke you can resol:e any situation. )oing deeper in the harmony concept! Sen sensei said there are no techniQues but only a permanent adaptation to the :arious tensions o uke! and this is the reason why not grabbing is important. &hen you grab uke with orce! your grip pre:ents you rom eeling ukes tensions. Gor example when uke throws a punch! recei:e his attacking hand in a sort o berth (thumb inside! extended ingers outside, and pi:ot your hand with your body to open new angles. -y pi:oting with the whole body you create le:erage (teko,. ;our thumb is the center ( ulcrum, and the extended ingers the le:er. / you try that you will ind out that ukes body not being stressed by strength (you are only recei:ing his hand in your hand, will ollow the mo:ement and open up. 2s you all know! "teko shiten# is one o the key principle o the Takagi ;shin Ry<. .nce ukes balance is taken by this ch<shin! you can bring him to the ground "harmoniously# with a simple sha ha ashi action o your leg. This o balancing by the leg is done with no strength at all and with the whole body. +uring this o:ement! Sen sensei said "chikara @anai# many times: "dont use any orce#.

.n the technical side! an e icient sha ha ashi! v! is done by pi:oting on the toes o the oot! not the ball or the heel.V This toe pi:ot gi:es your body the proper distance needed. -ecause each uke mo:es di erently you must adapt the distance and the techniQue. To be succes ull your actions ha:e to be chiseled to the opponents body reactions. There is no shortcut to get that! and only through experience and years o training will you learn when to increase the distance or when to decrease it. Chwa (harmony, between you and the attacker is important. &ork on it. . ten people ask how is it possible to do these techniQues i no strength is used. Bnderstand that strength can be used but only when the so t approach has ailed. See this as a gear box in a car! as long as dri:ing on i th gear is ine it sa:es energy but i the tra ic changes it might be necessary to retrograde your gears to ha:e more power and control o:er your :ehicle. Remember that the more energy you sa:e! the longer you are able to sur:i:e. This goes or e:erything in li e. / you keep your balance and take ukes by using these so t pi:otsR i you can mo:e in harmony with your opponent at all time! then strength is not needed. The concept o ch<shin goes :ery well with the idea o k<kan. &hen Sen sensei was speaking about it / remembered the "k<kan no ky<sho# o the last daikomy sai when sensei wanted us to ind! or at least to be aware o ! the weak point or the entry point o the empty space. Aaybe can we see here the ch<shin as being the kaname o k<kan. /remin er, the foot is ivi e into three sections Ten5toes, Chi5heel, Jin5ball
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Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment

Shinken, shiny, shinri

Posted on

>pril 1$! 2012by kumafr

2 #otes

=esterday A had the chance to get a /uick lunch *ith sensei after the 8memorial day;. An the past these opportunities *ere not rare but today A consider it a lu3ury to be able to speak *ith him directly *ith only the t*o of us.

uring a recent class *e trained some mut. dori techni/ue and sensei e3plained that in this situation you have to move for*ard the cut *ith your guts. 'ourage is one thing *e learn in the bu:inkan. When you a re facing a naked blade! a MN +shinkenone needs O real courage +taiy4- or PQ bravery +y4bu- to move for*ard. But as he said if you trust yourself then nothing *ill happen. At is the same thing *e e3perience in tai:utsu. Af you are ready to get hit! someho* you *ill never be hit. The same happened against the s*ord! but you have to have good basics in order to survive. <ensei e3plained that *hen dashing for*ard bravely against the s*ord +y4shin OR-! you should never *atch or consider the blade itself but the position of the attacker6s hands. >s A often tell my students concerning *eapon traiing. > *eapon has no intention so if you *ant the *eapon to be harmless you have to deal *ith its brain i.e. the opponent. When you visuali9e the tra:ectory of the hands in the air you can determine *here to go! the timing of your action! and the position of the body. But this is more a y4gen thinkg than a proper thinking process. =ou have to get the intuition and move *ith a y4shin attitude. Then nothing bad *ill happen. Kecently A read in some forum comments speaking about the s*ord techni/ues of the bu:inkan ry4ha. This surprised me as A thought that only the kukishin ry4 and the togakure ry4 had s*ord techni/ues in their densho! so A asked sensei over lunch. An life A believe that if you *ant to improve your kno*ledge and kno* the truth MS +shinri- you should al*ays go to the source. The source concerning the bu:inkan is 1atsumi sensei so the truth of the s*ord in the bu:inkan comes from the s.ke +my @apanese abilities being very 8light; to say the least! the *hole conversation *as done in @apanese but mainly in English and *as translated to me by <hiraishi sensei-. <o here is the shinri! the truth you have to kno*2 <hinri is! that there are no other densho about the s*ord in the bu:inkan densho apart from those of the kukishin ry4 and the togakure ry4. <hinri is! that *e train :upp. sessh. since 200" and that *e must use any *eapon *ith the feeling +kankaku- of any of t he nine bu:inkan schools. <hinri is! that *hatever *e do today it is al*ays a mi3 of the nine schools. They add to one another in our body and mind and this is true also for the s*ord too.

Last year in 2011! the secondary theme for the year *as the shinden fud. ry4 s*ord. uring my three stays in @apan! sensei taught many s*ord concepts related to the shinden fud. ry4. There *ere no techni/ues but the interpretation on ho* to use the s*ord *ith a shinden fud. feeling. The internet is full of these *rong interpretations and instead of spreading them it is al*ays better to ask directly to sensei. Bor many years this is *hat A have done and A invite you in the future to ask him before spreading any *rong or unverified information. >s A *rote in another previous article! the bu:inkan is shind. a true path. This shind. e3ists in every move *e make in and out of the d.:.. An mut.dori training the shinken is dealt *ith shiny4 in order to find the shinri. Bu:inkan is shind.! shinken! shiny4! shinri. Kemember that the internet is not shinri. The internet is shinshaku TU! a ne* interpretation often *rong by people not connected to the source. A invite you to spread this around you so that fake comments on the bu:inkan s*ord are not believed anymore. <hinri e3ists only in training.

Thoughts on Budo | " 'omments Shind! The True 9ath Posted on >pril 1$! 2012by kumafr
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The recent days have brought their amount of ne* e3periences. =esterday going to the Takamatsu memorial *ith sensei *as a nice moment that A al*ays cherish! and it is *as a true moment of bud. shared *ith sensei! Gguri senei6s family and a group of shihan from all over the *orld. A am al*ays thankful to sensei for these rare opportunties unveiling another true aspect of his bud..

This is the proof! if needed to! that the bu:inkan is a <hind. R MV! a true path of Life. We stayed in Tsukuba for a fe* hours and burnt incense sticks in memory of Takamatsu sensei and Gguri sensei. >fter *e finished sensei asked us to rebuild a statue that fell and broke into pieces after a recent earth/uake. 0agato sensei! Hoti! arren and a fe* others repaired it and put it back standing up on its piedestal. At is a statue of a *oman pouring *ater like the 9odiac symbol of the >/uarius. Bor me! it *as a symbolic lesson concerning life and hope. This 8a/uarius; *oman lying on the ground and destroyed *as suddenly raising again and standing up for a better future. An bud.! *e often fall +ego! illusions! self pity- but each time *e rebuild ourselves and stand up again. This is *hat perseverance is about. The fact that *e are at the end of the era of the >/uarius adds even more meaning to the scene as if telling us that untill the end there is al*ays a need to be living in the present. Too many people are heading to*ards a potential future and do not take the time to en:oy the present moment. An the techni/ues this is obvious as uke is already moving in his future and is not able to react correctly in the present. A began to see the links *ith sensei6s past teachings coming together in a single space and time.The concepts of nakaima +the center of no*-! henka +the begining and the end of change-! and :upp. sessh. *ere dancing together and melting in my brain. This *as indeed a very special day. A understood suddenly that all the teachings A had received in the past 27 years *ere summing up into one single idea2 being one *ith oneself to live happily in a permanent present. Then! back to 0oda A met *ith sensei at his home. <hiraishi sensei *as struggling *ith the many orders received recently! and the floor *as covered *ith enveloppes! papers! diplomas! patches and membership cards. The bu:inkan has become a big organi9ation today but as sensei *ants to keep it human! it is not run like a business. A *ant to take this opportunity to thank <hiraishi sensei for his hard +and unrecogni9ed *ork- in dealing *ith hundreds of orders during his free time. A also *ant the bu:inkan community to understand the huge amount of *ork it re/uires from both 1atsumi sensei and <hiraishi sensei. The bu:inkan office receives about 1&000 orders per year +my guess-. These orders concerns2 membership cards! patches! shid.shi h. menky.! shid.shi menky.! ky4 ranks! dan ranks up to (th dan! and shid.shi ranks from &th dan to 1&th dan. <hiraishi sensei has to control every order in the bu:inkan logs and prepare the various orders until fourth dan. >ll menky. diplomas and shid.shi ranks are done by sensei. <ensei told us last *eek that there *ere no* over "200 shid.shi in the bu:inkanF Af you consider that an average order takes & minutes you get an impressive total of 12&0 hours of *ork. <hiraishi sensei is helping sensei around 20 hours per *eek to do this! so A hope that you no* understand *hy it takes so long bet*een the day you send your order and the day you receive it. >n average of 7 to10 months is therefore logical. Even though those 8papers; might have some importance! remember that *hat you are learning is not on this piece of paper *ith your rank on it! it is

on *hat you do *ith yourself and that *ill take more then 7 to 10 months to achieve your mission in bud.. Time is an illusion and the path is long! and this shind. *ill transform you more than you think. But you *ill understand this only after training "0 or (0 years of real training. )anbatteN

Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment Con usedJ $ot 2nymoreN Posted on >pril 1&! 2012by kumafr
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A am not confused anymore as today! A finally got my ans*er. A am happy to share it *ith you as A guess you *ere all totally confused after my previous post. Briday night! 1atsumi sensei *as speaking of the necessary adaptation to take into account *hen using fighting techni/ues of the past. His point was that applying techniQues that belong to a period o time rom the past! might result dangerous in another time. A remember reading one day a book of strategy for samurai +1eiho Gkugi <ho- *ere it *as said that the best side to attack a sleeping samurai *as to arrive by the top of the body +head- because he *ouldn6t

be able to dra* his s*ord in this configuration) and a fe* pages later ! they said to al*ays protect the left side +this is *hy the @apanese still drive on the left side of the road- in order to protect the s*ord. These t*o e3amples sho* ho* *rong a good tactic can become a fe* centuries later. Today any soldier can shoot reverse above his head! so the first tactic is *rong. ?uns being on the right side of the body today is the total ooposite! therefore this is the right side that must be protected +this is *hy the americans drive on the right side of the road-M. Wrong again. <ensei used the image of the change from 'hinese based beliefs to Buddhism around the 1eian period. 1e spoke about :uky. +WX R confucianism- and of bukky (] S buddhism, that replaced it. 2cccepting changes is o ten di icult bur is alays necessary i you want to sur:i:e in your present. This permanent change is what we learn in the -u@inkan! it is always better not to resist. Change is not good or bad! it is simply necesssary to sur:i:e. This is the original image o the inKyo concept. /nK;o (- symboli9es the alternative bet*een sun and rain. >ike the nami (the wa:e, o yesterday! being able to interchange the inKyo e:ery time needed is the best way to ensure :ictory. / For .!rope it is a change of si es eci e by +apoleon in all the co!ntries he inva e in or er to protect the s!pplies for his troops. They were !sing big chariots with si( horses an nee e a yo!ng man on the first horse to help moving to the left or to the right the first horses so that the others horses wo!l follow the proper irection. +ow ri ing horses was always on the left si e of the horse// an riving on the left si e of the roa create a big blin spot that prevente f!ll visibility. This ca!se many acci ents with walls, trees, other chariots. By changing the si e of riving this problem was solve . ** the :uropeans including the British*** were all driving on the le%t side &ecause &e%ore the crusades the swords o% the knigts were straight***** and &eing worn on the le%t hip prevented them %rom riding the horse on the right side# *** $he British were never invaded &y !apoleon and so they are still driving on the -good side1, the le%t one even in !ew ;ealand**** **** 5n the movie -the last 4amurai1, they ride their horses on the le%t side# 9ne o% my %riend &eing a stuntman on this movie, 5 asked him why they were riding their horses on the wrong side# 3is answer was -we tried to ride them the "apanese way &ut the horses re%used to let us ride them on the right side as &am!rai wo!l .1 'hyD 0beca!se the movie was recor e in +ew Zealan *1. ///// Japanese &am!rai began to !se c!rve swro hanging lose on the hip, bb!t as they were hol ing a long weapon in the right han 9y!mi, yari, naginata: they wo!l grab the pommel of the sa le with the right han , an ri e from the right si e. te swor moving freely wo!l follow the movement.

Thoughts on Budo | 2 'omments Con usion Posted on >pril 1(! 2012by kumafr
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Being wrong is good The first class with sensei is always a fantastic moment that I enjoy pretty much. And this one was not different. It was rich and full of new feelings that will brew in my brain and body to create a new flavored taijutsu.

As often when I arrive in Japan for my first class, Hatsumi sensei asked to open the class and as I have recorded recently the Takagi !shin "y# with my Indian $uyu, this is a Takagi like movement that came out. %hen you are asked to show it is always better to have nothing &ready' so that what you are doing reflects your own personal evolution since your last trip and not a fake movement repeated over and over to &look good' in front of the (!ke. )ver the years I noticed that often the simplest movements are the best to trigger his creativity and in that way everyone in the class whatever rank he or she is wearing is able to get something out of it. *ke is attacking with his right fist and you ura jodan uke his attack with the left elbow then grab his left hand softly, e+tend his left arm and bring him to the ground in a kind of mus! dori. At least this is what I remembered showing but when, five minutes later, sensei asked to repeat it again he watched and said, &no Arnaud do the first one you did'. I am sure I looked confused and lost because I honestly thought that this was the one I did. I will not take any responsability here, I will blame the jet lag. %e found out later that the first techni-ue ended with a j#ji dori on uke.s arms using the right one under the left to add some leverage and ease the throw. This &leverage thing' is one of the basic concepts used in theTakagi !shin and the /ukishin and is called teko 0 1 lever2 shiten 03 1 fulcrum2 it uses also the second main principle of these two fighting systems the j#jiron 0 1 crossroad2, the principle of always using a perpendicular control whatever you do. Confusion (1) The interesting thing 0apart form the techni-ues2 is the state of confusion I e+perienced when sensei stopped me in the demonstration. 3unnily this was one of the very interesting development he taught during the class. 4onfusing your opponent is the best way to create openings in his attacks5 it changes distances and overall it modifies his perceptions of reality in front. Actually uke is sure to make the good choices where in fact he is living in an illusion. "emember that ninjutsu is genjutsu 0 1 magic2. This holistic attitude 0body and mind2 creates a fake reality for him and triggers his actions. The distance he sees is wrong, the timing he perceives is wrong, his whole world of certitudes is off balanced. )ff balancing uke.s brain, is always the key and your movements should always allow you to react instantaneously to the changes he is creating. As always (ensei did many applications with weapons, manly daisho sabaki ones and insisted a lot on not grabbing. If you grab, he said, you are locking yourself and become unable to adapt to uke.s changes. (ince he redefined for us at dkms the meaning of henka 0beginning and end of change2 I see it everywhere. $ut here it was making a lot of sense. 6very minor change in uke.s intentions and actions is addressed immediately because we are

not grabbing. *ke is the one grabbing himself. To me it looks like if we grab uke we shut down our ability to read the ne+t step, grabbing reders you totally blind. 4ontrolling uke with the body on the contrary gives you the eyes of the hawk. As hawk is taka 02 and gi 0or wa7a 1 n2 is techni-ue5 the Takagi becomes a techni-ue of a hawk. Sword and daisho sabaki The 8aisho sabaki 02 forms add an infinite set of new possibilities. (ensei e+plained that the goal here is not to draw uke.s blade but to use it to trap his mind and apply basic controls with the body as if you would be using a simple stick. The blade still sheathed there is no risk for you, but in uke.s mind you are going to cut him soon and he free7es. This free7ing created by his inability to read your intentions creates new opportunnities that you use to finish him. And this works also when more than one opponent is facing you. At one point, sensei applied the techni-ue against three opponents. %hen weapons are flying in the air everyone tries not to be hit or cut and this creates another illusion for each uke. 3irst they don.t want to injure one of their friends, and second they do not want to get injured themselves. At one point sensei was controlling effortlessly three opponents with swords on the ground. 6ach one trying not to die and having no understanding on where he was and what he was going to do. In this situation, the group disappears and each one thinks individually to escape from the situation. 6veryone was confused9 e+cept for sensei. Jin is Hanpirei Another interesting point sensei developed was that we must learn how to do the techni-ue as tori and how to avoid the techni-ue when being uke. )nly when you are able to do this are you really in control of the techni-ue. To illustrate this sensei played with the kanji for man, k jin, and he said that in this kanji there is one line splitting in two lines like the ura:omote or the yin:yang. This is to symboli7e the ability to reverse any action and to transform defeat into victory. 6verything comes in a flow and you keep reversing the situation by surfing on uke.s intention.This is why grabbing is out of the -uestion 0tsukamidori to grab 1 2. (ensei.s movements were &hanpirei', inversely proportional to mine. ;rabbing the opponent would be stopping the flow of things and locking the brain5 and leading to defeat. It felt like a wave 8uring the class I went to sensei to feel the techni-ue as I didn.t get it. It was ama7ing. %hile receiving the techni-ue I got the feeling I was caught by a wave. I told him and he confirmed it to me. This nami 0 1 wave2 sensation was soft but there was nothing I could do to avoid being drawn. It seems that letting go was the best thing to do. It was ama7ing because sensei was not using any strength at all, he was only playing subtly with my body reactions. I was the stupid witness of my downfall, and it seemed logical. In fact his rela+ed movements were creating tension in my brain and body and my automatic reactions were opening a k#kan.

)nce a new k#kan would open, sensei would reverse it proportionally to his own benefit. To understand it better, it was like supporting yourself on a collapsing wall. (uddenly, there is nothing and there was no warning nd no violence. Shuko and Kaname In every techni-ue we did, sensei insisted how much easier it would be if we would have worn a pair of (huko or a pair of ashiko. The $ujinkan is a martial art where everything is used and we have to keep an open mind on what is possible9even if it is not in the book. The kaname 0@2 of this year, the &essential point' is e+actly this. Actually we can define two types of kaname, one addressing the body:techni-ue5 the other one the brain. After some point you will figure out that those two are one but for today seeing these two aspects can help you improve your taijutsu. Confusion ( ) (o during the class sensei apparently spoke about confusion. At least this is what I thought until I checked in the dictionary9 8uring the class sensei used a specific term but then I am not sure of what I heard e+actly. )nce again our senses are the one creating our off balancing. I thought he spoke about &confusion' when he used the word &j#kyo', and speaking after the class with some resident on the platform at the train station, he confirmed it to me. <ow back in my hotel room I went through my dictionary and found that j#kyo meant house, residence. (o I thought that my "omaji transcription or my hearing were not good so I tried every close possibility, ch#ky!, 4ommunist 4hinaj#kyo, house, or residence juky!, 4onfucianism jikyo, retiring leaving jikyou, confession shuky!, primary mirror of a telescope 0the telescope again=2 or main mirror sh#ky!, state boundary, or religion sh#kyo, removal, or religion <ow was there any &confusion' in the translation between the sound &confusion' and &4onfucian' pronounced by a Japanese> I don.t know but I will ask him tomorrow5 but one thing I do know is that the class was confusing and let me with even more -uestions. 2t the end o the class sensei said that he was teaching exclusi:ely or the i teenth dan. / wish / was only ourteenth to ha:e an excuse to be so lost. )anbateN

Thoughts on Budo | " 'omments Hanpirei: in:erse proportion Posted on >pril 1"! 2012by kumafr
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/ had my irst class o the trip tonight and / must say that / was a little lost. /t will take me some time (and sleep, to be able to tell you exactly what we did. So to eed you with something / will explain a new concept taught by sensei be ore / arri:ed. .n arri:al in the lobby yesterday! / met riends commenting a recent class with Ske who spoke about "hanpirei#and / thought / could share it with you. This concept reminded me o the amous drawing (see picture, by A.C. %SCH%R a +utch graphist o the end o the 67th century.
>ast week sensei spoke about "hanpirei# or "in:erse proportion#. &hyJ and or whatJ / do not know yet. / guess that / will learn it in my next classes with him. -ut thinking about it! it reminded me about an image he used recently and about which / wrote recently (the article can be ound here: http:KKkuma r.wordpress.comKF166K66KF7Kuse'a'telescope'to'see' through'space'and'timeK,. >ast $o:ember a ter one training with sensei / wrote the ollowing: "To s!mmariGe the whole training that ay sensei !se a nice image. 4e sai , 0 on?t be strong, on?t be wea$, be Gero an thro!gh this Gero yo! can see the sol!tion1. &aying that he p!t his han s in a circle an loo$e thro!gh them as if !sing a telescope. ;nce again everything is lin$e . Telescopes are

!se to see thro!gh si eral space an the stronger they are, the f!rther bac$ in time they can see. Ho! sho!l become a powerf!l telescope an see thro!gh time an space in or er to be aware of what is coming ne(t even before I$e $nows abo!t it. /t goes Quite well together with this "hanpirei# concept. "Hanpirei# ! this X in:erse proportion Y can be understood as watching through the other end o the telescope. There ore instead o going in the past through time and space you become able to oresee the uture and sol:e the problem be ore it is created. Still going through time and space! but this time in the other direction you will be where uke will be and counter his mo:es e:en be ore he is mo:ing. Strangely! i you look into it rom any end you will be able to X react Y be ore the X action Y. / you are seing through the past! then you are aware o the origin o his mo:ements. -ut i you are watching into the uture! you will see where he will be and what he will do. 2nd this is also the meaning o the X koteki ry<da @upp sessh Y o F118. 2s you are the tiger and the dragon at the same time! you let uke in his past and pro@ected in his utureR and you mo:e in a present that he is not able to see because he is ne:er there. %:erything is linked. Through the kaname @ o your present! you are seeing through the past and into the uture o uke. 9resent is nurtured by both the past and the uture. /t is a sel 'creation like the hands by %scher. This is the X henka Y principle. -eing aware o hen (the beginning o the change, and ka (the end o the change, you are in the X k< Y state o mind (the completion,. 5ero. ;ou are X ?ero Y because you are e:erywhere at any time and in any space.

Thoughts on Budo | 2 'omments Shakaiteki no -udJ Posted on >pril 1"! 2012by kumafr
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$ #otes

/n the plane to Tokyo / thought a lot about our moti:ation as budo practitioners. / ha:e been tra:elling to 3apan many times and / did some math and igured out that / spent o:er 6111 hours to ly thereN These 6111 hours represent DD days o my li e! a month and a hal in a tin can. 2nd this is only the tra:elling to 3apan. %:ery week since 67CD / trainKteach or an a:erage o 61 hours a week. This is nearly 6E111 hours o training (or about 011 days! F1 months, and this doesnt include my 6M years doing 3<d4 So why are we doing that? &e know that the knowledge acQuired during those numerous hours o training will ne:er be used in a real li e and death situationR but still we keep spending money and time or it. &hyJ Honestly / do not ha:e the correct answer or con:ersely / ha:e many. So e:en i / see it as some kind o addiction! / trust that this is the best way to de:elop oursel:es and become better humans. 2ddictions are bad except i they re:eal something extraordinary and this is the case or the -u@inkan arts. This is why / am worried to see that modern practitioners do not seem to ha:e

the same commitment / ha:e put in my training. There is nothing wrong about it but then why do they train i they dont commit ullyJ &ith the spread o those :irtual tools such as acebook! tweeter! etc we get more :irtual and less real. Aaybe is it a trend o our society but i people are more into :irtual action why do they come to the d@. / ha:e been wondering a lot recently about it. /n some d@! training is not the main thing! the real thing is the social gathering. Social gathering is always un and / en@oy it once in a while but ne:er during classes as in the d@! training should be the only moti:ation together with learning an old philosophy o li e. The -u@inkan is not a #shakaiteki no bud# j i.e. a "social bud#! it is a "seimei no bud# j i.e. a "bud o >i e#. /n 3apanese "shakaiteki# means "social#. /t is a mix o "shaka# (public, and "iteki# (barbarians,. Gor the 3apanese a "barbarian# is an unci:ili?ed person (c . gai@in,. There ore and playing with the @apanese sounds! / in:ite you to trans orm this "shakaiteki# into "sha ka iteki# where sha is "you#R kai is "shell! protection#R and iteki is "barbarian#. +iscard the social bud and train a Sha *ai Teki no -ud! a "bud protecting you rom losing your ci:ili?ed education#. 2 "seimei no bud# like the -u@inkan is something that gi:es more :alues and more meaning! not less. 2nd this reQuire a true commitment and a lot o e orts (sei is "the nature o a person#R Aei is "clarity#,. Recently in a class! speaking about the theme or F16F! Hatsumi sensei said we were learning "@inry< no kaname wo mamoru# which can be understood as "protection is the essential point o human spirit#. So protect yoursel and others (kai, and become the man you really are. Through the practice o -u@inkan martial arts un:eil your "sei mei# your "true clear nature# and become able to walk proudly as a human being controlling his destiny (sei! ' controlR mei! S destiny,. +ont miss this chance! and train when you are on the mats because i not! e:erything you ha:e done so ar would ha:e been in :ain. J&, Concerning the ho!rs in the 0flying tin can1, never forget that time is an ill!sion an that only the path matters* -n it gives me a lot of time to thin$K
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Thoughts on Budo | Tagged travelling to :apan | 1 'omment

)reat *ihon Posted on >pril 7! 2012by kumafr

10 #otes

&hen one begins to walk the path o -u@inkan -ud he is o ten pu??led by the apparent complexity o the system taught by Hatsumi sensei. This apparent complexity only ools the one belie:ing in the world o mani ested illusions. 2s we know nin@utsu is gen@utsu! i.e. an illusion itsel or better said an ability to see through the illusions surrounding us. /n act! rom the outside! the -u@inkan is similar to a giant tree with roots hidden in a deep past ar away rom our daily concerns and understandings. This huge tree digging its roots deep and ar has a common trunk which is the Tenchi@in but the main branch is the )yokko Ry<. The other main branches are important! too! but the )yokko Ry< gi:es us the *ihon happ and the Sanshin no *ata which are the true undamental techniQue o e:erything we study in the -u@inkan. The -u@inkan has only one door allowing the practitioners to learn the other branches o the art and this door is the )yokko Ry<. -ack in F117! sensei asked us to teach the basics to the beginners and this was including an extensi:e time o training the Bkemi! the *amae! the Bke $agashi! the Sanshin no *ata and the *ihon Happ. /n 3apanese! the word *ihon consists o *i S undamental or t and Hon S true! book! main or u. /n act! in 3apanese there is a saying "this is the 2 - C# (korewa kihon desu, a_tu The *ihon o the )yokko Ry< are the true undamental techniQues o the -u@inkan. Aany practitioners ne:er had the chance to study these undamentals rom the )yokko Ry< extensi:ely and at a certain point in their practice this lack o basics shows and pre:ents them rom reaching the next le:el. This door! i a:oided! will not allow you to reach all the branches o the tree.

Today the -u@inkan represents a big group o practitioners but this :ast number is only an illusion o knowledge i the basics are not mastered. Training correctly is your responsibility and understanding the whole tree is your sole ob@ecti:e on the path. Aany are lost on the path to excellence and no one except themsel:es can be blamed or that. Remember what 2ristotle said: "2 great city is not to be con ounded with a populous one.# please help us to make the -u@inkan a great martial art! not a populous one. 2rigato

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Thoughts on Budo | 5 'omments

Keiko & keiko

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ecember 1(! 2011by kumafr

1( #otes

%:en though a ew days ha:e passed since the last day o the daikomy sai the memory o this last day is still :i:id in my mind. +ensho: The morning session was replaced by the exposition o many densho rom the old time! sensei displaying in ront o us in:aluable makimono! techniQues! and heih concepts o many ancient ighting systems rom the eudal times o 3apanese war are. Some o these scrolls had been rebuilt and consolidated and were 8 to D centuries old.

Sensei displaying the densho at dkms 3

&hile displaying these treasures sensei insisted a lot on the :alue o these old documents and he explained that our bud was not a simple martial art (like a sport martial art, but that we should see it as a transmission (densho, o old war are. 2s he said! e:en i you dont understand or cannot read them! the simple act o breathing the same air is already impacting our abilities to the better. The techniQues described in these scrolls ha:e sur:i:ed actual combat and ha:e been transmitted by the ones who used them in ight. Bnlike writers such as $itobe who emphasi?ed the :alues o the warrior! these densho are the li:ing proo o their inner truth. They are not the romantic :ision o an hypothetical ight but the result o their true e iciency. / these techniQues had not pro:ed their :alue in actual combat nobody would ha:e sur:i:ed war and there ore would not ha:e been able to write them down on paper. Sensei also added e:en though they had been the result o true ighting experience! they ha:e been written down during peace times so they were written rom memory by old men that didnt ight or a long time. This is why we ha:e to respect these orms but adapt them to the modern world and to todays conditions o ight in order to ensure our sur:i:al. 2s / o ten point remind the students: "remember that the best ighting manual will ne:er ight or you except i you hold irmly with your hands and hit the opponent with itN#. 9ersonal training (keiko S - , is more e icient when backed up by the knowledge o history (keiko S i.e. learn chronology by experience ,. The solutions o today are to be ound through our knowledge o the past. &e should not do those techniQues o yore exactly as they are described in the densho but use them as optional parameters or insight to take into account when in a real combat. There ore keiko (-, is deri:ing rom keiko ( , 2 ter the brain training o the morning! we mo:ed to body training in the a ternoon. Through the :arious techniQues and mo:ements demonstrated by the @<godan! sensei explained that gen@utsu! the magic o art (, was god gi:en where ningen@utsu (k9,! human technology (human techniQue, is only man made. 2rt comes rom the heart but techniQue comes rom the brain and there ore is limited and not o such a high :alue. This is something sensei has been repeating during the last week in his classes. *nowledge is easy to get in this media age but art is coming rom within our Sel . Grom this / understood

that we should de:elop the kan@in kaname (eyes and mind o god, more than any type o intelectual knowledge. -ack to the densho he repeated that e:en though we had to respect these historical truths! it was today and with our own abilities that would ha:e to sur:i:e. 3< tai@utsu deals with being lexible physically but also to gi:e us the ability to sur:i:e any dangerous situation through our adaptability (@un n ryoku,. 2 ew days ago sensei was speaking o tenmon! chimon and gakumon! where gakumon was knowledge. 2nd we explained that we had access to two types o knowledge. This is here the second knowledge (read the post, that we ha:e to nurture and not the irst one that is only biomechanical. Too many practitioners collect techniQues instead o li:ing them and de:elop only their biomechanical skills. Truth has many aspects and you will ha:e to ind yours in order to approriate these techniQues or yoursel as you are the one ighting. 8your ignorance alone creates the uni:erse. /n reality .ne alone exists. There is no person or god other than you# 2shta:akra )ita (6E.60, ;ou train or yoursel and your interpretations are as good as any other! but this can become a trap i you are sure to be right. Remember that " or who is holding a hammer! e:erything looks like a nail#. .n the technical side we continued to de:elop the gan shi nankotsu trilogy and sensei de:eloped a new aspect to it. He used his thumb (shito ken, as he would a katana. He said that cutting through the opponent lesh was important. This shito gatana ( ', or yubi gatana (', (he used both terms, is adding to the eeling o danger elt by uke. 2t the dkms party sensei announced the theme or F16F being "katana# and / think that this yubi gatana was already a hint on how we will use the sword next year. The sword techniQues (densho, o kukishin ry<! togakure ry<! shinden ud ry< being known (keiko,! it is now time or us to ree oursel:es rom these orms and to put our adapti:e tai@utsu into motion through the use o the sword and the mut dori. Aut dori is the highest le:el o weapon ighting and the proo o true mastership. So please study (keiko S -, and re:iew your sword kata rom the past and train them thoroughly (keiko S , in order to be ully prepared when Hatsumi sensei will be un:eiling the shinken gata in a ew weeks.

ps: .n Sunday morning he con irmed the theme or F16F as being "*en# (all o them,. He also precised that in F168 we will be studying ;ari and naginata. -e happy and en@oy the christmas and new year timeN

Thoughts on Budo | 2 'omments -e 2wareN

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ecember 1! 2011by kumafr

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Gor the second day o dkms! it was raining so we had to retreat to a nearby building. Space was limited and sensei began his teaching by telling us to be aware o our en:ironment. /n a crowded area accidents might occur and like in a battle ield he asked us to add this element to the techniQues we were doing today. &arrior awareness was the theme and the introduction o todays classes by sensei and he displayed many small weapons (kusari! nekote! and other shuriken, and asked us to be aware o these kinds o weapons! and to learn how to use them in order to know how to de end oursel:es against them. Hidden weapons are :ery common in todays street ights so we should de:elop our awareness in that respect. To summari?e this day o hard training (the loor was concrete,! / would Quote one sentence he repeated a ew times during the training: "this is not about power! this is about control#. Too o ten in martial arts! emphasis is put on physical power instead o the control (space! mind and body,. Controlling the opponent means controlling his body and his brain (@in, and his en:ironment: chi ( loor,! ten (weather or light conditions,. &ithout controlling the outside! the abo:e! or the behind o the attacker a winning action can bring de eat. This is why the bu@inkan arts are more interested in controlling Bke than showing strength or orce that are o ten mistaken or power.

.n a ryte dori type o techniQue sensei once again used the wa:e like mo:ements o his shoulders and his body to control his attacker. This type o mo:ement is done nearly without mo:ing. -y solely mo:ing the shoulders up and down and turning around Bke at a :ery close distance uke is de eated. This shoulder mo:ement would be e ecti:e in a :ery con ined en:ironment like a hole or on the battle ield. >ike he did yesterday he played again with the concept o k<kan no ky<sho. -ut *< which is not only emptiness is encompassing all things within! and k< is the leading path to "?ero#. Sensei o ten speaks about becoming "?ero#. This state can only be achie:ed once k< is understood and integrated in our body. He asked us to ind the k<kan no naka no nagare (2 9P, because within this k<kan exists a low that is k< and which is allowing us to transcend the orm and to mo:e naturally. This is achie:ed by inding the k<kan no teko (29,! the le:erage or the :arious le:erages (teko, to use to open Bke and to de eat him. -y using these teko ( amiliar concept studied in the kukishin ry<,! or their opposite known as "teko gyaku# (q, we un:eil all possibilities naturally and submit the opponent without using any strength. .ur body i relaxed allows the natural mo:ement to appear and to be used without any thinking process or any preconcei:ed motion. / admit that / ind it hard to put that into practice in my tai@utsu but this is the goal to achie:e. He illustrated that by biting into the lesh o his opponent (hand! orearm! tit, and Tims reactions were Quite sel expressing. Grom there we mo:ed to some shime wa?a (n,. 2 short reminder here! shimeru (shime, applies not only to the chokes but to any kind o constricti:e action on the body. The basic hon @ime and gyaku @ime were demonstrated with the whole body (karada, and were sometimes completed by hits to the ace or crushing actions to the throat and the body. Sensei insisted also that we should use the whole body when applying those chokes! "karada no shime# he explained! while choking his opponent by mo:ing around him. Gootwork is the key element in the success o these mo:ements. -y mo:ing the elgs you o balance Bke and cerate opeinings or the chokes or the hits. &hat / understood today was that chokes are: a, dynamicR

b, done with the whole body (and not only the arms,R c, can be completed by ists attacks. 9ain by ske is a good teacherN He was also changing his grip rom one choking wa?a to another using pushing (oshi 'b, mo:ements o the choking hand. +epending on the opening he was pushing or pressuring Bkes upper body (not only the throat, with his pinky used as a blade to cut the leshR with the heel o the palm to crush Bkes 3<@iro or with the tip o the ingers to dig into the ace or the neck. This ability to change the way to hold the opponent became ob:ious when he added a hidden kni e and pulled it o his slee:e so that it was appearing like by magic in his hand. This metsubushi action (b, was done while already applying the choke. He warned us to learn these "bad guys# techniQues in order to sur:i:e a real ight. The bu@inkan! he said! is not teaching "bad guys# techniQues but is teaching these things to be able to react correctly in a li e threatening situation. To a:oid de eat! learn the ways o your enemy. The way he was re:ealing the tant hidden in his slee:e was :ery interesting. He was not pulling it out o the slee:e instead he was le:elling his shoulder so that the weapon would pop out by itsel . The karada was pulling the weapon not the hand. This is also how we should learn to draw the sword as in the nuki gata (drawing the sword, the blade is expelled rom the scabbard by the body action not with the hand. This is Quite di erent rom regular and traditional sword practice. >ea:ing the weapons we went back to unarmed combat and rom the original ryte dori techniQue we learnt how to use the pressure o the thumb and the pinky to dig into Bkes skull! ace! eyes! ears! etc. &e did also a ew nasty pinching techniQues combined with striking hits to the chest. /n a limited space the "gan shi nankotsu# system inds here a logical application. Space being limited! the mo:ements do not ha:e the same momentum and pain is not coming rom a distance but at :ery short range. .nce again he insisted on inding the "k<kan no ky<sho# o the situation.

&e did many techniQues today around these principles and sensei said that this was a :ery important training or the @<godan. $o strength is used in these techniQues! there is no power at all as Ske is controlling Bke only with micro mo:ements and mega pains. 9ain without in@ury is the best way to calm down a dangerous situation. .n a side note! Ske insisted that we should pay attention to a:oid in@uries and o the importance o being aware o our en:ironment (reminder,. This apparently e ortless ull control he has at all time o his opponent(s, is always ama?ing to watch and to think that tomorrow he will be turning eighty is e:en more surprising. Sensei is not using any strength but he keeps ull control o anyone attacking him. This is why the bu@inkan martial art is "not about power! (but, about control#. -e aware and li:e happyN

@apan Trip | " 'omments Senpen -anka Posted on 0ovember "0! 2011by kumafr
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Today was a antastic 2utumn day. The sun was shining! the 811 attendees ull o @oy to be together again or this :ery special bu@inkan moment! and sensei was @oy ul and play ul like a kid. The whole was dedicated to the depth o the *ihon Happ and he asked many 6Eth dan to demonstrate their understanding o it. 2s an introduction he said that this day (and maybe the ollowing ones, would be a "3<godan test#4

dkms 2 !! " during the #irst break

2 ter speaking about some writings by Takeda Shingen (http:KKen.wikipedia.orgKwikiKTakedaZShingen, who said that men until F1 were working to be strong and then to understand weakness! he mo:ed on to some :ery interesting concepts. Grom this whole day o training / did my best to remember three things that he said and showed the depth o his bud. %Gyokko Ry is up and down, inside and outside 9edro trying to explain what he elt a ter being used as Bke by sensei! said that he had the eeling that sensei was up and down him! inside and outside his distance! to inally reali?ed that he (9edro, was alone as sensei was not e:en there (?ero state,. Sensei reminded us that this particular eeling o attacking the Ten and the Chi and the ura and the .mote was the main concepts o ighting o the )yokko Ry<. +istance being short the only way to use the body e iciently is to play with all these directions and decei:e Bke on your real intentions. He added (as or e:erything this day, that no chikara (strength, was to be used and! as he said in our pre:ious classes! that holding Bke without actually holding him was the key o true tai@utsu. 2s a @oke he added that being C1 years old! he had no more physical strength and that his minimalist mo:ements done with the whole karada (body, were creating the same e ect as the use o the orce. 2ge ad:ancing physical strength is replaced by mental strength. .nce again to way to control Bke it is not about using orce but on the contrary to gi:e him the eeling that you ha:e disappeared. %find the Kkan no Kysho 2t some point he spoke extensi:ely about inding the k<kan no ky<sho (29, or the weak point o the empty space in which the ight is happening. /n a mo:ement! you should be able to understand where the *y<sho is located! to a:oid it and to throw Bke into it. He said that this was the real mastery o bud and that not so many martial artists couls e:en understand that. /n whate:er situation you encounter in li e lies a ky<sho somewhere. -eing able to disco:er this ky<sho and to use it to our own bene it is the key to happiness and sa ety. %senpen banka -ut the most ama?ing thing that sensei told us today concerned the concept o "senpen banka#.

Senpen banka is another "Hatsumism# composed o three di erent concepts reshu led together to create something new. 8sen# is Z thousand "man# (here "ban#, is V 61111 "ben = ka# is in act rs henka cut in two hal:es (hen and ka are separated,.. Senpen then is "6111 changes# and "banka# is 61111 changes. note that both hen and ka mean "change#. The concept o senpen banka is Quite similar to the concept o "banpen <gy# (61111 changes no surprise, rom the )yokko Ry< but stronger. Sensei said that we should mo:e in a relax manner with no preconcei:ed ideas on what to expect or what to do! in order to be able to ind the k<kan no ky<sho hidden in the situation. 2lso i we think a little urther it can also mean that whether there are 6111 changes or 61111 changes our attitude should not be modi ied. >osing or winning is not the point (he reminded it to us in a recent class saying that this winKlose :ision o the world was childish,. -y keeping the proper attitude in li e one could o:ercome any di iculties (here the changes, that he might ind on his way and lead a happy li e. .nce again it was or me the proo ! i need to be! that the bu@inkan is much more than a simple bio mechanical martial art but a real school o wisdom rom which one can grow the true warrior spirit and become a true bu@in. Thank you sensei or this antastic 2utumn day on the inner secrets o the kihon happ.

Thoughts on Budo, @apan Trip | 5 'omments Bse a Telescope to see through Space and Time Posted on 0ovember 2%! 2011by kumafr
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.n Sunday / did a techniQue at the opening o the class that sensei used to teach us the shi?en karada S the natural body mo:ement. *arada S body ( , is a o ten used by sensei during his classes as e:erything we do is based on a body or "non body# mo:ement. .n a ryte dori ( , slide your arms inside Bkes arms and take his balance. &hen sensei did it to me / elt nothing he @ust :anished (meltedJ, in my grab in such a natural way that / had the eeling that my grip was returned against me. There was so much so tness in his counter action that there was no way or me to counter it or to think on how to react to it. This eeling is Quite strange and happens e:ery time you ha:e the chance to be his Bke. There is power within so tness. To achie:e that Hatsumi sensei was simply @oining his shoulders between my arms as i he had no bone structure! no rib cage in the middleN -y mo:ing the shoulders in a wa:e action back and orth he slide himsel in between my grip and took my balance. The naturalness o his body mo:ement was ama?ing as nothing could be done to a:oid it. Bsing the karada (, without chikara S orce! strength (A,! he then used the gan shi nankotsu (", to in lict excruciating pain to my eyes and mouth! orcing me to bend backward and there ore to lose my balance. / can understand it what he did to me but / wasnt able to reproduce it. 2s always it is one thing to understand and another one to be able to do it. &hen sensei was in between my arms / elt / was acing a wall ad:ancing towards me and / couldnt a:oid it as / was stupidly still grabbing his lapels. Gunnily / know / could ha:e let it go but / didnt. He was controlling my body and my brain together. The only thing / could do was watching my demise. Bsing the whole body is not mo:ing the body it is being one with your body and Bkes body at the same time so no ree space is a:ailable or you to escape. / / try to describe the eeling a little more it is like there is no strength at all opposing yours and then nothing to ight against. The simple shoulder wa:e mo:ement together with a body that has been polished or tens o years is what is doing it. .nce again! your rank doesnt pre:ent you rom training and you ha:e to train or a :ery long time in order to get this ease in action that comes rom pure consciousness.

>ater during the class sensei used the image o the circle and o pi. 2ctually when continuing the mo:ement your ootwork should be in accordance together with ukes mo:ement o attack so that you pi:ot in a circle inside Bkes attack at a 6C1[ angle to go with him where his body is leading him. -y doing so! Bke is not aware o where you are and loses his balance because nothing is opposing him. This pi application has been de:eloped in many other martial arts like 2ikid or example but here in our case there is no grabbing o Bke. Sensei merely used the space created by this dynamic and natural body positioning to stick to Bke so close that he is in:isible to Bkes awareness. Senseis body mo:es like in cloud. /t is at the same time a mienai wa?a! a k<kan and a nagare with nothing to stop Bkes body but diabling him to percei:e you. 2s they say in the Takagi ;shin Ry< and the *ukishin Ry<: "ahead lies paradise#. 2s nothing pre:ents Bkes mo:ements Bke alls by only ighting his own strength. To summari?e the whole training that day sensei used a nice image. He said: "dont be strong! dont be weak! be ?ero and through this ?ero you can see the solution#. Saying that he put his hands in a circle and looked through them as i using a telescope. .nce again e:erything is linked. telescopes are used to see through sideral space and the stronger they are! the urther back in time they can see. ;ou should become a power ul telescope and see through time and space in order to be aware o what is coming next e:en be ore Bke knows about it. Then gan shi nankotsu o this year (", turns into gan shi nankotsu ( ", where shi (, is onesel R nan (, is so tR kotsu (", is knack! skill! secret. The "eye! inger! cartilage# is now through our telescope a means to see through yoursel ! the secret o so tness that will de eat the opponent.

?eneral thoughts, @apan Trip | ( 'omments 2 $eedle will not -low a -alloon Posted on 0ovember 2%! 2011by kumafr
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/n any 3apan trip the irst classes with sensei gi:e some insight on what is going to be taught next. Ay irst classes last days were antastic! ull o insights 4 and ull o painN 2bout C1 students are attending the classes (and more are arri:ing e:ery day, and / ha:e the eeling that the dkms F166 will be a hispanic one as many riends rom Spain and South 2merica are there: 2lex! Christian! $estor! Ra ael! Aarcello! 3ose and many others. / must say that sensei is in a :ery good mood and shape and that his minimalist tai@utsu is getting more and more impressi:e. / had the honor to open the classes and once again he went into the "gan shi nankotsu# concept that he has been un:eiling since last summer. / already wrote about this "add'on# t to the kihon happ theme and concept on my Gacebook notes! check it i you didnt read it it is called "ken tai ichi @o#. 2s / said the class was ull o insights! / will try to explain three things that Hatsumi sensei explained during the class: 2 needle will not blow a balloon i.e. *osshi and *opp are complementary: This was really mind blowingN &esterners ha:e a tendency to split e:erything in closed boxes were in act reality is based on a more higher understanding o these concepts. %:en though *osshi and *opp are di erent they mix nicely together to create a low that is like a third reality. Grom now we should see these two concepts as the "plus# and "minus# o some magnetic ield. Hatsumi sensei explained that our ingers controlling Bke so tly were actually the *osshi @utsu and that our bone structure! our sQueleton mo:ing reely around this point o control would allow us to deal "so tly# with the opponents intentions. He said!that!when this *osshiK*opp mix is mastered! you are able to deal with any opponent whate:er his body shape. This is when he used this image: "when you master this you can push a needle so so tly into a balloon that e:entually itwill not blow up#. This controlling action o the whole body is so so t that no orce at all is used in the process. /ntellectually easy to get! but / still dont know howto do it. Time is now i.e. create time when you are in a hurry:

/n each class sensei insists a lot on being able to create time within time. / you ha:e been training long enough you already ha:e experienced this eeling. Bke attacks ull speed and you ha:e the impression that he is mo:ing in slow motion. &hat sensei explained was about the same except that the use o the little pains generated by the "gan shi nankotsu# mo:ements pre:ent Bke o carrying out his attacks at the normal speed. This hindering o his intentions delays his actions and there ore creates time that you can use to control! hit! or destroy him. Since %instein we know that time is relati:e and when our actions are orcing uke to think and to ad@ust his intentions in order to sur:i:e then we orce him to "slow down# his e iciency. /n a way this is %PAC\ where % P exterminationR A P mind! C P control. Then we can write that the %xtermination o Bke eQuals Aind Control to the sQuareN Tenmon ( ,! Chimon ( ,!)akumon ( ,: -ut the main point made by sensei was when he spoke about the trilogy o Tenmon! Chimon and )akumon. 2s ar as / understood! &e can see the martial art as a mix o biomechanical techniQues S Chimon (wa?a, and o higher understanding S Tenmon (k<den S nearly spiritual,. These two aspects are completed by another one )akumon or knowledge. Hatsumi sensei said that many martial arts are stuck at the Chimon le:el and that others are ocusing more on the spiritual le:el. The -u@inkan is including the )akumon rom the real beginning and the three become one. How is it possibleJ /t is simple i you think that two le:els o )akumon are there. The irst )akumon is basic knowledge allowing you to link the irst two aspects o Chimon and Tenmon. The second one! taught in the bu@inkan by sensei is beyond orms and words and can nly be reached when your tai@utsu has been polished or more many many years. &hen the three are mastered a new dimension you reach is that o pure consciousness S shiki ( ,. There oreand i my interpretation is correct we understand senseis last comment at the end o the class: "/ teach you the three together because they are one! and this is the bu@inkan and the higher orm o martial art#. -e HappyN

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Thoughts on Budo, @apan Trip | 2 'omments

Greedom W Happiness Posted on 0ovember 2(! 2011by kumafr

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This is +aikomyo sai time again and / cherish this moment o the year more than any moment. / arri:ed yesterday a ternoon or another +aikomyo sai in 3apan. 2 ter a ex hours / alrready met with Hugues! CTdric! 9hilippe! /ndrek! 9eter and Sheila. /t is always a :ery nice moment and brings me a lot o happiness. -eing happy is what Hatsumi Sensei has been teaching us since the beginning but many bu@inkan ollowers dont get it and it is sad. Greedom and happiness is the core teaching o the bu@inkan. 2s %pictetus said "those who are looking or power and money will ail! the only ob@ecti:e o human beings is to ind reedom and to be happy#. %:erything in >i e is changing! as it is said in the / ching! change is the only permanent thing on earth. -ut why is it that we are always looking or permanence when change is e:erywhereJ -u@inkan ollowers o ten get lost on their search or power and money. /nstead o ocusing on the things we can in luence! we o ten orce things that are not in our power to ser:e our own sel ish interests. -y doing so we lose our reedom and become unhappy. %pitectus said: "&hat bothers humans is not reality but the @udgments we make on reality#. Then stop @udging others try simply to be happy with them. &e ha:e to train only or oursel with no expectations and then reedom will be achie:ed and we will ind happiness. %ach time we replace personal actions by sel ish desires we get lost. .ur desires! our attachment (power! money, are ensla:ing us. -e what you are and stop trying to be someone you are not. %:erything is created in our brain. This is not reality this is an illusion. 2n /ndian sage called 2shta:akra wrote:

#t is tr!e what they say,0Ho! are what yo! thin$.1 #f yo! thin$ yo! are bo!n yo! are bo!n . #f yo! thin$ yo! are free yo! are free. Choose to be ree and Happy. -eing happy is a personal choice and nothing can gi:e it to you i you dont make this choice. / really think that Hatsumi Sensei is a philosopher more than a martial art teacher. His martial art classes are only an excuse and a tool to help us get the proper attitude in >i e that will make us happy. This year o kihon happ was dedicated to the start o a new cycle. +ecide now to be what you are! choose to be happy! walk the path o reedom. So en@oy these magic days o +aikomyo sai and start anew in this new cycle by taking the good decisions and being open minded. 8;ou are pure Consciousness] the substance o the uni:erse. The uni:erse exists within you. +ont be small'minded# 2shta:akra -e HappyN

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Tenchi@in Bni:ersity F166 Posted on <eptember "0! 2011by kumafr

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Reminder: Tenchi@in Bni:ersity in 92ris rom .ctober 6Eth to 67th (late,. &e will co:er all the techniQues and undamentals o the Tenchi@in Ryaku no Aaki established by Hatsumi Sensei as the prereQuisite or the study o the bu@inkan martial arts back in 67C8. &e will work on the re:ised structure by sensei rom 67CM. Classes will bein Grench and %nglish and 7 manuals will be gi:en to ollow the classes and to take notes. Trainings will be partly indoor and partly outdoor

>unches (sandwich, are pro:ided as well as ree lodging at night in the d@. / you are interested please :isit the website: http:KKtenchi@inuni:ersity.wordpress.comK
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Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment

YSTT Update Jun 20

Posted on

@une 7! 2011by kumafr

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/n

exactly 81 days the ;<ro Shi Tenno Taikai o 9aris beginsN This year has passed so ast that / am ama?ed that this is already the time or this ma@or seminar. The 9aris Taikai has e:ol:ed a lot since its creation back in F11M. This is a :ery special seminar that was designed to gi:e a chance to get the X Taikai eeling Y o the old days to the newcomers to the bu@inkan and a sense o X the good oldays Y to the old bu@inkan members. This seminar is special or many reasons: Girst! this is the only remaining seminar where the X Shi tenno Y are teaching together. Since 6778 S:en! 9eter! 9edro W 2rnaud ha:e been teaching together in Spain! Grance! %ngland! /reland etc4

Second! the our riends are used to teach together which gi:es a kind o X amily eeling Y to this e:entR Third! this is a 8 days seminar like the taikai o the past when Hatsumi sensei was tra:elling the world to spread his teachingR Gourth! the group o participants is di:ided into our groups by technical le:el. This means that a beginner will recei:e a class that he or she can understandR but also that a high rank student (@udan and abo:e, will also get something to impro:e his or her understandingR Gi th! each day is di:ided into small training sessions o about 6 hour where each group has the chance to train with each one o the shihan in a pri:ate classR Sixth! the 8 training halls (mats or wooden loor, allow each one to spend a ull day o training in di erent en:ironmentR Se:enth! the ree t'shirt! the hot meals! the ree lodging (during! be ore or a ter the e:ent,! makes it a big opportunity to exchange with the many practitioners rom all %urope but also to take the chance to :isit 9arisR %ighth! the inal party at the end o the third day is always a good moment be ore going back home and parting rom 6E1 new riends coming rom 6E to 6C countries. The ;STT is a :ery good opportunity to meet your buyu rom %urope! to exchange! train! and learn a lot o things in a :ery riendly en:ironment. This year! this is the FMth year o my bu@inkan training. S. / decided that each participant that is booked online will recei:e a GR%% F months unlimited access to our online streaming website displaying more than 011 bu@inkan techniQues. Thank you or your supportN 2. Cousergue -u@inkan Shihan R%)/ST%R H%R%

seminar | Leave a comment ;STT F166 Posted on >pril 27! 2011by kumafr
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Calligraphies by $atsumi Sensei #or the %&'ro shi tenn(%

9lease check the new page on the 9aris Taikai on this site H%R% seminar | 1 'omment 3apan Bpdate: +enki W Tenki Posted on >pril 2"! 2011by kumafr
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Today was a nice day! the weather was nice! not too hot and not too cold! and / learnt many new things. The reason why we come to train in 3apan is to better our knowledge about proper mo:ements and today was ull o insights at all le:els. / spoke with two Swedish riends! 9etter Swedin who is li:ing and studying in Sapporo (Hokkaido, and his riend %rick who is studying electricity engineering here in 3apan! and they explained the reasons why the 3apanese ha:e had some issues with their power grid a ter the tsunami. &hen in the 67th century electricity )ri*k %+r ,enki% was irst introduced to 3apan it was through the %uropeans. The %uropeans are using a FF1:KE1 her? technology. &hen the Tokyo power grid has been rebuilt a ter the war by the 2mericans! they used a 661:K01 her? technology. So until this day 3apan has been using two di erent power grids that are not easily compatible together. 2 ter the Tsunami trans erring power rom one part o 3apan to another pro:ed to be di icult and with so many electricity production unit down it took them some time to be able to supply electricity to the whole country. This is a lesson rom History.
Petter getting e-eryday more .apanese

9etter and %rick please eel ree to add your comments i you need to add or precise anything.

/ ound it really interesting and my guess that in a near uture when the 3apanese will ha:e reco:ered rom this ma@or disaster! they will ind ways to uni y their power grids so that it ne:er happens again. .ur actions are dictated by our e:olution and past actions create the conditions o the present! and o our uture sur:i:al. This is a true bud lesson. 9laying with the 3apanese sounds! denki (,! "electricity# can also be written as denki (Y ,! "li e story# but could also be denki (Y,! "transmission o energy# or tenki (,! "energy o hea:en# (weather,. There ore through the story o our training li e we e:ol:e rom electrical power into the transmission o the energy o hea:en. /n other words we grow rom chi no sekai ( ,! in the material world! to the ten no sekai (, in the spiritual world! through the connection o the @in no sekai ( , in the di:ine worldN The link

between hea:en! earth and man is the step stone o the bu@inkan tenchi@in and orgetting it can pro:e to be pain ul and a big mistake. +uring our ist class o the day with $oguchi sensei we co:ered a big part o the @in ryaku no maki rom the tenchi@in. &e studied many things but this class was or me like a real sanshin. Girst and in relation with what / @ust wrote! / inally understood gokuraku otoshi (b! alling rom hea:en,. /n this particular techniQue! the mo:ement is applied onto the arm (ten, and inished by sliding ukes leg to make him all to the ground with @igoku otoshi. 2ctually you trap the @in by playing the ten (arm, and the chi (leg,. That was an eye opener or me. / ha:e been training bu@inkan or o:er FM years and / trained this techniQue many times but only now / became aware o its signi ication. 2s Hatsumi sensei wrote in "Bnarmed ighting techniQues o the samurai# on the introduction o the irst le:el o the )yokko ry<: "it is important to know the meaning o the names o the techniQues#. Ay second disco:ery was something $oguchi said during another techniQue. He said: "here you can do three things: oshi! otoshi! nage#. &e are all aware o the di erences between otoshi ( otosu to make someone swoon, and nage ( G nageru, but it was the irst time / heard o oshi ( osu to push,. 2s this is o ten the case with what we learn here in 3apan! it
no *omment///

sounds so logical that "pushing# uke could be part o the techniQue that you always eel stupid not to ha:e known about it in the irst place. 2nd again! this is why you ha:e to come and train in 3apan with Ske and the shihan because each class will bring new insights on what you are supposed to know. The last part o my sanshin or today happened when doing yume makura (, and or the irst time in my many years o training / understood the di erence between yume makura and te makura (e:en though / thought / knew it,. Aakura is the modern 3apanese name or pillow (also to lead in,! but as it is o ten the case with the e:olution o languages the original meaning meant "support# so the "hand pillow# used to be a "supporting hand# pushing up onto the elbow @oint. /n yume (dream, makura! you are now supporting your dreams like the buddha lying down onto the ground and supporting his head. /n act the whole secret is to use yori modoshi (! to gi:e up! and b! returning or gi:ing back, to trans orm the seoi nage into a te makura to bring uke down to the ground. The body action looks like a "C# loop mo:ing orward with the seoi nage! pushing uke backwards in the direction o his tension! extending his arm and going down with him to the ground. The idea is to pushKpull uke and togo upKdown to bring him with you to the ground.

$oguchi sensei was brilliant as usual and / learned many details that will impro:e my whole tai@utsu. Bn ortunately! the class ended well be ore we co:ered the whole @in ryaku no maki. -ut those being in 2tago next Griday a ternoon will ha:e the chance to study the remaining mo:ements with $oguchi sensei. The class with Ske was also an eye opener (physically and mentally,. Aany students were there and many newcomers too. Ay riend )illian reshly arri:ing rom 2ustralia was there too and / am always happy to see her. &hene:er she is in %urope to :isit her relati:es! she hops by to my d@ in 9aris and train with us! and it is always a pleasure. Thomas Gran?en rom Sweden was asked to demonstrate a ew techniQues in his dynamic and e icient tai@utsu and Ske used them as a start or his pain ul techniQues. He insisted again on the permanent use o the ingers to in lict pain on ukes ingers or his ace and that it was in the theme o this year. 2t one point he showed how to use the ingers on the ace and how to in lict Thomas 0ran1en excruciating pain on a ew ky<sho at hiryuran and @inch< at the same time. Ay partner or the class asked sensei to demonstrate the techniQue to him and he came back bleeding / am sure he will remember it or sure. The best way to learn is to ask Ske to do it on you then pain becomes your teacher. Speaking o pain! $akadai sensei! Shiraishi sensei and ;abunaka sensei were used many times and you could "hear# the pain. / now know that not only gai@in can scream! pain is uni:ersalN He also said something about ky<sho (, that Ste:e did a nice @ob translating skes words or the whole but here he had a hard time getting it. Ste:e e:en said to his partner: "sensei knows / cannot translate that! so / guess this is part o my training#. The idea was that you dont go or the ky<sho straight but only or the area around it! ukes reactions will create the conditions o pain. Sensei o ten teaches at multiple le:els and getting you o balance by orcing you to do things you are unable to do is part o his way o teaching. 2nother thing that sensei said during the class is that you can outmaneu:er your opponent by making him think that you do not know what you are doing. / uke thinks that you are a bad ighter! he will get a alse sense o superiority speed up his down all. 2 ter all deception is nin@utsu and inyo is e:erywhereN Sensei was in a :ery good state o mind and we also did many sannin dori techniQues! he said that mo:ements do not need to look good! on the contrary and that sannin dori is the best way to

)ri*k and +i*hael a#ter training

de:elop actual ighting skills. 2nd that you cannot ind that kind o training in gendai bud! only in bu@inkan. 2 ter a :ery short break (there was no calligraphy session, sensei asked me to demonstrate a techniQue. /t was some kind o tenchi inyo mo:ement with seoi nageKharai goshi type o throw at the end. Sensei asked to demonstrate it a ew times slower and slower and we played with this until the end o the class. Sensei added many pain ul inger grabs and multiple so t hits to disorient uke. &hen you recei:e multiple speedy slaps on the ace and the body! your brain becomes unable to deal with all these in ormation. There is no real pain only a low o little pains as i you were ighting a bee hi:e or a poisonous @elly ish. &e also did some daisho sabaki mo:ements with nearly each techniQue! learning how to use our sword or ukes sword still in the belt and crushing ukes ingers at the same time. Sensei said that this was real ighting skills and that it was Quite ar rom the modern ways o sword ighting taught in the "traditional schools# in 3apan. Ginally we ended with a simple mut dori techniQue where you go orward on the @odan kiri. Ao:ing orward he said is the best way to a:oid the cut as uke will a:oid you. /n real ight you create opportunities by not playing the game according to ukes perceptions. / you try to dodge the cut you get cut but i you walk calmly towards uke then you can control his space and get a hold on his orward hand (and crush his ingers on the tsuka,. 2 nice class ull o pain and disco:eries. The sakki test session was strange as none o the our applicants could get it. They had only one chance. 2 ter the last one ailed sensei decided to stop the sakki test! they will all ha:e two more chances on Sunday. This was also a lesson as Sensei could eel that the conditions were not good last night so he adapted to the low and canceled the second chance. The "gi:ers# and the "takers# are not to be critici?ed! the moment was not correct and Sensei took the right decision. *nowing when it is time and when it is not time to do something is also part o our training. $in@utsu is about awareness and de:eloping the ability to sei?e a situation should be an important part o our training. 2t the beginning o the class! 2nthony $et?tler rom $ew 5ealand recei:ed the gold medal o the -u@inkan or his long training and achie:ement. &e had a nice talk in the train going back to *ashiwa. 2nthony has been li:ing many years here in 3apan and is one o the pillars o the bu@inkan and he deser:ed this reward. /n the past Sensei would gi:e the gold medal mainly to the :isitors and not to

Sesnei lea-ing the d(2( with Someya sensei

the residents / guess this is why 2nthony didnt get it a long time ago. Thank you 2nthony or your presence. &hile writing this article / met a 3apanese woman *a?ue san who spoke :ery good %nglish and whose kids are training bu@inkan with +uncan Stewart. &e had a :ery nice discussion about 3apan! the tsunami! Gukushima and the way things are understood rom the other end

$ow to get there3

o the world. Her ather has a yakitori restaurant called tsukasa (0, in the same street as the *ashiwa 9la?a 2nnex Hotel with a "nin@a menu# in %nglish (see map,. / in:ite you all to eat there during your next stay in *ashiwa. 9mo ifie en L a few ho!rs later: -fter this post was sent, # got Tsukasa &akitori two messages from >!ncan an MaG!e san telling me that # got it restaurant address wrong. So somebody else rom 2merica wrote the %nglish menu not +uncan. Ay mistake. -ut you can still complain to him i you are unsatis ied 4 i you dare to do it. -e happyN

ps: thank you /lona or your note Thoughts on Budo, @apan Trip | 7 'omments 3apan Bpdate: *arada W 2sobi Posted on >pril 21! 2011by kumafr
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The prote*tor o# the d(2(

Since the big earthQuake in Aarch there is a new mask under the Shinden at the hombu d@. Sensei painted it in a bright orange color as this is the color or protection in Shintoism. The Torii (H, at the entrance o the Shint temples is o ten painted with this bright orange to indicate that the area is protected. Sensei explained Sunday during his class that he put it there to protect the d@. / like this mix o tradition and modernity always present

in 3apan. .n the bud side! today was a tough day or all o us as we had three classes. / ga:e a class at 66am! $agato sensei at F:81pm and $oguchi sensei at Mpm. Gor those coming soon to train in 3apan! please note that Hatsumi sensei and $oguchi sensei are teaching now their night classes at Mpm instead o Cpm. 9lease also note that the -udkan being reser:ed or the re ugees o the tsunami! all classes by sensei are held at the hombu d@ until urther notice. / had the eeling today that a little less people than the other days were training so we had more space to train correctly. The @<godan are allowed to teach at the hombu and / ha:e been doing it or many years now but somehow / always eel honored to be allowed to teach at the hombu d@ and it is always a :ery nice experience. / taught todays class in Spanish as only three participants were not coming rom south or central 2merica. 2ll the other students were rom Christian 9etrocellos group and coming rom 2rgentina! Aexico! %cuador and Chili. / you had a chance to :isit their d@ in their country dont miss this opportunity they are really good people to train with! with a good heart! and committed to the bu@inkan. / guess that the charisma and technical le:el o Christian created this eeling amongst his students. Thank you Christian.

The irst part o my class was dedicated to tai@utsu and we re:iewed the di erences between kosshi (",,! kopp ("w, and ninp (Bw, as well as the kamae o each le:el o the gyokko ry<: ten ryaku uchu gassho no kamae! <ten goshin gassho no kamae! hanno bonitsu no kamae! ending all in tenchi inyo no kamae. 2s these kamae are linked indi:idually to each one o the three le:els o the school! they gi:e a better understanding o the school syllabus and progression. 2 ter a short break we re:iewed the sword techniQues demonstrated by Hatsumi sensei in his pre:ious classes last week. They were mainly based on the :ariations o tsuki komi rom the kukishin ry< and use the whole body (karada S f,. Then at $agato senseis class we did many :ariations on oni kudaki with a hanpa approach in which uke is trapped by his own reactions. The control on ukes body is gi:en by the distance created by the ootwork and the use o the body (karada S f,. .nce again $agato sensei insisted in not putting any strength and letting uke do the @ob or us. 9iling up uke on his lower back and using his body natural reactions to trap him is always Nagato sensei a#ter the *lass di icult but the many angles and distances demonstrated by him were so clear that many could actually do them at the o the class. >esson: keep your body balanced and uke in a weak posture. Bse no strength so that uke is not able to build up his reactions on it. >et him all by his own body tensions. /t reminded me o a sentence o Hatsumi sensei in a recent trip: "dont use strength! uke is already using itN#. $ice class as alaways. 2 ter a two hour break and some ood! we began training with $oguchi sensei. &hen you come and train in 3apan! you eel :ery tired a ter a ew days but when you attend $oguchi senseis class his energy is so communicati:e that you eel more relaxed a ter it. Ha:ing said that! you still dont get the "hows# and the "whys# but you eel richer a ter the class. Today $oguchi sensei did some koto ry< kopp @utsu :ariations around the irst techniQues o the school in his inimitable manner. His body low is always ama?ing and e:en you think that you ha:e it! it is nearly impossible to reproduce correctly. His energy

4 serious attitude

ills the d@ so totally his 71 minute class is o:er be ore you know it. &e used the koto ry< particular ootwork known as @<@i aruki with e:ery henka (rs,! this was the main lesson o tonights class. Hatsumi sensei said in +ecember that yoko aruki (gyokko ry<, is crossing the eet! toes heading in the same directionsR where @<@i aruki (koto ry<, is with your eet at a perpendicular direction. 2gain $oguchi sensei showed us that the use o strength was not necessary as the balance o uke is taken by our sole ootwork and by the precise use o the body. 2s usual he did many henka using the spine and the neck and a ew ones where he didnt e:en use the hands. 2 re@u:enating class indeed. 2 ter this long training day! and while / was writing this blog entry a new earthQuake (richter le:el D, hit the Chiba and Tokyo regions! and the hotel danced or a minute be ore calming down. / you are coming soon to 3apan! please read care ully the note by Aark on his acebook page. Aark has been li:ing here or more than twenty years and he knows what he is speaking about. https:KKwww. acebook.comKnotesKmark'lithgowKearthQuakes'precautions'dont' tri:iali?e'themK616E160801D0E71DD Tomorrow Griday we ha:e two more classes: one with $oguchi sensei at Fpm where we will be re:iewing the @in ryaku no maki ( rom the tenchi@in, and another one with Hatsumi sensei at Mpm. +uring $agato senseis class he reminded us o the importance o asobi (,! the ha:e the play ulness o a kid while training. /n 2ugust Hatsumi sensei precised that play ulness should not lower our le:el o awareness! though. -eing X seriously play ul Y +aria #rom +e5i*o, Nogu*hi sensei and me is what is expected rom us during training. This also applies to what is happening here in 3apan outside o the d@. -e happyN

Thoughts on Budo | 2 'omments 3apan Bpdate: History W Training Posted on >pril 20! 2011by kumafr
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Sensei at home 4pr!6th

Tuesday has been another antastic day in Tokyo as sensei asked me on Sunday to meet him with 9edro and *ogure san (Iuest :ideos, at his place at Epm be ore training. The light rain and the cold weather that accompanied me rom *ashiwa to $oda didnt lower my pleasure o meeting sensei and my buyu brother 9edro. &hen 9edro and / met in a Spanish Taikai more than F1 years ago we ne:er suspected the particular tie that would bind us together during all these years. %:en though / met Ske at the >ondon Taikai in 67CM (the irst %uropean Taikai in %urope organi?ed by my other brother 9eter *ing, and again in 67CC (Sweden Taikai organi?ed by my other brother S:en,! / want to thank 9edro again here to ha:e introduced me to Ske on my irst trip to 3apan. / think that without this special connection he has with our Ske / wouldnt ha:e gone so ar in the -u@inkan. Auchissimas gracias hermanoN

2nd thank you also to the true riendship o my older ;<ro Shi Tenn brothers S:en and 9eter. 2nyway! at E pm 9edro! Aiguel! *ogure san and mysel met in Skes house where he showed us some :ery rare documents including the original letter o surrender written and signed by Hiro Hito tenn and the 6F members o his go:ernment! the day be ore they o icially surrendered. This document is so important that no inancial :alue can be Sensei, Pedro and 4rnaud gi:en to it. &e also were honored to lip the pages o an history o the rulers o 3apan reali?ed or the tenn only with original ukiyoe print on a :ery special type o paper that resists all natural disasters so common to 3apan: tsunami and earthQuakes. 2 paper so special that a single blank page is worth C11 %uros4 and they were more than E1 pages all printed with original ukiyoe4 2s a @oke sensei said that this paper might be able to resist an atomic disaster4 but was it a @okeJ He then showed us a 011 year old tachi (with a tsuka o 8 ists and a hal ,. .ur bud is de initely not a sport and these ew items he displayed especially or us is the proo that without this kind o knowledge your martial arts abilities are only a "pu o smoke# as they say in the Shinden ud ry<. Sensei added that no 3apanese were able to grasp that anymore! that this knowledge has disappeared today here in 3apan and this is the reason why he is always re erring to him as a "u o# (since his irst :isit to the BS2 in the C1s,. 3apan has lost his history the orgotten the lessons it carried. To illustrate his point he told us that the techniQue to make the special paper that / spoke earlier o has been lost and that no one today in 3apan knows how to do it anymore. This introduction o our meeting was an excuse or him to tell us that i someone with the proper knowledge! connections! and structured organi?ation was existing! he would gi:e away e:erything he had to sa:e this knowledge rom disappearing. 2s you know senseis house is like a real museum and those documents he showed are ar rom being the most important things he has. Sensei said he also had in writings the ours parts o the 2matsu Tatara being like the our parts o the hearts or the stomach and that e:en that was not the best piece o his collection o historical data. -ut the most ama?ing to me was that he insisted that he would ne:er sell it but was ready to gi:e it or ree i someone worth it was presented to him. %:en

*ogure san was surprised by all this. This was indeed a :ery special moment and thanks to *ogure san translations into %nglish and Aiguels ability to speak and understand 3apanese! the connection between all o us was :ery good.

$appy7

Then it was time or the class and we went to the Hombu where nearly M1 people were waiting or the class to begin. Senseis introduced the class by showing a special yari that he bought earlier on Tuesday on which a tube with hooks acing the tip is sliding on the pole allowing it to mo:e aster when stabbing the opponent. /t was another piece o historical teaching as sensei explained that when acing a weapon you ha:e to understand the :arious (and sometimes illogical, ways o using it. /n this particular case! he said that isherman hooks known as hari (, in 3apanese could be attached to the sliding de:ice in order to trap the skin or the yoroi o the attacker. The main point in his class was the ollowing: "be aware o what you cannot see! what you can see is easy to deal with! what you dont see is what is really dangerous#. He uses the term "mienai# (^,which something that one cannot possibly see (in opposition to the

"kakushi# term S b,. His point was to make us aware o the risk o in:isible radiations these days. &e did many tai@utsu and weapon techniQues started by 9edro and Thomas and sensei insisted a lot on the importance or this years theme o the use o the ingers (Takagi ;shin Ry<, to in lict pain in many di erent places. 2t one point we did a kind o ry happa ken to the head changing rapidly the pain location by switching the intention rom one inger to the other (below the @aw! abo:e the ear! under the nose! inside the eyes etc,. 2nother point is not to use strength so that uke is not able to use this strength o the hold to ree himsel rom it. .n a choke attempt he showed how to mo:e our shoulders in di erent ways (upKup! upKdown, in order to change the si?e o the neck a techniQue we did F1 years ago during a daikomy sai in 3apan and where we all looked like little neck less dwar s rocking sideways. This neck hiding techniQue is :ery use ul when applying a kikaku ken (headbutt strike, as the shoulders protect the :ertebra. &e also did a techniQue against a ist and kick (same side, attack in a kok< manner. The interesting point here was to apply the shut to the attacking arm rom inside at a DE[ angle! then to recei:e the kick so tly in the inside o the right elbow and sliding the body to the right to operate a kind o natural re:ersal o ukes body by his trapped leg. Bkes leg is captured inside your arm with your back to you and your hand can naturally grab ukes belt. Ske insisted on the importance o locking uke by the belt grab. Then sensei explained that we had to grab uke in the manner o an ice pick. The ice pick is hooking the ice but doesnt go through it. Grom there uke is put down straight to the ground and locked there in pain by crushing his ingers with your ingers. This was the eeling we had to understand yesterday night. .n the sword henka o the techniQues initiated by 9edro and Thomas! he showed us again how to draw the blade (nuku! &gE*, rom the scabbard without pulling it the hand but by using the tsuba to hook the attacking hand (grabbing or not, o uke. Sensei said that this was a :ery old way o drawing that has been lost like many other things in 3apan war are knowledge. 2t one point speaking o the yoroi! he said that a samurai would ha:e at least 8 sets o yoroi depending on the seasons and that the winter yoroi would be co:ered with bear ur in the inside o it. 2nd that also is not known by many gendai bud experts. 2ctually he was so critical on the sword abilities o modern practitioners in 3apan that the camera had to be turned o N

&e also did a :ery nice ootwork techniQue where under a @odan kiri attack you do some kind o @<@i aruki (not yoko aruki, turning your body nearly back to uke right side and rotating the blade (wrists are crossed, hitting uke directly in his attack. 2 :ery nice low body low Quite hard to get in a crowded en:ironment but sa:ing a lot o space. 2 ter going back to *ashiwa / had a meeting with *ogure san and while we were ha:ing dinner a :ery long (more than a minute, and so t earthQuake shook the whole building. /t was like ha:ing the metro passing under the loor4 but we were on the 0th loor. Strange eeling. 2s / said! another antastic day in 3apan indeedN

1istory, @apan Trip | Leave a comment -ud is Aud (F,

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.n Aonday / had the chance to train with $agato sensei and .guri sensei and once again the complex simplicity (or the simple complexity, o their mo:ements was ama?ing. / come to 3apan three times a year and / still see the distance in le:els between the 3apanese Shi Tenn understanding and mine. The margin or progression seems huge (and / do not speak about Hatsumi senseis le:el,4 >ast Griday Hatsumi sensei made one o his usual puns speaking o "bud# and "mud# and e:en i it was the title or my last post on this blog / orgot to explain its meaning. The kan@i or "bu# (j, used or "bud# can also be pronounced "mu#. -ut "mu# (, means "without! nothing! empty! emptiness#R like in 5en "mushin#! the no spirit no thinking attitude.
8guri sensei with Tomiyama san

So when sensei said "bud is mud# he said that "the path o bud was the path o no path#. This new pun playing with the sound emphasi?ed once again the importance o listening to what he is actually saying in his teaching and understanding our bud rom a much deeper perspecti:e. -ud being the path o no'path the bu@inkan bud is the path itsel and it cannot be expressed in words. The bu@inkan arts beyond the mechanical aspect o the wa?a is simply a kankaku ( ,! a eeling. Training here at the hombu with Ske is the only way to become able to "read between the lines# as he is pushing us to do regularly. The shidshi not tra:elling to 3apan to get their knowledge directly at the source! miss an extraordinary opportunity to de:elop themsel:es completely. -ud is more than a series o techniQues! it is really a way o reali?ation! a true art. 2t lunch time on Sunday! sensei repeated his intention to build a @in@a (,! a shrine or the bu@inkan and he was not speaking o religion here but o creating a place where the practitioners would ind a training place building their tai@utsu as well as their "shin@utsu# written e (and not S acupuncture,. / we see bud as the science o growing lowers! we can see the di erence existing between learning to plant a seed! caring it! eeding the germ and making the lower bloomingR and the art o /kebana (, where the art is to express li e through a special lower arrangement based on the tenchi@in. Ao:ing rom the physical world to the spiritual world is not the only possible through religions but also through bud. 8-ud is mud# then makes sense. .ur bud is nature and nature is without intention. -eing is the solution and attending the classes with sensei trans orms us into true human beings. $ature is simplicity but a complex simplicity. This is exactly the same when you train here with sensei and the 3apanese shihan. ;ou watch their mo:ements! you ind them easy to reproduce and then you ind yoursel unable to reproduce them. This is the state o mind in which / was yesterday when training with $agato sensei and .guri sensei. .ne word to summari?e that: "&;S/$&)# (&hat ;ou See /s $e:er &hat ;ou )et. Their mo:ements yesterday were based on :ery simple basic techniQues such as: omote gyaku! ura gyaku! katamune dori! gyaku but the way the expressed them were beyond the mechanical realm. They were "holistic#N

2s / pre:iously wrote it in my other entries on this blog! my words cannot express them correctly so this time / will not try to do so. .nly i you were attending the classes can you ha:e a slight chance o getting it. The classes in 3apan are like the wind! you dont see it but you see the mo:ements o the lea:es on the trees. Aaybe this is why we say: "bu < ikkan#. This trip / am becoming aware! more than usual! o the unicity o their mo:ement. 2 way to express that could be: "bu@inkan bud is unity in multiplicity#. $atural mo:ement deals with e:erything at the same time: uke! tori! the terrain! the eelings! the angles! the bones! the intentions. /n act you must get the general image in order to mo:e simply and e iciently. >et me state a ew rules to make you understand what natural mo:ement is (or should be,:

Nagato sensei during the tea break

the techniQue is always adapted to the body type o uke! the body mo:es in one as the tenchi@in is united! the angles o the bones o both uke and tori are in harmony! tori is ne:er "doing it# uke is creating the conditions o his all! strength is useless as so tness triggers uke to react more! there is no techniQue only opportunities! a book will ne:er ight. So lets study ikebana and plant the seeds o our tai@utsu to get into the world o shin@utsu. 2n remember that the meaning o this years kihon happ speaks about a new germination! sprouting (happ S v$,. -e happyN

Thoughts on Budo, @apan Trip | 2 'omments 3BSTM: -ud is Aud Posted on >pril 17! 2011by kumafr
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9u#' :kkan +enky(

Those last F days ha:e been :ery busy budo wise. .n the "nature and nuclear# side nothing to report! li e here is as sa e and normal as usual except maybe that the air conditioning is not "on# in the trains in order to sa:e energy. 2nd yesterday with o:er F8[ some aircon would ha:e been :ery nice on the back rom *ashiwa. Saturday we has two classes with Sen sensei and .guri sensei! and Sunday two classes with $agato and Sensei.

Saturday Sen sensei taught in his inimitable manner some apaprently simple mo:es that / had a hard time to reproduce (as usual,. %:ent though words cannot express it properly / will try my best to set up the technical aspect o it. 2s you know only personal experience can describe it. uke is grabbing your right wrist and punches. +odging the attacking ist with your le t shoulder you step in to the right and apply shut while doing a te hodoki on the grabbed wrist. Controlling the right arm o the opponent you continue to walk in and to the rear le t o uke trans orming the te hodoki in a grab! and li ting and extending the le t arm o ule in order to control his balance. Bke is arched backwards and pressure is applied on his lower back by the pressure on his extended le t arm. Uery technical and so t at the same time. Gootwork is capital here (/ know this is knew, and the correct angling on ukes arm to the shoulder allows the control with no strength at all. The whole class was based on this eeling. >esson: mo:e in a natural manner and get into ukes space using a kind o koku eeling. .guri senseis class was good or two reasons. irst it was the irst class / had with him since his hea:y surgery and / was pleased to see him again in such a good shape. 2s usual his antastic knowledge about the human bodyR his power on the controls gi:en with a "one body mo:ement# were ama?ing. / played the uke a ew times and e:en though he is much lighter than me! / was crushed by his body at all time. .nce again it is hard to express with words. Technically we did katamune dori and rymune dori but ha:ing said that there is no way to explain his "?ero point# control o the body. The hands are controlling your body at all time but you eel it only when you try to mo:e out o the control. So t power is what comes to mind when experiencing it. /t looked simple when watching it but was impossible to do when you tried. Classes like that gi:e you the eeling that the path to per ection is ar rom reach. >esson: go down on your hips by stepping backwards and mo:ing your ingers around the grab(s, and rotate your whole body around uke to reach the ?ero point o balance. .guri sensei explained to Tanaka san! 2kira san and me that at @<godan le:el! you do not ha:e to step too much to the rear. /t reminded me o the ch<t hanpa. ;ou hal apply the techniQue and ukes reactions is inishing it or you. Sunday at $agato senseis class we did again some kind o katamune dori with a ist attack. 2nd $agato sensei used his elbows in an ama?ing way! going inside or outside depending on ukes reactions. &e did many henka ending with .mote gyaku! hon gyaku! mus dori! . gyakuR pushing on the elbows or in the upper thigh to take ukes balance. The way $agato sensei is able to grab the attacking punch rom behind his head at the neck le:el is impressi:e. This class passed like in a dream. >esson: de:elop the lexibility o your wrists and do not inish the mo:ements Bkes reactions are the solution. The elbows are used reely and they should rotate in all directions together with the ootwork to trap uke.

Senseis class was interesting as we did a lot o playing around a techniQue by 9edro using the hands! the sword in ukes obi! toris obi! or two swords techniQues. 9edros techniQue was some kind o mus dori rom a ist attack and applying a kind o take oriK. soto gake. Sensei used that in line going backwards and ending each one o his :ariations with excruciating pain at the ingersR He said again that his was the way o theTakagi ;shin ry<. 2t one point his uke screaming in pain he reminded us o a saying by Takamatsu sensei when he was his uke: "i you still eel the pain it means that you are still ali:e#. &hen we began to do sword techniQues! sensei also commented on the di erence between the sport budo and the shinken bud where sur:i:ing is at stake in each encounter. &hat we do is not what they do and shouldnt be compared in any way. -ut or me the main e:ent on Sunday was that / was rewarded a new diploma by sensei that ga:e me a strange eeling and let me di??y or the rest o the class.

2 ter the bowing! sensei called me in and / kneeled in ront o him! and $agato read the diploma to e:eryone. So ar! / do not know the exact content o the text but it is a reward or my many years in the -u@inkan named "bu < /kkan shin gi tai#. -asically it says that this honorary menkyo is gi:en to me in the name o Hatsumi Sensei and the whole -u@inkan community to thank me or the consistency (bu < ikkan, o my training all o:er these years in learning the orm and the spirit (shin gi tai, o the -u@inkan bud. the diploma is topped with a real golden bu@in patch. 2nd this is what is surprising me the most as this is the patch that only ske is wearing on his gi. / know that we keep repeating "banpen <gy# (61111 changes no surprises, but / must admit that yesterday / was really surprised by the really ormal way this diploma has been gi:en to me by Ske but also by the patch attached to it. The 3apanese Shi Tenno: .guri sensei! Sen sensei! $agato sensei and $oguchi sensei recei:ed it at the beginning o the year and last Gebruary! other old bu@inkan members got the same certi icate: 9edro! 9aco! $atascha! Sheila (and maybe others too,. Gor me this a ma@or honor to recei:e this new diploma as it represents more than a nice text but also a new responsability. 2s you know each time we get a new rank we get a hea:ier weigh on our shoulders! this one is :ery :ery hea:y. 2 ter training! as it is o ten the case on Sundays! Sensei in:ited a group o high ranks or lunch and it was a :ery delight ul moment! e:en more special or me yesterday a ter this reward. >ots o laughter and happiness were illing the atmosphere and the shoshu was not the only reason or it.
Sunday lun*h

-e happyN

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JUST2! "rnaud in Japan

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>pril 1&! 2011by kumafr

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Tonight was the irst class o this trip. Sel ishly / was hoping or a :ery small group and we were already around 81! it seems that ear is going away. /t was nice to meet my buyu and the 3apanese Shihan again! but most important it was nice to see sensei and to train with him. He was in a great mood and / o ten Question i he is really C6 years old as he mo:es like a young

Sensei and his two monkeys

man. &hat did we do tonightJ 2 ter / demonstrated a kind o musha = omote! sensei used it to apply many di ura! musha and mus to his poor uke ending always by pressuring one or more nail le:el. "this is the way yo control in the Takagi ;shin ry<#. The general idea is not to do a techniQue but mainly to react reely to the low o until he gi:es you one or more ingers that you use to pin him down with a lot o erent omote! ingers at the the opponent pain.

Then 9edro did a :ery interesting mix o hal 'cooked mo:ements trapping uke in his mind in such a way that exploding to the loor seemed to be the only logical solution. Bke attacks with a right Tsuki! you de lect it so tly with your right hand by walking to the right (inside S ura,R uke reacts to that and you begin an omote gyaku that trans orms itsel into an ura gyaku when goes to the ground in pain (Quite similar to the omote'ura gayku o the gyokko ry<,. Uery nice piece o Tai@utsu by 9edro that many in the d@ had a hard time too understand and to do. Grom there sensei used the start o this hal 'cooked techniQue to de:elop once again on the "chut hanpa#. He did like a do?en :ariations on this on one tsuki double tsuki! with two uke! etc. Ginally he did it with the sword in Bkes belt (daisho sabaki techniQue, explaining a ew times that the Tsuka! or the saya is going itsel into the hand. "+ont try yo grab it! it comes naturally into your hand#. Sensei stressed the importance in all the techniQues to use the "karada# body instead o using the hand and the head. &e can summari?e that with the sentence: "dont think or grab! dont use power! walk#.

2t the end o the class we did a biken techniQue similar to the kukishinden ry< Tsuki komi np sayu gyaku. Bke attacks dai@odan and tori mo:e lightly and slowly to position the kissaki on the le t wrist o uke. / uke tries to cut d kiri! then toris sword rotates around the point o contact and de lect the blade naturally! tori li t his sword and hit (not cut, the right wrist with the power o the legs bending. Sensei insisted a lot on not cutting Calligraphy session; you *an see the number o# uke: "it is simple to cut! it is much more attendees tonight di icult to control uke without cutting him#. The secret is to mo:e slowly with the bodyR Sensei added that what is common sense to sport bud (gendai bud and AA2 styles, is uncommon sense to us. Gighting is not about power and speed it is about so tness and slowliness. &e did many :ariations around this theme absorbing backwards while mo:ing orward! gi:ing uke a wrong sense o distance as explained by $akadai sensei. The class went ast like in a dream and it was already time or the sakki test. The bu@inkan is richer by F shidshi: 9edro did the sakki test on an 2ustralian guy and / did it on a Swedish one. Speaking o which! Christian 2ppelt who tested hea:y pain tonight under sensei was promoted to 3ugodan! congratulationsN 2 ter the class sensei spoke to a group o @ugodan and insisted once again upon the importance o @ugodan working together and keeping the connection between us all. /t reminded me o the "en no kirinai# studied last year. He also spoke about the new book he is working on! called "nin@a dai?en# (/m not sure about the title, that will expose many new things about nin@utsu (sensei spoke o nin@a in *yushu during the %do period,. He added that nin@utsu was not limited to the sole /ga and *oga clans4 / guess we will ha:e to wait or the book to be published to know more about that. Conclusion:
/ you should ha:e been here tonight and didnt come: too bad or youN The bu@inkan is still ali:e and the many people coming rom all o:er the world were there to pro:e it. Sensei and all the shihan are in good health and li e is back to normal (too bad you didnt come,. Today: no earthQuake! no tsunami! no radioacti:e cloud! but a :ery good class (too bad you were not there,.

Tomorrow two classes: Sen sensei and .guri sensei (yes he is back on Saturdays,. / keep you updated.

9S: Aany airlines ha:e empty seats on their lights to 3apan these days. The *ashiwa 9la?a is Quite empty too4 it is still time to @oin us and train..

@apan Trip | Leave a comment - @utsu: &eapon o Consciousness Posted on >pril 1&! 2011by kumafr
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&hen in 6778 Hatsumi sensei began to teach the now amous "themes o the year# he decided to begin with the study o b @utsu. /t opened a i:e year cycle dedicated to the weaons o the bu@inkan.2mongst all the weapons o the bu@inkan the b @utsu is the most complete o all with an extensi:e set o techniQues and le:els that in luences greatly our tai@utsu both at the technical and spiritual le:el.Sensei speaks o "roku shaku b @utsu# (, and this is the title o his irst b d:d. -ut many see only the si?e o the weapon. /t is right to say that in the past the roku shaku was the si?e o the weapon. 2s you know e:en i the 3apanese go:ernment began to ollow the metric system at the beginning o the 67th century he kept ali:e the kane@aku (,! the old measurement system. %:en today people re er to the si?e o a room in number o tatami (,..ne tatami represents the sur ace o a measurement unit called the "ken# (9, and which has a length o 0 shaku. Bntil the 67th century all temples! castles! and houses were built with this unit. Gor more on this please look or "kane@aku# on the net. -ut when it comes to the training we ha:e to keep in mind that 3apanese people be ore the F1th century were not tall (o ten around 6E1 cm,. So! or us westerners! in order to keep the same ratio si?eKlength in the buki wa?a (j,! our long sta should ha:e a length o at least Fm. $ote that buki (n, means also techniQue or art4

$ow! when sensei speaks o the roku shaku (, he is speaking o shiki (,! consciousness (:i@nana in buddhism,. Sensei implies that b @utsu is the key to reach shiki (, the 0th element o the gogy! consciousness. -y training the many wa?a o b @utsu you are in act de:eloping your consciousness and become able to use it in e:ery aspect o your li e. -y introducing this concept o shiki back in F11E! sensei orced us to do a ma@or leap in our understanding o the bu@inkan arts. 2nd remember that training the weapon 'omote (-,' de:elop our consciousness o li e S ura (,. This is why b @utsu is so important in the bu@inkan. - @utsu is the irst step to ree our tai@utsu rom the orm. -ut to ree yoursel rom something you must irst be "trapped# by it. -ut how is it possible to achie:e ormlessness rom something you dont knowJ &e ha:e to learn and study a lot to get the orms correctly until we can strip the orms o . The bu@inkan is a paradoxical system in which we are looking or something "natural# by studying things that are "not natural#. /n act the b is the entry gate or the weapons and the necessary step to take in order to impro:e our whole tai@utsu. Bntil now no tools were a:ailable to re:iew all those techniQues this is why we ha:e decided to record them all. &e ha:e also added or each techniQue! the kaeshi wa?a (bn, to show you how to win against the b. /t took us our days o recording to do so and many bruises too. &ith www.koimartialart.com (online streaming, or withwww.budomart.com (d:ds, you can now disco:er or redisco:er the richness o the b @utsu rom the kukishin ry<. &e recorded all the techniQues (66 d:ds, to help you unleash the power o your tai@utsu with this antastic weapon. The b (, is the link to the ten (, and the chi (, to become a real @in (k,! a shiki no @in! a conscious human being (k9,. -y the way did you notice that the kan@i or "ken# (9, is identical to the second kan@i o human being (9, 4

Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com | " 'omments Tokyo U/9 tra:el Posted on >pril 1&! 2011by kumafr
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.n &ednesday night at the airport it seems that the world has changed. &hen / entered the boarding gate the room was empty or nearly. .<= > to Tokyo This is what one month o media howling ha:e doneN The news ha:e been exaggerating so much the radioacti:e situation here in Tokyo that the whole world has the eeling that 3apan is orbidden to go to. .nce again / do not try to minimi?e the gra:ity o what happened but as Takamatsu sensei said: #-y opening his eyes and his mind! the nin@a can responsi:ely ollow the subtle seasons and reasons o hea:en! changing @ust as change is necessary! adapting always! so that in the end there is no such thing as surprise or the nin@a#. So ollowing Takamatsu senseis words please adapt to the misin ormation and learn to read where the real dangers are. Gukushima +aiichi is a real problem but the radioacti:ity in Tokyo is ar under the limits. 2ctually it is well under many other areas in %urope. -ut lets be honest! as a standard Grenchman / lo:e it when / ha:e the eeling that / belong to some pri:ilege group o people. 2nd yesterday it seemed to me that / was belonging to the pri:ileged group o "those allowed to ly to 3apanN# The plane! a -oeing 8MM'811 S no doubt the best lying machine in the sky these days S also was empty. / could ha:e guessed it! thoughN and it reminded me o my early business years where / lew back rom the Aiddle %ast one night with only 68 others persons. / lo:e empty planes.

2 -'MMMK811 can host FMF passengers and needs 68 crew members and 8 pilots to operate. &e were 61C passengers tra:eling which! apart rom the -uddhist symbol o 61C! represents more than 6 stewardess per personN The light with 32> was awesome because: / had three seats or mysel ! / slept like a baby the most part o the light! The ood was good and ser:ed rapidly! / had an aisle 2$+ a window! / got a lot o attention rom the charming 32> stewardesses! the light was Quiet: no baby crying! old men coughing! or young playing! and 32> doesnt stop in Seoul or obeying some pilot union (add Fh to your light, and arri:ed on time 66 hours and a ew minutes laterN /t was like being a U/9 or li:ing in some kind o a dream. &hy was thatJ .nly because o the "nuclear terror auction# spread by the media since the catastrophe. Gor weeks they were not speaking about the 4 -ery ?uiet #light to F01111 people that lost e:erything but about something that sells Tokyo more: "the terrible nuclear accident#. They got so much our attention that in the plane there were only 3apanese people and nearly no one rom %urope going to 3apan and / guess that it will not change soon. So i you want to train with a small group o buyuR i you want to en@oy calmnessR and i you want to sa:e money on your light then do not hesitate! come now to $oda as this is the opportunity o a li etime. Training bu@inkan is about learning to make good choices in li e. +id you make a good choice recentlyJ 6. F. 8. D. E. 0. M.

@apan Trip | 1 'omment 3apan: Stop Howling! 2ctN Posted on Harch 1$! 2011by kumafr
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"0 #otes

&hat happened in 3apan a ew days ago is a terrible thing but / am sad to see the way things are co:ered in the media and at the political le:el. 3apan has su ered one o the biggest earthQuakes in the last 6D1 years and a ter the destruction caused by the tsunami they expect at least 61111 casualties. -ut our media in %urope are only speaking about the possible nuclear catastrophe and rarely speak about the people in 3apan who lost e:erything: a parent! a riend! their house! car etc. Some countries are e:en checking already the le:el o radioacti:ity o the 3apanese products imported (sent be ore the earthQuake because the 3apanese industry is down,! others are checking the air pollution e:en i they are located 8111 km away rom 3apan and not in the direction o the windsN This treatment o in ormation is re:olting as it only emphasi?es the human appetite or cataastrophe. / am not trying to minimi?e the nuclear accident but / think that we ha:e to ocus primarily on what is important: the people in di iculty trying to sur:i:e a ter the tsunami. Can we indi:idually do anything about the nuclear problemJ Can we seriously howl with the politicians and the media and use this accident as an excuse to stop our own nuclear plantsJ &e are beha:ing like a drunk dri:er blaming a tree or destroying his car a ter a crash. The nuclear problem is not the cause o the problem but a negati:e conseQuence o the tsunami so we must irst do whate:er we can to help the 3apanese people. -e logical: 6. The moment it is dangerous to go to Tokyo because o the radiations! the airlines will stop their lights.

F. The moment it will be risky or your health to go to 3apan! the 3apanese go:ernment and our own go:ernments will pre:ent us to go there. 8. The 3apanese are the most experienced people to deal with nuclear problems. So we must rede ine our priorities: 6. &hile the nuclear specialists ( rom 3apan! the BS2! the /2%2, do their best to contain the nuclear risks! our @ob is to support the :ictims o the tsunami. /n the last days / ha:e seen many -u@inkan groups organi?ing seminars to collect money or 3apan and one d@ is going to gi:e the bene its to the 3apanese red cross. This is the -u@inkan / like. F. &hether nuclear power is "good# or "bad# is not o our concern. &e must only do our best to li:e a happy li e where we are. &e o ten ha:e the eeling that our go:ernments are not always telling us the truth! but there is nothing we can do about it. -ut as -u@inkan members we should listen to Sensei when he stresses the importance o being happy. So lets recenter our li:es to be happy and stop howling with the crowd. 8. The nuclear catastrophe is only a scapegoat. &e are the ones to blame because we were unable to de:elop (in the F1th century, a society uelled by nuclear power (C1O o the electricity in Grance,. 2s long as we do not ind a real alternati:e to nuclear power we ha:e to li:e with it. &e are responsible. 2ccept that and mo:e on as the 3apanese did! do and will always do. Sensei was still teaching on Sunday (not on Tuesday as the -udkan was closed, and / guess he will teach on Griday! so keep goingN 2s ar as / am concerned! / will continue to support the 3apanese as much as / can and / am still planning to train with Ske next 2pril. / you want to acti:ely help 3apan! the best support you can gi:e is to continue to tra:el to 3apan as long as: 6. Sensei is teaching his regular classes! F. the airlines are allowed to land at $arita airport! 8. our go:ernments let us tra:el to Tokyo. The -u@inkan is teaching us to be oursel:es and not to beha:e as a lock o sheeps. /t is time to show the world that you didnt train or nothing during all these years.

2nd remember that "tsunami# is a 3apanese wordN See you soon on the mats in $oda.

?eneral thoughts | ( 'omments $uclear /n o Posted on Harch 1(! 2011by kumafr

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20 #otes

0ukushima nu*lear plant

2s or many o you / ha:e been watching extensi:ely the ren?y around the nuclear problem in 3apan. 3ournalists are speaking without knowing and they are "honestly# trans orming the news (/ think it is hopeless, to get more :iewers. 2t the same time our politicians see here a good way to cash easy :otes. +o not belie:e e:erything on the news! make you own inQuiry. / do not want to minimi?e the nuclear accident that happened but the attitude o the

media is @ust not correct. Gor those interested and concerning the nuclear problem! / recei:ed this link today and / thought that it would help many to understand what is a nucelar plant and what has happened in 3apan a ter the earthQuake and the Tsunami: http:KKtheenergycollecti:e.comKbarrybrookKE8D06K ukushima'nuclear'accident' simple'and'accurate'explanation 2s ar as / know! the main problems that our 3apanese riends are acing are the repeated earthQuakes and the conseQuences o the Tsunami. Relati:ely (so ar, the nuclear problem seems to me as not being so important. Thousands o people ha:e died because o the tsunami and the country will ha:e di iculties with ood! gas! and elctricity. / hope that all our riends there will get o:er these bad times and that 3apan will reco:er ast rom this nightmare.

2lso / in:ite you to read +uncans last post with the possible interpretations o the theme o the year: kihon happ at http:KKta??iede:il.wordpress.comK it is excellentN / am still going to $oda mid 2pril (unless our politicians orbide it andKor the situation e:ol:es in an unexpected dramatic manner,.

Cncategori9ed | 1 'omment %arthQuake in 3apan Posted on Harch 11! 2011by kumafr

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1& #otes

+ear riends! / hope that Hatsumi sensei! the 3apanese Shihan! and all our riends training andKor li:ing in 3apan are in good health a ter this ma@or earthQuake (C.7 on the richter scale,. Stay tune with acebook as many o our riends in 3apan communicate through this network. 2rnaud

+ar*h !!, 2 !!, ma2or earth?uake @ tsunami in .apan

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Cncategori9ed | Leave a comment Bebruary 2&! 2011by kumafr

-alance
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22 #otes

%:eryday during training we are trying to learn more about balance. 2ctually in senseis irst d:ds you could read: "bu@inkan: martial arts o distance#. 9roper distancing is gi:en by ootwork and proper ootwork is created by balance. Take a cat or instance. Cats ha:e this ability to always land onto their eet when they all. This is what we are training to do in the d@. -ut this training reQuires years o hard work and can only be achie:ed through trial and error. Cats learn that rom early age and when they grow up it is a natural ability they ha:e de:eloped.
balan*e is e-erywhere

>earning balance is learning rom being unbalanced. /t is the permanent teaching in the d@ that will help you impro:e your own personal skills. 2s Aalcolm Gorbes put it: "Gailure is success i we learn rom it.# S so learn rom your actions. "Shikin haramitsu daikomy#! "in e:ery action in our li e there is something to learn rom.# . ten / am ama?ed by how much we can learn rom our daily mistakes. 2ccepting to make mistakes is accepting to learn. /n the d@ nothing matters and being wrong o ten ends with only a ew bruises. There is no risk to be wrong in training as long as we learn to learn rom this practical teaching. 2n error is not like a black spot on a white linen! it is a reason or impro:ing oursel:es. .ne o the 3apanese shihan said one day in class that when we learn a new wa?a we make many mistakes and that by repeating and learning rom these mistakes we make gradually less and less mistakes. This wa?a will ne:er be per ect but at least will be heading towards per ection. -alance in your tai@utsu will bring balance in your li e and this is the most important in the -u@inkan martial arts. %rrors are making it possible or us to become better practitioners and better human beings. This is why accepting changes is o utmost importance. / you think you know and ne:er change what you take or granted you cannot e:ol:e. The things you know will work or you well in some occasions but will also bring more troubles in the long run. Remember the tao (,! and its "dont do anything and nothing will be le t undone#. /naction

will ne:er bring action! actually by not accepting those permanent changes you are pre:enting yoursel rom successR it is like betting your li e on a toss o a coinN This is wrong. &hate:er you do always consider that things are not stuck! e:erything e:ol:es and e:erything lows. This is the nagare (, that we are looking or. Gootwork! distance and balance are linked and we accept to change. 2s 2ristotle said "change in all things is sweet#! so we need to look or these changes in our li:es and become true human beings.

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Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment

Yoroi Ku#i U$hi

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ecember 1! 2010by kumafr

"2 #otes

Today we had an ama?ing demonstration o yoroi kumi uchi by the Sensei ! the 3apanese shihan and +uncan and Holger. ;oroi kumi uchi is not about doing a techniQue it is about sei?ing the opportunities arising in the middle o the ight. 2t one point today! +uncan lost his helmet and immediately used it as a weapon against his opponent. Sensei congratulated him and explained that in a ight e:erything should be used to stay ali:e. . ten martial art practitioners are more interested in looking good in their techniQues rather than being in a position o staying ali:e. This is during the Auromachi period that 3apan has de:eloped what has become the martial arts o today. -ut in that time it was not about being precise! it was about not dying on the ballte ield. Too o ten people think o the %do period (beginning in 6018, as the best period o 3apanese -ud. This is wrongN %:erything has been disco:ered much earlier during the Auromachi period. Auromachi began in 6888 so the 3apanese had nearly 8 centuries to de:elop the arts o war. Sensei

insisted once again today on the goshin (ken! tachi! @uo! katana! nukes, being the real "gorin no sho#. / / understood well he will speak about that extensi:ely in his new book due in a ew months. Tachi wa?a is the weapon o the Auromachi together with the use o the yoroi. 3apanese bud and the culture o the katana came shorlty a ter the peace time o the %do period. 3apan being uni ied! there were not so many battles anymore and the 3apanese warriors stopped wearing the yoroi rendered unnecessary. This is when they de:eloped the blade to be cutting like ra?or blades as it was possible (without the protection o the yoroi, to cut the opponent instead o stabbing him. Tachi wa?a doesnt include cutting only stabbing. /n the yoroi kumi uchi it is ob:ious. The body can take any blow at short distance (less momentum, the ob@ecti:e being to open uke in order to ind a hole in the protection and to stab him in one o the openings created in the action. There ore our mo:ements do not ha:e to be per ect they ha:e to be created "on the spot# and adapted to what is possible. Sensei insisted a lot today on this aspect o ighting! we do not try to apply a wa?a we "read# the openings! take the balance and do what we can to stay ali:e. .nce again we are learning sur:i:al not kata. Gurthermore! yoroi kumi uchi makes it ob:ious that speed is not the priority as our mo:ements are limited by the weight and encumbrance o the yoroi. &e mo:e to keep our balance and to take ukes balance. &hether we a re doing mut dori! tachi wa?a or yari wa?a is @ust an add'on to our body mo:ements. The d:d on the dkms will be an eye opener or many bu@inkan members as it was one or those who were lucky enough to watch it today. Train with a yoroi in mind and a tachi in your hand and adapt your good looking mo:ements so that they can be o any use in a real ight.

Thoughts on Budo | $ 'omments 3in no -ud Posted on 0ovember "0! 2010by kumafr
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2& #otes

Grom todays training at the dkms / really en@oyed one sentence rom ske: "we are not training 3apanese bud but @in no bud! the bud o mankind#. 2s humans we are all eQual and there is no one better than any other one. The kumite o the bu@inkan is not only 3apanese and it is ob:ious when you see so many people (around D11 todayN, coming rom all o:er the world and @oining to train together here in Tokyo. Senseis bud is beyond borders and by spreading it in our Sensei with Peter King countries we are actually working to better humanity. 3in bud is the same in e:ery country and the techniQues de:eloped in 3apan are no di erent rom the ones that de:eloped in the other cultures. This is why the bu@inkan is a world bud. &hen sensei demonstrated the yoroi kumi uchi today he was taking anything that would be possible: helmet! sode! ropes hanging! belt! weapons. 2nd with this in hand he would take the balance o his uke. 2t the end o the session! +uncans yoroi was a wreck. % iciency is not in the techniQuess but in the attitude one has when acing an opponent. 2s $agato sensei said once: "it does not ha:e to look good it has to be e icient#. .ur bud is beyond the orms. &e ha:e to learn the basics and the schools and the weapons in order to create this space where e:erything is possible. -y not inishing the techniQues (hanpa, and by using the @osei no goshin @utsu! we can adapt our mo:ements without putting any thought within them. Bke attacks and we simply react! taking his balance and crushing him. /n sannin dori this ability is necessary and hanpa gi:es us the possiblity to o:ercome the intentions o the attacker. /n traditional bud e:erything ollow a prede ined pattern and creati:ity disappears behind the :eil o the orm. /n real ight! this cannot be as we ha:e to be aware o the dangers o the situation. -y not inishing a particular techniQue! we are ree to mo:e and deal with a second attacker. /n sport there is only one opponent in real ight there are o ten more than one. +welling only on a "3apanese orm# is not possible or those who want to sur:i:e. The only way to sur:i:e is to open up and become creati:e! by sensing the changes occurring in our en:ironment and by reacting to these in luences. 3in no bud is the ultimate le:el o ighting because it implies our whole being and not a set o technical orms. 3in no bud is reedom and when we can mani est that in the d@ it changes our perception o reality and allows us to apply it in our daily li:es. -u@inkan practitioners or their ma@ority still consider the bu@inkan to be another martial art and they only ocus on the "martial# and not enough on the "art# part. Sensei wants us to become creati:e like an artist not to become a budka. 2nd this is the ob@ecti:e o such a seminar.

Tomorrow will be another interesting dayN

Thoughts on Budo | 2 'omments *ihon Happ o F166 Posted on 0ovember 2%! 2010by kumafr
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2" #otes

+aikomyo Sai apart rom being senseis birthday is always a :ery particular moment in the li e o the bu@inkan. 9eople rom all o:er the world gather here in $oda and Tokyo or this occasion and this year more than e:er. / spoke with some residents who told me that they were expecting between 811 and D11 participants this yearN Griday night we were almost F11 in the Honbu and F81 on SundayN This moment is also special as sensei concludes the theme o the year and introduces the new theme or the next year. .n Griday he told us that "kihon happ# will be the theme or F166 and added: "same sounds but not same writing4#. 2s sensei in:ited a ew o us or lunch on Sunday! / took this opportunity to ask him about the meaning o this new "kihon happ#. Hatsumi sensei said that "ki# was "season# and "hon# was "re:erse#. He didnt explain about "happ# but / will gi:e you my interpretation. -e ore that / would like to share with you a ew concepts he detailed last week during the pre:ious classes.. Tuesday he demonstrated a ew techniQues where instead o hitting uke he would hit the space on the side o uke creating a moment o total ear in his opponent and opening endless possibilities o action. He said that we should "hit the kukan# to in luence ukes reactions. .n Griday he de ined our mo:ements as being "ch<to hanpa# or "hal way hal

inished#. To illustrate this he spoke again o the goshin (ken! tachi! @uo! katana! modern weapons,. Aodern weapons were compared by him to "robots#. ;our actions cannot in luence a computer or a machine ollowing a program. 2nd i you train bud in a "robotic# way your actions can be interpreted and deciphered by your opponents. .n the opposite i your bud is artistic and does not ollow a "beginning'end#R i your techniQues are not inished then the opponent is not able to counter your actions. /n the ight! he added! you ha:e to eel the " un iki# i.e. "the atmosphere! the ambiance# o the situation and to mo:e accordingly. 2ll the in ormation you need is a:ailable to you i you ha:e no intention o doing anything in particular. ;our mo:ements are natural ( i.e. not created, and participate o the eeling you get rom the situation at hand. .ur ootwork is the key to adapt our mo:ements to the situation. Hatsumi sensei said that until recently he didnt understand why Takamatsu sensei had taught him the "@osei no goshin @utsu# (woman sel de ense,. &ith the small ootwork o a woman trapped by the limited amplitude o her kimono (traditional kimono are :ery narrow at the legs, you can! with tiny mo:ements o your eet! take the balance o the opponent in close'combat (remember that we were around F11 in the d@ that night and that mo:ing was di icult,. /n a situation like that using "@osei no goshin @utsu# is the only solution. /nstead o doing a techniQue we mo:e in an artistic manner in:isible to ukes analysis. /n the name "martial art# this is where the "art# is to be ound. 2rt is not about applying a techniQue. This is not the answer. Sensei added that the new mission o the @<godan was to trans orm their mechanical robotic bud mo:ements into artistic ones. Through 2rt one can eel the atmosphere and respond with natural and un inished mo:ements. This :ision o tai@utsu was repeated on Sunday when he insisted on the low o our mo:ements coming rom the eet: "$agare comes rom the legs# he said. /n act uke thinks and then acts (ten'chi process, and tori should do the exact opposite (chi'ten process,. /t reminds me o +r. 9aul &atlawic? explaining that action should always precede re lection in human relations! and ighting is part o human relations. Too bad or +escartes and his "cogito ergo sumN#. How come all o the abo:e can be linked with the kihon happ o F166J

&hen sensei spoke o kihon on Sunday during our lunch and said that "kihon# is "season re:erse# he didnt explain the new meaning o happ. &hen you look in a dictionary happ (hachi h, has many meanings. Ay interpretation (possibly wrong, is that hachi is the recipient (bowl! basin,! a little similar to the "ki! utsuwa# o F117 (sain konki, and "h# is in ormation. Happ becomes the recipient o all the possible in ormation o a situation. 2s we understood it in the sain konki year! the bigger the utsuwa! the bigger the k<kan. There ore i "kihon# is the beginning o a new cycle (season re:erse, and "happ# as the sum o in ormation in the k<kan! then the "kihon happ# o F166 could be interpreted as ollow: -y eeling the atmosphere ( un iki, o the situation i.e. reading the in ormation o our en:ironment (happ, we can change the cycle o action (kihon, and turn it to our own ad:antage by reacting without any preconcei:ed ideas to the de inite actions o uke. Ao:ing so tly with the "@osei no goshin @utsu# attitude! uke has no possibility to read our actions because we do not know oursel:es what we are going to do next. %ach one o our mo:ements ha:ing no end we only do things hal 'way! "ch<to#! and ne:er inish them! "hanpa#. Hitting the k<kan will send alse in ormation to uke and gi:es the ability to o:ercome his intentions.

%:erything abo:e is my own interpretation and can be totally wrong.

Thoughts on Budo | 10 'omments +isciple or TechnicianJ

Posted in Posted on

Gctober "1! 2010by kumafr

(2 #otes

(:ersion ran^aise, / @ust read a nice article by my brother 9edro Gleitas and / would like to dig deeper in its direction. &hen we began training in the -u@inkan martial arts we couldnt athom how much it would bring to us as a human beingR how much it would trans orm us. &e were more interested in learning a "martial art#. Through the last F0 years we learnt the martial art but we also learnt to become true human beings. Too many practitioners today are training or the wrong reason as muscle power is limited in time so it shouldnt be our main ob@ecti:e while training. &hat is de initely more important is to de:elop our own potential! our own abilities. 2ll through these years people ha:e been ocusing too much on the omote where in act only the ura matters. *nowing thetechniQues can be interesting or a while but knowing yoursel is more :ital to li:e a happy li e. How many teachers in the bu@inkan are only teaching " orms# and do not get the essence o the bu@inkanJ 2 lotN / remember once speaking with ske who told me that the important thing he has been teaching in the last years were not the schools but the concepts they con:eyed. These concepts o san @igen no sekai! y<gen no sekai! kasumi no h! shi?en! etc ha:e taught us more on how to li:e our li:es than ighting techniQues. %:en though this apprenticeship has been the key to learn to de end oursel:es e iciently. -y understanding the ura side o things! the omote becomes ob:ious. /n F161 we ha:e entered a new era in the bu@inkan with the arri:al o many high ranks. Things are changing as always and now is the time to ask yoursel the good Questions. >ong time ago / ha:e decided to put aside the "nin@a# stu and to ollow the teachings o a man! Hatsumi SenseiR / decided to become a disciple and not only a good technical martial artist. /s it what you are doingJ 2nd i it is not! do you think it is worth spending your ree time collecting orms instead o de:eloping the antastic human being hidden within youJ Hatsumi sensei might be the last true bud master o 3apan and his teachings go ar beyond simple body mechanics. Aaybe it is time to think about it.

Thoughts on Budo | " 'omments -u < /kkan Posted on Gctober "0! 2010by kumafr
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(:ersion Gran^aise, &ensei said that "the secret o b! 3 is jl% b!f= i$$an (translated in "unarmed ighting techniQues o the sam!rai# p.E6! by the way o war is sur:i:alV,. This is the yang secret. /n a ight the opponent is o ten aggressi:e (i.e. yin, there ore by opposing so tness to hardness you can de eat the enemy. &hen acing a strong and :iolent opponent you ha:e two options: be more aggressi:e and :iolent than him or be so so t that his own intentions and actions will de eat him. This is the secret o ighting. /t reminds me o the encounter between the yamab!shi monk Ben$ei and the young6inamoto no Hoshits!ne during the 43gen disturbance (! 4Ngen-noran66E0,.Ben$ei was a ierce warrior monk who de eated 77 sam!rai crossing a bridge he was standing on. Ben$ei had made the wish to take a 611 swords rom sam!rai and to gi:e them to the B! ha. &hen the young Hoshits!ne arri:ed at the bridge! Ben$ei had already won 77 swords. ;oshitsune! de ending himsel with a simple lute o:ercame the big giant who then became his disciple. This is the typical example o how yin can de eat yang. /n the bu@inkan this techniQue is called go2a ori and sensei details it in his book: "Toga$!re ry! ninp3 tai2!ts!1 (p.F8M,. &ensei insists also on de:eloping {e goshin 2!ts! instead o f goshin 2!ts!. &e should de:elop the heartKspirit i we want to ensure a true sel 'protection or oursel:es. -rutal orce is nothing compared to mental strength. /n order to sur:i:e learn to use the yin within you.

V jl% means "the martial winds blow e:ery day# but when written jl% it means "martial wind (tone, o one lute# thus the connection with Hoshits!ne.
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1istory, Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment Gctober 21! 2010by kumafr

Control
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21 #otes

(:ersion ran^aise, >ast Sunday at the 4omb!, 4ats!mi sensei said that "i you cannot control yoursel ! you cannot control others#. This is the secret o e:ery learning process as we must understand our own beha:ior be ore trying to understand the one o others. The Quickest path to achie:e that is to master our basics.
*ontrol is attitude

&hen you learn the basics! you orce your sel (body W mind, into unusual orms and reactions. This is the irst step. Here the opponent is not somebody else! it is only yoursel . This is the $ihon le:el. Aany martial artists stopped their understanding o ighting at this le:el. The second step is to learn how your mo:ements can interact with ormal ways o attacks. Here !$e appears and ollow a gi:en set o mo:ements and you apply the $ihon that you learned! and you ad@ust them to a di erent reality. This is the $ata or waGa le:el and this is the main ob@ecti:e when you train in a 323 with ellow practitioner. There is no surprise here as e:erything is predetermined! and there is no :iolence either. Gew martial artists get to this le:el. The third le:el is the one o shiGen! here the attack is unknown and your personal ability (sain3, , lows naturally and will sa:e your li e or get you killed i you did not achie:e the

personal control at the irst two le:els. This is the le:el o training that is gi:en bysensei to the b!2in$an practitioners. To master and control these three le:els o : $ihon, waGa, and shiGen take a long time and only a :ery small number o practitioners will succeed. This is why it is said that b! 3 is a li e'time commitment. %:en well polished! a mirror can always be polished a little more. 9er ection is an attitude in li e! not a mani ested reality. tu $ihon: you learn to control yoursel waGa: you learn to apply this control o yoursel to known attacks shiGen: you are in control o yoursel and any attack is controlled naturally through your ability to low into your en:ironment. There is no surprise. This is a e sanshin. There ore the 323 is not only the place where you learn the way! it becomes the place where you learn to ride with others ( 323,. >earn to control yoursel through this sanshin and you will be able to control the others. Banpen f=gy3! 61111 attacks! no surprise. Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment -u@inkan )old Aedal or Hugues Posted on Gctober 20! 2010by kumafr
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Tuesday hugues

.ur riend and colleague 2=go an Hughes was awarded the gold medal o the -u@inkan last Tuesday at the -yase B! 3$an. The B!2in$an gold medal is an award gi:en by 4ats!mi sensei to students o Quality. /n the past it was o ten awarded or organi?ing a tai$aiR today it is a way or sensei to thank his most committed students or their hard work and impro:ement and is o ten gi:en to the 2=go an. &ith mine recei:ed last century ( ,! this is the third medal awarded by &ensei to a Grenchman. Gour other recei:ed the gold medal on the same day! including my riend +arren (the 2ustralian -runo,. Congratulations and thank you Hugues to deser:e itN .medetN

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%nyo! the &o'er o( Chan)e

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Gctober 20! 2010by kumafr

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(:ersion ran^aise, /n a recent post we established that "$i1 was not magic but only natural. I: -ut what mani ests this natural state o things where no preconcei:ed idea can existJ 2: The natural low and interaction o inyo 9yinyang:.

inyo

The / Ching! the boo$ of changes 9ekigy in Japanese: says that, 8the only thing that will never change is that everything is changing permanently1. /n this sentence lies the truth about the $i, inyo! li e! death (i.e. a ight,R e:erything can be reduced to this eQuilibrium between in and yo. The inyo concept is based on the eastern understanding o e$i i.e. change. /n modern 3apanese the word "e$i1 is used or "di:ination# (or "easy# when pronouncedyasashii,. &hen we study the $an2i, e$i we disco:er that it is made o two $an2i, the sun on topR and the old writing or rain under (today this $an2i is used or "be not! must not#,. The original meaning was then "weather change# rom rain to sun to rain and the only thing to do was to watch those changes and to adapt to them. This is the same in the 323. The opponents actions are to be watched care ully and "naturally# answered by going with the low o the inyo interactions. 2nd this is why we should ne:er separate in and yoas it would create a dualityR as it is rom this duality that things get con used. Bnity with!$e is the path to the natural low. To de ine this permanent change in the low o li e! the chinese took two old $an2i and showing this alternate state in all things. Those two $an2i are one in two (in cannot be separated rom yo,! historically this ishow the Chinese called the two sides o the mountain. The north' acing side! dark and humid 9in: and the south' acing side! bright and sunny 9yo:. ;ou cannot separate them! this is the same with inyo. Ho is composed o e$i (sun and rain, but separated by a hori?ontal line (check by yoursel ,. This extra line emphasi?es the idea o di erentiation compared to a natural change as in e$i. /t de ines a moment in the low where change will occur! where rain will let the sun shining. This is the end o the rain! an instant o change! a $o$= 2. 2 space between two moments. The right part (a ter the "-# shape $an2i: o in is composed o gathering! accumulation and cloud it gi:es the idea o an accumulation o tension like be ore the rain comes. Here also we ha:e a $o$=! another space between two moments. Change is e:erywhere and in the encounter only the one who is able to adapt to the permanent switch happening in the instant is able to mani est the $i and use it within the low o things. #nyo are (isJ, the mani ested components o this low o permanent change that we call the $i. .$i is the essence o the $i and our mo:ements should use this energy to mo:e naturally. /n a way we can say that with the use o change e$i o ered by inyo, we gather the $i so that our actions become easy (yasashii,. (e$i e $i e$i,: natural change gather the $i to make things easy.

nb, some of the e(planations are ta$en from C. Javary 0le isco!rs e la tort!e1, e . -lbin 6ichel Thoughts on Budo | ( 'omments $um8ro6ogy Posted on Gctober 1%! 2010by kumafr
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(:ersion Gran^aise, The last post on "8PE# generated a lot o comments golden ratio towards the possible misinterpretation o numerology. Two riends added their comments! 3an rom -elgium on this blog and 3ean! one o my students committed a nice text on his 323 blog (in Grench,. Their general idea is that: "you can say anything with numbers and ind esoteric signi ications or e:erything#. The same idea is :ery well demonstrated by Bmberto %co in his book: "Goucaults pendulum# where three riends play with numbers to pro:e that some Aachia:ellian plan to rule the world is going on. -ut to illustrate that! read the ollowing: / am getting close to being E6 years old. To this day / li:ed exactly a total o 6C!01C days! Ay si?e is 6ME!E cm! / trained martial arts more than D1 years (exactly D1.817 years,! / disco:ered the bu@inkan a ter turning FE!exactly at the age o FE.FF1. &hen / add D1.817 = FE.FF1 / ind: 0E.EF7! / multiply this by my si?e in cm 0E.EF7 x 6ME.E the result is 66E11.887E. $ow when / di:ide the number o days / ha:e been li:ing by this result i.e. 6C01C K 66E11.887E the new result / ind is the golden ratio o 6.06C18 amous in geometry and esoterismN 2 ter all maybe am / the reincarnation o the emperor 3immu (j,J

(more on the golden ratio H%R%,.

Ay point when / wrote the "8PEL was simply to help the b!2in$an practitioner to sol:e an apparent contradiction in the names o the techniQues used daily in our classes. -ut remember that sensei is o ten playing with numerology. 2s always with him this is not &;S/&;) but &;S/R&;) (what you see is rarely what you get,. Myo2its! ten$an h3 w Cncategori9ed | " 'omments +oes 8 P EJ Posted on Gctober 1&! 2010by kumafr
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(:ersion ran^aise,

+uring one o my recent classes dedicated to beginners! one o them a ter listening :ery care ully came to me and asked me whysanshin P 8 spiritsKhearts when we ha:e the gogy3 P E elementsJ .r to make it simple why does 8 P EJ &hat / like with beginners is that they are so eager to understand that they come and ask things that a higher rank or older student would not dare to ask. 2nd what / like is that it is o ten much deeper as a Question than what it appears at irst glance.
no *omment7

So why does 8 P EJ The orms o the i:e elements was originally called shoshin g3$ei gogy3 no $ata and was later called by sensei the sanshin no $ata. Today in the bu@inkan we call them either"sanshin no $ata1 or "gogy3 no $ata1.

&anshin written f are the three @ewels o B! hism but in the b!2in$an it is written e it means the 8 spiritsKhearts. &e will see later what it co:ers. )ogy3 are the i:e (@apanese, elements {|. Here gy3 | has the meaning o practice! training! or exercise (as in sh!gy3 |! ascetic practice,. The gogy3 are also o ten called"go ai1 { or gotai { to show the importance o the i:e elements chi , s!i , $a , f= l, $= 2 they are the basic bricks constituting the abric o time and space leading to the 0th element shi$i ! consciousness! wisdom (sans$rit 0vi2Jaana1! ,. $ow i we look at the name g3$ei the only thing / ound is I and means "total sum#. *nowing that shoshin here x! means "initial! original#R the name can be understood as the " i:e training orms to de:elop the initial unity (body and mind,#. To put it simply these i:e exercises are the root to understand the whole! the multiplicity o possibilities leading to unicityR or how to mo:e naturally. Then! why 8 P EJ -ecause both terminologies de ine di erent aspects o the same things. &anshin re ers to past! present and uture. ;ou learn through the i:e orms to mo:e be ore the attack! during the attack! a ter the attack. &ith this you de:elop your understanding o timing and rhythm. &anshin re ers to the three le:els o ten chi an 2in. ;ou apply the E orms and ocus either on the arms (ten le:el,! on the legs (chi le:el, or on the whole body (2in le:el,. &anshin also re ers to the 8 moments in each one o theses orms: $amae, !$emi, $aeshi. 2ttitude! reception! counter. &anshin re ers also to beginners! intermediate! and ad:anced as anyone can ind something new depending on his or her le:el o pro iciency. This last explanation also tells you why there can be di erent "truths# in how to do these mo:ements. &anshin is beha:ing with the mind o a three year old kid. / you can keep this at any time you will ind the natural mo:ement. )ogy3 re ers to the i:e elements that we percei:e. 9lease note that we re er here to the 3apanese (or Tibetan, elements and not to the Chinese. The go ai or gogy3 are always centered on chi, earth. &ensei explained once that unlike the Chinese! the 3apanese understanding o the elements always went through chi. &e ha:e chi, chis!i, chi$a, chif=, chi$=. &hen you make it in a drawing it draws some kind o cross with chi in the center. )ogy3 re ers to the i:e senses leading to the 0th sense. &e saw that shi$i! consciousness is achie:ed through the mastership o the i:e elements. )ogy3 also re ers to the i:e directions ( orward! backward! le t! right! middle,. Thenaname (diagonal! obliQueness, are :ariations o the pre:ious ones. Those i:e exercises are excuses to master the i:e mani estations through ootwork and mo:ements in order to ind the natural low to achie:e consciousness with the help o these three hearts. So 8 P E and this also why in certain schools like gyo$!shin ry=, senseicalls

the sanshin no $ata! the $ihon happ3N "/n the B!2in$an 323 the rank o 6Eth dan! (4, expresses the idea o 8 hearts x E elements P 6E austerities# ("unarmed ighting techniQues o the samurai# Hatsumi sensei! p. 8D,. The sanshin no $ata or gogy3 no $ata is the essence o the b!2in$an arts and this is why we ha:e to train these series at each class. 2s sensei wrote in the TR$T (page 07,: "/ look or a warrior who has! shall we say! the cardinal point o consistently embodying the warrior way with the spirit o a three year old e:en as he reaches one hundred! the soul o sanshin! a talent o imper ection#. Shut up and trainN nb1, i yo! notice that there are B e(planations for sanshin an @ for gogy3D nb", i yo! notice that the e(planation for sanshin in the TE+T boo$ is given p. 89D nb@, o not tr!st yo!r senses, evelop the 8th one* Thoughts on Budo | 5 'omments *i is $atural not AagicN Posted on Gctober 11! 2010by kumafr
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contemplation (:ersion ran^aise, /n the -bi harma s!tra the B! is energy#.

ha (Eth century -C%, says that "nothing is created! all

 2t about the same period 2naxagoras! a )reek philosopher said that: "$othing is born nor perishes! but things already existing combine and then separate again#. Auch later in 6MC7 2ntoine >a:oisier! the " ather# o modern chemistry! said that "nothing is lost! nothing is created! e:erything is trans ormed#. He was beheaded (trans ormedJ, during the EOvol!tion FranPaise in 6M7D. This will lead in the F1th century to %instein and his Theory o relati:ity. -ut to us! martial art practitioners this is the best de inition o what energy really is. /t is the "thusness# o B! hism. -uddhists! pre socratic philosophers and scientists all agree about the endlessly recombination o e:erything . There is no magic here nor mysticism! only acts brought by pure obser:ation. This "e:er existent thing# is what the uni:erse is made o . This is the "matter'energy# or ":ital energy# o the uni:erse o science and o Taoism. is what we call "$i# or "Ch?i#R and it is "simply# the primordial emptiness or primordial existence o all things
that lows in initely and pulsates in e:erything. Mi is not esoteric at all and through long training we de:elop the eyes to see how it trans orms itsel and lows in order to adapt to it. / am sure that this is what senseimeans when he spokes that we ha:e to understand (or to getJ, the "shinshin shingan#! the "mind and the eyes o the gods#. &hen the opponent attacks! our reaction must be attuned with the low o the moment and this is why no preconcei:ed idea must exist. The natural mo:ement is there when the practitioner has the intuition o what to do next. /ntuition or int!it!s in latin means "to watch thoroughly! contemplation# it is the subtle obser:ation o the situation that brings your body to mo:e correctly.

There is no thinking because there is not time to think. There is no time to think because time is relati:e. +uring your next class try to react without thinking! you might disco:er a new world o possiblities. -e happyN

Thoughts on Budo | 5 'omments Tenchi@in Bni:ersity 9d s Posted on Gctober 5! 2010by kumafr

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9oster TC3 GRZB* TCJ University posters:9+G in Grench and 9+G in %nglish 9lease put them on your websites. +eadline to register in only 60 daysN Thank you or your help. 23C

seminar, ***.bu:inkan, france.com | Leave a comment )yokko Ry< $o *amae Posted on Gctober $! 2010by kumafr
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2 ter my pre:ious article / ha:e been asked to show the :arious $amae or the three le:els o the )yo$$o ry= $osshi 2!ts!. 2ll $amae start rom hira no $amae (the wider shiGen no $amae o the )yo$$o ry=, which is using a "m! ra like# hand posture. $o magic here only waGa. Sorry. Grom these 8 hira no $amae! you mo:e into tenchi inyo no $amae and take one o the 8 end $amae: ichimon2i, hich3, 2=mon2i. . . The irst le:el uses ten rya$! !ch! gassho no $amae. This is the ten rya$! no ma$i or 2o rya$! no ma$i.

Aoykko By' !st <e-el

. .. . . The second le:el uses f=ten goshin gassho no $amae. This is the chi rya$! no ma$i or ch= rya$! no ma$i. . . . ..
Ayoko ry' 2nd le-el

. The third le:el uses hanno banits! no $amae. This is the 2in rya$! no ma$i or ge rya$! no ma$i. . . . . . Tenchi inyo no $amae can be seen as an e:olution o the pre:ious ones and gi:e easy access to the 8 "normal# $amae. Remember that the )yo$$o ry= $osshi 2!ts! is the source o 3apaneseb! 3 and that these kamae are :isible with minor modi ications into the other ry=ha. -e happyN
Ayokko By' 3rd le-el

Be*ei-ing posture

1istory, Tips S tricks | 2 'omments )yokko Ry<: The .rigin o -ud Posted on Gctober &! 2010by kumafr
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)ver the past twenty years we have been studying the Gyokko ry densho -uite a lot but never did we have the chance to go through a full system in one time. In ?@@A during the B school cycle C 0ADDEF?@@?2 we discovered the richness of this fighting system considered by Takamatsu sensei as the root of bud. Hatsumi Sensei in his B unarmed fighting techni-ues of the samurai C states that, B it is taught that Gyokko ry Kosshi jutsu is the foundation of Japanese bud C 0kodansha, chapter G, page HI2. Having studied the taijutsu we applied our knowledge of Kosshi jutsu on the b in ?@@J when we entered the year of kasumi no h 0the fog principle2 and studied the kasumi no b 0the b moves like the fog2. 6ven though those b techni-ues were coming from the Kukishin ry, we applied the feeling and principles of theGyokko ry Kosshi jutsu. As always, all previous learning is added to the already known and the understanding of ?@A@ is far from what we learnt back in ?@@A. $ut the key is to see how sensei changed our general understanding of those techni-ues back in ?@@A. And I have decided to publish again the following article written in ?@@A right after I came back from a trip to Japan in April. I have added comments to the original text, they are receded by ! "#$# %& The original text al'ays begins 'ith ! "##$ %& Here it is, ?@@A, %ith the new century Hatsumi Sensei entered in a new era in the (ujinkan (ystem. The theme for this year is Kosshi jutsu, mainly studied through the techni-ues of the Gyokko )y. 3rom the notes I received from friends in *oda and from my personal e+perience last April, I will try to e+pose here what is, for me, the new approach taught by (ensei. As usual this te+t will give my point of view but not any official e+planation by (ensei. If you do not agree, maybe it is because I am wrong. 3irst, we have to understand that the techni-ues in the Gyokko ry are only e+cuses to demonstrate the spirit and reality of the Kosshi jutsu. In this respect, it is not different from our

$anno banitsu no kamae

/ recently inished the recording o the)yo$$o ry= Mosshi 2!ts! and to prepare mysel correctly / went through all the notes / took o:er the past years! the d:ds by sensei! my own seminars and the articles / committed or the internet. TheMosshi2!ts! of )yo$$o ry= (and otherry=ha, ha:e been studied in the B!2in$ansince my irst :isit to +o a in 6771.

study of Ko jutsu of ?@@@, where the techni-ues of the Koto ry where only an e+cuse to e+press the knack of Ko jutsu. ?@A@, 6ven though we have studied the techni-ues of the Gyokko ry, the principles e+plained are also available for the other ryha. In ?@@G sensei e+plained that the study of the B school cycle C was not to learn the techni-ues of the schools but only to understand the five pilars of (ud taijutsu+ taihen jutsu, daken taijutsu, ko jutsu, kosshi jutsu, , j taijutsu& ?@@A, (econd, we have to understand fully the reasons that motivated sensei to develop this new approach. )bviously all teachers had already the techni-ues written on paper as we have been studying the techni-ues of the Gyokko ry e+tensively over the years 0sic.2. $ut what are the main differences> Kamae are different, physical attitudes are different, inner feelings are different, kamae are different in both their physical and mental e+pressions. Sensei referred to some of these new kamae in his writings 0cf. B wisdom of life C by Joe Kaurantonio2 but he did not give any e+planation to them. The four kamae are the following, Ten )yaku -chu Gassho no kamae, .hi )yaku /ten Goshin Gassho no kamae, 0in )yaku .hi Sui Ka Henka1 no kamae, and the most important one Tenchi Inyo no kamae. ?@A@, In fact, one must no forget that a kamae is a still picture of a moment. Those &G LAM kamae listed above are in fact hira no kamae 2ten ryaku uchu gassho, 3ten goshin gassho, hanno banitsu2 moving through tenchi inyo in one of the G basic kamae 2ichimonji, hich, jmonji4& ?@@A, In my understanding 0of Japanese2 ten ryaku uchu gassho can be translated as &prayer for divine transmission coming from space'. .hi ryaku 3ten goshin gassho means &defense prayer from the either the vault of Heaven or the whole world'. 0in ryaku chi sui ka henka ryaku no kamaeN means &attitude transmitted to mankind from the endless variations of 6arth, %ater and 3ire'5 Tenchi inyo no kamae means &attitude of the link between Heaven and 6arth and 5in and 5ang&. ?@A@, To make it simple 0kiss2 we can now say that, Ten ryaku uchu gassho is the ten going down on the opponent /ten goshin gassho is the chi lifting the opponent Hanno banitsu is the jin moving forward to stop the opponent. Olease note that until ?@@A, all our movements were always going backwards. %e started to move forward with the Gyokko ry6

?@@A, Ohysical movements are different in respect to these kamae. The Gyokko ry is now divided into Ten, .hi, 0in 0instead of 0o )yaku, .h )yaku and Ge )yaku no 7aki previously2. Ten )yaku is e+pressed through-chu Gassho8 .hi )yaku is e+pressed through /ten Goshin Gassho no kamae and 0in )yaku is e+pressed through .hi, Sui Ka Henka )yaku no kamae1. 6ach one of these kamae with their physical e+pressions lead to a new inner feeling. These kamae are &waiting stances' i.e. when you wait for the opponent to attack. ?@A@, Today we know that each one of the G hira 2ten uchu gassho, 3ten goshin gassho and hanno banitsu2 are to be e+ecuted in relation to the G levels of ten, chi, jin. In his book B unarmed fighting techni-ues of the samurai C, sensei uses both terminologies and call the G levels jo, ch, ge or ten, chi, jin. It seems that both are correct. ?@@A, The last kamae, tenchi Inyo no kamae is manifested when moving from the waiting stances, you assume tenchi inyo no kamae when moving in the attack, there you link the first stances 0uchu gassho, 3ten goshin, chi sui ka henka ryakuN2 to the movement. 6ven if you do not show it 0kokoro gamae instead of tai gamae2. Inner feelings also change, each attitude develop a feeling perceived by -ke that will lead him into his own destruction, uchu gassho gives unity 0body and mind2 to Tori. /ten goshin gives power in the movements..hi sui ka henka ryakuN frightens *ke. Pet us now go beyond our regular senses. If you were able to see the energies from the body, you would notice that each of these kamae acts as a physical &mudra9& -chu gasshobuilds a beam of white energy coming from Heaven and surrounding your whole body 0like the teletransportation stuff in (tar Trek2. %ith 3ten goshin gassho, Tori disappears from -keQs perceptions, -kecan only senses a very thin beam of light coming from the ground, 6arth 0it is like water coming from a tap2.Tori when assuming this kamae moves like the wind. .hi sui ka henka ryaku no kamaeN sends a feeling of fear to -ke& -keQs mind 0and actions2 is trapped by the stance. It is like a funnel of energy coming from ToriQs body. ou can think that I am e+aggerating but this is the truth. <ow these movements would be meaningless if there was nothing more. And there is a lot more. 6verything you do from now on should imply a new understanding, &(an en 3gyo&. Piterally it means &A@@@@ changes, no surprise'. This is the key to the understanding of Kosshi jutsu. /eeping this principle in mind will allow you to finally get to the &Shi:en gy un ry sui' or &ever adapted movement' 0this is what we often call the &natural movement'2. The 3apanese are more concerned about the physical $ature where the Chinese are more concerned about di:ine $ature. Gor example! "&!i# is the water coming rom the sky (Hea:en! Ten, where "6iG!# is the water you ind on the ground (%arth! Chi,. "4i# is the ire rom the sun (Hea:en! Ten: where "Ma# is the bon ire on the ground (%arth! Chi,R "F=# is the wind rom the sky (Hea:en! Ten, where "MaGe# is the wind on the ground le:el (%arth! Chi,.

This "physical# understanding o li e gi:es the 3apanese a de initely di erent system o concepts. ?@A@, In the B unarmed fighting techni-ues of the samurai C the logic of chi, sui ka, 3, k is different on the first edition 0chi mi:u, hi, ka:e, k4 compared to the second edition. This is the way it was written in the original ten chi jin of ADER 0in the new edition of the book I changed it and put the names in use today2. (trangely if you superpose the B ten approach of the 4hinese C and the B chi approach of the Japanese C you get an interesting diagram9

Ayokko is <i#e3

?@@A, If we go even deeper in the understanding of the new Gyokko ry, we gradually make ours these concepts of gravity 0uchu gassho2 and wind 03ten goshin gassho2. These feelings do not replace each other5 they are added one to the other. To make myself clear, I would say that the three &transmissions' Ten, .hi, 0in are like the three skins of an onion. Ten is Ten, .hi is Ten plus .hi, 0in is Ten plus .hi plus 0in. This is a new sanshin no kata. At the 0in level you can e+pect the movements to be even more natural. As we do not know yet the inner feeling of the jin ryaku this is only a guess.Snote, the third level was taught after April ?@@AT ?@A@, In my July ?@@A trip sensei e+plained more about the gravity concept. In fact the Gyokko ry deals with three concepts that are three different understanding of the same object. Inryoku, magnetism A 0ryoku, gravity A 0iryoku, attraction:repulsion A Those G concepts e+plain three different aspects of reality. %hen teaching the Gyokko ry senseistressed the importance of 3sui 2l , 3eng shui48 i.e. wind and water. All movements must e+press the flow of the wind 2ten4 and the water 2chi4 in order to counter jin. 1this kamae 'as then called Hanno banitsu no kamae 2c3& ! -narmed 3ighting techni;ues o3 the samurai % age <=& I have a 'ritten note 3rom "##$ by sensei 'here he 'rote it di33erently ! hanno bon itsu %&
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Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com, 1istory | 2 'omments

Ne' *+ds "re Co#in) Soon

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Gctober (! 2010by kumafr

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&e inished the Hari J!ts! o theM!$ishin Ey= and the tai2!ts! o the)yo$$o ry=. The :ideos are being edited right now and will soon be a:ailalbe onkoimartialart and budomart. /n the last year we ha:e been Quite producti:e: Ten Eya$! no 6a$i: short and extended :ersion (D d:ds,! Tent( C*hi Chi Eya$! no 6a$i, short and extended :ersion (8 d:ds,! Jin Eya$! no 6a$i, short :ersion (an extended :ersion is being prepared,! B!$i 'aGa basics or small weapons: tant3, M!nai, &hot3, (F d:ds, B!$i 'aGa basics or medium weapons: hanb3, 2o, bi$en! (8 d:ds, B!$i 'aGa basics or long weapons: b3, yari, naginata! (8 d:ds, +awa J!ts! basics: nawame (knots, and rin (loops, )yo$$o Ey= Mosshi J!ts!, the irst le:el is being duplicated now and should be a:ailable in a ew days on budomart! (F d:ds, B3 2!ts! o the M!$ishin Ey=: the complete set (ready or Christmas,! (btw 0 and 61 d:dsN, Hari J!ts! o the M!$ishin Ey=: the complete set (ready beginning og F166,! (btw D and 0 d:ds, )yo$$o Ey! Mosshi J!ts!: the second and third le:els are recording and will be a:ailable as soon as possible! (D d:ds, 6anri$i )!sari -asics: 2 general o:er:iew on the chain and the basics o the 6asa$i Ey= that &ensei learnt with +awa sensei.

2nd / am not speaking o the "Goundation# series co:ering all the techniQues My= perMy= rom 7th My= to 6st My=. (6C d:ds, &e are planning to record soon a ne :ersion o the &anshin no Mata and o the Mihon 4app3 9)yo$$o Ey= style, and a set o d:ds on hanb3 J!ts!. 2 ter that we will mo:e to the other schools. The next schools are either Moto Ey= and then &hin en F! 3 Ey=. &hich one do you pre er to ha:e nextJ -e happyN 2rnaud Cousergue

***.budomart.com, ***.koimartialart.com | 1 'omment Tenchi@in Bni:ersity Reminder Posted on Gctober (! 2010by kumafr
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9lease :isit the tenchi@in Bni:ersity website! only a ew days to register ( or security reasons as we train in a military acility,. Tenchi@in Bni:ersity website H%R% /n ormation and prebooking H%R% seminar | Leave a comment Ten Chi 3in Bni:ersity .ctober F161
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Gctober 1! 2010by kumafr

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Paris October 23rd 2!th E days o training to un old the oundations o the -u@inkan. F00 techniQues and principles co:eredN 8 training manuals. )i:e yoursel a chance to excelN .nline registration is now a:ailable H%R% Jlease note that this seminar being hel in a military facility in Qincennes, 7!ic$ registration is re7!ire to iss!e the sec!rity pass giving access to the 323. seminar | Leave a comment /ndia Seminars Posted on <eptember 15! 2010by kumafr
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$amaste! / arri:ed yesterday in -angalore to gi:e two seminars. The monsoon is inished and the weather is cloudy but nice. This is a big change compared to my last trip here in 3une.

<ast 4ugust

.ur /ndian -uyu are impro:ing and de:eloping ast. They ha:e recei:ed +arren recently and Robin will be :isiting them next $o:ember. The irst one begins tomorrow and will be co:ering the )yokko Ry< *osshi 3utsu. Te )yokko ry< is a antastic ighting system that apparently is theorigin o all -ud in 3apan (c . "Bnarmed ighting techniQues o the Samurai# by Hatsumi Sensei,. +istancing and the structure o the school are brilliantN

The second seminar will co:er the ;ari 3utsu rom the *ukishinden Ry< with the *aeshi &a?a. / really lo:e the ;ari because o its power ul thrusts and :ersatility. 2 ter the - 3utsu "marathon# o 3une! the participants are ready to mo:e up to the next le:el. These two seminars will be recorded and will be a:ailable soon on budomart and on koi. +U+S: The irst le:el o )yokko Ry< and another one on $awa 3utsu will be soon a:ailable. Bn ortunately! the b @utsu o the *ukishin Ry< will not be ready in time be ore / lea:e. Gor your in ormation! the - @utsu a ter cleaning is F1 hours long o raw materialR it should co:er around 61 d:dsN /t should be ready or Christmas so now you know what to ask Santa. -e HappyN

seminar, ***.budomart.com | Leave a comment $ew *./ . er Posted on <eptember "! 2010by kumafr
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+ear Griends! Thank you or your enthusiasm concerning koimartialart. Since +ecember we impro:ed a lot our website thanks to your eedbacks. 9lease continue to send them to usN .ur success is your success and pro:es without any doubt that we were right to do launch this new ad:enture. Thank you or your unlimited support.

/n 2ugust we ha:e completely redesigned the users inter ace making it more user irendly. &e also changed our pro:ider and the general outlook o M;#. The search mode is aster as well as the streaming. Check it by watching the new trailers now. Aany new titles are now online including all the basics on b!$i waGa, tant3, $!nai, shot3, hanb3, 2o, bi$en, b3, yari, naginata. +id you e:er dream o winning against the b3! theyari or the 2oJ Aany o them are also demonstrated with the $aeshi waGa (counter techniQues,. &e ha:e also modi ied our di erent o ers and you can now adapt your :ideo hunger to the "basic#! the "sil:er $oi# or the "gold $oi". 9lease :isit the new www.koimartialart.com website and tell us what you think. Uisit it today and get .$% &%%* GR%% o unlimited :ideosN ***.koimartialart.com | Leave a comment Goundation (F, Posted on >ugust 17! 2010by kumafr
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2 ter the last article on oundation o tai@utsu / redesigned thebudomart website accordingly. 9lease :isit it and disco:er the new oundation series. D sets co:ering 06F techniQues! F0 d:ds! more than FF hours o :ideos.

***.budomart.com | Leave a comment The Goundation . Tai@utsu Posted on >ugust 17! 2010by kumafr
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The Quality o our tai2!ts! depends on strong oundations. -ut what doestai2!ts! and oundation really meanJ Tai2!ts! is o ten understood as the sole body mo:ement but when you are used to4ats!mi sensei?s :ision o li e it is always interesting to dig a little deeper and see what the word(s, really encompass it is necessary to re:iew the :arious writings and meanings o the words. Ayaku Nage and Kyush( Girst 2!ts! is either art! means! or techniQue as we know but this is with the :arious meanings o tai that we ha:e subtle changes in the understanding o the word tai2!ts!. -ut when you look at the three meaning o "tai# you disco:er that they can be applied to your training. ! tai has 8 main meanings: ": bodyR physiQueR posture. 2: shapeR ormR style. 3:substanceR identityR reality. Tai@utsu is a @utsu done with the body that goes rom the pureomote (body, to enter the world o !ra (reality,. This is integrating the taigamae (^, and the $o$orogamae (e^,. This is a sel centered tai2!ts!. ! this other tai expands our understanding o tai2!ts! by precising that it is also: ":oppositeR opposition. 2: :ersusR :s. 3: eQual ootingR eQual terms. #: against 4R anti'. This new tai2!ts! is expanding and adds the idea o ighting the enemy and to balance the orces o the opponent. $ow we are into the man to man ight. ! this last one means: partyR companyR body (o troops,R or corps. $ow tai2!ts! expands again and includes the idea o army ighting and to interact with our riends and our enemies. The interesting thing here is that by digging through the :arious understanding o "tai# we mo:ed rom the apprentice training where we are aloneR to the encounter with a single opponentR to the battle ield eeling. So tai2!ts! a general system to prepare our bodies and mind to go rom the beginner to the ad:anced le:el. .ur oundations are based on the Quality o the basics that we learn alone and then with a partner through years o training. Tai2!ts! help us to grow rom the omote to inally reach the essence o the !ra. /n 3apanese u is the $an2i or oundation. /t reads either "taihon# (taihenJ, or "3mote# (omoteJ,. Aaybe this is how we must understand sensei when he speaks o @issen (practiceR practiseR put into practice, and 2issen(combatR actual ighting,. .n a practical aspect we ha:e to keep in mind what sensei has repeated many times concerning the ensho. " ensho are or kids (beginners,# as techniQues ha:e to be taught step by step. Historically the young sam!rai would begin his warrior training at around 61 years

o age and at 6E years o age would become an adult and be allowed to go to the battle ield. /n act! the 6E ranks in the b!2in$an were created by sensei also to symboli?e this. &hen you begin you are a beginner and then a ter many years you reach adulthood and become responsible o your own actions! you are 2=go an. -ut without good basics your tai2!ts! will lack credibility. There ore our training in the three tai de ined earlier will guide us in our mastering o tai2!ts!. &e will mo:e gradually rom tai2!ts! (, totai2!ts! (, which included the use o yoroi and weapons. The irst tai (body, is the modern translation or the word but in the past tai encompassed also the mind! the weapons and the yoroi. / you think about it! it is Quite logical. 2s we said earlier! youngsam!rai (mostly kids, were not able to understand the subtleties o high le:el techniQues including weapons. So in order to keep it *./.S.S. (*eep /t Simple W Stupid, the trainers striped the techniQues o the weapons and began to teach unarmed combat only. This is why we begin our training with unarmed combat. .n the battle ield warriors would always carry weapons and unarmed combat would be rarely used. The oundation o our tai2!ts! is a set o basics acQuired in unarmed combat and regrouped by sensei in the tenchi2in rya$! no ma$i in 67C8. .nce mastered! unarmedtai2!ts! is completed with all the usual weapons o the sam!rai and the yoroi to create a natural low o mo:ement. This is why tai2!ts! (, is the true oundation o tai2!ts! (,.
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Thoughts on Budo | 2 'omments

Jupi Su##er Ca#p

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>ugust 1&! 2010by kumafr

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The weather is getting smoother so we will not sweat as much as last yearN There are still a ew places le t or the summer camp which begins on the F6st o 2ugust / you are interested read all about it at the 3SCF161 website.

-e happyN

@upi summer camp, ***.budomart.com | Leave a comment .bon: $o Class Posted on >ugust 1"! 2010by kumafr
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$ext week'end sensei will not teach because o the ;bon! a -uddhist ceremony o ilial piety in honor o the ancestors o ones amily. This ceremony is held around mid 2ugust (it depends on the region o 3apan andKor o the calendar in use solar or lunar, and is based on the Illambana &!tra! one o the &!tra o 8bon paper lanterns *arrying the spirits the6ahayana -uddhism. &hat / ind interesting here comes rom a discussion / had the other day with &en3 senseibe ore the class took place. The ;bon (or Bon, is a :ery important time or the 3apanese people as this is a time where the spirits are there. /t ends with the amous paper lanterns loating downstream and symboli?ing the souls o the deads going back to their own world. %:en though the ;bon is not a holiday! it is a custom to let the people honor their ancestors and not work on these days. Honoring your ancestors! and ilial piety are linked to theb!2in$an in many aspects. &hen / was speaking with &en3 sensei he used many times the word y=gen when speaking o the souls o the deceasedR and also o the san2igen (the third dimension,. 8bon matsuri 2nd these two concepts were the ones we studied respecti:ely in F11D and F118 whe nwe entered the world (se$ai, o 2!pp3 sessh3. &hen those concepts were taught by 4ats!mi sensei we had no clue about their meaning and they looked like some esoteric concepts ar rom our concern.

2 ter all we come to 3apan to train ighting techniQues! noJ /n act all through these last years 4ats!mi sensei has been teaching us more than techniQues! he has shown us the 3apanese culture and shared with us his :ision o the world as a 3apanese. &ithout his :ery special way o teaching we would still be excluded rom this world o understanding and our impro:ement in the bu@inkan arts would be limited. This way o teaching made us go rom childhood to adulthood without knowing it. 2nother interesting link to the b!2in$an is the term s3$e because its chinese origin (Aandarin Zong2ia, con:eys "strong amilial and religious connotations. %tymologically it represents a amily per orming ancestor rites#. 2s always there are :arious meanings but one interests us more as the "s3$e is the one responsible or maintaining the ancestral temple on behal o the entire clan organi?ation. /n 3apanese texts! s3$e always implied a amilial relationship replete with ilial duty (but, the 3apanese use o this word is not limited to consanguineous contexts# ( rom &illiam -odi ord! BC>2,. -B!2in1 in Chinese is "'!sen# which is! as you know one o the nicknames gi:en by the Chinese to Ta$amats! sensei. There ore the b!2in$an is the "house o Ta$amats! sensei. 2nd this explains why 4ats!mi sensei is using this speci ic term od s3$e which is rarely used in the martial arts world. /n act! in my understanding 4ats!mi sensei sees himsel as the "sonKheir# o Ta$amats! sensei and he has de:eloped the b!2in$an in order to re:ere his memory. The other day when we went to sensei?ssecond house in Ts!$!ba we per ormed a ceremony in memory o Ta$amats! senseiand we were asked by sensei to put incense sticks on his memorial. The lo:e and respect o 4ats!mi sensei towards Ta$amats! senseiis ob:ious when Sensei in #ront o# the memorial you watch the d:d "Ta$amats! Toshits!g!! the last nin@a#. So i you are now in 3apan do not be too sad i you ha:e no training on Griday and Sunday because the spirit o Ta$amats! sensei will be there with you or the whole week'end.

Share with the 3apanese the @oy o these two days where obori(obon dancing,! ireworks and mats!ri are held! and on Sunday night go to ri:er outside o +o a and watch those beauti ul paper lanterns going down the ri:er to reach the sea. -e happyN

1istory, Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment Sei?a or Sei?aJ Posted on >ugust 11! 2010by kumafr
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&hene:er we are waiting or listening we naturally put oursel:es in sei?a no kamae. .:er the years! this kamae has been assimilated and we do it without thinking. This is the ob@ecti:e we should ha:e or e:ery mo:ement we learn in the d@R i.e. being able to do e:erything without thinking. -y orgetting the sel we orget the orm and the low is born.
sei1a no kamae

.ne day / went with a buyu to attend a sad seminar o the ura senke school in a 5en

Rin?ai monastery. %:en though we had explained to the superior priest and the sad sensei that we were martial artists! our natural way o walking! kneeling! and standing was so natural that they suspected us rom being sent by the 5en headQuarters in 3apan to check on themN >uckily we were not trying to in iltrate them like nin@a.

sei1a no sanshin D4rnaud, 9eth, )ugenioE

The sei?a d or d (kneeling with the tops o the eet lat o:er the loor! and sitting on the soles, or the sei?a or (sitting calmly and Quietly in order to meditate, are the same but di er in their meaningR the tai gamae (^, is the same not the kokoro gamae (e^,. The irst set o sei?a is the one used in court when the samurai deserted the battle ields and the yoroi and began to li:e in the palaces. This is why one o the meaning o d is "righteous#. The second hal being either or and meaning respecti:ely "cushion! seat! and "to sit#. Grom this we understand that sei?a has the meaning o using the correct orm o sitting 6, in generalR F, with a superior. /t deals with the omote (-, The second set o sei?a is the one used in the temples or meditati:e purpose. The meaning o is Quiet! calm. There ore "sitting Quietly# can be done with or without a ?a < ( or , and can be done e:en in ud?a (,. /t deals with the ura (,. Technical tip: the le t oot is on top o the tight oot to be able to draw rapidly the sword or to mo:e rom sei?a to ud?a. Train these kamae.

le#t o-er right #oot

Thoughts on Budo, Tips S tricks | 1 'omment Aatrix Reminder Posted on >ugust 11! 2010by kumafr
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The moment o the choice in the Aatrix mo:ie H%R% Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment -lue 9ill or Red 9illJ Posted on >ugust 11! 2010by kumafr
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%ach time / return rom 3apan / keep thinking on the many things and ideas that sensei has gi:en us during his classes. This is some kind o ritual that has de:eloped into a necessary step or me to go urther. +uring one o his recent class 4ats!mi sensei was saying: "/ do not teach you death! / teach you >i e#. -ut what is >i eJ Thinkers and philosophers ha:e been dwelling on the sub@ect or centuries and e:en though their conclusions are all interesting! what good is it or us poor b! 3$a lost on this bu@inkan pathJ To understand where we stand and disco:er how to handle this Question we ha:e to de ine ">i e# according to ourb! 3 practice. >i e is not death. +eath is the easy way as once you are dead the physical li e is no more the problem. 2ctually rom a limited perspecti:e death is the simplest solution but to de:elop our potential and become ab!2in! a true human being we ha:e to stay and build a li e that is worth it. The theme o this year! ro$$on sh323! gi:es us a hint. To be ali:e is to be happy but how to reach this happinessJ Happiness is a positi:e state o mind that o:erwhelms us whate:er hardship we endure. 2 climber on a new mountain path is o ten acing new challenges that

push his abilities to their limits. %:en i the climbing is tough and di icult! the happiness he encounters when reaching the summit is total. 2ctually the harder the path! the more happiness it generates. &hen things are easy we are pleased! when they are hard to get success makes us happy. &hen you learn a new mo:ement in a class it takes time to reach this %T> (c . pre:ious articles on this blog,. 2t irst we are so wrong that it looks that we will ne:er make it correctly. -ut a ter hard work and many mistakes we ind the solution. &e are inally happy like the climber on the summit (and i we can duplicate the mo:ement we get e:en happier,. Commitment to success is the key to happiness and as Saint %xupery wrote it! the most important part on the path is not the inal destination but the many obstacles we had to o:ercome to get to the end. Success is not gi:en (and sometimes not achie:able, but it triggers all our strength to reach it. Humans can do e:erything they want as long as they really try hard enough. >imiting our dreams to a dream state is wrong and the bu@inkan leads us to understand that. ;ou are what you want to be and not what the others want you to be. / see this like the blue pill and the red pill in the mo:ie "the Aatrix#. The b!2in$an is the pill that breaks our illusions and gi:es us another choice or our li:es. So >i e is about being yoursel ! lea:ing the omote and un olding the !ra. The tools we ha:e to de:elop this ura are called: responsibility! courage! commitment! honesty. Responsibility: ;ou are responsible or your actions! always. ;oud better accept it now because >i e is about being " ace :alue# and responsible. Responsibility is not taught at school or to put it better is not exactly what we are taught at school. .ur educational system is mainly based on not doing things (dont touch! dont do this! dont smoke! dont drink,. The power o the "donts# ha:e shaped our beha:iors year a ter year until we eel "happy# li:ing within the norms o Society. This is not being responsible on the contrary it is blending with the common accepted li e de ined by others that keeps us in a "child state# during our whole li e. This "sheep li e# is a "cheap li e#. The day you pushed the door o the 323 is the day you ha:e decided to be in charge o yoursel and li:e your own li e. -eing responsible is the irst step towards adulthood. -ut this reQuires a lot o courage. Courage: &e ha:e to de:elop courage in all our actions. Courage is not something you can learn in a book it is something you build with time within yoursel . /t implies that you stop limiting yoursel . .ne interesting thing about our sel limitations (/ cannot! / do not know! it is impossible! its too hard, is that you will always reach them. &e are a raid o what we do not know so we create limitations to stay in the realm o the things we know. Courage is the opposite! it is going where we ne:er went be ore and disco:ering new sensations ($an$a$!, and learning rom new experiences. Gears are made by Society and the b!2in$an helps us in many ways to push our limits and ace our deepest ears and become better humans. Gear is a security attitude towards the unknown where courage is to adapt to the things that are

unknown to us and or which we do not ha:e ready'made answers. Courage is important but it reQuires a lot o commitment. Commitment: &ithout commitment nothing can be achie:ed. 2ttending the classes in your 323 twice a week is not commitment it is a routineN Commitment is the willingness to be the best amongst your peers. .ne o my a:orite motto is prim!s inter pares or " irst amongst your peers#. -eing the irst is ego i it is a personal decision but when the group recogni?es you as the best and choses you as their leader! no one is unhappy. /n the old days the chie o the tribe was the one chosen within the group to lead them to a better li e. >eaders were chosen not imposed. The Quality o your commitment to yoursel and to your training is the oundation o your success. &hate:er you want to achie:e in your li e reQuires true commitment! a ter all it is only between you and you and no one is going to walk the path or you. ;our sensei is not going back rom where he stands ar away on the path to carry you on his back! you will ha:e to walk on your ownR he is a guide not a dri:er. >i e is based on being committed and rom the Quality o your commitment depends your success. -eing the irst amongst your peers reQuires a strong commitment and strong :alues. Grom those many :alues! honesty is the one that matters the most. Honesty: Cheating your way through li e is a short :ision! short term process. -e true to yoursel and to others in li e as in the 323 you cannot cheat the others :ery long on your real :alue. Aany high rank teachers in the b!2in$an cheat their students on their technical abilities and o ten turns to some "spiritual esoteric path# to a:oid acing the truth o their emptiness. / you ha:e to be honest with others the main point is to be honest to yoursel because you will be li:ing with you or the rest o your li e. Cheating others is not nice but cheating yoursel is wrong and stupid. Honesty is to be aware o who you are and where you standR this is the starting point o your li e as a true human being. *nowing what you are and who you are you can de ine the path to excellence in order to li:e a happy li e. >i e is being able to read between the lines as sensei o ten says and about understanding that whate:er you want you ha:e the power within you to obtain it. Honesty gi:es you the starting pointR commitment allows you to go urtherR courage pushes your limitsR and the sense o responsibility makes you shine and recogni?ed by your peers as the prim!s inter pares. ;ou can be who you want to beR do what you want to doR achie:e all your dreamsR and become a b!2in! a true human beingN .ne day you ha:e decided willingly to choose this di icult path! so now it is up to you to bloom or not. 4ats!mi sensei doesnt teach death! he teaches >i e. So! !ra (red pill, or omote (blue pill,J -e happyN

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Thoughts on Budo | % 'omments >ugust 10! 2010by kumafr

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/n order to make mysel clear / did a chart representing the exponential cur:e or the %rror Tolerance >e:el (%T>,. /t helps to understand better what / tried to explain with my words. /n the diagram: the abscissa (_, represents the number o repetitions ( rom 6 to 6111, and the ordinate ;, represents the %> in percent ( rom 1O to 611O,. The more we repeat the mo:ement and the smaller the %>. &e stri:e or the per ect mo:ement but we know that we will ne:er reach it as per ection is o di:ine essence. .ur goal is to reach an acceptable le:el o error that does not change the outcome o the ight! this is the %T> oe error tolerance le:el.

Fero per*ent is ne-er rea*hed

/t is like the time paradox o the arrow shot at the target and ne:er reaching it in 5enos problem (c . 9lato! 2ristotle! 5eno,. To the mathematician mind we will ne:er reach the per ect mo:ementR but to the warrior mind it is good enough. . ten in the 323 and in li e we want things to be so per ect that we dont do them. Theb!2in$an is teaching us to act instead o thinking. Remember &at?lawick in "Aunchausen pigtail# writing that action m!st prece e reflection (thinking,. This is a path o action we ha:e taken by entering a b!2in$an 323 not an intellectual one. +ont orget it (but dont think too much about it,.

Thoughts on Budo | " 'omments Aistakes: The 9ath To Success Posted on >ugust 10! 2010by kumafr
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&hat e:eryone lo:e about 3ackie Chans mo:ies are those last minutes at the end during the end credits o the ilm where we can watch the mistakes happening during the stunts seQuences as i we were witnessing the shooting action. )ood stunts reQuire many takes and sometimes end up in accidents. .nce edited in the inal :ersion! the many "wrong# seQuences are put into the action and e:erything looks smooth and per ect.

Sen( sensei during the break

-ut we know this is a lie. 9er ection is hard to get and will ne:er be a:ailable on a one try mo:ement a lot o time time! e ort! and repetiti:e tries are necessary. Iuality is an acQuired result not a gi:en one. +uring &en3 sensei?s class on Saturday he spoke o making mistakes during training. /n the &est through what Society teaches us we ha:e been trained since kinder garden to do our best to a:oid mistakes. /n act! making mistakes is so bad that we o ten pre er to do nothing than to take the risk o an error. /t is o ten related to our sel esteem and ego and to the act that we always want to look good in ront o others. This is not the best way to learn b! 3. Thanks to4ats!mi sensei / learnt this error acceptance as it is part o sensei?s teaching. Aany times in the past / would

come to sensei telling him that / didnt understand the mo:ement he @ust did and many times he would stop the class and send me in the middle o the 323asking me to demonstrate itN How can you explain something you do not understandJ ;ou cannotN So you adapt your misunderstanding to the situation and do your best. The results at irst were not good at all but through the many years with him they e:entually impro:ed and / grew up in con idence and expertise. /t is good to accept to make mistakes because it makes you stronger. The @udgement o others does not matter. ;ou li:e and act or your own li e.
pre *lass dis*ussion

&en3 sensei?s approach to this "error# understanding is nice and can be easily applied in our daily li:es (as long as we are ready to accept the conseQuences o our actions,. -asically &en3 sensei explained that when we are disco:ering a new set o mo:ements we are o ten wrong and make many "big# mistakes. -ut through repetition though! the "si?e# o the mistake melts down until the point where the error le:el can be tolerated not or winning but or us not to lose. (Side note: this is why the 3apanese shihan o ten ask us to train more slowly,. To make mysel clear lets say we do a mo:ement or the irst time with a 01O error le:el (%>,. 2 ter a hundred repetition the %> percentage drops down to 81O. 2dd another 611 repetitions later we reach an %> o 61O! and a hundred repetitions later we get an acceptable rate o EO %>. 2 ter a thousand tries the mo:ement will still ha:e to be impro:ed but the error le:el will be so low that only you will be able to see it and that it will make no di erence on the outcome o the con rontation. .ur mo:ements will ne:er be per ect but through a consistent# trial and error# procedure we reach an error tolerance le:el (%T>, allowing us to make the mo:ement correctly enough to sur:i:e in a real

with Sen( sensei

encounter. The beauty o this %T> training in the 323 is that there is no risk at all ( or us, e:en i the process takes many hours o training. The 323 is the place to study the mo:ements so that they become permanent engrams a:ailable when necessary. $ow consider the 323 to be a laboratory or experiences and real li e the ield where to apply these acQuired engrams (i not physically at least psychologically,. /n the o ice! at the uni:ersity or school! with your amily and riends! your beha:ior will be naturally modi ied by the knowledge you acQuired through hard work in the 323. The %T> concept de:eloped by &en3 sensei is applicable to any acti:ity in li e. The acceptance o mistakes in our beha:ior rees us rom stagnation and dri:es us aster towards the path o success. The more we accept to make mistakes! the less we make mistakes. This is the best way to "create# and ind the chance that sensei o ten speak about. -e happy to be wrong as you are going to be rightN Eo$$on sh323* Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com, ***.koimartialart.com | & 'omments
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,-e.i/i-ity 0( Body & 1ind

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>ugust %! 2010by kumafr

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Sumotori are #le5ible why arenGt you3

Glexibility o the mind is what gi:es us access to the power o our imagination and creati:ity. 2s we all know the direct links existing between body W mind! some o us might ind it easier to become irst lexible in their body and then mo:e up to the mind.

Glexibility is a natural state o mind and an ability acQuired by the body. Training the body towards lexibility will help you get the same bene its with your brain. Remember that nagare doesnt think4 Thoughts on Budo | ( 'omments Standing Bpright Posted on >ugust 5! 2010by kumafr
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Griday night class with sensei was good as usual. $ot so many people were there (less than E1, and we had enough space to apply the tachi $!mi!chi eeling with the b3. .nce again i you want to studyb3 2!ts! or any o the long weapons! it is better to come to 3apan when not so many people are there and summer seems to be the best option. &ensei asked me to do a techniQue as he usually did. .pening the class is always a pri:ilege but it is e:ery time more di icult. /n the past when he would ask me or a techniQue / was nearly in panic and the result was not :ery good e:en though he would always ind something to do with it. Then o:er the years my con idence built in Calligraphy #or the .apanese *onsul and / went through :arious stages: showing something in 9angalore worth itR doing it goodR looking goodR etc. 2t one point / was not scared any more o making mistakes. That was the irst ma@or e:olution. Then as / am coming e:ery our months my goal as to show him that / bene ited rom his lessons and e:ol:ed in my tai@utsu. Recently as / said it became more di icult as my ob@ecti:e now is to be in adeQuacy with the theme o the year and to gi:e him a mo:ement where his kaitatsu imagination would unleash to help us go deeper in the theme o the year. 2s / attend around i:e classes each time / come

to 3apan the irst class is easy but the ollowing ones are so close rom one another that / ha:e to ocus more on what he has been doing and what has been said in order to learn more rom him. 2 class with sensei is a mix o many things and o ten the things is saying bear more importance than the mo:ements he is doing. Too many people come to 3apan to do what they already know. This should be a:oided at all costsN &e do not come to do what we know but to disco:er new ways o doing the things we do badly. -ut or that we need to accept to make mistakes and to look bad. Too many egos wont accept that. -y accepting to make mistakes during training we ree oursel:es rom the result and disco:er a more natural way o beho:ioring in the 323 and in li e. Grom this Griday class / learnt two things. Girst senseiwas playing with the word tachi told us us that we had to stand upright in the techniQue and in li e! once again the double meaning o 2issen was ob:ious. &ensei used the image o the bowman pulling the string o his bow. /n the techniQue use your shoulders to modi y lightly the space between you and the opponent. 2lso! i you apply this you will Sensei painting keep your balance better and be in control o the tamashii. The second thing that / clicked on was something / had the chance to speak with him when we had lunch in Ts!$!ba. / asked him i the tachi $!mi!chi could be considered as the 2!pp3 sessh3 o weapons and he spent the class reminding us that by saying it and by using many weapons: tant3, 2!tte, tachi, b3, yari and shi$omi G!e. The tachi has opened the last gate to natural mo:ement as it put into motion the nagare in all our mo:ements. This class was also Quite particular as sensei used Shi:a as his !$e many times. Grom my experience / see that as a symbol o recognition. &e became direct students o senseiwhen we got our sa$$i test but when sensei is in:iting you to attack this is something di erent. $ot only are you recogni?ed by him but also you become recogni?ed by the whole b!2in$an community. Congratulation Shi:a or this new achie:ement in the ways o b! 3N To rein orce it sensei drew a :ery nice makimono with a ar!ma to thank the 3apanese consul in -angalore. The b!2in$an through Hatsumi senseis guidance has really become international and we should ne:er orget it and beha:e accordingly.
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Happy -'+ayN Posted on >ugust $! 2010by kumafr

% #otes

The b!2in$an is much more than a ighting system! it is about beha:ing like a true human being. Since we came here both 4ats!mi sensei and +agato senseiha:e been speaking about asobi! play ulness. / remember sensei saying once that X missing a class was ok but that missing a @oy ul moment was wrong Y. Happiness has to be ound and li:ed when the occasion shows up. 2nd that was the case on Thursday night.
happy bday sensei7

serious business7

+og!chi sensei was born on the 0th o 2ugust so or his last class / organi?ed a small birthday party or him a ter training. &e celebrated his 0Cth birthday with all the students who attended the class. That was a true b!2in$an e:ening.

-sobi and happiness altogether: good training in the ta$agi y3shin ry= and a nice b'day party. -irthdays are occasions to gather and to know people rom a di erent perspecti:e. &e had brought cakes and sake and o ered them to +og!chi sensei who seemed :ery touched by it. &e all shared a little shoshu with him with a strong sense o riendship within this small b!y!community. +og!chi sensei has been the shihan who has helped me the most in my b!2in$antraining and / like to think that mytai2!ts! is the result o his many tips that he ga:e to me since 6771. To organi?e this was the least / could do as or kisses3 once / was here in 3apan on the good date. &hen / got promoted by 4ats!mi senseito J= an back in 6778! the homb! 323didnt exist and sensei was gi:ing classes when people would showed up. Aany times with 9edro! sensei would ask us i we would like to ha:e some training the ollowing dayN This is in 6778 that 4ats!mi sensei asked me to train exclusi:ely with him and+og!chi sensei. / must admit that / was more attracted shoshu time to+agato sensei?s style in that time and that +og!chi sensei style was so ar rom what / considered to be my "natural mo:ement# that / was surprised. 2s always! it pro:ed to me that senseiknew what to do with me and orcing me to train only with +og!chi sensei has been the best thing that could happen to me. /n 677M at the +*AS! with the opening o the brand new homb! 323, sensei told me that rom now on / could train with the shi

$appy 9"day7

tenn3 teaching there. -ut the our years / spent ollowing only one teacher created the tai2!ts! / ha:e today. +og!chi sensei is an excellent b! 3$aand a true human being and / am proud to call mysel one o his students. ;me et3 )oGaimas!* Thoughts on Budo | " 'omments Summer camp Grance Posted on >ugust $! 2010by kumafr
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with Shi-a D>th ,anE and )ugenio D! th ,anE

-ased on the new disco:eries here in 3apan / ha:e decided to modi y lightly the initial progam o the 3SCF161 and to include a ew things seen here in 3apan. %:en though the seminar will mainly deal with tenchi2in basics and tachi in the understanding o the nagare! we will also re:iew the many interesting things (techniQues and concepts, that / am learning here. There are still a ew places le t or the summer camp (3SCF161, / will gi:e a ter / am coming

back rom 3apan. To participate please :isit the 3SCF161 website and register online at budomart See you thereN

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seminar, ***.budomart.com | Tagged :sc210, :upi | Leave a comment >ugust &! 2010by kumafr

87[ EEO
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$ #otes

/ @ust came back rom the homb! where / ga:e a class on tachi and nagare. %:en with 2C and ans the heat inside was 87[ centigrade and humidity at EEON / am drained. / will post later today a ter+og!chi sensei?s class. Tomorrow is +og!chi sensei?s birthday! he turns 0C and still mo:es like a young warrior. ;me etoN Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment 3issen! Sakki! 2sobi Posted on >ugust (! 2010by kumafr
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.ur last class with sensei was ull o the Xasobi Y eeling K play ulness that+agato sensei talked about on Aonday. -ut sensei precised that play ulness should not lower our le:el o awareness! though. -eing X seriously play ul Y is what is expected rom us during training. / opened the class with a kind o !$e nagashi reaching out with the right arm to the
Fam, Sensei, Shi-a, and 4r2un

le t shoulder and back o !$e in the moment o his attack. &ensei used this concept and added many weapons to it (tachi, b3,. The best disco:ery was when sensei used a so t touch on the neck to take !$e?sbalance and then mo:ed with the same hand to hook lightly the acromion hole o the le t shoulder. The :arious in ormation recei:ed by !$e made him all on his own each time. / was !$e and it was brilliantN 9ower ul but so t. /n a real ight! 2issen! sensei said that you can ne:er be prepared. There ore you must loat on top o !$e?s actions to control the space and counter'attack when the opening is re:ealed. This idea o X you can ne:er be prepared Y is something we should always ha:e in mind! inside and outside the 323 9!ra-omote:. 9lay ulness brings a state o relaxation that makes time go slower. &hen you are stressed you are tensed and when you are tensed you orce things in a way unsuitable to the situation you are caught in. /t also means that training is not the real thing and waGa only a means to achie:e body W mind coordination allowing you to see through things ($anro$! 6,. /n this mindset your imagination ($aitats!, is at its best and your mo:ements! e:en i complex! low naturally. 2wareness is generated through sel con idence that comes when you master your basics. ;our body mo:es on its own adapting naturally to the changes in your en:ironment. Then! during the calligraphy session senseiwrote ge$o$!23 / or me. )e$o$!23 is a period o 3apanese history! during the warring state period and the Rnin war. /t is the end o the 6!romachi period. 2t that time small aimy3 tried to take o:er the power o the main aimy3. Translated it means: X the lower rules the higher Y or X the low o:ercomes the high Y. To use a comparison! a small tiny hole can drown a huge boat and bring her to the bottom o the sea. Aany interpretations o this concept can be ound in our training and our li e. /n training it means Aekoku2( that rank does not protect you rom de eat. To ind success you ha:e to de:elop luck. &hen you are lucky you can reach asobi. ;ou can also experience ge$o$!23 when the newly promoted high ranks try to impose their newly acQuired power to those around them. Grom one week to another they become arrogant and disrespect ul. 2nd in li e we see it when youngsters try to impose their lack o understanding and experience to their elders. /n the X Republica Y 9lato speaks about a similar thing (book MJ,. / dont recall the exact words but it is something like: X when the children do not respect their parents! when the students do not respect their

teachers! when the people do not respect the authority! this is the beginning o tyranny Y. The best illustration is the so called cultural re:olution in China under 6ao Ze ong. 2t the end o the class / am happy to in orm you that /ndia got its irst X homemade Yshi 3shi. 2r@un passed brilliantly the test with +oug. -oth! emitter and recei:er did a :ery nice sa$$i. 2 ter class it was touching to see how Shi:a was proud o 2r@un being "his# irst /ndian shi 3shi. / guess that 2r@un will honor 4ats!mi sensei and Shi:a in his new 323 o Aumbai (-ombay,. This is also the proo that hard training and good transmission o sensei?s philosophy are the key to our own e:olution as human beings. The beauty o sensei?s teaching is to be ound e:eryday more in the words and concepts he uses to de:elop our human abilities. His tai2!ts! speaks to our bodies when his words speak to our souls. Thank you senseiN -e happyN

Thoughts on Budo | 2 'omments Training! Glowing! -eing Posted on >ugust "! 2010by kumafr
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The heat and humidity are tiring us Continental %uropeans not used to such a tough weather. %ugenio 9enna rom Sicilia and the /ndian group lead by Shi:a are ine with it. They are only missing hot spicy oodN (not %ugenio though,. The 2ugust climate is not my a:orite! e:erybody knows that polar bears (&hiro M!ma, pre er the cool weather! but / always en@oy tra:elling to 3apan or my second trip in summer. The 323 is nearly empty and the

Teas break during NagatoGs *lass

rhythm o things is mo:ing to a slow pace unlike the ren?y o +*AS where the 323 is packed with o:er a hundred practitioners or the spring trip in 2pril where / try to understand better the new theme de:eloped by sensei. This trip also / appreciate the si?e o the "$!ma group#: 0! ro$!. /t goes well with the theme o the year ro$$on sh323 as we are 0 souls (i.e. ro$! A $on S ro$$on, li:ing happily (sh323,. / must say that Shi:a! 2r@un! and 5am ha:e become real b!y! and ha:e succeeded in blending within the b!2in$an community. The other day sensei was telling us o:er lunch that he was not the "king# o the b!2in$an and that $. .$% was in charge o a country. The b!2in$an is a gathering o indi:iduals and does not need any national organi?ation to run it supposedly under his name. He added that we ha:e to consider him more like some kind o spiritual guide gi:ing the direction and the interpretation o things! a little like the pope. Through him we are all connected. That was last year concept o en no $irinai! or do not se:er the connection. ;esterday / ga:e a class right be ore the one by +agato sensei and this connection was ob:ious to all o us attending the two classes. The technical points +agato sensei and / de:eloped were so linked that some students asked me a ter his class i we had planned it be orehand as it looked like part 6 and part F o the same corpusN +uring my class on nagare and tachi / insisted on "rounding up# our mo:es to ree oursel:es rom any preconcei:ed techniQues and one hour later he taught us to low in a hanpa way (hal inished mo:ements, and play with the distance by adapting our mo:es to what !$e was coming up with. Shi:a opened the class using +arren as !$e and there ore was used by +agato sensei as !$e during the whole class. He was Quite tired a ter the session. Spain, :taly, 0ran*e, :ndia, $ungary 2t one point +agato sensei said that we "should not copy# his mo:ements but rather try to get the eeling in order to adapt our actions to the changes o !$e. His ootwork was the key to put that into practice. I$e was attacking F! 8 or D times like in a $!$ishin techniQue! and we adapted the distance to get into !$e?s centre and pin him down. To see the simplicity o his body low is always ama?ing to me. He is connected to his !$e and seems to be able to read his intentions e:en be ore !$e begins to mo:e in the attack. This ability to connect to the opponent and to the en:ironment can only be achie:ed through e icient distancing and ootwork and is the expression o our humanity. This is a one to one encounter and no organi?ation can recreate this eeling. &e are indi:iduals in charge only one li e! ours.

/ ha:e been in the b!2in$an or more than FE years and / ha:e been witnessing the raise and all o many organi?ations where the head teacher would beha:e like a king. / always tried to keep away o this natural human tendency in my country but unsuccess ully as other teachers are always critical about what is created to de:elop the b!2in$an in the good direction. The b!2in$an is not rich o the strength o those super icial organi?ations but o each shi 3shi and o the strength o their commitment and implication. 2 country is strong because his b!2in$an members are good humans with good technical skills. +uring the Sunday class! +og!chi senseicalled me in and promoted Shi:a directly to Cth an or the man he is and the hard training he is going through! not because o some /ndian $ational organi?ation. /n the bu@inkan this is the human :alue o the indi:idual that is graded and not his or her technical skills. 2nd because o that we o ten see high ranks teachers not able to show :ery high technical skills! but they are good human beings in the eyes o sensei. +uring lunch the other day he said: "/ am not gi:ing ranks or the technical abilities o the people but or the human :alue o the indi:idual#. Shi-a promoted by Nogu*hi to >th dan The b!2in$an is not a sport martial art and obser:ers (e:en insiders, should make an e ort to accept that. The b!2in$an is a way o li e originating in the dawn o humanity and t hat has been re:i:ed by Ta$amats! sensei in the F1th century and is continuously de:eloped by 4ats!mi sensei in the F6st century. The b!2in$an is a school or the de:elopment o the sel using old ighting systems to unlock our human abilities. The best illustration being the sa$$i test (,. +uring the sa$$i test! the recei:er puts to light a natural human ability 'sensing danger' that he had since he was born. The polishing o the training is re:ealing it gradually and the test is the proo that this change has occurred. The de:eloment o the sa$$i (,! o the intention! o the attitude (^ $amae,! o the eeling ( $an$a$!,R the ability to see through the illusions (6 $anro$!,! to loat reely on the low o li e ( nagare,! and inding happiness ( seif=$!, are some o the main bene its one can get rom his many years o years o training. -y interacting with other beings! and other cultures you de:elop your sel in a way unattainable by ordinary people. /n my last class people attending where coming rom /ndia! Spain! Hungary! )ermany! -elgium. This is the true sense o community the b!2in$an is creating and this is why no organi?ation should dictate our beha:ior. +agato sensei yesterday insisted that we de:eloped asobi (, in our training. &e ha:e to be play ul and happy like kids playing "seriously# the role o some kind o hero. This ability to "play# is at the core o b!2in$an training and we should ne:er orget it. 9lay ulness and happiness are ound in regular training and this is what s3$e wants us to study.

Eo$$on sh323* Thoughts on Budo, ***.koimartialart.com | Tagged bu:inkan, kirinai, flo*, nagare | ( 'omments
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Basi$s, Stren)th, & Ten$hi2in

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>ugust 1! 2010by kumafr

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Nogu*hi sensei @ arnaud

+og!chi sensei ga:e a $oto class this morning and insisted again on the importance o training the basics. &e re:iewed his magic gogy3 and the $ihon happ3. .:er the past twenty years in 3apan / ha:e seen these "basic mo:ements# many times with :ariousshihan but it is always a pleasure to study them rom a di erent perspecti:e. There is so much to learn in these two series that they should su ice to ight e iciently. %:erything we do is using parts o these undamental techniQue.

The gogy3 no $ata and the $ihon happ3 are ne:er studied enough and +og!chi senseiinsisted once again on the importance o the tenchi2in rya$! no ma$i 9k,! the set o undamental techniQues o the b!2in$an. 9ersonally / learn a lot each time / ha:e the chance to study them. They are always the same but always di erent. / will start the study o these "new# series with those attending to the summer camp. 2 ter this nice beginning we did many techniQues o the $oto ry= getting the knack! and adding @umps and a lot o 2=2i ar!$i 9yo$o ar!$i:. / lo:e +og!chi sensei?s classes or their richness and because each time / do these techniQues (hi a, $ompi, $appi etc, / understand new things within them.

4ats!mi sensei being late this morning and+og!chi sensei ha:ing other obligations! he asked me to begin the class. /t is always strange to switch rom the role o the student to the role o the teacher at the homb! 323. /t is also e:en stranger to see the shihan ha:ing the same di iculties repeating my techniQues that / ha:e when / attend their classesN &ensei arri:ed and the class began a ter the rei with another techniQue both in tai2!ts!, tachi, and b3. / was asked by sensei to demonstrate two other techniQues putting the nagare 9: into action in multiple directions at the same time and we did 4 *olor#ul pair7 many hen$a (rs, with and without weapons around these. 2s always sensei?s understanding was ama?ing. Grom todays class / can point out two important details rom s3$e?s teaching. The irst point is that when you control your opponent so tly i.e. with no muscular orce! he is not be able to react properly. Strength generates natural body reactions or re lexes rom !$e that are o ten unpredictable or hard to block or absorb. There ore we must train in such a so t way that !$e is not able to react or understand what we are doingR and he gets tense and chaotic in his reactions and loses his balance by his own uncontrolled reactions. 2n image we can use so that you get it is when you were a kid holding an apparently :ery hea:y box (empty in reality, and passing to a riend with a lot o apparent e orts. ;our riend takes the box with unnecessary orce and the box lies into the air. This is the kind o ake reaction you must get uke to do in the ight. Strength calls or stength in return but so tness will o balance !$e. Show always a $o$oro gamae (e^, di erent rom your tai gamae (^,. The other interesting point was the manner how sensei is taking your balance (still so tly, in three axis at the same time making !$emi nearly impossible or you. you litterally explode where you are and all hea:ily. >ike the i$ebana (, structure based upon the ten chi 2in ( k, those three axis are one and no action precedes the other.

2 lower arrangement always symboli?es the ten ' the mountain! the chi ' the paddy ield! and the 2inthe stream running down the slope. The up :ertical S ten is linked to the down :ertical ' chi through the hori?ontal S 2in. /n todays techniQue sensei was accompanying !$e?s ist attack on the same line! pulling it lightly steping backward (chi,! pushing the elbow hori?ontally with the other hand in a sort o m!s3 ori 92in:! and stepping lightly orward with the other leg to control the ront leg o !$e 9ten:. /n this posture !$eis pulled orward! backward andto the side. $o!$emi is possible. $o strength! no strong grab! only ootwork.
Calligraphy in the heat

&e applied also the same kind o mo:ements with tachi $!mi!chi and b3 2!ts!. The good thing about :isiting sensei in 2ugust is that we are not so many people in the d@ and this is always a good opportunity or sensei to teach and or us to train the long weapons. The beauty o long weapons resides in the understanding o the angles and the management o longer distances. -ut today distance was not the point was not the work on distance as we mainly used the gyo$$o ry= no b3 (held at the mid section and not at the tip,. /t was a good relaxed class. -e happyN

Training at the hombu

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Happiness /n 3apan Posted on @uly "1! 2010by kumafr

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the group posing with sensei in #ront o# takamatsu memorial

Today a group o b!y! rom all o:er the world where lucky to :isit once

again&ensei?s second house. Today around 66:81! we met with 2kira! $oguchi! +arren! Collado! Ailler! %guia and a ew others at the homb!where &en3 sensei was teaching a group o students sweating in the terrible heat o the day. The heat and humidity were at their peak today and / elt bad to be in the car with $oguchi sensei (and the 2C,. &hen the group was complete with +arren and his car we dro:e to the Ts!$!ba mountain where sensei has located his second house. This is there that he spends a lot o time painting! writing! and taking care o his many animals. you *an see here how bad :
#elt in the 4C

&hen we arri:ed we were welcomed by sensei dressed like a real gentleman armer in his country out it. Aany practitioners see him as "non human# and not only because he always repeats that he is a BG.. The b!2in$an is a system to li:e a happy li e and he was shining happiness and expressing it like he does with his b! 3. / lo:e to see him so happy in his daily

4 real gentleman #armer7

li e. /n the garden each one o us lit some incense sticks to the 7 statues o the nine schools and we all prayed to the memory o Ta$amats! sensei in ront o the memorial o 0 tons built in the garden. +o you know that in his o ice in +o a sensei prays e:eryday or the memory o his parents! o Ta$amats! sensei but also or the sake o the shi 3shi o theb!2in$anD

the group preparing #or the in*ense

&ensei is :ery religious person and only a ew o the b!2in$an students know that. .:er the years when / was helping him or some work! / saw him a ew times praying while we were working. /n the garden there is a green house that we use in winter! a small arena where sensei "walks# the poneys! a small stable or the poneys and many staues and car:ed stones car:ed with the name o the nine schools. The garden is illed with statues o di:inities! symbolic rocks and car:ed texts.
sensei and one o# the poneys

2 ter padding M!$i and Tobi! the two poneys o sensei and taking care o the dogs (as!$a! mae and a third one,! the water turtles in their basin! it was time to #pay our respect# to the statue o Aarylin Aonroe (sensei likes her :ery much,. / ha:e been :isiting this house many times since sensei has decided to split his time between +o a and Ts!$!ba. 2nd the "Aarylin game# has become some sort o ritual o:er the years. / think / ha:e pictures o all the high ranks o the b!2in$an(including me, ha:ing un with the american star. as he puts it! li e is too short to take it too seriously. Nogu*hi sensei and 9ut laughter in your li e S ro$$on sh323 +arylin Da Then it was time to eat and the whole group climbed into the cars and we all went to ha:e lunch with sensei in a restaurant nearby. *lassi*E The house is surrounded by rice ields on the plains down the Ts!$!ba mountain. /t is strange to be there a ter the being in the citadin li e o $ashiwa city or -tago. &ith the heat hammering e:erything! it ten *hi 2in3 elt like being in another country. $o noise! no wind only the sound o the cicadas in the trees. 2 special thank you to +arren or keeping cool bottles o water in the car a ter the heat o the garden.

/t was a real en@oyment. The poor restaurant keeper had a hard time coping with a sudden arri:al o so many gai2in. / ha:e seen that many times o:er the years and / belie:e that sensei lo:es to do that. 2s always this is a :ery special moment and / am sure that many b!2in$an practitioners would ha:e liked to be there with us. &e elt pri:ileged and honored to spend these special moments with him. +uring this two hour lunch! sensei spoke a lot about the importance o the low in our li:es! o past e:ents and abo:e all o the priority to be happy. Happiness is more important than the techniQues he said.

:n the restaurant

The goal o the b!2in$an is to make people happy and to li:e a happy li e. &e were also lucky to ha:e a charming the group with the translator /talian resident translating or us and through her could speak with sensei easily. Thank you Cin?ia on behal o the whole groupN Since my last :isit many new stones and stones ha:e been added. The one on the le t is to remember all our b!2in$an b!y! who dies since the beginning. +eath is what makes >i e worth it explained sensei to the group in the restaurant. -ecause we train techniQues to bring death to our opponent we de:elop by contrast a strong eeling o li e. Aany times during lunch sensei spoke o our uture 4omb! 323that will be built soon to become some kind o cultural centre or the world. &ensei asked us also to share these moments o true $!mite with the b!y! rom all o:er the world this is why this long article is written or. /t was time to go back to our li:es in the city and a ter a last teas in one o the room o the house with the walls co:ered by the many presents! sensei has recei:ed during all these years! we departed. &e le t sensei bene iting rom the rest o this day and rom the happiness it has gi:en us all. Gunnily during lunch he thanked us twice to ha:e been able to the last drink be#ore *losing this #antasti* day comeN

-e happy and do not take your li e too seriously S simply en@oy beauti ul moments like this one. &hi$in 4aramits! >ai$omy3 Thoughts on Budo happy, memorial, sensei, Takamatsu | % 'omments Henso 3utsu /s $ot &hat ;ou Think /t /s Posted on @uly "0! 2010by kumafr
Posted in $atsumi @ Nogu*hi sensei en2oying the instant | Tagged

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;esterday 4ats!mi sensei re erred tohens3 2!ts! indirectly when he spoke about the se:en ways (o disguise, orshichi h3 e. Those se:en disguises allowed the spies to blend in the daily li:es o ordinary people and to gather in ormation or pass undetected. Here is one o the list o these M disguises: 1. sh!$$e S buddhist monk 2. $om!so S itinerant priest ". ronin (or ts!negata, ' wandering

:n-isibility is hens( 2utsu

samurai (. k a$in o S merchant! tradesman &. ga$!shi S musician $. yamab!shi S mountain warrior 5. k sar!ga$! (or tabigeinin, S per ormer! entertainer Those disguises might ha:e been :ery help ul in eudal 3apan! but / honestly doubt they would be o any use today in modern 3apan. &hat is interesting is that sensei re erred to that in a "gya$! way# during the class. &e are used to see those lists o "nin@a ields o expertise#. -ut to me this is the omote o our art.

The !ra side is more interesting. &hat sensei wanted us to understand yesterday was not to disguise oursel:es or some @ames bond kind o mission but to be aware o the type o clothes the attacker is wearing and to adapt our techniQues accordingly. Today this list would be more like: businessman! deli:ery guy! mailman! police o icer! young gothic or rasta! electricity company employee! thug! etc. 2nd this list is not limited to se:en. %ach one o these persons is wearing di erent clothes and accessories making the ighting more di icult (or easier, depending on those "uni orms#. .ne o my student who is now 2=go an once ought a rasta guy with dreadlocks! the rasta guy was nearly bald at he end o the ight. The same would happen i you had to ight someone wearing a hea:y leather @acket! a backpack! or a bathing suit. How do you ind a $y=sho on a leather @acketJ how would you deal with close distance against someone with a backpack or e:en a bikeJ how would you grab naked skinJ .b:iously the written techniQue o yore would not be su icient. &ensei?s b! 3 is about adaptation and a tie! a pen! a phone! a backpack or a co ee mug can become tools to de lect or launch an attack. &hen we train in the 323 the possibilities are limited as we are all dressed in the same way. This is why the introduction o theyoroi $!mi!chi in F118 was such an important e:olution in the b!2in$an system because once you understand the multiple possibilities o ighting the yoroi (with or against it, you de:elop new skills not relying on a speci ic techniQue but based upon your le:el o consciousness. TechniQues are useless i you are not able to adapt your mo:ements to the opponents actions. 2nd this is why sensei keeps reminding us to use hanpa (!", or un inished techniQues to be in tune with the low o things. ;ou begin a mo:ement and let ukes reactions and intention dictate the emergence o your next mo:e.

Thoughts on Budo | 2 'omments 2yase Tonight Posted on @uly "0! 2010by kumafr
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4yase 9udokan

/ am @ust coming back rom the -yase class (exceptionally on Griday,. The irst class withsensei a ter our months o diet is always a good experience. -e ore the class / ga:e him his "o icial# H=ro &hi Tenn3 t'shirt made specially or him and he wore it right away. This is our little "post 9aris Tai$ai ritual# that has been going on or a ew years now. 2s usual he asked me to open the class and we did a nice " lowing# mo:ement recei:ing an attack in a :ery so t !$e nagashi! mo:ing !$e o balance with the ootwork! changing hand an ending in a sort o omote gya$!. $o grab! no :iolence! only a nice nagare keeping uke in motion pre:enting him rom attacking twice and taking his balance. .n top o thatsensei did it better with less mo:ements and a better e iciency. / guess this is why he is the teacher and me the student. %:ery time / ha:e the chance to demonstrate a techniQue / am always ama?ed at his ability to simpli y my mo:ements and to make it so good that / cannot reproduce it! e:en though it was my mo:ement in the irst place. / did three other techniQues during the class and each time sensei was de:eloping more low by mo:ing less. when you watch him mo:ing you easily orget that he is o:er C1 years old. He looks like a young manN His natural mo:ement is really like "magic# as he is able to grab a orm and to add li e into it. &hen you are his !$e you eel no danger at all and when he controls you on the ground he is hardly touching you! but you still cannot mo:e. /n act this is not that you cannot mo:e! you could but you do not want to mo:e as i his presence mani ested by a :ery slight physical contact was draining any intention o retaliation rom your brain. 2ll those who ha:e had the chance to be his !$e can tell you that. 9ower is expressed in such a subtle way that your decision process is blocked. /n a way you eel so sa e that you are not willing to mo:e anymore. Today during the class sensei co:ered many aspects o b! 3. He insisted on the importance o understanding the 2!pp3 sessh3 to be able to ight without ighting and to be in control o the !ts!wa 9 - $i: with our tamashii 9# - $on:. He didnt use these terms rom last year but this is the easiest way to express it. /n one techniQue that / did that was ending with yo$o nagare! he insisted that we mo:e in a direction opposed to the other possible opponents. That is what / pre er in the b!2in$an training. /t is not only two ighters but always more than two ighting and our actions should un old in a natural manner in order to stay protected in any directions potentially dangerous. The mo:ement is limited and by using !$e as a shield we are able to protect oursel:es using our irst opponent against his partner(s,. This is to me the real di erence between sport martial arts and true b! 3. /n the b!2in$an strength is not the point

and :iolence is useless! the whole thing is to de:elop the correct attitude to help us lowing without thinking in the action. The true mo:ement is not a techniQue it is a response to a situation where no preconcei:ed answer can be applied. &ensei insisted once again in not grabbing the opponent. &hen you grab !$e you are actually showing your intention! grabbing yoursel ! and ree?ing your low. This is why he insisted again in the 2!pp3 sessh3 concept in the sense o "negotiating# ($% ' sessh3, in all directions (2!pp3 P 61 directions,. .n controlling !$e he said that we ha:e to control !$e not with our strength but with our legs acti:ating the $=$an 929:. The known concept o y!bi ippon 2!b!n (one inger is enough, to control !$e was used extensi:ely to create the san$en (a series o three hits, ollowed rapidly in di erent part o the body and to pre:ent !$e rom thinking properly or understanding what is happening. &e did also techniQues against kicks and used the$a$e taoshi hitting !$e to sai with so$$i $en. .nce again sensei insisted that we hit with the body not the knee. He used the same explanation when controlling uke on the ground "choke him with $=$an# by using your legs. Ginally he re erred to henso 2!ts! explaining that historically there were M ways to disguise yoursel (c . sar!ga$!, $!m!so, yamab!shi, ho$ashi, s!$$e, ts!negata, a$in o,. -ut this was or us to understand that we must adapt the techniQues to the type o clothes worn by the opponent. 9art o our study o b! 3 should be dedicated to learn how to adapt a gi:en techniQue to the type o cloth the opponent is wearing. /n conclusion Quite a nice class ull o tips and tricks to work on in the uture weeks. Tomorrow at lunch / am in:ited with a ew other 2=go an in his second house. / will take a ew pictures o Ta$amats! sensei?s memorial and o the lunch and share them with you on this blog (hope ully tomorrow,. Stay tunedN -e happyN

Thoughts on Budo, Tips S tricks, ***.budomart.com | Tagged :uppo, kukan, nagare, sessho |7 'omments 3apan DF: The 2rri:al Posted on @uly 2%! 2010by kumafr
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/ arri:ed this morning in +arita and now a ter a well deser:ed shower and a little nap / eel ready or this new trip. /t was strange to arri:e in +arita be ore the shops and restaurants were opened. /n F1 years it was the irst time / saw those shops closed. $ai:ely / thought that in 3apan people were working FDh a day. / spoke today with Uolker 9aternoga who is going back home tomorrow. *rossing the He got promoted to 6Eth dan and told me how strange it was to gi:e %#low% o# a ri-er in the &a$$i test. The sa$$i test is nothing "magic# it is a natural human :ndia sur:i:al reaction put to light by years o training. 2ctually / see the sa$$i test as double: the day you take itR and the day you gi:e it. This is to me the exact same experience and eeling. &hen you lower the sword it is not rom your own decision! you lower the blade because it is time to do it. %:erytime the thinking process is in:ol:ed in our actions we lose the nagare o li e and we " orce# our nature in an unnatural manner. To the same extent on the mats! the best natural mo:ements appear when there is no preconcei:ed idea on what we are going to do. 4ats!mi sensei?s b! 3 is the school to be mo:ing into the low o things and take the best out o it whate:er is happening. / am really happy to ha:e the opportunity to meet him again and to learn more. %ugenio rom /taly is there and / ha:e to meet him in the lobby. / will keep you in ormed as much as / can on this blog during my trip. -e happyN

@upi summer camp, Thoughts on Budo | Tagged flo*, nagare, sakki | 1 'omment 3apan: 2 Aust )oN (trip DF,
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@uly 25! 2010by kumafr

10 #otes

Hi all!

Shi-a, 4rnaud @ the d(2( Koi

/ am on my way to 3apan again this year. /t will be hot and humid (today 88[ Celsius and M1O humidity, but apart rom the "ten1 conditions it will be good to walk on the 3apanese "chi1 again and to meet my "2in1 b!yu. 2s / did last time when / created this blog / will do my best as to explain the :arious concepts exposed by &3$e in his classes. %:en though / do not speak 3apanese! my F1 years o tra:elling there help me to understand! i not the words! at least the concepts o sensei?s b! 3. / will be back right be ore the 3upi Summer Camp where / will gi:e the "latest news# and eelings rom 3apan to those o you attending. / you are still wondering i you should go or not to 3apan / would say that i you really want to grasp the gokui $essence% o& bud'(you ha:e to go there once a year (minimum,. / am lucky to ha:e organi?ed my li e to be able to go there three times a year because / decided long ago that it was my priority to learn directly rom &3$e and the other shihan. 3apan is a di erent culture! the le:el o bud displayed in the classes is ama?ing! and sensei?s philosophy o li e is worth listening to and sticking to. Ay new entry in this blog will be rom Tokyo. &ayonara, /this is the title of the ne(t boo$ by 4ats!mi sensei 9p!blishe by Mo ansha for $ms hopef!lly:. Thoughts on Budo, ***.koimartialart.com | Tagged gokui, :upi | 1 'omment Ten Chi 3in: Teachers 2re Responsible Posted on @uly 2$! 2010by kumafr
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4ats!mi &ensei told me last 2pril that the b!2in$an was now F11111 practitioners worldwide. Aany 323 claim to be "b!2in$an# e:en though they ignore the true oundations o the b!2in$an. +uring my last seminar / had the opportunity to speak with a group o beginners students about the importance o the ten

chi 2in rya$! no ma$i and they really had no clue about it. .ne e:en told me that # this is the irst time he heard about it#. 2nd he was already 0th $y=N 2s teachers! this is our responsability to gi:e the beginners the necessary basics so that their b!2in$an path is success ul. Aany teachers ne:er recei:ed the basics either but they were gi:en high ranks. 2nd when they began teaching their own students they duplicated the teachings they had recei:ed rom their original instructor. %:eryone is sincere but the results or the beginners are not good. +uring the +*AS F11C 4ats!mi sensei insisted to the people attending the seminar that they ocus on teaching the basics o the ten chi 2in or the year F117 as "many b!2in$anstudents ha:e ne:er been exposed to the basics#. &e are now in 3uly F161 and the students / meet in my seminars still do not know the undamental techniQues o theb!2in$an. Teachers: please teach the basics to your students! not the ones you think are the basics but the ones that were exposed by 4ats!mi sensei back in 67C8 in his irst technical book: "toga$!re ry= ninp3 tai2!ts!". This book in 3apanese was then translated into %nglish (and greatly modi ied, in 67CM. This should be the core o your teaching to the ky< belts. The b!2in$an is a antastic system not because o its name but because it is the answer to actual ighting. /t is not about strength or :iolence it is about ootwork and simple body mechanics. >earn them and impro:e your skills dramaticallyN /n my next summer camp / will ha:e written exams again e:ery day so that the participants will know the names and content o the :arious sets o techniQues included into the ten chin 2in rya$! no ma$i. / there is no study there is no knowledge. / you are a students remember that your teacher is the one guiding you on the b!2in$anpath but at the end o the day ;.B are the one walking the path. Remember that you train or yoursel or your own good and that no one is higher than you as we are all human beings. )et the knowledge you need where you an ind it. respect your teacher or what he is gi:ing you but please be pro'acti:e and do not wait to recei:e the knowledge! as sensei used to say: "steal the knowledge where it isN# Summer is a good moment to think back about our yearly achie:ements and to make new plans or the new season o training beginning in September. 9lease add "basics# in your plans. Ha:e a happy summer in the spirit o ro$$on sh323.
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Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com, ***.koimartialart.com basics, chi, :in,ryaku, ten, tenchi:in | " 'omments

Jupi Su##er Ca#p 20 0 324

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@uly 2(! 2010by kumafr

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-ooking online at www.budomart.com is on. seminar, ***.budomart.com | Tagged camp, :upi, nagare, summer, tachi | Leave a comment 3upi Summer Camp F161 is .nlineN Posted on @uly 2"! 2010by kumafr
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+e ar riends! ;ou can now register to the Jupi Su))er Ca)p 2*"* and be one o the FE participants accepted. The theme this year is nagare! the low. 2nd we will use the undamentals o the tenchi2in rya$! no ma$i and the eeling o ro$$on sh323 to express it. The 3upi Seminar has now become a legend in the b!2in$an. Bntil last year this seminar was open to black belts only and mainly shi 3shi. This year in order to celebrate the F1th edition o this seminar! / ha:e decided to open it to anyone with at least 6 year o training in the bu@inkan. $ow! i you are more experienced the better.

The seminar begins in 6 month so i you are interested check the website now and register to be one o the "happy ews#.

seminar, ***.budomart.com | Leave a comment *oi Aartial 2rt $ew >ook Posted on @uly 17! 2010by kumafr
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+ear riends! *oimartialart has been e:ol:ing and o ers now a totally new inter ace with a ew trailers introducing b!$i waGa, ten rya$! no ma$i and chi rya$! no ma$i. 2lso the search module has been ully rede:eloped and the :arious sections are more complete. *oimartialart is dedicated to e:ery b!2in$an pratitioner and is intended to help the young student or the ad:anced one to re:iew one expression o the techniQues o theb!2in$an. These :ideos can be streamed online on your pc! your mac! your iTouch! your i9hone or your i9ad. &e are currently de:eloping other inter aces or other phones: android! blackberry! nokia4 These :ideos +O ,OT replace a Quali ied instructor and training should be done in a real 323 but the techniQues can help you understand better what the b!2in$an really is. Theb!2in$an is the most complete system o ighting and it is based on the understanding o a limited set o undamental techniQues known as the ten chi 2in rya$! no ma$i. The ten chi 2in rya$! no ma$i mixing the 7 schools o the b!2in$an together with the b!$i waGabasics are the prereQuisite to become a black belt. 9lease check these trailers i you are not a member yet or check the new titles i you are and tell us what you think. Aany new mo:ies are being uploaded regularly.

***.koimartialart.com | Tagged buki, chi, koi, ten, trailer, *a9a | Leave a comment ;STTF161 Posted on @uly 12! 2010by kumafr
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T-.,/ 0OU .112 This new edition o the ;STT has been antastic in terms o Quality at all le:els: Quality o teachers! Quality o students! Quality o organi?ation! Quality o ood! Quality o $!mite.

Calligraphies by $atsumi Sensei #or the %&'ro shi tenn(%

Iuality o teachers: %ach year / am ama?ed to disco:er how my riends ha:e been e:ol:ing in good. S:en is deeper as e:er and the depth o his teachings reminds me o ten o 4ats!mi &ensei. 9eter is more and more precise in his orms and understanding o the human anatomy with his -mats! Tatara Holistic approach. 9edro is always coming with new multiple complex controls that look so simple that he is mani esting wabi itsel . Iuality o students: This year we had more than 81O newcomers to the tai$ai and rapidly / got the eeling it was the same group as the years be ore. /t is so nice to see the same students coming year a ter year and to see them impro:e more and more. %:en the beginners were so nice to teach to. This tai$ai is a real pleasure to teach because we can adapt the le:el o our teaching to the le:el o the groups we ha:e. This year / really en@oyed a lot going back to the basics with the $y= and the eeling o real ight with the high ranks. There is always something to learn or us. Iuality o organi?ation: This year or the irst time -runo took the responsability o the ;STT as / was teaching abroad a lot. He did a damn good @ob and / dont think that anytai$ai was better organi?ed and managed than this last edition. Thank you -runoN -eing a 6Eth an didnt weaken you it made you more power ul. / also want to thank the tai$aiTeam who made our stay in the 323 so likeable. They were so committed and e icient that / had a hard time recogni?ing them. Thank you all or your hard work. 2ll the attendants will remember you.

Iuality o ood: &hen -runo said that one o our students was 6 star michelin "che # and that he could cook or us at the tai$ai! / honestly didnt belie:e it would be possible or such a big number o people. / was wrong and this has been the best tai$ai ood / e:er had the chance to eat. )oodbye sandwich! welcome meatballs! meatpie! butter chicken and starters and cheese and desserts. 3ean'marie / lo:e youN Thank you or your hard work and sacri icing your training time in the morning to cook or us.

The group on Saturday

Iuality o $!mite: 2bo:e all a tai$ai is a $!mite! a reunion o many b!2in$anpractitioners dedicated to learn more about our art and to share riendship. /n this respect this ;STT has been a real success. Gri 76 participants! Sat. 6F8 participants! Sun. 686 participants. $o in@uries! no :iolence! a lot o work. This tai$ai was created to replace the missing tai$ai by hats!mi sensei. Training is irst but in the old days these tai$aiwere the occasion to reunite the b!2in$an amily. This ;STT was a real $!mite regrouping participants coming rom 67 countries (the last being bielorussia and poland,. Thank you all and we hope to see you next year again in 9arisN 9lease note: 1. The H&TT"01" will be hel in Ton on for the "Bth anniversary of the first tai$ai irecte by hats!mi sensei in .!rope an organiGe by Jeter Ming in 19CU. ". the vi eo of the tai$ai will be available for ownloa for the members athttp,55www.$oimartialart.com in a few wee$s. seminar, ***.koimartialart.com | Tagged arnaud, pedro, peter, sven, taikai, =<TT | 1 'omment ;STT day 6 Posted on @uly %! 2010by kumafr
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Today was the irst day o the ;STT and we had a lot o un e:en i the heat was terrible o:er 88[. 2s always it was a real pleasure to gi:e class with my three riends: 9eter! 9edro W S:en. &e had the chance to meet hats!mi sensei and the b!2in$an at the beginning and to create this riendship. -ut without sensei! his b! 3! and his :ision o li e this riendship would not ha:e existed. This tai$ai in 9aris is my way to thank them all or this great opportunity. Thank you sensei! thank you my riends. seminar, ***.budomart.com | Leave a comment ;STT >2ST B9+2T% Posted on @uly 7! 2010by kumafr
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+ear riends! / am on my way to get 9eter! 9edro and S:en coming to 9aris or the Taikai ;STT F161.

Tomorrow hell will be unleashedN 9rebooking is now closed but there are still a ew places le t or the the bra:es. So ar we are 681 coming rom 6M countries! / guess this will be a ma@or e:ent again this year.

seminar, ***.koimartialart.com | Leave a comment -udomart.com Success

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@uly &! 2010by kumafr

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+ote to the B! omart c!stomers, 2 ter the post on our new d:d products yesterday we ha:e recei:ed so many orders that / am not sure to be able to supply the d:ds immediately. Some delay might occur. Some precisions concerning these new sets: The B!2in$an My= 9rogram (-*9, represents 67 d:ds in 7 boxes! one per $y=. %ach My= ollows the grading reQuirements based upon the three :olumes o the )e)ento. The whole set o the -*9 co:ers the whole ten chi 2in rya$! no ma$i and the basics o Tant3, M!nai, &hot3, 4anb3, Jo, Bi$en, B3, Hari, +aginata. The B!$i 'aGa -asics or Tant3, M!nai, &hot3, 4anb3, Jo, Bi$en, B3, Hari, +aginatarepresent C d:ds in 8 boxes. 9lease note that the weapon ootage is the same in the -*9 and in the B!$i set. The only di erence is that the B!$i includes the $aeshi waGa(counter'techniQues, and not the $y= rom the -*9. 2ll products are a:ailable but / didnt expect such a reaction. There ore / must in orm you that the irst sets are reser:ed in priority or the sales at the 9aris Tai$ai this week'end. -ur as / am in 9aris tomorrow / will re'order all the d:ds so that you will get them with only a ew days o delay. Thank you or your understanding. Sincerely! &'(

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Na)are! Sanshin to 1ushin

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@uly &! 2010by kumafr

5 #otes

2s indi:iduals our actions ha:e :ery little chance to change the way the Bni:erse is running because $ature does not take our human desires into account. The meteorite that crashed in the ;ucatan 0E millions years ago might ha:e been obeying the laws o the Bni:erse! the dinosaurs didnt agree with it crushing them allN 2s we cannot in luence what is outside our -odyWAind (-WA, complexKentity! we must recenter our actions or the exclusi:e bene it o oursel:es by lowing and dri ting aimlessly within (or on top o , the outside world. The -WA has to learn to achie:e "total coordination# in order to de:elop this natural ability to low. The ( low! nagare, is more than a mo:ement it is abo:e all an attitude in >i e! and this is exactly what / ha:e been learning during the last F0 years with 4ats!mi sensei. &e train to suppress the thinking and analytical process in our actions. This is the secret o 4ats!mi sensei?s b! 3. /n a real ight i you are (body = mind = intention = analysis, you are dead . Gighting is about reacting without intention ) (m!s3,! and not about ha:ing a per ect body shape! a antastic mind! and a lot o intentionsN .ur irst ob@ecti:e is to ind this unity and instead o being three (body! mind! and consciousness, to become .$%. This unity is possibly achie:ed by training thoroughly the undamentals and the basics o the b!2in$an. Bnity is *+ ($esso$!, but the irst $an2i is y= * (like in y=gen, rom which we understand that rom the .$% we can ind the in:isible nagare and become 5%R.. &hen the practitioner reaches this le:el o "oneness# he gain access to the "?ero state# o e (m!shin, he can low without intentions on the stream o >i e. 2nd the proo is that e! m!shin has also the meaning o "innocence#! like the innocence o a 8 year old kid (c . sanshin no $ata,. leads to m!shin. %33 beco)es 4"3 and 4"3 beco)es 4*3 Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com, ***.koimartialart.com | Tagged nagare, yugen | 1 'omment -udomart update Posted on @uly (! 2010by kumafr
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+ear riends! / want to in orm you that we ha:e @ust released the new sets o d:ds rom Eth $y= to 6st $y=. %ach set co:ers all the techniQues (tai2!ts! and weapons reQuired or the -*9. The weapon techniQues are also a:ailable in separate sets that include the counter techniQues or the techniQues o : 2o, bi$en, b3, yari, an naginata. They are regrouped in 8 sets: short weapons! medium si?e weapons and long weapons. 9lease :isit the www.budomart.com or more details. ***.budomart.com, ***.koimartialart.com | Tagged BJP, buki, ky4, *eapon | Leave a comment -ear :s >ion: 6'1 Posted on @une 2"! 2010by kumafr
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2% #otes

&elling @ retreating

This week'end in -udapest a ter a nice seminar organi?ed by >a?slo! we went to a ?oo where / had the honour o meeting the "king o the animals#! a baby lion (E months old,. / ha:e been li:ing with cats all my li e (/ ha:e 8 cats, and this chance o ered by >a?slo to meet an actual lion was something / was eager to experience. -e ore / entered the cage! another man was playing with him and it was nice to watch. / was hoping to ha:e the same kind o playing time with the young lion. -ut as you can see on the picture! when / entered the cage! the little guy got so rightened o me that he stepped back and didnt want to getting close to me. 2t what point he e:entually yelled and "roared# at me while getting protected behind the leg o his trainer. /t took him 81 minutes to come to me but he ne:er stayed. &hen he was away! his eyes and ears were always turned towards me. The trainer said that this was the irst time she was seeing this reaction with a human as this is the typical attitude o the young lion when acing his lion ather. This little guy was a raid o me e:en though my attitude was :ery open. Some will say that this is also why young students are a raid o me. $e:ertheless / ound that interesting and sad. /nteresting because it pro:es that the sa$$imight be really something that is changing our attitude! and sad because / would ha:e lo:ed to play with this o:ersi?ed kitty as / do with my own cats. &hen we undergo the sa$$i test! something is re:ealed and grows and un olds more o:er the years! this is why training is so important. Truth does not lie in the techniQue but in the attitude. *eep goingN

Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com | Tagged bear, lion, sakki | " 'omments .nly $agare Aatters
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@une 21! 2010by kumafr

11 #otes

&hen we begin the study o the b!2in$anarts we are surprised to hear the teacher speaking o nagare (! low,. .ur intention when entering a 323 was to learn a set o ighting techniQues but we inally ended up learning how to low with thingsN The irst encounter with this " lowing reality# is when we learn the !$e nagashi. I$e nagashi is wrongly translated as blocking and is :ery ar rom reality and many should try to understand it in order to better their tai@utsu. the #low is permanent adaptation I$e (,F, is the recei:er o the techniQue in martial arts but !$emi (,f! the all, also has the meaning o "passi:e attitude#! rom that we understand that !$e nagashi! recei:ing in a low! can also mean " lowing passi:ely in a natural manner#. 2s you see the idea o "blocking# is not the only thing hereN /n act !$e nagashi has multiple orms such as: 2bsorbing! -locking! Countering! +e lecting! and %:ading (remember the irst letters o each word read: 2-C+%,. The low with which we act is not impeding the mo:ement on the contrary. Glowing in the techniQue is to ollow a natural succession o actions created by the encounter. 2s senseisaid last week! there is no possibility to change what is happening! the only thing to do is to adapt to it. This is the true de inition o nagare. &hate:er e:ent happening on the planet we are nothing and cannot modi y the outcome o it! but as an indi:idual we ha:e the power to adapt our actions to it and to low mindlessly with it. This low is similar to the crossing o a ri:er! thinking and ighting against the stream is useless. Trying to understand it will not change its power! we @ust ha:e to ollow its low and to dri t through it until we reach sa ely the other bank. /n the 323! all our mo:ements should be done according to this natural low. &e should wait "passi:ely# and react when the opportunity emerges. Tai2!ts! is nagare and nagareis achie:ed when thinking! analysing and pre'concei:ing are abandoned. 2daptation is the essence o nagareN Thoughts on Budo | Tagged adaptation, flo*, nagare, nagashi, uke | ( 'omments The *ing is -ack Posted on @une 1%! 2010by kumafr
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10 #otes

/n a ew weeks now! 9eter *ing will @oin the &hi Tenn3 Tai$ai in 9aris like e:ery year. 9eter is one o the oldest students o 4ats!mi sensei and / am proud to count him amongst my best riends not only in theB!2in$an but also in >i e. The shi tenn3: 9eter! S:en! 9edro and 2rnaud were riends Controlling or healing3 in$o$oro long be ore being riends in b! 3. 2s ar as / remember! our riendship re:ealed itsel when the our o us became the irst %uropeans promoted to 61th an in the 71s. Today e:eryone can easily consider becoming a 2= an or more but back then it was Quite a huge responsibility to take. 9eter has always been there to support me e:en though he had a lot more experience in the b!2in$an than me. To help me! 9eter would o ten come to 9aris to teach my students when / was in 3apan! and my students use to train with him and to learn his "e icient# real ight oriented tai2!ts!. . all the teachers / know! 9eter is one o the ew with real street ight experience as he spent a ew decades in the wild parts o >ondon as a police o icer. Remember that until recently the bobbies were not allowed to carry any weapon4 but the bad guys had weapons. So each encounter with a thug was like a truesa$$i test where ailure meant death or in@ury. Today a ter a long career in the police! 9eter is a therapist and is the best -mats! Tatara(he is men$yo $ai en, teacher you can ind in the &est. *nowing how to destroy he is now a healer. 2 nice example o inyoN 9eter who has been in 3apan recently and will teach us at the ;STT! and / know or sure that we will! once again! learn a lot rom him. /t is still possible to attend this 8 day 3uly seminar with the shi tenn3 in 9aris! Gri 7th! Sat 61th! Sun 66th. The only thing to do is to register here. seminar, ***.budomart.com | Tagged king, peter, shi tenno | Leave a comment 92R/S T2/*2/ ;STT F161 Posted on @une 15! 2010by kumafr
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& #otes

There are about F1 places le t to attend the 9aris Taikai F161 3oin 9edro! S:en! 9eter! 2rnaud or 8 days in the now called ;<ro Shi Tenn Taikai. Come and meet your riends rom o:er 6F countries and train with them. online registration seminar, ***.budomart.com | Leave a comment Simplicity is the *ey to %legance Posted on @une 1&! 2010by kumafr
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The other shi tenn(

12 #otes

.ne night during the 677M Tai$ai in $ew 3ersey 9edro and / were ha:ing some green tea with sensei in his room a ter a hard day training. 2t one point sensei told us that he had taught us e:erything we needed and that rom that day we had to get rid o all the small mo:ements parasiting our tai@utsu. That was 68 years ago and yet / consider that it has been one o the best lessons / recei:ed rom him. %ach one o us does the mo:ements with useless extra mo:es damaging or hindering the low o our actions. Ay understanding today is that the ob@ecti:e o tai2!ts! is to go towards simplicity and that by reaching simplicity we enter the world o y=gen! elegance. 2ctually the

translation o y=gen is "elegant simplicity#. This is what sensei has been explaining recently concerning the wabi (-, and sabi (., o the sam!rai. /nstead o warriors we ha:e to become true artists. 'abi is de ined as the "beauty to be ound in po:erty and simplicity# whereas sabi also translates as "elegant simplicity#N There ore our mo:ements should always be simple in beauti ul to be e icient. Strength and :iolence are not necessary as they add useless intentions to our actions when ighting. . ten when training / am ama?ed to see how the simplest action can lead to actual winning. Ao:ing elegantly with simplicity opens up a new dimension o action out o regular time. &hen y=gen is achie:ed the timespace paradigm illusion disappears and !$e`s mo:ements are percei:ed as i be ore he or she intended to do anything. $ature doesnt belie:e in time! only humans. -y trans orming our perceptions beyond the human realm and becoming a tats!2in /k (a master! an expert, our "elegant simplicity# shines out and sol:e the problem at hand. .ur b! 3 is much more than learning how to ight it is path teaching us to be simple and elegant. 2s we already stated here! y=gen also means what is not :isible. -eauty is this subtle grace! in:isible to the common people that transcends the orm to touch the soul!tamashii (#,. Simplicity is the key to elegance. 8art is making the in:isible :isible# (4ats!mi sensei, honb! 323! 2pril F161,.
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Thoughts on Budo | Tagged elegance, sabi, simplicity, *abi, yugen | 2 'omments

S+en at the YSTT20 0

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@une 10! 2010by kumafr

15 #otes

+y -ery good #riend S-eneri* 9ogsater

S:eneric is one o my best riends. He is a :ery close student o sensei and has started the b!2in$an e:en be ore / began trainingN / consider S:en like my elder brother as his teachings are always ull o wisdom and help me to impro:e my understanding o the art. / am pri:ileged to teach with him Quite o ten and this is always a great moment o learning! sharing and riendship.

S:en will share his knowledge with 9eter! 9edro and mysel at the ;STT once again this year in 3uly. / you want to attend to the ;STT (see details on this blogs pages, orregister now there are a ew places a:ailable. 2ttend three days o training in 9aris and learn rom S:en and the "y=ro shi tenn3# as sensei called us. F7 days le t to attend to the ;STT www

seminar, ***.budomart.com | Tagged shi tenno, sven, =<TT | Leave a comment Ten Chi 3in Ten Posted on @une 10! 2010by kumafr
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12 #otes

;our tai2!ts! is created by the steady study o the ten chi 2in rya$! no ma$i program which contains all the basics o the nine schools o the b!2in$an. 2ll undamentals ha:e been regrouped into one single syllabus in order to gi:e the beginners a chance to understand Quickly what it is they ha:e to learn and master. -ut what is happening a ter you learnt the ten chi 2inJ ;ou learn the ten*hi2inten*hi2inten/ schools! you learn the weapons! you learn the 2!pp3 sessh3. /n act i / you look at it care ully you should see the irst stage o your progression through the ten chi 2in as the irst circle o a metallic spring (see picture,. Through the taihen $= en shin en succession we inish the irst circle o learning and begin another one. This second cycle o learning begins with another ten but o a higher le:el. %ach circle is ollowing the pre:ious one and is linked to it. >i e is similar! each action we take determines andKor in luences our utures choices and actions. To answer the original Question as to know what is coming a ter the ten chi 2inJ the answer is always another ten and then another chi and 2in, and so endlessly.

Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com, ***.koimartialart.com chi, :in, kuden,shinden, spring, taihen, ten | 1 'omment MDD H F ).N Posted on @une 5! 2010by kumafr
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% #otes

3B>; 7th 61th 66th F161 ;ST Taikai with 9edro! S:en! 9eter and 2rnaud -egins in MDD hoursN Register www.budomart.com seminar, ***.budomart.com | Leave a comment &alking )ood Posted on @une (! 2010by kumafr
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11 #otes

.ne o my riends who has been li:ing in 3apan or many years told me once that senseiwas not teaching tai2!ts! but me2!ts! (eye techniQue,. -y training we learn to watch things di erently! to think outside o the box.

+y #eet with the ten*hi2in and the *hi2in

Gor the last ten years / ha:e tra:eled the world Quite a lot rom snow countries such as Canada! Ginland or Sweden to hot countries such as -rasil! Aexico or /ndiaR and because what we are taught is to see through the appearances o things! / noticed that people do not walk the same. /n act we can say that depending on the ten! the way the 2in use thechi is di erent. -r!$i waGa is part o our basic training but not so many students try to understand the importance o it. The way you walk can sa:e your li e and the waGa should adapt to the reality on the tenchi in which you are. To make mysel clear / took a picture o my eet to illustrate this article. Gootwork is the basis o the b!2in$an tai2!ts!. &e should see the oot as being di:ided into three parts related to the tenchi2in: The heel is chi! the ball o the oot is 2in! and the toes are ten. &hen you mo:e your eet on the ground this knowledge allow you to pi:ot rom any combination o this 8_F matrix. ;ou can mo:e tenten (toesKtoes,! tenchi (toesKheel,!ten2in (toesKball, etc. /n act you ha:e 8\ possibilities o walking. $ow the interesting thing on top o that is the type o ground you are walking on. .ne day in Canada / noticed that the Canadians were attacking the ground " lat# with no unrolling o the sole (tenchi2in as one,. / con irmed this obser:ation recently in Ginland. 2 ew weeks ago in the the /ndian @ungle we went to some kind o procession in a deep :alley o the +ilgiri(the blue mountains o Blavats$y, and the tribal people we met were bare oot and were attacking the ground only in a chi2in seQuence! letting the toes coming long a ter ground contact. &hat / got rom these two obser:ations can be related to the 3apanese and the unny ways they designed the wara2i where the toes are out o the sole protection. To synthesi?e! in snow countries we attack the ground as one! perpendicularly to a:oid allingR and in hot countries we attack the ground rom heel to ball to balance the ootwork and ground our body. The picture shows the diagonal heelKball to learn how to walk correctly. -ut understand also that your way o walking is gi:ing in ormations to your opponent. >ast month / welcomed a new student in the 323 and watching his ootwork! e:en though / knew nothing about him! / told him that he had spent his youth in the mountains. ;ou should ha:e seen his ace ullo astonishment when he said: "how do you know thatJ# 2 ter this disco:ery / decided to changeKmodi y my ootwork and / trained walking in the streets! it changed totally the way / am balancing my body. The bu@inkan is not about techniQues it is about learning to see. Man (6 S perception, will lead you to become $anpe$i (01 S per ect,.

.h! by the way! the 8\ matrix is 74

Thoughts on Budo, Tips S tricks, ***.budomart.com | 1 'omment Tachi Tips W Tricks (C, Posted on Hay "1! 2010by kumafr
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15 #otes

&hen you get attuned to the tachi! you disco:er that it is using the speci icities o all the other weapons. The tachi is a hanb3! a 2o! a b3! a yari! a naginata 4 and sometimes a sword4 ;ou lock the opponent like you would do with the hanb3! ;ou control the distances like you would do with the 2o or the b3! ;ou stab like you would do with the yari! the naginata or the sword. >ike an hourglass! the tachi is the beginning and the end (in' yo, o our weapon training. 2ll weapons lead to the tachi and the tachi leads to the understanding o a new training dimension or the weapons. The whole training o the past 6C years begin to make sense. &e learned the ways o the weapons (6778'677M,! then the ways o the tai2!ts!, taihen, a$entai, $opp3, $osshi, 2=tai (677C'F11F,! then the ways o the shin5$o$oro with the2!pp3 sessh3 (F118'F11M,. Then it was men$y3 $ai en, saino $on$i! and this year ro$$on sh323 with the disco:ery o tachi waGa mixed with happinessN -ut the tachi (', is also the tachi (2 S Quality! nature o a person, and tachi (3 S a castle or a nobleman, so the choice o this weapon might actually be more pro ound than it seems and it might imply that the b!2in$an has now reached the point where we can all become $ishi (4 ' knights, the archetype o the noblemanR or the $ishi(56 ' lag! banner! emblem, o a new era in the de:elopment o mankind. >ike the sand passing through the

middle o the hourglass the triangle o man can link the opposite triangle o the di:ine: $an2in $aname. Thank you sensei or bringing us so ar. Thoughts on Budo, Tips S tricks, ***.budomart.com | Tagged hourglass, kishi, knight, tachi | Leave a comment %rrors are Correct
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Hay "0! 2010by kumafr

1& #otes

The more important things we learn through training in the b!2in$an is that it is ok to make mistakes. -y accepting that we are not per ect we can impro:e our skills. The errors we make in the 323 are our best teachers as long as we do our best to learn rom them and correct our attitude ($amae,. 2nd then hope ully we will not make them outside when ighting time is coming. 8&h! 4a Ei# can there ore be understood as: do! make mistakes! get rid o the mistakes. &hate:er we do in li e is about learning and our errors create our success. /snt it why we keep repeating: "shi$in haramits! ai $omy3"J

Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com | Leave a comment Tachi Uideo

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Hay 27! 2010by kumafr

1& #otes

Object 1

+rawing the tachi with the legs by using ootwork. Gilmed during the tachi /// workshop right a ter the 2pril trip to 3apan. / you are a member o *./ Aartial 2rt you can download a small tachi mo:ie ilmed during one o the classes / ga:e at the 4onb! 323 in -tago. %n@oyN

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seminar, ***.koimartialart.com | Leave a comment

&aris Taikai Ju-y

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Hay 27! 2010by kumafr

11 #otes

;<ro Shi Tenn Taikai S 9aris F161 3uly 7th to 66th

Object 2

3oin us seminar, ***.budomart.com | Leave a comment %nter the +ragon (F, Posted on Hay 27! 2010by kumafr
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1" #otes

.n Gacebook one riend wrote: "witho!t !n erstan ing what 2!pp3 sessh3 is an

Te*hni?ue without %goat% #eeling is nothing

its relation to the ragon an the tiger, yo! will stay forever in the mechanic worl an never !n erstan what is biomechanics# and another riend commented: "any movement yo! o is always biomechanical. #mpossible to o a non-biomechanical movement by efinition of the wor .1 / thank you both or your comments as they allow me to be more precise. Girst o all! both are right and wrong. To the irst one / would say that the dragon mo:ement is by de inition using the body and there ore belongs to the mechanical world. -ut to the second one / would ob@ect that a mo:ement might not always be mechanical. &hen / am "mo:ed# by the beauty o the landscape! a piece o music! or any artisitic masterpieceR / am mo:ed but / do not physically mo:e (except i / aint,. 2s always our language is limited and carries di erent conceptual schemes (c . Iuine: "word and ob@ect#, allowing :arious realities to cohabit. Grom the omote perspecti:e! comment aF is trueR but rom the !ra perspecti:e comment a6 is also true. &e should ocus more on what we do than trying to gi:e the exact de inition o what we can do. %ntering the dragon is more a eeling! a $an$a$! than a real mo:ement but without the knowledge de:eloped in the waGa it is useless. 2 3apanese shihan said to us once: "in the b!2in$an you need to train both $an$a$! andwaGa as they are the two legs allowing to go orard on the path. / you ocus on one leg only and exclude the other one you will not mo:e orward :ery long#. The b!2in$an path you ha:e chosen to ollow is long and / can assure you that you will de initely need your two legs to go urther. -ecoming a dragon does not mean that you will stop walking and ly insteadN4 but who knowsJ4

Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com | 1 'omment %nter the +ragon

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Hay 25! 2010by kumafr

1" #otes

2sian martial arts o ten re er to the oppositionKunity o the tiger and the dragon. /n F118! the irst year o the 2!pp3 sessh3 cycle! we learnt that the dragon is in the sky or ten and the tiger on the ground or chi. &e also learnt that the dragon was capturing while the tiger was hitting. These two symbolic animals are showing the duality o possibilities o ered to us at any gi:en moment. This is what sensei explained and you can ind his explanation in one o my books: $ote$i ry= a 2!pp3 sessh3 hib!n no $ami. 2t the beginning o the year! tiger and dragon/// sensei ga:e a copy o the densho to some o us and / was lucky to spend a lot o time with him and that he answered my Questions. This link between tiger and dragon is paradoxically not an opposition but has to be understood as an union. 2nd once you are aware o these dual aspects in your Sel (brain W body can also be seen as the tiger and the dragon,! you ha:e to use them together in order to create .neness. /t is like the in-yo taichi. The highest le:el o b! 3 can only be achie:ed when you become able to "enter the dragon#. >ike the "sh! ha ri# supposing to mean: "learn! master! discard#R it can be seen as "sh! hari# : to see the "truth by piercing through the appearances# (sensei 2pril F161,. &hen the duality o the ten-chi disappears you ha:e one reality le t! you became a dragon. Aaybe this is why sensei ga:e to some o us dragon names in 6778. &hen you train in this year o the tiger please do not to orget the "crouching# dragon inside o you. 2nd remember that i dragons can ly they can land too! but that tigers will ne:er ly.

Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com | Leave a comment Ry<ha: Homework ReQuired Posted on Hay 2$! 2010by kumafr
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12 #otes

b( -s sword

The last section o the M!$ishin B3 is called "$ei$o saba$i gata# and consists in a series o FE techniQues. 2s always i you do not look at the kan@i but only at the sounds! many meanings can be ound in a good %nglish dictionary. $ei$o: training! practice! study saba$i: deal with! handleR but also @udgment! decision! :erdict gata 9$ata:: mold! modelR but also a person. There ore! we can understand the "$ei$o saba$i gata# as the study o how to deal with the other. -ut to be able to deal with the other we must learn irst to deal with oursel:es and this is where the personal training takes place. &hen we were kids or young students we were used to study "at home# the lessons recei:ed during the day. /t must be the same in the 323. The 323 like the uni:ersity or the school is the place where the knowledge is transmitted. .ur home is where we learn this knowledge to be able

to use it a terwards. This personal training is :ery important when it comes with the study o weapons as without a long time o repetition! it is nearly impossible to know how to handle the weapons. .:er the last twenty years / ha:e o ten spend time alone in the woods training with my 2o! my b3! my yari or my naginata. There is no secret i you want to break the wall o the orm you ha:e to repeat them endlessly. To help you in your personal training understand that the waGa is only hal o the techniQue! in a sense / consider the waGa to be the omote. /t gi:es you only hal o the circle. /t is your @ob to re:erse the whole waGa and to do it rom the other side in order to get the !ra. This is the way / ha:e been learning on my own all these orms that / recei:ed in 3apan o:er the years. How to proceedJ: you take one waGa like goh3 rom the $!$ishin b3. ;ou do it E1 times acing a tree. Then you re:erse it completely by using the other side (here le t, and you do it another E1 times. ;ou do the same or each waGa in a school. / you do that! / can assure you that your pro iciency will increase a lot. 2t least it worked :ery well or me. .ne last thing. The next day you will ha:e orgotten those E to 61 waGa that you worked. /t is ok as what you are learning here is not to memori?e with your brain but with your body. / you do your homework properly you will learn much aster. -ut not only are you going to learn the mo:ements aster! you are also going to learn a lot about yoursel ! your limits! your laws. So by learning a gi:en set o techniQues you will de:elop the strength o your spirit and get better. 9ersonally / see it as the real bene it o the $ei$o saba$i gata.

$ow that you know yoursel you can go back to the study o the ry= and "train the mold to make the decision#! i.e. $ei$o saba$i gata. )ambatte* Thoughts on Budo, ***.koimartialart.com | Tagged b., gata, :utsu, keiko, kukishin, sabaki | ( 'omments GlexibilityJ
Posted in Posted on

Hay 2&! 2010by kumafr

1( #otes

no *omment7

Too many b!2in$an practitioners are not lexible enough and they should spend some time outside the 323 to impro:e their body. The 323 is where you learn the waGa! e:erything else is your responsability and should be done on your ree time. B!2in$aninstructors are not body itness teachers. 2t E1! / still smokeV! / eat meat and drink alcohol reasonablyV and i / am a little o:erweightV / still keep my body lexible because in li e e:erything is about balance and lexibility. So! i you are young! i you dont smoke! i you are a :egetarian and do not drink! and i you ha:e the per ect -GRVV! you ha:e no excuse. ;ou train because you ha:e chosen to do so and no one has been orcing you. So please train your lexibility as it will de initely change your tai@utsu. -e HappyN

V +ont smoke and eat light meals

VV-GR: -ody Gat Rate Cncategori9ed | Tagged body, fat, fle3ibility | 1 'omment Taikai 9aris 3uly F161 Posted on Hay 2&! 2010by kumafr
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Kate This

&atch the 0STT2*"* trailer and register to attend the Cth edition to train with 9eter! S:en! 9eter and 2rnaud in 9aris. seminar | 1 'omment *aeshi &a?a: the Bra o the .moteJ Posted on Hay 2"! 2010by kumafr
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10 #otes

&hen we train the techniQues o the di erent weapons or ry=ha we o ten skip this important part o the training which is the $aeshi waGa. Maeshi waGa is or me the essence o our b! 3 as it is :ital to know how to o:ercome any techniQue. Countering is always implied in a techniQue. /n a real ight you will ha:e to apply those "aite to $!m! $o$oro gamae1 in order to keep the ad:antage o:er the attacker. /n the b!$i waGa d:ds (@o, bi$en, b3, yari, an naginata, / ha:e included those kaeshi wa?a into the basic orms to gi:e

9( against biken

the students a better understanding o them. &e did the same or each techniQue o the sho en, ch= en, o$! en, and $ei$o saba$i gata o the $!$ishin b3. .nce the orms ha:e been acQuired! you ha:e learn the omote! with the ura you enter the hidden side o reality. Those two aspects o waGa are intimately intertwined and missing the $aeshi waGa is like walking with one legN /n each techniQue there is a $an$a$! ( eeling, that you must ind. .nce this eeling understood! you can use it against the waGa and understand the real depth o b! 3. The de:eloping o the !ra side o the waGa is the go$!i (essence, o the b!2in$an as it triggers our creati:ity and oster our imagination in a new power ul way. Maeshi waGa is the !ra o the omote! the $aitats! o the waGa! the 2issen o the 2issen.
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Thoughts on Budo, ***.koimartialart.com | Tagged kaeshi, *a9a | 1 'omment

,riendship & 5okkon Sh2

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Hay 22! 2010by kumafr

11 #otes

+uring my last trip to /ndia! %ugenio 9enna (61th dan /taly, was with us to share the i:e days seminar we had on k!$ishin b32!ts!, gyo$$o ry= $osshi 2!ts!and nawa 2!ts!. 2 ter coming with -eth Gaulds (0th dan, last Gebruary! %ugenio came back to /ndia to experience with us these :ery special (and :ery pain ul moments,. &ensei o ten speaks about riendship but it seems that his words are not really understood 3 buyu be#ore a trek in the Nilgiri by many practitioners. The concept o b!y! goes urther than simply sharing a ew meals together! it is a strong eeling that builds up through hard training and sharing. Shi:a (Shidshi, who was hosting the seminar here in -angalore and %ugenio are true b!y! beyond

the limits o their own personal culture! language and experience o li e. The b!y! riendship is about sharing together a common experience on the mats by learning and learning to understand the other. &hoe:er we are! we :iew the world in our own personal way and are o ten surprised by the di erences emerging in our discussions! but on the mats we are on the same unknown terrain and we ha:e to share with the others in order to sur:i:e. /t is because o our di erences that we can grow aster. Gor many years / ha:e been tra:elling the world and in 3apan and / appreciate the connections between cultures that the bu@inkan o ers. / belie:e that the b!y! connection doesnt know borders and that it is really what senseiwants us to do and this picture illustrates my point per ectly! happiness is ine:itable. This is ro$$on sh323. The picture was taken right be ore a two hour trekk in the nilgiri (blue mountains, to reach an ancient tribal ceremony! in a deeply hidden :alley. The b!y! are rich o their di erences like the /ndian slogan "unity in di:ersity# which resonates in harmony with the b!2in$an . Thank you senseiN Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com | Tagged buyu, harmony, india, unity | " 'omments +anger is a lack o 2wareness Posted on Hay 22! 2010by kumafr
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5 #otes

-e aware o dangerN /n the process o training techniQues in the 323! you should always be aware o the en:ironment i.e. the room or your riends training! as wa:ing the b3in the air around you can be dangerous. .utside o the 323 this awareness can sa:e your li e. The techniQue is nothing i you cannot stay ali:e. +o not trust the ensho or the waGa because they ne:er answer the particular situation in which you are

Team work; 9e aware o# danger

caught. The waGa ha:e to be trained extensi:ely in the 323 so that their bene its are acQuired by the body. .nce acQuired by the body! the brain will not think these waGa again and adapt your mo:es according to the situation. 9ermanent adaptation is what makes you stay out o danger. +inp3 is about protecting li e! yours and the ones around you ( riends or oes,. +o not count on yoursel only but trust your partners to help you stay ali:e. +anger is not predictable by nature but nature is not dangerous as long as you are aware o the "general picture# in which you e:ol:e. This is why teamwork is so important. The basics are done or yoursel only but the interconnexion with the mo:ements o your partners re:eals a more power ul set o possibilities. 2lone you are nothing! in a team you exist. The team increases your awareness o danger. /n order to stay ali:e! B!2in$an practitioners should de:elop teamwork abilities! and to do so train the basics more intensely. Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment ;<ro Shi Tenn Taikai 9aris F161 Posted on Hay 20! 2010by kumafr
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2nother i:e days to register to the ;<ro Shi Tenn Taikai at a special price. Check the pages o this blog or more in o. Register H%R% to be sure to participate. &e are preparing a new website dedicated to the Taikai! it will be online :ery soon. The address is http:KKwww.taikaiparis.com
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Gocus W Reach your )oals Posted on Hay 20! 2010by kumafr

5 #otes

&hen you train you o ten orget the goal you are trying to reach and you lose your ocus. &hether you are on the tatami or outside the 323! this is the Quality o your ocus and what you li:e that gi:es you the solution. +o not belie:e the waGa! they are only there to channel an idea in order to decipher the eeling that is not written. Gocusing on each moment o your li e guarantees success. +o not try to achie:e a result as you would pro@ect 8oty Aol# *ourse :ndia your intention into a non de ined uture. .n the contrary ocus on the instant like in na$aima(middle o now, and you will be adaptable to any change happening in the instant. / you are doing a techniQue! you are actually seeing your :ictory that has not happened yet. ;our tamashii (spirit! soul, is the tool allowing you to use your saino (ability, le:el to its best! in the !ts!wa in which you are caught. This permanent ocusing o the total being (body and mind, by the use o saino $on$irenders possible the reaching o your goals whate:er they are. The goal is not importantper se but it will! like a waGa! bring to your understanding! things that are not ob:ious at irst sight. Remember our art is to "render the in:isible :isible#. This is how we must see >i e. 2nd when you are able to do that! in and outside the 323! you are li:ing into the ro$$on sh323. Happiness is the only things that matter.

Thoughts on Budo, ***.koimartialart.com | Tagged golf, nakaima, rokkon, sh.:. | 1 'omment

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- Seminar (part6, Bpdate Posted on Hay 1$! 2010by kumafr

7 #otes

&e inished the three le:els o $!$ishin b3 today. 2nd we will do the $ei$o saba$i gatanext week'end. %ach time / go through the b3 2!ts! le:els / am ama?ed by the insight we can get rom them. / understand why b3 2!ts! was a ry= in itsel . &e also did all the$aeshi waGa or each one o the FM techniQuesN / cant wait to see the rushes or these new d:ds. seminar, Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment -: *<kan W +istance
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Hay 1$! 2010by kumafr

5 #otes

B3 2!ts! is one o the key to enter the $=$an as it gi:es access to distance. Too o ten in training we are trapped by the orm (waGa, and do not dwell enough into the eeling ($an$a$!,. &hen senseiintroduced us to the "cycle o weapons# in 6778! many b!2in$an members were surprised as b3 @utsu did not seem to be "nin2a# enough to them. -ut b3 2!ts! was only an excuse to excel. B!2in$an is ootwork. &hen we train the b3! the techniQue traps our brain and our mo:ements ollow a "6! F! 8L seQuence. 2 ter repeating those orms long enough! something

,istan*e is power

resh comes out o them. Through mechanical repetition the brain rees itsel and a natural mo:ement is created only because ootwork adds itsel to a new understanding o distance. /n one o the b!2in$an schools! it says: "ahead lies paradise# meaning that in a ight you get protected by entering the distance to the opponent. -y accepting the encounter! you actually enable yoursel to be sa e and ree in your actions. This knowledge o how to distance yoursel correctly is the irst thing you learn with the use o long weapons. This reedom has created a $=$an o which you were not aware o be ore. Through the study o b3 2!ts! you are now able to enter this $=$an and bring your tai2!ts! up to a new dimension. &eapons are our best teachers. &e mo:e our bodies and we now learn to do it with an arti ical extension o ering new possibilities. B3 2!ts! is not "nin2a"J maybe not! but our skills impro:e a lot through this type o study. &e understand now distance and angles in a wider sense and can play reely with a new created space. Aaybe this is why di:inities are o ten represented with a long sta .

Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com | Tagged angle, b., distance, kukan | " 'omments *ukishin - 3utsu Shoden
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Hay 1&! 2010by kumafr

5 #otes

+id you e:er notice that the three le:els o b3 2!ts! rom the $!$ishin represented the three le:els o the ten chi 2inJ +id you e:er notice that in the sho en no $ata you had 8 groups o 8 techniQuesJ %ach name o techniQue begins with the name o a$amae ollowed by the principle hidden within each one o the groups.
old b( 2utsu drawing by hokusai

Those principles can be written in di erent ways! / o er here three possible meanings. The irst group deals with $angi which can ha:e the same meaning o # intuition! sixth sense# (gi means waGa P techniQue,. $an (6, The second group is gogi and can ha:e the meaning o go9shin,! "de ense#. )o (,. The third group is $3$i and can ha:e the meaning o "achie:ement! success#. M3 (7,. / we add those three meanings we get the idea the the irst le:el o the $!$ishin b3 is to de:elop our intuition to de end oursel:es in order to ind success#. Gunnily! the last techniQue (the ninth, o the le:el look like a mix o all the wa?a studied in the le:el. / not in the orm at least in the eeling.

The last techniQue is called tenchi2in4 Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com, ***.koimartialart.com | Tagged b., :utsu, kukishin | Leave a comment
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Sti$ks Up Today6
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Hay 1&! 2010by kumafr

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/n a ew minutes we will begin our seminar in -angalore on $!$ishin en ry= b3 2!ts!. The $!$ishin b3 is ama?ing and always a pleasure to redisco:er: the $ots!, the $amae, the b3 no !chi, the gogy3 no b3, the three levels of sho en, ch= en, o$! en and the evastating $ei$o saba$i gata. B3 2!ts! is the essence o the long weapons in the b!2in$ansystem. This is the entry gate o the sanshin o b3, yari an naginata. Eo$!sha$! b3 can be seen as reaching consciousness (ro$! P 0th P consciousness, through

Takamatsu sensei

the b3linking hea:en and earth. Aaybe that is why we began weapon training in 6778 with the b34 The weather is nice e:en though humid! the camera crew ready! the sticks polished! the 7 demons can enter now into the arena. 2 good time is beginningN

seminar, Tips S tricks, ***.budomart.com | Leave a comment %legance is an 2ttitude Posted on Hay 1(! 2010by kumafr
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/n the airlines maga?ine / was lipping the pages when / stopped at an add presenting a beauti ul /ndian woman with a caption reading: "elegance is an attitude#. /mmediately it made me eel happyN &here:er you go you ha:e to be aware o the connections between 2issen (true li e, and 2issen (true ight,. The world is our training ground and coincidences are there to teach us something. &e explained that y=gen is the in:isible world rendered :isible and that it is the 3apanese word or elegance. &e also discussed the word $amae as being more an attitude than a simple body posture. Hhat *an you add3 This caption in a b!2in$an understanding could be the ollowing: "y=gen is $amae". &hen your basics are assimilated and your body low created! your attitude towards li e becomes elegant. %legance

is not something you can ad by yoursel R elegance is not omote! it is !ra. /t is something that is born rom your being and that spreads around you like a per ume. There is no techniQue to learn it! elegance comes naturally when your attitude is correct. The beauty o the b!2in$an system is that through a long and strenuous training period you reach this le:el o elegance. ;ou dont do things because you want to but because you are true to yoursel .

Thoughts on Budo | Tagged attitude, elegance, :issen | " 'omments /ndian Touchdown Posted on Hay 1(! 2010by kumafr
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( #otes

Hith Shi-a and Nandita in .apan

/ arri:ed yesterday in -angalore or a long B3 2!ts! seminar a ter a long light. The monsoon is announced and humidity is rising. Hot trainings in perspecti:e. .n the d:d ront! Shi:a told me that the new b!$i waGa d:ds are ready. /m bringing them back with me so check budomart regularly. Here we will train a lot and record the whole b3 2!ts!, gyo$$o ry= sho en, an m!t3 ori. / keep you in ormed in the ollowing days. :,

Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment Uisit the new -u@inkan /ndia website Posted on Hay 12! 2010by kumafr
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-u@inkan /ndia has @ust released their new website! 9lease :isit it at www.bu@.in Cncategori9ed | Tagged bu:inkan, india | 1 'omment /magination
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Hay 12! 2010by kumafr

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The greatest power we learn in training in theb!2in$an is to de:elop the power o our imagination. This is the $aitats! explained in a pre:ious article. $apolTon said that: "#magination r!les the worl # and i it was true or him it is de initely true or us too. The b!2in$an seen as an educati:e system is helping us to get rid o our preconcei:ed ideas and to ind new ones. . ten when / meet a b!2in$anstudent in a seminar / am ama?ed that irst he (or she, ne:er heard

Napoleon 9onaparte

about the Ten chi Jin Eya$! no 6a$i created by 4ats!mi sensei and second that his (or her, :ision o the art has nothing to do with the reality o training in 3apan. This is ne:er the ault o the student nor o his teacher but o the teacher o his teacher who o ten @oined the b!2in$an a ter many years o gen ai b! 3. These irst teachers ne:er e:er reconsidered their pre:ious knowledge to adapt it to the new set o rules. This lack o oundation explains the poor le:el o imagination in the bu@inkan. The b!2in$an will trans orm you i you train the basics properly. Through these oundations! you will de:elop the power o your imagination and become an artist able to rule the world. -e happy (imagine,

Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment ;STT: Register GastN Posted on Hay 11! 2010by kumafr
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0STT Update 2: 2nother 6F persons registered this week'end. So please i you wish to attend the ;STT F161 and train with 9edro! S:en! 2rnaud! and 9eter do not wait too long as places are limited. 2t this rate (8.D persons per day, the prebooking or the ;STT F161 (limited to 6F1 participants, will be closed by 3une 7th4

N too bad
book yoursel# rapidly

;STT Team F161

seminar, ***.budomart.com | Leave a comment / need your help Posted on Hay 11! 2010by kumafr
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+ear b!y!! Solkan %urope! the company o eringhttp:KKwww.budomart.com! has been using the same logo since the last 9aris Taikai / organi?ed or sensei in Grance in Aay 677M. 2 ter 68 years it is about time to renew the look o my company so / am redesigning the www.budomart.com website. / am looking or a new logo or Solkan %urope and / would like to ask or your eedback on this. .n the le t is one logo that / was gi:en today! please help me so that / can make up my mind.

new logo3

+o you like it or notJ Thank you! 2rnaud Cousergue

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Thoughts on Budo | 11 'omments

Tips & tri$ks 374 Ta$hi Basi$s

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Hay 10! 2010by kumafr

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5677 8O9:7 +O;,1O.+ at www<=oi)artialart<co) Those o you who ha:e registered to www.koimartialart.com can now download a small A9D or A.U mo:ie (88CAo, about the tachi principles that we studied in 3apan since 3anuary. This mo:ie lasts 81 minutes. +isclaimer: the techniQues demonstrated are based on my interpretation and understanding o the tachi $!mi!chi. /t was recorded with a small camera it is not +U+ Quality but gi:es you tips W tricks on how to mo:e your tachi. Ha:e unN

Tips S tricks, ***.budomart.com | 1 'omment Stars W )alaxies Posted on Hay 10! 2010by kumafr
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2 #otes

The concept de:eloped recently by senseio a photon colliding a speck o stardust to illustrate that we should render the in:isible :isaible made me think o galaxies and b! 3.

*ollision between two gala5ies

/n space stars are o ten seen as regrouped by men as a gi:en shape (big dipper! cassiopea! betelgeuse etc,. -ut this apparent "regrouping# is only :isible rom our point o :iew in the uni:erseR the location o %arth in space. / we were able to go a ew thousands parsecs away rom our actual location! these groups would not exist at allN /t is only our :ision o things that make us see them as a gi:en recogni?able pattern in the natural chaos o space. .ur perception is wrong! it is omote not !ra. / we consider the galaxies which are real natural entities and not a human mental construction! we can make a parallel together with the encounter between the attacker(s, and the de ender. /n B! 3 our techniQues can be seen as eQui:alent as these arti icial regrouping o stars made by humans. They are not connected naturally. -ack to space this ake connection is real when it comes to galaxies. 2nd e:en more when they are colliding. .n the mats !$e and tori are like two di erent galaxies. /n both cases (galaxies! opponents,! the connectionKcollision is not wanted and the outside obser:er cannot athom what particular conseQuences will stem rom the encounter. -y keeping the connection with the en:ironment! by applying .n no $irinai(do not se:er the connection, e:erything mo:e in the best possible way. )alaxies cross the uni:erse without intention (as ar as / know, and our tai2!ts! must ollow ( lowJ, the same path. Ha:ing no preconcei:ed ideas! you mo:e naturally and bring the techniQues to li e to the better outcome. +ont think! react in adapting your low to the moment.

-e happy

Thoughts on Budo | Tagged adapt, bud., flo*, gala3ies, kirinai, photon, stardust | Leave a comment %yes no %yes
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Hay %! 2010by kumafr

( #otes

Some people say: "dont lose eye contact#! "dont look at the opponent#! "watch him care ully#! "ignore him#. 2ll is true and all is wrong. Ay eeling is that within the yoroi $!mi!chi sphere the only "li:ing thing# is the eyes o the opponent. / you want to recei:e the low o his intentions you ha:e to connect to him through the eyes. This is another way o understanding "$an2in $aname# which then could translate as:

)ye or no eye3

"through the eye / can see through his spirit#.

Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment ;<ro Shi Tenn Bpdate Posted on Hay 7! 2010by kumafr
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Kate This

The ;STT begins in F months and places are limited. Register at www.budomart.com to be sure to participate. ;STT Team F161

seminar | Tagged taikai, =4ro <hi Tenn., =<TT | Leave a comment -asics W Gundamentals (D, Posted on Hay 5! 2010by kumafr
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8Mamae is attitude# was written a ew years ago! this is an updated :ersion o it. B! o Tai2!ts! begins with the study o "$amae# or body posture. This irst introduction to b! 3 gi:es us a strong physical oundation! which allow us to grasp the true essence o natural body mo:ement. Bn ortunately with time passing! we seem to orget the :alue o training the basics in general and particularly the body postures. /n each B!2in$an Ey=ha there is a set o gi:en kamae that is called $!rai- ori. / we translate "$!rai# and then " ori# the meaning is "about grabbing# and it looks that it is dealing only with the physical Seigan no Kamae by Chris 9ernsdor# DAerE aspect o ight. -ut a good dictionary tells you that "$!rai ori# in one word means "positional notation#! like the digits a ter the comma. This induces precision and it translates by "precise notes or postures#. /t is a lot di erent rom $!rai A ori N .ven tho!gh the Ten Chi Jin rya$! no ma$i has a basic set o 7 $amae! each particularry= has di erences which depend upon the time where the $amae were created! and the e:olution o war are they had to adapt to. How do you "I$emi# (recei:e! dodge! absorb, a bulletJ So $amae is not only physical! the mind gi:es also :alue to the posture. #$amae# means posture or attitude! so apart rom the "physical attitude# we now ha:e to consider the "mental attitude#. This is why when teaching the basics we speak o "tai gamae# and "$o$oro gamae". The tai gamae is the body posture where the $o$oro gamae is the mental attitude. / we broaden this understanding it can be also understood as our "attitude in li e#. Ha:ing good kamae in the 323 is nice nut it is e:en better to ha:e a good $amae in li e. This is our human attitude that makes us di erent. Ha:ing a good technical ability is not enough and rom my perspecti:e too many do not ha:e a good attitude in li e as human beings. / you thoroughly study your $amae on the mats they will change your attitude in li e.

&hen sensei says that our goal "in the B!2in$an is to create better human beings# he means that the study o the tai gamae will change your $o$oro gamae! not only in the 323 but also in li e. %:en though there is no spiritual teaching in the B!2in$an! no link to any religion or mystical system! 4ats!mi sensei has created and transmitted a power ul tool to help us become true human beings (b!2in,. 2s always there is always more in the !ra o things than the omote let you think there were. Thoughts on Budo | Tagged bu:in, d.:., gamae, kokoro, omote, ura | 1 'omment Cth ;<ro Shi Tenn Taikai is C;STT Posted on Hay 5! 2010by kumafr
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Thank you or all those who registered alreadyN /t seems this Cth ;STT is going to be succes ull and the irst registration orms ha:e arri:ed rom: Grance! -elgium! +enmark! )ermany!

S-en @ 4rnaud in Paris

Bnited *ingdom. 2re we going to ha:e more than 60 countries attending this yearJ :)portant note: / you register or more than one person! please ill in .$% orm per person it will acilitate our work. Thank you. the ;STT team

seminar, ***.budomart.com | Leave a comment ;<ro Shi Tenn Taikai 3uly (reminder, Posted on Hay $! 2010by kumafr
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6e)inder: .rgani?ing a Tai$ai such as this one is always a lot o work or the Tai$ai Team. >ast year many o you didnt register early enough and we had to cope with some problems concerning the ood and the t'shirt. / you know you are attending then please register as ast as possible and do not orget to tick the boxes or: 6. ood type 6. t'shirt si?e 6. rank amily 6. length o stay 6. day o arri:al This will help us a lot and sa:e you a lot o money. The sooner you register the cheaper you payN

&'ro Shi Tenn( 4rnaud

So please register online so that we can order the ood and t'shirt accordingly. Thank you or your help. ;SST team F161

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Yro Shi Tenn /y sensei

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Hay $! 2010by kumafr

" #otes

Here is the picture o the D calligraphies by s3$e when he decided to change the name into H=ro &hi Tenn3 Tai$ai. %ach one bears the new name and the name o the beholder. Here rom le t to right: 2rnaud! 9edro! S:en! 9eter. 9ainted by 4ats!mi sensei in 2ugust F117. / was surprised when he called me and did the our calligraphies in ront o me. )ood memoryN

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;oroi is -alance Posted on Hay $! 2010by kumafr

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-lack belts should wear the yoroi to understand the :alue o balance. &hen you are dressed with the yoroi! the weight is spread all around the body and not only on the back as we experienced it with a backpack. $aturally the extra weight trans orms the body repartition and we mo:e with about E1O o our weight on each leg. This is why the kukishin ry< and the ta$agi y3shin ry= $amae do not ha:e the same appearance compared to the toga$!re or other low $amae systems. 9eter on the picture is showing here the $osei no $amaeas i he was recei:ing some kind o attack rom his opponent. 2s though "$osei# means "attack# he is absorbing the blow with his protected orearm (aite to $!m! $o$oro gamae, and uses his legs to cushion it. $ext he will spring orward and take !$e`s balance to counter' attack. .nce the blow has been recei:ed! there is no power le t in the weapon! the momentum is gone. 2s sensei said back in F118! concerning the yoroi $!mi!chi: "when there are two attacks (body or weapon, they are not o the same Quality#. The irst attack is uelled by the ootwork and his strong and ast! the second starts where the irst one was stopped and uses a di erent distance. $ote that the back hand stays at the hip le:el as i 9eter was holding a tachi. %:ery waGa in 3apan originated rom yoroi $!mi!chi. Thoughts on Budo | Tagged kamae, kosei, kukishin, kumiuchi, ry4, takagi y.shin, togakure,yoroi | Leave a comment -asics W Gundamentals (part 8, Posted on Hay $! 2010by kumafr
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&h" is the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki so i' o#tant( . Cntil 1%%0! *e had very little kno*ledge about the schools and the *eapons. Kemember that *e really began the *eapons in 1%%" *ith the &' and the study of the schools only in 1%%7F Brom the beginning of the Bu(inkan +and more precisely *hen the $ogakure <y/ !inp' $ai(utsu *as published in 1%7"- the basics *ere transmittedthrough the $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki. Each student at that time *as studying the $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki to improve his fundamentals. The $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki*as the basic program to reach the black belt. The spreading of the Bu(inkan over the last t*enty years has abandoned the $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki and it has been often discarded by the ne* generation of teachers. . &hat is a Bujinkan b)ack be)t( . > Bu(inkan black belt is someone *ho kno*s the $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki so *ell that every techni/ue demonstrated looks like a patch*ork of elemental bricks taken from the$en =hi "in <yaku no >aki. Too often students receive a black belt *ithout the kno*ledge of the $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki and this lack in their practice leads to big fla*s in their movements. An 200% A gave a &,day seminar on the full $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki in Andia. When the Andian group *ent to ?aikomy' 4ai last ecember they told their teachers that they could see every component of the techni/ues taught by sensei and the shihan and recogni9e the strength of the $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki. . *#e "ou a Bujinkan b)ack be)t( . Then you must kno* 8by heart; the ten and the chi and be familiar enough *ith the (in. Without this basic kno*ledge you *ill not be able to go far *ithin the Bu(inkan system. The heart of 8kokoro no &ud'; is the $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki. Learn it! study it and you *ill see your technical level e3cel

and reach a ne* understanding. Without studying the $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki attending seminars is a loss of time. At is like *atching a movie of *hich you are not part of. Learn the $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki and become the actor your o*n life instead of being a passive observerF <yaku in @apanese means 8principle; but also 8truth;. Learn the truth of things and you *ill become a true human being able to link the sky and the earth) able to be one *ith nature. Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com | Tagged b., black belt, daikomy., togakure | 2 'omments -asics W Gundamentals (part F, Posted on Hay &! 2010by kumafr
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&hat +oes the Ten Chi Jin i' )"( The $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki is based on the three levels of life2 heaven! earth and man. Han is the link bet*een earth and heaven or bet*een outer space and the planet. The old 'hinese pictogram is a dra*ing representing t*o opposite half circles linked by a cross. The pictogram displays symbolically a human body *ith his legs on the earth supporting the sky *ith his arms! and mi3ing these t*o influences *ithin his body. . &hat a#e the +i!!e#ent a#ts o! the Ten Chi Jin( The $en <yaku deals *ith foot*ork! distances and angles) this is the vertical line in the pictogram. The =hi <yaku deals *ith the bio,mechanical aspects of the different wa@a that can be applied once uke has reached tori (gyaku, nage, torite-. This is the hori9ontal line. The "in <yaku is a series of about &0wa@a taken from the nine schools to sho* the interaction of the wa@a and the foot*ork. This is the point *here the vertical and hori9ontal line cross each other.

The Jin Eya$! has nothing to do with the schools. The waGa taken rom the schools are o ten Quite di erent rom the waGa included in a certain le:el o a school. They are used as examples to mani est the interaction o body mo:ement and creati:ity. This is why they can be trained on both the le t and right side and why they do not imply the use o weapons. . To be continued4 Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com | Tagged chi, creativity, gyaku, :in, nage, ryaku, ten,torite, *a9a | Leave a comment &hy ";<ro Shi Tenn Taikai#J Posted on Hay &! 2010by kumafr
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>ast 2ugust when / brought 4ats!mi sensei some pictures o the Tai$ai in 9aris decided to change its name and to call it the "H=ro &hi Tenn3 Tai$ai". &hen / asked him the reason or that he said this was a pun between "%uropa# byuropac and the 3apanese word "H=ro1. H=ro means something like the "path to bra:ery#. So we in:ite you to @oin us in this eighth "path o bra:ery spreading e:erywhere all o:er %uropeN# Aore than 6E countries are expected to comeN Come to 9aris and build up your memory. &hi Tenn3 is the nickname that sensei ga:e us back in the nineties as the our o us were spreading the B!2in$an system all o:er %urope. / the original meaning is the " our emperors#! it is in act the name gi:en to the our Chinese spirits o the our directions: $orth! South! %ast and &est. $othing glorious there. -ut because Mano sensei, the ounder o 2= 3, nicknamed his our students spreading the$o 3$an 2= 3 o:er the world by the name o "shi tenn3"! 4ats!mi sensei decided to do the same. Bn ortunately this name has nothing to do with our martial skills. Tai$ai means big seminar and this one is de initely a big one. This is one o the last @ ay seminar that we ha:e a ter the end o the Tai$ai directed by sensei. / my riends and / ha:e

decided to organi?e it in the past it was because we were missing those tai$ai withsensei in %urope and in the BS2. Those Tai$ai with sensei that we ha:e organi?ed between 67CM and F11F were always a antastic moment o riendship and b! 3. ThisH=ro &hi Tenn3 Tai$ai is ollowing the same tracks and this is why! each year! we ha:e more and more success. .:er the last i:e years! the success o this e:ent has been increasing so much that we had to limit the number o participants. Gor those o you training in the B!2in$an and who didnt get the chance to train in 3apan this year! this Tai$ai is your chance as each one o the instructor in this seminar has been staying in 3apan one! twice or three times since last $o:ember. 2s sensei was saying at the honb! recently: "only those who train regularly in 3apan with me ha:e a chance to get what / am showing#. This is your chance to get your update. See you there with a smile on your ace. .nline prebooking seminar, ***.budomart.com bu:inkan, emperor, :4d., :uly, kano, paris, rokkon,sensei, sh.:., shi, skill, taikai, tenno, y4ro | Leave a comment ;<ro Shi Tenn Taikai 9aris 3uly 7th'66th Posted on Hay &! 2010by kumafr
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Uisit the page H%R% seminar | Leave a comment -asics W Gundamentals (part 6, Posted on Hay &! 2010by kumafr
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uring my last seminar in 'hemnit9! A *as asked to e3plain to the group the Bu:inkan system. At *as a discovery for many students so A decided to share here in this blog the importance of the $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki. The irst thing you ha:e to get clearly is that the Ten Chi Jin Eya$! no 6a$i is the best system e:er created to gi:e a martial artist a chance to de:elop his The Ten Chi creati:ity. This is the $aitats! explained by sensei recently. .in #rom !6>I Too o ten the Ten Chi Jin Eya$! no 6a$i is underestimated by the teacher more inclined to dwell on the rich legacy o the nine schools. This is a ma@or mistake as without the Ten Chi Jin Eya$! no 6a$i no student can really grasp the essence o senseis teachings. . . &hat is the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki( At is a program put out by sensei in the eighties as a common basic program for the beginners. The first 8official; edition *as published in @apanese back in 1%7" under the title 8$ogakure <y/ !inp' $ai(utsu;. ivided into three parts *hich are $en, =hi! and"in! it presented in a certain order the elemental bricks necessary to study the nine schools and their specificities. >fter a fe* years of practice! it had been revie*ed and modified to be even more practical. An 1%75! *e received from @apan! the first English version of this ne* system. The ma:ority of the techni/ues *ere the same! but the repartition had been changed to facilitate the learning. The first published versions of this ne* $en =hi "in <yaku no >aki (T'@2- *ere done in 1%%1 by Pedro Bleitas in <panish and by Hariette #an der #liet in English. The Brench Protek *as published by me in 1%%7. >n adapted version in ?erman by <teffen Brohlich *as also released during the same period. Hany other incomplete and transformed versions *ere published subse/uently. To be contin!e K Thoughts on Budo, ***.budomart.com | Tagged chi, hatsumi, :in, maki, protek, ryaku, ten | Leave a comment
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Update on death & Toda

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Hay (! 2010by kumafr

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/n one o my pre:ious posts / Quoted4ats!mi sensei saying that a true master should be able to "laugh while acing the ennemy#. This is Quite similar to what To a &hinry=$en 6asamits!, Ta$amats! sensei grand ather (or uncleV, once told him: 8$e:er talk about knowledge as you could lose it! Con ront a de eat with a smile e:en i you are closely acing it! 2nd e:en when you are aced with certain

Takamatsu sensei doing Take 8ri

death! die laughingN# This years theme is Eo$$on &h323 so keep smiling whate:er hardship you are con ronted with. V 2ll -u@inkan books keep repeating that To a sensei was Ta$amats! sensei`s grand ather but recently one 3apanese shihan during class said that actually To a senseiwas Ta$amats!`s uncle not grand ather4 To a &esterner the sounds or o2iisan (grand ather, are :ery much similar to o2isan(uncle,. Sorrymasen. 1istory | Tagged death, rokkon, sensei, sh.:., shihan, Takamatsu, Toda | Leave a comment Chemnit? seminar 6st W Fnd Aay
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>pril 27! 2010by kumafr

Kate This

Seminar 2rnaud 16 W 1F.1E.F161

Seminar Reminder: Eo$$on &h323 W Tachi M!mi!chi seminar in Chemnit? ()ermany, with 2rnaud Cousergue! Aay 6st W Fnd! F161. / will summari?e in Chemnit? the last input that we got recently rom 3apan during the seminar. Tachi is not $atana. / hope to see you there. -e happy N

seminar | Leave a comment 9hoton W Stardust: the Spirit o Ao:ement Posted on >pril 25! 2010by kumafr
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.nce again / would like to re:iew a metaphore used by sensei not long ago. He spoke about "photon W stardust# to me! it is the best way to explain how things should happen in the d@. Grom our perspecti:e! a photon is in:isible. Stardust in space is also in:isiable to us. 2 photon is mo:ing at the speed o light in space and stardust is mo:ing the also at a permanent speed. $ow until they meet there is o way or you to see essen*e o# them. &hen they collide a spark o light is created. This spark is the mo-ement mo:ementKtechniQue. -oth the photon and the stardust become :isible when the spark o light appears. -e ore the collision they "are non existent# (to our senses,! a ter they are not existent any more. &hen you ight your opponent what happens is identical. /n #l`esprit ! geste"V this is what / tried to explain. There is no thinking process! no intention! only a spark o light. /n a ight! there is no techniQue there is only an opportunity o possibility. /t is only a probability o occurrence. 2daptN

Chi does not think &!i does not think Ma does not think F= does not think M= does not think So why do you thinkJ the sixth element shi$i (consciousness, appears! it is not the product o the analytical brain. /t is gi:en as e:erything in $ature! natural mo:ement is only that. /the boo$ is now translate into .nglish an soon available. Thoughts on Budo chi, d.:., f4, ka, k4, light, nature, photon, shiki, spark, stardust, sui| 1 'omment Tachi Tips W tricks (0, Posted on >pril 2$! 2010by kumafr
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;esterday during my seminar! one student was wa:ing his sword held to his wrist by the rope at the ts!$a $ashira and the ring at the end broke releasing the sword. Training weapons are $.T real ones and might break easily. +o not get o:er excited while training and keep high security le:els. There was no harm but an accident could ha:e happened.
No harm

&e are now training with metallic blades instead o padded ones. There ore our ways o training should adapt accordingly. 9ermanent adaptation is not to be applied only during the techniQues but should include all the elements o the class in the 323. 2daptation is what tachi $!mi!chi is teaching us. Stop thinking always in the same ways. >ast monthsensei said: "dont hold to what you know or you wont impro:e your skills#. The key point is to adapt.

2 weapon designed or training purpose is still a weapon. 9lease be care ul. ;ou can in luence the actions o a sentient being during the ight but there is no possibility to a ect an in' animated ob@ect. -e aware o this.

Tips S tricks | Tagged d.:., kashira, kumiuchi, sensei, s*ord, tachi, tsuka | Leave a comment Tachi Tips W Trick (E, Posted on >pril 2&! 2010by kumafr
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&hen you get older your students get older too and you can learn rom themN ;esterday on tachi $!mi!chi seminar at the -u@inkan Grance in Uincennes / learnt two things. .ne o my old students ollowed a ew seminars to become a blacksmith. / was teaching the particular way o wa:ing the blade hori?ontally and was telling the students that the point o pi:ot is done around the irst third o the blade. He told us that the s3ri (cur:e, o the blade is not the same in a tachi and on a $atana. The $atana is balanced more or less at the middle o the blade but the tachi is o ten balanced at a point closer to the ts!ba. The apex o the cur:e being closer to the hands it is logical (ans easier, to turn the blade -arious types o# blades rom this point adding more momentum and speed to the blow. some being both/// Remember that you do not cut with the blade but only try to get !$e`s balance. 2lso the burden o the yoroi makes it also easier to mo:e the blade that way. Rotate your blade on itsel and do not pi:ot rom the $issa$i (tip o the blade,. 2 tachi is not a $atana there ore your mo:ements ha:e to be di erent.

2lso! you can ind the same blade displayed with the $atana mouting and the tachimounting which con irms what / was writing in a pre:ious post. Tips S tricks | Leave a comment +id sensei meet ShakespeareJ Posted on >pril 2(! 2010by kumafr
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Hilliam Shakespeare

4ere is a speech ta$en from &ha$espeare?s play 04enry Q1. #t carries some val!es that rings a bell to what Hatsumi sensei e(plaine a few wee$s ago 9cf. post on chivalry below:. Eea ing this te(t # won er ifsensei i n?t meet &ha$espeare when we i the ?98 Tai$ai in IM in &tratfor Ipon -ven, &ha$espeare hometownK This is a te(t # really li$e an # tho!ght yo! might be happy to rea it. .n2oy*

#f we are mar$? to ie, we are enow To o o!r co!ntry loss< an if to live, The fewer men, the greater share of hono!r. )o ?s will* # pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, # am not coveto!s for gol , +or care # who oth fee !pon my cost< #t yearns me not if men my garments wear< &!ch o!twar things well not in my esires. B!t if it be a sin to covet hono!r, # am the most offen ing so!l alive. +o, faith, my coG, wish not a man from .nglan . )o ?s peace* # wo!l not lose so great an hono!r -s one man more methin$s wo!l share from me

For the best hope # have. ;, o not wish one more* Eather proclaim it, 'estmorelan , thro!gh my host, That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Tet him epart< his passport shall be ma e, -n crowns for convoy p!t into his p!rse< 'e wo!l not ie in that man?s company That fears his fellowship to ie with !s. This ay is call? the feast of Crispian. 4e that o!tlives this ay, an comes safe home, 'ill stan a tip-toe when this ay is nam? , -n ro!se him at the name of Crispian. 4e that shall live this ay, an see ol age, 'ill yearly on the vigil feast his neighbo!rs, -n say VTo-morrow is &aint Crispian.? Then will he strip his sleeve an show his scars, -n say VThese wo!n s # ha on Crispian?s ay.? ;l men forget< yet all shall be forgot, B!t he?ll remember, with a vantages, 'hat feats he i that ay. Then shall o!r names, Familiar in his mo!th as ho!sehol wor s4arry the Ming, Be for an .(eter, 'arwic$ an Talbot, &alisb!ry an )lo!cesterBe in their flowing c!ps freshly rememb?re . This story shall the goo man teach his son< -n Crispin Crispian shall ne?er go by, From this ay to the en ing of the worl , B!t we in it shall be remembere 'e few, we happy few, we ban of brothers< For he to- ay that she s his bloo with me &hall be my brother< be he ne?er so vile, This ay shall gentle his con ition< -n gentlemen in .nglan now-a-be &hall thin$ themselves acc!rs? they were not here, -n hol their manhoo s cheap whiles any spea$s That fo!ght with !s !pon &aint Crispin?s ay.

Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment Tachi tips W tricks (D, Posted on >pril 2"! 2010by kumafr
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ta*hi o# di##erent si1es but with the mounting

&e ha:e been training Quite a lot with the tachi in the past weeks. &hen in 3apan / was Quite surprised to see that the blades used bysensei and the shihan were not that long a ter all. / ha:e a ew tachi (long and normal, and / ound that the Quali icati:e o tachi only applies to the mounting (edge up K edge down, as it gi:es or close new angles in the drawing process. Gor example the hontai n!$i gata is gi:en when using a tachi as the edge is aready down. Then the si?e o the blade doesnt matter that much. /n act with a long blade the mo:ement is as di icult as when using a regular si?e

blade. /n tate n!$i gata! the blade is used not :ertically but a shield (tate, this can be done with both ways o wearing the sword but pro:es to be easier when ha:ing a $oshiate (holster, hanging down rom the belt as it gi:es more space to turn around the blade e:en i it stays totally or partly into the saya. /n my opinion the terminology de ining the tachi as a long blade was added a ter the war period not when they were using the tachi but a ter during the peace time period. .ne day / asked sensei about the si?e or a tachi: "2rnaud! si?e doesnt matter as long as you can use your sword reely#.
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Ki ken tai i$hi

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>pril 21! 2010by kumafr

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.apanese *ommander

This 3apanese pro:erb means #mind! sword! and body are one#. This "$i $en tai ichi1 is :ery close to the "$en tai ichi 2o# o the ten chi 2in rya$! no ma$i. .n the battle ield! the three elements must be united in order to sur:i:e the ight. Mi re ers to mental energy! the soul. Men re ers to the weapon (o ten the sword,. Tai re ers to the broad de inition o body. /t includes not only the physical body but also the yoroi (and the horse,. &hen you mind is f! 3shin (inmo:able, and determined! &hen your weapons mo:e as i they were natural extensions o your physical body!

&hen your body is reliable because o hard and stenuous trainings! Then you are ichi! one! unitedR and when unity is achie:ed you can become ?ero! m!shin Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment 3apanese historical periods etc4 Posted on >pril 20! 2010by kumafr
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/n this blog / ha:e been speaking a lot about m!romachi, aG!chimomoyama, e o, mei2i periods. 2 short listing o the pre:ious periods o 3apanese history seem to be a good idea now. 3apanese history is :ery rich and goes back to the beginning o mankind. 2s you know! e:ery ry= tries to be linked in time as ar as possible in order to gi:e credential to their ighting system. They o ten try to be originating rom the irst emperors. %:en though one can doubt about the :eracity o those acts! it is good to ha:e an o:er:iew o 3apanese history. 2s you will see! religions! China! and wars are closely interconnected. >earning the -u@inkan is also trying to understand how this culture is coming rom. +isclaimer: 6, the big periods can be di:ided into smaller ones named a ter the emperors! F, depending on the point o re erence there can :1anami and :1anagi be discrepancies in the exact duration o any periodV. History is not #rom the Ko2iki always accurate. -ut we can see 6F large periods rom the beginning to today. / ha:e added links to wikipedia or those interested in ha:ing more in ormation on the periods preceding m!romachi. Hayoi period (811 -C S 8M1 2+,: the prehistorical period! tumulus culture. Aore onHayoi http:KKen.wikipedia.orgKwikiK;ayoiZperiod Hamato period (8M1 S E8C,: uni ication o the country by the Hamato court. ends with the introduction o -uddhism. Aore on Hamatohttp:KKen.wikipedia.orgKwikiK;amatoZperiod -s!$a period (E8C'M61,: lourishing o -uddhist art (temple,. $ew organisation o society: Tai$i re ormation! establishment o Taih codes. Aore on -s!$ahttp:KKen.wikipedia.orgKwikiK2sukaZperiod +ara 9eriod (M61'M7D,: Capital 4ei23 9+ara pre ecture,. &hint3 based on the Mo2i$i (M6F, is the religion o the Mami. The Mo2i$i depicts the mythology o 3apan. Aore on +arahttp:KKen.wikipedia.orgKwikiK$araZperiod 4eian period (M7D'667F,: Heian capital (*yoto,. Creation o hiragana. &riting o the)en2i 6onogatari. Aany embassies are sent to China to learn the cra ts and -uddhism. Shingon Shu and Ten ai &h! are imported to 3apan by Mobo >aishi (C61, and >engyo >aishi (C1E, respecti:ely. This is also at this time that the )yo$$o ry= and Mot3 ry= are supposedly introduced to 3apan rom China. +uring the )enpei war (66CF, Ainamoto no ;oshinaka captures Myoto. He is de eated by 6inamoto no Hoshits!ne. 2 ter the de eat!>ais!$e +ishina retreats to Toga$!re mountain (today Toga$!shi, and changes his name into +aisuke Togakure. He supposedly ounded the Toga$!re ry=. 6y3an .isai comes back rom China and establishes the EinGai sect o Zen -uddhism (Tin2i in Chinese,. Aore on 4eian http:KKen.wikipedia.orgKwikiKHeianZperiod

Mama$!ra period (667F'6880,: &am!rai culture is spreading. The >aib!ts! is erected in *amakura city (Managawa pre ecture,. 6inamoto no Horitomo establishes theMama$!ra go:ernment (667F,. )o >aigo %mperor (686C'688F, sa:ed by *urando the ounder o the M!$ishin en ry=. /t ends with the o:erthrowing o the Mama$!rago:ernment 6888,. Goundation o St 5en by >3gen coming back rom China where he studied Ch?an -uddism. Aore on Mama$!rahttp:KKen.wikipedia.orgKwikiK*amakuraZperiod 6!romachi period (6880'6EM8,: 6!romachi go:ernment in Myoto established by-shi$aga Ta$a!2i. +3 at its peak! /kebana starts. Rnin wars (6D0M, opens the sengo$! 2i ai period. /ntroduction o irearms (6ED8, by the 9ortuguese. -G!chi-momoyama period (6EM8'6018,: +ob!naga o:erthrows the m!romachigo:ernment (based in -G!chi castle,. Bni ication o the country inali?ed by 4i eyoshi 9momoyama castle,. &en no ri$y= per ects sa 3 (tea ceremony, and becomes the sad master o 4i eyoshi. Aany castles are built. &e$igahara wars. . o period (6018'6C0C,: To$!gawa #eyas! creates the %do go:ernment and mo:es it to. o 9To$yo,. /n 6CE8'6CED! Commodore 9erry (BS2, orces the opening o the country. 6ei2i period (6C0C'676F,: 6ei2i restoration. The sam!rai lose their power. 3apan adopts modern standards. Clans are abolished and swords are banned (6CM6,. The %mpire is gi:en a constitution (6CC7,. Taish3 period (676F'67F0,: The Taish3 %mperor is enthroned. 3apan gets into &&/ in 676D. &howa period (67F0'67C7,: %nthronement o the Showa emperor 4iro 4ito. 3apan attacks 9earl harbor (+ec. 67D6, and orces the BS2 to get into &&//. 2 ter 3apans de eat! a democratic constitution is established (67D0,. Heisei period (67C7' today,: %nthronement o -$i 4ito. Aodern times. Those 6F periods are the main ones creating the backbone o 3apanese culture. /t will not change your tai2!ts! but will help you understanding the "in:isible# aspects o our art. V2lternati:e list o periods http:KKwww.mei@igakuin.ac.@pKdwatsonKre Knengo.html 1istory | & 'omments ;oroi without yoroi Posted on >pril 1%! 2010by kumafr
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$ot long ago a student told me that he inally understood the importance o thinking we are wearing a yoroi when training the tachi $!mi!chitechniQues in the 323. Since F118! each black belt in my 323 ha:e been wearing the yoroi on a regular basis and they ha:e experienced physically how to train with it. &hen you wear the yoroi! your mo:ements are modi ied and you cannot mo:e as reely as when you only wear your gi. Aany practitioners ha:e a tendency to mo:e only their arms andKor to keep them too close to the body this is wrong. &ith theyoroi the extension as well as the bending o your limbs are limited. /magine that your torso and your arms draw a pentagon (a geometrical shape with i:e sides,. the i:e sides are: chest!le t arm! le t orearm! right arm! right orearm. %ach angle between two sides is a body @oint (shoulder! elbow,. -ecause o the encumbrance o the yoroi your arms are always extended (not ully, and limited in their mo:ements. /t is as i your uppe body could not mo:e indepedently. This is why the key in yoroi ighting is ootwork. ;our shoulder line is always parallel to your hip line making your walking look strange. -ecause o the yoroi the 3apanese de:eloped the amous nanba ar!$i or way o walking where arms and legs mo:e one side a ter the other and not in opposite way as we do in the west (le t arm with le t leg and right arm with right leg,. ;ou can still see this way o ar!$i in use with the s!motori. 2ctually the "modern way# o walking (military, was brought to 3apan at the end o theTo$!gawa shogunate when the 3apanese began to learn modern military war are. Historically (sorry Ar Cruise,! the irst westerners to teach the 3apanese samurai were the Grench military ad:isors! rapidly replaced by the 9russians a ter the loss o the 6CM1 war with $apoleon ///. / o ten say that i we are centered in the tan en we can easily pi:ot like the hinges o a door. This is what / learnt by wearing the yoroi o ten. Gootwork is the most important thing. T 6ore on the French military mission of Capitaine br!net, http,55www.economice(pert.com5a5J!les,Br!net.htm 6ore on nanba ar!$i: http:KKkikuko.web.in oseek.co.@pKenglishKnamba'aruki.html

Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment Tachi tips W tricks (8, Posted on >pril 1%! 2010by kumafr
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Tachi waGa is mainly done $atate (one hand, the other hand holding the reins o your horse or another weapon like the yari. The two'handed grip was de:eloped later with the use o the $atana. Sometimes you can use the second hand to rein orce the momentum o your blade but it is not its general use. &hen riding a horse the le t hand holds either the reins or the second weapon (y!mi, yari, naginata, and the blows are gi:en with the right hand only. /n general! sensei said that you do not cut! or hit! nor crush with the tachi but that you should mo:e around the opponent in order to stab through the openings o theyoroi. Tachi $!mi!chi ighting is to understand how to stab the opponent who is ully protected by his yoroi by aiming at the holes in the up and down, inyo, omote protection opened by your actions. ura / the yoroi is the !ts!wa (container, and the opening is$=$an (open space,! dont ight or the omote! but or the !ra. /n li e! the in:isible is more important than the :isible. -ecome an artist and make the in:isible :isibleN

Tips S tricks | 1 'omment balance your tachi! balance your li e Posted on >pril 17! 2010by kumafr
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Tachi $!mi!chi is ighting with sword and yoroi but tachi alone also means standing up. /n act tachi $!mi!chi is about acQuiring the ability to keep our balance. The tachi(sword, too is balanced but on a hori?ontal plane! sensei insists on this in each class. &hen the tachi is in the belt with the cutting edge down! it protrudes more than the$atana. The way it is balanced in the belt is linked to the si?e and weight o the weapon. -y ha:ing your body standing up :ertically (tenrya$!, and your sword balanced at the hip (chi rya$!, you link the ten and the chi through the 2in(adapting the mo:ements to the situation,. ;ou are ree to mo:e in all directions balanced by the ten$an (axis! pi:ot,. J!pp3 sessh3 is created because your mo:ements can go in any direction during the encounter with the opponent ($!mi!chi,. 2dding the perception o the dragon to the mo:ements o the tiger! you are ed by the $aitats!and low (nagare: naturally with things. Training in tachi $!mi!chi de:elops the knowledge on how to use the weapon but enlighten us also on how to ,at( no kamae handle our li e better. &hat sensei is teaching is to bring things to li e! i$as! and get a happy li e. Eo$$on sh323* Thoughts on Budo, Tips S tricks | 1 'omment Tachi tips W tricks (F, Posted on >pril 15! 2010by kumafr
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The tachi is not a $atana and there ore should not be used in the same way. &ensei explained that we ha:e to understand the e:olution o war are in eudal 3apan in order to be able to adapt our techniQues to the moderne world. He was mainly re erring to the goshin. 2t irst there was 6, the chinese $en! then F, the tachi! then 8, the the 2! (ri le,! then D, the $atana! then E, the cannon. These are the i:e spirits o war are. &hen you look at this list o periods! you are surprised that you can actually put dates on them. The chinese $en preceded the m!romachi period. The m!romachi was mainlytachi. Then with sengo$! 2i ai the rules changed by the extensi:e use (+ob!naga and his ollowers, o the ri le (teppo S musket type, that led to the To$!gawa5. o period. /t is only when peace time was established and hea:ily controlled that the $atana began to widely used by the sam!rai. The m!romachi and aG!chi-momoyama periods were times o nearly permanent wartime. &am!rai would wear the yoroi e:eryday and a hea:ier weapon like the tachiwas o good use. The sengo$! 2i ai introduced the ri le and the yoroi was no more the sa est out it. .ne day in his home! sensei showed the helmet o a shog!n`s personal guard. %:en though this antiQue helmet was in a :ery bad shape! sensei pointed out to me a big inward bump the si?e o a musket ball (approx. the si?e o a kids marble,. The helmet was not pierced through but we can imagine that his ormer owner did ha:e huge headaches a terwards. So the introduction o teppo into the wargame created a ma@or change in battle ield experience. /t must ha:e been pain ul to the sam!rai to disco:er that their techniQues were not good anymore a ter the introduction o ri les. %:entually this is how the+ob!naga, 4i eyoshi and To$!gawa managed to get the uni ication done. &hen the To$!gawa period began! there were no big battle anymore and the yoroi was abandoned. $o battle ield! means no need or yoroi anymore. The regular gi (reminder$imono is only or women, was no more protected. This was the beginning o the $atanaperiod when cutting abilities were de:eloped (battd,. This led to 6ei2i (6C0C, and the use o hea:y cannons! the i th big change. Grom all that it is easy to understand that the tachi and the $atana being used in two di erent periods! their practical use should also be :ery di erent. 2 ew tips and tricks to remember when using the tachi:

6. the tachi is a shield and the yoroi is the weapon! use the tachi more like a stick than a sword. This is also why you can lip the blade rom one hand to the other the same way you use a hanb3. F. the tachi being held cutting edge down! hontai n!$i gata is the only logical way to draw it. 8. the tate n!$i gata! doesnt mean :ertical as in modern @apanese but shielding as in the ancient understanding o the term. D. the $oshiate V(holster hanging down rom the belt onto the thigh, made it possible or the samurai to ha:e more reedom in his mo:ements. E. as the tachi is used $atate! the other hand would carry the yari. /n this case! the yaribecomes the shield and the tachi is the weapon. So please during your tachi trainings do not use the tachi as i it were only a big $atana. &ith the year o tachi $!mi!chi you are learning a totally new way o ighting. 2s sensei was saying recently: the real sword masters are the tachi masters. The sam!raiwho were using the $atana did it because the didnt understand the tachi.# ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Vto see drawings o :arious $oshiate! please re er to "&am!rai &wor Fighting# by4ats!mi sensei. 9age 67 in the %nglish edition. picture taken rom http:KKwww.teppo@utsu.comK Thoughts on Budo, Tips S tricks | Leave a comment Tachi tips W tricks Posted on >pril 1$! 2010by kumafr
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The tachi is mainly used $atate (one hand,! o ten when riding a horse. The tachi was used to hit the opponent so that he would lose his balance. Sometimes the :iolence o the hit would create a re lex that would open the ingers and make him drop the weapon.

<ook at the tsuka and therope hanging #rom it

This is why there is a rope on the ts!$a $ashira (top o the hilt, to keep it tied to the wrist. This de:ice also existed on the saber used by the 6Cth century riders in %urope. The picture displays a "chasseur# rom the Eth +ragon (model 6M71,. 2s always! the same problem comes with the same solution.

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Japan se#inar "pri- in &aris

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>pril 1&! 2010by kumafr

Kate This

Tachi Kumiuchi and Rokkon sh semina! in "a!is .pril 23rd 2>th 2s always a ter all my trips to 3apan! / gi:e a seminar in 9aris with the students who came with me to $oda to share the latest insights collected in 3apan. / you are interested come to 9aris Gri F8'Sat FD'Sun FE o 2pril F161.

0le5ibility is in the body and in the mind

Gri F1h'FFh81 Sat 61h'6Mh81 Sun 61h'6Mh81

>unches are included! ree sleeping at the d@. /n ormation and online pre'booking a:ailable at www.budomart.com 2rnaud Cousergue B!2in$an &hihan J=go an, 6en$yo Mai en Tachi 'aGa seminar | Leave a comment +o not ix your mind Posted on >pril 1&! 2010by kumafr
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&ith the study o tachi $!mi!chi we entered this year into a new dimension o sword ighting. This is why this year is really important or your martial e:olution. 5en masters ha:e explained martial arts things better that some practitioner.Ta$!an is one o them and his explanations are so simple that / am Quoting here a paragraph o one o his books. get him to #i5 the ind and atta*k somewhere else /n the "un ettered mind# Ta$!an writes: "2lthough you see the sword that mo:es to strike you! i your mind is not detained by it and you meet the rhythm o the ad:ancing swordR i you do not think o striking your opponent and no thoughts or @udgments remainR i the instant you see the swinging sword your mind is not the least bit detained and you mo:e straight in and wrench the sword away rom himR the sword that was going to cut you down will become your own! and! contrarily! will be the sword that cuts down your opponent#. /n b! 3 i your mind is stopped on the weapon attacking you! on your hand holding the sword or i you gi:e power to your ear! you will not be able to react reely. This is the whole point o sensei`s teachings. / you want to handle the ight correctly (saba$i, you ha:e to be ree in

your mind (see the post on isa$! $aitats!, and the solution adapted to the situation will mani est itsel reely in your actions. -eing ree means not trying to do anything! i you try to do a techniQue you will die and4ats!mi sensei`s b! 3 is about staying ali:e. Train with no preconcei:ed idea and you will be ree. This is the go$!i (essence, o b! 3. Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment /nyo kyo@itsu Posted on >pril 1"! 2010by kumafr
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These days sensei speaks a lot about inyo $yo2its!. "inyo# is the 3apanese name or yinyang and "kyo2its!# re ers to alsehoodKtruth! similar to when we played with "men$yo $ai en# a ew years ago. -eyond these terms there is another reality that / would like to explore urther. 8inyo#: Aany things ha:e been said about this Chinese principle on which Taoism is based. The irst thing you should know is that those two concepts should ne:er be separate. &here there is in! there is yo. /n ancient China (as the $an2i shows, these words de ined the two sides o the sacred hill. They were created to de ine the two sides o a mountain: the sunny side (yo, and the darker one (in,. /t is impossible to cut the irst one rom the other. / you could split a mountain into two parts you would still ha:e a dark side and a sunny sideN This inyo principle is like the two sides o a sheet o paper! or a coin! one side implies the other. &hen you say "in 2$+ yo# you create duality and do not see the whole picture. The two $an2i gi:es us more in ormation: The $an2i or yo is and it is composed o three groups o strokes. The one on the le t side looking like a "-# symboli?es the sacred hill where rituals were per ormed. The second group o two characters one on top o the other! is made out o hi! the sun (, on top! and o ame the rain (8, below. They are separated by a hori?ontal bar meaning that things are

changing and that a ter rain (dark time, the sun is coming (light time,. This is not a @udgment on things but merely an obser:ation o the natural e:olution o things in >i e. The $an2i or in is and begins with the same "-# showing that the two are linked together. The group on the right is also made o two characters. .n top is ima (Q! now,! and below is a simpli ied $!mo (9! cloud,. /t means that clouds are building up now and that change is being expected. This in is Quite similar to the "## o the # Ching used to indicate "a change! a trans ormation#. The clear meaning o inyo there ore is that >i e is changing permanently and switching rom one state to the other. There is nothing negati:e or positi:e in this inyo (con:ersely to the understanding commonly used in the &est,! it is only a crystal clear obser:ation o natures cycles (seasons! days! weather,. Remember that the Chinese ne:er in:ented the gods as we did in the rest o the world. Gor them $ature was permanent and e:olution! and change was its main rule. They in:ented the # Ching in the irst place to help make decisions on agricultural matters and render the in:isible world (implicate, :isible (explicate,. This is what s3$e means when saying: "art is the ability (saino, to render the in:isible! :isible#. Myo2its! is another nice concept. Myo is " alse! untruth# and 2its! is "truth#. >inking them both gi:es the idea o playing with alsehood and truth to decei:e the opponent! or better! to con use him so that he is always taking the wrong decisions. Sometimes in 3apan! during classes sensei speaks o "$yo2!ts!# instead o "$yo2its!#. Truth (! 2its!, is then replaced by martial techniQue (! 2!ts!,. -ut as it goes with theinyo concept alse implies the existence o truth too. +e ining something also de ines its opposite. 2s they say "badness is an absence o goodness#! cold creates hot! dark creates bright! emale de ines male etc. /nterestingly! it is always the negati:e understanding o things that de ines the positi:e understanding as i we were programmed to be optimistic. / use here the terms "negati:e# and "positi:e# not in opposition but in the same merging approach as in inyo! this is like the bipolarity o the magnet. So when they speak o $yo2!ts! you should understand it as "$yo2its! no 2!ts!#! 2its!being created by completing $yo. Read between the lines. This is the de inition o balance.#nyo $yo2its! allows us during training to understand the permanent low o changes in >i e and on the mats the nagare between !$e and tori. 2ctually all our actions ha:e to be balanced ($yo2its!, to be able to switch naturally into the inyo. -alancing e:erything we get rid o the thinking process and de:elop the ability (saino, to react to the non mani est aspects o things. Thinking would stop this process and pre:ent us rom reaching whatsensei tries to make us understand this year with ro$$on sh323! the logical conseQuence stemming rom the saino $on $i o last year.

Ha:ing de:eloped the ability (saino,! and our spiritKsoul ($onKtamashii,! we encompass the container (!ts!wa5$i,. 9lease note that the bigger the container! the bigger the$=$an. -eing ali:e in the $=$an we understand the balance o all things and react accordingly. Ha:ing no intention we de:elop happiness and protect >i e. Eo$$on sh323 Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment Tachi or tachiJ Posted on >pril 1"! 2010by kumafr
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Tachi has :arious meanings depending on the writing: :' ;< tachi +n- , long s*ord =< ;< tachi +n- , stand > ;< tachi +loc- , Tachi ?< ;< tachi +n- , cut , cutting 2 ;< tachi +n, nature +of person, /uality / ;< tachi +n,suf- , plural suffi3 3 ;< tachi +loc- , Tachi 3 ;< tachi +1- +n- , mansion , small castle Think about it when listening to sensei4 (www.kan@idict.stc.cx, Cncategori9ed | Leave a comment *an@i game Posted on >pril 12! 2010by kumafr
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Tai2!ts! is the "martial techniQue o the body#. The $an2i or body (tai , is composed o two others Jin (human, is k and moku u (tree, i.e. nature but meaning also "true! real#. There ore! Tai2!ts! can be seen as "the way to protect nature#R or "the way to become a true man#. Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment -ring death to li e to preser:e li e Posted on >pril 11! 2010by kumafr
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>ast class 4ats!mi sensei played with the meaning o two words "i$as!1 and "$aitats!".#$as! means "being stylish or smart# but written di erently is "to keep ali:e! or to capitali?e on experience#. -ut in senseis idea it was more like bringing something to li e. 2s ar as / understand! the techniQue does not matter and our $amae should appear by themsel:es without thinking. This is Quite similar to the idea expressed in the Tao(chapter 8C,: The Aaster does nothing! yet he lea:es nothing undone. The ordinary man is always doing things! yet many more are le t to be done. .ur actions should be the ones o a master not o an ordinary man. -y doing nothing we do not inter ere with nature! and are able to sei?e the subtle in ormation lying there or us in space. This is why sensei linked it to kaitatsu. &ensei de ined kaitats! as some kind o "mysterious transmission o power#. -ut later he told me "imagination#. So $aitats! is actually the ability to imagine new de:elopment in our action

process based upon the in ormation recei:ed by our senses. To recei:e this "power# (nothing mystical there,! we ha:e to de:elop the i$as! de ined earlier. &e can understand this as ollows: >i e is meant to create not to destroy. 2s o ten withs3$e the words he used are hiding many deeper meanings within them. 9lato said that the "knowledge o words led to the knowledge o things#. This is exactly how sensei is teaching. %:erything that he teaches has to be understood and assimilated at :arious le:els. / we stay only at the omote le:el we train a nice martial art not so much di erent rom the other gendai b! 3. Con:ersely! i we play with the sounds! the words and their roots (at the !ra le:el, we enter a multiple entry system like a matrix that goes urther! lea:es the physical world! and gi:e access to the philosophical world in which we will trans orm our :ision o >i e. Those changes and interpretations are in inite! they are like the cycle o li e beginning with "2# and inishing with "B$#. The baby irst sound and the dying man last. -ut this is also the 3apanese pronunciation o the /ndian ".A#. %:erything is linked. So i we are not meant to destroy but to preser:e li e why do we train b! 3J &e trainb! 3 to understand death and by this understanding we come to the conclusion that killing has to be a:oided. This is pure common sense. -ut in order to understand death we ha:e to eel it and that is why the techniQues we train at the 323 can be so de:astating. &e do not in@ure our partners but we train in such a way that we are aware o the risks and there ore get to understand death. This whole thing about death is linked to $=$an. M=$an is the "last rontier# where nothing more is mani ested! this is the end o things. To get to $=$an we must go to our "last rontier# where nothing more exist! no wa?a no $an$a$! neither. .nly then can we communicate death ($aitats!,. -y knowing and understanding death we reach the le:el o $=$an. -y being into the $=$an we can mani est it! by mani esting $=$an we mani est death! and we communicate it to the opponent who will stop his attack paraly?ed by his own ears and tensions. This is one way to understand the in-yo $y32its! that sensei introduced this year. To preser:e li e! you ha:e to know death. -y sending this death eeling to uke! he cannot attack anymore. #$as! unleashes kaitats! and paradoxically our lethal power percei:ed by the attacker preser:es his li e. His li e is in his hands! its his choice to li:e or die. M!$i TaishoN Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment Honbu d@ experience Posted on >pril 11! 2010by kumafr
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Today +og!chi sensei did the irst morning class and he taught us parts o the $oto ry=. Then it was the regular class with s3$e but as he had some obligations! / was honoured by+og!chi sensei to begin the teaching. This is not the irst time it happens to me on Sundays but / always ind it strange when it happens. &hen / remember my irst classes here in 3apan more than F1 years ago (no4onb! 323 at that time, / measure the long path / ha:e been ollowing since then. -ack then! / would ne:er ha:e suspected that the young man / was then! would learn so much on how to become a true human being. &hat 4ats!mi sensei is teaching in his b! 3 is not a set o old ighting techniQues but really a way o >i e that trans orms you more than you think. 2s he said yesterday night we ha:e to beha:e as members o the sam!rai class! the upper layer o the 3apanese eudal society. .ur actions should be guided by the code o chi:alry. Today during the calligraphy session! / asked him to write "chi:alry# and / got "shinobi# 4 / dont think he made a mistake. He is teaching us through mysterious ways. +uring the break! he told me that we (2=go an, ha:e to ollow him and walk by his side as long as we can and do what he asks instead o thinking too much by oursel:es. -eing a sensei he is guiding us as ar as possible! and the closer we are to him the urther we can go. This is! he said! what he did with Ta$amats! sensei.
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Kankaku 8 (ee-in)
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>pril 10! 2010by kumafr

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2 short note about the word eeling ($an$a$! in @apanese,. / you split it in two and use$an (piercing through, and $a$! (side,. Man$a$! can be understood as the way to make :isible the in:isible by going through the appearance o things. ( ree interpretation o Senseis class on Griday,.

Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment Class with Sen sensei Posted on >pril 10! 2010by kumafr
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Japan trip #" update: / am @ust coming back rom a class with &en3 sensei! it is always a antastic moment o tai2!ts!. &e did a lot o hanb3 techniQues as the hanb3 is :ery similar in its use as thetachi. &e inished with tachi techniQues! mainly m!t3 ori against ts!$i. 2 :ery rich class indeed! / wish we could ha:e more classes with him. Thoughts on Budo | 2 'omments Connecting through the sageo Posted on >pril %! 2010by kumafr
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&hen using a sword! we are o ten bothered by the sageo! this is the long lat rope made o silk! leather or cotton! hanging down rom the $!rigata (the little piece o wood on the scabbard through which the sageo is inserted,.

9eace time sam!rai would use it as an adornment with a ancy way o knotting it onto the scabbard. .b:iously they were not ighting anymore and had the time to spend making beauti ul but useless knots. /n traditional sword schools ( rom mid To$!gawa, 6ei2i and until today, there is a whole set o etiQuette on how to old! put it on or in wearing itR howe:er this has nothing to do with its original use. .n the contrary it looks to me that the modern 3apanese had to ind a way to put it into use because they had no clue about what to do with it. The -u@inkan deals with the 6!romachi period o war are! and making knots was not a priority or these warriors. &ensei commented that the "real sword masters were thetachi masters and that those using a $atana used it because they did not know how to use the tachi#. %:en though it seems a little harsh! this is right! when you become aware o the power o the tachi you understand the de:astating possibilities created and how it can bene it your ighting abilities. To get a clear image o tachi waGa think about the military world o today. Ailitary men carry the eQuipment they ha:e to be more e icient! they dont wear eQuipment to look good. /n order to stay ali:e they "adapt# their gear to their body! and to the situation. This brings us to the conclusion that the sageo had to be use ul in some way. Girst the sageo is a rope and a rope is used to tie. Tachi $!mi!chi implies the use o yoroi(3apanese armour, and the upper part o the yoroi is supported abo:e the hip bone by a big large obi (belt,. Remember that the yoroi is mo:ing Quite reely around the torso because when you ride a horse the cylinder o the 3 has to be able to mo:e up along the body. 2ctually there is a lot o ree space between your lesh and the plates o the yoroi. This $=$an gi:es dynamics to the yoroi and permits to recei:e hea:y blows while dissipating the power o the hit. This belt was thick and round to support the 3 and had three ma@or uses: 6, /t positioned the 3 abo:e the @oint o the hip to ree the mo:ements o the leg. &ithout it the 3 would co:er the hip bone and pre:ent the legs rom mo:ing. Try the yoroi without it and you will be stuck in your ootwork. F, The 3 is made o a hea:y metal plates that would crush down the sides o your hip bone and create a lot o pain. The belt cushions the weight o the 3 onto the hips. 8, The belt would carry many weapons by sticking them to the bodyKyoroi or easy use. Bsing the belt or carrying weapons howe:er does not concern the tachi which was hanging down low on the thigh and not on the hip. 2 tachi is not a katana and the holster bears two strings separated by about the width o the hand to hold the scabbard o thetachi. /n comparison the $atana is held at the koiguchi (tip o the scabbard,. The holster is continued by a long sageo tied around the body andKor the waist to keep the sword in place and allow easy drawing in any situation. The sageo is tied up in the same way you tie your ha$ama. ;ou do not make knots but old it hal crossed until the inal knot. 2ctually the sageo is connecting the sword to the body making it a "natural# extension o it. /n 6776! / remember that sensei taught me many ways o tying the sageo around the body and

the waist in a nearby temple in $oda or the sake o taking pictures (all pictures came out blurred,. / orgot all about it until recently when we began to study the tachi $!mi!chi. Tied up properly! the sageo is an important de:ice when using the tachi as it keeps the blade rom swaying away rom your hands and body and keeps it always ready or drawing. /n tachi waGa! the ts!$a goes to the hand by the momentum created by your ootwork. ;ou do not grab it because you dont see it as your :ision is impeded by the$ab!to (helmet, and the mask. &ith the sageo your mo:ements and your sheathed blade are connected at all times. >ast year! when we studied the nawa we learnt the concept o connection! that all our mo:ements were connected like a rope and that our weapons should mo:e like a rope. +uring ai$omy3sai, sensei insisted that we should not se:ere the connection with a, our en:ironment! b, our opponent(s, and c, oursel:es. That was "en no $irinai#. -ecause the tachi is used $atate (one hand, and because the mo:ements are :ery similar to those o hanb3 2!ts!! we can mani est this connection with the tachi as we are able to change hand (right to le t and le t to right, many times during the ight to get ukes balance. I$e is blinded by the multiple angles created and cannot interpret our mo:es and there ore cannot counter them. The Quality o our connection to nature! is "dis'connecting# him rom himsel ! uke is only able to react to our multiple mo:es until it is too late or him. -ut the Quality o this connection isnt limited to the mani ested le:el o things by is also deeply related to >i e. 9laying with 3apanese language! as usual! we ha:e to see the connection between "sageo# (sword knot, and "sagas!# (to seek! to look or,. So we can "look or# a deeper understanding o it. 2t a more spiritual le:el we see that urther to our connection to the weapon (physical world,! all our actions are linked to nature! and to the $ami (spiritual world,. &e are able to use the $an2in $aname! the eyes and the heart o the gods in our actions and stay ully connected to the ten chi 2in o nature. /n a B!2in$an 323 each class begins with the ollowing !ta (3apanese transmission o wisdom,: Chi-4aya-B!r! Mami-no-;shie-wa To$oshie-ni Ta ashi$i-Mo$oro 6i-o-6amor!-ran /n his book "Chi-haya-B!r!! a 3apanese cultural treasure#! Craig .lson explains the deep meaning o it. "The 3apanese Ita#! he writes! are "originally a orm o oral transmission! (4, bthec :enerable ancestor to the 4ai$!! (4, a link back to the origins o 3apan (4,. (page 8,. 2 ew pages later! when explaining the second sentence meaning "the teachings o $ami# he writes: "the implication is that there was a personal connection between the composer o this uta and the $ami that was passing along :aluable lessons#. (page E6,.

&hat we see! what we percei:e is not the ull reality. The Quality o our connection makes it possible to integrate unseen in ormation in order to sur:i:e and to li:e ully. "+e:eloping the ability to understand the nature o our interaction with things that we cannot see is :ital to our sur:i:al# (page 06,. Tachi $!mi!chi is bringing us to this le:el o understanding senseis b! 3. Tachi $!mi!chi is the key to encompass nature in our mo:ements and the proper use o the sageo is what is connecting us to this new dimension. 9ositioned at the hip le:el! thesageo links the upper part o the body to the lower partR the ten to the chi and allows us to be mo:ing like a 2in ($amiJ,. So why do we wear a sageoJ to be connected! to become one! and inally to become ?ero.
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Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment >pril 7! 2010by kumafr

-asics
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Since Solkan %urope has released many new products in the last six months / eel that / should elaborate on our products and answer the many Queries that / ha:e recei:ed at www.budomart.com. .ur partner www.koimartialart.com has edited and released all our new +U+ products. Solkan %urope released the +U+ #2in rya$! no ma$i :olume 6L long time ago and many wanted to know when part F would be a:ailable. >ast 3uly with our partnerwww.koimartialart.com we did it. This is a +U+ dedicated to the intermediate and ad:anced student. Then in .ctober F161 we had a E days seminar co:ering all the Ten Chi Jin rya$! no ma$i. 2s you know the ten chi 2in is the basic program o the bu@inkan that each student must know in order to get to the black belt. Grom this we did or christmas a set o 8 +U+s entitled: Ten rya$! no ma$i "010, Chi rya$! no ma$i "010, an Jin rya$! no ma$i "010. These +U+s are intented to the young black belt (or soon to be, as a means to re:iew the basics and undamentals o the -u@inkan. They show all the techniQues o the three le:els but do not

dwell too much into the explanations. The 2in part o the ten chi 2in set is a totally new :ersion (more basic, di erent rom the other F +U+s 2in rya$!:olume 6 W F. /n Aarch we released! rom the same ootage! the Ten rya$! .(ten e :ersion (D +U+s, and the Chi rya$! .(ten e :ersion (8 +U+s, as we igured out that we had more than 81 hours o explanationsN These two sets are intented to the non black belt and complete the teachings recei:ed in the 323. 2 ew weeks later! we released the B!2in$an My= Jrogram (-*9, which is using still the same ootage. %ach +U+ box contains a mix o the ten chi 2in techniQues reQuired or each$y= and presented each in a F +U+ box. So ar! the 9th $y=, Cth $y=, Uth $y=! and the 8th $y= are a:ailable on www.budomart.com. $ext month we will release the remaining $y= grades (Eth $y= to 6st $y=, that will complete the whole series with the rest o the tai2!ts! techniQues and the weapon basics. >ast Gebruary we recorded a D day seminar co:ering the basics o all the ma@or weapons:tant3, $!nai, shot3, hanb3, 2o, bi$en, b3, yari, and naginata. The complete syllabus detailed in the three books o the memento (beginner S :ol. 6! intermediate S :ol. F! ad:anced S :ol. 8, includes all the tai2!ts! techniQues rom the ten chi 2in plus the basics o the small! medium si?e ang long weapons. The b!$i wa?a sets (small! medium and long, will also be a:ailable soon (Aay or 3une, and sold separately or the teachers. Bnlike the techniQues demonstrated in the -*9 (Eth$y= to 6st $y=, many weapons include also the $aeshi waGa (counter techniQues, that gi:e a deeper understanding to the study o weapons. This is the irst time these techniQues are demonstrated on a +U+N The b!$i waGa sets are dedicated to the con irmed black belts (to this date! the editing being in process we do not know yet i each set will include F! 8 or D +U+s,. :n order to )a=e this whole e?planation easy to understand: My=: -*9 rom 7th $y= to 6st $y= in F +U+s! co:ering the whole ten chi 2in and the b!$i waGa. ;oung black belt and shidshi: the Ten Eya$! no 6a$i %xtended (D +U+s,! the Chi Eya$! no 6a$i %xtended (8 +U+s,! the Jin Eya$! no 6a$i (:ol. 6 W F S F d:ds,. Con irmed shi 3shi: the ten chi 2in F161 set (8 +U+s,! and the 8 b!$i waGa sets (small! medium! long,. ***.budomart.com | Leave a comment Sengoku 3idai Posted on >pril $! 2010by kumafr
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/n his book the X way o the nin@a Y! s3$e introduces the shint3 concept o na$aima (the middle o now, that allows us to li:e a permanent present linked together with the immediate past and the coming uture. %:en i it looks similar to the "here and now# o 5en -uddhism! / consider it to be a concept much more power ul as it gi:es a clear image o the e:er changing world in which we li:e. $e:ertheless it is also important! in my opinion! to learn the lessons o historyR and 3apanese war are could not be understood without knowing the tipping point that issengo$! 2i ai (age o ci:il wars, in 3apanese history. &engo$! 2i ai lasted rom the mid 6Eth century to the beginning o the 6Mth century until the orced peace established by /eyasu $obunaga (6018,. This crucial period o 3apanese history is when the tachi $!mi!chi techniQues were de:eloped and used. &hat we are studying is the true essence o 3apanese b!gei. This is why it is so important. History is a cycle and the past can teach us lessons on what might happen next. -y studying history! we learn how to a:oid making the same mistakes again. &hen you look at how the -u@inkan is e:ol:ing these days / am surprised to see some similarities with the sengoku period. / am not known in the -u@inkan to be politically correct. 2:oiding seeing what is happening is not changing the act that it is happening! as using an umbrella under the rain is not changing the act that it is rainingN &engo$! 2i ai is the general term used by historians or a period o history co:ering the mid 6!romachi period (6888'6EM8,to the -G!chi-6omoyama period (6EM8'6018,R it was ollowed by the . o period initiated by Tokugawa /eyasu. The name sengo$! 2i ai comes rom the warring states period in China that led to the uni ication o the country. -e ore these troubled times 3apan was struggling with a myriad o warlords more or less controlled by the -shi$aga Shogunate and the in luence o the 432o clan. The 6!romachi Ba$!f! o -shi$aga Hoshimits! (680C S 6D1C, lost gradually his in luence o:er the outer regions to rising samurai amilies (2i-Gam!rai, who got enough power to control large pro:inces. 2t this point the -shi$aga Ba$!f! had no more control o:er the country. This is at this period that the head o these amilies began to be called aimyo. The aimyowere not loyal to the shog!n anymore and the ma@or ones were more interested in de:eloping their own power than respecting the rules and :alues o the past. / hope the -u@inkan will not ha:e to go through such a period o chaos because unlike 3apan it would not end in uni ication but to its destruction. The -u@inkan is rich o its "uni ied

di:ersity#. 2s sensei put it out in Gebruary "e:eryone is gi:ing back the mo:ement or the techniQue shown! according to hisKher personality. This is also ro$$on sh323#. / you apply pressure to tomatoes you end up with ketchup but lose the taste o each indi:idual ruit. This is what has happened in the F1th century with gen ai b! 3 (modern martial arts,! they lost their la:or to become a tasteless sport. / do not want the -u@inkan to become like that. Tensions create war and war is not wa (harmony,! wa(peace a ter war, can be a:oided i there is no war. &e must do our best to a:oid that. They did not understand that in the 6Eth century and there was war because o hea:y tensions. &engo$! 2i ai began with the Rnin wars (6D0M'6DMM, rom tensions ueled by deep economic problems and a dispute o:er shogunal succession. +ob!naga ; a, aimyoo the ;wari pro:ince (+agoya, decided to orce the uni ication o the country spreading his control rom his -G!chi castle base. 2 century and a hal o uphea:al ending with the creation o uni ied 3apan began. &e can wonder i this would happen again and i some lessons can be learnt rom the past. /t is said that tigers are able to see the uture. F161 is the year o the tiger and when / look at the -u@inkan / ha:e the eeling that big changes are coming. Since / began training -u@inkan in the 67C1s / ha:e seen many changes and it is up to us to keep them positi:e in the uture. +ob!naga continued the conQuest o the country and sei?ed Myoto in 6E0C with his generals! 4i eyoshi Toyotomi and To$!gawa #eyas! to name a ew. He changed the rules o war and adapted the traditional ways to modern war are. 2t the battle o +agashino(6EME, he won by using the irearms imported by the 9ortuguese (who had landed inMy!sh! in 6EDF,. The tachi $!mi!chi that was used until the mid m!romachi period disappeared gradually with the introduction o irearms by +ob!naga. 2s sensei said! it is important to know the e:olution o war are and to be aware o the transitions between those types o ighting. &am!rai war are began with the $en (the Chinese double edge sword,R thentachi! then irearmsR and then at the end $atana (when peace was established,. Speaking o todays war are! he added that by pushing a simple button we now ha:e a bigger power o destruction. &ar are techniQues e:ol:e and take into account the technologies a:ailable. The permanent impro:ement o blades :s yoroi is an example o this permanent adaptati:e process. 4ats!mi sensei is not teaching us a set o techniQues but a way to li:e a better li e. -y studying the ighting ways o the muromachi period we come to understand our li e and learn how to li:e a happy uture. This is ro$$on sh323. +ob!naga could not achie:e uni ication. He was betrayed by -$echi 6its!hi e! one o his generals who killed him and sei?ed the -G!chi castle. -$echi was immediately de eated by 4i eyoshi Toyotomi who took control o the country and inali?ed the uni ication. The "-G!chi 6omoyama# period is named a ter the two castles o +ob!naga 9-G!chi in;wari: and 4i eyoshi 96omoyama in F!shimi,. The -u@inkan has become a big group o:er the last twenty years and / was lucky to witness its e:olution. &ensei keeps telling us to work together and to be united but the more / tra:el the

world! the more / see groups getting insular. / am aware that nothing can change that! but / cannot pre:ent mysel rom eeling bad to see such a beauti ul @ewel losing rapidly its glow. 2dapting )eorge .rwells sentence in "2nimal arm# we can say that: "2ll shi 3shi are eQual! but some shi 3shi are more eQual than others#. &ensei has established his -u@inkan on a "man'to'man# basis without creating any structured organi?ation in order to gi:e us a chance to be uni ied through riendship and not bureaucracy. The e:ol:ing -u@inkan outside o 3apan sometimes orgets that. Bni ication can only happen within an open system based upon $o$oro no b! 3 and not by orce or sel interests. The same happened to the dream o +ob!naga. %:en though / do not think that+ob!nagas idea was dictated by pure goodnessN Shortly a ter 4i eyoshi achie:ed the uni ication by de eating the 432o clan in ; awara(6E71,! he died lea:ing the power to his young son. -e ore his death and in order to support his son while he was young! he created a council o E regents: 6ae a, 63ri, I$ita, Ies!gi and To$!gawa. This council ruling the country did not work well or long and more ights happened. 2ccused o disloyalty! To$!gawa de eated the others at the battle o se$igahara! and took power. This battle is considered to be the last ma@or battle o the sengo$! period. He was then appointed seii taishogun three years later (6018,. Two and a hal century o To$!gawa shogunate ollowed! and it ended up with the 6ei2i restoration in 6C0C. / sincerely hope that we will learn the lessons rom the past and be more intelligent than our elders and keep the -u@inkan uni ied or a long period o time as sensei wishes us to do. The -u@inkan is the best thing that e:er happened to me in this li e and my encounter with s3$e has trans ormed me into the man / am today. / wish that the uture generations ha:e the possibility to experience the same chance o personal growth through the study o the ways o the past. History shows that power is mundane and that it lasts only or a short period o time. "2ll that glitters is not gold# says the adage! ranks and supposed power are only an illusion. The -u@inkan should stay "one in its multiplicity# and continue his growth as a ">i e teaching system# the way it has been designed by Ta$amats! sensei and 4ats!mi sensei. &hat really matters is to li:e a happy li e connected with our peers to become a true knight with high :alues! a -u@in. &engo$! 2i ai has been a "tipping point# in 3apanese history! we ha:e to hope that the -u@inkan does not reach its "tripping point# in the uture. >osing the -u@inkan would be a loss or mankind. Eo$$on sh323N

Thoughts on Budo | " 'omments 2re you a true shidshiJ Posted on >pril (! 2010by kumafr
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Sunday S Honbu d@ S 2pril Dth %ach 3apan trip! the irst class with sensei is always some kind o e:ent and this Sunday was not di erent. He began by a long speech about chi:alry playing with the meanings o $an L $anro$! (dignity! presence, and $anpe$i (per ection, which / ound interesting a ter what we said about per ection in the last post. %:en i the "path o per ection is as important as the path o ailure# (HS S Aarch, our attitude has to be the one o a knight ($ishi, ocusing on his goals e:en at the risk o his own li e. ;esterday! sensei reminded us that 3apanese words always ha:e se:eral interpretations! so we might see here a link with the "$!-$ishi9n,# and become a knight without intention. 2s he said! "tori has to become transcendent! clear because this is the way o ro$$on sh323. (4, &e should be able to ha:e the creati:ity o a music composer and do techniQues sometimes with a touch o humor! with a smile# (HS S Aarch,. -ut the technical aspect o our actions is not important! what matters is the result in becoming a true knight! a true human being. To de:elop this chi:alry ($ishi 3, attitude is a long process and many practitioners are not close to achie:e it! but it goes here as well as with e:erything! per ection takes time and a lot o work. ;ou can mo:e the needles o your watch orward (techniQue, but this will not change the time passing ( eeling,. Manpe$i (per ection, is a long process reQuiring patience and commitment. /n /ndia it is said that an elephant knows the time o his death. +eath is the ine:itable end o li e and we must be aware that it is coming at one point. 2s sensei said yesterday we ha:e to understand that what we learn in the d@ is the link between li e and death. 2 real knight should not be a raid o death as it is the logical end o the path. /n Aarch he said that: "#/ you can smile in the ace o your enemy you are a real master S i your enemy dies with a smile in his ace S thats ro$$on sh323".

%:en though it sounds a little serious! we ha:e to keep this ability to laugh in any situation and ace the conseQuences o our actions without ha:ing any second thought. / o ten tell my students to be " ace :alue# and responsible o their actions. &hate:er we do in li e is inter ering with others and we should act properly. &hat we are learning through bud is a way o >i e not a set o techniQues. The techniQues are the excuse to help ind the solution to the Questions we ha:e. -y training death techniQues we learn how to become more human and to be ali:e. %:ery action bears some kind o knowledge and e:en i our experiences are not nice to li:e we ha:e to learn rom them this is the true meaning o "shi$in haramits! ai$omy3#. Through permanent training in the orm we disco:er that whate:er we experience is positi:e at some point. This is always a win win situation. -y understanding the :alues o chi:alry! by becoming a knight we accept death and laugh at it like a real master. This is what the -u@inkan is all about. -y the way! did you notice that $ishi 3 includes shi 3! "sam!rai code# or "chi:alry#J .ne o the meanings o shi being death there ore a shi 3shi can be seen as a human who died to himsel to become a per ect knight! i.e. a b!2in! a military spirit connected to his en:ironment. So are you a true shi 3shiJ Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment % iciency! beauty and elegance Posted on >pril "! 2010by kumafr
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$arita D:6Epm 2pril 8rd This is Saturday in the middle o the day. The custom process was so long that / miss the bus to *ashiwa there ore / ha:e to wait two hours. This D6st light to 3apan went ast! / slept. &hile Queuing / was watching the e iciency o the 3apanese o icials at the immigration compared to the ones in 9aris. 2 ter more than twenty years :isiting 3apan to train withsensei! / am always ama?ed at their working attitude. -ack in 67C1! / remember watching a man

sweeping the street and staring at him or a long time. He was acting as i the whole economy o the country depended upon the Quality o his work. % iciency here in 3apan is not only a word it is a philosophy. This is the same when it comes to training in these ancient waGa regrouped in the nine schools o the -u@inkan. &hat is e iciency all aboutJ /t is about sur:i:ing! about staying ali:e. /n a highly competiti:e society or in a ight the rules are the same. .ne has to do what is necessary not to be destroyed. Too o ten! the westerners are looking or something looking good! or exotic. Gighting or li:ing is not about beauty it is about keeping your li e. 2nd i you can reach the beauty in your actions this is on top. /t is like the sword. &e ha:e heard many teachers or years saying that you should not damage your sword when ighting and always block with the m!ne. %:en i it is always better to do that in order to keep your weapon in good shape! the real Question is: "do you pre er to sa:e your blade or your li eJ# /n the classical DM ronin depicting the :alues o samurai! the author explains at the end during the inal battle in *iras household that the hero whose name / dont remember right now was ighting so much during that day that his sword resembled a saw at the end as the ha was totally damagedN / guess that he decided to protect his li e rather than protecting his blade. /n my opinion this worshipping o the sword is Quite modern and must ha:e taken place when 3apan was already paci ied and under the strict tokugawa dictature (6018'6C0F,. -ut in the old days! the ones o the Tachi! only e iciency on the battle ield mattered. The image o the in:incible samurai spread by the 3apanese go:ernment during world war // to gather the national eeling and relayed extensi:ely by westerners ha:ing no understanding o the 3apanese culture is the reason or this mistake. The -u@inkan is about training in the ways o the muromachi era where those modern :alues didnt replace yet the true :alue based on the indi:idual. So do not be so concerned about looking good. 2s sensei said it recently! "the path o success is important and the path o ailure is as important too#. /n F11D! we entered the world o H=gen no se$ai or the worldKdimension o elegance. The whole idea was to counter the attack be ore uke actually launched it. /n short! we are blocking the decision be ore the attack comes. Gunnily the 3apanese language considers this ability as being elegant. The least we can say here is that this y=genKelegance is pure e iciency and pure beauty. $ow i we look at it rom a di erent perspecti:e! we understand that beauty and elegance exist already when they are not mani ested! not :isible yet (we mo:e be ore the attack,. Grom that we can draw the conclusion that beauty is not physical! but that it is a truth transcending our

:ision o the reality percei:ed by our senses. Aaybe this is why senseiintroduced shi$i! the sixth sense the year a ter during the $as!mi no h3 year. &hi$i is total awareness and this is what brings e iciency in e:erything we accomplish. &hen shi$i is within your actions! then m!shin can be attained.
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The i#portan$e o( Basi$s

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>pril 2! 2010by kumafr

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/ was speaking the other day with a young teacher! student o mine and / was happy to hear that "$amae and !$emi# were the key to understand the whole -u@inkan tai2!ts!". Gor this teacher! this was like a re:elationN Sometimes in our li:es we ind a book that opens up a total new perspecti:e o li e. This comment to me is o the same Quality. 2 ter training or many years and thinking that you know your basics! you become suddenlyaware o a di erent Quality in your basics. 2s +urckheim wrote one day: "the Quality o the depth depends upon the depth o the Quality#. -y repeating and teaching those basics (here $amae and !$emi,! one day you cross an in:isible border deepening your understanding o the whole picture. The oundations o tai2!ts! lie in the permanent polishing o your basics this is why they are so important. &hate:er your rank! training and teaching those basics is the key to generate new reedom in your own mo:ements and reach this natural mo:ement thatsensei re ers to. %ach class! whether you are a beginner or not (this includes also the high ranks, should "generate# this new depth in your understanding. / always push my students to open their own 323 to gi:e them a chance to get to this "enlightenment# more rapidly. .ne day / remember sensei telling me: "arnaud you ha:e to teach what you ha:e to teach! and you ha:e to train what you ha:e to train#. /t took me along time to understand this

-u@inkan $oan. Today my eeling is that through the teaching o your students! you are actually teaching yoursel more intensely that i you were attending a class. The teaching process orces you to ind solutions to problems you ne:er suspected be ore because each one ollows di erent mental patterns. To use a metaphore! / would say that you understand the plate in which you are ser:ing the ood. The student is mainly interested in learning as many techniQues as possible! and as a teacher you supply them endlessly. 2t one point though! you begin to consider the plate itsel (the support, without which the ood could not be ser:ed. This plate! this support in the -u@inkan are your basicsR Remember that a teacher is only an old student! e:en i too o ten high ranks tend to orget it. &hen in 3apan! my mindset is the one o a true student and / make the same mistakes as e:eryone during sensei`s and the shihan classes. -ut this is how we get a chance to e:ol:e! and we ha:e to create this chance as o ten as possible. $ow what gi:es us access to this are the strong basics we keep training and teaching in the 323. $atural mo:ement cannot be attained without a permanent study o the basics. 2nd these basics well understood will! one day! un:eil a new reality. /n a way this is exactly the process detailed in the sh! ha ri (see pre:ious posts,. So! next time you come to teach or to train in your 323 and once the class is o:er! please ask yoursel : 8what did / generate todayJ#

Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment +uality and connection Posted on Harch "0! 2010by kumafr
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Tachi $!mi!chi is not about cutting! crushing or e:en hittingR it is about inding the openings in !$es body in the midst o an e:er changing encounter. These openings get :isible only i

you are connected to: space! time! and the opponent at all time. 2s always "simple is di icult# and to ind! to keep! and to use the connection e iciently is :ery hard. &e ha:e to ind the connection to the situation to mo:e in harmony with it. &e ha:e to be a small boat loating on the sea and ollowing the rhythm o the wa:es! no intention! no destruction. /t is the same with b! 3! we ha:e to go with the nagare ( low,. .n no $irinai is the key to understand that and keep the connection with our en:ironment (human or not, and sol:e the problem. -ut we o ten think too much and this permanent thinking hinders the results o our understanding. Too o ten we want to ind a technical solution to the ight (to li eJ, by o:er' analy?ing! o:er'reasoning and o:er'thinking e:erything. 8%nlightenment cannot be ound through the senses# said Sensei once. 2nd becoming natural is to go beyond our senses in a realm o possibility not limited by our :isionKunderstandingKperception o reality but by getting access to a dimension where mere reasoning is not working. This is the "?ero state# or "natural state# taught by Sensei during many years. This is now our goal! our ob@ecti:e. The moment you understand that the natural connection between e:erything goes through your body (and not only the brain,! you reach the m!shin state and you become aware o the implicate world underlying the explicate world that we sense. Sensei said recently that "kan# in b!f! i$$an meant "going through# and this is exactly this connection between the :isible and the in:isible realities that we can link here. &e become able to see through the illusions o the :isible reality to ha:e a glimpse o "Reality# to ind the openings to o balance uke and be happyN Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment +o you understand the -u@inkanJ
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Harch 2%! 2010by kumafr

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+o you really understand what the -u@inkan isJ

Keep the *onne*tion

&hen / gi:e seminars! / am always astonished to disco:er the misconceptions carried out by so many teachers and students all o:er the world. 2s / said once during a seminar: "no one is orcing you to claim to be "-u@inkan#! i you want to do your own stu then do it but do not call it -u@inkanN#. So it was a real pleasure last week'end to meet Aanolo Serranos group in -elgium and spend some time with him and the Aitrou brothers rom )reece. 2ll o them being 6Dth dan! it was good to share our common :ision o the art. .n the way back! / thought it would be appropriate in this blog to re resh our memories about what is the -u@inkan really is. &hen Hatsumi sensei began to spread his :ision on b! 3 and to share it all o:er the world! there was no plan! no step by step process going on. Hatsumi sensei was only sharing his knowledge to e:eryone willing to listen. Then in 67C8 he published! in 3apanese! his irst "ten chi 2in rya$! no ma$i1 detailing the basics and undamentals o our art. 2 re:ised :ersion o it translated into %nglish reached us in %urope in 67CM. Ten years later Hatsumi sensei decided to mo:e on and established a theme and a concept to work with or each year. /n 6778! / was lucky to be already 2= an in the -u@inkan so / had enough basics to ollowsensei`s e:olution in his teachings. 2s many -u@inkan practitioners o today were not students at that time! / want to list here once again those themes that created the art we know now. 2 ter the ten chi 2in! we learnt distancing and angling or E years: B3 2!ts! S 0 eet sta (6778,! Hari 2!ts! S spear (677D,! +aginata 2!ts! S halberd (677E,! Bi$en 2!ts! S sword (6770,! Jo 2!ts! S 8 eet sta (677M,. +uring the Ualencia Taikai (677E, and again in Sanmyaku (the -u@inkan newsletter o that time, Hatsumi sensei said that "b3, yari, naginata are the sanshin no $ata o long weapons#. Then we entered the world o b! 3 tai2!ts! and studied not the schools (as it is o ten belie:ed, but the E pilars o body mo:ement! through i:e o the 7 schools that was: Taihen 2!ts! L shin en f! 3 ry= (677C,! >a$en tai2!ts! - $!$ishin en ry= (6777,! Mopp3 J!ts! - $ot3 ry= (F111,! Mosshi J!ts! L gyo$$o ry= (F116,! J=tai2!ts! L ta$agi y3shin ry= (F11F,.

This second cycle o E years that can be related in some way to the gogy3 allowed us to understand (through training within speci ic schools, the :arious way o meeting the opponent and adapting our ways o ighting to the situation. The third cycle has been e:en more complex as we entered the world or dimension o @!pp3 sessh3 9negociating in ten irections:. That was also a E years long cycle. J!pp3 &essh3 is the highest mechanical and technical le:el in any martial system (ry=ha, in 3apan and gi:es the ability to adapt a speci ic type o ighting to any situation encountered. 2s or the second cycle (the E pilars o b! 3 tai2!ts!,! the important point here had nothing to do with either the weapon we used or the school studied. The 2!pp3 sessh3 cycle was the ollowing: &an2igen no se$ai L $!nai W shot3 (F118,! H=gen no se$ai - Eopp3 $!2i no bi$en '$!$ishin sword (F11D,! Mas!mi no h3 L gyo$$o b3 (F11E,! &hiGen L shin en f! 3 ry= (F110,! M!$i taisho ' sword and yoroi (F11M,. The 2!pp3 sessh3 has discouraged a lot o practitioner and e:en today many o theshi 3shi really ha:e no clue o what has been studied during these E years. Aany teachers do not understand the depth o what we ha:e been recei:ing. How many o them know that the techniQues o the $!$ishin ry= b3 2!ts! were used to teach the eeling o $as!mi rom the gyo$$o ry=D 2lso the mo:e rom "happ3# to "2!pp3" has to be seen as some kind o a Quantum leap in the world o -u@inkan physics. This 2!pp3 sessh3 cycle ended the series that we can now see as a kind o ten chi 2in. &e all know that the ten rya$! deals with ootwork (angle! distance,R the chi rya$! with the body mechanics (b! 3 tai2!ts!,R and the 2in rya$! with a mix o e:erything (mo:ing rom body to spirit,. This 8 steps progression (sanp3, o E years (goh3, there ore can! or should! be considered as the true $ihon happ3 o the -u@inkan (8eEPCN,. Then it was time to begin the study o shi$i S consciousness' the 0th element that sensei introduced to the community back in F11E. So we studied things based more on "philosophical# concepts than schools or mechanical mo:ements. That was: 6en$yo $ai en S destroy the thinking process (F11C,! &ain3 $on $i or sain3 tamashii !ts!wa S ability! spirit! container(F117, Eo$$on sh323 S happiness is the essence o li e (F161,. / Hatsumi sensei ollows the E year cycle that he! apparently ollowed until now! we can expect the end o this or F16F. -ut this is only a guess. / hope that this little re:iew o the :arious themes will be help ul to you and that now you can answer the initial Question:

+o you understand the @uAin=an? -e happyN

Thoughts on Budo | 12 'omments +o you ha:e a good connectionJ Posted on Harch 2$! 2010by kumafr
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.n no $irinai has been one of the important teaching of &ensei at >ai$omyo sai an ever since then in is classes at the 4onb! or in -yase. >o not severe the conne(ion so that yo! can reach a ifferent level in yo!r ability. 2s / told my students in +ecember:
a deep *onne5ion 8>!ring last daikomyo sai, &ensei as$e !s to not severe the conne(ion 9en no kirinai: between uke an torian within their m!t!al environment. This is only possible when reaching the mushin state of action where k<kan becomes a reality. Ti$e photons an star !st colli ing in space, their enco!nter reveals the intention an allows the bo y to flow in a nat!ral manner1. Since then / also understood that this connexion should not be se:ered within our own sel . The connexion within oursel ! our opponent(s,! and our en:ironment is :ital to our sur:i:al. $ot only can we react to the e:er changing situation but we become able to stop thinking. To Quote sensei`s: 8if # o not $now what #?m going to o ne(t how o yo! want !$e to be able to ecipher my f!t!re movementsD1

This thinking and not thinking thing is the key to understand the &h! 4a Ei (see pre:ious articles, as by not thinking you become permeable to the multiple in ormations recei:ed by your 0 senses (the regular E = Shiki S consciousness,. Gailure is created by thinking and analysing wrongly a situation because our attention is mainly ocused on a ew parameters only instead o encompassing the whole. This ability will then allow us to reach the m!shin state. 2s / wrote many years ago: #f earth oes not thin$< if water oes not thin$< if fire oes not thin$< if win oes not thin$< an if emptiness oes not thin$, then why o H;I thin$D / will explain in detail one day this idea o photons and stardust but or now we only ha:e to understand that photons do not think (as ar as we know,R that stardust do not think (as ar as we know, and that they are totally in:isible rom an external obser:er until they collide on one another. The techniQues are the same! you do not want to do anything! you react to a complex set o parameters without analysing (i.e. without thinking,. ;ou are connected! you are one! you are ?ero.

Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment Tachi or TachiJ Posted on Harch 2$! 2010by kumafr
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The key thing with the Tachi kumiuchi is to stay balanced which means not to lose your balance. /t means that you ha:e to stay up standing. -eing balanced actually means to be eQually unbalanced in all directions at the same time. &e all know that the techniQues done on the ground are called "suwari wa?a# and that the standing techniQues are called "tachi wa?a#. 2nd understanding the habit o sensei to play with

keep your balan*e7

words maybe one o the key principle or this year is to master our ability (kon, to stand up and not to all. we ha:e to learn to be toatally! and eQually unbalanced. 2 closer look at the :arious meanings can help us hereR Roku is "0L! Sh is award! and 3 is emotion. The concept or this year being "rokkon sh@# through Tachi we can understand the "rokkon sh@ and tachi# concept and theme in a :ery di erent manner. 2lso the number "0L can re er to the our direction plus up and down (some other understanding o 3upp sessh,. So i we replace all these terms by their di erent meanings we get: 8rokkon sh@ tachi kumiuchi# P de:eloping the ability to be (un,balanced in all directions (tachi, by de:eloping our emotions (be happy, when meeting with others.

Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment Shu Ha Ri (F, Posted on Harch 2"! 2010by kumafr
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&ith the study o Tachi wa?a! Sensei plays a lot these days with the di erent meanings o the word "Ri#. 2s you know the @apanese language being monotonic! one sound has always se:eral meanings which gi:es this language a great :ariety o possible understanding andKor interpretations. +epending on how you write it! the word "ri# has the meaning o 6. distance! keeping away or F. truth! principle. Bnderstanding this ambi:alent signi ication one can see that going through the seQuence o Shu (learning, and Ha (understanding, one will reach the truth or distance himsel rom it. The truth in your Tai@utsu comes only when by learning or a long time you are able to understand the hidden part o the wa?a.

There ore! you begin to go away rom the orm to express the principle o it. .ne day in 3apan one o the Shihan said that the wa?a is only to channel our understanding in order to de:elop the natural low created by our ability to adapt our mo:ements to the situation. $ow i we look at the other meaning o distance or keeping away! it can be understood positi:ely or negati:ely. &e know many teachers getting lost in the world o :ariation and ha:ing at the end no clue about the real (true, orms. 2s / o ten say! it is easy to tell the students to orget the orm when you do not know it be ore. Remember! i you want to orget something! you irst ha:e to learn itN Those teachers ha:e no Shu! no Ha and will ne:er get close to the Ri. &e can also see this "keeping way# or "distancing# as the result o a true Shu Ha Ri progression where your understanding distances itsel rom the dead orm o the wa?a to bloom into another technical dimension! one that encompasses the connexion with e:erything around and within you. To inish on this new approach gi:en by the di erent meanings o those sounds! we ha:e to be aware that there are other meanings or those three sounds (e:en or "ri#,: Shu: master! lordR kind! :ariety! speciesR actor! supporting postR tumorR hand (Te,. Ha: edge o a swordR lea (like in happa,R tooth (like in hadome,R cliQue! action! school. Ri: o icialR cle:erR old measureR diarrheaR ad:antage! bene it! pro it! interestR rustic! ill' mannered. So Shu Ha Ri could also be to become the "cle:er master bmanipulatingc the edge o the sword# or in modern term to become a true swordmaster. /nterestingly! this years theme is "Tachi *umiuchi# and as Sensei said recently: "the true swordmasters were the Tachi Aasters#. -e happyN

Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment Shu Ha Ri Posted on Harch 21! 2010by kumafr

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Today while training in Tachi wa?a with a group o students / thought that maybe the whole thing about Shu Ha Ri that Hatsumi Sensei is pushing these days may ha:e always existed but that we were not ready to understand it. &e know that Shu is learning the orm! that Ha is absorbing the orm and Ri is destroying the orm. -ut we all know also that Sensei used to say: "understandJ good. 9lay.# $ow cant we understand that as "understanding the Shu! becoming good at the Ha le:el and destroying it by playing with the concept more than the initial ormJ

go beyond the #orm

/ will think a little more around that and come back to you. be happyN

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Thoughts on Budo | Leave a comment

%ndia 20 0
Posted on

Harch 1$! 2010by kumafr

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Aany seminars ha:e been organi?ed in /ndia since my irst post in F11C. Things are always impro:ing with the ine:itable changes due to li e! men! and

Shi-a Subramanian Shid(shi

understandings but the d@ is doing really great under Shi:a (Shidshi,. / am proud to be one o the se:eral Shihan helping them to grow within the -u@inkan system. Soon they plan to open other d@ in /ndia and / am sure that they will make a success o this e:olution. +uring my last three seminars! the group has been more and more dedicated and growing. >ast +ecember in 3apan! /ndia was widely represented with a irst group o black belts. +uring my last stays o:er there we ha:e co:ered all the basics o the Ten Chi 3in Ryaku no Aaki (E days,R then the basics o Tant! *unai! Shot! Hanb! 3o! -iken (sword,! -! ;ari! and $aginata (D days,. / think this is the irst time that a new group is ollowing the logical e:olution o learning. The basics ha:e been studied so we can now begin the real study and ollow the order imposed by Ske with the yearly themes. Respecti:ely since 6778 we studied: b! ;ari! $aginata! -iken! 3o! Shinden Gud Ry< Taihen 3utsu! *ukishin Ry< +aken Tai@utsu! *oto Ry< *opp 3utsu! )yokko *osshi 3utsu! Takagi ;shin Ry< 3< Tai@utsu! San@igen no Sekai! ;<gen no Sekai! *asumi no H! Ropp *u@i no -iken! *uki Taisho! Aenky *aiden! Saino *onki! Rokkon Sh@. $ext Aay we will study the ull series o orms o - 3utsu rom the *ukishin Ry<. / hope that D days will be enough4

seminar | Leave a comment -e like Seaweed in your training Posted on Bebruary 20! 2007by kumafr
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We must train our basics to be like *ater) in fact *e must become like sea*eed. <ea*eed under *ater is attached to the ground. Like some kind of *ater Tenchi:in! *e must become sea*eed and s*ay

*ithout tension in the stream of life. <top hugging hard onto things. Let go of your beliefs and mental structures and discover the true freedom of life. The Bu:inkan is a tool that is to be used mainly out of the o:o. 1atsumi <ensei e3plained it once2 8training in the o:o is only a fe* hours per *eek! life is 2( hours a day;. The more you 8keep going;! the more likely you *ill reach this higher state of freedom you are looking for. 1ere is a poem called 8<ea*eed;! by .1.La*rence e3plaining it perfectly2 <ea*eed s*ays and s*ays and s*irls >s if s*aying *ere its form of stillness) >nd it flushes against fierce rock At slips over it as shado*s do! *ithout hurting itself Thoughts on Budo | 1 'omment -u@inkan /ndia: memories o a antastic experience Posted on Bebruary 1&! 2007by kumafr
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+ear -uyu rom /ndia! / irst want to deeply thank you or the pro ound sense o community / ound here in -angalore sharing my thoughts! interpretations and mo:ements with you. / o ten gi:e seminars around the world! but the Quality o the depth o the commitment / encountered here! was really re reshing to me. 2nd / want to thank you all or this as it is the promise o a success ul uture or the -u@inkan community o /ndia.2 +o@o is complex mix between a teacher and his students. / the teacher is e:ol:ing the students are impro:ing! and a group o dedicated students e:ol:ing positi:ely pushes the teacher to impro:e his skills e:en more. 2 ter such a small training time! you ha:e achie:ed this mix better than in many +o@o / ha:e been teaching to.Reading your comments about the seminar on the Shidoshikai orum! / ound that many o you were expecting something di erent! maybe something including more pain. 9ain is important in the learning phase o -udo but it is not the most important thing. 9hysical pain is an accepted conseQuence o the training but it is nothing compared to psychological pain. 2nd maybe you ha:e got a glimpse o that during these our days. This is the best lesson you could learn.

%:en i our seminar was dedicated to $inpo! the theme or F11C! many comments speak about how this seminar has (or is going to, impro:e your basics in Bkemi! Bke $agashi and Sanshin no *ata. /n one o the many late discussions / had! we came to the understanding that e:erything we do in the -u@inkan has to be easy i we want it to be natural. &ater will always ind the simplest path to the seaR this is the same with our -udo. / you cannot do a mo:ement it is o ten because your thinking process is blocking the way as a dam would do it to a small ri:er low. 9lease dont stop! keep going you are heading towards what real -udo is. ;our energy and willingness to impro:e is an example or all -u@inkan members all o:er the world! be proud o it. The waythe group has been structured and taught explains it but without your willingness to learn! nothing would ha:e been achie:ed so beauti ully.

Someone Quoting me wrote: "$oise on the mats is pain outside#. /t seems to ha:e been the seminars motto. The +o@o is the place where you can make all the mistakes you need to get things correctly. 2s we explained it se:eral times! you are allowed to make mistakes in the +o@o in order to! hope ully! a:oid them in 3issen (true ight, and in 3issen (real li e,. The -u@inkan is teaching us to become real human beings! li:ing a ull and happy li e. 2 ter a week in /ndia with you! / came to understand e:en better the power o what Hatsumi Sensei is teaching us! li e. >i e is what struck me while / was there. /ndia is a boiling! ast expanding and blooming country that is going to be o ma@or importance or the world in a :ery near uture. This dynamism is also present in your training and / honestly lo:ed teaching your group. / hope there will be more other seminars like that to ollow this irst one. / can say that / learnt as much as you did. This is the best lesson o "Shikin Haramitsu +aikomyo# / was e:er gi:en. Thank you all or this present. / want to thank you all or your time and hospitality in -angaloreR or the many exchanges we ha:e had during this weekR and or making us eel at home. &e eel richer a ter this trip than e:er be ore. Chukrya! 2rnaud Cousergue -u@inkan Shihan

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seminar | 11 'omments

Hello worldN Posted on Bebruary 1&! 2007by kumafr

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&elcome to our new weblog. 2ll year long! / tra:el the world! train in 3apan and teach in 9aris. / thought that you would like to share with me some o my experiences. This is the ob@ecti:e o this weblog. Thank you! 2rnaud Cousergue! -u@inkan Shihan! Grance