The Role of Enthusiasm in Training

Enthusiasm is something we all experience when we begin something new. This keeps our interest going while we establish a new routine around that new and exciting experience. With martial arts, it is easy to become so enthused with the training early on that some burnout as a result. Martial arts requires a life-time of study to become truly proficient at the deeper concepts of a system. What is more vital than enthusiasm is temerity. Temerity is having a tenacious, almost audacious, devotion to learning something. Even when we don't understand something or can't do something, we have the temerity to do it anyway so that we will eventually learn it. Some might call it, "being too stupid to quit." There are some fighting systems that are quite easy to learn, and so some would think it strange we study a martial art that requires so much dedication and study. They can't understand why we would choose to study something so difficult. Those people can't see the end result the way we do. We don't just want to learn some fighting techniques, we want to fully embody the ideals of the warriors of old and be more than just competent fighters, we want to be proficient masters of the martial way. Allow enthusiasm to have it's place early on, and guide it into temerity and commitment.

Be a Good Student

No matter what style of martial art you decide to go after, be a good student. Part of being a good student is finding a good teacher. If you can't find a good teacher in the style you want to learn, you need to ask yourself if it is really worth training in that style. There was a great blog post written about this by Michael Glen, of Bujinkan Santa Monica. I suggest reading his blog post:  Click Here

Koryu Arts

In Koryu arts, any ancient martial art from Japan that pre-dates the Meiji restoration in Japan in 1868, the training is done a bit differently than in the Gendai systems, or modern schools of marital art and sport fighting. Don Roley wrote a great blog post about this and goes into detail about the purpose of this type of training. I'll post the link at the end for further reading.

Essentially, the training is broken down into a methodical, systematic way of training combative techniques without actually hurting or killing our training partner in the dojo. Essentially, as Don says in his blog post, if you are doing combative training and someone doesn't die, then it is simulated combat. We start out training very slow, giving students a chance to feel out a technique and to ensure it is being done properly. Then, later in a student's training and development, we speed things up and give the feeling and intention more indicative of real conflict. Various training tools are used at different stages of training for both unarmed and weapons training. If you come to a class, you will likely be training slow and controlled. As is often said by my own Sensei: "If you can't do it slow, you can't do it at all." There is also a mantra in martial arts that goes something like this: "Slow is controlled, controlled is smooth, smooth is fast."

Read Don's Blog here for his view point on this and further insights from his experiences living and training in Japan for over a decade: http://www.coloradospringsninjutsu.com/Ranting_and_Ravings_2016/Entries/2017/5/23_Understanding_Koryu_training.html

Whoever fights monsters...

There is a famous quote, "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become amonster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." -Friedrich Nietzsche


One of Hatsumi Soke's well known quotes is: "I'm not teaching you to fight, I'm teaching you to control evil. - Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi

This is one of the many things that sets the Bujinkan apart from many other styles of martial arts. The way we learn this art from Soke is a transmission of lessons and a heritage through history. Instead of merely learning to punch and kick and to cause harm to people, part of our training incorporates understanding the warrior ways of living a peaceful life and only using our warrior art when it is unavoidable. 

Article Link: New Millennium Ninja

A Bujinkan Shidoshi named Sean Askew once interviewed Hatsumi Soke for the Tokyo Journal. The interview is really cool, and covers a lot of things. Read it by clicking on the link:
Click Here

How is your Kihon?

In the book Tetsuzan, Nagato Sensei is talking with Hatsumi Soke and he comments that after his last trip to the US (this conversation took place nearly three decades ago at the time of this posting) he felt those studying the art in the US did not know our Kihon well enough. This means our foundation.

It's not so much about knowing the Kihon Happo, the eight basic techniques. Those are important, of course, but it is far more important to be able to use the foundation aspects of what makes up the Kihon Happo and apply them in all of our training. They are a foundation for a reason.

This is really going to be the same no matter what art one studies, whether it be Karate, Aikido, Jujutsu, painting, music, or writing. The foundation for each form is just that, a foundation. It doesn't need to be repeated in it's exact form without deviation for thousands of times. One practices the foundation enough to make it natural (and yes, you have to do it correctly, not some sloppy foundation getting practiced so bad habbits form), then you practice how that foundation can be applied and adapted to any situation. This is what make the Kihon Happo so important. First, learn them in their correct form and practice them that way. Then learn to make those take new form so they can be adaptable in any number of ways. Happo means eight. Both the Japanese number eight and our number eight can represent infinity. Eight (8), turned sideways (∞), is the mathematical symbol for infinity. Eight in Japanese (八) is made up of two asymptote lines, lines that forever get closer, but never meet. They go on for infinity, never actually meeting, just getting closer.

So, when you think of Kihon Happo, don't just think of it as those eight techniques, think of those eight techniques teaching you how to be adaptable and to use them in all your training. Not just the form of them, but the feeling and their methods for use.

The Kamae are not like Bonsai

Japanese Bonsai Tree

I often get asked by new students or potential students, "How does this art compare with (Karate, Aikido, Taekwondo, Judo, Jujutsu)." This can be a difficult question to answer because they obviously have an idea of what martial arts should look like or be like and any answer I give will be a compare and contrast or could contradict what they already think martial arts is. The best thing I can do is get a person on the mat and actually experience and feel true Budo in action. Two of the fundamental components of this art that have to be learned early on are Sabaki (movement) and Kamae (postures).

I want to focus on Kamae. These postures aren't static, they are adaptive and fluid and are what make this art so effective. And they are natural for the human body to do. I read a blog by Paul Masse about a class he translated for Hatsumi Soke where Soke spoke about humans being like Bonsai. Read his blog post here. Essentially Bonsai are beautiful trees, but not natural. They can't be found in nature. A person wraps wire around the branches of a young tree to force it to take shape and the roots are constantly trimmed to stunt growth. Humans are the same way, we allow ourselves to be molded and stunted by factors and influences outside of ourselves. It's really a great lesson, and it got me thinking about Kamae and Bonsai.

Kamae can be static and forced. Some martial arts develop their Kamae, their postures, in what are unnatural, either unnatural for creating great power, or unnatural in the way the body moves, thus leading to injury. The Kamae of the schools in the Bujinkan are very natural. Yes, they still have to be learned, but they develop natural power through movement that is natural for the human body. They adjust and change in a constant flow of movement, ever adapting to the course of a fight. Very unlike a Bonsai tree.

Bonsai have their own beauty, but it is not the same beauty as found in nature. As soon as a person stops caring for a bonsai, they either die or start to grow wild. This is what also happens if the Kamae of a martial artist is not natural. If it doesn't develop natural power through natural movement, it can lead to injury and the inability to be adaptive. And in a fight, being adaptive is vital. So, it you are thinking of getting into Karate, Kendo, Taekwondo, Jujutsu, Aikido or other marital arts, or already study, feel free to check out our dojo to learn what I'm writing about here.

Knowing the Difference

Many people, probably most, don't know the difference between the different martial arts. They use Karate or Taekwondo as generic terms for martial arts, but they aren't. Well, about one hundred years ago in Japan they used the term karate for empty hand fighting, ie. no weapons. Today are specific to those styles and often those aren't what people are looking for when they think of martial arts training. They think of this old heritage their school is connected to that connects back to samurai warriors of old. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

I was in this same boat when I was a child and I wanted to learn Karate. I didn't know the differences, I just wanted to learn martial arts, so I went to the nearest Karate school to me. I didn't understand that the school was several generations removed from it's Asian roots. This is too often the case. Students sign up at a school without doing much research into the school's history, they take it for face value that surely it must be connected to some old heritage. This is not always, in fact it's very rarely, the case. Sometimes the very ancient art they think they are practicing was actually created by someone in someplace like Idaho Falls and has not real connection to China or Japan.

Now, if this doesn't bother you, then it really doesn't matter. If there are other factors more important to making your decision in finding a school, stick with those. This is your journey. For me, I wanted something old, like really super old, because I knew the older schools were used in actual combat and had to be proven on the battlefield. That was what I was after. That is why as a teenager I started training in the Bujinkan, because it has that connection to history. It has a martial heritage of an unbroken chain of being passed down from generation to generation, teaching what works and ignoring what doesn't. I can't begin to even just summarize the vitally important things I learned training in this art instead of the other arts I trained in and explored such as Karate, Judo, Jujutsu, Taekwondo, Aikido, and GR Wrestling. Many of my students come to our dojo with black belts in other arts and are dumbfounded by the depth of training they were missing out in before. Some even get a bit angry and felt they were misled by their other style or school. They need not be angry, it was just a part of their path they needed to take to get here.

Come experience the difference first hand. We are located in Meridian, Idaho. Our school is very close to Boise, Idaho. If you are looking for a martial art in Boise or the surrounding areas, if you are thinking about Karate or Taekwondo, consider adding our dojo to your list to explore.

Ninja Day Today

Today is apparently international Ninja Day (I don't know who decided it) so have some ninja fun. We'll be training tonight as we always do on Mondays, so it's a perfect time to get some training in.

武 "Bu," To Stop War

Recently my Sensei came to our dojo for a weekend-long seminar. Two full days of amazing training. During the seminar he spoke about the Japanese character (kanji) 武 "Bu." 武 Bu is usually translated as war, or martial. He said this is a more modern definition for the word. The original use of the kanji 武 Bu means, "to stop war."

武 Bu is the first kanji in the name of our martial art, 武神館 Bujinkan. The kanji 神 Jin (or Kami) means divine or enlightened, it can even mean God. The kanji 館 Kan means a castle or hall. Typically, the Bujinkan is translated to mean the Hall of the Enlightened Warrior, or Hall of the Divine Warrior. With the understanding of this older meaning of the word 武 Bu, we can translate Bujinkan as: the dojo of stopping war with God.

Now, we can do a bit of word play simply using a comma. If we write the name of the Bujinkan using a comma so it reads: the dojo of stopping war, with God, then it means that with the aid of God we work to stop war. If we write it without the comma, we can interpret it to mean that we are learning to stop warring against God.

There is a high level of martial thinking called Shin Gi Tai. These can be referred to as the divine techniques, techniques learned from heaven. If one is to ever reach this level in their training, they must stop fighting against the will of heaven, trust that heaven has better plans than we do, and follow the path of enlightenment. Then the Shin Gi Tai can be made usable in us.

So, no matter how you translate Bujinkan, our studies take us beyond the physical training of martial arts, or war arts. Our Soke of the Bujinkan has said, "I'm not teaching you how to fight. I am teaching you how to control evil." This is the essence of our training in the dojo.

For Budo Like Soup

Ah Soup, it is a wonderful concoction that every culture in the world has at least one version of. Soup is what made it possible for humans to eat certain vegetables in their diet that were normally too tough to eat alone, improving the health of the cultures that learned to cook vegetables in pots with water.

Have you ever tried to share your favorite soup with someone. Especially one that is very good, and they just don't like it, they prefer their own? This is a bit of a metaphor, but I think you know what I'm talking about. Once, I entered a small community chili contest. I didn't have any aspirations to win, I mostly just wanted to share my chili with my friends and acquaintances in this group (ok, I thought I had a good chance of winning too). I bought prime rib (yes, I was going for overkill) and seared it before braising it for four hours. No ground beef for my chili. I made the chili flavoring from actual chilis, seven different varieties. I flame roasted them, then pureed them. Instead of sugar, I used chocolate to sweeten the chili. When it was done, I was super proud. And throughout the night, people kept telling me how amazing my chili was. There were other chilis I tasted that I thought were going to give mine a run for first prize (I asked them how they made their chili and got some good ideas, and they asked me how I made mine and I shared also).

I didn't even place though. Neither did the ones that I thought were also really good. The judges were just some random people asked to do the judging and they all liked the watery chilis with corn and ground beef in them (that was the first prize winner) or with lots of different beans but standard chili seasoning (second prize). Those ones were the ones that won. Those judges liked what they liked, and it didn't matter beyond that. I even had a friend years later tell me about a chili contest he entered for his church. He bought two different brands of canned chili from the store, dumped them together in a pot, added some extra seasoning to it like garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder, and he won the blue ribbon and the home made quilt that went with first prize!

So, what does this have to do with Budo? Quite a lot. It also has a lot to do with religion. Budo and religion are very similar in many ways. Have you ever tried to discuss religion with someone when you are both on very different sides? It's nearly impossible. Everyone likes their own soup and they are fine with that. Hey, even a boring soup is still better than the ingredients alone (hopefully anyway, lol!). So, when a person who is dead set on their way of thinking, it is so hard to change it. Even if you do some actual sparring and beat the person silly, they will still think their martial art is superior in many cases. I've seen this so many times, I just had this happen this past weekend when talking about the difference between Budo and sport fighting with someone that also is a teacher.

It was a friendly discussion with some very light sparring. I had the upper hand each time and stopped at the moment of the very serious strike or break. It didn't matter, this person still thought the sport art was better. In only a very few instances have I had someone say, "wow, I've never seen it like that before, that's really cool." Usually, they are still dead set on thinking what ever art they study is still superior. So, just enjoy your own soup, and remain open to what other people have to offer. You can still pick up something. Don't be like the person who refuses to give up their way of thinking, even when it is literally beat into their skull. Or when they say their way of striking is superior and you let them have a free shot and it does nothing, so they switch and say "well, then I'd do this," and it doesn't work, or this, and it doesn't work, and then the time for free shots is over and you move in and stop short of really hurting them, and they still don't see the problem with their training, there is no longer a point in trying to help them see a better way. So, here is a mantra to live by when discussing Budo with someone who does sport fighting. Just ask them, "Do you enjoy what you do?" And they say, yes. "Well, good then." And leave it there. As with religion, only people who are open to accepting new ideas will understand Budo and want to learn more because they will be seeking it out.

Are there other factors? Of course. Such as the particular skill of the person being a larger factor than their art. Am I as biased, quite likely. But I found this art after doing sport fighting and spent a couple years just exploring martial arts and that was when I found the Bujinkan and haven't had a reason to look back.