Temerity in Training

I have talked over the last couple of nights about Temerity in training, My Sensei, Mark, wrote in his book on training that a budoka (martial artist) needs to have Temerity. This means excessive confidence or boldness; audacity. Anyone who knows Mark knows he is not a braggadocios type of person, and that isn't what he means about being excessively confident or bold or audacious. It means that when everything conspires against you to keep training, you have the audacity to keep training anyway. You don't let things get in your way and you train in spite of the circumstances.

When I moved to Idaho, I'd already been training in the Bujinkan for many years. But the one Bujinkan dojo that was here closed up shop. So, my options were to stop training altogether (not really an option for me), train in another martial art (I'd already trained in several martial arts and knew Bujinkan was the best for me and what I wanted out of training, so not much of an option, especially since none of the dojos in the valley appealed to me), or keep training in Bujinkan somehow. I had the Temerity to keep training in the Bujinkan even though there wasn't a teacher near by. I was bold and had the audacity to think I could do this, even though some said I shouldn't try, it would be too difficult. I went to seminars, I networked with former teachers to try and find closer teachers, and settled on a teacher that kept me going for some time. I then had the Temerity to help others learn this art and started teaching. This was during the recession and I wasn't sure anyone would train since I saw dojos all over the valley closing, but I had the Temerity to do it anyway. One of my earliest students was almost killed by someone with a gun, but we had been doing gun disarms for a couple weeks straight before it happened and it saved his life and the gunman's life also. So, yes, I had the audacity to teach others this art, and it was a good thing I did. Then I found Mark, one of the best non-Japanese teachers in the Bujinkan and I had the audacity, the Temerity, to train with him even though he wasn't my teacher because I wanted to be as good as him some day. I eventually left my teacher that helped me get through the slump period of not having one close by, and clung to Mark when he accepted me as a student. I've had the Temerity to drive to Portland and/or Albany 5 times per year to train with him. I've gone with him to Japan to train under Hatsumi Soke and Nagato DaiShihan and I am going again with him. I have also seen more growth in myself and in my students because of having the Temerity to train with Mark and do what is needed to train with him.

To me, this martial art is more than just something to do with my time. Every class (whether the ones I'm teaching at our dojo or the ones Mark is teaching) is an event to me, think about that for a second. How would your training change if you thought of every class as an event? Something not to be missed out of convenience. Not to be late to? I understand that things happen and life gets in the way sometimes, but ask yourself what is the level of Temerity you are expressing in your desire to train? Do you have the Temerity to say, "This is what's important, this has meaning. This is what I will be identified as, I am a Budoka!" Miyomato Musashi said "The approach to combat and everyday life should be the same."

So, have the audacity, the boldness, the Temerity to live your life as a Budoka, but remember, a Budoka is someone that trains no matter what, that excitedly attends class, and not just a weekend warrior. We've seen several of those in the dojo over the years. The person who attends a few classes only to realize this martial art is too difficult to learn just attending two or three classes per month. They don't grow and develop as fast as they want to, and drop out early on.

Please don't misunderstand my intentions for this, I am not reprimanding any one person or persons nor do I have anyone in mind as I'm writing this. I am merely expressing what it means to have Temerity in your training and to keep training no matter what. When you hit a slump, when you feel like you aren't as good as you want to be, when others don't understand why you train because it isn't the popular thing to do, if you don't get rank advancements as fast or often as you think you should: You have the Temerity to keep training anyway. If you are looking into training with our dojo, know that Temerity is something you will need in your training.

Legit or Fake Link

I often share posts from Don Roley's "Rantings and Ravings" blog. He is much like Dr. House from the TV show House. He just says the truth no matter who likes it or not. Don can read, write, and speak Japanese and has spent a lot of time in Japan. In this blog post I am sharing from him, he spells it out about all the fakes teaching under the name Ninjutsu. It is sad how all the fake schools out there ruin it for us that train in the real thing. They are so bad at what they do, and are so easily proven to be fakes, that it hurts the reputation of legitimate dojo teaching this art. Also, the same goes for any art that claims to teach a Japanese martial art, but has no real claim to Japan. The language is "colorful" in two or three spots, so if you are offended by such language or at work, skip it or wait until a different time to read it. Here is the link:
www.coloradospringsninjutsu.com/Blog/Entries/2014/10/8_Legit_or_Fake.html

Let's not skip ahead

I saw this picture posted today and thought it applied all too well to martial arts training. There are students who just want to skip ahead to the part where they are awesome immediately. They don't want to do any foundation work that is designed to get your body to instinctively do things correctly. They don't want to spend years studying the complexity of a martial system to find the true art within. They want to just be awesome. This is normal, natural even. We see people who are awesome and we want to be like them. We think that after a few months of grueling training we should be awesome already, but this isn't how it works, unless you are some kind of savant. And savants tend to be so skilled at one thing they are unbalanced in others. It is important to live a balanced life. Just keep training, you will be more awesome each day than you were the last day. Don't cheat yourself of the time it takes to build a solid foundation.

See you in on the mat at Living-Warrior Dojo, your school for traditional Bujinkan Ninjutsu martial arts. Martial arts school and training for Meridian, Boise, Kuna, Star, Nampa and surrounding communities. (See also: karate, samurai, ninja, aikido, judo, self-defense)

Shin Shin Shin Gan

Fantastic article from Paul Masse, posted on his blog at: kasumian.com

Shin Shin Shin Gan is an expression you may hear during your training in Japan.  It can be translated as the heart and the eyes of the divine.  Shin 神 (kami, sacred, divine) Shin 心 (heart) Shin 神 Gan 眼 (eyes). Shin Shin Shin Gan.  

Your eyes can be easily deceived.  In fact, all of our limited senses can be easily deceived.  Just think of the magician that makes a tiger appear in an empty box.  The tiger is not appearing out of the air, it is skillfully hidden in the unseen compartments of the box or stage.  But we are very surprised.  We pay a lot of money to see magicians fool our eyes and senses.  Sometimes it is pleasant to be fooled and sometimes not so pleasant.  The ladyboys in Thailand love fooling the love hungry soldiers coming in off the ships! Maybe it is best they never know the truth!

It reminds me of a story.  In the honbu dojo in Noda, Hatsumi Sensei has a picture in the dojo of a woman putting on makeup.  He once told me it represents Yamato Takeru No Mikoto, a Japanese legendary prince of the Yamato Dynasty. To kill a very powerful enemy, he once dressed as a woman maid attendant at a drinking party and successfully assassinated his opponent.  

Even a picture in the dojo fooled me. You may even be looking at something directly for many many years and not know what it truly is!

A true ninja cultivates the heart and eyes of the divine.  Not seeing with just the eyes, not listening with just the ears, not tasting with just the tongue, not smelling with just the nose, not feeling with just the hands.  If you don`t cultivate yourself, you will be fooled over and over.  You will continue to chose poorly and find yourself at the point of your opponent`s blade.  This is true for choosing teachers as well, if you choose wisely, you will have a wonderful experience. Choose poorly, and you will find yourself on a dark and perilous road.  But don`t worry, in the end, both will die!

Those that have cultivated the heart and eyes of the divine are like sunflowers.  They don`t choose any more.  They just move.  When the sun rises in the easy, they turn their faces to the light, when the light moves to the west, they turn their faces westward.  Moving with the light, they don`t choose, they just move in the direction of light naturally, without thought.  A true ninja is like a sunflower, it is hard to judge him because we are always fooled choosing this or that, but he is always moving naturally with the light.

Know the difference

Here is a post from Mark Lighgow, shared on Phil Legare's website. I want to comment early on this. San Shin is one of the foundation kata of the Bujinkan, and I have noticed myself how few people understand it or how to do it correctly. Also, the last paragraphs, about Soke messing with people is very important. He does this quite often I've noticed. He will say something almost absurd and people take it as gospel truth. I've talked about this in class before, it is important to use common sense when training, especially with Soke. Just like any martial art, there are bad teachers in the Bujinkan, and Hatsumi kind of uses these absurdities to help weed out the crap. He once said, "Students deserve the teachers they get." Meaning, if you can't tell a good teacher from a bad teacher as a student, you deserve what you end up with. In our dojo, I as the Sensei, strive to constantly learn from Soke and the master teachers under him to always only teach quality martial arts in the dojo and leave the garbage for others to play in. My past martial arts experiences and my nearly two decades in the Bujinkan serve me well to know the good from the bad.

From Mark Lithgow:
“Really good training with Hatsumi sensei today!

I really liked how Phillip started the class before Sensei came. He spoke of how several people mentioned at the recent memorial event about the importance of kihon, and started the class with the Sanshin no Kata. He counted us through it, 10 times each technique, much like many of the classes in Japan in the past used to be started. The speed he counted was pretty much a standard speed that we always used to warm up to. I was a little shocked to look around the dojo and see how much trouble many people had keeping up. Several people were just standing, looking around with confused expressions.

Much of what Sensei taught today involved being ‘solid’ and strong. He likes to say “Don’t use power”, but people can take him a little too literally sometimes. What he is really saying is “Don’t use unnecessary power… Don’t use power all the time, but you always have to have (structural) strength”.

Near the end of class, after we’d been doing some sword stuff, he did a kind of chiburi technique, then, with a mischievous look on his face, licked the blade. He talked about knowing the difference in taste between male and female blood. He then went on to say that on a battlefield, you had to be able to recognise the smell of male and female blood. I translated that to the class, and after a short pause, he turned to me, with a big smile, and said “Of course I’m messing with you!”

“Don’t believe everything I say!” he said. “Believe half of what I say, but use your own judgement too!” As an example, he said that he might say “Don’t worry! This sword isn’t sharp… It’s just a training sword!” But really, it IS sharp, and you are in danger. Even though he tells you something, you have to make the final call yourself!”