Yamato Damashii

In Hatsumi Soke's book, Ninpo: Wisdom for Life, there is a section towards the back called Do Not Forget Yamato Damashi. Yamato Damashii, he explains, means Japanese Spirit. There is more to it than just that, though. It is the essence of what give Japanese people their quality of life. There is a heavy emphasis on harmony in Yamato Damashii. Soke says, "This is the martial artist's true Tamato Damashii." -pg. 177 

This often confuses people, how can one be a martial artist and yet keep a spirit of Harmony? Isn't martial arts all about fighting? The word Budo contains the kanji for War (bu) after all. Except, that the the kanji for Do is path, referencing the path one takes toward enlightenment. While there are certainly times where a warrior takes up arms in defense of one's life, family, or country, the path of the warrior is one of harmony and enlightenment. "Budo is never meant to be a weapon for aggression." -pg. 177

In the west, martial arts are often seen as something violent. Locking two people together in a ring or cage and let them fight until one person in knocked out, taps out, or loses enough points that judges determine them the loser. But this is sport fighting, not martial art. And I'm not saying anything against sport fighting, it is just important to understand that sport fighting and marital arts, especially Budo, are separate things entirely. 

A person who trains in Budo, a Budoka, doesn't need to be in constant conflict. They actually avoid conflict and seek a path of harmony. They strive for enlightenment. It is very difficult to become enlightened if you are always in conflict, if you are always being aggressive, if you constantly feel the need to prove you are better than someone else. "The true master of budo avoids fighting until all other possibilities have been tried. By avoiding a confrontation, one finds the smartest way to become friends with an opponent." -pg. 177

Shared Blog Post, Jutsu vs. Waza

I wanted to share this great blog post from Don Roley on the difference between Jutsu (art) and Waza (technique or form). Often Waza and Kata are used interchangeably, so if that is a word you are more familiar with, you can somewhat substitute Kata for Waza, though there are some differences.

What I took from this post was the importance of learning the subtleties of the art from a teach who can share them with you. Books and videos have their place in learning, but they are a supplement to the real training. In Budo, the feeling is so important. Those who have trained in the dojo for any length of time over a couple months have expressed at some point their surprise at how certain subtle changes can make a technique work so much better. Some things are so subtle they don't show up on video, but the person receiving the technique can feel those important changes, because they hurt so much more! :)

Please read and enjoy:
http://www.coloradospringsninjutsu.com/Ranting_and_Ravings_2016/Entries/2017/1/24_Jutsu_vs_Waza.html

Top Martial Arts School

So, exciting news. Our dojo was named one of the best martial arts schools in the area by Expertise.com
https://www.expertise.com/id/boise/karate-taekwondo-martial-arts

Hatsumi Soke Art Prints

Hatsumi Soke's art work is beautiful and now there is a kickstarter to raise funds to make prints of Soke's art work. If you are interested, there are 8 days left from this posting to support this project and choose how many prints you want.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1780878098/masaaki-hatsumi-art-prints

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.