武神館ネシャミニー道場

The year of the Dragon

2012-01-21T21:48:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is New Years Eve. "No it's not!", I hear some say. Well according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar it is, and to that I pay homage this weekend. Actually, it seems like an eon ago that I welcomed the year of the Hare, so much has happened, so much productive activity was around me I could barely keep up. At our small group in Bensalem we enjoyed the great outdoors as always, we worked on our basics, which are becoming less and less basic every time we look at them. Some of us continued to study with Jack Hoban sensei in Springlake and tried to bring some of that feeling back to class. Some of us attended various seminars you can read about in other blog entries and I even managed to make it to Japan again, to watch Hatsumi Sensei in action. All that training, and that was just our little section of the Buyu.

But now 2012 is upon us, I hope that everyone reading this has already visited www.livingvalues.com to read about the Buyu in 2011 and the theme for 2012. If not, do not pass go, do not collect $200 and proceed directly to the site.

As you may have seen the theme for 2012 in the Buyu is "Health". This was clarified by Jack during the start of the year as being more than just physical health and not catching a cold etc. He talked about the physical and the mental health providing a platform whereby one can really enjoy life. This reminded me very much of the Japanese term "Genki", which is usually translated as "Health" but often refers to a persons general vitality. Someone can be quite ill or even frail yet be very "Genki" of spirit and I think this might be part of the idea. It really made me think a bit about myself and others in terms of how "Healthy" we really are. Plenty to work on. The year of the Dragon is the year of vitality and good luck, so hopefully that will help us get it.

Speaking of dragons, we were extremely fortunate to start the year with a visit from Pedro Sensei of the Canary Islands to Spring Lake NJ. He visited once before and I also blogged about that. What more can I say except every time I see him it just gets better! It was great to experience the contrast between the Tiger Jack and the Dragon Pedro, great to experience the level of training and I went home feeling super charged with feeling. There was a great sense of Buyu friendship at that seminar, people from all over the world just training and getting along as they should be. At those moments all the troubles of the universe fade away and you just enjoy yourself, as both teachers often told us to throughout the day "Enjoy yourself!".

Daikomyosai 2011

2011-12-15T20:01:00.003-05:00

This year I went to the Daikomyosai.

I dined. I trained. I trained. I met up with old friends. I trained and trained. I dined with my Buyu. I trained and trained again. I met up with more friends. I trained and trained yet again. I attended the party. I attended the after party party. I trained. I trained. I trained. I waved goodbye to the Soke and I came home.

Yes, that was it in a nutshell. I wish I could say more but the honest truth is that the things I realized about Japan, the Bujinkan, about people and about myself on this trip can not be written at this time. I am well fed on this latest experience and no doubt will digest upon it for some time. All I can report to you now are the messages that I heard above all others, most of which have been relayed time and time again:

1) Strive to have a universal view. Budo is not about one culture or group but an interweaving aspect of humanity. We should understand this and look out for it as we go about our lives.

2) It is important to utilize the kukan (space). Not just any kukan but the correct kukan point or kyusho of the kukan.

3) The training is more about feeling ultimately than anything else. Being able to cultivate the correct feeling is what the art is about. This feeling allows us to find the correct place to be in the current moment.

4) Being able to flow freely and adapt to the attack is critical to prevent the feeling from dying. Nothing remains the same so in order to remain alive there must be constant adaption.

5) At the same time, not having any fundamentals from which to break free from is an exercise in futility. There are many good 15th Dans in the world to learn from.

6) The 15th Dans play an important role, and it is not just important that they study hard but also that they act well and have a good heart.

7) Understanding the history of the art is useful and to a certain extent critical, but it is also less important than the training itself. There is a need to find the correct balance between the past and the present in order to create a good future.

8) Keep going!

Milestones on the long road of training

2011-10-22T22:12:00.008-04:00

Almost 3 years ago, we created the Bujinkan Neshaminy Dojo. The primary purpose at the time was to supplement our training with Jack Hoban in Springlake NJ, but of course we were happy to invite new members to come along and try it. Over time we have come to feel the responsibility of teaching and started to evolve a little. We wanted to really progress those who relied on us as their primary source of training. Also we wanted to reward their progress just as any other dojo would, and just as we had been rewarded over the years. We decided to start awarding grades. Below is a picture of one of our students receiving a grade recently.

Grades are a tricky concept, especially in martial arts. There is rarely a definitive answer on what it means to be a certain grade, just as there is rarely a definitive answer on whether a person is good or bad. Just like the expression 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder', so too is the relationship between the teacher and the student. Grades perhaps are useful milestones, that mark the journey of the student on a winding and sometimes looping trajectory.

Ultimately many might say that grades are not significant, but this is like the Buddhist monk who only takes food given by others to his bowl. It is good that we have monks, but if we all became monks the human race would soon starve. New students deserve the nourishment of grades while they still have meaning to them, and we deserve to give those grades meaning by making them a challenge to attain. There is no shortcut to training, so there can be no shortcut to teaching.

Then what if after a certain amount of milestones and years of training a student should wonder where they are with respect to the art itself? Jack Hoban said to me last week "If the road is infinite, then we are both the same distance from the end".

Clarifying the reason for being ethical

2011-09-03T20:11:00.005-04:00

Ethics are morals in action. I have no idea why I feel the need to act at times, to help others or to intervene in situations neither of my making nor of my concern. Perhaps it was part of my upbringing, perhaps it is simply intrinsic, but whatever it is, I have to say, that I usually feel good about doing something to prevent or reduce harm for others and I feel bad when I turn my back and walk away having done absolutely nothing. I have certainly done both in my life, I will no doubt continue to do both. I know which feels better and I am always developing ways to be ethical while reducing the personal risk involved. But how do I explain such a pattern of behavior to someone else? How do I explain to a friend or loved one why I feel the need to take on any risk whatsoever for someone I know nothing about?

In my personal experience, talking about how it 'feels' like the right thing to do only connects with other people who also feel it is the right thing to do. And as any adult knows, just because something feels right, it doesn't always make it so. Probably the hardest person to explain myself to was my wife. She is a very smart and educated lady, and whenever she has seen or heard about me approaching a conflict situation she was highly concerned. There were lots of questions asked around my motivations, the risks involved, whether it was my business and even if it was a case of egotistic desire. Very hard questions to counter, and to be quite honest the best answer I could ever come up with was "I can't explain it. That is just who I am". Ugh, cliche, completely relative and non-clarifying. I could ramble about how society relied on charitable behavior and how if more people looked out for each other the world would be a better place. But it wasn't clear or coherent and I was stuck. Until today.

Today my wife called me and I could tell from her voice that something was wrong. She was preparing for a long drive so she stopped to fill up her gas at about 11am. As she pulled into the gas station she noticed a shady looking character leaving the shop, he made a comment about her nice car as she pulled in. When she got out to operate the pump he started making inappropriate comments about her appearance and asking her questions. She ignored him, but he started asking if she could hear him and came closer. My wife told him she was in a hurry and didn't have time to talk but still he came closer and seemed oblivious to the discomfort he was causing. There was something about him that just scared her and she was getting more and more nervous as the situation started to deteriorate out of her control. Then another car pulled in, and another man got out of his car and also started walking towards her. As rational thought started to be eroded by the fearful sight of two strange men coming towards her another process started to activate. Her instinct. She had a feeling that the second man was different so she moved towards him. At the site of this the shady character backed off and left, much to her relief. The second man asked her if she was alright, and when she told him what had happened, he told her the reason he was coming over was because he could tell something was wrong and just wanted to check. That simple act made a big difference to her situation.

She called me for two reasons today, one was to let me know what happened, two was to say that she understands now. She understands that if not for the random intervention she would still have been in the grip of fear or worse. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing if I did the same for someone else sometimes. And that is when I said what I should have said a long time ago.

I said "I can't be there to look out for you all the time, and when I am not there I have to rely on other people to do it. But the pay off is that sometimes I have to look out for other people too and that way it is safer for everyone".

The reason for being ethical was a lot clearer to us now. Thanks to some unknown man just looking out for others, and even thanks to one shady character who just made things harder for himself and others like him.

10,000 hrs alone 2,000 hrs together and a few moments in action

2011-08-16T11:37:00.005-04:00

Last Saturday I attended an incredibly insightful seminar with Jack Hoban Sensei. It was very interesting because Jack pointed out that although everyone can attend seminars and watch videos that only gives you the external view. However, you can't see what is really happening inside someone's body as they apply a technique, and that is a vital part of the result. In fact it was suggested that one reason many people might plateau is because working on the external alone can only take you so far.

During the seminar, basic movements were broken down and the anatomical movements of joints and isometric activity of muscles were explored using various simple looking but brain frying exercises. Progressively these concepts built upon each other to create very stable and recognizable basics. Jack kept repeating with a smile, 'Today we are doing 1983 style basics!' and as I thought about old seminars, videos and photos I could start to see the connection. More importantly I could start to 'feel' the basics. I may have moved like a robot at first, I may have broken a sweat doing a simple few repetitions of Ichimonji no Kata, but, I could begin to understand how with a bit of practice more efficient movement could be created in the long run. In fact as the seminar progressed it was apparent that in many cases that doing or not doing something internally could make or break the technique.

During one of our breaks Jack asked if there were any musicians in the room. As it turned out there was not that day. Jack is an accomplished musician and he talked about the pinnacle of his music career, which was playing with B. B. King twice. An incredible opportunity and a level of performance that many guitarists can only dream of. However, as Jack pointed out, in order to get to the point where he was even lucky enough to have that opportunity he had to play with his own band for 2,000 hours. 2,000 hours to obtain just two performances. He then pointed out that in order to play in his band he had to practice on his own for 10,000 hours. 10,000 hours on his own, 2,000 hours in a band in order to play twice with B.B. King.

The parallel was then put forward to us. In our lives, we may never get in conflict if we are lucky, but for most of us, even if we do, it will only be for a few moments. However in order to survive the few moments, we need those 2,000 hours training together as preparation. And in order to get the most out of those 2,000 hours training together, we need to spend 10,000 hours training alone.

I didn't even feel I needed to ask the question, "what kind of training should we do in those 10,000 hours?". It was pretty obvious from the seminar what I had to work on.

Jack and Bud Seminar

2011-06-12T23:47:00.005-04:00

Last week I finally updated the blog into the energetic and exciting start to 2011 by talking about the January seminar with Jack and Pedro. Now I am going to skip forward a couple of chapters and talk about our experience in April training with Jack Hoban and Bud Malmstrom.

For those who have never met Bud Malmstrom he has a really great character. He was one of the earliest Americans to study the Bujinkan arts in the 1970's. At some points in the seminar he touched on these experiences, the contrast that stood out to me was that in those days there was almost no information and information technology was nothing compared to what it is now. Printed paper and magnetic tape were the technologies, limited in distribution and scarce to be found. Looking at the overwhelming online data we have in the 21st century we can see that things have switched from not enough to quite frankly too much. It also reminded me of how at a recent Daikomyosai several of the Japanese Shihan and Hastumi sensei were recounting their experiences from the 50's and 60's. Compared to this seminar where Jack and Bud were talking about how things were in the 70's and 80's, and so on it goes, the cycle of training.

Actually this was something of a small cycle for myself. The very first time I trained Bujinkan in the USA was at the last seminar with Bud and Jack in 2005. I can not even remember what the focus of the seminar was back then, but I do remember having a great time training and was excited to have a repeat.

This seminar focused on the Kihon Happo of the Gyokko Ryu, and we were very lucky to have Bud Sensei provide a lot of primary principles based on years of training and most importantly experience. For example, Kamae, of course there is always perfect Kamae and not so perfect Kamae and just terrible Kamae. What Bud was able to show us was what he considers to be the most important parts, so even if we students were far from perfect, at least we had the important bases covered.

Apart from insuring that we had some foundation we also did different methods of attack, more in line with modern styles of combat. Again, it was the basic principles of the space management, the timing and the kamae that was consistent throughout and this seminar did a very good job of highlighting these points in a methodical way.

Bud Sensei also did not mince his words, he said some things that a lot of students needed to hear but probably hurt the ego a little. Things as a teacher you may often wish to say, but don't know how to say, Bud can put into very clear and simple terms so there is no misunderstanding. This was very useful, because it was both a lesson for me as a student, and also set an example of how to tell the truth honestly and plainly for the good of all involved.

At the end of the seminar both teachers were open to questioning and some great questions were asked. You could really see that both these instructors have an ongoing passion for the martial arts, inspired by Hatsumi Sensei and to some extent by us who come to learn from them, so that they just 'keep going'.

January Seminar - Pedro and Jack

2011-06-03T10:30:00.004-04:00

It might be June already, but this year really started off it's momentum by a fantastic seminar in New Jersey with Jack Hoban and Pedro Fleitas Gonzalez back in January. It was a very high energy seminar with lots of guests and both the Shihan instructors took us through the Kihon Happo over a whole day. The interesting thing is that they are both different in their backgrounds, training experiences and to a certain extent the visible form, however there is something that they share in the way they move and their life philosophies. It really made me realize that whatever Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu is, it is not something on the surface level, it is not just about one person either, but a collective force that permeates throughout the organization at all levels and appears in many forms through its experienced practitioners depending on the circumstances.

It was only my second time to train in a class by Mr Gonzalez, previously I had an opportunity to attend his class during a Daikomyosai in Hombu Dojo Japan. I was at that time extremely impressed by his knowledge and skill and really hoped I would get another chance to learn from him. I was even more impressed this time. As a person he is notably polite and curtious, he also brings a feeling of intensity in his training. However, although serious when needed, he was often smiling and had a very warm humor about him during the seminar. I experienced some of his technique first hand and, apart from being a bit scary, just like many high level teachers you get this strange feeling, something familiar yet also hard to comprehend, it inspires your curiosity to really keep going and train harder.

During the training we would see some familiar techniques, and both teachers would demonstrate their own particular method of teaching it, or how they were shown the basic version. I found it interesting how depending on when people started training, when they went to Japan and who they trained with their 'basic' might be slightly different. Even more interesting was how they were all valid techniques and how the principles behind why the techniques work is more important than the actual techniques themselves.

During the training I sometimes felt that I did a good job of doing the technique as shown by both instructors. This really didn't happen very often but it did encourage me. Sometimes predictably I found it easier to do the technique the way my regular teacher demonstrated it. In this case I noted that maybe I should try a little more henka for that particular kihon and take a more open approach. However, what really took me by surprise was how some of Sensei Gonzalez techniques felt so natural to me and I struggled with the usual way, which, I thought was great just one week before. I thought about this in the days following the seminar and I realized that sometimes bad kihon is camouflaged amongst my own view of training. I thought my technique was quite good, but then someone brings a contrast to the equation. The bad kihon is unable to hide any longer, no longer camouflaged. This was great because not only did I realize a new way of doing things, but I was also forced to re-evaluate what I thought I was being shown in regular training. As the weeks went by after the seminar I started to get more out of my classes with Jack because I was paying more attention.

Of course there was also the times when I just didn't feel right doing the Kihon that anybody was showing me. But that is why I was attending the seminar and not teaching it. There is always more.

2011 - The year of 季翻初崩

2011-01-15T10:55:00.007-05:00

This post may seem late, it is already mid January and many New Year resolutions may have since faded into dust. However, different people around the world follow alternate calendars due to their own cultural history and individuals may often need extra time to say good bye to 2010 so that is okay too.

2010 itself was a great year for the Buyu but also a sad one. You can read all about it HERE and I strongly suggest you do.

At Neshaminy Dojo we continued to review material from our training with Jack Hoban Sensei. As always we could not mimic that pace and quality of training so we scaled down and focused on what we thought were the important areas to 'keep going' in the right direction. Occasionally we would try something different but it is interesting how the Kuden (spoken teaching) is consistent no matter what weapon or scenario is being practiced.

But that was last year, and last year is gone, what will we be doing this year?

Well as per the Buyu theme we will be focusing on the 'Combat Mindset'. I believe that Takamatsu Sensei once told Hatsumi Sensei that a martial artist should keep a 'cool head'. It really is as simple as that to say, but the reality is that keeping control of your emotions at 'all' times is extremely tricky. That is where we find the difference between a professional and an amateur. A professional will always follow their ethical compass, use tactical strategy and act accordingly. An amateur will start to abandon these principles once emotional strain takes over. The professional keeps his moral compass through 'integrity', that is by doing the right thing even when nobody else is there to judge. A professional works hard to be the best they can at what they do, that is how they become a master of life's situations. When I think of the people I have trusted and respected in my life, they are the 'professionals', and it had nothing to do with their educational qualifications or career path. So this year one thing we will focus on is how to deal with pressure in our training, and how to 'see' a way forward in our training when we get stuck or feel like giving up.

Another interesting development is how Hatsumi Sensei wrote the 漢字(Kanji) for Kihon Happō this year '季翻初崩'. The one character that leaps out at me is 崩(Hō). The same kanji used in 崩し(Kuzushi) which is a popular concept in martial arts that relates to breaking the opponents balance. So my own personal interpretation of this years theme is to revisit the basic principles of 崩し. There is even a phrase 八法の崩し (Happō no Kuzushi), and like the 基本八法(Kihon Happō) it is a fundamental of the 武道(Budō) arts.

With all these thoughts in mind we move forwards into what will soon be the year of the Hare/Rabbit. Hopefully it will be a great year of productivity.

Budo of Zero

2010-12-02T15:31:00.002-05:00

The Soke of the Bujinkan has often said that he himself is ‘zero’, he also released a DVD called ‘Budo of Zero’ and in 2008 his Daikomyosai in Japan was described as ‘Nine Lineages to Become Nothing’. This might lead to the question: What is the significance of Zero?

Although the existence of number symbols is clear in history, some of the earliest systems used nothing but a blank space to indicate an absence of value. Ranging from the Babylonian counting systems to the ancient Chinese systems the absence of a number *was* the number. These were eventually replaced by symbols and interestingly in China there was a point when the character 空 was often used. This is the same Ku as in the ‘Ku no Kata’,‘Kukan’ and ‘Koku’ well known in the Bujinkan.

As a number Zero is neither positive or negative, being the midpoint between one direction and another. It is the first prime number and matches all of the requirements for being an ‘even’ number. It really does not get the credit it deserves and the invention of it is often overlooked and taken for granted by modern man.

On a physical level ‘Budo of Zero’ might pertain to an overlooked balanced point in space, where one has the most freedom and least restrictions for movement in a given situation. But Budo is so much more than physical, so could it be that becoming Zero relates to the mental and spiritual nature of existence too? The abandoning of one’s own self perhaps? After years and years of training does there come a point where one must let all that go and just simply be the ‘Zero’ we truly are? And so one question leads to many more questions and meanwhile the training continues....

Buyū camp 2010

2010-09-28T14:14:00.007-04:00

Last weekend I ventured to the depths of New Jersey and attended the latest annual Buyū camp. For those of you not familiar with the format you might want to check the Winjutsu link to the right. It basically consists of several training sessions over a weekend with plenty of chance to catch up with (or make new) friends in between. Some of the training sessions give you an option to pick a class and allow you to train with a specific teacher in a particular theme. This is not exactly an original idea but what makes these camps truly unique is the very embodiment of Buyū spirit that you find there.

Buyū (武友) or 'Martial Friends' is a classical observation on the bonds of brotherhood (or sisterhood) that form through training and fighting together for common values. One of the greatest tales of 武友 is the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三國演義) considered one of the 4 Chinese classics. In a famous scene called the 'Oath of the Peach Garden (桃園三結義)' three warriors find themselves in much agreement on the need to protect their nation from a great threat (in this case the Yellow Turban Rebellion). They swear an oath to defend each other as brothers and commit to overcoming the insurrection. United these warriors were unstoppable and interestingly it is only later, when they each turn to their own individual desires, that ill fate befalls them.

Three Heroes of Three Kingdoms, silk painting by Sekkan Sakurai (1715–1790)

Attending the camp there were so many high level instructors showing maturity and co-operation that it really did give me a good feeling to be there. I did learn a lot of taijutsu but I also opened my eyes to a fraction of the quality training that is all over the world. Thanks to all my 武友 old and new for a great weekend.

Defending others

2010-09-19T22:37:00.003-04:00

In our training we spend a huge amount of time practising techniques whereby we defend ourselves. Is it any wonder that martial arts can be a pitfall of ego-centricity to the modern practitioner? As Bujinkan teacher Jack Hoban has often pointed out 'even a deranged maniac will defend himself/herself'. While martial arts may make you better at protecting yourself, isn't there a danger of focusing too much on the Ura (裏 inner) aspect of training and neglecting the Omote (表 outer) perspective? Protecting others?

When I was first introduced into this idea, part of me balked at the thought of 'playing the hero', but on introspection I found that the hesitancy came from a lack of clear perspective. I used to think that generally someone who put themselves at risk for others was either professional, brave or possibly insane. Over time I have come to realize that although all of that may be true, there is something deeper going on. In the long run, walking away from a chance to defend someone can be dangerous. It can leave you with feelings of guilt and regret. Dealing with these feelings can sometimes destroy a person, possibly more than a would be assailant. That is not to say 'leap to the defence of all' but be careful you don't 'over protect' yourself to the point you actually get hurt through neglect of others.

Defending others in training and real life is no easy task, anyone who has tried this kind of training knows that the number of variables increase from just one extra person being involved. However there is a payoff, when defending yourself you must always control the balance or your self-confidence, not letting the attacker break your spirit, and not allowing yourself to become complacent. When protecting others the psychological dynamics change, you have the option of letting go of your doubts, focusing on protecting another person, a person who does not care how long you trained and what your rank is provided you keep protecting them.

It is an interesting phenomena, as Jack and other Buyu say:

"You are walking through the forest and you see a bear. Are you afraid?
You are walking through the forest and you see a mother bear with her cub. Are you more or less afraid?"

In nature the power of the protector is well known.

Spring has arrived

2010-04-20T14:16:00.009-04:00

The snow has gone and the sunshine is back. As the Dojo recently celebrated it's one year anniversary we can look forward to another phase of development. Well done and many thanks to everyone who is part of it.

Other news: recently I published 3 articles on the web.
An Essay about Ethical Training for Combat
A book review on Makko Ho
And an article about Fitness Training as you Grow Older

Whatever the Weather

2010-02-21T22:44:00.003-05:00

The great thing about training outside is the way it keeps you in tune with the environment. Just like the 武凨 bufū (martial wind of change) the seasons come and go at their own pace. The last couple of weekends we had some interesting conditions due to snow and melting ice. One way to look at it might be 'this weather is going to make training difficult and uncomfortable, lets cancel', another way is to say 'this is a great opportunity to be taught to adapt by the lessons of nature'.

The end of 2009, here we come 2010

2009-12-28T18:37:00.012-05:00

From Training Slideshow

Well what a year 2009 turned out to be. Just about everybody I know had one calamity or another. However watching those people overcome hardship through adaption, invention and solidarity has really opened my eyes to the potential of every moment.

Looking back at this blog I realize just how many twists and turns I have been making in order to get from one end of the year to the other. Ideas I wanted to share reflected much of what was on my mind at any given time as I tried to bring together my training, my personal life and indeed my outlook on the world. Certainly over the years I have fallen into the trap that the whole world seems to be in, that of a fragmented life. A work life, a family life, a study life, a healthy life and ofcourse an online life!

All of these things working against each other at times while I, instead of creatively blending the segments together, was simply ploughing onwards. Eyes forward but down and not really looking where I was going and what was happening. I think that is a great lesson not just for me but for the leaders of our nations. The motto 'Keep Going!' or 'Gambatte!' of the martial arts is a great and potent one, but, sometimes you have to make sure you are persevering for the correct reasons, that you are not the fuse that is slowly heading towards a waiting bomb.

Yesterday we had our last Neshaminy Dojo class of 2009. I was hoping to review most of what we did since we started training in May. Not a chance. Even at the first technique there was more ideas coming to light. It just never ends. I know that deep down I will never perfect my techniques to some infallible point, but I think truthfully I have avoided that reality in fear that it may somehow put me off my training. It's is certainly a well documented difference between the contemporary east and west. In the west we often think about the destination or objective, in the east (we are told) they think more of the journey or process to get there. Perhaps there is a way to enjoy each milestone and also the road between, something to explore in 2010 perhaps.

Another thing I think about as the year draws to a close is the people that made last year a survivable one. People who although they may not be able to fix all the world's ills do their small or large part. Without these individuals the world may not fall completely apart overnight, but the needless suffering and danger they prevent makes them part of a family we all want. Some of these people have died to protect life, others have merely spent 30 mins to hear someone's problems. What goes around comes around or so they say. Let 2010 be a year of kindness, understanding, diligence and progress.

Buyū Camp East

2009-10-01T14:41:00.009-04:00

What a great weekend at Buyū camp. I got to see a lot of familiar faces and learn from some new people too. Simply too much to write about in one blog entry, I barely know where to start.

I definitely feel inspired to keep training and learn from the good people.

Peaks and troughs in training

2009-07-07T16:39:00.001-04:00

Training is not very consistent. It's not as if you train for 1 year and make clear gains, and then train for another 1 year and make equally clear gains. Certainly there are so many variables. What is the teacher working on the whole year? How much energy can you divert to training that year? How healthy are you? What are you working on and what is your teacher working you on? Most importantly how can you even measure your gains and do you even know what a gain is? Managing all of these variables and expecting a predictable outcome is difficult. You can't therefore expect a linear progression.

It's funny because sometimes you can be on a roll for one class or maybe many classes, all the techniques are clear and you can do quite well at most of them. But then there are times when you just aren't able to see what your doing and all the techniques feel wrong, again this could be one class or many. It's very tough at times, but it is all a part of training. The important thing is to Keep Going!

When I look at someone really good these days, I try to think of what they went through to get there. It's a much more humbling experience than to simply hope one day to be as good or better. It puts my own training in its small perspective.

Kukan - 空間 - Empty space

2009-06-30T14:00:00.000-04:00

Here are the characters Ku and Kan:
空 - the same 'Ku' from Sanshin no Kata. Void or empty are associated meainings
間 - meaning a space, not just a 3 dimensional space, but four to include time, hence it can also mean interval

Space can be full or empty. 間 on its own is pronounced 'Ma' and means space. Kukan and Ma act like Yin/Yang or In/Yo (陰/陽).

From a material perspective empty space often appears to have no value. Empty bank accounts, empty wardrobes, empty space where the nice new LCD TV screen could be. In this sense Kukan is undesirable and most would prefer their space to be full.

So what use is empty space? Take this simple blog entry, imagine if I used no spaces between paragraphs. And what if I didn't seperatethewords? Or if the letters themselves had no space? Could anyone read it? Alternatively imagine some music with no intervals between notes, not just close together but all on top of each other. It would be nothing but noise, indistinguishable from anything else.

Empty space is important, without it the universe would be one unfathomable entity of mass with no seperation. Empty space is in other words, vital to the existance of life.

And empty space is not always empty either. Regarding the spaces between paragraphs mentioned earlier, these spaces also tell the reader where I think the break should be. In other words they actually contain some derived information. So the space is not 'completely' empty after all (陰/陽)

The Sword - Tō ( 刀 )

2009-06-21T21:09:00.000-04:00

In the writings of Shinkage Ryu swordsmanship there is an interpretation from the writings of the great Lao Zi (老子) commonly known as Lao Tzu:

"Good weapons are unfortunate instruments.
People hate them.
So someone with Tao does not rely on them.
Weapons are unfortunate instruments, and not the wise man's instruments.
When he uses them because there is no other choice, he stresses straight-forwardness and, in victory, does not praise himself."

Sometimes interpreted simply to:
"Weapons are unfortunate instruments. Heaven's Way abhors them. Using them when there is no other way - that is Heaven's Way."

This is a timeless observation on lethal weaponry. When protecting life, the sword becomes a salvation. Ironically the very opposite of its design and purpose (to efficiently take a life).