June 18, 2009

Illogical logic

Yesterday we trained with Nagato sensei and Noguchi sensei and we're still trying to make sense of it all.

During our session yesterday with Nagato, he pulled me aside and we spoke about training. He called Budo illogical, but said it had to be trained in a logical way, which was my job. He also talked about the 'floating' aspect of Budo, an element often spoken about long ago. It was an amazing conversation - difficult to iterate. I hope to clarify some aspects of it with him before we leave.

Noguchi sensei was terrific fun, going through many of the Koto ryu kata. His ability to move outside the box is incredible. The fact he's smiling and laughing the whole time as he dumps you to the floor in ways that defy explanation is inspirational.

Today, after a visit to my 'sword guy' in Tokyo and showering him with money as the guys ordered blades and padded his retirement, we trained with Nagato again and had another great time. He pulled out canes, knives, hanbo, and even worked in a little sword, focusing on various kamae, like Ichi no kamae, and Seigan no kamae.

Tomorrow night we've another class with Soke.

1 comment:

Jo Bu said...

This is excellent info James! I find it interesting - the remark of Budo being illogical. This sounds very similar to artistry (in painting, photography, dance, etc.) - because producing something that is truly creative doesn't incorporate logic as a convention. However, when students are taught how to draw, paint, or dance - most of the time, it's done very logically. Pretty cool. Don't forget to take pictures!