Shinnen
Omedeto Gozaimasu! Happy New Year!
A
busy year, but I have to say, we had better training than ever! And while I was
stuck in school, several of the boys took a Japan trip - Joe Bunales put his
name on the wall, Kris McKinney and Michael Govier passed their Godan tests, and
we have several new Shodans. I couldn’t be prouder – congratulations all
around!
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Japan 2013 |
In
April, we again hosted Jack Hoban for another great Chicagoland seminar, as
well as taught law enforcement trainers at the annual ILEETA conference. We
also filmed the latest RGI Combatives video on ground defenses with Craig Gray.
And by September, Tomoko and I were on the road to see Jack again for Buyu Camp
and the RGI certification course. Quite a trip!
Our
little dojo held a year worth of seminars, performed and demonstrated at
Anderson Gardens – the largest Japanese garden outside of Japan - held its 15th
annual Gasshuku, officially opened two new chapters - SGTI Dojo Los Angeles
with Shidoshi Govier, and right here in Chicago with Shidoshi McKinney - had another
great Bonenkai, and if all that wasn’t enough, even expanded the family – Shidoshi
Jim Delorto and wife April welcomed a son, Emmett Anthony.
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Buyu Camp 2013 |
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May 2013 |
This
past year was most significant for me because I graduated from my master’s
program. And what did I learn most from school? What did I take away? That’s
easy: I am done with school.
Honestly, what is wrong with you PhD folks? Your heads are broken or something.
The Beginning
is the End is the Beginning
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Ninja Santa says, "Keep Going!" |
Last
December our in-house armorer, Carmelo Grajales (Bujinkan Weapons) unveiled his
newest creations: A six-and-a-half foot Nyoibo,
an O-Gama, and a Nodachi.
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Rudolph makes me feel funny... |
It was like Christmas morning in Ninjatown and Santa is
pouring Glenlivet served by reindeer magically transformed into
fur-bikini-wearing supermodels looking for laps to sit on.
We “played.” Trained.
Made a great time of it.
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Nyoibo |
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O-Gama |
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Nodachi |
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Army "Man"euvers. |
A
couple days later I get this question: How do we make sure we aren’t using
those big-ass weapons like a goof?
[Note: I understood “goof” to mean not
simply straddling the nyoibo to sport one’s manhood continuing the rich
tradition of dick jokes throughout history of men straddling large objects –
cannons, trees, monuments, et al – including some samurai ages ago who
undoubtedly could not have resisted the size of that nyoibo all to the delight
of other men whose
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"Morning Monument." |
duty it is to applaud for they would assuredly have done the
same had they thought of it first. (No commas!) More to the point, I understood
“goof” as using the weapons in a way that got one killed.]
We make sure we aren't a "goof" with big-ass weapons (or any weapon or ourselves) the same way we make sure we aren't a "goof," period. Keep training viable: Capable of life.
In essence, do what training is supposed to do to begin with; do what makes it "matter."
Mentality over
Technique
In
my New Year message of 2013, I made a bold claim: Martial arts were moral and
no one engages in training without answering to their inherent ethical
considerations. What do I intend to study? How do I intend to study? From whom
do I intend to study? These interrogatives evolve into far more consequential
aspects when student becomes teacher: What do I intend to teach? How do I
intend to teach? Who do I intend to teach? Regardless of any articulated
answer, our participation itself is the vote we cast.
Ethics
relate to action, but no action can be had if we lack, not simply the
will, but an understanding of what makes ethics relevant in the first place. This
relates well to training. Techniques are great, but if we lose the sense of
what makes them “matter” to begin with, then why are we training?
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"Don't be a dumbass."
Tsakahara Bokuden
1489-1571 |
In
Funakoshi’s, “Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate,” he tells a story regarding
Tsukahara Bokuden, a swordmaster and predecessor of Miyamoto Musashi.
As the
story goes, a high level student of his with “extraordinary
technical skill” passed by a skittish horse that kicked at him. He “deftly
turned his body to avoid the kick and escaped injury.” Bystanders were so
impressed they related the story to Bokuden himself, who reportedly said, “I’ve
misjudged him,” and promptly expelled
the student.
Unable to understand his reasoning the folks set to force Bokuden to
react to the same circumstances by placing “an exceedingly ill-tempered horse”
on a road they knew he used. Secretly watching, they were surprised to see
Bokuden give the horse a wide berth and pass it without incident. Confessing
their ruse, the swordmaster said:
A person with a mental attitude that allows him to walk carelessly
by a horse without considering that it may rear up is a lost cause no matter
how much he may study technique. I thought he was a person of better judgment,
but I was mistaken.
Funakoshi
uses this story as a way to explain “mentality over technique,” but never defines what he means by “mentality” or why it should be “over technique.”
I
suppose he could mean anything – a certain wherewithal for applying one’s
ability or perhaps one’s manner, character, for doing so. What is clear to me
from the story is that losing one’s sense of “mentality,” or worse, being
willfully ignorant of it, can be life-threatening.
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An actual sign. In the actual world. |
I
submit that “mentality” here actually represents one’s “common sense.” I’m not
here talking of “common knowledge” - the sun will rise tomorrow is common
knowledge.
And lately, the phrase “commonsense/common-sense,” has been slapped
on various issues like a “Hope and Change” sticker, as in the mantra,
“common-sense approaches to gun-control” – a sly use of the phrase to undermine
dissent by manufacturing an illusion of “reasonableness” supported by some
apparent “majority.” (None of which, it turns out, the actual majority finds
reasonable or supports.)
If
it were left to me to define, I’d say the common sense is “knowing the ought,”
whether that’s survival, martial arts, or ethics. Bokuden dismissed his student
for a simple reason: He had lost touch, as in, you “ought” not be careless with
your life, dumbass. (Bokuden may or may not have used the word, “dumbass.” In
my telling, he always does.)
Double “Ought”
Buck
From
survivalists, like Tom Brown and Larry Dean Olsen, to Jon “Lofty” Wiseman of British
SAS fame, shelter is the priority for
survival situations in harsh climates. In essence, this is to position or
reposition oneself to endure the situation.
In
terms of training, conflict and violence represent “harsh climate,” thus,
positioning is the priority. Sort of. There is something even more important
than positioning: Knowing you ought to
position.
“Knowing
the ought” means you are not in denial of a situation that can kill you. It
means you are “present” about what’s at stake and can thus make the decision to
act. Any technique of sheltering or martial arts is useless if we are oblivious
to, deny, or willfully ignore “when” it should be used – when it ought to be
used. In fact, once we have a clear understanding of “ought” we also gain a
clear context to apply any technique.
An
example: Last year one of my guys brings in a friend for training. Nice guy, smart
too - works for a major tech company. “Newbie” folks almost always wait for the
“expert” to teach them exactly what to do. It’s intuitive and seems reasonable.
But rather than make him memorize kata or drill some technique, I’d rather
expose him to a method so he can teach himself. I’m with Swanson here – fishing
is not that hard. In fact, I’m convinced we already know how to do it and folks
just need a little reminding. But to do this I have to reconnect this guy with
his own common sense.
After
giving this fellow an “Ukemi Primer” to get him used to the floor and
shaping his body to manage his movement, I bring him out to train with everyone
else. I was reluctant to do this next part. I handed him a fukuro shinai and
took one for myself. “We’re going to play a game. It’s a simple game. I’m going
to bash your brains in. All you have to do is prevent me from doing that
without running away.” I left it at that. I hadn’t told him what to do or shown
him anything. He gave a tittering laugh, like, “That’s funny.” Only I wasn’t
laughing. His eyes shot toward the exit. That was good.
In
reality, I had no intention of bashing anything, but I knew we had to maintain
some aspect of “threat” – hell, he’s out on a floor with strangers who train
martial arts, so he has already accepted some form of threat to himself. I
raise the shinai over my head and move on him.
Happy
to say, he does exactly what I hoped he would do: Put the shinai between
himself and me, leap back about ten feet, and keep moving – maneuvering – to
prevent me from hitting him. With zero instruction and no technique he was able
to provide for himself a manner of movement from which he could thwart me.
After about a minute, we stop. I’m wearing a big grin. So is he. He got it.
Turns
out, fishing is not that hard.
“Why” tells us
“How”
Was
our friend’s movement sharp and resilient? No, it was sloppy, but far from
oblivious. I can’t work with oblivious and he can’t learn from it. Whatever it
is he takes home he must have some context
– he must understand why it is important.
This
is true of training at all levels and all methods. Reactivating the common
sense is how we teach ourselves “what” we are supposed to do and “how” we are
supposed to do it because we are trying to protect and defend a very clear
comprehension of “why” we are doing it in the first place.
This
has little to do with known kata. Kata are not “how to” instructions or
procedure sets, despite the use of them as such - they are tools, just like a big-ass
Nyoibo. All tools are a referential means to ask better questions. This can
sometimes get lost in translation as we are more apt to ask, “How can I perfect
my technique?” instead of the more helpful, “How can I move in a way that I
don’t die?” This latter reductionist view is important if we want to advance
our ability – think “less wrong,” instead of “more right.”
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Do we get to dress up? I'm in. |
I’m
certain some were thinking earlier: Why waste your time training with ancient,
big-ass weapons? It isn’t like you’ll find a Nyoibo, Ogama, or Monpa on the
street when you’re attacked. And even if you did, why would you grab that over
something immanently more practical? What’s next - lightsabers? Harry Potter’s
broom? Seriously, why not just train with guns and knives?
I’ll
never forget the online argument I had with a chap years ago (at a time when I
thought online arguments were actually worth having) about training with
Naginata, a Japanese halberd. According to him the damn things were a waste of
time - not worth the wood they’re made of. You’re missing the point, I told
him. What you’re talking about is like basing one’s philosophy on the fact it’s
Monday and then changing it because it’s Tuesday.
The
Naginata does not represent anything inherently different than any other tool in
training. Yes, it requires different application, like any weapon does, but with the very same tried and true strategy,
tactics, and principles that we are in constant pursuit of.
I’m
not trying to master the Naginata, I’m trying to master the essential elements
that allow viable - life-preserving - use
of any tool (including my body), such as the Naginata. To deny some tool or
aspect for arbitrary reasons is to deny ourselves access to a “holocron” of limitless
adaptability within Taijutsu itself, our ability to comprehend it, and make it
our own.
Reconnection
to the common sense provides the context that allows us to intuit the shape of
movement and its proportionality. Expanding the palette of training’s options,
like moving with big-ass weapons, is to challenge the very perceptions of what
we believe Taijutsu is capable of. This expansive training places the burden of
use upon us as we try to recognize the requirements that calibrate us toward
viability. These requirements are all meant to protect that which makes training
“matter” to begin with – the “why,” our most fundamental motivation no one can
deny: The value of life itself.
A Warrant for
your Attest
The deep-seeded and intrinsic value for human life
is the warrant that authenticates
and justifies the reverence human beings hold for all manner of metaphysical
"oughtness” at the heart of humanity’s transcendent notions of worth and
obligation, namely values, morals, ethics, justice, and rights (and martial
arts for that matter). And that’s just about everything.
In other words, every notion of oughtness is only
made relevant by the value humanity places on the dignity and worth of human
“being” – a state of innocent life. All our supercool “ought” notions only
matter because life itself matters.
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I'm no Indiana Jones, but it looks like he just won an award
for his dong. Is he polishing it? #Italians. |
[Note:
“Warrant” is a fancy philosophical term and means that which creates the
authenticating justification for something else. It connects a
"reason" to a "claim" and answers the question, “Why is
this reason relevant?” For example, the “reason” men straddle things is to make
a “claim” about the size of their penis. But the “warrant” that authenticates –
makes relevant - the “reason” these dick jokes are made in the first place is
the fact that since ancient times and around the globe, from the big-
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Yes, this is like a whole thing in Japan. |
dick
frescoes of Pompeii to the billion-dollar Viagra industry, male virility has
been celebrated. It is epitomized by the exemplary man, the man’s man - the guy
with the huge dong. And all men – ALL MEN – appreciate dick jokes. If they do
not, they are not men. See: Women. Some women do not appreciate dick jokes. I
don’t blame them – they are not men.]
This “life as warrant” is self-evidently
true when we examine the contradistinction:
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Bravo, good sir. #slowclap |
There is no value that warrants
human life and qualifies it as relevant, meaningful, and valuable. If there
were then it should be perfectly justifiable in the threatening, harming, and
taking of innocent human life for the outright protection, preservation,
sustainment, promotion, and respect of that stated value, whatever it may be.
For example, if freedom is construed more
important and valuable than innocent human life, then threatening, harming, and
murdering it would by rights be justifiable for freedom’s “sake.” But life and
protection of the value of life is that which provides freedom its relevancy -
it’s why freedom exists as a value at all.
Values cannot be moral, justice cannot be served,
and rights are not self-evident and inalienable if they do not acknowledge that
the value of human life ought to be protected,
preserved, sustained, promoted, and respected. The same is
true of martial arts – they would not exist if life didn’t matter.
Maintaining
viability in one's training means going back to the roots of what makes it all
matter in the first place: Protecting our ethic as effectively as we can under
the circumstances, whatever they may be. The ethic is simple: Protect yourself,
protect everyone around you, and protect your enemy, if possible. These are the
levels of ability, and I would add, maturity. The higher our ability, the
better our chances of accomplishing all three. The higher our maturity, the
more we realize why all three ought to be accomplished.
Theme for 2014
Over
this past year we looked at, “Shingitai-Ichi.” In particular, we paid attention
to the “I chi,” or “agreement,” that is necessary for any intuitive perception
of the key notions of Taijutsu, namely the integration of the body (Tai),
tactics of usage (Gi), and most importantly, the superseding strategic essence
(Shin) that necessitated the warrior ethos that would discover and refine the
martial arts themselves.
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Sutekki by Bujinkan Weapons |
By
examining and distilling these parts we were able to locate the edges of our
own ability through successful expansion of the principles themselves:
Positioning, leverage, and initiative. And now that we have a clear grasp of
where (at least at this point in our journey) the sidewalk ends, we have a
greater understanding of where the core lies and thus the manner in which we
should orient ourselves. That core in 2014 will be an examination of the
Kihon and Bojutsu.
To
give us a better understanding of our most basic aspects I decided to focus on
as basic a tool as I could imagine. It’s probably man’s oldest weapon and a
near constant companion since humans first walked the Earth – the stick. But
not just any stick, a walking stick - the Sutekki.
The word has no kanji associated with it I am aware of. It’s simply the
phonetic pronunciation of the word “stick” (katakana: Su-te-kki).
The modern Japanese word “suteki” means
“wonderful.” This is supposedly derived from “walking stick” because as
Japanese culture began to assimilate Western dress – derby hats and high
collars – it led to various iterations, like “haikara” (high collar) meaning
more or less, “fashionable.” The same is true with suteki, for if you carried a
walking stick, a “sutekki,” then you were the epitome of class, style, and
elegance.
The “Core” of
Core Values
The
motives for participation in martial training is a never ending landscape of
the sublime and the banal; the good, bad, and ugly results from the tool known
as human reasoning. Some may overlap, but ultimately everyone trains for the
reasons they believe are relevant.
Making
sense of all that is futile as no agreement can be had. Except for this: No one
trains martial arts to get worse at martial arts. No one trains to gain less
understanding, less ability, and realize after 20 years of consistent training
that they’re a moron who is worse off mentally, physically, and spiritually
than they were when they began. No one does that.
Every
single one of us trains to get better, gain understanding, enlighten ourselves,
whatever. Even the weirdos on YouTube filming “ninja” videos in their living rooms
dressed in a Power Ranger getup their mom sewed, think this in their own
mentally ill way. And it is this universal motivation that gets translated
and articulated into the plurality of reasons and values folks train martial arts for: Self-defense, discipline, spiritual refinement, honor, what have you.
We
can all list a variety of “worthwhile” reasons to train - the martial arts are
full of great core values. But here’s the thing: If our movement is such that
we can protect ourselves, protect everyone around us, and even protect our
enemy, if possible, then we already accomplish the essence, the root, the core
of every core value that any commercial school has ever painted on a wall: You
don’t get “honor” without respect for the value of life.
Thus,
if one is competently able to accomplish these three levels (and very few are), what more is there to do?
Seriously. What else “ought” we do? Reduce property damage?
Protecting
yourself and others – all others - is why martial arts matter.
Knowing the “ought”
to, keeps them viable.
Have
an inspired 2014!
James