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New Year's Message
January 1, 2010
Dear Friends:
Happy New Year!
As 2009 changes to 2010 I want to
thank all of you for a wonderful year of training and personal exchanges on
martial arts, values, and life. Domo Arigato!
2009 was another
busy year. In terms of Bujinkan
training, our Buyu (Warrior Friends) group enjoyed a twelfth Buyu
Camp West in San Francisco under the Golden Gate Bridge on the Pacific Ocean, as
well as, a sixth Buyu Camp East in New Jersey.
Buyu Camps are a great way to connect with old friends, get valuable "continuing education," and stay inspired to "keep going" when you get back to your
own training group.
Click the respective Camp links for info on these yearly training opportunities; and
check out our new Facebook
page to see pictures and comments.
We had training
seminars in NJ, California, Chicago, Michigan, Florida, Germany and the UK. It was great to hook up
with my friends Steffen Fröhlich and Peter King
– both lifelong Buyu. Also had fun in Michigan with Craig Gray
and his MMA professionals. We did another seminar in honor of my
Marine Corps mentor, Robert L.
Humphrey in NJ this past summer. We covered Humphrey's Life Value
Theory, warrior ethics, taijutsu, and the challenging and fun STRIKE
training.
If you are
interested in Bob Humphrey's Life
Values
teachings, we'll see you at the "Ethical Warrior" seminar again next
July in New Jersey. And please consult the WIN seminar page periodically for details
of all of our Bujinkan workshops.
New next year will
be several interesting training sessions that are a bit outside the scope of our
"normal" Bujinkan training, So far we are planning workshops
with Bud Malmstrom, Stephen
Hayes, Geoff Metcalf
and George Thompson (Verbal
Judo). These opportunities are offered through Resolution Group
International. If you are interested in further exploring the Ethical
Warrior concept, or applying your training to law enforcement or military
scenarios, or just want to work with these interesting men in a hands-on
setting, check out RGI Events.
As usual, many of us
were in Japan for the Daikomyosai
– Hatsumi Sensei's annual
3-day training event. Hatsumi Sensei is going strong with
no end in sight. He trained vigorously all three days; but also
enjoyed himself, asking many people to come up and demonstrate. As always,
we all came together for a Birthday Party, this year at the Tobu Noda
Hotel. By some unspoken
tradition, I am called upon each year to lead the group in a rousing rendition
of Happy Birthday, as the Daikomyosai commemorates Sensei's birthday
Singing "Happy Birthday"
to Hatsumi Sensei at the Daikomyosai Party.
Wishing Sensei a Happy Birthday 2009
This past year I was
again privileged to work with the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP)
in Quantico, Virginia.
This fine program, led ably by my friend Joe Shusko (LtCol USMC ret.) and MSgt
Tony Polzin covers the
armed and unarmed martial arts techniques and combat conditioning that a Marine
needs to walk the warrior path
– both in combat and in daily life.
These young Marines
– many veterans of both Iraq and Afghanistan – are physically fit
and mentally tough, yet respectful and ethical. The methodology we use is
simple but vitally important: train a lot, talk a bit, train a lot, talk a
bit. The Marines relish the physical training, and then are open to hear
how to use their training and ethics to maintain a professional "combat
mindset" under the adversity of war. In martial arts training, it is
often easy to focus on the physical part while giving mere lip service to the
mental and character elements. But all three parts must go together.
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Training -
USMC photo
courtesy of
Homer Brett
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Talking - USMC photo courtesy of
Homer Brett
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It seems that this
concept of a total Ethical Warrior
– protector of life
– is starting to resonate with people. More about that down
below.
Which brings us to
2010. In a recent letter Hatsumi Sensei included this
painting.
"Kanpeki"
The kanji, at first
glance, looks simply like the word "kanpeki," which means
"perfect." However, Hatsumi Sensei's artwork can always be
interpreted in several ways. Looking at the painting, we see the founder
of Zen ("Daruma" in Japanese pronunciation). It is said that he did "Shugyou"
by sitting facing a wall for 9 years until his legs became useless and fell
off. You may have seen the red, round Buddha-like dolls in Japanese shops
and households.
The meaning of the
kanji 完
("kan") is "complete."
However, for "kan" Hatsumi Sensei uses
貫 ("through").
Sensei also plays with the word "peki," The meaning of
the word "peki" (璧)
is "Chinese jewel stone." This may refer to this old Chinese
story:
| In a time of
war, there was a King who had a rare jewel stone. A King from another, stronger country wanted
the stone and offered to exchange 15 towns for it. But this second king was well known
to be cruel, greedy and untrustworthy. So the first King worried: "If we give this stone to him and
he doesn't keep his promise to give us his towns in return we will
lose face. Yet, if we don't give him the stone he may have his warriors destroy us."
But, the first King had a very wise man as an advisor. This wise man
offered, "Let me take the stone and observe the King. If it
doesn't seem that he will keep his promise, then I will bring back the stone
in perfect condition without a scratch." So the wise man was |
Chinese Jewelry Stone.
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to offer the stone in exchange for the towns. But the other King didn't look
as if he were going to keep his promise. So the wise man said, "the stone has a scratch, I will show it to you." When the
King handed back the stone to him, the wise man said, "I came here
because my King trusted you and said that we shouldn't break our country's friendly relationship
over a mere stone." He then escaped and returned the stone to his
own King in perfect condition. He had also preserved the dignity of his country without surrendering to the more powerful country.
Mission completed perfectly. So...perfect job, perfect condition
–
that is "kanpeki." |
Hatsumi Sensei,
however, drops some strokes and now the kanji is 壁
("wall").
So...in the picture, we have Daruma sitting in front of a wall and he may be trying to use his intention to pierce
"through." But through what? Desire? To what?
Perfection? Who knows? Perhaps pierce through the desires of the six senses (see
discussion of Rokkon Shoujou below). Only Hatsumi Sensei knows for sure.
That is the fun and inspiring part of Sensei's paintings. What feeling do
you get looking at it? Maybe that is the real meaning.
It has
been announced that the theme for 2010 is "Rokkon Shoujou" (禄魂笑浄).
This may refer to the Buddhist concept of "Rokkon Shoujou" (六根清浄")
which originally means that we should not overindulge using our 6
senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and consciousness), but
rather, purify ourselves from desire, perhaps by going into the mountains
alone. As we see, Sensei has changed the kanji (as usual) so the
meaning is...who knows what? "Receive happiness from heaven
by cleansing one's spirit with laughter?" Again, only
Sensei knows for sure. I guess we'll find out - if we keep
going.
Rokkon Shoujou
We are also advised
to prepared to train with the "tachi" long sword. I am
always interested in swordwork for many reasons. First, the sword is the
heart and soul of Japanese martial arts. Second, in terms of the tactical
aspects of martial arts, we see the sword manifest the purity of lines and space
in the fight
– and on the
battlefield as a whole. Third, the sword represents the real fight
distance of a bayonet or pistol. I think we all could come up with many
reasons why swordwork is important and helpful in learning shiken gata
true fighting. And, I suppose, that will be the essence of the training in
2010. Let's enjoy it!
The best way to keep
up with Hatsumi Sensei is doing is to go to Japan, of
course. But, between trips, I highly recommend Doug Wilson's blog.
There is also a lot of good information on Joji Ohashi's
site here.
As I have said many
times, I began my training with Hatsumi Sensei when I was 25 and he was
50. During my recent visit to Japan it became clear to me within the first
10 minutes of training, once again, that Hatsumi Sensei is still 25 years ahead. The "theme - no theme" of 2009 in Japan evolved into 才能心器
(sainou - ability, shin/kokoro - heart, ki/utsuwa - capacity) with a heavy
emphasis on "connectedness." It made me think about how we must
strive to use our abilities to stay connected to the heart of the Bujinkan
teachings according to our own personal capacities.
As readers of this
yearly message know, in order to maintain the "thread" that reaches to
Hatsumi Sensei across the 25 year differences in my training and life
experiences, I create a Buyu theme each year to try to help "connect
the dots."
This year I am
looking at the san shin in terms of "techniques, tactics and
ethics." As we saw last year, the 5 movements of the san shin no
kata (三心之型) have
lessons that are both "technical" (as in the techniques of punching,
kicking, moving, etc.) and "tactical" (as in timing, distance, and
control of the tactical space). This year I would like to explore the
"ethical" lessons within the san shin no kata, as well.
At the Daikomyosai this year Hatsumi Sensei stressed that we have to "take
care of our opponent." Was he merely referring to our training
partner in the dojo? Or, was he referring to a real attacker? I believe
he meant both. If that is the case, then, what are the elements within
the techniques themselves that protect life
– our own, of
course, but also our opponents? I believe that an exploration of these lessons
will lead us toward our goal of being Ethical Warriors, and ultimately, a
warrior's enlightenment.
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Waza
(Technique) |
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Senjutsu
(Tactic) |
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Rinri
(Ethic) |
What are Ethical
Warriors? In a speech I gave at the Marine
Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia on December 18, 2009 I used these
words: "The Ethical Warrior is a protector of life. The Ethical
Warrior is not just a fighter, although we do fight of course. Not merely
a killer, although we may be called upon to kill. The Ethical Warrior is
first and foremost a protector – a protector of our country...of our friends
and allies, protectors of the innocent – and sometimes not so
innocent....[And] yes, sometimes we are also protectors of our enemies. An oxymoronic-sounding concept for
sure, but that is why it is so anti-intuitive and a secret. Protectors
of self and others. Which others? All others. If we can.
That’s what we do."
USMC photo courtesy of
Homer Brett
Killing only to protect life. Cleanse your mind of everything else. That is the morality of the warrior. You cannot take a predatory approach, because you are not a predator. You are a protector. You have a conscience. Turn it on – don’t try to turn it off.
People may say: “That’s soft;
warriors have to deal with hard people. You will make the students weak or hesitant or
'too nice' with that approach.” Wrong. That is like saying that the protective nature of a
Father for his son, or a Mother for her children, or a Marine for his men, makes them weak.
In fact, extending our protective inclinations wider and wider helps us become stronger, not weaker. Safer, not more vulnerable.
Martial arts is not just
for protecting the body anyway; in war you have little control over what happens to your body. In fact, the greatest warriors are often killed, because they have to lead and do the difficult things most cannot
do.
But what if you don’t die? What if you live? That is the hardest part – to live after doing what had to be done. So, true warrior
training has at the core, most importantly, methods to protect the mind and spirit in case you live.
The physical techniques and tactics may protect the body; but the ethics protect the soul.
It’s a good life
being a protector, a better life. But it is still dangerous. That is
why we will work hard to hone our martial arts skills. All of them.
That is our
mission for 2010. To explore the life preserving wisdom of our art within
the techniques themselves. Gambattemashou!
Jack Hoban
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