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Ki, or Qi, (気), also commonly spelled ch'i, is a fundamental concept of traditional Chinese and Japanese culture particularly in Shaolin martial arts or Budo. Ki is believed to be part of every living thing that exists, as a kind of “life force” or “spiritual energy”. It is frequently translated as “energy flow,” or literally as “air” or “breath.”
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BUSHIDO LESSON: Weapons and The Way of Heaven, I.

BUSHIDO LESSON

Weapons and The Way of Heaven, I.



It was said in the ancient times that weapons were fraught with danger and therefore, not good. “The Way of Heaven finds them foul, repugnant; therefore, The Way of Heaven is to use them only when necessary.”

“Why is this?” one might ask. Quite simply, weapons (swords, bows and arrows, etc.) are all means of injury, destruction and death, and throughout even ancient history, have brought about bad fortune. The Way of Heaven is a Way that brings life and thus holds life sacred. Instruments of death or injury, then, are contrary to that way. And yet, there is a time when using weapons and killing cannot be avoided, and that also is The Way of Heaven.

A man may commit great evil, such as the attempt to needlessly take of a life and to use a weapon against such evil may be considered a right and proper thing to do. There are times when perhaps ten thousand people suffer because of the evil of just one man and in killing that one man’s evil, you give ten thousand people life. In that way, the weapon becomes and instrument of life and is in keeping with The Way of Heaven.

The same then, maybe said for Budo and indeed, for any martial art. Our bodies can be trained so that they themselves can be used as weapons. Are we then “repugnant” to the Way of Heaven? If we use our skill and our training only for good, then the answer is “no” and we keep within The Way of Heaven, but we should never deviate from that path.

As students of Budo or martial arts, we can never permit ourselves to be tempted to use our knowledge and skills other than for doing good, specifically defending ourselves or others who are in danger – Budo is only for good, never for immoral purposes. As sensei, we should use great caution. We should carefully screen those to whom we might give our knowledge and skill and as best as is possible, try to look inside of them and see why it is they seek our knowledge and how they will use it.

To use weapons, to do Budo or martial arts, is an awesome responsibility along The Way of Heaven.

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(C) 2007 by Hayato Tokugawa, Sekishinkan Tokugawa Dojo, East Meets West Fine Arts

TRAINING IN THE WAY OF THE SWORD

“Training in the way of the sword can be so repetitious, I know. Many students daydream their way through practice. But, “Small tiger”, do not let yourself fall into this snare. Daydreams sap the body of chi and in the end, training becomes even harder. One must force themselves to concentrate on the techniques and constantly try to find new elements to work on.

“When you are feeling tired during practice, you must push yourself past that weariness and train even harder. The more you commit to hard practice, the more chi you will have available for it.”

(Wudang Master Don to student Li Peoh)

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(c) 2007 by Hayato Tokugawa

www.takayamabudokai.com