Strategy in Amatai no Shugo-ryū (Part I)

Saya no uchi. Saya no uchi no kachi. Victory with the sword still in the scabbard. The words almost shout at the swordsman, exhorts him, to remember that physical combat is always the last resort. No matter how confident one may think they are, how many techniques they may know, a master of strategy will always find a way to win without fighting. This is a message that is not unique to our dojo; rather, it has been passed down through the ages.

Sun Tsu once said:

To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence;

Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.

Did not Miyamoto Musashi make this a central point of his Go Rin No Sho, The book of the Five Rings? Did not Yagyū Munenori, founder of the Edo Branch of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū from which Amatai no Shugo-ryu draws so much, preach this very thing time and again?

The path to mastery of Amatai no Shugo-ryū, Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, or any form of Kenjutsu is long indeed. Before anyone can achieve success by virtue of intellect or willpower, they must have a deep understanding of the principles of swordsmanship and of a nature which will allow them to act in keeping with those principles. One can only acquire this through constant, long-term practice and the study of strategy; which includes the old texts by those Musashi and Yagyū Munenori, among others.

Simply put, strategy is a plan of action with the intention of accomplishing a specific objective. A true swordsman practices his art with two very definite objectives in mind:

n To cut the opponent while avoiding being cut.

n To progress in the direction of perfection of character.

To cut the opponent while avoiding being cut is in one sense largely external, because it depends, in part, on technique and strategies which are taught and learned. The second goal, to progress in the direction of perfection of character, is more internal, as it comes from within each of us; yet, it is equally as valid. Both of these objectives are keys to the proper practice of the art of swordsmanship and every subsequent goal is derived from them.

CHA-DO: It's Not Just For Ladies!

Even during the Meiji Era, the Era of Enlightened Rule, it was required, pre-marriage training for women. In the preceding Tokugawa Period, its study was encouraged among samurai and its practice the mark of a cultured gentleman. In the current Heisei Era, the time of Emperor Akihito it is becoming a much-sought out weapon in Japan’s war on stress. It is Cha-no-yu, Cha-Dō: the tea ceremony.

Throughout Japan, on any evening, and particularly on weekends, you may find Japanese men, business men, merchants, engineers, academics, gathered together in suburban tea houses, wearing kimono, hakama, and haori, to immerse themselves in traditional Japanese culture and in particular, this traditional Japanese art as a means of shedding off the stress and strain of modern life. How? With what would be termed in the West as a “tea party.” On any evening at the Urasenke School of Tea, one can find an ever increasing number of Japanese men studying the traditions and art of tea; indeed, on some evenings the number of male pupils (largely men over 40) outnumbers women. Japanese people, regardless of age or gender, are rediscovering the beauty and emotional calming effects of Cha-Dō, as a transcendental interlude, a time of peace and re-focusing one’s life. Numerous magazines have recently produced articles, even special “tea” editions, which were quickly sold out as Japan discovers that “new” is not always better and the old ways, tradition, can have a place of significance in the life of the modern Japanese man.

“Cha…it’s not just for ladies anymore!”

THE CORE OF BUSHIDO

THE CORE OF BUSHIDŌ

If we wish to find the core of Bushido, we must I think, look at it in its historical context. To do that, I would like to use a metaphor, first put forward by Nitobé Inazo in his book on Bushidō, worn as it may be; I think it is still viable. Certainly, we do not need all the flowery rhetoric or the cryptic European references of Nitobé to grasp what is truly simple.

If we think of Bushidō as the sakura, the cherry blossom, and think of how plants live, our search may become clearer. Japan, of course, is the soil and without the proper soil, no plant can flourish. Some will whither and die quickly, others will struggle over a long time, trying to survive, but never growing beyond some stunted weed. Japan, more than anywhere in the world, was the right “soil” for Bushidō.’ The seeds came to Japan long ago from China, who in many ways is the “Mother of Japan”. The seeds came in the form of Confucius and then his disciple Mencius. If one wishes to understand Bushidō, then look to the seeds themselves: Analects by Confucius and simply The Mencius. Along with these two great fathers came Wang Yang-ming and Lao Tse; thus, the great seeds of Asian thought came riding across the sea to eventually take root in Japan.

The sakura, like any plant, not only needs soil, it needs nourishment and Shintō was just such nutrition for Bushidō. Native to Japan, growing out of the sea with the land, it was there waiting to embrace Bushidō and to give it all that it could. Perhaps the greatest gifts of Shintō were its sense of patriotism, loyalty, reverence for ancestors, and the love of family and parents, which from its birth, lay at the very heart of Bushidō, as it does today. Look in any dojo and you will see the character of Shintō present: from the walls to the etiquette of those who practice there.

Seeds, soil, nourishment, are fine but our analogy still lacks something. The sakura needs sun and rain which was supplied in abundance by first Buddhism and later its refinement of Zen, which went directly to the growth and development of the samurai character – the Samurai Spirit, and provided for the growth and development of Bushidō on the most personal of levels.

Bushidō was exclusive only to Japan. Despite Nitobé’s analogies to European chivalry, they are as different as night and day. Bushidō could only have existed in Japan. It was so destined.

Copyright 2009 by Shisei-Do Dojo and Shisei-Do Publications

THE DICHOTOMY OF AMATAI-NO-SHUGO-RYU

The Dichotomy of Amatai-no-Shugo-ry

In training and practicing Amatai-no-Shugo-ryū, the thinking man cannot help but waver between Wa-Dō, the Way of Peace and Harmony, and its martial relevance; that is between peace and its martial applications, the Way of War. in due course, the wise man trains against realistic, honest intentions to do harm: intense intentions that seem to pervade the society we live in. One has but to watch the nightly news or read the morning newspaper in order to become acutely aware of the intentions and actions that fill our society. One learns to apply the techniques of Amato-no-Shugo-ryū with equal intent and intensity, as demonstrated and expressed in the techniques which are both powerful and effective; while at the same time, maintaining a sense of inner peace and benevolence, particularly focused at the community we live in and the people around us.

The honesty of intent and intensity are important in training on both a martial, aesthetic and spiritual level. In order for one to progress on their Way, one must be honest and genuine with themselves, particularly in matters of discipline and training. Any desire to train and progress must come from deep inside; it must be something that one is willing to make an honest commitment to and to keep that commitment with honor. One also needs to be honest, both with themselves and with their sensei as to the reason(s) why one is traning. Is it discipline and training? If so then there must be a indisputable commitment of intent to the training and discipline required by Amatai-no-shugo-ryū.

Intent is of the spirit and mind; intensity is of the body. When both share equally in an honest commitment toward the dame goal, this harmony can provide the basis and potential for a personal and spiritual awakening and enlightenment.

Yet, how can one be devoted to martial arts and at the same time to the Way of Peace? Wa-Dō only comes through strength: mental, moral, emotional, spiritual, and physical strength. Peace through weakness is acceptance of defeat and acquiescence. Strength, be it mental strength, moral strength, emotional, spiritual and/or physical allows peace to be a choice. Amatai-no-Shugo-ryū allows one to develop and train themselves for that choice. Amatai-no-Shugo-ryū makes a conscious choice of peace through strength. It is not the embodiment of war but rather the spirit of caring protection and peace: for the individual, community, and society. History has demonstrated time and again that hose who challenge peace and harmony do not have an appreciation, or a respect, or the ability to respond to a passive, compliant approach to peace. Those who want control and power, be it on a personal, community, or even national level, often take this passive, accommodating, yielding position of peace as permission to follow their own agenda. While fighting to end wars has brought only a temporary pace, it has proven to be the only means to stop tyranny, whether on a personal or social level. It therefore becomes incumbent on a martial art or collection of arts as in Amatai-no-Shugo-ryū to develop within a philosophical framework in which peace, harmony, and responsiveness to threat are themselves harmonious and thus do not add to the aggression around us. Rather than responding with passivity or fear, Amatai-no-Shugo-ryū stands ready to confront conflict, to redirect aggressive energy and direct it back against itself, without adding more aggression, until the aggression is subdued and a threat no longer viably exists. One who studies Amatai-no-Shugo-ryū thus stands ready to respond directly to aggression, whether it is directed at them personally, at friends or family, or at their community, with honesty and strength of character, using only the aggressive energy directed at him without adding to it.

Ten Kinds of Simplicity

Ten Kinds of Simplicity

Although the attraction toward more simple ways of living a strong for some, the attraction for the opposite can be equally as strong for others. It would seem that many people are not giving even cursory consideration to more simplicity in their lives because they see it as too great a sacrifice. Instead, they seek deeper resources of satisfaction that they perceive can be found in a consumerist life-style, one which in the long-term brings higher stress and fewer true rewards. In Japan until the recent recession, the percentage of the population reporting that they were very happy remained relatively unchanged: roughly 33%. At the same time however, divorce rates doubled and suicides have tripled. An entire generation tasted the fruits of an affluent society and is now discovering that money does not buy happiness. The present recession presents a special opportunity to take a new course in one’s life: to pull back from the rat race and move into a life that is, although materially more modest, rich with family, friends, community, creativity, and service.

To present a more realistic representation of the extent and expression of a simpler life-style for today’s complex society, here are ten different approaches to consider. Although they may overlap a bit, each expression of simplicity seems distinct enough to merit a separate category.

Simplicity by Choice

Simplicity means choosing a path through life consciously, deliberately and as a matter of one’s own choice. As a path or “way” that places emphasis on freedom, the choice of simplicity also means staying focused and not being distracted by the consumer culture. It means consciously organizing one’s life so that they can give their true personal gifts to the world: the essence of ourselves.

Commercial Simplicity

A more simplistic life would mean that there is then a more rapidly growing personal market for healthy and sustainable products and services of all kinds; from home design, building materials and energy systems to food. There exists the potential for an enormous expansion of conscious economic activity toward sustainability.

Compassionate Simplicity

With simplicity in one’s life can come a kinship, a bond with the community and a desire for reconciliation, even with other species as well as a strong desire to be of true service to others and a stronger desire for cooperation and fairness, which seeks a future which is beneficial to all and decreases the gap rich and poor.

Ecological Simplicity

Simplicity mans to choose ways of living that tread far more lightly on the earth, reducing one’s “ecological footprint.” An ecological simplicity brings with it a deep interconnection with all life and a consciousness of threats to its well-being (such as climate change, species extinction and resource depletion) coupled with a desire to do something about it. Ecological simplicity cultivates a type of “natural capitalism:” economic practices that value the importance of natural ecosystems and which can impact the community in terms of its health and productivity.

Elegant Simplicity

Simplicity can mean that the way one lives their life represents a work of unfolding artistry. It is an understated aesthetic that contrasts with the excess of consumerist lifestyles. Drawing on the influence of Zen, Confucianism, and Taoism, it celebrates natural materials and clean, functional expressions of simplicity found in the hand-made arts and crafts from the community.

Frugal Simplicity

By cutting back on spending that is not truly serving one’s life, and by practicing skillful management of one’s personal finances, one can achieve greater financial independence. Frugality and careful financial management bring increased financial freedom and the opportunity to more consciously choose one’s path through life. Living with less also decreases the impact of our consumption on the earth and frees resources for others.

Natural Simplicity

Simplicity in one’s life can signify a remembrance and reconnection to one’s deep roots in the natural world. It means to experience one’s connection with the ecology of life in which one lives and to balance their experience of the man-made environments with time in nature. It means to celebrate the experience of living through the seasons.

Political Simplicity

Simplicity means to organize one’s life in ways that enable people to life more lightly and sustainability, which in turn, involves changes to the life of the community: from transportation and education to the design of our homes, town, and workplaces. Such can also be a media politic because mass media can be the primary way to reinforce or transform the community’s awareness of consumerism. Political simplicity is a politic of conversations within the community that builds local, face-to-face connections: networks of relationships, which enable others to make conscious decisions about change in their lives as well.

Spiritual Simplicity

One may approach life as a meditation and cultivate their experience of intimate connections with all that exits around us: plants, animals, friends, and neighbors. Spiritual simplicity is more concerned with consciously enjoying life in its unadorned richness rather than with any particular standard or manner of material living. By cultivating a spiritual connection with life, one tends to look beyond surface appearances and to bring their inner self into relationships of all kinds.

Uncluttered Simplicity

To live an uncluttered life means to take charge of a life that is too busy, too stressed and too fragmented. It means cutting back on inconsequential distractions and focusing on the essentials, whatever those may be for each unique life.

IAIDO AT SEKISHINKAN TOKUGAWA DOJO

IAIDO AT SEKISHINKAN TOKUGAWA DOJO

Iaidō is a traditional form of Japanese Budo which is associated with the controlled, even movements of drawing the Japanese sword from its scabbard (saya), striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and ten returning the sword to the saya. Depending on the ryū (school), dojo, and/or instructor, a new student may begin to follow this Way with a wooden sword (bokken) or more commonly with an unsharpened sword or Iaitō, later progressing to a “live” or sharpened blade (shinken). Iaidō is an art requiring great personal discipline and perseverance and with its emphasis on its precise motions and contemplative or even meditative mindset, it is often referred to as “moving zen”.

The word Iaidō can be translated to something akin to “the way of mental presence and immediate reaction.” It should not be confused with Kendo, which does not include the drawing of a sword and utilizes a bamboo “sword” or shinai with no saya and which is basically a competitive sport. Iaidō is not competitive at all but rather, a matter of learning and perfecting one’s own movements and techniques.

Iaidō should also not be confused with Kenjutsu which involves parrying and striking an opponent with a sword that is already removed from its saya. Iaidō is also not to be confused with Battōjutsu, which encompasses both the practice of drawing a sword and cutting movements, but also tameshigiri or actual cutting.

There is an inherent emphasis in Iaidō upon the psychology or mindset of the practitioner with the actual drawing of the sword and performance of striking motions almost secondary

Although there are indeed a wide range of koryū or traditional/classical Iaidō styles practiced in Japan, the two most enduring and widely practiced styles are Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū and Musō Shinden-ryū They resemble each other quite strongly owing to their common heritage from the same parent, only separating in the late 18th century owing to philosophical differences.

The Sekishinkan Tokugawa offers a “continuing program” of training and practice in Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū (more often just referred to as Eishin-ryū), conducted personally by H. Tokugawa-sensei, M. Yamamoto-sensei, and closely assisted by H. Yamamoto-sensei. Our course is referred to as a “continuing” program because even though one has learned the etiquette and techniques of Eishin-ryū, progress beyond that point depends on each individual student’s individual devotion to the art and practice. As long as a student is with us at Sekishinkan Tokugawa Dojo, we will endeavor to give them all of the individual encouragement, guidance, and coaching we can so that they may achieve there individual goals.

For those who are perhaps interested in a shorter course of study or who are also interested in tameshigiri, for example, a similar course is offered by Sekishinkan Tokugawa Dojo as part of its more comprehensive Amatai no Shugo-ryū Bujutsu program as Battōjutsu or Iaijutusu

Sentei Iaidō

Sentei Iaidō or Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei Iaidō is the official style of the All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF), Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei or ZNKR. The twelve Seitei Iaidō forms (seitei-gata) are now the standard for promotion within Iaidō as dictated by the controlling kendo federations. Although not al dojos teach Seitei Iaidō, the AJKF does use Seitei as their standard for examinations and thus it is the most widely recognized form of Iaidō in both Japan as well as the rest of the world. Because the twelve Seitei forms match so well with the teachings of Eishin-ryū, they are taught as part of the Sekishinkan program.

Tōhō Iaidō

The All Japan Iaidō Federation (ZNIR, Zen Nihon Iaidō Renmei) which was founded in 1948) has its own set of five Iaidō forms referred to as Tōhō Iaidō. These are the ZNIR’s equivalent to Seitei but are derived from other ryū not so closely related to Eishin-ryū and thus are not taught at Sekishinkan Dojo.

If interested, please feel free to contact Mr. Tokugawa or Ms. Yamamoto at admin@takayamabudokai.com or leave a message here or at one of our dojo blog sites:

http://360.yahoo.com/senshinkan_tokugawa_dojo)

http://takayamabudokai.blogspot.com/

http://newbushi.blogspot.com/

THOUGHTS FROM A TAKAYAMA ROOFTOP: The End Purpose of Budo

The end purpose in practicing kenjutsu or any Budo is to make the art thoroughly a part of one's self. One must try to achieve a state wherein one can resond with the best of tacticsas a matter of reflex; that is to say, unconsciously.

This can be accomplished by learning to deal with every possible circuncstance. When one is using a sword aganst an opponent or enemy, one shouldl not allow their soul, their inner spirit, to link itself to the technique. The enemy will perhaps have the opportunity to see within you and strike at you in a way that could cuase you to be defeated. Do not think about being killed (defeated) or whether or no you have killed (defeated) your opponent.

.

.

Copyright 2008 by Hayato Tokugawa & Sekshinkan Tokugawa Dojo/Takayama Budokai

INTRODUCTION TO AMATAI NO SHUGO-RYU

Introduction to Amatai No Shugo-ryu



Amatai no Shugo-ryu (Multitude of Dragons School) is a unique martial art which combines techniques of a number of Budo/martial art forms (amatai no Shugo or a multitude of dragons); yet, a the same time, through the study and application of the principles of Bushido, one forms a strong spiritual sense of love, peace, and harmony. It is art, beautiful and flowing it is Budo, powerful and effective.

Some people may be drawn to Amatai no Shugo-ryu because of one of those two aspects or for one or more of the “dragons”; yet, after a period of serious practice one is likely to discover that all of the elements and all of the “dragons” are interconnected. The spiritual sense is discovered through practice of technique and technique is improved through the development of the spiritual sense.

Amatai no Shugo-ryu is a contemporary Japanese martial art combining:

· Traditional Budo technique
· Traditional Budo values
· Traditional Bushido thought with modern applications
· Traditional Japanese and Asian philosophy and thought with modern applications
· Traditional Japanese culture

It is a non-competitive art which offers a model for self-defense, conflict management and resolution, as well as for both personal and social responsibility.
.

.

© 2000 by Hayato Tokugawa, Aoi Tokugawa, and Sekishinkan tokugawa dojo. all rights reserved.

http://360.yahoo.com/tokugawahayato

http://360.yahoo.com/senshinkan_tokugawa_dojo

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/takayamabudokai

http://ameblo.jp/sacrament/