THOUGHTS ON TECHNIQUE IN BUDO I

"One should train themself meticulously and then forget about it."

Ultimately, the reason one practices Budō or a martial art is so that one can make the art an integral part of one’s self. In order to achieve any degree of mastery, that is, competence as well as confidence, it is necessary for one to attain a state in which he or she is able to use the best possible techniques instinctively: without thinking. The only way that one can accomplish this is by learning to deal with every conceivable circumstance.

Alone, our imaginations are not always able to conceive of every possible situation; consequently, in the classes I have taught, as an unwritten adjunct to the curriculum, students are encouraged, actually they are expected, to bring possible variations to a situation up to the class, so that the other students may consider and discuss the circumstance and actively experiment with the various ways to deal with it: good and bad. They work out solutions and in a sense the student becomes a teacher. By doing this, it is possible, through slight variation or innovation, to transform one technique into ten.

One must, however, be wary of allowing their “soul to attach itself to a technique.” That is to say, one must not become obsessed, when for example engaged in combat or practice with a sword or shinai, to become solely focused on technique. If one is simply centered on technique, and not freeing up his mind, if one’s actions and reactions are not instinctive, then the opponent will ultimately have the opportunity to not only strike back but to win.

When in combat or practice, one should not think about “killing” their opponent or what technique will do the job, but rather merging and flowing with an opponent and allowing the techniques to select themselves.

Remember that no matter how wonderful one’s technique may be, if one is focused solely on that aspect of their art, then one, simply put, cannot win. Once techniques are learned, practice without thinking of simply striking, parrying, or thrusting. Let the mind go free so that the movements and techniques come freely from within one’s self.

It is a simple fact that once one has trained themself well, their body, arms, and legs will move automatically; that is, without any conscious effort. So, one’s mind will not be overcome by their physical movements and be able to make use of the techniques they have learned and practiced without having to think. Once this state of mind has been reached, no misgivings or wavering will occur. There is no enemy or opponent, not even a tengu or a demon, who will be able to find an opportunity to effectively attack.

One should train themself meticulously and then forget about it. One should toss aside their mind and thus follow the Way without actually being conscious of it. This is a obscurity of all ways and arts, be it Aikidō, Iaidō, Judō, Karate-Dō, Kendō, Aikijutsu, Iaijutsu, or Kenjutsu.

Copyright 2010 by Hayato Tokugawa, Sekishinkan Tokugawa Dojo, and Shisei-Do Publications. All rights reserved.

MUSASHI AND SELF- DISCIPLINE

MUSASHI AND SELF- DISCIPLINE

類い稀な体力、精神力、知性の持ち主、二刀流の達人、独力で剣の極意を得た剣豪、といえば、「バガボンド」の主人公宮本武蔵ですね。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　これだけ有名な剣豪ですが、さて、幼少の頃の武蔵はどうだったかということになると、なかなか資料が見つかりません。ただ、現存する資料や武蔵関連の書物から子供時代の武蔵を推測すると、武蔵は幼少の頃より自己鍛錬に励み、強い意志を持った青年だったようです。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　武蔵には師匠と呼べる人はいません。仮に、武蔵がどこかの道場の門下生だったとしましょう。武蔵は13歳にして、すでに木刀の達人であり、当時、巷で強いと評判の剣豪達に戦いを挑んでいました。そんなすごい生徒なら、道場が黙っているわけはありません。道場の評判を高める為にも、○○道場門下生として武蔵の名を世間に公表したであろう事は十分に考えられすがそのような記述はみたことがありません。また、武蔵の剣豪としての意識は子供の頃に形成され、剣の修行のため、幼い頃から独力で鍛錬に励みました。
さて、武蔵のおこなった修行を現代に当てはめて考えてみましょう。武蔵の修行ががどれほどのものであったか、想像してみてください。

金メダル目指してトレーニングしているオリンピック選手と比較してみるのが良いかと思います。コーチの指導を全く受けずに、技術的な面も精神的な面も助言を与える人が全くいない状態で金メダルを目指さなければならないとしたら、どうでしょう。

武蔵は独力で金メダルを獲得しました。

武蔵の修行の中から、何か私たちの日々の生活に取り入れられるものが、きっとあるはずです。


MUSASHI AND SELF- DISCIPLINE
One can assume that tremendous mental, physical, intellectual, and spiritual self-discipline are the reasons that Musashi Miyamoto was able to achieve his great success and reputation as Japan’s finest swordsman while still a relatively young man. Despite the fact that records of Musashi’s youth are both scarce and confused, as one learns more about him, it becomes apparent that he was indeed strong-willed and extraordinarily self-disciplined from an early age.
In Go Rin Sho, Musashi wrote that he himself had no teacher but rather that he was self-taught. This would seem to be true if for no other reason than any one of the formalized schools of Budo, which kept careful, strict records could have claimed him as a student and would have done so. By the age of thirteen, he was exceedingly adept at least with a wooden staff, to the extent that he had no hesitation in challenging a veteran samurai who had killed many men in one-on-one fighting.
This alone is enough to make Musashi distinctive in the chronicles of the samurai and indeed rare in any context. It supports Musashi’s claim that his own ambition formed very early on and compelled him to a level of self-discipline that seems rather extraordinary for a boy on his own.
In a modern application, perhaps the best way to point up the degree of self-discipline required in Budo would be to compare it with what men and women training for the Olympics would have to go through without the benefit of coaches, or sponsors. There is, however, nothing really new with regard the role of discipline in developing skills of any kind. Musashi’s deeds make it clear that in order to achieve that kind of success one must exercise comparable self-discipline, which can, be applied to any of life’s undertakings.

Copyright 2007 by Hayato Tokugawa and Sekishinkan Tokugawa Dojo

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

DEVELOPING A TRAINING PHILOSOPHY IN BUDO AND MARTIAL ARTS: DEVELOPING A TRAINING MINDSET

In Budo and the martial arts one should remember the adage “Wherever your head goes your body will follow.” To prepare your body to train in Budo, you must first have the right frame of mind (mindset). The idea is not to simply train more, but rather, to train more effectively and wisely.

A good “first” mindset is to accept from the start that you are learning Budo or a martial art and that, as should really be expected, it will take time. You should also keep in mind that you will make mistakes, at times with some regularity; however, also keep in mind that mistakes give you the opportunity to train more and thus to learn more.

In Budo, one should train as though you intend to use this art someday in the protection of someone’s life: a loved one, even your own. But one should not train as though the treat were today, and that as soon as you walk out the dojo door, your worst enemy will be waiting to kill you. Instead, train as if it might be threatened – someday. Take your training seriously with a realistic intent and intensity.

Train also as though your spiritual life also depends on it; that is, in approaching Budo, always maintain your high level of ethics and behavior. Remember also that within Budo and Bushido, one’s on spiritual development (in addition to physical development and development of skills) really depends on concentrating on one’s work and progress. No one can do it for anyone else. We can help our partners and fellow students but we cannot, as much as we might like to, do it for them and in return, they cannot do it for us.

Hopefully one enjoys the art they are pursuing and truly, one should train as though they enjoy it. One learns faster, better, and maintains training longer if the process is enjoyable for them. Try to take pleasure and enjoyment from what you do and if you are not, explore with your sensei and within yourself why that might be.

Approach training in Budo or martial arts with intense intent. Two extremely important items in training are intent and intensity (note intensity follows intent). For example, if your intention is to come to the dojo and “hang out” with your friends, the intensity of your training will be pretty small. If you train with the intent of only achieving physical fitness, you will train with a higher intensity than that if you were just “hanging out” but it would not be enough so that you were able to defend yourself someday if needed. If you train with the intent that someday you will be able to defend yourself if you need to, you will train with a still higher level of intensity. One should decide what there intent is and train with the appropriate intensity in order to achieve it.

Remember that one needs to train consistently and to be persistent. Progress will not just come. Acquiring skills require consistent attendance and persistent training and practice.

When you starting out in Budo or a martial art, train with some goal in mind. This will help you focus your training. To train without a goal in mind is the same as taking a trip without having any destination. Not such a great idea. At the start one truly needs to know where they want to go. Later on, one can train just to train; that is, train with no specific goal or intent in mind. This is a bit more “process oriented” approach rather than focusing on content or intent. Training (later on down the road) with no specific goal means that you have a direction in mind to get to, but no real “destination” such as reaching a specific goal or achieving a specific rank. Eventually the training comes on its own – training becomes the intent, the content, the goal, and the process all in one. The destination and the journey become the same. At the same time, the training itself changes from something that one does, to who they are.

So one can also then, approach training to make a statement. At the start, train as if your behavior while training is making a statement about who you are. What do you want people viewing your training to think about who you are. Train in such a way that your behavior communicates that personal statement.

Approach training not just for self-improvement (although that is certainly one of the better reasons for studying) but also for the improvement of others. The principles of Budo and Bushido stress the common good and the best interests of everyone. To train just for you in the long-term is not enough, it is a bit selfish and thus does not demonstrate or apply Budo or Bushido thought. One must train the “self” but one must also lose the “self” in order to help improve others. For example: When practicing as the one executing a technique, stay relaxed, calm you mind, follow instructions – this will lead to self-improvement. When you are practicing as the one initiating an “attack” and thus receiving the technique, give honest intent and intensity to the approach and the attack. This allows your partner or the one giving the technique the opportunity to practice and to improve. Do not, however, give too little intensity or intent, which tends to make practice rather useless. Also, do not give too much intent and intensity or then, in fact, you are no longer training but fighting and things degenerate into a contest of muscle and ego, not a training session for self- and other’s improvement.

Train slowly and pay attention to details. Truly, the best way to progress rapidly is to progress slowly. The best way to make big changes is to pay attention to the little things.

Lastly, train and technique and concepts; that is, train in both the physical techniques that apply to the concepts and train in the concepts that make those techniques effective and efficient.

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(c) 2007 by Hayato Tokugawa and Sekishinkan Tokugawa Dojo, www.takayamabudokai.com