Class Log: Sanshin no Kata w/the feeling of Kuki Taisho

               

First let me start off by acknowledging those who came to class for the most part of the year and trained very hard. You all showed fortitude, determination, patience, nobility and honor. It was a good year for learning & exploring the basic techniques and concepts of the Kukishinden Ryu. This has been an extrodinary year for the dojo and myself. However its nearing the end of an old year and the beginning of a new journey. Some of the changes that has taken place within the koteki dojo has reflected on each pupil actions in the dojo + life.  Currently our training generally is focused on using the necessary distance with or without a weapon. The weapon I believe is the perfect excuse to measure ones distance in training and better familiarize the body memory to capture the essence.  Shu-Ha-Ri sums it up – Shu (preserve the form) + Ha (break from the form/henka) + Ri (leave the form).  Once the body memory is processed from consistant training, and the mind is cleared of its limitations, natural movement seems practical. For some this is not so and others who trains regularly in japan takes more to leaving the strict form and explore there freedom to survive. 

Anyway here is a recap of our training –

Sui no kata w/weapons and emphasis on maintaining the space to control uke.

Ka no kata

Fu no kata

Ku no kata

Muso dori

Soku gyaku

O gyaku

O soto gake

Smiling while being tricky + leading uke to a unfamiliar place (destruction).

So long and see you all next year – This is my last post til 2008!

In a friendly way,

Anthony Lucas, Bujinkan Shidoshi

Class Log : Central Park Gates + Yugen no Seikai

                       

The central park “Gates” from my perspective is a work of art, such as our budo taijutsu.  As I often drove to work from a distance , the rows of gates over the park pathways appear to draw a network of orange images across central park, echoing the silent wind (fu) as if the world suddenly shifted through time. The first impression I had of the gates was how stupid and aweful this effort took to make such a dream (yugen) to manifest. As time passed and all of my trips across the park changed my impressions shifted. The confines of my closed mind expand and I realized how much these orange saffron pieces of linen had in fact influenced a change of perception and beauty.  A quote from the artist to all – “For those who will walk through the Gates, following the walkways, and staying away from the grass, the Gates will be a golden ceiling creating warm shadows. When seen from the buildings surrounding Central Park, the Gates will seem like a golden river appearing and disappearing through the bare branches of the trees and will highlight the shape of the footpaths”.  End of quote!  I will always remember this transformative experience that carried with it the potential of altering traditional norms of understanding and experience of reality. What does this has to do with budo? It does and it does’nt. The message is up to each and everyone of you to figure out. This past friday in class we talk much about art, tradition and life. Yugen is a word I first heard of a couple of years ago for the first time in all the years of my training. I’ve since realized most experiences are formed (created) before they actually materialize into physical reality.  We finished up the remaining 3 katas from the sanshin no kata. There were lots of time to explore the feeling using the bokken, kunai and weapons from the hiken juroppo as an excuse to draw from the origin.  We lightly practiced the kata from the Togakure Ryu “Zanto Tonko no Gata” called Migi kata ude tonso no gata from the “Jin ryaku no maki portion of the Ten Chi Jin.  The form was shown as the base technique.  There were alot of henka born from this.  The dojo had good energy last night, everyone trained hard and very well.   Class tomorrow is a special day for the bujinkan, its the day our Soke was born. Our class will be dedicated to the birthday of our Soke as well as the Bujinkan and all the practitioners who trains tirelessly learning and developing their budo. The aim is to spread budo!

Friday Dec 14th the “Human weapon” program is airing “Ninjutsu” from Japan. Thats right, the Bujinkan is going to be aired. 

In a friendly way,

Anthony Lucas – Bujinkan Shidoshi