Japanton – Chronicles of Anton in Japan!

So, I was asked to write a book.  Yes me, someone who’s writing can be best described as abysmal.  The reason this was suggested is there are no such books.  Well there are plenty of books on the Bujinkan out, but none with specific drills for helping you fight.  Maybe that’s too much, helping you become ready to use your Bujinkan skills in a real situation.

As I have previously explained, fighting without boundaries is chaos.  Sparring with protective equipment is dishonest. There needs to be a fine line to work on your skills in a realistic way.  Keep in mind also, you can be in a fight tomorrow, you must be able to learn to defend yourself quickly.  This is what I believe so this is what I would right about.

That said, depending on the reaction to this post I may not write the book.  After all if there is no need for it, why write it.  I can get just as much done here by responding to questions that I get in class or emailed to me.  (That’s a subtle hint to my lack of creativity.  If you have questions send them to anton@japanton.com.)

After training in the Bujinkan for a month or two it’s time to get serious.  Now calm down everyone before you loose it on me and tell me your serious.  You’re at a 10 you need to be at a 2.

After 2 months of training, you should have your basic ukemi  (front roll, back roll side roll) to a point where you can safely perform them on the mats.  You should be able to punch, front kick and uke nagashi.

Once you can do all of this, it’s time to learn to receive.  Pain is part of the martial arts, if you can’t take a bit of pain you will never be able to effectively fight with your life on the line.

1.  Take ukemi when you are forced to go.

Let me stress that this has to be done at slow speeds to start.  This applies to taking hits as well as locks.  You must not anticipate what is going to happen you just must have your body react in such a way to protect itself when the technique does happen.  In a fight if you are taking ukemi you are in a bad spot.  You don’t want to take ukemi so this becomes doubly so if the technique that is being applied on you is not working.  This also helps your partner know that the technique is actually working and gives them an idea of what it will feel to perform this technique against the majority of the population which does not have Bujinkan ukemi.

2.  Do not anticipate hits.

Often when I am doing a technique and a student cringes in anticipation of the hit I call them a coward.  This of course is a joke, also passing on the pain of being called a ‘Girl Scout’ by a friend of mine for doing the same thing (Pratt I have your cookies right here, anytime you want to come friend).  Unless you can keep relaxed and attack without trying to anticipate you will not be able to learn to take hits on the fly.  You never know how your opponent will attack so you must be ready allowing your body to naturally and effectively receive the hit.

3.  Do not latch on during throws.

I know I shouldn’t be, but I am proud of my harai nage.  Even against those who have done arts with throws I have been able to do this throw in combination with ryu otoshi concepts to devastating effectiveness.  Now that I am done bragging, the reason I mention this is it’s difficult to hang on.  If you are taking a good nage which took proper kazushi the throw will happen before you have time to think.  Holding on to soften your fall is not an option.  Because of this you have to man up (or women up for Tracey, Natasha and Trish) and take ukemi.

4.  Don’t be a teacher.

I try my best to adhere to this principal but it’s difficult.  Not being a teacher is first doing a demonstration then having someone you feel is able to do the technique perform it on you.  I am a firm believer that if you don’t throw yourself in the mix you will destroy your learning.  Your skills will get stagnant, your ukemi will get rusty and if you find yourself at the wrong side of a technique you will get hurt.  Never loose that student feeling.

I have recently been asked many times what I do for a living.  Well, my primary job is as a System Developer for ExoCube.  I am also a Computer Science part time Student trying to finish off my degree.  Beyond that I also develop websites when needed.  Haven’t had work doing that in a while.  I hope during my spare time in Japan that I will be able to do a ZeroPoint training website.

As far as hobbies go, I do wall climbing when I get the chance.  I try to go to the gym regularly.  As mentioned before I play piano, poorly but I still play.  I try to keep up on political happenings at least in North America.

So that’s me outside the Dojo.  Oh and I will try to keep this site updated once a week while I am outside of Japan.  On my Japan trips once every two days at least.

    One of the most important drills that I have ever seen is a taihen jutsu drill taught to me by Bill Atkins.  What he does in this drill is he has one person attacking (unarmed or with a weapon) with simple attacks (no tricks to start) and the other person is moving from kamae to kamae avoiding the attacks.  It is simple to memorize all the kamae, but can you use them.  Do you know which kamae belongs where and when?  Do you understand the attitude that you need in each kamae to get an effect in your opponents kamae?  If not you need to start at the beginning.

    Take the gyoko ryu kamae (ichimonji, jumonji, hitcho and shizen).  Move from one kamae to the next.  Once your body understands the kamaes on a mechanical level it is time to move on to application.  Understand moving against attacks trying to get to a place where you are flanking your opponent.  What I mean by flanking your opponent is if you draw a circle around someone looking down from above, you can divide the circle into thirds.  The front third where they are strong.  The third starting to their right and the third going to the left (ending right behind them) where they are weaker.  Your goal is moving in kamae from the region where your opponent is strong to the one where they are weak.  Simple yes?  But wait there is more.  You want to move to a kamae at a range where you can bring all of your weapons to bear on your opponent.  What range do you need to throw kicks?  Punches?  Knees and Elbows?  What weapons can your opponent use to attack you?  What will it take to defend yourself from these attacks?  Can you move differently to prevent the possibility of being attacked like this.

    Until you understand this movement, you will not be free with your taijutsu.  Until you understand your distance, you are not doing the arts of the Bujinkan.  Please make sure you understand taihen jutsu the skills of changing your body (kamae).

    Your life is on the line, practice well.

I have them.  We are still putting the DVD together so nothing on that front.  I will keep those who were there up to date on that.  I will probably sell them on the site for those who were not there.

Yeah Taijutsu

Disclaimer: This is specifically about Sundays class so if you don’t get it, sorry.

I forgot on Sunday to mention some points that I want you to practise.  When you are throwing your tsuki you must keep the distance in mind.  I have now seen far too often students losing power because they are disregarding the distance and becoming disconnected in their kamae.

For now it is enough that you worry about having moving in kamae.  When you are a beginner it is easy to get caught up in trying to accomplish something.  If you just go move through the fundamentals of the technique it does not take much work at all.

When I was going through school (up until the year I graduated) I was put in Piano lessons.  Classical piano lessons.  Although I hated going through and doing exams every year, I did not mind being able to read music and for the most part working my way through songs that I wanted to play.  It occurred to me after thousands of hours of practise that I could not make any of it up.  I was stuck playing music that others wrote, line by line without any variation.

I do not want that to be the Taijutsu of myself or any of my students.  Over the years I have seen many awesome practitioners with their own unique styles.  In Japan and throughout North America I have met people who have taught me many things for which I am thankful and respect.

As a dedication to them I will do my Taijutsu as a reaction to all of their movements good and bad.  I will take the feeling that they placed in my body through their techniques and use it to make carry on the traditions that Hatsumi Sensei is trying to pass on.  As a sign of respect I will not copy them movement by movement and turn our living art into a dead set of kata which must be done according to the scrolls.

Oh and I will relearn piano as well.

As many of you who know me know, I like to go to Japan for training.  That said if I have either Brian or Russ teach a few classes understand it is a direct result of my love for training in Japan.  I have some work which needs to get done for this trip to happen.  For the sake of my training and anyone who trains at the club I need to make it to Japan as often as I can.

In addition, Brain and Russ are both fine practitioners who take time to go to seminars and Japan when they can to improve their abilities.  Make sure not to miss their training if I am not at a class.  Missing it would be a mistake.

For those who are going to Japan with me the dates of October 22nd to November 17th are 95% certain.  I will begin looking for tickets so have your money ready.  Usually I can find something for around $1000 Canadian, it seems like this trip we will be looking more in the ballpark of $1200 Canadian.  I will keep you up to date on what I can find.

The kanji of the title is TenSai.  It means genius, prodigy or someone with a natural gift.  I have heard this used in a martial arts to describe many people over the years. Gichin Funakoshi, Kyuzo Mifune and Morihei Ueshiba to name a few.

There is an idolization of men like these in their respective arts.  You will often here in the more ‘modern’ martial arts that no one is or will ever be as good as the founder.  They were a type of genius that we were lucky to witness and will never see again.  So as it follows the next generation is always weaker than the last (in a Japanese sense of strength not physical power).

The Bujinkan is not like that.  We are in a living art.  If one of those TenSai can accomplish in 1 day that which takes us a month, it doesn’t matter.  We stand on the shoulders of 34 recorded generations and over 1000 years pushing us forward.  If we use the strength that we have inherited from those people who have gone before us passed down teacher to student we can rely on their knowledge.

We don’t have to rely on our own natural ability; we don’t have to have the knack for the martial arts.  If you could just win as a natural fighter, there would be no need for the martial arts.  If every generation could never be as good as the last then in a few generations there would be no point in taking the martial art.  An art that holds those who have gone before in high regard is good, because you can use their experience to help you progress.  There must however be balance with the experience, which you receive and add to the martial art to help the next generation.

Oh and to get the training, you have to go see a true Genius of the martial arts, Hatsumi Sensei.  He will get you where you need to be.  No books, scrolls or DVDs will get you the knowledge you need; Sensei and those who actively train with him are the only sources for this knowledge of the Bujinkan arts.  There you go a post by request, you’re welcome.

In short it was awesome. The long explanation, I have a lot of work to do.

Lubos brings with him a unique feeling of Japan that I would challenge you to get from any other ‘non resident’. The control which he exhibits, his use of space and natural movement is incredible. The feeling of reality in his techniques is terrifying. Mastering what he has to show will raise your taijutsu to a new level.

For those of you who attended, please work on what he has shown so that we can try to keep that feeling and apply it from to our taijutsu. We were lucky enough to cover ukemi (receiving) right through to kenjutsu, bojutsu and tanto (sword skills, staff kills and knife work). I know there is some sharing that needs to take place for those who didn’t make it to the Thursday and Friday night classes. I will do my best to make it down to Calgary for some training in the next few weeks, that is if I am welcome.

Special shout out to Bujinkan Manitoba for supporting the seminar. There has already been some feedback on the seminar, but I look forward to hearing more from those who attended. Your feedback after all is what make me think that people might actually read what I have to say from time to time.