Path of the Assassin is Koike and Kojima's 15-volume story of notorious ninja master, Hattori Hanzo! Published by dark Horse comics, you can follow the "quasi-historical" (i.e. fictional)advantures of Hanzo through this series. Koike and Kojima are best known for their hugely influential series, Lone Wolf and Cub and they have an excellent understanding of the Japanese past.While I certainly would never in a million years claim they know true ninjutsu, they do have an excellent understanding of samurai and martial arts history. And being Japanese, they provide an added insight into the mythology and history surrounding the samurai and ninja cultures. It is very different from the Hollywood idea of the legends we have in the US. The shadow of Sho Kosugi does not fall on Koike and Kojima.
And speaking of the true stuff... I had an opportunity to teach a section of the dojo's End of Year Training. I took about fifteen minutes to express, and demonstrate, what I learned this year: that Basics really matter.I'm not talking about the outward movements we tend to teach or describe as basics, but the underlying principles that make them work. I showed how the most recent Black Belt recipients could throw a great punch, but failed in a decent understanding of the necessary distance to use it properly. They had been working on that punch for over five years.
Earlier this year, I was left in charge of a class and I asked some new black belts to each teach something themselves. It was an excellent gauge of progress. They each competently taught a technique, but not one of them referenced a principle. There are, of course two big principles we ought to be talking about ALOT!
Distancing, or ma-ai.
And...
Balance, or kuzushi.
But there are plenty of other principles also to consider in good taijutsu. Moving in circles, or angles. Proper use of total body weight. Leverage. The meaning of "Natural" movement. And of course, the elusive "Kukan," or management of space.
You have to pick apart the larger movements we call Basics, or Kihon Happo, to work on these principles.
I had another enlightning moment when walking through a Black Belt class one day and suggesting a correction to a gentleman performing a particular kata. He had replaced a kick with a knee strike. I showed him how to do it better ("correctly" being a loaded term) and he frowned at me. He told me he knew that was the original way the kata was done, but he couldn't do it that way and substituted the knee strike. OK... But I'd seen him do it several times and he'd been consistently doing the knee strike. Yes, he had changed the way he did the kata -- and that was ok, he said proudly, because it "worked."
I shook my head and moved on, secure in the knowledge that this man would wise-up, or hit a dead end and quit. We change kata at our own risk. If we can't perform a movement correctly, it is a clue that we are doing something wrong and need to figure out what it is and why. Kata hold many lessons about the basic principles, and we need to be mindful of them. They are not simple movements strung together as a tailored response to some attack. They are meant to suggest a solution, based on a basic principle, to a particular type of problem. For example: Straight attack coming in on a line? Shift in a circular way and generate power for a counter-attack, while placing yourself in a protected position. Change the kata, and you might get part of that solution, but neglect the second.
12 comments:
I struggle with doing some techniques correctly because I don't move that way, yet. But I still try to do them according to what I have been taught. But without very regular practice, even the kihon happo changes to accomodate the weaknesses of my own body. I find that I move in a way that is comfortable for me and not in a way that strictly adheres to kata.
How strange the universe is...this is the exact thing my instructor has been focused on right now. Basics! He is always stressing the importance of basic principles and that the place to learn them is in forms and sets(kata). The techniques are where we learn to apply and connect the movements. I don't think I've ever mentioned what martial art I study. It is AKKI Kenpo with Paul Mills as headmaster. Website: http://www.akki.com/indexs/indexpage.htm
I remember you mentioned a little about kenpo in one of your postings, but I didn't say anything.
I agree that it is good to leave the changing of things up to those who understand the principles. I think Paul Mills said once that when you become a black belt, you are now ready to start learning kenpo. I guess it takes a long time to get a grasp on the basics. You have to stay humble, even at black belt level, or you will not learn.
Folks, I am sorry to bust everyones martial bubble...... but in a real for real world fight, most of the kata that everyone seems to be all gayed up about are all but impossible to do. The Harvard Motion Analysis Clinic says that things like wrist throws/locks, sweeps, and weapons disarms (basically anything that does not rely on the startle reflex) all but disappears when the heart rate goes above 150 or 160 (depending on ones physical conditioning and number of actual repetitons of practice).
Kata are very good when we use them for what they are for, in my humble opinion. And that is a).. a safe way to practice honing target acquisition. b) ... practicing winning a fight, and c).. programming ones mindset. If I imagine that I am an ancient ninja or samurai or whatever and am honoring a proven warrior culture by trying to mimmick their movements and traditions and that helps me to forge and maintain a specific mindset.... wellI feel that a 900 year old kata has served me well. But, on the otherhand.... if I simply copy my teachers and do perfect kata and memorize the Ten Chi Jin but give no quarter to what actually works for my body in a real fight, then I feel that I am doing a great disservice to my teacher, my art and the brave warriors who etched out the kata in the first place.
I say... don't be afraid if you don't look like teacher. I have a strange feeling that in the end, he would want you to look like you. Don't get wrapped around the axle over it. Crushing enemies and winning by doing what it takes to do so has got to be the answer. BLUNT FORCE TRAMA BABY!!!!!
Not a sermon..... just a thought.
Sky Ninja...
You're not really bursting my bubble. I agree with you.
Kata are intended to do many, many different things, but no one with any wisdom would say that one of those things is to provide a formula like: apply kata movement "123A to attack types 098, 097, 096, and 095."
I will say that kata are designed to ingrain certain kinds of responses into you, and make you familiar with the underlying principles of two bodies in conflicting motion. So with that in mind, we should first attempt to get the movement right before flying off on our own to change the sequence. You risk changing the whole point of the kata that existed in the first place.
Consider the example I sahred. The new black belt was performing Koku. A sequence most of us are familiar with... (Sorry, HME, this is ninja stuff, you wouldn't understand...)
The student performed the beginning well, right through the uke nagashi, but failed to distance himself properly for the rising kick that disrupts the Uke's front snap kick. In the original kata, the idea is for Tori to step into a position where distance alone is sufficient to protect him, while enabling a counterstrike. This counterstrike demolishes the Uke's already shaky balance, allowing the proper finishing technique. The student was NOT positioning himself safely; he was so close he had to use a knee strike. This is so close that Uke could grab Tori, throwing off the rest of the kata. He misses the "point:" Gain an advantageous position first, or more broadly, protect yourself before a counter.
Now, Sky Ninja, I'm not naive. No plan survives first contact with the enemy. I know -- and you have experienced -- that in a real fight it all goes out the window in a whirlwind of flailing limbs trying to inflict blunt trauma. Would the application of Koku look remotely like the kata? Maybe not. But if I understand why I do something and practice it correctly, then it should, over time become part of me. So when that attack comes straight in, my initial reaction should be to move to an advantageous position, where ever that might be and if the circumstances allow it.
But kata are funny, and the designers recognized the problems. Look at Renyo, the next kata in the series. How does it differ from Koku? The Tori does not step to the proper advantageous position, and the Uke reaches out and grabs him. Renyo teaches what to do if you screw up the lesson of Koku. Basically, keep going, and inflict blunt force trauma (shuto to the neck anyone?). Did the student's knee strike work? It sure did, but he was practicing Renyo, not Koku, using that solution. Now, what if circumstances don't allow me to move to an advantageous position? Some other kata provides a model for that too. And so on, and so on...
I am not saying that kata = combat. But I will say that kata are designed around proper application of the principles of human movement. Changing them risks introducing an improper movement, and missing the point.
The underlying message of any kata is very simple: "There is a way out of this predicament." Kata, as you said, also give you practice in winning -- a psychological tool not to be underestimated. Kata provide a basic vocabulary of movements for the student. Not to sound silly, but kata provide a "secret handshake" by which students of a particular art can recognize each other -- it's a shared experience that creates binding among the group. And there is some interesting evidence that kata actually perform a role in developing a ryu-specific point-of-view that shapes the student's mental outlook along particular lines.
So kata do more than most people think. And I do think the traditional movements are important to master before a student tries to change them. If trained right, they should help in combat.
On the issue of trying to look exactly like your teacher... It is somewhat inevitable that you will look like your teacher. You are conciously modeling your movement on his. On the other hand, an individual's body will never be 100% like anybody elses. Movements will differ. I wasn't quibbling with how the student moved in that sense, I was quibbling with his inability to grasp that he might be missing the point of the kata. I think the Bujinkan has too many people who hide behind the excuse, "This is a henka." If we're going to do kata, we should strive to do them correctly. Sparring is the place to learn that application of the principles is a very different matter.
jrf- as usual brother, you show me that we are both sides of the same coin (kinda like a cartoon villan). Thank you. I hope the wife and puppies are good.
Greetings Teacher,
I just got off work and just had to tell you of my latest adventure.
I managed to secure a job as a golf bag carrier here and today while carrying a few, the owners of the golf bags were talking about how much they hated shopping.
Long story short..... I awkwardly inserted myself into the converstion (which is strictly forbidden by my company rules of course) and badda bing badda boom, I am now a professional shopper for them.
Right now it is pretty easy. Just a few easy items. Coffee filters and pseudoeffedrine, and duct tape. Wow, am I lucky or what?
Am still training with my AWMA sword. Took your advice about the bendy parts. It is starting to look kinda like a kris blade. Nevertheless, I intend to perservere. Am practicing my cutting and jumping and making karate type noises and grunts as I do them.You'd be suprised how many broom sticks I can chip and mark up!I am writing new kata evey time I pick Elsa up (Elsa is the name of my sword, of course. Also the name of my dear sainted mother, but I mean the sword Elsa, not my mother Elsa. That would be stupid. Picking up one's other.)
I am going shopping now. Will write later.
I find it fascinating that the stimulating conversation in here typically spirals out of control.
No shit. My hooker just left and as I look at this mess I think about the time that my aunt Lisa diddled me as a boy. Now, that chick was out of control. She was a cheap date at my uncle's funeral and folks.... let me tell you, death is an awesome aphrodisiac, evidentally.
I'm out to go get some smokes and ole E. Later bitches!
Case in point...
I'm just trying to get over the concept that it is "inevitable that" I will look like my teacher. That would certainly be a proud day. A long way off I assume.
And how did you get on both sides of that coin? You would have to be really important.
the unwashed will not ever know........ loser. don't you get it? i sure hope your teacher doesn't read this. he would be ashamed. just kill yourself now flotsam.
Post a Comment