Enter the Kaicho, yet again.

Toby Threadgill.
Takamura Ha Shindo Yoshin Ryu.

TSYR Kaicho, Toby Threadgill was back in NZ for about 6 days. He arrived on a Thursday and had a day's rest before we started our closed seminar on Friday.

Friday training started with kuzushi no kata. These are a set of verbally transitted kata that teach important balance breaking principles. Sensei decided to take it up 'a notch' and made them more challenging as we refined them and performed them with a higher level of connection and alertness.

After lunch we practised battojutsu (sword drawing). This is always challenging and I had an argument with my sword. It was refusing to do as it was told resulting in jerky movements and ugly cuts. I find this a demanding practice that requires precision and patience. Both of which I lack at times.

Saturday training started with chuden hand escapes which are done from idori (kneeling). I find these kata fascinating. Lots of good internal principles can be learned and applied in these kata. Lots of tips about moving tension around the body and correct use of the hara to develop power.

After lunch was batto torikaeshi which is how to protect yourself against someone attempting to take your sword. Again, sensei refined what we were doing and added another layer. He was teaching us how to make our technique softer and lighter. This of course makes it more powerful in the long term. Many of these techniques make the uchitachi believe he has control of the sword but he never does. He does not realise this until he finds himself in a compromised position and often with the blade of the sword coming at him! We looked into mental disruption as well by using our swords instead of bokken to get a better understanding of the dynamics between ken and saya. Something that cannot be achieved with bokken alone.

Sensei showed some henka. I had the privilege to be on the end of one of these versions and it was exciting!

Saturday night was the official social gathering where we go to a restaurant and eat and be merry. One of our members always brings a good supply of sake.

Sunday was an open seminar in Auckland. I did not attend this but it was very positive by all accounts.

Then sensei was back at the Hamilton dojo for the TSYR members to work through their training Monday Tuesday and Wednesday. I had a day with my two daughters on Monday but was able to get to the morning sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tuesday morning focused on the kumitanto. I enjoyed these very much and once again Sensei Threadgill was in top form as he showed us how to refine these movements and I felt, once more just how powerful his connected strikes can be. For the first time in my life I had both my feet lifted from the ground as I was struck. I have witnessed such feets on video and often think the person receiving the strike is taking a fall. But to actually have my own centre taken so strongly was amazing.

Wednesday morning saw us take a look at the tanto disarms. This is a set of kata I struggle with to some degree. Again Sensei was on hand to make corrections and also took us through some sensitivity drills to try and get us to make our techniques lighter.

Its always great to see those who travel to Hamilton to train with us as well. It is quite a commitment to make every seminar and it is a credit to those members.

It was a great experience and I learned many things. I now have plenty to think about in the coming months before Sensei Threadgill's next visit in 2015.

Socialising off the mat.

The budo world is a weird place. People from different races, religions and professions don traditional Japanese clothing and walk onto a matted space to practice antiquated martial techniques. We put our safety into each others' hands and then we bow, walk off the mat and continue with our lives as normal.

What happens when training is over?

At times I find it a surreal experience. We leave behind our contemporary world and enter one of etiquette, respect and controlled violence. What are we thinking?

In some dojo this is the extent of the relationship between the practitioners. However, another part of the culture can be the socialising that occurs between members at other times.

There are the seminar get-togethers. Usually a high ranking guest is in town and effort is put into booking a venue to gather after a day's training. This is often a restaurant close to the training venue. People get to talk to sensei off the mat, hear the budo stories and get to know one another a little better. It is an atmosphere that appears informal but due to the number of people quite often people are still reserved and respectful, despite the jokes being thrown around.

Then there are the talks after class. These often involve discussing organisational issues and making plans for upcoming events at the dojo. "We need to get that leak fixed." or "How do you think that new guy went today?" I will include in this events where members get together to clean the dojo or repair a part of the building. The relationships between people are more authentic than the seminar events. Usually everyone knows everyone else, at least by name and there is a feeling of camaraderie as the members work towards a common goal.

In some cases, the relationship with other members of the dojo become true friendships. They become people you can hang out with any time. The dojo may still be the focal point for many of your meetings and get-togethers but it is much more likely that you might go around to each other's house or end up getting to know each others children.

I have trained and been a member of dojo that had people mostly interact on the mat then leave. I have also been part of a dojo where each member will look out for you and catch up off the mat as well. Both were/are filled with good people.

People come to train at a dojo for many reasons. Some for fitness, some for self-defence and so on. They get out of it as much as they put in, including the relationships they form with other members. The three situations I described above allow different people to interact with others at different levels and in my opinion, that is a good thing.

Polishing the Mirror.

When polishing the mirror, one is refining technique. You have the big dots connected. You know the basic look and shape of the kata. Now it is time to dig deeper, study further.

Recently our new sensei (Chris) came back with another member of the club from a two week intensive training session with Toby Threadgill. What he brought back were subtle tips and pointers to further our understanding of each of the kata in the Shoden Mokuroku (first level of the curriculum). Each time we get together for training, sensei is going over some of these tips.

I am finding these training sessions very enlightening and exciting. We remarked with one another how we had been over-thinking some of the techniques. Now they seemed simpler but more effective. However, these tips would be meaningless to someone new to the martial art. There is assumed knowledge in these new pointers. It is refinement of our current technique. Someone completely new would take the advice in the wrong way or simply not know what it meant.

Bits of the puzzle are starting to fit together for me now. Certain principles keep appearing throughout the different sets of kata. Some movements are similar. Others that appeared similar are now obviously different and teaching a different lesson within the same set. This seems logical. Why have two kata teaching the same thing in the same set?

As a group we are entering an interesting crossroads where we have the step by step instructions for beginning students but we are moving forward with our own training and Toby is refining what we do. Sometimes Chris would ask Toby which the right way for doing a technique was? This or that? Toby would say both. One is how it is done for beginners, the other a more advanced version.

Chris was able to go through the entire Shoden syllabus while away, refining, questioning and adapting. So far we have looked at the first kumitachi set, the sword disarms and defence against sword disarms. I had to miss one other session due to family commitments.

I look forward to the next training session as he goes over more of his notes from Hombu.

Training the Right Way

I walked away from training today thinking about the experiences I had on the mat that day. Then I stumbled upon a blog by Budo Bum and he was speaking about training right. He speaks about training hard but only as hard as your technique can handle. The balance between training with intensity and training slow enough to keep the technique correct is difficult to achieve.

Too much intensity can turn to thuggery.

If you train with high intensity too often your technique can get sloppy. In TSYR, ideally techniques are done in a relaxed manner so not to telegraph your intentions. If you try to force techniques and tense up in the process this is counterproductive to what you are trying to achieve. The end result is that your opponent notices or feels this tension and responds accordingly. At greater speed and with stronger intention both from the attacker and the defender's viewpoint, these subtleties can be lost. In extreme situations it begins to look like thuggery as one or both training partner's lose their centre and overbalance at certain times through the kata or technique. Techniques get cranked on without awareness of body structure and the lesson is lost and increases the chance of serious injury in the dojo.

However, doing the kata slowly and deliberately all the time can have its down side. People start to get a false sense of their abilities. Yes, you maintain structure, yes you move from your centre, yes you create kuzushi but always when things are moving slowly. If the situation is hyped up this can all fall apart very quickly. In this situation people who think they are competent suddenly get a wake up call when someone comes charging at them REALLY trying to strike them. Often people freeze up or find their technique too weak or they switch gears to "force mode" and try to muscle the technique on.

So my point is to try a graduated approach to training. Both styles of training have their purpose but the middle ground must be obtained. A good sensei is one who can see where a student needs to be to be challenged enough for growth but not so much to push them over the edge and allow them to fall back on bad habits.

In our dojo after practising some kata for a while, slowly and deliberately, we do a more free style form of practise. We decide on three to five responses we will use against certain attacks and then have the partner attack quicker and harder than usual. We do not stop to correct mistakes or spend time discussing points. We receive five and then give five attacks. After that set we might stop to discuss points but only then. This allows us to see the holes in our techniques and truely see what parts of the kata have been internalised.
It is important that both partners know what is going on here. Uchitachi should be relaxed and pliable during this process but at the same time, if kuzushi isn't made, then uchitachi will not fall. This is not the time for uchitachi to become wooden and resist every movement as this is unnatural and relies on a certain amount of anticipation of what technique is coming. This will not teach shitachi anything. This relates of course to the idea of uchitachi being in a teaching role.

After this exchange we may change partners and do it again. Different body types add another dimension. After doing these sets a few more times we have now given ourselves plenty to work on when we go back to slow and steady next time in class.

The idea is that over time it will take faster and harder attacks to undermine our technique.

Yours in training,
Dean.

The Legacy of Takamura Sensei.

If you go to the TSYR hombu dojo homepage you will find a PDF of an interview between Stanley Pranin and Yukiyoshi Takamura. I have read this article many times as it gives me an insight into my Kaicho's teacher.

Yukiyoshi Takamura

After reading the interview with Yukiyoshi Takamura, I was left pondering a few things he said.

One of his quotes from the article, "Appreciation of fear and the appropriate reaction when confronting fear is the sign of a mature martial artist."

This was in answer to the question regarding how rough his training methods were. He was trying to explain that the dojo is an environment where you can experience the fear response while training with people you can trust. People who can look after you while your mind and body adapt to high levels of stress. This is one reason I enjoy TSYR. The training does challenge me often. Especially the kenjutsu practice. I also know that at higher levels things get cranked up more but I have a strong relationship with most people in that dojo and know that they will do everything they can to ensure my safety. If I get hurt it was probably through something I did, not them. 

Another quote related to this: "Without a struggle, the character never really is challenged and never matures."

So if you enjoy martial arts because it is easy, then maybe there is something wrong with the training. 

He goes on to say, "Remember that most people who call themselves martial artists are nothing of the sort. Most dojos are not martial arts dojos either. They are glorified social clubs thriving in an environment of emotional stimulation which is heightened by a false or extremely limited perception of danger. When real danger shows itself in such a dojo, the participants run for cover. In a real dojo the participants run towards the conflict."

I'm sure he is not advocating the old school approach of looking for danger and picking fights rather that the people of 'real dojos' are mentally prepared for serious confrontation or stress in whatever form that may be. 

Having a background in aikido, I know what he is talking about when describing glorified social clubs. Some aikidoka I have known come to the training for the buzz they get from throwing people or being thrown by people in a slightly choreographed fashion. It is fun, no doubt about it but the reality is, that no one is really resisting and balance-breaking often results from the attacker over-extending, leading to a false confidence of one's ability. Disclaimer: this is not all aikido or aikidoka. There are some devastating examples of aikido in action out there. 

Takamura was certainly clear on his views with regards to the right mental attitude and the conditions for training and I like to think he instilled in Toby Threadgill that same sense of credibility in his teaching and therefore our training. What Toby can do is impressive but he doesn't make it into some mystic rubbish. He is careful to explain his abilities are simply the result of years of practice and refinement and he can show us how he does it. Immulating him is a different story, however!

Getting back on the horse (mat)

It's been awhile since my last post. However, my training has not stopped despite the passing of sensei. In fact we have not missed a single training session. Somehow being on the mat with others who knew sensei allows us to capture his essence. I have been wondering what to write about. The culture of our dojo has changed now, as to be expected. I think this post will simply be an opportunity to reflect on some of those changes.

The first point I would like to mention is that I have realised how much I relied on sensei to make sure I was doing everything correctly. I did not own my learning as much as I could have. In fact I think many members of the dojo feel this way. As a group we have had to take up the mantle and forge ahead providing our own direction. One of us is a licensed instructor but the reality is we are all learning this art together and the knowledge and skills as a collective are now more important than simply relying on one exceptional martial artist to pull us along. This means taking turns running certain aspects of the class. For example we have been asked by the senior member to take turns leading the body conditioning exercises at the start of every Saturday class. We all adhere to the main principles of the exercises but each have our own take on them. It has been interesting to see and hear the others' interpretations of them.

The second change to the group as a whole is that, for me anyway, the group is now tighter for having gone through the grief of losing sensei. I have two young children and they are associating with these people more often. It is nice to know they will most likely grow up around people who I trust and respect. I am trying to involve myself more in the other activities outside of the training sessions. Make my presence felt by the others to show my full support. Of course this is limited by family and work obligations.

This brings me to my third point. I didn't realise it at the time but the eight or so other people I train with on that mat I count as friends. I don't say that lightly. I keep a very small group of people in my 'friend zone' and I feel privileged to count my dojo partners in that group. Of course the strong support from Toby Threadgill and hombu also mean we still have a source of guidance and structure in place to continue growing in our practice.

So on the whole the passing of sensei has strengthened the group. It is something very positive for us to take from such a sad experience. I am a realist about this though and some people had been shaky on their commitment when sensei first passed, mostly from shock I expect but we have supported one another and I hope for the sake of the art and for the effort sensei put into us, that we don't lose too many people. Of course like me, some of the others have attacked their training with even more vigour than before, determined to keep the flame burning.

The passing of a great man.

On Thursday night (22nd May) I received devastating news. My sensei and friend, Robbie Smith passed away suddenly in his home. It has left the dojo members and the greater budo community reeling.

R.I.P. Robbie Smith Sensei.

Having had some days to reflect and mourn I wish to celebrate the good things this man did for me and budo in general.

I would like to start with a comment I wrote on this post back in 2012. I had written this:

"Not only is Robbie an exceptional martial artist he is also an incredibly nice guy."

Such a simple yet no truer sentence. As a teacher and mentor he was patient, kind and had a way of working out what each individual student needed to work on to get better. He set his standards high for his students and even higher for himself. 

Through his effort and expertise Robbie grew a small TSYR study group into one of the strongest TSYR branches in the ryu. He selected quality people who he then invested time into and turned us into a tight group of not only martial art enthusiasts but also good friends. I gave up my aikido training to concentrate solely on TSYR and it was what Robbie had to teach me that sealed the deal. I lament that I couldn't glean more from him. He had so much more to teach. 

NZ TSYR branch with Threadgill Sensei.

Such was the caliber of Robbie's technical ability that Toby Threadgill spoke of being fortunate to have had such a student want to train under him. This speaks volumes for Robbie's abilities as Toby travels the world and has seen what budo talent is out there. 

His technical ability was first apparent in his karate. Robbie held the rank of 7th dan on Wado Ryu karate.

One statement mentioned from the many Facebook posts since his passing has been this one, from Takagi Sensei, 8th dan Wado Ryu:

"Robbie, according to Takagi Sensei, was a true budoka in every sense of the word. He exemplified all that was good about Wado and the Wadokai was a better organization for having Robbie as a member." 

As a teacher he was patient and had an eye for detail. He could distill the essence from a movement and drill the components to make an overall technique stronger or more precise. He enjoyed the sword-work of TSYR as he often said it was new and exiting for him. 

Robbie was very humble. An example of this was when he traveled to Japan for an instructor's seminar for karate. Upon his return his students discovered that he had gone to grade for his seventh dan and had told nobody that he had achieved it. They discovered this at a later date. 

If anyone was to praise him he would brush it off or pass it onto someone else. He simply didn't accept praise. 

In my opinion Robbie saw karate as his work and career but TSYR was where he could really enjoy being a budo student again. However, in both pursuits he put in his all with passion and pride.

It is a great loss to his family, friends and the budo world.

Robbie, may your training continue wherever you may be and that you watch over our own training and keep us on the path.

Koru Dojo - New Zealand

Recently I attended a training camp with seven others in the beautiful Coromandel of New Zealand. We stayed at the Koru Dojo built and hosted by David Lynch and his wife Hisae. The dojo is the perfect place for a small group of serious budo students to sleep, eat and train. It is built onto the main house and David and Hisae are very welcoming and great conversationalists. To top it all off, they have a hot tub to relax the muscles after a day of training.

We drove to the dojo on a Friday and trained in the afternoon. We then had dinner prepared by the wife of one of the budoka who is a professional chef!  The food was exquisite. We socialised in the evening and drank wine and sake until about midnight.

The next morning we started with a pre-breakfast training session consisting of conditioning exercises. After a hearty breakfast we trained through to lunch. Then it was onto afternoon training, dinner and then more sake.

The third day started with conditioning exercises before breakfast again, we then fueled up and trained through the morning. We then packed up our gear and cleaned the dojo. For the final lunch of the weekend we walked into the bush and ate near a waterfall. 

Then it was final farewells and back in the cars for the trip home. 

Over the whole weekend we covered such things as sword and tanto disarms, kumitachi, kumitanto, battojutsu, taijutsu and even a bit of shiatsu for aching bodies. 

In the Koru Dojo, NZ.

It was a fantastic weekend full of earnest training and lots of laughs in the breaks. 

While sensei's away...

Sensei is away for the weekend.
Today's training session was lead by our sempai, Chris. However, Chris is very inclusive during these sessions. He believes we all have something to offer. He asks another senior member to take us through warm ups and the conditioning exercises. Then he asks me to go through the finer points of ukemi due to my aikido background. As an added extra today, he asked a newer member of the group to demonstrate how he creates kuzushi for body throws. This member has vast experience in this sort of thing and Chris decided to call upon the man's knowledge and it was great. Finally, Chris took over and covered two sets of exercises that focused on subtle body stuff. The first set of exercises are used to teach subtle, balance-breaking. The second set is a set of escapes. They are mostly from wrist grabs but there are some from full body grabs as well.
I always value these sessions without sensei as it is an opportunity for us to slow down and check the finer details of our techniques. It allows us to reinforce what we have learned and generate questions for sensei upon his return.

Sword Mechanic.

Recently training has focused on kenjutsu and battojutsu on Wednesday evenings. On Saturday mornings we have been working on taijutsu kata and idori. Things are really starting to click. I'm retaining more and more of the kata now and the new kata are easier to remember as the TSYR principles underlie all the techniques.
Recently we were split into two groups. One group worked on the Shoden kumitachi and another group worked on the first set of the Chuden kumitachi and then moved into the first few kata of the next set. There is so much to learn (I seem to be always thinking this). As always I must work on obtaining the correct mindset for TSYR sword work. The physical application of the kata is only the beginning, the intent and mental application is just as important.

As I have been training I have been delving deeper into the bits and pieces of a sword. For a while now I have been determined to remove the mekugi (bamboo pin) from the handle of my sword. Ever since I have had the sword the mekugi has been jammed in so hard I have not been able to get it out. Armed with a hammer and two blocks of wood, I took my sword outside and placed it across the blocks. Then using a modified roofing nail I hammered on the pin until it finally moved. It took many more strikes before it loosened and was knocked out. Before anyone growls at me, I didn't have a mekuginuki at the time and I was being careful.
I discovered that hole of the tang through which the pin went through had gouged into the pin jamming it in there. So I made a new mekugi out of a bamboo chopstick. I removed the handle and checked the tang. There was some corrosion where the tsuba had been rubbing against the metal so I sanded that back and put some sword oil on it. The tang is long and is almost the length of the tsuka, which is an indicator of a good sword, I believe.
I reassembled the handle and put the new pin in. Good as new!

Working the kata or am I?

Some interesting things have been happening in my training lately. For a long time I thought I worked the kata but lately I am beginning to think the kata also work me. Let me explain.
There is a sword kata where I am dropping down into my front leg. However, there is no drop when done correctly. After talking this through with sensei it has become apparent that my hips are not square from the beginning and to perform the technique with the right structure I am dropping into my front leg which results in me squaring my hips.
Another example is during batto (sword drawing). Near the end of each kata the hips should be square and for a long time I was straining my left ankle during training. I finally realised that I needed to square my hips by moving my left foot out to allow room for the hips to open. No more pain in the ankle while I train.
A final example is during the taijutsu kata. Moving about the spine is important for TSYR movement and over time I am finally feeling when I am moving into a posture of imbalance so I self-correct.
In all of the examples above the constant repetition of the kata have changed my positioning or body posture along the way. As the principles of the art embed themselves in my psyche my body is automatically correcting small things I am doing wrong. It is exciting.

So I really feel the kata working me the more I try to work the kata. Weird.

Levels of Training

Today's training was challenging in many ways.
First, the weather made for very humid conditions and it felt like we were training in a Sauna. Within minutes of warming up we were sweating heavily. Secondly, Sensei split the group into two groups with the theme of developing a strong focus between partners during the kumitachi. The group I was part of was asked to work through the two shoden kumitachi but with emphasis on complete focus from beginning to end. We were also asked to challenge each other with faster attacks. The result was a very intense class that fatigued us quickly due to the concentration required. It is to be expected. Sensei is trying to lift our game.
Time and time again, I hear or read about going back to the kata. This is an example of this. We all have much to learn from the very first kata. We now know the kata but aspects have yet to be internalised. It really felt like we were doing something completely different. It was invigorating and challenging at the same time.
After this, we worked on the first of the chuden kumitachi. This was done at a slower pace as not all of us had done these techniques before.
Once again I find myself reflecting on just how much more there is to learn in this art. I am excited by what may lie ahead.