As I write this blog, New Zealand had recently succeeded in being free of Covid-19 for 100 consecutive days. Unfortunately, our luck has run out and we have had a small outbreak which has placed restrictions on Auckland and less so for the rest of the country. I have had the luxury of training at my usual dojo, I go to work and life is still pretty much normal. Not so for my friends in Auckland. Training has stopped for them until further notice as the Auckland region awaits the release of the restrictions.
As I have watched the Covid pandemic unfold around the world, as I have heard of long standing dojo having to close their doors due to low numbers and lack of funds in the U.S.,(a good aikido friend of mine in Tennessee recently let me know his dojo is closing its doors). I can't help thinking about the hardship and obstacles the ancestors of our martial arts went through to keep our traditions going.
In my own tradition of TSYR, the members of the ryu had to survive many 'choke points' in history where the school could have ended. The founder of Shindo Yoshin Ryu, Matsuoka Katsunosuke, created his school in 1864. Note this is a few years before the Meiji Restoration, a turbulent time in Japanese history where loyalists to the Shogun were thrown down in support for the Emperor and the Westernisation of the country. Anyone supporting the old regime was considered a fugitive and Matsuoka had to keep a low profile for a while as he was on the shogunate's side during the strife. Luckily, he was officially pardoned in 1887 and continued to teach his martial art and grow his membership once more. Had Matsuoka been killed in the fighting or tracked down afterwards by authorities, the martial art I now practice would have ended then.
Moving forward in history we come to the Obata line of Shindo Yoshin Ryu. At this time Obata Shigeta was training his own son, Hideyoshi in the art, training him hard. Hideyoshi would eventually join the military and with the start of World War II, many students departed the dojo for military service. Hideyoshi was now an officer in the army and had to leave as well. Obata's grandson, Yukiyoshi was being trained at this time. In 1944, news of Hideyoshi's death was reported to Obata and seeing the future of Shindo Yoshin Ryu residing with his grandson, he put plans in place. Yukiyoshi was granted a Menkyo Kaiden at 16 years of age (his training would carry on) and he and his mother were moved to the countryside. This ensured the line would continue. The Tokyo fire bombings destroyed the Obata Dojo and Yukiyoshi's grandfather disappeared at about the same time. Through careful foresight and some luck, the school continued through Yukiyoshi. There are many moments through this part of TSYR's history that the koryu could have ceased. Had Obata been killed earlier without handing over the Menkyo Kaiden to his grandson, Shindo Yoshin Ryu would no longer be considered a koryu. One of the defining characteristics of a koryu is the unbroken line, documented with scrolls of transmission. As it was, Takamura Yukiyoshi had several years of training ahead of him at this stage.
It is a daunting task maintaining and ensuring the growth of a koryu bujutsu. It is important to have good quality deshi but perhaps more importantly, to have enough deshi to ensure someone from the group can rise up and fulfil the role of leading the koryu into the future. This is harder than it sounds. A simple mishap and a student who has been training for years can be gone.
Ellis Amdur has said many times in interviews and in his books that he was the last remaining student of one of the schools he trained in. All the other students had dropped away for one reason or another until it was just him and his teacher. I wonder if his teacher ever thought that would be the case?
So I look at the situation the world finds itself in now. We are living in unusual times, there is no denying that. But I believe our ancestors have endured far worse and I see the best thing I can do for my ryu right now, is train. Keep grinding the stone and polishing the mirror. We don't know what tomorrow will bring so make the most of it.
Stay Safe!
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