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.