Inspired by recent blog post from Arnaud Shihan...

Arnaud Shihan has posted another great blog entry at http://kumafr.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/enter-the-dragon/

 .  What stuck out for me was the line "We also learnt that the dragon was capturing while the tiger was hitting".  This was an "ah-ha!" moment for me as I was pondering the duality of the dragon and tiger so common in martial arts and as the foundational part to the name of our own dojo Ryuu (dragon) Ko (tiger).  In case you are wondering, the last part of our dojo name, Hikan, means secret scroll...

Arnaud Shihan cites Soke as saying the two opposites, dragon and tiger, aren't really in opposition, but in connection or in union with each other.  It's the in/yo or yin/yang, the heaven and earth, etc relationship.  But, tying it to the comment of dragon being about capturing/controlling and tiger about hitting, this gave light to what I see going on today with the way Soke and the Shihan are moving.  When you study the techniques and feeling of what they do, you'll find a duality between controlling or capturing, such as taking the space needed for the uke to rebalance themselves, continue attacking or counter, you'll also find there is a strike involved somewhere.  It's as if the dragon captures and the tiger hits, all as a balanced relationship, so that the two become one.  They are no longer seperate entities.  There is no seperation between capturing/controlling and hitting.  They both are connected to each other.

Anyway, take the time to consider the wisdom being presented in Arnaud's writing and how it relates to the "feel" of what Soke's budo is.  If you look carefully enough, you'll see this duality between dragon and tiger.  Then, find how you can learn from that and evolve your own training.

Gambatte kudasai!

Another good writing on my weekly e-news...

*** This week's training ***

Focus will be on timing, as explored through the Kihon Koshi Sanpo Kata of Ichimonji no Kata, Jumonji no Kata and Hicho no Kata (not necessarily in that order).  We will also explore some close range concepts and some evasion/survival techniques against a knife attacker.

This last topic is inspired by a violent stabbing last week that happened in nearby Folsom.  I'm not talking Folsom Prison, or some inner city urban jungle, but the small city that is predominately a low crime bedroom community.  A 13yr old boy attempted to steal a BB gun from the Folsom Wal-Mart store.  The manager pursued the kid and grabbed him.  The kid fought back and the manager, trying to use "appropriate" force without trying to hurt the kid, was attempting to restrain him.  Suddenly and without warning, the kid pulled a knife (size/type unknown), repeatedly stabbed the manager in the upper body and fled.  This wasn't a quick, little stab and run.  The kid fully committed himself to the armed assault, as evidenced by the repeated stabbing and from witness statements.  Luckily and fortunately, the manager has survived and is in good condition at the hospital.  Fortunately, also, the kid's parents did the right thing and turned the kid over to local police, who are charging him with attempted murder and robbery.

From the news accounts, the kid is a pretty normal 13yr old on the outside.  Yet, in an instant, he became a murderous attacker, armed with a knife and intent on using it.  Shocked?  Sad?  Angry?  Confused?  Yeah, me too.

What if you had been there shopping with your family, or maybe alone?  Where is your head, or awareness, at during a normal day at Wal-Mart or any other store?  Imagine the scene, this kid, a young teen, stabbing this poor guy over and over.  Maybe you don't see the knife and just see a manager trying to restrain a resistant kid.  Would you help?  Could you help?  What level of force would you be willing to use?  Remember, this kid is aggressively attacking with a knife.  And, he's only 13.

There are those who might imagine themselves as the hero, jumping in and taking control, subduing the attacker and saving the manager.  There are still those who immediately default to deadly force because, in essence, the kid is using deadly force.  And, legally, they would be justified.  Morally, however, the situation is complicated.  Just as in all of life, nothing is black and white.  It's always complicated, even if seemingly simple on the surface.

Now, I'm not going to sit here and pretend to be a "holier than thou" person and lecture you on what you "should do" or "should not do" in regards to your personal choices.  In fact, the situation and the questions raised scare me to my very core and, even with all my experiences and training, I still wish to never have to face such things because I really don't know what I would do, how it would affect me or my loved ones.  As warriors, we are protectors of life.  We value the lives of our fellow humans.  Yet, we also know that sometimes to save a life, a life might have to be taken.  As warriors, we also accept that we may find ourselves in the unavoidable position of having to make that choice.  We are always accountable for our decisions, so the responsibility isn't one to be taken lightly.  Certainly none of us are in a position to judge anybody because we really don't know how we would handle such a scenario.  We can imagine, we can theorize, we can train diligently on "appropriate" techniques, but the sudden "reality check" and shocking brutality of this kind of thing can bring out behaviors and choices in us that we could never have imagined.  Sometimes it could be amazing feats of bravery and heroism.  Sometimes it could be inaction caused by paralyzing fear.  Then, no matter our action or inaction, the emotional impact in us, bystanders, and all others who are affected can also be just as unpredictable and damaging.

These kinds of violent acts exist in everyday life, in every part of the world, in every part of society, and with all kinds of people.  None of us are immune to it.  As warriors, always training, always aware, we need to take the time to read into these stories.  We need to ask the hard questions of ourselves, to honestly assess ourselves, not just physically but mentally and spiritually. 

And, we need to keep training.


See you in class!

On training

(Copied from my dojo e-news for this week.  I thought I hit on something really good and wanted to share it with my blog.  Enjoy!)

This week we are going to continue to drill, drill, drill those basics into our bodies. I feel like our current pace and format is good. The intensity and physical demands set a good foundation for the rest of the class. I find everybody's bodies move better. An important training concept that's quickly becoming recognized as most efficient among fitness experts is this idea of quick, intense bursts of physical stress (with proper technique to avoid injury). Our friend Dan's budo fitness site http://www.warriorinshape.com/ has many great articles that focus on this training concept. As warriors, our bodies may be suddenly and instantly called into extreme physical action. We may go about our normal day for weeks, months, years living at our regular pace. Without warning, we could suddenly and violently be faced with extreme danger, causing a huge dump of endorphins into our system, as the "fight or flight" programming we are hard-wired with instantly kicks in. Our bodies need to be able to handle this sudden stress. Our consciousness needs to be able to adapt, recover and take charge of our bodies. We need to be able to move tactically and have the stamina to handle the physical demands we are faced with.

Then, just as quick as it started, it could end and we need to be able to recover from that as well. Recovery is at the root of ukemi and it begins with exposing our bodies and minds to sudden demands in bursts.
This brings me to another important point - making ourselves train. Our classes are on a weekday, after we've all worked long, stressful hours. We are tired, maybe sore, and I'm sure our brains are wiped out. I know that for most, one of the last things we truly want to do is to be hit and thrown around a mat for a couple hours. Yet, we do. I think this is also an important concept. Danger almost always comes when we are at our weakest moment, when our attention is focused elsewhere, when our bodies are tired, hungry, injured and unprepared. Yet, at that instant, the danger takes over the entire situation and we have to suddenly act. I believe some of the best training comes from those nights when you really don't want to train, yet force yourself to go and just throw yourself into it. Both body and mind are being pushed. The lessons learned go far beyond the technical aspect of the class. And, when you've made yourself train on those nights, don't you always feel good afterward and happy you went?

Life creates far more reasons and opportunities to not train than to get out and train. It becomes easy to put it off another day, another week, another month, and even another year. Yet, if we truly want to call ourselves martial artists, even warriors, we need to make training a priority, not just for our own protection, but the protection of those we love. This is why we show up when most go home. This is what separates us from the rest of society. This is why to be a real budoka (student of martial arts) you also have to strive to be a Tatsujin, or complete human being, a gentleman, one who lives to a higher purpose. It starts with the attitude towards training the body, the mind and one's spirit, every day, every opportunity, every second.

Just like finding the kukan, or tactical space, in a technique and operating within it, we also have to find the kukan in our lives and train within it. Know when it's there and get in it. Know when it moves, find it, then move in it again. There is always kukan if you take the time and have the desire to find it. It's always up to you.

This is what is meant by the term "Gambatte" or "Keep Training"! It's a way of living, not an interruption to it...