Last night's class...

Last night I taught my Intel class and found that my body is still quite sore from Dale's seminar last Saturday. I had several of my regulars in attendance, so we reviewed some of the Rokushakubo stuff I've been showing for the past several weeks. I chose not to review kamae postures, following the same path that our Soke took this year with his theme of Kukishinden Ryu. I did, however, spend quite a bit of time on the Bofuri Gata, which involves the constant movement of the staff. We looked at how each point in the movement is a base for strikes and blocks and how the legs need to keep one's position constantly moving. In the chaos of the battlefield, staying in one position for a length of time increases the danger from enemy combatants on all sides. So, the bofuri technique is about freedom and movement - and keeping moving while surrounded by danger.

We drilled high and low hits from bofuri, as advancing and retreating actions. We drilled some basic thrusting techniques, too. Then, I went into some kata concepts involving controlling the distance, then off balancing the uke to allow for a closing step and throw with the staff.

Next, I showed some things picked up at Dale's seminar, mostly in regards to unarmed techniques, but with the feeling of wearing armor. We looked at several kata from Kukishinden Ryu, but focused mostly on the base actions instead of the entire kata.

Something Dale taught at his seminar really struck with me and I taught it to my students. Dale explained that many of the kata in the Kukishinden Ryu involve long, drawn out series of actions. Although practiced against one uke or attacker, the actual densho describes them as being against many foes. Given the purpose of Kukishinden Ryu as a school for battlefield combat, where you face enemies all around you, this would make sense. In addition, Dale said that many of the movements would also be used fighting aboard ships, which were also part of the warring going on in Japan during this tradition's history. This cleared up alot of questions for me, since I've always known Kukishinden Ryu to be a battlefield art. Dale said that there aren't even many ground hold techniques, since the logical battlefield tactic would be to quickly defeat the opponent and move on to another. In fact, it would be normal to even leave a wounded enemy and move on, because other soldiers would be following along to 'clean up' the easy kills you left behind. The same was true in European medieval combat, too.

Our evening ended with some sword kata and free play of unarmed techniques. In the sword kata, I showed one similar to what Dale taught. You're wearing your sword, sheathed, when the attacker does a left hand lapel grab and right cross punch to your face. You step back with the right and, with your left hand still holding the scabbard and hilt of your sword, swing it up to block the punching arm on the inside of their wrist. Then, the attacker does a right kick, but you step back with your left leg and parry the kicking leg with a downward swing of the sword handle (while still in the scabbard). From there, you begin to draw the sword with your left hand by shooting it up to hit the attacker just under his nose with the pommel of the handle. You keep the forward pressure as you step slightly to the right inside their balance point, place your right hand on the sword handle and finish drawing the sword from the scabbard by using your body to remove the scabbard from the blade (it's a backward movement).

Because the distance between you and the attacker is now increased, but you haven't let up on the pressure with the pommel to the attacker's face, you snap the blade forward from the outside to cut the attacker across either the back of their neck or low across the belly. It's a difficult technique to describe in words, but the point is to use the handle to control the balance and space of the attacker, while using the body to draw the sword out. It's a very effective technique and fun to play with. They guys loved it and kept at it until we decided to end the training.

Overall, we weren't real aggressive with our training, since I was still sore and the others were visibly exhausted from long work days. So, it was a good time to relax and work on moving slow and precise. Next week we can work on conditioning.

Cheers!

Oh, ow, oooh...

Wow! What a week!

My Tuesday class went great! We went over the fundamentals of the Kukishinden Ryu Rokushakubo, such as kamae (postures), strikes, Ukemi Gata receiving forms, bofuri staff flowing movements, and a few kata from the Shoden level. Everybody was in good form, picking up the movements quickly and finding the right 'feel' to the kata. What I emphasized was controlling the effective range needed to use the long staff, which involved good leg work and timing. With the heavier staff common to Kukishinden Ryu, it becomes difficult to make sudden, snappy motions with the weapon. So, you have to time everything just right to keep the flow of the weapon moving and still be able to block and strike effectively. This was an important point which the group understood well.

Saturday, I drove down to Stockton for a seminar with 15th dan Dale Seago. What an awesome time that was! There were around 12-15 of us in attendance, most of whom were black belts. But, what made it even more special was that Dale honored me with being his uke for damn near 90% of the entire seminar! He demonstrated each technique at least 4-5 times, hitting, throwing and twisting me all up. I would crash to the floor, jump up and attack again. The tempo was just as fast and it was great fun! Dale's technique is so precise and his level of control is amazing. After 2 hours of this, we broke for lunch. Then, we resumed for another 3 or so hours of solid training.

Needless to say, I was well thrashed by the end of it. I had sweat through all my clothing and was very happy to get home to a nice, hot shower! Seeing how much Dale had beaten up on me, the guys at the seminar commented how happy they were I was there. I replied that I was honored to "take one for the team"!

Dale did an excellent job of expressing the armored feeling of Kukishinden Ryu, showing how this affects our basic movement drills of the Sanshin no Kata and how our own balance needs to be centered at all times. I understood this very well, having over 8 years of armored sport combat experience through the Society for Creative Anachronisms (www.sca.org). If you haven't worn armor before, it's hard to really grasp how it affects your balance, movement, awareness and so on. But, Dale was able to really describe it well, so that the others were able to replicate it in their unarmored bodies. He really is a great teacher.

So, as I am now back to work, I sit here typing. I can feel the bruises on my arms from the constant blocking hits. My neck muscles ache from repeated smashes with Dale's fist. My back muscles are sore from the consistent landing on the ground in twisted contortions. Even my right toes hurt from something that happened in one of many techniques Dale did on me.

But, deep inside I feel strong and ready for more. Now, I look forward to another of my Tuesday classes!

Cheers!

Vacation this week :-)

Hi friends!

This week I'm off from work on a vacation, or at least I'm only in my office for one day (today). So, you won't get posts from me probably until next week.

For those of you interested in my weekly class happenings, I'm still planning on continuing Kukishinden Ryu bojutsu and looking forward to going to 15th dan Dale Seago's seminar hosted in Stockton on Saturday.

I will post how things went the next time I'm at work. Heaven forbid I actually post on my personal blog when I'm NOT supposed to be working! :-)

Cheers!

Gotta love my group...

The dynamics of my group is funny. They are all employees at the Intel facility I teach at, so most of them come straight after work. As a corporation, Intel is a strong company and one of the leaders in the technological market, being responsible for micro chips, processors and many other important computer technologies sold around the world. But, as common with the industry, they fluctuate constantly between volume spikes and dips. With that, so does their staffing numbers. When that happens, it has a profound effect on my class. This may mean layoffs, which could cause me to lose students. But, since most of my students have seniority with the company, it usually means longer work hours as duties are added on to make up for the personnel "adjustments".

When these things happen, I'm lucky to get a handful of students show up and new enrollments drop to nothing. At times, there have been only a couple of us training. At the height of the employement surge, I've had over 15 in attendance before. So, consistency has always been a challenge.

Last night was no exception.

I have some who have stopped coming, for reasons associated with late meetings and work projects. I also have a couple who are out of town on business related reasons. Yet another is dealing with sick children. So, in a nutshell, last nights class brought out only one person. This person is one of my shodans and also is a yondan in Shotokan Karate (no easy achievement!). Even though it was just the two of us, our time together was anything but disappointing.

I was able to review what we did at Alex's, since he was one of my guys who also came to that training. Because the lower body alignment for Shotokan is different than what we use in the Bujinkan, that became the focus of my work with him. We did many drills with the Rokushakubo, with the attention being paid to the correct postures and movement of the legs and upper torso. I was able to really pinpoint small corrections and fine tuning of things and very soon he was showing great progress in breaking old habits. He had some questions in difficulties he was having with some of the posturing and I was able to answer them in a way that made sense to him.

Eventually, we were doing some great kata drills with each other, which involved striking, blocking and countering against either our Rokushakubo or Bokken (sword). Because of the attention we were able to spend on the little details, the kata had sufficient power, flow and balance. Our Rokushakubo staves were smoking from the various blocked strikes and such! I saw great improvements in his use of the knees and the dynamics of moving in strong kamae. The confidence in his performance was evident as he could 'feel' the kata come alive and the Rokushakubo become a natural extension of himself. Even though there is still some fine tuning that still need developing, he is off to a great start.

We trained solidly for 2 hours and I was surprised how quickly the time went. By the end, we were both sweaty, tired and satisfied with the results of our training together.

So, even though everybody else missed class for various reasons, I felt this class was one of the most important classes I had taught. I don't think I could have made the same progress with him while working with everybody else, too. It was time well spent, in my opinion.

I know he felt the same way.

Next week, we will continue on the same path of developing a strong foundation in the Rokushakubo staff - regardless of how many can manage to attend. Soon, however, I will start focusing on the thrusting techniques, in preparation for our transfer to Sojutsu - or spear combat.

In my opinion, both Bojutsu and Sojutsu should be learned together. In real combat, the likelihood of your spear tip being broken or hacked off is quite high. In those circumstances, your spear now becomes a staff - or Rokushakubo. On the flip side, if you are wielding a Rokushakubo or any long staff, the likelihood of your staff being broken or hacked is high. This will probably result in your staff having a sharp end - thus becoming a kind of spear. So, by learning both skills, you are better prepared to adapt to whatever kind of weapon you suddenly end up with at any given moment.

Stay tuned for more soon...

Oh, what a weekend...

Well, Saturday was a blast! I attended Alex's bojutsu class and was happy to see both Johns from my Intel class! One John is a shodan and the other is an Ikkyu, who is also a regular at that dojo, as well. Alex was pleased to have us there and the energy was high among the participants.

We started a bit late, so we bypassed the usual warm ups. We did some light kihon training, using some Sanshin no Kata and some Gyaku wrist reversal techniques with our partners to loosen up our bodies and get ourselves into a training mode.

Then, on to the Rokushakubo 6' staff...

We started with a quick review of the 9 Kamae (postures), but didn't spend much time with them. This is in part because I was told this year Soke had someone demonstrate each one, then said "ok, now forget them". Soke had said that we need to move away from Kamae as postures and just look at them as guides to movement, which is something he had said many times before. But, coming off the heels of last year's theme of Shindenfudo Ryu, where there are no official Kamae (except for standing and sitting in natural positions), this doesn't surprise me.

Next, we went through the basic strikes with the bo and their corresponding targets. What Alex emphasized was the use of the whole body, in particular the legs, when moving the bo. This is important, since the tendancy is to want to swing the bo like a stick to hit a target. This will wear out the arms quickly and cause many holes in the Kamae, which provide the balance, power and protection on the battlefield (the real lesson behind the Kamae!).

From there, we drilled the evading movements of the Ukemi Gata overhead parry/block, then against an overhead bo strike from our partner. I was very happy with the movement of both my guys, since I just showed all this last Tuesday in our class. The things I pointed out in that class became even more clear as Alex mirrored the same things in his teachings. Alex said there are actually many more kata contained within the Kihon Gata (18 I think), but we weren't going to cover them at this time.

From there, we got into the 'good stuff'. Alex explained the Shoden, Chuden and Okuden breakdown of kata as having 9 techniques each. These 9 are actually 3 levels of 3 techniques, but I can't remember the names of each level he labeled them as. I am terrible at memorizing names and such!

He demonstrated the first kata from the Shoden level (Goho, I think). He broke it down, as Alex always does, into 'steps' of layered movements. He explained how the first level of kata has to do with an attitude of 'checking' your attacker, or stopping their ability to attack. For instance, the timing of the first kata is to create a perceived opening to draw their attack, then hitting them as they begin the attack - not after the attack is launched. For instance, in one kata, you do an Ashi Barai (leg strike), then pull back into a 'passive guard' kind of posture. The attacker blocks the low strike, then raises their sword into Daijodan no Kamae and attempts to pursue you as you move back. But, as they lung forward, raising their sword over their head, you 'flip' the jo around into a downward strike on top of their head or their hands (or you can bring the tip to their face as a spear like movement). This, in essence, stops their attack and 'checks' them.

There were many other wonderful kata, but I won't describe them here. There are some things you just have to be there to experience firsthand.

Alex's classes are always very enjoyable to me. His teaching style is very technical and, as he is an avid note taker himself, his teaching style appeals to those who are interested in exact names and densho kata. He points out regularly that whatever he is teaching or a particular aspect is what he learned from teachers like Someya Sensei in Japan or Luke Molitor here in the US, or even from Soke's classes. His head is filled with all sorts of knowledge picked up from training with these sources and he doesn't spare any sharing of that knowledge. I always feel like I am getting a snapshot view of Alex's own learning, a kind of 'laying out' of all the different things he has picked up from those he trained with. I like this because I can pick out tidbits I find interesting, whether to share or expound upon with my class, or to just file away for my own understanding. It creates a nice balance for my Intel guys when they also participate in his classes, since I am also a stickler for knowledge.

However, I have always been the kind of person who doesn't 'color within the lines' or do things exactly as written. I've always been one to step out a bit and play with my own interpretations and sparks of interest, instead of sticking to the directions. Sometimes I get my fingers burned, but mostly I find that I learn better that way and discover much more in the process. I also teach this way. So, where we have densho kata that describe certain techniques in certain ways, I am one to take a piece of it and run with it, playing with many different interpretations. I guess for me my focus is always on taijutsu fundamentals like balance, posture, efficiency, and so on - regardless of what kata is being explored. This is why I am terrible at memorizing, but I have been complimented on my taijutsu - and my ability to 'get it' when shown a kata. I guess we all have our own unique way of learning and teaching. In addition, I think this is why it's important to get out and train with different teachers, because none of us truly has 'the way' to learning and sharing this art. Being exposed to as many different flavors of Soke's budo through these different people can only help add more richness and depth to each of our own understanding.

So, where Alex may be different than I, we are really the same. Two sides of the same coin, you could say. But, I'll be the first to admit that he definitely has a better knowledge of the material properties of that coin! Apparently, I'm good at spending it wisely and not so good at knowing what it's made of! :-)

After Alex finished, Judan Joel arrived to do a bit of teaching. He was happy to see us there and jumped right in to some demonstrations. He did some unarmed techniques against punches to show use of space, balance and angling in dominating and toppling the attacker. He explained how armor would affect these techniques, then taught how a knife could be applied in the spaces created.

Next, we looked at similar concepts in 'stealing the sword' of your attacker, as they threw a right punch at you. Ikkyu John and I were training together and I started adding some other elements like pulling the sword away to protect it from John's grab, or using my right hand to cover the sword while punching with the left (surprise!). Joel liked that very much and demonstrated the idea to the group, as another level to what he showed.

That little training session was very enjoyable and it was refreshing to train with Joel again. It had been a long time since we trained together and, after the class was over, we spent considerable time 'catching up' with some friendly chat. He had alot of things to say about my Japan trip and suggested that he may be going around the same time. He offered to take me on a bit of touring to see some great sites he had visited on previous trips, including a boat ride, visits to shrines, his favorite market place and so on. I accepted the offer and am looking forward to his sharing if he happens to be there when I'm there!

One thing I noted with my guys that I will be taking to the next class tomorrow night at Intel is the importance of legs and kamae. I'm not talking (or writing!) about kamae as in the 9 postures, but more about proper alignment and position of the parts of the body during the various bojutsu movements. I was concerned with the lack of proficiency in some of the people in how they aligned their feet, knees, hips, shoulders, spine and head during the various kata and drills. It was interesting how the classic "L" shape of feet and knee alignment disappeared! In addition, the upper body often was flat instead of having the shoulders over the hips in the classic 'bladed' posture. This was something that was exposed greatly with the bojutsu training, so it seems this will be my focal point with my guys during the next several weeks of bojutsu training in our class. If these bo staves were the actual Kukishinden Ryu bo, which are much larger and heavier for crashing through armored opponents, these little things would prove critical. So, I have to devote my attention to drilling proper basics in regards to these areas immediately!

Always so much to do...

On a non-budo subject, the weather on Sunday was sunny and warm. This was a nice welcome after the heavy rains we experienced for the last 3 days. So, we spent the entire day working outside. I trimmed trees, broke down limbs and deposited them into the 2 "Green waste" cans I have and made a nice pile in the corner of the yard to put into the cans after the County guys come around and empty them for us.

In addition, I also did a considerable amount of domestic duties that needed doing for some time.

Needless to say, after training hard on Saturday and all the physical labor on Sunday, all my muscles are sore and well taxed. In fact, as I sit here typing away on this blog, I can feel my fingers complaining and the tingling on the skin of my hand from countless hours of using the long tree trimming pole and limb snips...

But, now I'm looking forward to more bojutsu training in my Tuesday Intel class!

Until next time...

Interesting...

Remember yesterday when I mentioned how cool it is when fellow buyu just 'happen' to be teaching the same things I happen to be teaching my group? Synergy, remember?

Well, I emailed my friend Alex to announce I would be Gracing his dojo with my presence on Saturday and wondered if he would be teaching. He emailed back with a resounding "YES!" and then told me he would be starting the Shoden level of Rokushakubo!

And, what did I write about starting this last class with MY group? I love it! LOL!

Anyway, what's really cool is that he said he knows kata from Shoden, Chuden, Okuden - which are different than the standard Sabaki Gata! This is such a regular thing now, to find out that there are kata other than what is commonly known in any of our ryuha! It always seems that Soke and the Japanese Shihan hold more than what they reveal.

Those who boast about knowing all the kata in the Bujinkan (or any of the ryuha within the Bujinkan) are funny, aren't they? I also think this is why it's almost useless to go 'kata collecting' because there are just so many to have to remember. At some point, you'd have to just throw up your hands and just keep moving forward in your training, forgetting what you knew because you can't walk forwards while trying to always look back. I believe trying to constantly remember all this stuff eventually becomes like rock collecting - at some point the bag will become too heavy to carry and you have to either stop and take what you have or start limiting which rocks you want to keep.

That's my conclusion at least. There are others who are far more proficient at collecting more rocks than I do. But, I like to think that the few I keep are the best I've discovered so far and at any time a better one could take the place of any others I have in my bag. So, even if I like the ones I have, I also acknowledge that there will eventually be ones which are better - so I'm not partial to any of them and can let them go if need be.

Tomorrow's training with Alex will be yet another rock hunting trip and I'm hoping I will walk away with some gems to replace some of the rocks I come in with...

Hopefully, the rocks in my head won't keep me from discovering the gems....

Ok, enough symbolism! I need more coffee...

Saturday plans...

I'm hoping to go train with my good friend Alex this weekend. He's a shidoshi teacher at Sacramento Bujinkan Dojo.

John, one of my senior guys (who is up for Shodan soon), goes there regularly, so it's been fun to see how going to both classes (Alex's and mine) affect his progress. I am constantly amazed at how there's so much synergy between both our training topics and such! John is always telling me when something I teach is either similar or exactly on target with something he learned in Alex's class! I think one of the main reasons might have to do with the fact that Alex and I have known each other and trained with each other for many, many years. I still remember when he was very new and now, several Japan trips later, is shidoshi and running his own classes! I have been honored to see so many friends grow up in this art...

Last weekend, Alex had a sub covering for him because he was out for some reason. I've emailed him to confirm if he will be teaching this weekend. If he isn't, I may or may not go. But, my hope is that Alex will be back. I miss training with him and always look forward to new goodies to learn!

I'm still excited about going to Japan in June! Alex is one of the guys I'm going with, so I'm looking forward to chatting with him on Saturday about preparations for our trip. Oh, and our annual Hombu fees are due, so I will also take care of that business. We like to send in all our stuff together as one package - makes for easier and quicker processing. Converting money to yen is always a hassle, so doing it in bulk makes things run smoother.

We also need to talk about our upcoming seminar with Gojudan Dale Seago on March 10th. Dale is a great guy and the business end of the seminar he prefers to handle privately and informal. But, I'm a planner, so I want us to have a game plan to make sure he is taken care of.

So much to do! I hope to be able to get in some good training, too! :-)

Good class!

Last night's class was excellent! We focused on the 5' jo staff in all aspects of our training. One guy brought a 6' rokushakubo and I was surprised it didn't pose a danger to the overhead sprinklers and ceiling tiles! So, it looks like the rokushakubo will make it in to our regular training program after all!

We started with rolling and jumping drills from the bojutsu kamae. Forward rolls were done from Hira Ichimonji no Kamae, side rolls were done from Ichimonji no Kamae and back rolls were done from Seigan no Kamae. You really had to "walk and chew gum at the same time" with these exercises. Just doing a good roll wasn't enough - you also had to adapt around the jo staff so as to not drive a tip into the ground or tie yourself up with it. It didn't take long for my group to 'get it' and start showing good kamae, both in start and finish.

Next, I drilled a Kamae flow exercise. There are 9 listed kamae in Kukishinden Ryu Bojutsu and there is a good sequence where each one leads right into the next. Most of my guys knew these kamae already, especially since we just came off of doing some hanbo kamae recently.

As part of the warm up, we then looked at various kicking drills while in bojutsu kamae. We did a set of 20 kicks each. We did front and rear foot kicks from Seigan no Kamae, alternating side kicks from Hira Ichimonji no Kamae, and dropping back kicks from Hira Ichimonji no Kamae. This was a good segment, as it opened up the legs, hips and joints to show the importance of the lower body in bojutsu.

I taught the Ukemi Gata portion of the KKSR bojutsu, where you are moving off line to the side or forward diagonal, then create an angled overhead block. It was good to show how you need to move differently than in Jodan Uke, because you are using the rear arm and half of the body to create the surface for the uke's downward strike to land on. This allows the uke's weapon to simply slide off the back end of the jo. It was hard for them to get used to it, since they have been drilled to move back and away. However, because the rear hand is open and laying flat under the jo (to allow for the sliding of the uke's weapon off the back end of the jo), they have to move opposite. Otherwise, their lead hand (which is gripping the jo) will be struck by the uke's weapon and/or the line of force will hit directly on the jo. This could cause the jo to break and/or knock them backwards, whereas the correct way will cause the uke's weapon to hit over their rear shouler on the weapon and glide off the trailing end.

Another important point was having the proper kamae, where the jo is held directly over the head (instead of in front of the forehead). This is vital because, as you are stepping under the uke's strike and weapon, the likelihood is that the uke's weapon could break over yours. If your blocking weapon is in front of your head, the broken end of the uke's weapon will come down on top of you. By having it over the top of your head, the broken end will fall back behind you. In addition, the driving force of the blow is more likely to crash down on you if your weapon is not centered over the top of your head. This was an important point, because the tendency for my guys was to keep the weapon more in front of their head. This was probably due to the hesitancy to 'open up' their torso by extending their arms over their head. But, in real battle, you have to rely on good space, angle and kamae to protect you because you are not facing just one opponent. You have to move freely, to open up your taijutsu, and use space as your shield.

Next, I taught them Bofuri Gata. This was a fun exercise, since it involves the free movement of the jo in a constant, flowing rotation. They enjoyed this very much and commented how they could 'feel' the jo come alive through the energy of the motion. I spent alot of time letting them get the hang of it and enjoyed watching them challenge themselves with different footwork and movement patterns, while trying to keep the right 'relationship' with the free movement of their jo staff. This exercise led into other things like striking, thrusting and all sorts of strategies.

Finally, the last segment of class was devoted to using the jo staff in the Koshi Sanpo Waza from the Kihon Happo. We only had time to get into the Jumonji no Kata and Ichimonji no Kata, showing how using proper space for thrusts and strikes capitalized on the advantages such a long weapon provided. My emphasis was on hitting and backing away, to keep the uke always at the best target range for the longer weapon - especially when faced off with a sword wielding attacker. They really enjoyed this part because they understand the Koshi Sanpo in their unarmed base forms. To do them with the jo added another layer of understanding.

Overall, this was a very productive class. They are really looking forward to next week, when we will continue looking at the foundation of bojutsu, as explored with the shorter jo staff (and rokushakubo).

Until next time...

Planning for tonight...

Last night I was in the back yard practicing the kata Bo Furi with my 5' jo stick, putting much emphasis on the rolling of my joints and spine, while releasing more and more of my grip on the hard wood and feeling the subtle directional control take the rotating energy of the spinning staff in it's figure eight pattern. This was a good exercise for me; it had been a while since I picked up my jo staff. Normally, this kata is done with the 6 foot rokushakubo staff, but I've had to modify it to the 5' jo stick in order to teach it to my Intel guys. The facility they have is indoors and has a standard height ceiling, which means the rokushakubo would knock off any number of sprinkler heads hanging down from the cieling tiles, flooding the room in minutes and causing major damage. One does have to be careful about the environment they train in!

For the last month or so, I have been focusing on little things in my class that are prepatory to sojutsu, or spear combat. One thing I've been doing is spending considerable time on the kamae of Seigan no Kamae, with their lead hand outstretched and pointing at their own eyes in the mirror that covers the entirety of one wall in our training room. Then, while keeping a steady aim at the eyes in their reflection, they push forward and bend their forward knee so that the rear leg straightens out completely. Their rear hand, positioned at the hip, now moves up at a line to their lead hand and they begin stepping forward with their rear leg. Finally, as the feet and hands pass each other, the lead hand and foot now become the rear hand and foot. The rear hand now swings down to the hip as the new lead hand performs a punch at the eyes in their reflection and they extend on their lead leg until they have bent their forward knee enough to make their rear leg perfectly straight. The goal is to maintain a contstant hand/target sight line, first with the lead hand, then with the rear hand as it replaces the lead hand. If the body doesn't move smoothly along the same target line, the perspective will change. This will cause the sight line to go off target. By doing this movement correctly, the person maintains proper aim. This is how you execute a proper tsuki, or forward lunge attack.

In sojutsu, this forward motion is good for driving a spear in a straight line to pierce the enemy. By having a line directly to the enemy's eyes, they cannot tell the length of the spear and their brain has a hard time determing the sudden close of distance as the spear tip is launched at them along this line.

In this week's training email to the group, I announced we were going to start training with the jo staff as a prepatory phase to sojutsu. Even though training with the jo will fall under the bojutsu catagory, or stick/staff combat, I feel this is an important step in learning good sojutsu skills. So, I dusted off my jo stick last night and started 'reminding' my body of those basic skills that encompass good bojutsu training.

My hope is to take the class through some basic kamae, or postures, then into some basic striking and blocking drills. Of course, the emphasis will be on using the legs and spine to move the weapon and to develop a sense of the proper ranges. Then, we'll move on to the important kata of Bo Furi, to understand the energy of the weapon when it has a life of its own through continuous movement.

From there, we will look at how this weapon is used in our basic foundational katas of the Koshi Sanpo Waza. There are 3 and, at this point in my teaching, have more to do with the use of kukan, or space, than how to strike. The first, Jumonji no Kata, will be about protecting a 'buffer zone' between the defender and their attacker, using a series of good thrusts with proper kamae, then re-establishing the protective space. The second, Ichimonji no Kata, will involve entering a vulnerable space to close the distance and dominate the attacker. This will involve using the tip to open up and extend the attacker, then come in at an off angle to destroy them. The third and last, Hicho no Kamae, will involve using the contours of the attacker's body to find the weak targets which open up during their attack. Mostly this will involve piercing from underneath the contours of the body, which if armor was worn, would mean going under the protective plating.

Combine together, these three kata will set a good foundation for Sojutsu, using the bojutsu concepts as a base.

Finally, we'll end the class with some kata ideas on jo versus jo and jo versus katana attacks, just for some free play fun.

I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow...

Cheers!

First posting!

Hello all! Welcome to the first posting of my budo journal! This is a personal journal of my own thoughts, musings, experiences, gripes and so on involving my journey in the fascinating world of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu.

I have been training in the martial arts for over 20 years. I started in the early '80's in boxing, then went to kickboxing, then karate and jujutsu. It wasn't until the late 80' when I discovered the Bujinkan martial arts through a series of books I found in a local book store. I immediately wrote the author and received an immediate reply, directing me to persons I could study under and materials to help me in my own personal training. A friend and I started training every day with what guidance we could get from those materials and teaching. We would often travel several hours to train all day with our teacher, then come back with the information to continue on our own until we could make another trip down. This usually involved one trip per month and was quite a challenge for us, since we were young guys with little money.

Finally, we both got our black belts in the mid-90's and began breaking out to train with other Bujinkan teachers. Eventually, my friend moved to Oregon and I moved to the California capital, Sacramento. I met many fellow Bujinkan students there and we became a collective group of friends, training and learning from each other. I found that Bujinkan teachers were becoming easier to find and visit and my own growth began to soar because of it.

I have now finally reached the rank of Yondan (4th degree black belt) and cannot reach the next level unless I travel to Japan to train and be tested by either Soke Hatsumi (our grandmaster) or one of his selected Shihan (master teachers). Unfortunately, I have not been able to afford the money or the time commitment to make the journey, as so many others have, and it has caused me great frustration. I have watched so many of my friends make Japan trips and they are all now very high ranked because of their opportunity to be able to train with Soke and the Japanese Shihan over there. Meanwhile, I keep training on what I know, picking up lessons brought back by these guys from their most recent trips to Japan.

Good news, however! Finally, after all this time, I am able to make the voyage to Japan! If all goes according to plan, I will be going over in June of this year! I will have a friend with me, who has been there a few times already and knows how to get around. We will be sharing a small apartment with another Bujinkan friend only minutes from Soke's dojo (school). I will be able to train up to 3 times per day for the entire week I will be there! The other guys are staying for 2 weeks, but I cannot take so much time off from work and be away from my family. But, a week is still a week!

I currently run a small training group out of the Intel Corporation in Folsom (the city, not the prison!). I was offered this opportunity by an Israeli Bujinkan friend who was over here on a work VISA for a couple years working for Intel. He originally came from Haifa and was sent over here on a temporary work assignment through the Intel global corporation. While here, he found us at our old school we used to train at. He and I became instant friends, having so much in common and enjoying training together. When his assignment was finished and he had to go back to Israel, he arranged for me to take over his Bujinkan class he started at the Folsom Intel facility. The class was for Intel employees only and had a solid base of students (about 20). The Intel facility hosted a very large fitness center within its complex, with a full gym, aerobics room, and multipurpose room with fold-out mats. It was the perfect location for training, so I gladly took over his class.

Now, the class is going strong, with an average attendance between 5 to 10 students who show up regularly. I have 3 shodans and several lesser rankings amongst my group and they are an awesome group of people to train with! I am honored to have them consider me their teacher and I have committed to keeping the class going so we can all train together.

My friends in Sacramento all have their own dojos and training groups now. The largest dojo is the Sacramento Bujinkan Dojo, which is headed by a 10th degree black belt (Judan) and several lesser dan (black belt) rankings. It is a great dojo, with regular seminars happening all the time.

Ok, that's good enough for a start. More coming soon!