How do armbar?

The Intangible Warrior Culture of Japan: Bodily Practices, Mental Attitudes, and Values of the Two-sworded men from the Fifteenth to the Twenty-first Centuries

2012-01-19T21:55:00.001+01:00

Anshin, Anatoliy, Humanities & Social Sciences, Australian Defence Force Academy, UNSW
2009

Description: This is the first work to consider the Japanese warriors from the “intangible culture” perspective. The critical analysis of this intangible culture is applied primarily to the hereditary warrior houses of the pre- Tokugawa ages and to those of the Tokugawa era (1600-1868). Particular attention is paid to the forms of organization and styles of curriculum in warrior training entities and schools of military arts. In addition, a swordsman, Yamaoka Tesshū (1836-1888), is used as a case study to show that in the Bakumatsu period, there were men who strove to resurrect pre-Tokugawa practices and values in response to what they saw as a warrior culture that no longer had any utility in real-life combat and, instead, had been degraded into a form of sport or empty display. The study of Tenshinshō-den Katori Shintō-ryū, the oldest school of military arts in Japan, along with a detailed analysis of the life and thought of Yamaoka (especially in terms of his hitherto unrecognized but pivotal role in the bloodless surrender of Edo castle during the Boshin war of 1868-69) allows us to see warriors committed to intense physical and mental training in the art of killing but whose primary goal was to preserve human life and avoid unnecessary violence (a concept known as “the life-giving sword”). By this, the thesis attempts to overturn the domination in Japanese history and popular culture of the image of “the bellicose warrior” represented by such figures as Miyamoto Musashi. It also looks closely at several groups of commoners such as Rōshigumi who in the 1860s were sanctioned by the Bakufu to wear weapons and participate in armed conflicts; the thesis argues that the co-existence of the two-sworded warriors and the two-sworded commoners late in the Tokugawa era is directly responsible for our distorted historical understanding of the bushi and its exaggerated link with violence. The thesis also explores the present-day use of what Japanese government, businesses, and educators claim to be the values and practices of the traditional bushi and demonstrates that these only continue to distort an understanding of the warrior’s intangible culture.

Supervisor: Lone, Stewart, Humanities & Social Sciences, Australian Defence Force Academy, UNSW,Wilson, Sandra, Murdoch University

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Bushidó or Bull? A Medieval Historian’s Perspective on the Imperial Army and the Japanese Warrior Tradition

2012-01-17T21:32:00.002+01:00

By Karl F. Friday

This article originally appeared in The History Teacher, Volume 27, Number 3, May 1994, pages 339-349. Copyright © 1994 The History Teacher. Reprinted by permission. Photos courtesy Guy Power.

It would be difficult to find any facet of Japan’s cultural heritage that exercises as powerful a hold on the world’s popular imagination as the samurai. [EN1] For the most part, the image of the samurai and the tradition he represents is positive. Japanese warriors are the heroes of movies, TV shows, and novels, and the role models for hundreds of thousands of martial arts students around the globe. But for many among the generation that fought Japan in the Pacific War, for much of the political left in Japan, and especially for many of the peoples and governments that were occupied by Japan in the course of the war, the legacy of the samurai also has its sinister side.
The samurai tradition is often cited as the source of both the mind-set that launched Japan’s war against China, Southeast Asia and the United States and of the norms and values of the soldiers and officers who fought it. Both are said to have been conditioned by and derived from an ancient code of warrior behavior called bushidó – literally, the "Way of the Warrior." In the words of military historian Arthur Swinson:

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The subtractive fight: the spirituality of the empty hands method as the north of the body philosophy in Karate-Do

2012-01-17T21:26:00.000+01:00

Cristiano Roque Antunes Barreira; Marina Massimi
Universidade de São Paulo

ABSTRACT:

Karate is a fight practice that does not make use of weapons. It is based on old traditions and its main aim is to develop a sense of personality in the practitioner. Karate originated from unique spiritual and psychological dynamics, which are of utmost importance for the full understanding of this practice. The objective of this research is to analyze karate-do by means of its spirituality. This is because, together with the fundamental texts about the recent tradition of this fight, spirituality is considered to be the essence present in all dimensions of the artistic expression of karate. To this end, the historiographical methodology of phenomenological perspective was employed in this study. Karate-do has the spirituality of the empty hands method as the north of its body philosophy. Themes with blurred borders are analyzed from this spiritual point of view herein. This dynamics includes the subtractive fight, aiming at the fluid and intuitive understanding of reality.

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Principios de los cinco sujetos principales de que se compone la filosofía y matemática de las armas, práctica y especulativa

2012-01-14T16:30:00.000+01:00

A rare but interesting work: an introductory manual to Destreza which can be considered intermediate between Pacheco and Ettenhard. Perez de Mendoza is somewhat unorthodox, but basically belongs in the Pacheco school, especially in this book. Very interesting interpretations of the Vulgar tricks, different from those of Pacheco and Cruzado.

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Art of the Japanese Sword

2012-01-14T12:32:00.000+01:00

The Japanese sword … prized as much for its exceptional beauty as for it’s deadly cutting ability. It has endured for a thousand years as the pinnacle of Japanese culture. Now you can enter a world rarely seen by outsiders. To experience the true story of the Art of the Samurai Sword. A story told in the swordsmiths own words that separate the myth from the fact. Follow the swordsmiths dream of creating a masterpiece. From the quest to making an ancient steel to forging a blade equal to those of the Kamakura, a medieval period that produced the greatest swords in history. For the martial artist the Japanese sword is a precise cutting weapon and symbol of the Samurai. For the collector, it is an art form whose beauty is derived from its deadly function to cut. As our story of the Japanese sword unfolds, we bring together all the artists and craftsmen whose skills turn it into both a modern work of art and a window into the past.

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The Development and Psychology of Bushido and Budo

2012-01-13T12:32:00.002+01:00

Paul D. Short
(for Hon 3391T, The Japanese Psyche, Dr. Fling, Southwest Texas State University)
November 6, 1995 (Revised and expanded December 12, 1995)

Misconceptions about the martial arts are overwhelming. Popular notions of Bushido (The Way of the samurai) and Budo (Japanese martial arts) are no exception. Although the samurai were not the only originators of martial arts in Japan, they were the most significant. By tracing the development of Bushido and Budo, a better understanding of the Japanese people can be reached--the centuries of military rule has had significant effects on the Japanese, especially with a warrior class as large and influential as Japan's(1). More important, by studying the development of Japanese martial arts, a better insight on the nature of conflict can be gained.
The nature of Japanese martial arts has changed drastically, especially during the Tokugawa, Meiji, and Modern (Post World War II) eras. Since World War II, the Japanese martial arts have spread, further complicating the perception of Bushido and Budo. However, westerners have taken a great interest in the martial arts, and Budo can no longer be considered confined to just the Japanese. The development of a particular martial art, Aikido, is used here to show the development of Budo and to demonstrate the psychology of a martial art. Aikido was chosen because the author is familiar with this style, and also because its founder is considered one of the last major disciples of the samurai arts. This does not imply that Aikido is the only modern Budo, nor does it imply that it is "better" than other styles. "Better" is a relative term, just as Bushido and Budo are.

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Practicing Ethics: Harmony Ethics and Martial Arts

2012-01-05T01:08:00.000+01:00

by Perseville Mendoza

It is undeniable that knowledge of various ethical theories, no matter how extensive, is insufficient when it comes to the question of actual ethical living. The former does not guarantee the observance of said theories, and admittedly, nowhere do these theories claim to have the capacity to do so. Thus, the problem of the existence of a chasm between theory and practice remains. The author believes that ethical living has to come from within an individual, imposed as it were, by the individual upon the self, in order to actualize an ethical society. However, the question of whether virtue can be taught also lingers in the background. The answer seems to lie in personal subjugation to a formal practice. This is possible through actual training in ethical living, and it is argued that an individual can be trained in actualizing virtuous action by way of training in budo or traditional martial arts. The main purpose of the presentation is to offer a perspective of the traditional martial arts as a practical and viable ethical alternative, based on the premise that training in martial arts is actually training in ethical living by the very nature of its practice, given specific recommendations.
It paves the way for an ethics of self-care comparable to that of the Greeks, as it develops in a martial artist a “disciplined”, hence ethical, self.

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The Evolution of Karate: From Secret Martial Art to Worldwide Cultural Sport

2012-01-05T00:36:00.000+01:00

by Filip Swennen

This book is my attempt to answer certain questions. These questions started surfacing about more than a decade ago when I started training in karate. I commenced my training out of an interest in martial arts and a hunger to find an efficient self-defense system. I started asking questions to others and myself about many different aspects of karate. Many of these questions seem naïve in hindsight but others still keep me up at night. Why do we train kata? What do these movements mean in the kata? Why can`t I kick the leg? Why can`t I grab the person and try to throw him? (I trained judo a couple of years before I started karate.) Why can`t you hit the other person in competition? Why don`t we use helmets that protect the nose and the mouth in free sparring? (It would prevent all the unnecessary cuts, black eyes and bloodstains on your clothing.) Why are the blue belts from that club stronger/weaker compared to the blue belts from the other club?
I wasn`t satisfied by most answers given by more experienced karateka. Most answers were something in the nature of ` It is the traditional way of doing karate.` or `Because grandmaster X said so.` The explanations had all one thing in common, they lacked a satisfying logic for me.

I took a very interesting course on the history of Okinawa when I was an exchange student for one year at the Università degli studi di Venezia in Venice, Italy. I was baffled by how much Okinawa had changed during the course of history. I finally realized that karate, originating from this small island, must have been influenced by the history of the island itself. I started working for the following two years on what eventually would become my Master`s thesis for the KULeuven University: “The Creation Of The Myth Of `Traditional Japanese` Karate Under The Pressure Of Prewar Nationalism”.

I continued to train karate and followed several seminars of world known karate masters. They showed us throws, finger locks, vulnerable points of the human body,… all techniques that were unknown to most karateka. Each master had its own approach but all of them had one thing in common. They knew the history of karate.

This led me to the following question: `What changes happened over time to karate?` I received the Monbukagakusho scholarship from the Japanese government and was given the chance by Sensei Matsui Kantaro to conduct my research at the International Budo University in Japan. This book(let) is my temporary answer to the question I formulated above. It is an overview of some of the biggest changes that have occurred to karate. This work is only an overview and far from complete. Trying to cram all the information into one book would leave the reader, and the writer, confused and lost.

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The Socratic Art of Boxing

2012-01-02T12:00:00.000+01:00

by Gordon Marino

“Know thyself” was the Socratic dictum, but Tyler Durden, the protagonist in the movie “Fight Club,” asks, "How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?" Although trainers of the bruising art wince at the notion that boxing equals fighting, there can be no doubt that boxing throws you up against yourself in revealing ways. Take a left hook to the body or a trip to the canvas, and you soon find out whether you are the kind of person who will ever get up.

For a decade, I have been teaching both boxing and philosophy. My academic colleagues have sometimes reacted to my involvement with the sweet science with intellectual jabs and condescension. A few years ago at a philosophy conference, I mentioned that I had to leave early to go back to the campus to work with three of my boxers from the Virginia Military Institute who were competing in the National Collegiate Boxing Association championships. Shocked to learn that there was such a college tournament, one professor scolded, "How can someone committed to developing minds be involved in a sport in which students beat one another's brains out?" I explained that the competitors wore protective headgear and used heavily padded 16-ounce gloves in competition as well as in practice, but she was having none of it. "Headgear or not," she replied, "your brain is still getting rattled. Worse yet, you're teaching violence."

I countered that if violence is defined as purposefully hurting another person, then I had seen enough of that in the philosophical arena to last a lifetime. At the university where I did my graduate studies, colloquia were nothing less than academic gunfights in which the goal was to fire off a question that would sink the lecturer low. I pointed out, "I've even seen philosophers have to restrain themselves from clapping at a comment that knocked a speaker off his pins and made him feel stupid." I followed up by arguing that getting and taking punches makes you feel safer in the world, and that people who do not feel easily threatened are generally less threatening. She wasn't buying any of it. Then I made the mistake of making myself an object lesson by noting that I had boxed for years and still seemed to be able to put my thoughts together. That earned me a smile and a pat on the wrist.

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Summary of the Isamu Takeshita's Diary

2011-12-21T18:25:00.002+01:00

by Fumiaki Shishida

December 1. 1925.
Around 11 a.m., Mr Asano visited me at my house accompanying with Mr. Morihei Ueshiba and Mr. Yoichiro Inoue. They demonstrated katas of Daito-ryu Judo. It has been well studied,so it is fully worth practicing it. Promised to learn from tomorrow.

September 26, 1926
9 a.m., Master Ueshiba practiced Aiki-Jujutsu with Kubota for around two hours. Admirals Nomaguchi and Arima, Vice admiral Kawashima, Count Yanagisawa, Count Terashima, Rear admirals Kichisaburo Nomura, Kiyokawa and Takahashi, Vice admiral Moriyama, Mr. Hachiro Saionji [later Prince], superintendent Sakaguchi, Koshiro Oikawa, Nobutake Kondo, Commander Yano, Naval officer of the Crown Prince’s Palace, Kiyoshi Yamamoto, etc., visited their practice. The Aiki-Jujutsu left a great impression on them.

March 4, 1927.
I have almost finished making a fair copy of memorandum of Aiki-Jujutsu.

May 5, 1927
At 9 a.m., Mr. Kosaburo Gejo showed katas of Yagyu-ryu with his two disciples at the Morimura dojo. At 2 p.m., went to Duke Shimazu’s residence with master Ueshiba ….

February 17, 1928.
Practiced in the morning. From today, The Aioi-kai decided to call our Jujutsu Aioi-ryu-Aiki-Jujutsu. [Note: Takeshita decided Ueshiba’s independence from Daito-ryu Aiki-Jujutsu. That shows Takeshita’s involvement with Ueshiba’s martial art]

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Note: Isamu Takeshita on Wikipedia

Bits and Pieces

2011-12-20T00:59:00.003+01:00

From Mikka Bouzu: the story of one man's futile quest for enlightenment.

Fun and food for thought at the same time: http://www.mikkabouzu.co.uk/

The Myth of Chiburi?

2011-12-17T18:27:00.001+01:00

By Richard Stonell

In many iaido ryuha, chiburi is a fundamental part of kata. Chiburi, usually written 血振 in Japanese, literally means “shaking off blood,” and the image presented is that of flinging the blood of a defeated enemy off the blade with a deft movement before resheathing. Perhaps mainly due to the prevalence of Muso Shinden-ryu and Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu, some people believe that chiburi is a universal aspect of iai. However, many ryuha do not practice chiburi, and there is the opinion – which has become more widespread recently, thanks to the sharing of knowledge via the internet – that shaking off blood in this way is in fact impossible. If this is the case, then what purpose does chiburi serve? Is it pointless? Why do some ryuha practice it? And was it really ever intended to remove blood from a blade?

Chiburi is a modern reading of a word that appears in the densho of Eishin-ryu as either 血振 or 血震. The original pronunciation is most likely chiburui, which is the reading you find if you look the word up in a Japanese dictionary such as Iwanami Shoten’s Kojien. In his book Koryu Iai no Hondo, the late Iwata Norikazu quotes another Eishin-ryu teacher, Morita Tadahiko, as being correct in his assertion that “chiburui” is the accurate term and that “chiburi” is in fact a mistaken reading (the word “chiburi” that appears in the dictionary actually refers a method of preparing fish). Iwata sensei also notes that both Oe Masamichi and his own teacher, Mori Shigeki, referred to the motion as “chiburui.” However, for the purposes of this article I will use the term “chiburi” as that is what most people are familiar with, and for better or worse it has become common parlance in most iai circles.

Most beginners learning iaido will be taught that the motion of chiburi is intended to fling the blood from the tip of the sword after cutting. In most books on iaido too, chiburi is described as serving this purpose. Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu and Muso Shinden-ryu also contain chinugui (wiping the blood from the blade with a cloth, paper or the fingers) in a small number of techniques in the first teaching level of Omori-ryu (Shoden/Seiza no bu). In Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu at least, this is technically done by putting one hand inside one’s hakama and using that to wipe the blade. In practice however, the shape is performed but the blade is not really wiped on the hakama. According to Mori Shigeki, this is because this because the oil used on swords in Oe sensei’s day would soil the clothes.

Despite more people becoming aware of it recently, the idea that chiburi isn’t really a practical method of removing blood from the blade is not recent – it has been expressed by teachers in Japan for a long time.

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Budô In Japanese And U.S. Policies

2011-12-14T22:12:00.000+01:00

by Guy H. Power
San Jose State University

Budo is a Japanese word comprising two Chinese ideographs meaning “Martial” and “Way.” The nuance of the word-phrase implies that studying martial arts is a way of life, a calling similar to that of one who enters religious life. However, budo is more than just a compilation of combat techniques, and is more than living a life studying combat techniques. Budo, in addition to its technical aspect, is a method of cultivating the “Self” through severe training.

In this modern age it is possible to write of budo without having to go into great detail about its combat efficacy: it is a truism that Japanese budo is recognized worldwide as an effective combative. As early as 1917 Frank Tiebout related that budo, in the form of jujutsu, was taught to soldiers of the US Army in preparation for their anticipated hand-to-hand combat in the trenches. “The authorities apparently thought we might have to do a little wrestling with the Boche, so they opened up a course in jiu-jitsu. Peculiar methods of choking and resuscitation seemed to be the Jap’s chief stock in trade” (Tiebout, ca. 1917:21). Indeed, budo has been adapted by the military forces and civil police of countries around the globe. However, the western world has not always understood budo’s “prime directive;” that is, as a means of developing individual character and self-cultivation through austere training. This misunderstanding of budo’s more elevated ideal influenced US authorities to dissolve the Japanese martial arts control organ, the Dai Nippon Butokukai, in 1946 (US Government, 1948)

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Jigoro Kano's educational utopia: the Judo Kodokan

2011-12-14T21:33:00.000+01:00

by Prof. Dr. Julián Espartero Casado & Prof. Dr. Miguel Villamón Herrera.

The development of judo supposed the integration of an oriental discipline in the international sport culture. However, although incorporation in western culture deeply affected the original view of judo founder Jigoro Kano, judo had already lost most of its original essence before that. Nowadays, only a few people who practice judo know about Kano’s ideas. The aim of this work is to show the true aims and the educational objectives that stimulate Kano´s educational method, the Kokokan judo, and how social political circumstances before mentioned put an end to this educational utopia.

Click here to download (pdf) - In Spanish.

The Myth of Zen in the Art of Archery

2011-12-12T16:53:00.000+01:00

by Yamada Shõji

Eugen Herrigel’s “Zen in the Art of Archery” has been widely read as a study of Japanese culture. By reconsidering and reorganizing Herrigel’s text and related materials, however, this paper clarifies the mythical nature of “Zen in the Art of Archery” and the process by which this myth has been generated. This paper first gives a brief history of Japanese archery and places the period at which Herrigel studied Japanese archery within that time frame. Next, it summarizes the life of Herrigel’s teacher, Awa Kenzõ. At the time Herrigel began learning the skill, Awa was just beginning to formulate his own unique ideas based on personal spiritual experiences. Awa himself had no experience in Zen nor did he unconditionally approve of Zen. By contrast, Herrigel came to Japan in search of Zen and chose Japanese archery as a method through which to approach it. The paper goes on to critically analyze two important spiritual episodes in “Zen and the Art of Archery.” What becomes clear through this analysis is the serious language barrier existing between Awa and Herrigel. The testimony of the interpreter, as well as other evidence, supports the fact that the complex spiritual episodes related in the book occurred either when there was no interpreter present, or were misinterpreted by Herrigel via the interpreter’s intentionally liberal translations. Added to this phenomenon of misunderstanding, whether only coincidental or born out of mistaken interpretation, was the personal desire of Herrigel to pursue things Zen. Out of the above circumstances was born the myth of “Zen in the Art of Archery.”

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Reflexive modernization and the disembedding of judo from 1946 to the 2000 sydney olympics

2011-12-07T21:35:00.000+01:00

Miguel Villamón et al.

Abstract:

This article considers some of the sociologically significant changes to judo in its process of transformation from a Budo based martial art into a modern competitive spectator sport. Taking the period of time from 1946 until the Sydney Olympics, an examination is undertaken using Giddens’s notion of reflexive modernization in which key aspects of the original judo are disembedded or ‘lifted out’ of the practice. They are then re-embedded with western structures, practices and meanings. Central themes to emerge from this analysis are the social forces of internationalization, institutionalization and commodification of judo over this period, each of which contributes to a reflexive modernization process. It is concluded that the evolution of this activity in its now dominant sporting form is taking judo further and further away from the aims, methods and ideas derived from the philosophical principles on which it was originally conceived. Ironically, in spite of this, it appears that many western practitioners are attempting to re-embed the very aspects of eastern movement forms, such as Budo, that have been disembedded, a situation that prompts us to call for further work in this area.

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Fighters, Thinkers, and Shared Cultivation: Experiencing Transformation Through the Long-Term Practice of Traditionalist Chinese Martial Arts

2011-12-07T21:28:00.000+01:00

by George Bradley Jennings, to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Research in Sport & Health Sciences, August 2010

Abstract:

Traditionalist Chinese martial arts (TCMAs) are popular in Britain, and some advocates
have made extensive claims of their body-self transformation through sustained
training. Despite extensive physiological research, there are few investigations of these
practices regarding their socio-cultural practice. This qualitative sociological study
examines long-term British practitioners’ experiences of transformation via Taijiquan
(Tai Chi) and Wing Chun by addressing five issues: 1) Rationales behind practice 2)
Resulting transformations 3) Explicit/implicit pedagogic strategies 4) Cultural
transmission 5) Relations to broader social life. It approaches these questions through an
emergent research design incorporating autobiographical vignettes as a practitionerteacher-researcher, life histories of experienced practitioners and ethnographic
fieldwork of two case study schools. Following thematic, metaphorical and narrative
analysis, a structurationist theoretical framework illuminates the data by incorporating
sensitising concepts from diverse thinkers including Bourdieu, Frank, Giddens and
Yuasa. The findings are represented through autobiographical, modified realist,
impressionist and confessional writing and structure the thesis as follows: Firstly, my
own story demonstrates shifts in transformation from a technique-orientated approach to
a more spiritual/holistic perspective, finally emerging as a scholarly position of a
thinker-martial artist. Secondly, practitioner case studies further articulate
transformations along a flexible continuum of changing body-self-society relations
interpreted here as three ideal types: Fighters, martial artists and thinkers. Thirdly, the
connecting pedagogical issues are addressed, as well-rounded TCMA systems possess
specific partner exercises to develop intercorporeal awareness and embodied sensitivity,
which are explicit aspects of each association’s martial habitus and body lineage.
Meanwhile, socio-linguistic metaphors articulate these transformations and are also
interpreted as transformations in thinking and schemes of perception. Overall, these
sensitising concepts and empirical findings offer a social theory of shared cultivation
that acknowledges transformation on individual, relational, institutional and art levels.
This shared cultivation framework may be useful for future methodological, theoretical
and empirical considerations of wider physical culture.

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Aggression in Mixed Martial Arts: An Analysis of the Likelihood of Winning a Decision

2011-11-30T01:43:00.000+01:00

Collier T., Johnson A.L. & Ruggiero J.

Abstract:

Within the last decade, mixed martial arts has become one of the most popular sports worldwide. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest and most successful organizations within the industry. In the United States, however, the sport is not sanctioned in all states because some politicians view the sport as too violent. The sport consists of many fighting forms and, unlike boxing, winning a decision requires judging in multiple facets including wrestling, boxing, kick boxing and jiu-jitsu. In this study, we estimate the likelihood of winning a decision in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Using data on individual fights, we estimate the probability of winning based on fighter characteristics. We emphasize power strikes as it relates to aggression to determine the likelihood of winning. Our results indicate that knockdowns, and damage inflicted are all statistically significant determinants of winning a fight and have the largest marginal effect of influencing judges decisions.

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The practice of self-overcoming: Nietzschean reflections on the martial arts

2011-11-29T16:12:00.001+01:00

by Michael Monahan

I teach you the overman.
Man is something that shall be overcome.
What have you done to overcome him? (8: p. 12)

Throughout Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche offers an account of human value and meaning as “self-overcoming.” Rather than offering a clear and precise model or a set of universal principles, Nietzsche stresses growth, change, self-criticism, and self-improvement. Indeed, much of his critique of morality (and philosophy) is targeted at what he sees as its insistence on fixed and universal values, principles, and goals. The value of human endeavor, for him, lies not in strict adherence to some fixed standard or set of standards but rather in the constant transcendence of those standards. I submit that the study of the martial arts is, in many ways, very much in keeping with this aspect of Nietzsche’s ethos and, thus, serves as an excellent vehicle for exploring and exemplifying Nietzschean self-overcoming. At the same time, taking seriously Nietzsche’s account of self-overcoming can help illuminate the martial arts not only as an object of study but, most important, as an ongoing practice of self-overcoming. Drawing primarily (though not exclusively) from Thus Spoke Zarathustra,this article will explore the relation between the practice of the martial arts and Nietzschean self-overcoming. Although my explicit focus will be on the martial arts, I will point toward ways in which Nietzschean insights are applicable to many different kinds of athletic endeavor.

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Taijiquan and the search for the little old Chinese man: ritualizing race through martial arts

2011-11-27T20:42:00.000+01:00

by Adam Dean Frank, BA, MA

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of the martial art of taijiquan as it is practiced in Shanghai, China, and the United States. Drawing on a growing literature on ethnicity, critical race theory, the phenomenology of race, and globalization, the author discusses racial formation as a process of ritualization, which he defines as the exercise of power through the formal transmission or receipt of knowledge. Chapter 1 focuses on race and community formation in the monthly meetings of the Jianquan Taijiquan Association (JTA) in Shanghai. The chapter is also concerned with folklore and origin stories about taijiquan; with the history of Daoist studies in and outside of China; and with the social and individual embodiment of the key concepts of "qi” (vital energy) and "yi" (mind-intent). Chapter 2 chronicles the author's study of taijiquan with JTA teachers,touching on both the process and poetics associated with mastering the art. Chapter 3 explores the social milieu of practice in Shanghai city parks and the processes through which race, ethnicity, and gender are embodied during public park practice. Drawing on recent literature in urban studies, Chapter 4 focuses on taijiquan in the context of Shanghai's history and development, positing it as a form of public art that reflects Shanghai people's simultaneous negotiation of past, present, and future. In Chapter 5, the author approaches taijiquan as a master symbol of the Chinese nation. He combines historical analysis of the JTA with a discussion of tournaments and popular martial arts tourist destinations such as the Buddhist Shaolin Temple and Chen Family Village. He also discusses the Chinese Communist Party's attempt to include taijiquan as an Olympic event. Chapter 6 focuses on the world of poetry, kung fu movies, novels, and oral tradition that influence martial arts practice in China. Chapter 7 draws on recent debates about transnational processes to trace the entrance of taijiquan into the United States and the transformation and hybridization of the art in the American context. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of how processes of individual experience, urban life, nationalism, and globalization inhabit the body, contribute to the sensual experience of race, and, ultimately, raise fundamental questions about the relationship between "doing" and "being".

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Stanley Pranin's lecture on "Morihei Ueshiba and Sokaku Takeda"

2011-10-24T12:19:00.001+02:00

Stanley Pranin presents a 28-minute lecture titled "Morihei Ueshiba and Sokaku Takeda." He explores the complex relationship between these two martial arts geniuses, and explains how Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu techniques form the basis for most of the techniques of modern aikido.

Among the topics covered are the following:

- Background on Sokaku Takeda
- Meeting of Morihei and Sokaku in Hokkaido
- Morihei's study of Daito-ryu under Sokaku
- Sokaku's 1922 visit to Ayabe to teach in Morihei's dojo
- Morihei's licensing as an certified instructor of Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu
- Morihei's connection with Sokaku after becoming a professional martial arts instructor
- Strain in relationship between Morihei and Sokaku over money issues
- Morihei distances himself from contact with Sokaku and Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu, and founds his own art called "Aikido"
- Technical influence of Daito-ryu on modern Aikido
- Resources for study and training in Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu

Bourdieu, Bodies and Boxing: The Multidimensionality of Bodily Capital

2011-10-21T22:49:00.000+02:00

by Elise Paradis
Ph.D. Candidate, M.A. Sociology. Stanford University School of Education

Abstract. In this paper, I further Bourdieu and Wacquant’s concept of bodily capital and develop a
framework around three dimensions of bodily capital – phenotypical, trade-specific, and ritualized. I illustrate how each translates into social status or social capital using empirical examples from an ethnographic study of a San Francisco Bay Area boxing gym. I extend my findings beyond the boxing gym by arguing that bodily capital matters in most social situations. Finally, I point to future directions for research on the intersection of bodily capital and social structure, suggesting that further research should highlight the translation mechanisms that turn bodily capital into social status and social capital.

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Briga e Castigo: sobre pitboys e “canais de fofoca” em um sistema acusatório

2011-10-21T17:08:00.000+02:00

by Bruno de Vasconcelos Cardoso

(Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao Programa de PósGraduação em Sociologia e Antropologia, do Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Sociais, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, como parte dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do título de Mestre em Sociologia)

Abstract:

This work analyzes what it was stipulated to call pitboys attack, or either, manifestations of
violence on the part of the middle class youth (between 18 and 24 years, all of them male) in
situations classified as leisure time. For that, three studies of case are carried through, searching, by means of a social drama, better to apprehend which values are exalted and which are censured for those who pronounced about this subject, through the newspapers O Globo and Jornal do Brasil (that would be representative of a Carioca superior middle class. The methodology used in this work consists of a minute analysis of the journalistic material on the cases, being these two periodicals treated as importants and sizables "gossip channels" in a context of complex societies, revealed as very useful to catch the speeches of the three involved parts in the labeling process (advanced stage of the outsider act): the accuseds, the accusers and the defenders. It infers that the general requirement for immediate punishment of the pitboys suggests, in the three cases, a change of criminal typifycation in which the boys are fit. Such change always occurs in direction to a delict that provides the immediate detention of the accuseds, not mattering if it occurs in an arbitrary way or not. The apparent contradiction between the conviction of a behavior that does not follow the individualistic principle of the state mediation in the conflicts resolutions, and the approval of the adoption of excessively rigorous punitive measures, not regarding law’s accomplishment, but to serve as an example of the lack of tolerance against this kind of delict, was never a subject of popular debate. It reveals how fluid and continuous is the transit between different cultural codes, permanently agreed, collated and reconstructed, developing a characteristic urban Brazilian modus operandi.

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Sport and Violence in Jiu-Jitsu: The Case of the “Pitboys"

2011-10-21T16:53:00.000+02:00

by Antonio Claudio Engelke Menezes Teixeira et al.

(Rio de Janeiro, 2007. 160 p. Master's Thesis. Department of Sociology and Politics. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro)

Abstract:

The research tries to understand the relation between the practice of jiu-jitsu, as developed by the Gracie family, and the violence of the so called "pitboys", upper class young boys that often becomes involved in street fights and acts of vandalism. Preventing to approach the subject trough the “bias of the absence”, normally used to explain the behavior of "pitboys" - the lack of qualified jiu-jitsu instructors, zealous parents, "limits" of education, severe laws etc. -, the present study seeks to observe, in the interior of a jiu-jitsu academy, the construction of a warlike ethos, the professionalization of street fights due to the success of “No Holds Barred” events, the corporal inscriptions of jiu-jitsu practitioners, the importance of the "Marias-tatames" (young girls who choose only mean jiu-jitsu fighters to date) in the consolidation of a rude style of masculinity, and the relation between virility and masculinity, attributes highly valued by fighters. The research also tries to understand street fights as a game that is part of a playful context; a play that, at the same time, is both rational and irrational, that always implies in some kind of risk and, therefore, in the possibility of recognition for the winners. The wider context in which the phenomenon "pitboy" came out is also
observed: the sensation of unsecurity that is installed in the track of organized crime’s ascension back in the Eighties; the process of identification of "pitboys" with excluded delinquents; the “malandragem” culture that joins them both and, paradoxicalally, the frequent use by “pitboys” of the autoritarian rite "do you know who are you speaking to?", that reinforces the distinction between upper and lower class people in Brazil.

(In Portuguese)
Intro
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Bibliography

Psycho-Chemical Stress Conditioning in Budo

2011-10-19T15:45:00.000+02:00

by Toby Threadgill*

A close friend of mine named Meg Hinkley runs a women's self defense program in Dallas, Texas called Athena's Strategies. She is a longtime practitioner of martial arts and is uniquely knowledgeable in the actual dynamics of women's assault and self defense. Several years ago she asked me to help her evaluate her program and occasionally assist in its implementation. It is an impressive program. Athena's Strategies is among the few such self defense programs I recommend without reservation. Much of the program involves the presentation of facts and supporting data which dispel many of the myths commonly associated with the physical and sexual assault of women. The remaining curriculum addresses the physical aspects of violent assault in a process that exceeds virtually all common forms of budo study in its effectiveness towards the realistic application of self defense. The greatest reason for this advantage exists because Megs program unflinchingly confronts the psycho - chemical stress response - what I call PCS.

Broadly speaking, there is a significant lack of effective instruction in confronting the physiological and psychological stresses that occur during all physical conflict. Truth be told, most highly ranked instructors in budo have virtually no experience with the symptoms of PCS and many even refuse to acknowledge its debilitating effects. The result of this omission is that a majority of students in budo are given a false sense of security, believing that they can somehow translate their growing technical dojo prowess into actual street effectiveness. Such belief is a statistical fantasy, and a dangerous one at that. The humbling of a self assured black belt coming into Meg Hinkleys program is a vivid lesson in the deficiencies of most budo training. A black belt supposedly trained in self defense, being tackled, pinned and totally dominated by 115 pound Meg is a something to behold. But seeing such women being effectively manipulated by verbal intimidation alone, dramatically illustrates the fact that PCS is far more debilitating and complex than most students or teachers of budo realize.

The chances of successfully navigating the adverse effects of PCS are compromised significantly if one is involved in a form of budo predominantly driven by a teaching model based on cooperative partner interaction. No dojo or seminar training environment can replicate an actual violent confrontation. However the model of cooperative partner training common in most schools of aikido and some classical styles of budo is among the least likely to provide actual confrontation with the effects of PCS. How can one be expected to realistically confront violence if the dojo environment is always harmonious? It's all fine and dandy to wax philosophically about harmonizing peacefully with an attacker and reaching a higher plane of spiritual existence thru the study of budo, but I must point out that such ideals are of little value to a budo student violently attacked in a parking garage. Claiming that the aikido most commonly available in dojos today is effective self defense in such a situation or, for that matter a genuine reflection of strict martial study is propagation of a highly irresponsible myth. When I hear such naiveté provided as fact I am reminded of the harsh wisdom of sensei Yuiyoshi Takamura when he said:

"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."

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*Takamura-ha Shindo Yoshin Ryu Menkyo Kaiden

Kōdōkan Jūdō’s Inauspicious Ninth Kata: The Joshi goshinhō ―“Self-Defense Methods for Women”

2011-10-11T00:13:00.001+02:00

Carl De Crée, Llyr C. Jones

Archives of Budo. Volume 7, Number 3, 2011

Abstract:

Background The purpose of the present paper is to provide a comprehensive and critical review of Joshi goshinhō [“Self-defense methods for Women”], the now reclusive ‘ninth’ kata of Kōdōkan jūdō, once part of the standard women’s jūdō curriculum in Japan.

Material/Methods: To achieve this, we offer a careful critical analysis of the available literature and rare source material on this kata.

Results: Recent overviews of Kōdōkan kata frequently omit Joshi goshinhō. This shift seems to have occurred since the 1990s despite no statement of obsoletion or removal from the Kōdōkan teaching curriculum being known. The creation of Joshi goshinhō was ordered by Nangō Jirō, a nephew of Kanō who led the Kōdōkan after Kanō Jigorō’s death in 1938. Joshi goshinhō was completed in 1943 and is usually attributed to a team of eight to ten people.

Conclusions: Joshi goshinhō is still an official kata of Kōdōkan despite it being often ommitted from recent kata listings. A variety of factors such as lack of experience and hierarchical position raise doubts about the extent of contribution of some individuals most commonly associated with the creation of Joshi goshinhō. Likely, those who deserve most credit for the intellectual and practical work underlying Joshi goshinhō were: Noritomi Masako, Honda Ariya, Mifune Kyūzō, Sakamoto Fusatarō, and Samura Kaichirō. Joshi goshinhō would meet the increasing demands for self-defense from female jūdōka. Jūdōka have a right to a critical analytical and non-revisionist approach to jūdō’s history in its every aspect as an integral part of the pedagogical aims of jūdō.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Choke - A Rickson Gracie Documentary

2011-10-10T23:42:00.000+02:00

Les Arts Martiaux du Japon

2011-10-09T02:51:00.000+02:00

Excellent documentaire sur les arts martiaux traditionnels du Japon réalisé par Michel Random

Arts mariaux du japon part1 por LastRonin

Arts mariaux du japon part2 por LastRonin

Arts mariaux du japon part3 por LastRonin

Arts mariaux du japon part4 por LastRonin

Yoshiaki Yamashita Photograph Album, ca.1904

2011-10-09T02:43:00.001+02:00

Abstract

From 1903 to 1906, Professor Yoshiaki Yamashita of Tokyo traveled the United States providing instruction in the new martial art of judo. In Washington, D.C., he provided instruction for the sons and daughters of the nation's political and business elite and was brought to the White House to teach President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1905-1906, Yamashita was employed by the U.S. Naval Academy to train midshipmen, but after his contract ended in the fall 1906, he returned to Japan and continued to teach judo until his death on October 26, 1935. He was posthumously awarded the 10th degree black belt, the first ever so honored.

The Yamashita photograph album contains 53 silver developing out prints apparently taken to illustrate various judo throws and holds, along with Yamashita's calling card and four documents relating to his time teaching judo in Washington.

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Martial Qi in China: Courage and Spirit in Thought and Military Practice

2011-09-23T01:43:00.000+02:00

by Ralph Sawyer

Once warfare became the subject of study, its objectives (as distinct from motivation) began to be consciously formulated. Early Western thinkers envisioned war being undertaken to exact revenge and rectify affronts; castigate and punish the unrighteous; seize territory, acquire resources, and enslave populations; preemptively vanquish enemies and quash threats; or simply exercise and acquire power. In China, the great Wu Qi early on discerned five causes for warfare: “In general, the reason troops are raised are five: to contend for fame; to contend for profit; from accumulated hatreds; from internal disorder; and from famine.”

As the scope and carnage escalated, the function of combat came to be understood as neutralizing forces and destroying materials, synonymous with killing soldiers and ravaging property. However, the last century witnessed a dramatic reformulation of the combat mission to concentrate upon annihilating the enemy’s center of gravity. Thereafter, amid new conceptualizations of “effects based warfare” it has been but a minor step to reaffirming that the true objective is simply extinguishing the enemy’s will and imposing one’s intentions.

Historically, Chinese military thought has encompassed this “will to fight,” whether characterized as resolve, determination, or morale, under the semi-technical term of qi (ch’i), the army’s “spirit.” However, the concept of qi -- variously translated as pneuma, breath, or spirit, but essentially the vital psycho-physical foundation or energy of life, whether metaphysical or flowing and embodied, both in man and the universe -- has been an integral component of Chinese thought for more than two millennia. Qi has long been understood as manifesting itself in many forms as well as coursing through the meridians in the body that form the basis of acupuncture. Moreover, according to later philosophical formulations, it is qi that solidifies to form the many animate and inanimate objects populating the world.

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Source: Journal of Military and Strategic Studies, Fall and Winter 2008/9, Vol. 11, Issues 1 and 2.

Kenshiro Abbe Sensei - Kyushindo Judo

2011-09-21T13:44:00.001+02:00

Kenshiro Abbe on Wikipedia:

Philosophy of Martial Arts

2011-09-18T00:50:00.000+02:00

by Tim Cartmell

Everyone possesses an inborn ability to fight; it is a natural reaction to threat or stress and requires no formal training. What, then, distinguishes these random patterns of attack and defense which arise spontaneously in the untrained from the actions and reactions of a trained martial artist? The answer to this question lies in the trained fighter's application of certain principles to the movements and strategies of unarmed combat. These principles form the basis or "essence" of martial art. It is because these principles are utilized that fighting is elevated to the level of "art." In fact, it is the understanding and application of basic natural principles, which allows mankind as a whole to continuously improve and refine capabilities in any endeavor. Such knowledge is made manifest in technique; technique, in turn, is based on the understanding of natural principles. Technical application of natural principles makes it possible for construction workers to build houses, doctors to treat diseases and the weaker to overcome the stronger in a fight.

Without formal training, the larger and stronger naturally defeat the smaller and weaker. Therefore, a basic premise of training to fight as an "art" must be that the methods employed should make it possible for the smaller and weaker to defeat (or at least successfully defend against) the larger and stronger. As we have observed, it is not necessary to create techniques for the stronger to defeat the weaker, as this occurs without formal training. So it is logical that the basic premise of creating fighting techniques which qualify, as "art" must, at least theoretically, be designed so that a smaller and weaker combatant can apply them successfully against a larger and stronger opponent. Now that we have a definition of martial art, the next logical question to ask is what type of techniques will allow the weaker fighter to defend him or herself against the stronger.

Which techniques will be effective against larger and stronger opponents? Common sense tells us that techniques based on brute strength will never allow the weaker to defeat the stronger (the stronger opponent by definition possesses more brute strength than the weaker, so a technique based on brute force is doomed to fail the weaker fighter because in a contest of force against force, the stronger force invariably prevails). Once techniques of brute force (that is, techniques which require the use of force against force) have been disqualified as fitting our definition of martial art, upon what shall we base our techniques? The logical answer is to base martial techniques upon principles which allow us to use our strengths against an opponent's weaknesses, thereby circumventing superior force and applying our own force where it will have the greatest effect. Another way of describing the techniques of martial art is to say such techniques are based upon maximum efficiency in obtaining the desired result. What is efficient technique? In a violent encounter there is a real possibility for injury, and the longer the fight lasts the greater the chances of you being hurt. Therefore, efficient technique should allow one to end the encounter as quickly as possible. This means that an efficient technique should either disable an opponent or afford one an opportunity to escape in the shortest possible span of time.

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Adorable Aikido

2011-09-17T12:50:00.001+02:00

El discurso orientalista en la traducción francesa (1927) del Bushido de Nitobe

2011-09-11T01:41:00.000+02:00

Rodríguez Navarro, Mª Teresa

Fecha: 2008
Resumen: Bushido. The Soul of Japan, de Inazo Nitobe (1962-1933) es una obra pionera para la divulgación de la cultura japonesa en Occidente realizada por un nativo, a partir de la presentación de los valores y conceptos del código ético del estamento militar de los samuráis. Se examina la influencia de esta obra en la construcción de la imagen orientalista de Japón en Occidente en el siglo XX y el reflejo del contexto y del pretexto, tanto en el texto original como en la primera traducción al francés por Charles Jacob. La traducción al francés de 1927 apareció en una época de entreguerras, caracterizada por el auge de la propaganda amilitarista, así como por el florecimiento del japonismo, que ya desde el siglo XIX constituía una tradición en la cultura francesa.

Resumen: Bushido: The Soul of Japan, by Inazo Nitobe (1862-1933) is an example of a native’s pioneering work to make the Japanese culture known in the West and to explore its values and concepts through the ethical code of the Samurais. We examine the influence of this work on the image that western people has of Japan in the twentieth Century and the influence of the context and pretext: both, in the source text and in the first translation to the French by Charles Jacob. The French translation of 1927 appeared in the interwar period characterized by the rise of the militarist propaganda as well as the flourishing of Japanese studies, which since the XIX century have had a deep influence in the French culture.

http://ddd.uab.cat/pub/intasipap/20131747n5p1.pdf

Análisis etnometodológico sobre el dinamismo del habitus en Bourdieu y Elias dentro del desarrollo de actividades corporales

2011-07-20T22:13:00.000+02:00

by Raúl Sánchez García

RESUMEN
El artículo introduce una lectura etnometodológica del concepto de habitus en Bourdieu y Elias. Pretende mostrar la relación existente entre la generación de procesos de adquisición práctica (etnométodos)de ciertas actividades corporales y el desarrollo de cierto sentido práctico (al que hace referencia el habitus bourdieuano) y cierta economía afectiva (a la que hace referencia el habitus eliasiano) a lo largo de la inmersión continuada en tales actividades. Para ello se ha elegido el estudio de la adquisición de un sentido y un control específicos sobre la violencia en la generación de patrones normales de dos deportes de combate: aikido y boxeo.

ABSTRACT
This paper introduces an ethnomethodological reading on the concept of habitus in Bourdieu and
Elias. It aims at showing the relationship between the generation of practical acquisition processes (ethnomethods) of some body activities and the development of a practical sense (the one that Bourdieuan habitus refers to) and certain affective economy (the one that the Eliasian habitus refers to) throughout continued immersion in such activities. In order to do this, the study of a practical sense acquisition and a certain control over violence in the generation of normal patterns during the practice of aikido and boxing was chosen.

http://www.reis.cis.es/REIS/PDF/REIS_124_071222873678372.pdf

Caged Morality: Moral Worlds, Subculture, and Stratification Among Middle-Class Cage-Fighters

2011-07-16T23:21:00.001+02:00

Corey M. Abramson & Darren Modzelewski

Abstract Social scientists have long been concerned with how and why marginalized
groups create and participate in subcultures. There has been significantly less work
examining how those with access to conventional status and success participate in
subcultures, often despite significant economic and social costs. The result has been
lopsided theorizing that neglects much of the positive, affective, and moral appeal of
subcultures at all levels of stratification. The participation of middle-class men and women
in the rapidly growing world of cage-fighting speaks to this longstanding issue in the
existing literature. We find these individuals participate in a sporting subculture that
involves bodily, interpersonal, and professional sacrifices because they feel it gives them
the ability to viscerally realize the widely shared American ideals that form the core
components of their “moral world.” The subculture holds particular sway over its members
because they feel that its ideals, status hierarchies, and daily practices more directly embody
the deeply embedded principles of middle-class morality and habitus than other elements of
their lives.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/813x81x510w48551/fulltext.pdf

Josh Waitzkin Interview

2011-05-21T22:42:00.000+02:00

By Adisa Banjoko (On the Mat)

Classically Unorthodox: Inside the Mind of Chessmaster Josh Waitzkin

At six years old, Josh Waitzkin was one of the toughest chess players on earth. His creative and aggressive style made him one of the most feared American chess players ever. His style was a fusion of his years being raised by chess hustlers in New York’s Washington Square Park and his classical guidance under Bruce Pandolfini. His early life was made into the cult classic film Searching For Bobby Fischer.

After leaving chess, he discovered the martial art of Tai Chi Chuan. After training in Tai Chi Chuan, he realized how much marital arts and chess are connected. On his path to becoming a two-time world champion in Tai Chi Chuan, he learned about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He wrote a book about his experience entitled The Art of Learning. It became a best seller and is used by CEO’s and fighters alike who seek a higher level of understanding.

I first met Josh at the second Hip-Hop Chess Federation event with the RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan. I remember how well he and RZA connected like old friends from the second they met. Josh is a living hieroglyph of the idea that chess and martial arts are one.

In this interview Josh Waitzkin talks about his path to learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the relationship between chess and martial arts and his philosophy about the lack of philosophy in BJJ.

OTM: How were you first introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and when did you begin training?

JW: I began training BJJ out in LA with John Machado about 5 years ago. But for the first two years, 90% of my energy was focused on stand up, getting ready for the 2004 Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands Worlds. For the past three years I’ve been focused exclusively on Jiu Jitsu, with John out west, then in New York City at NYBJJ with Marcos Santos. I also worked a lot with Marcelo Garcia while he was in New York, which was incredible.

OTM: You are a two time world champion in Tai Chi Chuan. Many BJJ practitioners write off styles like Tai Chi. Why do you think that is?

JW: I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Tai Chi Chuan by William CC Chen, who is humble, understated, very practical, a true master of body mechanics, and a fabulous teacher. He is well into his seventies and is still a demon in the boxing ring. If grapplers were exposed to William Chen’s Tai Chi, they wouldn’t write it off.

But to answer your question—honestly, a very large percentage of Tai Chi practitioners have their heads in the clouds…and they are the ones who make the most noise, stage the silly fake demonstrations, and create a cultish mindset that a practical fighter can just walk right through. I’d write them off too. Plus the system has little groundwork and most teachers are still closed minded about that element of the martial arts. Frankly, I think this problem is rampant in many traditional martial arts—teachers are terrified of looking bad and losing students so they create a world that denies what they don’t know.

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Martial Arts Scepticism: A Manifesto

2011-05-21T03:38:00.001+02:00

By Jamie Clubb

"The fool wonders, the wise man asks." - Benjamin Disraeli

Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism and other religious and philosophical ideas have been melded with the practice of martial arts in modern times. However, I would like to suggest that we apply another so-called philosophy. It has some very ancient and respectable roots in the philosophers of ancient Greece and its process is the very definition of objective philosophy. What I am describing is something I believe underlies the thinking of some of the greatest shakers in martial arts history. It is the process of questioning and testing. The philosophy is unique in the respect that it owes no allegiance to any culture and it doesn't subscribe to the beliefs of a single or group of individuals. In fact, this particular philosophy prompts debate within its advocates and especially within the individual. The philosophy I am describing is scepticism and this article makes the case for its inclusion in the teaching of martial arts.

Modern scepticism is generally recognised as a science-based movement that has come to popular attention through its opposition to virtually anything or anyone that has not provided sufficient proof or evidence to support its or their claims. However, it is important to note that it is not just scientists and those with a penchant for science that support scepticism. At the other end of the academic world serious historians have also been attracted to scepticism. At the heart of scepticism is an approach known as critical thinking. This means looking at a subject objectively with a view to testing unproven claims. It is easy for those of us who see the value in imagination and positivity to mistake scepticism for cynicism. Cynicism just means thinking the worst of everything. The cynic has already made his mind up about something and does not seek evidence. In this respect the cynic is just as blinkered as the gullible person. Scepticism is about questioning, seeking answers and making progress. The sceptic never deals in absolutes. Even so-called facts are accepted as temporary conclusions that are up for reasoned review. To make analogy in self-defence coaching terms, cynicism is as far removed from scepticism as paranoia is from awareness.

Scepticism took the western world out of the dark ages and just as new waves of mysticism wash new fads up onto our hi-tech shores, a steady yet accelerating movement in critical thinking is there to examine, test and debunk where necessary. The world of martial arts presents us with a tangled mixture of claims and ideas that are ripe for sceptical investigation. Leaders and founders of martial arts often become venerated to the point where they are not questioned no matter how far they stray from their original purpose. Concepts and principles then develop into dogma and rituals. Within these subcultures terminology is developed, which further serves to separate the martial artists from the rest of society, along with strict hierarchies and methods used to tie students to their clubs. In extreme examples we have seen full blown martial arts cults develop whereas many others take on more subtle resemblances. Some clubs are simply run by the naïve and the deluded whereas others are run by conmen and charlatans. Martial arts histories become distorted, folk tales, myths and complete fiction become accepted as facts.

In his book for Marshall Cavendish, "The Way to the Martial Arts", the respected martial arts journalist Peter Lewis describes the evolution of martial arts in a positive light: "Slowly and gradually, mostly through trial and error, fighting became more of an exact science rather than a pure animal instinct". If only this were true of today. The modern world of martial arts has often allied itself with pseudoscience, pseudohistory, superstition, paranoia, New Age beliefs, religious dogma, fakir tricks, outright fraud and outright lies that have all been passed onto naïve students as facts.

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Theater of combat: A critical look at the chinese martial arts

2011-05-20T17:45:00.001+02:00

by Charles Holcombe

Everywhere in China the martial arts either present themselves in the guise of simple exercises or are shrouded in arcane religious mysteries. Western enthusiasts often feel impelled to strip away these religious trappings and construct a version of the martial arts that is neither simple gymnastics nor religion, but emphasizes true hand-to-hand combat skills. The question remains, is this an authentic understanding of the martial arts?

A distinctly Chinese pugilistic style does exist, of course: kung-fu was originally a Chinese word. But the original Chinese definition simply means "ability," with no particular martial arts implications. When the word first appeared in tenuous association with the martial arts, in the context of late-imperial sectarian religion, it still denoted forms of concentration involving the circulation of ch'i, or breath, rather than combat skills. [1] The idea of kung-fu has a more convoluted pedigree than one might otherwise have expected.

Even in China itself the history of the martial arts is obscure. The literate Chinese elite traditionally took a jaundiced view of physical combat and were inclined to ignore the martial arts. It may be true that some scholars have exaggerated the well-known "fundamental Chinese prejudice against the military." As one twelfth-century Chinese author put it, in antiquity "literature and the military were not separated"; but the same writer then concluded by asking, "How could later generations ever see their like again?" [2] The warrior visage of the earliest Chinese upper class had been made over in the Confucian scholar's image well before the birth of Christ, and from then on literary pursuits prevailed over physical ones. [3]

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Mr. Bean Does Judo

2011-05-19T18:33:00.001+02:00

The Soul of a Nation: Swordsmanship in Japan’s Modern Period

2011-05-18T20:47:00.002+02:00

by Isaac Joseph Meyer

Several years ago, while working on a paper about the link between Zen philosophy and the practice of the martial arts (budō in Japanese), I noticed that there was almost no academic work on the subject of budō. A wealth of “first hand” accounts by practitioners were available, but aside from a few articles from the 1980's and two or three books, I realized that there was practically nothing available for use on the academic level. This project has its origins in that realization.

As I quickly discovered, this omission has in turn allowed the practitioners themselves to write their own histories, and the result of that tendency has been a massive distortion of the historical record of budō. In one particularly memorable instance, two authors purporting to be seriously investigating the history of martial arts practice in Japan describe a style called “kijutsu”(気術) that allows the practitioner to strike down his opponent using only a shout.

Even the more earthly depictions of the martial arts are often bogged down in half-truths and fabrications about the ancient origins and mystical attributes of the martial arts. For example, one book written by a practitioner of kendō ascribes the origins of the art to pre-Nara
period Japan (c. 400 CE)when in fact the samurai class focused their training on the
yumi (弓 bow), yari (槍 spear) and later teppō (鉄砲 firearm). Indeed, the katana
(sword) did not become an important aspect of samurai training until the beginning of
the 17th century and the 250-year Pax Tokugawa.

These are, of course, only a few of the many examples of half-truths and legends regarding the martial arts being passed on as fact by practitioners with no historical training. These “facts” have even pervaded the academic circle. In one particularly memorable instance, an archaeologist named Myra Shackley studying graveyards in Zaimozuka, Japan that contained bodies of warriors from the Battle of Kamakura (circa 1333) drew the rather dubious conclusion that most warriors were high class samurai killed quickly by blows directly to the head (a feature of kendō that was not commonplace until the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century) that there was evidence of adherence to battlefield ethics (respect for the bodies of the dead, individual duels between combatants, a refusal to strike the opponent from behind, etc) and that most blows were delivered by a sword.

Shackley also suggested that the head injuries found on the wounds were consistent with nonhelmeted combatants, stating that helmets ran against the warrior ethic of the times and that no depictions of samurai from the period show them wearing helmets.

In fact, combat in that period was usually limited to horse archery or pole-arms, both of
which are more effective from horseback than a sword, and most of the bone damage recorded is too deep to be a cut from a sword, and is much more likely to be pole-arm based. The force involved also suggests horseback charges rather than individual duels.

In addition, when discussing helmets Shackley completely ignored the evidence contrary to her theory; in fact, there is a great deal of evidence, including depictions of combat from the period, to contradict her claims.

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‘Practice without theory’: a neuroanthropological perspective on embodied learning

2011-05-16T16:08:00.001+02:00

By Greg Downey, Macquarie University

Apprentices of the Afro-Brazilian danced martial art capoeira – an art said also to develop practitioners’ cunning and savvy – learn primarily through imitation, along with bodily exercises and physical experimentation. They copy the movements of veteran players, haltingly at ﬁrst, but with increasing animation and integrity. Teaching is primarily mimetic rather than analytic or explicit. If a novice asks too many questions, more than an instructor believes helpful (the threshold is usually quite low), a teacher will remind the student to be silent, watch closely, and imitate. During my ﬁeld research in Brazil, if we interrupted Mestre (‘Teacher’) Moraes with too much questioning, he shouted, Embora! (‘Get on with it!’); or, if feeling generous, he might stop us: Olhe (‘Look here’). He demonstrated more slowly for those who had failed to catch a technique, punctuating his motions for emphasis at crucial moments with meaningless syllables, Au ... au ... au ...

With its acrobatic kicks, sly headbutts, low-to-the-ground dodges, and ﬂamboyant ornamental moves, or ﬂoreios, capoeira stands out as an especially demanding form of embodied knowledge, apprenticeship necessitating not simply the acquiring of techniques or skills but a whole body transformation in strength, ﬂexibility, mobility, perhaps even personality. Pursued intentionally through specialized training in adolescence or adulthood, the art contrasts in many ways with the (to the practitioner, at least) unremarkable daily habits and gestures that make up the habitus, as discussed by Pierre Bourdieu. Nevertheless, the shared mimetic forms of learning in both capoeira and more mundane corporeal techniques, and the inﬂuence of bodily training on capoeiristas’ perceptions, suggest that the confrontation between the style of movement taught in capoeira and the everyday habitus might highlight how embodied knowledge shapes the subject. Practitioners repeatedly asserted that learning capoeira movements affected a person’s kinaesthetic style, social interactions, and perceptions outside of the game (see Downey 2005b).

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The Object of Study in Martial Arts and Combat Sports Research – Contributions to a Complex Whole

2011-05-16T12:21:00.001+02:00

By Abel A. Figueiredo*

Introduction:

One of the first literary works known in humankind is the Epic of Gilgamesh, a poem from Ancient Mesopotamia that revolves around the life of the demigod King that lived 5000 years ago in Uruk (Sumer). This epic describes a ritual fight between Gilgamesh, semi-god, and Enkido, who was half-wild and become friend of Gilgamesh after the fight.

Differently, the biblical fight between Caim and Abel, belongs to a different kind of nature: it is not ritualized because it could not be repeated by participants – Abel was killed by Caim.

The big difference between the first and the second narratives remains on the sublimation of the fight action. On the first narration, the kill is more symbolic, even if the bodies of the fighters remain the target, as object, and objective of the actions, until the victory and defeat; on the second one, the kill is real. The last narration is the base of war, and the first one is the base of sport and art: when the sublimation of utilitarianism happens and, in a human group, is accepted. This is why sport is social and, in martial arts and combat sports, sociology and philosophy, at pair with other sciences, contribute to the theoretical core of sport science studies.

*Physical Education and Sport Sciences Department School of Education - Polytechnic Institute of Viseu (Portugal)

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Romanticising Shinsengumi in Contemporary Japan

2011-05-15T04:41:00.000+02:00

By Rosa Lee
University of Sydney/University of Tokyo

Abstract:

Shinsengumi, a group of young men recruited by the Bakufu to protect Kyoto from radical Imperial House loyalists in the tumultuous Bakumatsu period, is romanticised and idolised in Japan despite its limited place in history. This article attempts to comprehend this phenomenon by locating the closest crystallisation of popularly imagined Shinsengumi in Moeyo ken, a popular historical fiction by Shiba Ryōtarō. Antonio Gramsci explains readers are attracted to popular literature because it reflects their ‘philosophies of the age’, which may be discovered by examining popular heroes with their subsequent replications.

This article will identify why Shinsengumi is appealing by comparing Shiba’s hero in Moeyo ken with its twenty-first century reincarnation in Gintama, a popular manga series, and by discerning reader response to Moeyo ken from customer reviews on Amazon.co.jp. It will be demonstrated from these studies that a likely reason for the Japanese public’s romanticisation of Shinsengumi in recent years could be their attraction to autonomous, self-determining heroes who also appreciate the value of community.

(Rosa Lee graduated from the University of Sydney in 2009 with a combined degree in
Arts/Law with First Class Honours in Japanese Studies. With research interests in the
social function of popular historical heroes such as Shinsengumi and in the construction
of ‘the Japanese’ identity, she is currently exploring Japan as a research student at the
Department of Advanced Social and International Studies, University of Tokyo.)

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Habitus and Social Class in Bourdieu: an Empirical aplication in the Field of Combat Sports

2011-05-10T16:29:00.002+02:00

by Raúl Sánchez García*

In this article, an empirical application of some elements of the concept of habitus in Bourdieu is proposed. To be precise, it is about the relationship with the body in the performance of sport activities, something that is attached to the habitus. For this purpose we will analyse the positions’ and habitus’ trajectory of some practitioners —attached to specific social classes— within the field of combat sports in our country. We will show how some parts of habitus can develop certain degree of autonomy from social class when the practitioner’s interaction within a social field grows. Thus, the notion of habitus is able to explain variations on the choice of new activities and different ways of practicing them without having necessarily to vary the practitioner’s social class.

*Doctor en Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid-INEF

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Moral instruction in budo: a study of Chiba Chosaku with a translation of his major work

2011-05-03T13:22:00.000+02:00

by Samuel Shooklyn

Abstract

This thesis provides a translation and transliteration of a late Meiji period martial arts text, Moral Instruction in Budō (1912), together with a study of its author, Chiba Chōsaku (1861-1935). The aim is to contextualize Chiba’s thinking in the framework of historical events and ideological currents of his time, in order to facilitate better understanding of his contribution. Chiba argued that martial arts practice (budō) is the way to maintain and transmit martial religious ethics (bushidō) in the modern condition of Westernized Japan. The importance of Chiba’s study lies in his claim that bushidō is not a legacy of the medieval samurai class, but a due faith based on loyalty to the Emperor and patriotism toward the Japanese nation, which provides the foundation for budō practice.

Chiba submits that the implementation of budō instruction at the level of national education would prevent the slackening of morals and contribute to strengthening of the Japanese national character and military institution. Chiba’s career and writings demonstrate that the militarist slant in the budō ideology of Japan did not occur in the 1930s, as is generally accepted, but began at least two decades earlier. As the earliest example of a narrative that blends budō and bushidō ideologies, Moral Instruction in Budō remains a crucial text for understanding the historical impact of martial arts in Japan.

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If do right, no can defense.

2011-05-02T16:37:00.001+02:00

Jigoro Kano’s pursuit of ideal judo and its succession: Judo’s techniques performed from a distance

2011-05-01T04:23:00.002+02:00

by Fumiaki Shishida

Abstract:

Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, had great interest several other martial arts: boxing, karate, aiki-jujutsu, bo-jutsu, wrestling and others. He studied them enthusiastically to improve judo with the objective of making it the best that it could be. The new training method that Kano conceived in 1918 was to be a combination of judo and kendo and was the result of his studying those other martial arts. The purpose of this study is to examine Kano’s involvement with those five other martial arts. By following the details of that process, we will learn how Kano enthusiastically pursued his ideal judo and was dissatisfied with judo as it was. Jiro Nango, the second president of Kodokan, succeeded Kano’s will by establishing the group to study Judo’s techniques performed from a distance. Kenji Tomiki, one of the group’s instructors, completed the article entitled The Systematic Study of Techniques While Maintaining Distance in Judo: The Principles of Judo and the Techniques of Aiki-budo, on the basis of accumulation of study theretofore. The article is considered as an answer to the question posed by Master Kano.

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Bushido: The Creation Of A Martial Ethic In Late Meiji Japan

2011-04-28T13:06:00.000+02:00

by Oleg Benesch

ABSTRACT

This study examines the development of the concept of “bushido,” or the “way of the warrior,” in modern Japan, focusing on the period between the mid-nineteenth century and the early 1930s. The popular view holds that bushido was a centuries-old code of behavior rooted in the historical samurai class and transmitted into the modern period, where it was a fundamental component of Japanese militarism before 1945. In fact, the concept of bushido was largely unknown before the last decade of the nineteenth century, and was widely disseminated only after 1900,especially after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5. This study argues that modern bushido discourse began in the 1880s, and was dependent on political and cultural currents relating to Japan’s modernization and the nation’s attempts to redefine itself in the face of foreign “others,” primarily China and the West. Following more than a decade of largely unquestioned thrusts towards modernization and Westernization after 1868, Japanese thinkers looked to their own traditions in search of sources of national identity. The first discussions of bushido at this time were not the work of conservative reactionaries, however, but were conceived by relatively progressive individuals with considerable international experience and a command of Western languages. Some of the first modern writings on bushido clearly posit the concept as a potential native equivalent to the English ethic of “gentlemanship,” which was widely admired in late-nineteenth century Japan, and much of early bushido discourse should be seen primarily as a response to outside stimuli. This study examines the causes and effects of the “bushido boom” that took place between 1898 and 1914, which firmly established the concept not only in Japan, but throughout the world. In this context, this study analyzes the use of bushido by the Japanese military and educational system, as well as its popularization by prominent figures in the early twentieth century. This study also examines the reasons for the decline in the popularity of bushido between 1914 and the early 1930s, thereby providing points of departure for future research on the trajectory of bushido from 1932 to the present day.

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Aikido's Arm-Lock (Ude-Gatame) Technique: What Tissues are Affected?

2011-04-14T12:35:00.000+02:00

by Gregory D. Olson, M.Sc., Morgan Cook IV, B.S., Lisa Brooks, Ph.D.

INTRODUCTION

As each successive year passes, the Oriental martial arts seem to be growing in popularity. With this popularity comes a gradual recognition of the validity of these arts by the academic community and the media, and there has been some academic investigation of the myths and the realities surrounding the e martial arts and ways. The ]apanese martial way of aikido and its various techniques are of particular interest ro the investigators. With an understanding of the anatomical consequences of these fighting and subduing skills, not only will the practitioner become more efficient in the various waza (technique), but the sensei (teachers) will be able ro teach the skills with a more thorough appreciation of ,the efficiency of the technique and with greater considerations of safety for the practitioners.

The researchers are interested in understanding the various subduing skills,as taught by the founder of aikido, such as ikkyo (first-teaching), nikyo (secondteaching), sankyo (third-teaching), yonkyo (fourth-teaching), and gokyo (fifthteaching), as well as the other subduing techniques of the arto The investigators have completed several anaromical studies examining selected techniques in aikido's technical curriculum (Olson & Seitz, 1990, 1993, 1994; Seitz, Olson, & Stenzel, 1991; Olson, Seitz, & Guldbrandsen, 1994, 1996).

The authors have chosen the vocabulary of ude-gatame (arm-lock) believing this ro be the most common terminology used ro describe this technique (H. Ikeda, personal communication, May 16, 1998). In aikido, this technique has been referred to by other terms. Ueshiba (1985: 139) refers ro the technique as ude-hishigi (arm-smashing). It is interesting ro note that he sees this technique as a variation of aikido's nikyo.

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Roy Dean's "The White Belt Bible"

2011-04-09T19:19:00.000+02:00

The white belt is more than just a rank, it’s a mindset. In Roy Dean’s latest DVD, he explores techniques from three of the most successful schools of jiu jitsu in the modern era: Kodokan Judo, Aikikai Aikido, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Theory and technique are balanced with montages of live application, rank demonstrations, and lessons from masters of the gentle art.

Designed to inspire, entertain, and open the minds of beginners to the world of jujutsu, “The White Belt Bible” lays the foundation for a lifetime of learning.

http://www.roydeanacademy.com/dvds

Update (05/07/11): Great review, as usual, by Can Sönmez here:
slideyfoot.com | bjj resources: DVD Review - The White Belt Bible (Roy Dean)

Old School

2011-04-06T19:22:00.000+02:00

O-Sensei’s Spiritual Writings: Where did they really come from?

2011-03-09T14:20:00.001+01:00

by Stanley Pranin

Recently, due to the publication of a series of books whose authorship has been attributed to Morihei Ueshiba, founder of aikido, I have felt compelled to weigh in on the subject of what O-Sensei actually did write during his career as a martial artist. The answer is in brief, “almost nothing.”

Works attributed to him—both before and after the war—were based on his spoken words and lectures rather than on texts that he had composed himself. They were transcribed and edited primarily by his son, Second Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba, and by several trusted students having varying degrees of literary skills. This is especially the case after World War II. Much of what we think of as the spiritual writings of Morihei is based on material published in the “Aikido Shimbun” of the Aikikai Hombu Dojo starting in 1959 and continuing following his passing in 1969. What was published in the “Aikido Shimbun” as “Doka” (Songs of the Way) were actually culled from heavily edited transcriptions of tape-recorded talks and lectures given by O-Sensei inside the dojo and elsewhere.

To understand the rationale for the editing of Morihei’s remarks, one must take into consideration the times and psychology of the Japanese during this period. World War II had recently ended, and much of the population were either direct participants, or deeply affected by the war and its outcome. Japan had acquired the stigma of a defeated nation, and many Japanese wished to distance themselves from all things associated with the conflict and those that had led the country into it.

During the early postwar period, subjects related to Japan’s military and political institutions, State Shinto, and the heavy destruction wrought upon the country were topics many Japanese chose to avoid due to the painful associations they held. Moreover, Morihei’s active role in teaching at numerous military installations during the 1930s and early 40s was a subject that the Aikikai chose to mention only in passing for understandable reasons.

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Kata and Etudes: Pattern Drills in the History of Teaching Swordsmanship

2011-03-03T21:53:00.001+01:00

by Charles Ham

Abstract
Teaching methods for the use of hand weapons during the19th century were remarkably similar in both Europe and Japan. This paper analyzes Hungarian and Highland Broadsword and its companion publication The Manual of the Ten Divisions of the Highland Broadsword by Maestro Harry Angelo (1799 and 1800, respectively) and that system’s antecedents in the cutlass training of English speaking navies, and the exercise known as Tachi Uchi no Kurai from the Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu (MJER) and Muso Shinden Ryu (MSR) schools of Japanese swordsmanship. The training methods from both the Highland broadsword/cutlass tradition and the Japanese tradition have several common elements; chiefly that a more experienced swordsman leads a partner through a series of hypothetical swordfights. These hypothetical swordfights are then memorized and practiced until the responses become automatic. These extended drills, called “lessons,” “divisions” or “etudes” (Fr. "lesson") in early 19th century English and “kata” in Japanese, formed the foundation of training.

However, the etudes are fundamentally different from kata in one significant way. In the Highland broadsword/cutlass tradition the basic strategy stayed the same, but the lessons were rewritten by the next generation of maestros who often dropped them in favor of drills and free sparing. This can be seen by looking at the manuals and drill books of successive maestros. By looking at how the two sister schools, MSR and MJER, have very different interpretations of their kata in the late 20th century, one can see that the Japanese kata are kept more or less intact, but evolve due to differences of interpretation by various maestro over the years. The author poses a hypothesis that this difference in how the skills are transmitted through the generations is a reflection of the unique values of the two cultures.

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Seki Juroji and the Japanese Body: Martial Arts, Kokutai, and Citizen-State Relations in Meiji Japan

2011-02-26T00:53:00.001+01:00

by Denis Gainty

Les techniques martiales orientales comme technologies du soi: une réponse à Michel Foucault

2011-02-24T21:38:00.000+01:00

par Françoise Boudreau

INTRODUCTION

Vers la fin de sa vie, Michel Foucault se disait de plus en plus fascine par l'etude des technologies du soi, c'est-a-dire des diverses façons qu'ont eues les etres humains au cours des siecles d' agir sur eux-memes, sur leur corps, leur esprit, leurs pensees et leur façon d'etre, dans Ie but specifique d'atteindre un etat de bonheur, de purete, de sagesse, de perfection ou d'immortalitel.

Ces technologies du soi, disait-il, supposent et impliquent des pratiques d'entrainement et de formation des individus - des pratiques du soi - non seulement dans Ie sens plus evident d'une acquisition de certaines competences corporelles ou de certains talents personnels, mais aussi dans Ie sens d'une acquisition de certaines attitudes envers soi. Ces technologies du soi sont en quelque sorte des techniques de constitution et de domination de soi, en d'autres mots, des techniques du subjectivation. Par techniques de subjectivation, Foucault entend donc cette operation par laquelle « les individus se prennent eux-memes comme objet de connaissance et domaine d'action afin de se tranformer, de se corriger, de se purifier, de faire son salut» (Foucault, 1984b, p. 56). Comme l'explique Deleuze, alors que le pouvoir chez Foucault implique un rapport de la force avec d' autres forces, la subjectivation implique «un rapport de la force avec soi» (Deleuze, 1990, p. 127).

Link

The Nage/Uke Dynamic – Some Guidelines

2011-02-23T01:12:00.000+01:00

by David Valadez

The following guidelines have been written up to provide one with a reference point concerning the living dynamic that is the Nage/Uke relationship. Note: These are just guidelines. All accurate understandings of the Nage/Uke dynamic have to be determined by specific contexts. Please use these guidelines in combination with the experience and insights you gain over the years of training when it comes to determining proper action within the Nage/Uke dynamic.

General Guidelines For Being Nage:

Nage must always account, in terms of intensity and applied energy, for the following qualities when determining how to throw, pin, or strike, etc.: Uke’s skill level, Uke’s age, Uke’s size, Uke’s physical durability, Uke’s current state of health and wellness, and the dojo’s official position concerning the Senpai/Kohai model as it is relative to the Nage/Uke dynamic (see below). All things being equal, safety is the primary determining element for the Nage/Uke dynamic. Martial “reality,” as (mis)perceived by any one nage is NOT a determining element to be considered.

General Guidelines For Being Uke:

Uke must take on the responsibility for the following: To constantly learn, study, and improve one’s ukemi throughout the whole of one’s training so as to ultimately provide Nage with the capacity to perform various martial tactics at full intensity and with full applied energy.

Uke, in their commitment to the art of ukemi, in their commitment to their own training, and in their commitment to the dojo as a training environment, is to continually strive to provide the above option as the third and most desired option in comparison with the following two: (A) Nage must opt to pull out of a technique or to greatly decrease the amount of intensity and/or applied energy being used for the safety of Uke; and (B) Nage must carry forth with a technique at the risk of injuring Uke.

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Deconstructing Funakoshi

2011-02-21T00:07:00.000+01:00

by Rob Redmond

Funakoshi Gichin (1868-1957) is the man cited by nearly all publications on Japanese karate as having been almost solely responsible for the founding of karate in Japan and its subsequent spread around the world via sport. He is sometimes said to have successfully synthesized the two major forms of karate on Okinawa, that of Shuri and that of Naha, into one comprehensive martial art that contained everything a karate expert could ever need. He is almost universally known as the founder of the Shotokan style of karate by its founding organizations which have nothing to do with one another. Stories are told that endow Funakoshi with almost supernatural powers. He is reported to have successfully blocked attacks while deeply asleep, and to have been able to disappear and suddenly reappear elsewhere when a student tried to hit him.

Who was Funakoshi really? What did he accomplish, who did he teach, and what did he teach? Are we continuing the legacy of Funakoshi Gichin, or would he perhaps not even recognize what we do today as being his karate?

The purpose of this article is not to educate you about the life and times of Funakoshi Gichin. There are many resources available, listed at the bottom of each page as footnotes, from which details of Funakoshi’s life can be gathered. My purpose for writing this is to differentiate between the myths which surround the man and lead so many to think so very highly of him and the reality that was his life which, while interesting, is hardly the makings of a superhero.

I believe there is a tendency to take this good man’s reputation to extremes by presenting him dishonestly via embellishment and omission and overshadow the truly good and ordinary things he did during his life and the accidental circumstances he found himself in that led to the development of Shotokan Karate.

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The effect of modern marketing on martial arts and traditional martial arts culture

2011-02-20T19:23:00.000+01:00

by: Joseph D. McNamara

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of modern marketing strategies upon martial arts activity in the United States. The concentration of the inquiry is twofold. How has marketing effected the economic activity of the martial arts business industry? How has marketing effect the martial arts culture? This paper begins with a historical analysis of the evolution of martial arts as a business practice involving the use of marketing to gain customers. Martial arts marketing practices have proven most effective when they are personal due to the geographic location of specific schools or the instructor-client relationship. Internet marketing is a synthesis of personal and mass marketing, providing readily available information in a client's home while offering to the martial school the potential audience of a large mass marketing campaign. Marketing has generated sufficient commercial interest in the field, transforming martial arts into a thriving business.

Section I: Introduction

As a professional martial artist and instructor, I have a sincere interest in understanding how modern marketing initiatives have affected both the martial arts culture and the business industry. In order to appropriately evaluate modern marketing practice's effect upon the martial arts field, this paper begins with an examination of the historical development of martial arts in the United States, as well as the application of marketing in popularizing the field. This paper seeks to answer the following questions:

How has modern marketing affected the perception of martial artists among non-practitioners?
Has marketing redefined the term "martial arts"?
Has marketing raised or lowered the standard of quality among practitioners and schools?
What effect does commercialized marketing have on traditional martial arts culture?

This information is useful for a variety of reasons. First, for those practitioners interested in developing their own martial arts business, this paper contains valuable information on what works to attract and retain customers. Secondly, this information is important to those seeking to gain a greater knowledge and appreciation of the practice of martial arts. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the information is useful for scholars ascertaining the effect that commercializing a traditional recreational activity has on the culture, practice, and development of the field.

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Budo: The Art of Killing

2011-02-20T14:24:00.000+01:00

Budo: The Art of Killing is an award winning 1978 Japanese martial arts documentary created and produced by Hisao Masuda and financed by The Arthur Davis Company. Considered a cult classic, the film is a compilation of various Japanese martial art demonstrations by several famous Japanese instructors such as Gozo Shioda, Taizaburo Nakamura and Teruo Hayashi. Martial arts featured in the film include: Karate, Aikido, Kendo, Sumo, and Judo among others. The only modern Japanese martial art not featured in the film is Kyudo.

Judo in the U.S.: A Century of Dedication

2011-02-18T21:54:00.000+01:00

By Michel Brousse and David Ricky Matsumoto (2005)

Commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the United States Judo Federation, this volume traces the more than 100-year history of judo practice in America. The authors begin with a comprehensive survey of Japan's classical disciplines, which sets the foundation for understanding what judo is and what it means to the people who practice it. They show how, from its arrival on U.S. shores in the late nineteenth century, judo has built upon the strengths of the two societies it bridges. For martial arts practitioners and others interested in Asian and American cultural history, this thoroughly researched and richly illustrated book is an indispensable resource for understanding judo's ongoing role in the contemporary life of the United States. (Source)

Extracts:

The Jujutsu Vogue

Judo and Education

The Image of Judo in Postwar America

Judo for Women

Martial Arts and Philosophy: Beating and Nothingness

2011-02-14T01:44:00.001+01:00

By Graham Priest and Damon Young, eds.

The following has been gently providen by Mr. Young himself.

Folks are surprised when they hear I'm interested in the martial arts. Aren't philosophers spindly, anaemic sorts, who flinch at blood and sweat?

Actually, one of the first systematic philosophers, Plato, was a martial artist. Plato meant 'broad shouldered' - it was his wrestling nickname. His teacher, Socrates, was well known as a hardy, courageous soldier.

If anything, this demonstrates something important: high-mindedness and precise thought can co-exist happily with physical violence.

But together with my colleague Graham Priest, I've tried to go further than this. Martial arts and philosophy don't simply co-exist - they're healthy for one another. The martial arts are more mature when examined by philosophy's critical lens. And philosophy benefits from examples from the martial arts: their ideas, rituals, methods.

In Martial Arts and Philosophy: Beating and Nothingness, Graham and I have collected philosophical articles on Karate, Judo, AIkido, Hapkido, Kung Fu, MMA, Boxing, Fencing and Medieval chivalry. Each is by someone intimately familiar with martial arts and philosophy, and each is written in lively, straightforward and often funny prose.

The surprise isn't that philosophy and the martial arts work together so well. The surprise is that no-one's written a book like this before!

Here's what a few experts have written about the book:

“This brilliant book reveals how a worrier can become a warrior. A unique, refreshing, no-holds-barred expression of the spirit underlying true martial arts training. I readMartial Arts and Philosophy with increasing interest and a widening smile on my face. It’s a most intriguing and uplifting read—with intellect, humor, and good spirit enlightening the reader.”

—Sensai Stan Schmidt, Shotokan Karate master and author of Spirit of the Empty Hand

“If anyone doubts that the business of two people kicking each other in the teeth can be an art sustained by a philosophy, they should make sure that they read this extremely thought-provoking book.”

—Mark Law, author of Falling Hard: A Journey Into the World of Judo and founding editor of thefirstpost.co.

“Philosophical undercurrents of martial arts training and competition are often noted but rarely scrutinized so thoughtfully as in this book. Priest and Young have assembled a sturdy battle squad of authors whose perspectives on combat arts not only inspire readers, but encourage them to consider why it is they do what they do on the tatami, in the ring, or in the cage.”

—Stephen Koepfer, Head Coach, New York Combat Sambo, and President, American Sambo Association

“If you’re a martial artist, you need to think carefully: about how to treat your opponent, when to use your skills outside the ring, and your own ego. Martial Arts and Philosophy explores these issues, and more. Recommended reading for all thinking martial artists.”

—Kyle Noke, Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor and former bodyguard for Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin

“My first judo teacher was fond of saying ‘It’s only pain’ each time somebody got hurt. It seemed to help. With this eclectic and wide-ranging collection of essays the philosophical tag-team of Priest and Young encourage us to overcome the pain of thinking about ‘no-mindedness’ and to wrestle with the relationships between combat and Kant.”

—Ian Whittlesea, translator of The Foundations of Judo

Graham Priest practices Shitoryu Karatedo and is an Australian national kumite referee and kata judge. Just to demonstrate his lack of judgment, he writes books on logic and metaphysics, among them Beyond the Limits of Thought (2002) and Logic: A Very Short Introduction(2001). For fun, he writes articles on Buddhist philosophy.

Damon Young is a black belt in Goju-Kai Karate and an Honorary Fellow in Philosophy at the University of Melbourne. He is the author of Distraction (2008), as well as a frequent contributor to newspapers and radio. Making the most of his philosophy training, he played a mafia thug in the Jackie Chan movie, Mr. Nice Guy.

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Giving up the gun: Japan's reversion to the sword, 1543-1879

2011-02-13T02:04:00.001+01:00

Death, Honor, and Loyalty: The Bushido Ideal

2011-02-12T14:25:00.000+01:00

by G. Cameron Hurst III

I was traveling in Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong when the Showa Emperor passed away, and I must admit (as an American historian of Japan trained in what might be called the "Reischauer era"), I was somewhat surprised at the vitriolic reaction of so many people, in both the East and the West, toward any signs of Japanese sympathy for this man, who many still regard as ultimately responsible for Japan's war crimes. A full-page advertisement in the New York Times on February 16th by the Committee on the Case Against Hirohito, for example, referred to him as the "other Hitler" and called for his condemnation in a court of world opinion.[1]

The emotional reaction to the emperor's death and funeral protocol, as well as discussions with many who were not Japan specialists, impressed upon me once again the widespread belief that the behavior of Japanese forces in World War II was conditioned by adherence to the old samurai code of ethics called bushido[a], which emphasized unflinching loyalty to the emperor. even to the point of willingly sacrificing one's life, by suicide if necessary. Bushido in many Western minds, as represented, for example, in Baron Russell's The Knights of` Bushido, is intimately linked to the rise of Japanese imperialism, kamikaze[b] attacks, suicide charges, and prisoner-of-war atrocities.[2] That this is a historical perversion -- that even if there was a modern bushido that functioned as a normative ethical code for Japanese troops, it might in fact be a modern creation, with no real link to any Japanese traditional set of ethics, real or imagined -- is seldom considered.

I hope to do two things in this article. First, I want to discuss the concept of bushido and the term itself, for both the Western and Japanese understandings of this term and the associated set of moral values have been terribly distorted in the written record in both countries and as well by the events of modern history. Then I want to examine the often linked concepts of loyalty, honor, and death in medieval and early modern Japan to see if in fact there is any consistent view of them, specifically a view to which the label bushido can be attached.

　
NITOBE INAZO AND BUSHIDO

One wonders whether the modern Japanese themselves, let alone those of us in the West, would ever have heard of bushido had it not been for the efforts of Nitobe Inazo (1863-1933). In almost every way imaginable, Nitobe was the least qualified Japanese of his age to have been informing anyone of Japan's history and culture. The Christian son of a late Tokugawa samurai from Morioka who was educated largely in English at special schools early in the Meiji era, Nitobe was one of the "Generation of Masters of English"[3] who could communicate with foreigners to a degree that even the most ardent exponents of kokusaika[c] ("internationalization") today would envy. Here was a man far more familiar with the themes and metaphors of classical Western literature than those of his native Japan, far more certain of the dates and events in Western than in Japanese history, who nonetheless set out to present to the West a view of the ethics of premodern Japan that has been accepted rather uncritically ever since. Indeed, Nitobe's Bushido: The Soul of Japan became not only an international bestseller, but served as the cornerstone for the construction of an edifice of ultranationalism that led Japan down the path to a war she could not win.

Nitobe was born in 1862 during the turbulence of the bakumatsu[d] era, but almost immediately embarked upon an educational career that in a sense isolated him from the main events of the age. He began the study of English at age nine and, after several years of study in Tokyo, went off at fifteen to school in Hokkaido, where he became a Christian and studied primarily agricultural economics, in English, from Americans.[4] Hokkaido was only just becoming a real part of Japan, so Nitobe was essentially isolated spatially, culturally, religiously, and even linguistically from the currents of Meiji Japan. In the words of one observer, Nitobe was "the most de-orientalized Japanese I have ever met."[5] Yet at the same time, as one who had consciously embarked on a course of personal "civilization and enlightenment," Nitobe was a quintessentially Meiji man.

One need not dwell extensively on the problems this background created for Nitobe's writings on Japan. To put it bluntly, he had a very shallow understanding of Japanese history and literature, as the numerous errors in his Japanese and English writings demonstrate, and indeed as he himself admitted to Japanese -- but not to foreign -- audiences.[6] He simply had little training in these disciplines, and had not read virtually any classical texts.[7] Although Nitobe achieved his goal of becoming a "bridge" between Japan and the West, the foundation of that bridge was shaky at best. His extreme erudition in English, his exemplary character, his marriage to an American Quaker lady, his devout Christianity -- these traits combined to convince Westerners, even people like President Theodore Roosevelt, to accept his pronouncements at face value.[8] Yet Roosevelt's endorsement of Bushido as a way to learn about Japan did not make the book any more accurate. Nitobe is acclaimed for his contributions to mutual understanding between the United States and Japan (the Japanese government put his portrait on the 5,000 yen note in 1984), but his writings in fact advanced this cause little because of their inaccuracies.

No work of Nitobe's has been more highly acclaimed than his 1899 "classic," Bushido,[9] yet it is perhaps the most misleading of all his writings. Nitobe was not even aware when he wrote the book that the term bushido existed: he thought he was coining a new word, and he expressed some surprise several years later when a Japanese pointed out to him that the word actually existed in Tokugawa times![10] Thus Nitobe's contemporary, Basil Hall Chamberlain -- who was virtually the only one with courage enough to challenge him at the time -- was not incorrect when he referred to the excitement over Nitobe's bushido as the "invention of a new religion."

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Go Kyo: Principles of Judo

2011-02-09T20:30:00.001+01:00

by Anton Geesink
Go-Kyo_Principles_of_Judo

Judo’s techniques performed from a distance: The origin of Jigoro Kano’s concept and its actualization by Kenji Tomiki

2011-02-09T01:06:00.000+01:00

by Fumiaki Shishida

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to clarify the origin of Jigoro Kano’s concept regarding Judo’s techniques performed from a distance, and to indicate its actualization by Kenji Tomiki, through primary historical materials. Kano mentions that judo techniques also include atemi, the striking and kicking techniques that are prohibited in “sport randori”. Therefore, the style of competitive judo which is now an Olympic sport is only one part of judo. Kano was concerned with the future of judo due to the deterioration of randori and its becoming stiff. He wanted to combine judo’s close range techniques with techniques performed from a distance in order to create the ideal judo. Jiro Nango, the second president of the Kodokan, assembled high-ranking judoka at the Kodokan for a lecture about the relationship between judo and aiki-budo by Kenji Tomiki. In summer of 1941, a committee for studying “techniques performed while keeping distance in Judo” was established at the Kodokan. In 1942, Tomiki published an article entitled The Systematic Study of Techniques While Maintaining Distance in Judo: The Principles of Judo and the Techniques of Aiki-budo. Tomiki successfully integrated randori and atemi into one theory using the fundamental laws of judo. That was an improvement that Kano did not bring about. In particular, Sen and Metsuke are very important principles in kendo, swordsmanship as well as aiki-budo.

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History of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

2011-02-09T00:28:00.000+01:00

by Can Sönmez (slideyfoot)

Introduction: I first started looking into the background of BJJ when I began watching DVDs of the early Ultimate Fighting Championship, several years before I began my training at the Roger Gracie Academy. When I find something I enjoy, I like to find out as much as possible about the subject, so start researching on the net, in books, DVDs etc. That would eventually result in my long summaries on the UFC events. After I began BJJ in 2006, I soon found myself scouring the net for reading material, as well as picking up a few books (see my sources). Another summary seemed like a natural progression.

It has taken me a while to get enough books, internet articles and newspapers together that I felt I could do the subject of BJJ history any kind of justice, but there is still lots I'd like to read (in particular, Reyla Gracie's book on her father Carlos Gracie, currently only available in Portuguese, and 'The Circle and the Octagon', an article from Martial Arts in the Modern World). I'm also planning to add in details from the Black Belt archive, which might take a while.

After all, I've only been involved with the sport since 2006, so any help, in terms of further historical resources, would be much appreciated. Any corrections also welcome, as long as you can direct me to your source (i.e., a book, a reputable website etc). As ever, the below writing is based on Google, internet forums and the few English books available on the market, so it is certainly not definitive.

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Training in culture: the case of aikido education and meaning-making outcomes in Japan and the United States

2011-02-08T22:28:00.000+01:00

by C. Jeﬀrey Dykhuizen, Ph. D.

Abstract

This study investigated whether a relationship existed between instructional style and points of emphasis in the training context of the martial art aikido and the perceptions which practitioners of aikido generated for aikido-related concepts. The ﬁndings were gathered within and compared across aikido training settings in two cultures - Japan and the United States. Analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data gathered for this investigation revealed several potent diﬀerences between the manner in which Japanese and American aikido practitioners represented their understandings of aikido-related concepts. Diﬀerences in the manner in which aikido practitioners in Japan and the United States represented their understandings of aikido reﬂected the teaching emphasis observed in the respective cultures. It was concluded that aikido instructors represented the values of their own culture in the context of aikido training, and thus served as important mediating forces inﬂuencing the meaning which practitioners generated for aikido. An additional ﬁnding revealed that in neither culture were participants able to accurately represent how practitioners in the ‘‘other’’ culture structured their understandings of aikido. It was reasoned that both cultural groups generated faulty perceptions of how the ‘‘other’’ group understood aikido because they utilized a similar pattern of projection, using their own meanings of aikido to represent the understandings of practitioners in the ‘‘other’’ cultural group.
# 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

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On Jujutsu and its Modernization

2011-02-08T22:17:00.000+01:00

by Kenji Tomiki

There are many kinds of Budo (martial arts) in Japan. In recent history, kendo and judo have been the major ones and, as Gakko Budo--martial arts systems taught as part of the PE curricula--they have been required courses in schools, including primary schools, since the Meiji period (1868-1912). And, as is well known, both kendo and judo incorporate competition and sparring. However, the training in ancient Budo consisted only of kata practice, the practice of forms and pre-arranged movements that one masters through numerous repetitions. Kendo and judo training were not kata alone. In order to make shiai (tournaments) possible, an etiquette and structure for competition was devised. I think that competition developed for two reasons, one philosophical and one practical. First, the saying "tournaments are possible" suits the expansive essence of budo. Second, the educational effect of tournaments is enormous.

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Neo-Confucianism and the Japanese Martial Arts

2011-02-03T22:24:00.000+01:00

by William M. Bodiford

Copyright © 2005. All rights reserved.

Editor's note: Recently, I was discussing Japanese martial art pedagogy with a correspondent, and when I wrote that this model was reasonably neo-Confucian, my correspondent replied, "What's that?" So this prompted me to ask Professor Bodiford for some recommended English-language readings on the topic of Confucianism and the Japanese martial arts. The following was his reply.

Alas, there is really nothing good to recommend. As you might expect, people who study Confucianism in Japan are interested primarily in abstract philosophy. Few of them have any firsthand experience in Confucian methods of training. People interested in Japanese martial arts, alas, often know even less about Confucianism. It really is a topic that cries out for study. If I had time, I would argue that neo-Confucianist methods of self-cultivation constitute about 80% of the training in koryu (old-style) martial arts, so it is a pity that no one has bothered to explain these in English. There is some information about Confucian methods of training used in China, but it cannot be automatically applied to the Japanese context.

Basically, neo-Confucian training emphasizes pattern repetition (rei or etiquette; i.e., kata). The kata actually are metaphysical ideals (or platonic ideals; ri or li) that are given physical form (embodied; ji or shih) by breath (i.e., ki or qi; sometimes translated as "energy," but "breath" gives a better sense of what it involves). One performs breathing exercises while repeating kata to internalize (embody) abstract ideals. These ideals have moral implications, but they are not themselves moral abstractions. In other words, there is little discussion of "good vs. bad", only emphasis on the "good way to do something." Everything is very concrete, very physical, and very repetitious. The kata embody Confucian notions of self-control, social harmony, etiquette, respect for elders, and obedience to the teacher.

The following works will provide further information, but all must be read with caution.

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The Culture of Force and Farce: Fourteenth-Century Japanese Warfare

2011-02-02T18:03:00.000+01:00

by Thomas Conlan, Ph.D.

War. The word is familiar to each of us, and yet the action is anything but familiar. Who has ever experienced the novel subversion of the social order, where murder is praised and not punished; where the greatest crime becomes the greatest act of merit. The word denotes an event so liminal and extraordinary that nearly every history, chronicle, and many an epic prior to the twentieth century was devoted to expounding its constituent glories, treacheries, and tragedies. Nevertheless, after the trauma of the Great World Wars, attitudes regarding war underwent a fundamental shift, and instead of singing praises of the brave and recording their names and deeds for posterity, the ultimate glorification became reserved for the nameless -- the Unknown Soldier.

The medieval Japanese warrior would be bewildered by the concept of the unknown soldier. For him, or her, the essence of warfare was recognition, for from it stemmed fame, honor, and rewards; without it there was little point of fighting at all. One said, "If I were to advance, alone, in the midst of the enemy, and die in a place where none could witness my deeds, then my death would be as pointless as a dog's death."

A vast gulf separates fourteenth-century warfare from the camouflaged brutality of the twentieth. In order to be recognized in battle, one had to be noticeable from afar. One particularly flamboyant man named Kawagoe "led thirty-four horses; each was either dyed in one of various hues -- deep purple, crimson, magenta, sky blue -- or embellished with zebra stripes and leopard spots. On each horse rested a white saddle; the armor of each rider matched his horse's coat….[S]ome carried silver swords some 4 or 5 feet long while others draped their horses in tiger skins…."

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Understanding Samurai Disloyalty

2011-01-28T23:52:00.000+01:00

by Joshua Archer

Abstract:

Prevailing notions of samurai loyalty remain largely unopposed by Western scholarly literature. This should not be so. Minor eforts in recent scholarship have plainly shown that the stereotypical notion of samurai loyalty is fallacious. However, despite these assertions the myth remains a powerful and popular misconception. Clearly a greater scholarly undertaking is required. Through an in-depth historical analysis of samurai disloyalty, a more realistic conception of samurai behaviour may be achieved.

This article seeks to provide a foundation for further research, arguing that disloyalty was favoured among samurai to further their personal ambitions or interests. Disloyalty between medieval samurai was not always considered morally deplorable, nor was it considered divergent to ‘normal’ samurai behaviour. Moreover, it is erroneous to argue that the majority of samurai were ‘loyal,’ when in fact many were oten being coerced or manipulated by those in power. Logic suggests that loyalty must be voluntary, thus the use of coercion undermines assertions of samurai loyalty.

Further scholarship should not merely seek to establish the frequency of samurai disloyalty, nor should it condemn such occurrences. It must endeavour to understand how and why disloyalty occurred.

http://www.jpf.org.au/newvoices/2/chapter5.pdf

An East Asian Perspective of Mind-Body

2011-01-28T00:47:00.000+01:00

by Shigenori Nagatomo and Gerald Leisman

Abstract:

This paper addresses a need to re-examine the mind-body dualism established since Descartes. Descartes' dualism has been regarded by modern philosophers as an extremely insufficient solution to the problem of mind and body, from which is derived a long opposition in modern epistomology between idealism and empiricism. This dualism, bifurcating the region of spirit and matter, and the dichotomous models of thinking based on this dualism, have long dominated the world of modern philosophy and science. The paper examines states of conscious experience from an East Asian perspective allowing analysis on achieved supernormal consciousness rather than a focus on “normal” or “subnormal.” The nature of the “transformation” of human consciousness will be studied both philosophically, as a transformation from “provisional” dualism to non-dualism, and neurophysiologically. The theoretical structure of the transformation will, in part, be examined through the model provided by a Japanese medieval Zen master, Takuan Sôhô. Then, to verify Takuan's theoretical explanation, toposcopic analysis of electroencephalographs will be presented of the performance of individuals practicing the martial arts technique of tôate.

Oxford Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, Volume 21 Issue 4 August 1996

Canon of Judo

2011-01-27T21:57:00.001+01:00

Canon of Judo by K Mifune

The taming of the samurai: honorific individualism and the making of modern Japan

2011-01-27T21:52:00.001+01:00

Modern Japan offers us a view of a highly developed society with its own internal logic. Eiko Ikegami makes this logic accessible to us through a sweeping investigation into the roots of Japanese organizational structures. She accomplishes this by focusing on the diverse roles that the samurai have played in Japanese history. From their rise in ancient Japan, through their dominance as warrior lords in the medieval period, and their subsequent transformation to quasi-bureaucrats at the beginning of the Tokugawa era, the samurai held center stage in Japan until their abolishment after the opening up of Japan in the mid-nineteenth century.

This book demonstrates how Japan's so-called harmonious collective culture is paradoxically connected with a history of conflict. Ikegami contends that contemporary Japanese culture is based upon two remarkably complementary ingredients, honorable competition and honorable collaboration. The historical roots of this situation can be found in the process of state formation, along very different lines from that seen in Europe at around the same time. The solution that emerged out of the turbulent beginnings of the Tokugawa state was a transformation of the samurai into a hereditary class of vassal-bureaucrats, a solution that would have many unexpected ramifications for subsequent centuries.

Ikegami's approach, while sociological, draws on anthropological and historical methods to provide an answer to the question of how the Japanese managed to achieve modernity without traveling the route taken by Western countries. The result is a work of enormous depth and sensitivity that will facilitate a better understanding of, and appreciation for, Japanese society.

Legacies of the sword: the Kashima-Shinryū and samurai martial culture

2011-01-26T01:59:00.001+01:00

Western scholars and educators are generally far less familiar with the samurai in his original - and, ostensibly, primary - role as warrior and master of arms than in his other functions as landowner, feudal lord, literateur, or philosopher. Yet any attempt to comprehend fully the samurai without considering his military abilities and training (bugei) is futile. Karl Friday combines the results of nearly two decades of fieldwork and archival research to examine samurai martial culture from a broad perspective: as a historical phenomenon, as a worldview, and as a system of physical, spiritual, and moral education. Legacies of the Sword is the first attempt by a Westerner scholar trained both in bugei and in Japanese studies and historical methodology to discuss this major and compelling component of Japanese culture. It presents a case study of the Kashima-Shinryu, one of the oldest of the extant samurai training organizations, and was written in close collaboration with its current headmaster, Seki Humitake. The volume illuminates the extraordinary complexity of the bugei and the manner in which various physical, technical, psychological, and philosophical factors merge to produce a coherent art that guides the lives of those who practice it.

The Life-Giving Sword: Secret Teachings from the House of the Shogun

2011-01-26T00:33:00.001+01:00

YAGYU MUNENORI was so widely renowned that he was appointed official sword instructor to two Tokugawa shoguns. (The position was always coveted by Miyamoto Musashi, but he never succeeded in gaining the post). Yagyu's style is known as the Shinkage-ryu style, for centuries the official style of the Tokugawa dynasty. His spiritual mentor was Zen priest Takuan. Here, Yagyu's Buddhist spirituality is clearly reflected in his central idea of the "life-giving sword" - the notion of controlling an opponent by the spiritual readiness to fight, rather than during the fight. His mastery of restraint and diplomacy made him a trusted political and military advisor to the shoguns. This book is a look into a master swordsman's thoughts on nonattachment and even non-violence.

Mirror of modernity: Invented traditions of modern Japan

2011-01-26T00:31:00.001+01:00

This collection of essays challenges the notion that Japan's present cultural identity is the simple legacy of Japan's premodern and insular past. Building on the pathbreaking historical analysis of British traditions, The Invention of Tradition, sixteen American and Japanese scholars examine "age-old" Japanese cultural practices, ranging from judo to labor management, and show these to be largely creations of the modern era.

Martial Arts in the Modern World

2011-01-26T00:24:00.001+01:00

Martial arts, once restricted to a few specific locations and practiced by small groups of devotees, have truly spread throughout the world. The plethora of tae kwando and karate dojos in U.S. shopping malls attests to the popularity of various kinds of martial arts in this country. Though generally perceived and advertised as means of self-defense, body sculpting, and self-discipline, martial arts are actually social tools that respond to altered physical, social, and psychological environments. This book examines how practitioners have responded to stimuli such as feminism, globalism, imperialism, militarism, nationalism, slavery, and the commercialization of sport. In a series of chapters devoted to Asian, African, and European systems of the late 19th to early 21st centuries, the authors examine the forces and philosophies that shaped fighting arts in diverse cultural settings. Because of political, social, and economic factors, this period witnessed the spread of martial arts to areas outside of their original contexts. Some of these arts flourished in their new environments, but others did not. The authors demonstrate that martial arts are not the conservative strongholds of tradition posited by conventional wisdom, but are instead responsive and mutable barometers of change. This book is essential for students of multicultural dialogues and devotees of martial arts performance and practice.

A study of perceived stress, anxiety, somatic symptoms, and spirituality in practitioners of the martial art aikido

2011-01-24T21:00:00.000+01:00

by Howell E. Tapley, Ph.D.

A cross-sectional research design was utilized in this study to test the following hypotheses: 1) After controlling for demographic variables, daily spiritual experience will explain variability in perceived stress, anxiety and somatic symptoms, and 2) After controlling for demographic variables, aikido experience level as measured by belt rank will explain variability in perceived stress, anxiety, somatic symptoms and daily spiritual experiences. Hierarchical (sequential) regression was performed using SPSS version 15.0. The results did not support either hypothesis...

https://www.mhsl.uab.edu/dt/2007p/tapley.pdf

Classical Bujutsu, by Donn F. Draeger

2010-10-21T23:55:00.001+02:00

Evolved amid the incessant warfare of medieval Japan, bujutsu, or "martial arts," provided the warrior with the technical and psychological training that prepared him to use his weapons in actual combat. Classical Bujutsu emphasizes the intensely practical nature of these martial arts. The author describes sixteen major forms of bujutsu, employing a variety of weapons and techniques.

Donn F Draeger - Classical Bujutsu

A bit outdated but worth reading.

Who Are the Real False Profiteers?

2010-08-28T02:20:00.000+02:00

By Gaku Homma*

I have heard people that say, “Practicing Aikido will change your life”, or “If you practice Aikido all of your problems will magically disappear”. I am sorry, but I don’t think that practicing shihonage or kotegaeshi will change your life in magical ways; I think this is an illusion.

I have heard of people who say they understand the deeper meaning of Aikido. To make such a claim means to me that these people are standing in front of a door that will never open. Claiming understanding is not the path to reach that goal. Aikido is keiko. Keiko or practice is where you find the meaning of Aikido. Look up the translation for kei to get a better idea.

The Emperor’s New Clothes
There are some instructors, even high ranking instructors who have fallen into the trap of believing in their own illusions of grandeur. They do not focus on their own practice of Aikido, instead they begin to believe in their own powers; like truly believing that they can make an uke fly through the air with a flick of their fingers. They have forgotten that it is the skill of the uke that makes him fly. Believing in these illusion of grandeur reminds me of the old fairy tale, The Emperor’s New Clothes”, http://deoxy.org/emperors.htm. Both the Emperor and some high ranking instructors have fallen for a such a fantasy and believe only in their own greatness. Unfortunately, there seem to be more and more such instructors in the world today that have forgotten reality, common sense and common courtesy as well.

I have always said, “Human beings make the martial arts. Martial arts do not make human beings”.“Naked emperors” in leadership roles in our Aikido world have begun to bring decay into the foundation of our Aikido practice in many parts of the world. Healthy Aikido communities in many instances, find their existence threatened and struggle even to exist much less grow, under this kind of leadership.

I want to share with you the story about one such “naked emperor” in our world of Aikido today.

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*(b. 12 May 1950) Also Manabu. B. Akita Prefecture. Aikido instructor. Trained as an uchideshi in Iwama and Aikikai Hombu Dojo in Tokyo under the Founder Morihei Ueshiba and Morihiro SAITO in the late 1960s. Relocated to Denver, Colorado in 1976 where he is active as an independent teacher of aikido. Founded the Nippon Kan as an independent dojo in 1978. Has organized several large aikido seminars in Denver taught notably by Morihiro Saito. Author of numerous books and articles about aikido.

Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia

2010-06-14T00:35:00.000+02:00

Thomas a Green - Martial Arts of the World

Review By Jason Couch
For some time, the martial arts readership has awaited a volume that would catalogue and detail the entire spectrum of martial arts, as Draeger and Smith's Asian Fighting Arts managed to do for the Asian martial arts. As the years have passed since its re-publication as Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts, increasing access to the Internet has resulted in an explosion of interest in information on an ever-widening variety of martial arts. Asian Fighting Arts was groundbreaking in both its scope and its depth of coverage of Asian martial traditions. It is with pleasure that I now announce the birth of an encyclopedia reflecting today's eclectic interest in Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia.

This encyclopedia encompasses a range of martial styles and subjects never before published in a single work. It offers an incredible diversity, which is why I believe it will become a standard resource for institutions and dedicated martial artists. It may lack some of the exotic appeal of Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts, but it more than makes up for that deficiency with its solid academic basis and much broader scope.

There have been intermediate attempts at a martial arts encyclopedia with varying degrees of success. Corcoran, Farkas, and Sobel put forth a solid effort with The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia: Traditions, History, Pioneers. Their work, punctuated with an impressive array of photographs, certainly increased the coverage of non-Asian arts. They also provided an extensive coverage of martial art personalities, particularly US karate practitioners. Even with substantive entries on other arts such as savate and sambo, though, the focus was overwhelmingly on Asian disciplines. Suffering from a lack of recent revision, it is also dated.

Lawler took a less successful approach in her Martial Arts Encyclopedia. Her effort to be inclusive resulted in a dictionary-style volume limited to mainly brief entries. Lawler’s focus was also overwhelmingly Asian, with little mention of non-Asian martial arts.

Most recently, the editors of Inside Kung Fu published the Ultimate Martial Arts Encyclopedia, which, while flavorful, is basically just a republication of certain past issues of their different magazine lines. The academic value is therefore the same as any other issue of Inside Kung Fu, which is little.

The set reviewed here, Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia, is the first to go beyond a token effort of covering martial arts other than those from East Asia. It does so by linking together cross-cultural themes as well as including traditional categories of style, country, etc. Further, it is a more useful reference for martial research since bibliographic entries are provided for each entry, rather than lumped together at the end of the volume.

Physically, this two volume set looks like a matched pair of academic textbooks. The cover, in keeping with the worldwide theme, displays both eastern and western training photographs. The volumes themselves extend over 400 pages each, with a total length of almost 900 pages including the index.

The encyclopedia is composed of nearly 100 entries by over 40 contributors. Each subject is discussed in depth. Unfortunately, however, many minor or less practiced martial arts are not directly addressed, although they may be noted, or included within the historical backgrounds of another arts.

The contributors are often familiar to the reader either from their academic achievements or as well-known practitioners in their respective disciplines. Following each topic entry is a listing of related topics in the encyclopedia and bibliographical references for the entry itself. Appended to the end of Volume Two is an abridged version of Joseph Svinth's informative timeline Kronos: A Chronological History of the Martial Arts and Combative Sports.

The organization shows thought, but is not necessarily intuitive for the reader unfamiliar with the set. Major subjects, such as countries, have general entries detailing the types of martial traditions historically practiced in the country. A listing of the country-specific arts and other related topics will appear at the end of the entry guiding the reader to further resources in the set. The index, however, is thorough and will normally lead you straight to your destination.

The entries themselves range from good to excellent, with a variety of writing styles displayed. At the minimum, an entry provides the basic history of an art, including relevant technical and philosophical discussions. These types of entries include at least a handful of good bibliographic references and also the occasional pop reference, such as Black Belt magazine. They appear to be aimed primarily at a reader unfamiliar with the subject and offer a limited selection of resources for further reading.

At their best, the entries are near journal-quality articles worthy of publication in their own right. These entries often include a long list of scholarly references that provide a fertile ground for further academic research. Many topics appear to have been thoroughly researched to provide an in-depth examination normally reserved for a specialty book on the particular topic itself.

What impresses even more is that the encyclopedia format provides an opportunity to include subjects that transcend style, including: folklore, chivalry, religion and spirituality, meditation, political conflict, rank, social uses, training grounds, and women's issues. In addition, fascinating entries have a tendency to appear on topics the reader would not expect to see at all. To my surprise, not only was there an entry for "Professional Wrestling," but it turned out to be both an informative and enjoyable read.

Other diverse topics, such as gunfighting, heralds, performing arts, and traditional Chinese medicine were also surprising but welcome. Again, part of its value is because these topics are rarely covered as a part of the martial arts, let alone found together in a single source.

One drawback to the format is that the focus of the entry depends primarily upon the identity of the contributor. I do think it is a criticism worth mentioning because I believe this encyclopedia may become a standard reference in the field. A problem arises in that no information is given about the various contributors other than name, city, and occasionally school or organizational affiliation. So unless a reader has either read a contributor's writings before, or is familiar with a contributor as a practitioner, the reader may have difficulty judging what influence may be present. The lack of biographical data that could help expose the inherent bias of the contributors is the only serious criticism I have of this work.

It should also be noted that this set is quite expensive. Bearing a list price of $185.00 US, this set is probably going to be more popular with institutions than individuals. Price is an important consideration today since a ready supply of information awaits at the end of a mouse click. The value of an encyclopedia lies in its use as a handy bookshelf reference. The online competition is increasingly difficult to compete with, since not only is more information added daily, but it is also free. Nonetheless, as a testament to its merits, I can say that Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia is worth the price and belongs on the bookshelf of both the institution and the serious martial artist.

Vol. 1 - Vol. 2

Zen et arts martiaux dans le Journal of Asian Martial Arts

2010-04-30T00:33:00.000+02:00

par Stephanie Booth*

Les arts martiaux occupent une place grandissante dans notre culture. Provenant de Chine, du Japon, ou d’ailleurs, nous les avons assimilés tout en préservant chez eux un parfum indéniablement exotique. Ma pratique personnelle du judo m’a conduit à m’intéresser à ce sujet d’un point de vue académique – et plus particulièrement du point de vue de l’histoire des religions. L’histoire des religions se sent en effet interpellée par l’émergence de nouvelles spiritualités, et une certaine conception des arts martiaux rentre parfaitement dans ce cadre.
Ma curiosité a été attisée par la lecture d’un article (Yamada 2001) qui démontre de façon convaincante le caractère hautement interprétatif d’un ouvrage (Herrigel 1948) qui est tenu par beaucoup dans le milieu des arts martiaux comme un témoignage authentique et fiable de leur véritable nature spirituelle. Je partirai de cette « confrontation » pour établir l’existence d’un discours populaire, qui accorde au zen une grande importance pour une compréhension « correcte » des arts martiaux, quitte à se mettre en porte-à-faux avec le discours historique normatif (académique).
Ma curiosité fut piquée une deuxième fois lorsque je découvris l’existence d’une revue à prétention académique consacrée aux arts martiaux, le Journal of Asian Martial Arts. Dans quelle mesure l’aspect spirituel des arts martiaux y était-il abordé? En particulier, quel discours y tenait-on sur le rapport entre le zen et arts martiaux, populairement accepté quoique historiquement plus ténu?
L’essentiel de ma recherche consistera donc dans un premier temps à asseoir l’existence d’un discours sur les arts martiaux comme pratique spirituelle dans le Journal of Asian Martial Arts, sur la base du vocabulaire utilisé, pour ensuite examiner de plus près la place qu’occupe le zen dans ce discours.

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*Université de Lausanne. Faculté des Lettres
Mémoire de Licence en Histoire et Sciences des Religions

Interview With Historian/Professor Karl Friday

2010-04-23T01:58:00.000+02:00

Karl Friday is Professor of Japanese History at the University of Georgia. Receiving his MA in East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Kansas, Professor Friday went on to a second MA along with a PHD at Stanford. He's also studied or conducted research at the University of Tsukuba and the University of Tokyo along with Yonsei and Ewha Universities in Korea. He started teaching at the University of San Diego and has been ensconced at the University of Georgia since 1990 (along with a year as a visiting professor at the University of Hawaii). He’s the author of "Hired Swords", "Legacies of the Sword", "Samurai, Warfare, and the State in Early Medieval Japan", and his most recent work, "The First Samurai". He’s also published many excellent articles such as "Bushido or Bull?", "Valorous Butchers", "Pushing Beyond the Pale: the Yamato Conquest of the Emishi and Northern Japan", and the recent essay "Lordship Interdicted" in the book "Heian Japan: Centers and Peripheries". In addition to his work in academia, he’s also accomplished in both Japanese and Korean martial arts. He holds a shihan/menkyo kaiden ranking (making him both a "one generation model instructor" and a "licensed full initiate") from Kashima-Shinryu, as well as being Kaicho (President) and Kokusai Kyokucho (International Bureau Chief) of the the Kashima-Shinryu Federation of Martial Sciences (the Japanese organization the governs instruction in the art). The Samurai Archives recently spoke with Professor Friday on his projects past, present, and future-an interview that exceeded even our high expectations. In the following article, the "SA" is Tatsunoshi (Randy Schadel) and KF is, of course, Karl Friday. Thanks to forum members Owari No Utsuke and Bad Monk for submitting questions.

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Kōdōkan Jūdō’s Elusive Tenth Kata: The Gō-no-kata – ”Forms of Proper Use of Force”

2010-04-08T02:18:00.001+02:00

by Carl De Crée & Llyr C. Jones

Kōdōkan Jūdō is a Japanese form of pedagogy created by Jigorō Kanō, based inter alia on neoconfucianist values, traditional Japanese martial arts, and modern Western principles developed by John Dewey, John Stuart Mill, and Herbert Spencer. It was Kanō’s intention to educate both the mind and body. The practical study of jūdō includes randori (free exercise), nine different kata (predetermined and choreographed physical exercises), and kōgi (lectures). In recent years, Gō-no-kata (“Prearranged forms of correct use of force”), a generally considered obsolete and reclusive ‘tenth’ kata of Kōdokan jūdō, has become the subject of some renewed interest. The purpose of the present paper is to provide a comprehensive study of this kata which once formed a part of the standard jūdō curriculum. We also aim to remove the confusion and mystery which surrounds the gō-no-kata.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

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Go no kata kodokan
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Epistemic Viciousness in the Martial Arts

2010-04-06T21:53:00.000+02:00

by Gillian Russell

When I was eleven, my form teacher, Mr Howard, showed some of my class how to punch. We were waiting for the rest of the class to finish changing after gym, and he took a stance that I would now call shizentai yoi and snapped his right fist forward into a head-level straight punch, pulling his left back to his side at the same time. Then he punched with his left, pulling back on his right. We all lined up in our ties and sensible shoes (this was England) and copied him—left, right, left, right—and afterwards he told us that if we practised in the air with sufficient devotion for three years, then we would be able to use our punches to kill a bull with one blow.

I worshipped Mr Howard (though I would sooner have died than told him that) and so, as a skinny, eleven-year-old girl, I came to believe that if I practised,I would be able to kill a bull with one blow by the time I was fourteen. This essay is about epistemic viciousness in the martial arts, and this story is illustrates just that. Though the word ‘viciousness’ normally suggests deliberate cruelty and violence, I will be using it here with the more old-fashioned meaning, possessing of vices. Vices (such as avarice, alcoholism and nail-biting) are common, and most of us struggle with a few, but ‘epistemic’ means ‘having to do with knowledge and the justification of belief’ and so epistemic viciousness is the possession of vices that make one bad at acquiring true beliefs, or give one a tendency to form false ones. My eleven-year-old self possessed the epistemic vice of gullibility and hence showed a streak of epistemic viciousness, which led to the formation of a false belief.

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Problems of Romanticism in Transpersonal Psychology: A Case Study of Aikido

2010-03-23T00:33:00.000+01:00

by Harris L. Friedmann

Romanticism is becoming increasing prevalent in transpersonal psychology, subverting efforts to develop scientific approaches in this subfield of psychology. As a case study of some of romanticism’s problems, the martial art and transpersonal system of Aikido is examined in regard to cultural errors and unwarranted supernatural assumptions. Specifically, six latent cultural errors (related to location, authority, time, ethnicity, narcissism, and transmission) are identified and critiqued while supernatural claims are challenged with alternative scientific explanations. In view of romanticism’s problems in fostering such cultural errors and embracing supernatural explanations when more ordinary ones suffice, the importance of transpersonal psychology’s resisting the challenge of romanticism is advocated and suggestions for the further development of this subfield as a science are provided.

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The Gentle Way To Docility

2010-03-19T01:39:00.000+01:00

An Analysis Of The Implications And Historical Roots Of The 1931 Inclusion Of Judo In The Japanese Middle School Curriculum, by Jonathan Roberts.
Abstract:
In 1931, judo became a compulsory subject in middle schools throughout Japan, over fortyyears after Kanō Jigorō, judo's founder, had initially recommended it to government officials as something which should be included in the schools across the country. While this simple change in middle school curriculum may seem insignificant, it was in fact a watershed marking a new stage of the creation of an able and disciplined populace in Japan. This thesis will explain the significance of the inclusion of judo in schools by investigating the history of judo up to the point of its inclusion in schools, exploring the rhetoric of judo in terms of a larger discourse on “moral education” which was prevalent during the times, and finally an analysis of school judo—in terms of its physical practice as well as the ideology and rhetoric behind it—using the Foucauldian concept of “docile bodies.”
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Thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Graduate Department of East Asian Studies. University of Toronto. © Copyright by Jon Roberts 2009

A Martial Arts Exploration Of Elbow Anatomy: Ikkyo (Aikido's First Teaching)

2010-03-15T00:38:00.000+01:00

by FRANK C. SEITZ, GREGORY D. OLSON & THOMAS E. STENZEL (Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1991, 73 -December, 1227-1234).

Summary.-The Martial Art of Aikido, based on several effective anatomical principles, is used to subdue a training partner. One of these methods is Ikkyo (First Teaching). According to Saotome, the original intent of Ikkyo was to "break the elbow joint" of an enemy. Nowadays the intent is to secure or pin a training partner to the mat. This investigation focused on examining Ikkyo with the purpose of describing the nerves, bones, and muscles involved in receiving this technique. Particular focus was placed on the locations and sources of the reported pain.

The Japanese martial arts, apart from being sophisticated forms of combat, involve complex manipulation of human anatomy and physiology. These martial arts forms have taken many different patterns and shapes reflecting a variety of philosophies, social environments, and cultural contexts. Judo, Karate-do, Kendo, and Aikido are but some of the modern forms with which people of the western world are more familiar.

Aikido ("Way of divine harmony") represents one of the modern systems of Japanese combat recently introduced to the western world. Its teachings provide some impressive techniques of anatomical manipulation, which underlie some of the Oriental martial arts "secrets." This investigation examined one of Aikido's basic teachings, Ikkyo (First Teaching), also known as Ude-Osae (Arm Securing/Pinning), and the etiology of pain and the anatomical structures involved when this teaching is applied in its proper pinning/securing form; see Fig. 1.

The Ikkyo technique and some of its variations may also be found in other Japanese fighting arts such as Judo ("Way of flexibility"), Jujutsu ("Combative art of flexibility"), and Aiki-jujutsu ("Combative art of divine harmony") as well as other Asian and Western hand-to-hand fighting forms.

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Making Way: War, Philosophy and Sport in Japanese Judo

2010-03-06T02:03:00.000+01:00

by Kevin Gray Carr

In the midst of the battle, the two figures meet. Stained with mud and blood, they cast off their broken swords and collide in a last, desperate effort at survival. Their armored limbs clash violently and snake around each other to get a tight grip. There is a pause, and before he can think, one of the warriors feels the tearing burn of his enemy’s dagger under his chest guard. With a yell the larger one hurls the other to the ground with a dull thud. The fallen warrior’s eyes quiver shut as his foe rushes on . . . .
The crowd is a dazzling nova of flashbulbs. With their once-clean white uniforms hanging limply about their sweaty bodies, the contestants show clear signs of tiring. The clock ticks past 10 minutes, but it is no time to be faint of heart, for both had scored half points and the championship is on the line. Back and forth they feint until—an opening! In a flash, the match is over with a clean reverse hip throw. Quickly, they bow and leave the mat—one to enjoy a riotous victory party, the other to nurse wounded pride and plan for the next encounter. . . .
These two vignettes may seem as far apart as they can get. Though they both depict the melee of two people, each involves substantially different approaches to the same basic techniques. Within less than a century, jûdô has gone from being identified with the first of the above pictures in the nineteenth century to being married to the second by the mid-twentieth century.
One might rightly question the importance of studying jûdô in a sociological context. Martial arts in general are often ignored as unimportant cultural phenomena and they are usually relegated by mainstream researchers to the position of curious esoterica. As William Paul puts it:
. . . in the larger academic community there seems to be an apparent
tendency among some scholars to dismiss Bu Jutsu...

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Aikiphysics

2010-03-06T01:58:00.000+01:00

by Dr. Daniel James

A lot of Aikido is about Ki and learning to understand Ki. One major problem is that even the Japanese don't understand Ki all that well. So how are we to get a grip on it? One way is to look for ways that we understand things.

These pages look at basic physics and biomechanics in order to help us understand some of the simple things about Ki. Thus we present Aikiphysics. (Some thoughts are more mature than others... feedback is welcome.)

Unfortunately Aikiphysics still leaves a lot of unexplored territory to explain and ultimately - even for a reductionist scientist - it is often easier to teach and understand it as simply Ki.

Science is often a benchmark that we routinely apply to our lives. We use science to decide what the truth is, or whether one method is better than another. The scientific method is a process of trial and error that improves knowledge. The martial arts are also sometimes referred to as science. Many arts have evolved from the battlefield where skeptical warriors tested claims of superior art in life and death contests, producing better techniques and systems. Indeed today many modern schools claim to apply 'science' or 'the scientific method' to their training, though arguably this is true of traditional schools as well.

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Bowing To Your Enemies: Courtesy, Budo and Japan.

2010-02-18T01:11:00.000+01:00

By Damon Young

Introduction: Sanshiro Sugata, Courtesy, and Budo

The first film of the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa was Sanshiro Sugata. Based on Tsuneo Tomita’s book recounting the beginnings of judo in the Meiji era, it follows the fortunes of Sanshiro Sugata, a young man who travels to the city to learn ju jutsu 柔術 from a famous teacher. The teacher turns out to be a dissipated alcoholic, and his students vulgar thugs. After watching these students get thrashed by the founder of a new martial art, judo 柔道, Sugata begs to learn from this teacher. Much of the film follows his physical, ethical, and spiritual development from an angry and headstrong young brute to a calm and selfless young man. One of the most powerful scenes in the film is its penultimate fight, which pits Sugata against the head of the rival ju jutsu school, Hansuke Murai. While the latter has given up his alcoholism, he still represents a dangerous threat to Sugata and to the reputation of his teacher’s school. Indeed, the prize of the tournament is the opportunity to train Tokyo’s police forces—and the social and economic capital associated with this. Against this backdrop of past enmity and present risk, we might expect Sugata and Murai to behave rudely, aggressively, and callously. Yet this is not what happens. Murai treats Sugata with respect, bowing courteously, smiling when his opponent’s judo gi 柔道着 rips, and asking politely: ‘‘Shall we begin?’’ While the aging and ailing Murai gives his all, his younger opponent is simply too swift, too strong, and too proficient—the older fighter is almost killed by the force of Sugata’s throws. Murai tries to stand, and courageously faces his opponent again and again, but he soon admits defeat. As Murai is carried from the arena, he thanks Sugata sincerely for the match,praising the younger man’s effort and ability. Clearly moved, Sugata says luck was with him, but Murai shakes his head and falls into unconsciousness. Sugata tells him to take care, and soon visits him in his home to take dinner and tea. Their relationship after the fight is one of civility, politeness, and care.

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Saulo Ribeiro on Competition and Jiu-Jitsu

2010-02-08T23:35:00.000+01:00

by Saulo Ribeiro

It is not necessary for every student of jiu-jitsu to enter into competitions. Some may do jiu-jitsu simply because they enjoy gaining the knowledge. Others perhaps dislike the limelight or just don’t want to compete in this particular sport. I love to do other sports, but I don’t have the desire to compete in those sports. Some people don’t like to compete because they don’t know how to deal with loss. If you win, you’re happy, and if you lose, your world gets turned upside down.

That is a problem. This fear of losing scares some people from competition. Then there are those who live and die by competition, but fail to realize it is just a game. It is a game where you mix knowledge, strategy, timing, health, and attitude. Like any game, the best jiu-jitsu practitioner doesn’t always win. Take the World Championship for example. 30 guys sweat blood in their training, and there is only one winner. What about the 29 who worked so hard? Is the champion really better than all of them? It depends. Sometimes, the person with the best technique gets eliminated in the first round.

If you decide to compete, realize that competition is the art of dealing with pressure. Some people face pressure early in life and others not until much later, but in every case, where there is pressure there is competition. The student who doesn’t compete at the tournament is still competing if the pressure is there. Perhaps he even feels more pressure than the one who does go to tournaments because he fights against himself…competes against his feelings and choices. This is the toughest opponent you can have — yourself.

Ultimately, the opponent you will face in the ring is you, because you cannot compete successfully if you do not address internal issues that will affect your performance. When competing, you will not even be able to think about overcoming your opponent if you are too worried about yourself. However, if you are comfortable with your preparation, you will have the confidence to perform. Becoming the champion is not about your opponent. It’s about you.

Finally, if you want to learn something about someone’s jiu-jitsu, you should learn it in the academy. Many people enter competition with hopes that it will be a fast track to getting better. However, the quality of training partners actually has a much greater impact on skill level than competition does. Though competition can be a part of training, it alone will not improve technique.

Competition shows such a small part of any given competitor’s knowledge that it masks what he really knows. In the academy, you can see him for who he really is. You will see him relaxed and in the proper environment to exhibit his understanding of jiu-jitsu and educate you and others of its benefits. This is what will keep jiu-jitsu evolving.

Competition will always be a window to show the world how professional the sport can be. But the growth of the sport over the coming generations will not be reliant on the competitive aspect.

Source: matratz.com

The necessity of critical thinking in Aikido

2010-01-30T16:12:00.000+01:00

by Guillaume S. Erard

As a scientist, I have often encountered Aikido teachers who considered the epistemological approach as an aberration in the study of an oriental martial art, sometimes even like an insult directed towards their work or their own persona. Today, I would like to discuss the benefits there are in studying a Japanese martial art while keeping in mind what the Enlightened have brought to us.

We are living in a time where pseudoscience and superstition enjoy aes great popularity. This would be quite harmless if it was not undermining our critical thinking and by extension, our general knowledge. The human brain has this tendency to seek for meaning within all the experiences that we encounter every day. While this capacity is essential for helping individuals to make sense of the various stimuli that they are constantly subjected to, it sometimes misfires, leaving us in desperate "need" of quick and simple explanations to concepts that can be difficult to grasp. According to Daniel C. Dennett, a famous professor in cognitive sciences; the fact that science admits holding only a limited amount of knowledge can become so intolerable for our spirit that we will tend to seek elsewhere some absolute truths, unchanging and therefore reassuring: dogmas. It is in these gaps left by science that we can often find the most detestable methods and discourses.

The essential challenge for today’s Aikido practitioner is to manage dealing with a certain duality. The strict etiquette of our art makes it rather difficult to explore and experiment on new ideas. Although progress only comes from a critical state of mind, these notions are quite unwelcome within a dojo. Indeed it would be intolerable to see a student interrupting endlessly the class, asking for further explanations or contradicting the teacher. What is there to do then? How can we make cohabit in the most fulfilling manner a heritage coming from the times of Samurai with a modern thought process, all this without having one undermining the other?

Within religion, belief in the absence of evidence is considered as a virtue but if carried within the practice of martial arts, it becomes a problem. Of course the comparison Aikido/religion does not seem pertinent to me since Aikido has not been conceived in such a way by its creator (see the interview of André Nocquet). It is not, of course, in our ideals of peace, neither in our codes, nor in our rituals that we have to seek for a religious manifestation. Every sport has its own codes and these are more rooted within a warfare heritage (teams/armies, colours/uniforms, position on the pitch/battlefield) than a religious practice. However, I happen to think that it is precisely in the intellectual submission and in the acceptation of anything and everything that we tend to lean towards the religious.

I have heard on many occasions teachers claiming that they, and no one else, held the only true Aikido, as O Sensei was doing it. They generally illustrate these claims by opposing their approach to the one of other teachers, implying that these poor souls are doing fake Aikido if not, no Aikido at all. The reasonable stance is to stay sceptical in front of those who hold these kinds of discourses, if only because such claims are by definition mutually exclusive: if one is right, therefore all the others are wrong. How, as critical, yet open minded practitioners, can we get out of this nonsense? Obviously, we cannot challenge all our teachers in a deadly fight or ask them to privately demonstrate to us their might at each class. Keep in mind that we are practicing a Do, not a Jutsu. On the other hand, the attitude of being slightly sceptical should not necessarily be considered as a lack of respect. A sceptic is someone rather curious, and interested in many things. If otherwise, he would not invest time and energy into studying a discipline or subject. The most important thing to keep in mind is that a sceptic is by default ready to accept anything as long as a convincing body of evidence is present to support the phenomenon. As descendants of the Enlightened, we should be sceptical budoka, critical towards ourselves, our knowledge and our art while respecting our teacher and the essence of our discipline. We must of course stay open minded and lucid in front of our own ignorance in many subjects. Here is a difficult task to carry out, but not a dichotomy however!

In some places, the sheer fact of pronouncing the word “scientific” becomes an insult, a “faux pas” that the experienced practitioner would never commit and that the novice would be barely forgiven for. The words “non-overlapping magisteria” that we owe to the prestigious palaeontologist, Stephen J. Gould, often come back to my mind. According to Gould, there are domains in which science has no right of entry. Although he is clearly referring to esoteric matters and religion, I think that a lot of people which I would describe as “mystical frauds” would gladly see this rule be applied in martial arts too. We often hear people say that a discipline that has existed for a thousand years cannot be wrong or else, it would not have lasted for so long. I would say that on the contrary, if the discipline in question has not changed (progressed) along with our general knowledge, it is very likely that it will be plain wrong, or in the best case scenario, enormously incomplete. Take the theory of relativity as an example, it is agreed that any reasonably good graduate student in Physics understands relativity better than Einstein ever did. I let you draw the parallel with Aikido if you feel like it… The consequence of this is that science has heroes and texts containing groundbreaking ideas but no prophets and certainly no books of revelations. This crucial difference is the condition sine qua non for any progress to occur.

To come back to Stephen J. Gould’s proposition and although I have the greatest respect for his work, I would have to say that on the contrary to what he said, I think that it is crucial that science should be left free to investigate every aspect of our human experience. Science has no agenda, no dogma; a scientific theory is doomed to always eventually being proved wrong or incomplete and to be replaced by a better one more in accordance with the facts; reality. Science is the spirit filled with wonder of the child that discovers and experiences the surrounding world free from all preconceptions. It is however true that science currently lacks the tools necessary for the study of phenomenon such as Ki but nothing leads to think that it won’t change. We should therefore stay open minded but also critical as regards to claims that some ill intentioned or ill informed people might make.

While we are talking about Ki, I always wondered why the most famous masters had this tendency to only demonstrate their prowess on their on students. The reason which is often given to us is that it would be “too dangerous, that it takes training to be able to take it”. There is a good example in this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdrzBL2dHMI).

Right, in boxing; you don’t give an uppercut to a beginner. This argument sounds reasonable but it unfortunately also makes their claims hard to verify. The question I am asking is purposefully direct but not impertinent, nor disrespectful (I really mean this but I also know that some people will jump on any occasion to justify them feeling offended; be my guest). It is honestly and without malice that I ask these questions. After spending many years practicing budo and looking for these manifestations, it is actually likely that deep inside, I kind of wish that all these incredible powers exist. There are a few people who have accepted challenges to prove that their prowess were true… but with little results as is shown in this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEDaCIDvj6I) where a Ki master gets punished by a MMA fighter. About MMA, these lots have their own belief system too but I will spare them for a subsequent article.

Besides exposing a fraud, this video illustrates quite vividly the auto mystification that this so called master suffers from. It is one thing to put your students in danger by teaching them mumbo jumbo but it is an entirely different thing to put yourself in the ring. The bottom line is that to do so, you have to firmly believe in your stuff. This video also leads to an interesting reflection when we realise that it is probably his own students, by their submissive attitude, who led their master to such degrees of self deception; who said there was no justice? Coming back to the first video, it is interesting to notice that it shows a very powerful feat of the human mind: the power of suggestion. The students, while they are convinced by the powers of their teacher, become automatically much more susceptible to suggestion. As we see, they fall down and suffer of an acceleration of their pulse accompanied by an abundant sweating. On the opposite, sceptic strangers remain unaffected if somewhat amused after being subjected to these contact less strikes. The famous astrophysicist Carl Sagan once said “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidences”. The point is that it is up to the people coming up with these special feats to give the proof of their existence, the reasonable attitude being to remain sceptic unless proved otherwise.

But what about all this progress that we inherited from the Enlightenment? Is it really a good thing and is it transmissible to Aikido practice? It is well accepted that our society as a whole is less aggressive and more open; exchanges between countries having never been so rich and numerous (unless racism, obscurantism, religious fundamentalism and greed come back into action). From an individual’s point of view, we live longer, more comfortably and we are in better health. Of course, everything is not perfect and consecutively to these waves of progress, we have had to face new crucial challenges such as global warming, reduction of biodiversity, increased needs in food and drinking water and so on. I think, however, that the attitude which consists in rejecting everything modern while saying “things used to be better” shows a great incapacity in apprehending the present. The Chinese philosopher, father of taoism, Lao Tzu illustrated this fear of progress very well more than 2000 years ago when he said “experience is like a candle attached to one’s back, it only lights up the path already travelled”. Let us be serious for a moment, and youngster, even if he spends more time than is really good for him in front of the TV watching Fame Academy is not dumber than its counterpart 100 years ago, he is of course far more educated. It is also a bit dishonest to criticize progress when one benefits from all the advantages of living in an industrialised country where we can have access to scanners, chemo-therapies and where the infantile mortality is amongst the lowest in the world. Fortunately for the human species, this reactionary stance is not the common feeling and to only talk of what I know well, I would like to salute the outstanding work of the great majority of biologists who work on how to resolve the major issues that our planet faces in spite of a distrustful public opinion and unhelpful governmental policies.

For me, it is precisely this incapacity to question things which is our greatest challenge in traditional martial arts. We have this tendency to raise some people up to the status of icons
possessing unreachable mastery. Of course, we do this, only relying on great deals of tales and second hand stories about their supposed supernatural capacities. MMA practitioners and other competitors have understood this well and mock us about this quite often. It is capital for us to accept the idea that we can and we should become better than our masters on a physical level as much as on a mental one. If Aikido did not evolve or improve but on the contrary, suffered from the fact that each student could not become better than his master, there would be very little remaining of what Aikido’s founder Morihei Ueshiba created. Somebody like Ueshiba Sensei was very ahead of his time in terms of mentality with his universalistic vision and his insistence on the peaceful resolution of a conflict while at a time of global war and living in an ultra-nationalist country. He was a hero of his time but to the light of today’s moral values, his opinions can now sound as very retrograde. Another vivid example is Abraham Lincoln, the heroic 16th American president who, by today’s standards, would be considered a racist and a bully. These people are therefore models in the context of their time but they cannot escape the criticism of our current society and the investigation using our modern knowledge. It is our duty to do better than them, we now know better!

In Aikido, we must give up the kind of discourses held by those who do the only true Aikido of the founder because we saw earlier that these kinds of statements are unreasonable. The only person who did the founder’s Aikido was the founder himself. Indeed, what we do is different but we must embrace this fact in order to go forward and make our discipline enter the 21st century proudly, not turning our backs to the future like the orphans of a patriarch that we never actually even met. We must see in each student of Aikido an opportunity for a new reflection, a new sensibility, a new interpretation of the fundamental principles that the founders showed us and certainly not like a corruption of Ueshiba’s teachings. This is precisely our critical thinking that will keep us from this degeneration and allow us an evolution.

To conclude, I am far from denying all that is not explainable in martial arts, I would even say that it is obvious to anyone who looks that the great masters of martial arts perform outstanding feats. However, it is only if we keep an open mind, critical thinking but also a respectful attitude that we will be able to access to the mastery of these things. They seem only supernatural because we do not understand them well and because we tend to mystify them. Supernatural and godly is always located at the limit of our knowledge. Even Newton, the brightest mind that walked this earth could not help but feeling that way. Whether we are talking about Ki or judicious timing and placement while respecting the physiological axis (bio-mechanics), it is through this shift of perspective that we will truly reach a deeper and more thorough understanding of our discipline. An analogy could be a child who would watch a stage magic show in amazement from the audience and later, would go to see the show again from backstage. In Aikido, it is when we try to be more Japanese than the Japanese that we deny our inheritance because in these times, we deny to ourselves the possibility to apprehend our discipline with our own occidental sensitivity in spite of the fact that this art has been conceived to be universal.

Descartes taught us to ask questions so let’s dare asking them, but let’s do it politely, respectfully and let’s stay open to all that this universe has of mysteries and wonders but without pouring the syrup of superstition all over it and without wrapping it with the cheap, shiny paper of mystification. This, to me, is the key to build up this famous golden bridge that should unite Orient and Occident so the two can at last understand each other well.

Carving nature at the joints

2010-01-25T22:30:00.001+01:00

by Matt Thornton.

The piece of writing you are about to read is the first article that I feel could be posted, and relevant, both on my philosophical blog http://www.straightblastgym.com/blog/index.html , as well as my training blog http://aliveness101.blogspot.com/ . For me, this is a bit of a personal victory.

For more then a decade now I have been interested in what the philosophical implications of the Aliveness method might be. Their practical, functional use within combat sports and martial arts is at this stage, past the point of contention. In the last few years of teaching, and in the essays I have written over that time frame, I have fleshed out all the concepts anyone would need as it relates to functional, efficient training. My last Aliveness blog essay went into comprehensive detail about all the methods of drilling, and what the Alive process itself entails. The evidence for how these methods work is overwhelming. And, to date there remains no rational arguments left unexplored, or yet uncorrected, related to how, and why, Alive training functions the way it does.

However, to be able to link a process that is completely functional and empirical, Aliveness, to something that also applies to other aspects of human life, to objective questions from other fields of knowledge, and to have that something also be a thing that gives the maximum amount of space possible for human creativity, intuition, and dynamic quality; and to have these two things, once linked, turn out to be one and the same ‘thing’, that is to me what Aliveness can, in it’s best uses, represent.

What exactly that linking point is, has probably occupied more of my thinking and contemplation over the last few years, then any other single topic. And now that I am comfortable stating what I believe that connection to be, I find it is time to connect these two bridges, the tool of Aliveness, and the tool of critical/rational thinking.

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Defensive vs Protective: A Matter of Mindset

2010-01-21T02:09:00.000+01:00

The word mindset is often bandied about in combative training, though it doesn’t seem to be easily defined nor well applied in practice. We prefer the term combative intent. While most people who use the term mindset seem to be referring to a “correct” mindset, inherently the word itself is basically neutral: one can either a positive mindset or a negative mindset. Combative intent, however, implies the will or volition to carry out a combative action. Nevertheless, whether using the word mindset or intent, a rose by another name is just as sweet... The problem is not in the term itself, but in understanding what it means. And the meaning and learning the appropriate use of mindset can literally be a matter of life-or-death. In all training for real combat, the ultimate aim is to train the most effective combative intent (or mindset) possible. What that intent should be often is not clear. And a lack of clear combative intent is reflected in and by combative performance (and behavior).

And common misconception that relates directly to the lack of clarity in combative intent is seen in the common lack of a clear understanding the distinction between “defensive: and “protective.” In common use, there doesn’t appear to be much difference between “defend” and “protect,” however, in hoplological terms when speaking about combat and combative intent (mindset) there is a substantial distinction.

A common dictionary will likely provide definitions something along the following:

Defense: - “the capability or means of resisting an attack”
Protect: - “to shield from danger, injury...”

While similar, their effect on intent in training and engaging in combat is very different. And that distinction in intent is an important factor, one that literally can effect a life-or-death outcome.

Taking a closer look at the two terms and clarifying their differences, we can begin to see how they relate to differences in combative intent.

“Defense” essentially is an end in itself. An individual who is training for “defense” is literally training “to resist an attack.” Defense tends to be more reactive than pre-emptive, i.e., the defender waits for the attack and then resists it. Even in a preparatory mode, “to prepare a defense” essentially means to set up some kind of measures that will help to resist an attack when it occurs rather than stopping an attack before it occurs. Defensive preparations can range from building the walls of a castle to learning self-defense techniques to resist an attack. These all are essentially reactive in nature. For example, consider the actions that come to mind in defensive situations such as when an assailant throws a punch, thrusts with a knife, shoots a firearm, etc.: we can block and/or avoid the punch or knife thrust, find cover or concealment from the shooter, and so on. These are defensive actions. As defensive actions, none of them deal directly with the attacker’s ability to make or continue his attack. Defense as an end in itself, has the goal of keeping oneself from being harmed. If one has a successful defense, one has resisted the attacks, but has anything been done to prevent further attacks from that individual?

Initiative

In training for combat, and more specifically, in training the mind for combat against an adversary with deadly intent, a defensive mindset should not be an aim. Particularly in any kind of lethal combat, the aim is not merely to survive, but to dominate... to win. In lethal combat, the only way to win is to overwhelm and defeat the adversary Defending against the adversary’s attack does not achieve that aim. Furthermore, to train for defense is to train a mindset that is at counter-purpose to defeating an enemy with lethal intent. Indeed, initiative—a word closely tied to intent, is a particularly important word in combative action. In reference to combat, the definition of “initiative” that applies is “the power or opportunity to act first.” Having the initiative is such a tremendous advantage, that it can be the key to success in combat.

Protection

As stated above, protection is a different matter from defense. Protection consists of those methods, actions, and/or materials and actions that “shield from danger or injury.” In this combat context, protection is a means rather than an end; protection can occur as part of an attack on the adversary. Armor, for example, is a material form of protection. While protective armor can be used inappropriately as defense, armor is best used as a means of protection while attacking. Historically, this is the basis of battlefield protective devices such as shields, helmets, breastplates, flak jackets, ballistic protection, and so on. Armor is not meant to be a device behind which one hides defensively.

This use of armor has been well understood and utilized on battlefields from early on. The battlefield shields and armor of most cultures were designed for protection AND mobility; mobility being absolutely necessary to carry out an attack. Indeed, on the battlefield the shield was used not only for protection against injury, but as a weapon itself. In the shield work of most cultures that utilized them, the shield is used in conjunction with a weapon to dominate and defeat the adversary. In other words, protection—armor, shields, knee and elbow pads, eyepro, etc.—is best used as a part of a dynamic offense, not as passive defense.

Defensive Response to an overhead knife strike

Likewise, protective “methods and actions” should be means of carrying the fight to the enemy. Unfortunately, too often such an action is used defensively rather than as a means of protection during an attack. Consider, for example, a “simple” defense against an overhead knife strike. Typically, the defender is taught to evade and block the strike, usually followed by grabbing the striking arm and execute some type of joint-lock that serves to further control the weapon and weapon hand of the attacker (see figs. 1-3). The principle behind this common seen type of “selfdefense” technique might be called “attack the weapon.” These types of techniques can be seen over and over again in self-defense manuals, both military and civilian. Interestingly, the concept of directly counter-attacking the attacker seems to be only rarely addressed.

As with protective materials (armor, shields, etc.) protective actions also should be considered as means rather than ends. In dealing with an assault upon oneself, protection should be merely part of the means of offensively taking out the assaulter. In the accompanying video clip we have an attacker (Hunter CS Armstrong of the ICS) using a overhead strike with a baseball bat. Here, a very different response is seen from the “defense” against the knife. The Marine being attacked (SSgt Jason Rossman an Instructor Trainer at the Marine Corps’ Martial Arts Center of Excellence - MACE) counters the attack by directly attacking the attacker, striking his throat. If he bothers with the attacker’s weapon or striking arm at all, it’s in a secondary “protective” manner that does not interfere with his directly taking care of the attacker.

While we tend to focus on the actual physical techniques in these types of combative actions, the far more important aspect is the intent, or mindset. The defensive mindset seeks only to to “resist the attack,” not necessarily to defeat the attacker: defense as an end in itself. However, in the case of protection, it is merely a small part of the overall combative intent to defeat the attacker. It is not that protection per se is superior to defense; it is simply that well trained combative intent is a better mindset than defense.

Source: International Hoplology Society

A Common Sense Look At Aikido

2010-01-14T00:33:00.000+01:00

by Kuroiwa Yoshio

Since there are no matches in Aikido we should give careful thought to the nature of our practice. The spiritual side of practice is also important, but if we overemphasize it our training becomes idealistic in nature and the realistic aspect is neglected. "Kata" (form) and "waza" (technique) must be correctly recognized in practice.

Kata to Waza

Kata should be practiced according to a certain order or prearranged method which is based on a rational relationship (riai). Thus, we are not falling because we are being thrown but rather we are practicing a kata designed for us to be thrown. When we master a rational movement (kata), it is expressed as a natural movement (waza). That is, if you become able to execute a kata spontaneously as a result of repeated practice, you are no longer performing a kata but are executing a waza. We learn through kata and become unconscious of the fact. In other words, as long as movements require our attention they are kata, when the kata become spontaneous they become waza. We first practice basic kata (kihon waza, basic techniques) to learn the movements of Aikido. The basics are the standards (the way of seeing and thinking) and a common sense perspective for correctly observing things. We must understand the essence of kata, not their outer appearance.

For example, in a puzzle involving interlocking wooden pieces, one knows the placement (stability) of each piece by understanding its form and nature. In the same way, we can express kata which are common to all people by showing the basic common parts of the structure of the human body (for example, points like the elbows bend only inward) and we should use these basic parts rationally. It may seem exaggerated to use the terms "rational" or "logical" but these concepts are just a matter of common sense and need no explanation. As long as we persist in viewing kata superficially, we will begin to think that they are of special importance. One cannot systematically or rationally explain any kata merely by learning in a repetitive manner without an understanding of why certain kata are considered to be basic. What we acquire by learning only repetitively is the preservation of form (the transmission of external form) and not the ability to create (understanding of the essence of kata). In other words, one does not understand what he is doing. Basics are not something to be practiced but to be understood. What they demonstrate are the mechanics of how to unbalance an opponent and create an opportunity for the application of a technique. If you misunderstand this to mean leading and guiding it will give rise to the belief that one can lead his opponent circularly. This happens because one is unaware that leading a partner circularly implies separation and doesn't notice that practice is an expression of yin and the use of power in Aiki involves pushing.

Kata: A Training Tool

In training we practice many techniques but they are all variations of a single stance. Therefore, ikkyo, shihonage and other techniques are the same. The reason they appear different is only because their outer appearance is seen. Kata are the expression of a number of variations through movements from a single stance and are nothing more than a tool for training the body to move freely. The idea that one is all and all are one is not just a spiritual matter. It is true for our bodies as well.

It is not that there is a different method depending on the technique, for example, saying that ikkyo is practiced in one way and such and such a technique in another way. They are all manifestations of a single movement. That is to say, we practice various kata in order to understand an original single movement. It is not that ikkyo and shihonage are of value as basic techniques. We practice them only as a convenient means to understand the yin and yang of a (fundamental) stance.

Aikido practice is a yin practice. Using Judo as an example, it is like partner practice rather than randori (free practice). Yin practice represents primarily an agreed-upon practice sequence. Thus, the changeover in training from the reception of the attack to the application of the technique is only possible where a difference in ability exists. When the ability of one's opponent is superior this is not possible. This is a key point in practice.

Waza (natural movement) are expressed according to one's level and their substance (techniques) is manifested differently each time. This is because what one naturally possesses (one's ability as brought out through repeated practice) is expressed through certain relations (forms).

Ability is Substance of Technique

For example, suppose we have an expensive, well-crafted fountain pen. No matter how well it is made, its final value depends on the person using it. Someone with poor handwriting cannot write well even when using a good pen. A skilled calligrapher, however, can write beautifully even when using an inexpensive pen. It is not that the pen he uses is good, but rather that the writer's ability as a result of his long experience is excellent. One's ability itself is the substance of the technique. Only those who possess ability can make good use of a well-crafted pen. If we fail to understand this, we will begin to attach excessive importance to techniques (waza) considering them to be secret which is tantamount to our believing that an expensive fountain pen enables us to write skillfully. It is important that we understand that techniques are tools for us to feel "something". This "something" is one's feeling of satisfaction derived when he is able to freely express his natural ability through his body in the form of technique.

Careless Use of "Ki"

Whether technique is expressed as something mysterious or common depends on what each teacher feels, but this should be of no consequence to those who are learning. Someone who attempts to make his actions mysterious for no reason is like a person performing meaningless movements (lit., "octopus dance) without comprehension. As the old saying goes, we must understand that we may lead a horse to water but it is for the horse to choose whether or not he drinks. To treat lightly the results of enlightenment (in Aikido, "ki") based on the ascetic practices of the forerunners who preceded us is like practicing a self-styled Aiki with a deluded mind which is equivalent to a self-styled Zen philosophy. It is impossible to understand "ki" so easily. Through daily practice we will one day suddenly come to understand, each according to our levels, the abilities and flexibility that man naturally possesses.

Training must be scientific and rational. It is a mistake to carelessly use religious philosophy. The martial practitioners of olden times improved themselves through their experiences (non-philosophical) and then found something in common with the world of religion. If one can understand the culmination of a master's enlightenment from the beginning, he needs no effort at all. By using the word "ki" carelessly teachers introduce complications which make it difficult for students to understand Aikido. The purpose of practice is to allow one to experience Aikido step by step. Therefore, it is meaningless to carelessly speak of the culmination of the ideal. It is similar to a university student who tries to make himself look intelligent by bragging to an elementary student about his higher education without an understanding of its value. If one really understands the highest teachings of his predecessors, he can actually lead a horse to the water without bandying about such principles. We should not blindly follow our forerunners but should try to discover the causes, effects and processes of things and their similarities and differences through experience. Aiki is a means permitting us to observe things correctly. It is not the goal of Aiki to create an ideological, know-it-all type person.

The Yin and Yang of Aiki

All things have two aspects, yin and yang. We must recognize that practice represents an expression of yin emphasizing the uke (the person taking ukemi). Thus, practice is yin and reality (actual fighting and matches) is yang. In a real situation, we need practice plus something more. One is free to permit a certain amount of intellectualization in yin practice since it does not involve actual fighting. However, if we fail to reemphasize the yang element (realistic and utilitarian value) of training and continue to think of it as yin practice, misunderstandings (illusion) will arise. In particular, it is dangerous to carelessly infuse idealism and philosophy to students. The various teachings and principles of our forerunners are the forms of expression they used after having understood yang. So for ordinary people like us they represent the culmination of an ideal. I think the purpose of our training is to approach this state. We will not be able to experience awakening in a single jump even if we advocate an ideology. There are still more steps we have to take on a lower level. Understanding something means actually being able to do that thing. Thus, a mere mental understanding is meaningless.

Pitfalls of Idealism

Since all things have two aspects, yin and yang, it is a big mistake to come to think you understand everything just by seeing yin parts. Kata are expressed in the form of yin. By understanding this you can also express kata in the form of yang. Therefore to understand yin correctly we must understand yang parts. You have no choice but to become idealistic if you are convinced of everything without noticing the existence of yang parts. In other words, one tries to make up for the dissatisfaction he feels being unaware of yang by advocating idealism. To make matters worse, one even begins to deceive oneself by believing he has found answers to questions. Taking baseball as an example, one comes to feel as if he can hit a home run just by practicing swinging a bat while spouting the technical theory and words of famous baseball players of all eras. The reality is that you cannot hit a home run in actuality. The reason is that the practice of swinging a bat is yin while baseball games are yang. We must realize that practice is only yin. Ways of thinking (theory) exist for personal practice. No theory can be separated from practical aspects. It is all over for you if your theory turns into idealism.

Uke Central To Practice

Yin practice is the expression of "shackled" form. Thus, it is first necessary to be shackled. It is important in training to correctly understand the roles of "uke" and "tori". Uke's role is to adjust himself/herself to the movement of tori and tori learns his/her movement with the cooperation of uke. Failure to understand this will lead to the misunderstanding that uke was thrown or pinned because tori's technique was excellent. Uke absorbs the movement of tori with his body by taking a pure fall. In other words, uke is not thrown but rather is practicing a form in which his role is to be thrown. Thus, the central character in practice is uke. Usually, in the case of fighting match, the first requirement is not to succumb to your opponent's attempt to break your balance. To have lost one's balance means to have been defeated. In the practice of Aiki, as uke we unconsciously assume that having our balance taken is a good thing. Here exists an important principle and a danger of yin practice. Unless one understands this (i.e., uke and tori are aware of this), practice is meaningless. Practice is possible only due to the existence of a tacit agreement and failure to understand this is a tragic mistake. A certain degree of Intellectualization is possible after recognition of this agreement. Otherwise, this merely leads to conceptual games and self-satisfaction.

Yin: Practice, Yang: Matches

One is free to conceptualize anything. It is because one is free to do so that we must know the meaning of freedom. However, it is not a boundless freedom. Yin is opposed to yang. Yang today implies matches. In competition we test our strength according to certain rules. Fights in olden times were fought at one's own pace and are never possible or necessary at present. However, if you absolutely had to fight, not in a match, I think you would fight in the old way. In such a case, unless you had actually experienced yang practice, your efforts spent on yin practice would be wasted. This is because yin practice is for developing harmony, not for actual fighting. For this reason, it is inappropriate to talk about winning and losing or strength and weakness in the practice of Aiki. In yin practice, both tori and uke are yin. In yin and yang practice, tori is yang and uke is yin (as in randori in Judo). In actual competition both become yang. Yin practice is a metaphysical practice which unfolds in a world of harmony. Yin and yang practice takes place in a world of partial harmony. Yang practice, that is, actual competition, is the actual world where no harmony exists. Yin practice unfolds in a world shackled by form whereas yang practice takes place in a world where one is free of such forms. It would be nonsense to think that yin practice is what Aikido is all about. However, at the present time, a yin world is what is needed. Unless we fully understand the meaning of yin practice, the achievement of world peace through Aiki as advocated by the Founder will not be possible.

It is easy to believe that Aikido and religion share common points in their ways of thinking. Unless one understands religion correctly, the result will be the same as in the case of Aikido the creation of persons caught in a world of illusion. Since one is not aware that Aiki practice is yin, it is easy to find things in common with the illusion resulting from a shallow knowledge of religion. We must see that religion and Aiki are ways through which we let go of our preconceptions. Knowledge of religion and yin practice are only one step of the process of learning the truth. We need to act in a common sense way while realizing that this in itself is a very difficult task.
From Aiki News #66 (February 1985), edited and translated by Ikuko Kimura and Stanley Pranin

The Process of Forming Aikido and Japanese Imperial Navy Admiral Isamu Takeshita

2010-01-07T21:14:00.000+01:00

by Fumiaki Shishida

Abstract : From this study, that Aikido did not appear out of nowhere, fully formed, in the mind of the founder. Rather, Aikido had a definite starting point in the Daito-ryu-aiki-jujutsu that Ueshiba learned from Takeda, and it slowly changed from there. Ueshiba found himself in an emotional dilemma, making him unable to decide whether to leave Daito-ryu-aiki-jujutsu and Takeda or not, until at least the second declaration by his support group, Aioi-kai. Furthermore, many of these changes came either from lessons that Ueshiba learned from teachers in other martial arts, or from experimentation with applied techniques.If we accept, not only that Aikido had a starting point, but that, at one time, it also grew and changed, then why should we believe that it is static today? Isn’t what matters that we continue the process of evolution through experimentation?

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Everything You Know About Muscle is Wrong

2009-12-23T23:46:00.000+01:00

Reported by: Christopher McDougall, Photographs by: Craig Cutler

It's horrifying. Right in front of me, a gorgeous young woman named Andria has slipped out of her clothes and is transforming herself into...me. She's removed her shirt and her black capris. Now she shakes out her blonde bob and stands in her sports bra and panties, a hand on her slender hip, looking like Brandi Chastain about to hit the showers after practice. Until...

"Head, anterior shift," a woman nearby calls out. She checks her clipboard. "With a posterior tilt."

Andria juts her neck like a tortoise, and then lifts her chin.

"Shoulder girdle -- anterior tilt," adds James Ready, a trainer for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Obediently, Andria hunches her back, as if she's been punched in the gut.

Four people surround Andria. They're holding clipboards with anatomical sketches and hand-scrawled notes snapped to them. We're in a sports training studio in Tempe, Arizona, for a seminar on the new science of strength, an event focusing almost entirely on human connective tissue. Until recently, very little was understood about these elastic wrappings that surround your muscles and bones. But a series of research breakthroughs now reveals that they might be your body's greatest untapped resource for improving the efficiency of your muscles and preventing injuries.

At this moment I'm receiving a firsthand lesson in elastic power, as the four members of my working group continue to feed instructions to Andria. Suddenly, they order her to freeze.

"Perfect!" one of the women says. Then she turns to me. "That's you."

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