2015 LOS ANGELES ‘GYOKKO-RYŪ & NINJUTSU’ SEMINAR with DR. KACEM ZOUGHARI

UPCOMING LOS ANGELES NINPŌ-TAIJUTSU SEMINAR with DR. KACEM ZOUGHARI – June 13th & 14th, 2015

To register, please visit: http://www.shinobiwinds.com/upcoming-events/

ICHIMONJI (一文字)

As with everything in ninjutsu and classical martial arts that have survived chaos and tides of the centuries. there is a perpetual depth to what is transmitted from master to student. Few often just scratch the surface in exploring what is being taught or shown to them. This is very evident in the case of ‘Ichimonji’. More than just a ‘posture’ in combat or a ‘line of one’. It is a mindset. A spirit attitude. It is direction of the heart. When all is in chaos around you, bring your heart, your spirit, into a singular force of ‘one’. Bring your will into a focus so strong and singular that nothing can sway you from rising through the chaos and into the vision you see for yourself, into the vision of surviving and beating the odds, no matter how bad circumstances may seem. As an infamous ninja and master swordsman once said, “The secret to victory lies in the ‘ichi’,’hachi’, and ‘jû’ (一, ハ, 十)”. In the Buddhist lexicon, this means channeling the hachi, which (when the kanji is turned on its side) can be translated as the ‘infinite’ spectrum of things (emotions, actions, experiences, thoughts) and the jû’, which can be represented by the ‘Ten Worlds’ in Buddhist lore (Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Humanity, Heaven or Rapture, Learning, Realization, Bodhisattva and Buddhahood), into one piercing dynamic; the ichi (一). When one achieves ‘ichimonji’ (一文字) or ‘Ichinen’ (一念) of the spirit in this manner, the body follows, as does victory over all that would seek to crush one.

THE CONCEPT OF ‘FÛSUI’ (風水)

“When life and death are in the balance, remain calm. Do not precipitate or reveal one’s intention. To perceive the manifestations of the intention in the body of the enemy, it is necessary to develop a highly acute perception such as one can “hear the sound of the wind and water”.”

KENKICHI SAKAKIBARA’S ‘YAMATOTSUE’ . . .

The top image is an advertisement from the March 18th, 1877, issue of the Yomiuri Shinbun (newspaper) announcing the introduction of the newly invented ‘Yamatotsue’. The 14th headmaster of ‘Jikishinkage-ryū’, Kenkichi Sakakibara (榊原鍵吉, 1830–1894), also known as Kagikichi, was one of the most well-known and deadly swordsmen of his time. An instructor at the Tokugawa Shogunate’s ‘Kobusho’ school, Kenkichi was also the personal bodyguard of the shogun Iemochi. Yet, upon Iemochi’s death in July of 1866, he resigned his post. In 1877, following the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the subsequent Sword Abolishment Edict, the Haitōrei, Kenkichi created the ‘Yamatotsue’. The ‘Yamatotsue’ was an unassuming wooden weapon of about four feet in length that brandished an iron ‘kagi’ (hook), like the smaller policing weapon, the ‘jutte’. Upon receiving permission from the Meiji government, the ‘Yamatotsue’ was put into mass production by Kenkichi as a new tool that could be carried by, not just the remaining samurai population of Japanese society, but also the masses. Kenkichi taught samurai how to wield the unimposing ‘Yamatotsue’ based on the ‘gekken’ sword-fighting methods he was renowned for. For the average citizen of Meiji-era Japan, the ‘Yamatotsue’ was touted as a very practical tool for walking, carrying heavy loads, locking Japanese screen doors, aiding in duties as a bouncer, and defending oneself from not just ruffians, but also small house fires as well.

UPCOMING DR. KACEM ZOUGHARI SEMINAR: APRIL 11th & 12th, 2015 – SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

SHINJITSU NO JIN ( 真実之仁) . . .

“It is essential to make it one’s personal aim to have “no compromise” and live a just and honest life, no matter how surrounded one may be with dire circumstances, temptation, or evil. Even if by compromising one’s values momentarily, one seems to be successful for a time, such a life is bound to end in failure. There is no need for one to reason about the nature of evil. I have handled violent men very often. There are two kinds of them. Upon their eminent defeat, there are some who become good in the very last moment, even if they have been abusive, egotistical, or criminally manipulative until then. On the other hand there are some who are bad and depraved to the very moment of their death. One must develop the eyes to see through such men, so that you will know the proper course of action necessary in a situation.”

– TOSHITSUGU TAKAMATSU

HIKEN . . .

One day in 17th century Japan, Jirozaemon Ono, a master of the Itto-ryu style of swordsmanship, who had won the fame of the public as being unrivaled in the art of war, was not feeling at ease after hearing rumors that Munenori Yagyu was without equal in his abilities with the sword. So, he decided to pay Munenori a visit. He was shown into a drawing room, where he was kept waiting for some time. Jirozaemon elaborated on how he would see through Munenori’s ability, yet Munenori did not appear. He almost got tired of waiting when suddenly Munenori opened the sliding door, just behind Jirozaemon’s seat, and attacked him with a wooden sword. Jirozaemon blocked strike with the hilt of his sword and said, “It is rash of you to attack me suddenly. Fight fair!” Munenori replied instantly, tossing aside his wooden sword, “Your art is quite admirable. Splendid. You are a skilled swordsman, but it is a pity that you are short of master-hand in the spirit. You need more practice.” Jirozaemon, with his ego and pride hurt, became angry and asked him curtly why he thought so. Munenori answered, “You have come to beat me as you think of yourself as the best swordsman in the country. That’s the reason why I said you were poor at heart. If you had won in the fight, could you have been able to get out of this mansion alive? I am a feudal lord holding a fief yielding more than ten-thousand koku (one koku=5.119 bushels of rice). If I had been killed by you, my retainers would have killed you. Your fame would have been destroyed. That’s why I said you were short of master-hand in the spirit.” Jirozaemon left Munenori’s residence embarrassed. Munenori won the duel without fighting. The mystery of swordsmanship lies in his attitude.

SHINDEN . . .

“One day, many decades ago, I was at my teacher’s home, sitting in his room, when he said, ‘Please close your eyes and wait, and whatever happens, make sure not to open them.’ Then perceiving that my teacher went down the stairs I let my guard down a little to the sign that he had disappeared. After several hours, some sort of heavy, pressing force approached diagonally behind, and seeing an image of a body split in two, I went into sideways-rolling body movement. Then I had a feeling pressing right from the side of the head, and I executed a forward breakfall. As I slowly sat down into a natural ‘fudoza’ posture I heard my teachers voice, saying ‘Well done. You made it. You may open your eyes now.’ And when I opened my eyes, there stood Takamatsu-sensei, lowering an unsheathed sword in his right hand.
I, level headed and thinking this strange, had asked about this before, ‘kijutsu (energy techniques) through a sixth sense, or one may say ‘shinden no jutsu’. Such is the ‘gokui’: ‘If one thinks is it there, it is not. If one thinks it is not, it is.’ For the first time the profound words of this teaching sank into my body will all their weight. I was deeply impressed by the nature of the words’ spirit. Together with the joy of my eyes opening, I received from my teacher that sword. I was later told by my teacher that this was a ‘juji-kiri mumyo no itto’, and that no-one had gone this far. Those words, joyfully spoken, I remember as if they were said yesterday.” – DR. MASAAKI HATSUMI

戸隠流遁甲の術 Togakure Ryu Tonko no Jutsu (Hidden Door Tradition Escaping Forms)

A ninja uses ‘Getton no jutsu’ (月遁之術), Moon Element Techniques, by hidng in shadows created naturally by the moonlight, and ‘Katon no jutsu’ (火遁之術), Fire Evasion Methods, to distract and attract the enemy’s attention.