Summer Camp Helped in Real Life
The last day of summer camp was one of the best days of summer camp. Our young folks lived up to every expectation I had, and they outperformed beyond that, too. This week included sleight of hand, swords, hiding in public spaces, and today: rescuing a damsel (or two) in distress.
We had just had lunch and were walking to the park, when across the street we saw two women looking at their car, holding up the hood, with an empty bottle of coolant next to them. We all looked at each other and realized this was a great time to put into practice some of the skills and attitudes that we practice every day. We’ve used some of our “Urban” summer camp weeks to do a little basic car maintenance, and this was perfect timing!
Read MoreMy First Day of Instructors-Only Training in Japan
Sword Ritual
I was exposed today to some interesting training that will certainly have a huge impact on my own training, and training at the LA Dojo, too.
There is a LOT going on when it comes to the “new” training method I discovered this morning when working on the sword ritual that Manaka Sensei was teaching. Many of the other Dojo-Cho had already been working on this, so I had to do my best to make up for lost ground, and got some great help from Sensei, Morris, and the other Dojo-Cho in training today.
Adam Mitchell and I spoke about this in some follow up conversations on the train to and from Kashiwa, and he was very helpful, sharing all of the insights he had already received on this training.
Impact on Los Angeles Sword Training
Los Angeles will have a lot to work on: I am expecting to see this training become a very standard part of training for our Dojo, though I’m not sure what shape that will take. Certainly, it’s obvious that our sword classes will include some of this practice, but it’s also important enough that I’d like to see everyone at least begin learning the ideas. This might not be practical, though.
Thoughts?
Sword Basics = Randori
Hopefully, if you’re in our regular, ongoing sword training at Los Angeles Jinenkan Dojo, you’ve already begun to understand that once you understand the movements, you need to add pressure and intensity gradually, to refine your technique. By having an attacker with very little limitation (if any at all), the training becomes a lot more “alive” at each moment.
We did this kind of training this morning using Kukishin Sword basics, and it was fantastic. While we do this quite regularly in our Dojo, today I could enjoy knowing that EVERY person who stepped in front of me as a new training partner would be a skilled opponent, offering an enormous opportunity for growth and solid training.
I was very happy to see that everyone was comfortable pushing their own limits, and helping their training partner to push theirs, too. This is EXACTLY the kind of training that will make it possible to get better and better, much more quickly than training alone, or with unmotivated training partners.
I can’t say enough how awesome this kind of opportunity is, for those of us in training, and for our training partners at home when we return. I hope I can bring back the kind of intensity and fire that we are already experiencing here, and keep it burning in our Dojo.
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Ninjutsu Seminar: WAAAYYY Cooler Than Anything Else … Ready?
Here’s an excerpt from the newsletter from Manaka Sensei (from the newsletters that are delivered each month to “Full Members” of the Jinenkan Japan) discussing the Taijutsu of Ninjutsu. This comes from a set of the longest of these newsletters:
The Taijutsu of Togakure-Ryu Ninpo was devised using Koto-ryu Koppo-jutsu and Gokko-ryu Koshijutsu as foundations. For this reason, one must first master the techniques of these two Ryu-ha perfectly. After doing so, what becomes important is body movement which is superbly flexible, agile, and quick.
NOTE: Those are EXACTLY what we study in the first 30 minutes of the Basic class EVERY DAY.
I will stray from the topic a bit, but according to the Togakure Ryu’s 33rd headmaster Takamatsu-sensei, 32nd master Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu and his father, Daisaburo Chikashige, were able to climb into the ceiling of a temple by running up onto a thick, round 12-foot pillar, body in the shape of an “L” kicking off with a shout, and flipping their hips up over a roof beam the instant both hands caught it. If you can master this sort of Ninpo Taijutsu, for the first time you will be able to use freely all the types of weapons I have described up till now and make victory something that is never in doubt.
So, you’ll have your work cut out for you between now and April 25th! Let’s work hard!