Why do we.........observe reishiki?

In general terms reishiki refers to the demonstration of good etiquette or ‘correct behaviours’ in a traditional martial art dojo or club. This can be anything from knowing the correct way to enter or leave the training area, how to address your sensei, knowing where and how to stand in line, to showing good manners and respect to your fellow students. Each club will have its own variation on reishiki but at the heart of all reishiki is the concept of respect (for your club, for your sensei and for each other).

In more specific terms reishiki refers to the opening and closing ceremonies that most traditional martial art clubs observe and this is the definition of reishiki that I want to discuss in this post. The word reishiki is made up of rei (bow or respect) and shiki (ceremony) and is all about setting the right tone for the class and preparing the students mentally for the training ahead. I have been involved in seminars or classes where reishiki has consisted of nothing more than a quick standing bow to sensei at the beginning and ending of class to a rather elaborate and prolonged standing , walking, kneeling, presenting the sword, bowing, more standing, walking backwards, more kneeling, bowing, standing etc. etc .etc - like a rather complicated and precisely executed kata. I had the feeling my head would be cut off if I got it wrong!

These, of course, are two extremes of the bowing ceremony.  A ceremony that is too short does not adequately prepare the students mentally for the training to come. One that is too complicated is just unnecessary and time consuming (in my opinion).

So, what should a reishiki ceremony help the student to achieve?

When we enter a dojo or training hall we are entering a world that is different to the one outside. Our roles and responsibilities inside the dojo are often very different to the ones we have outside. You may be very senior in your career and be in charge of many staff but in the dojo you may be the new white belt. On the other hand you may be an unskilled manual worker outside but a senior black belt inside the dojo. It is important to be able to leave your external roles and responsibilities outside the dojo and assume your ‘internal’ ones. A reishiki ceremony is one way of helping you to make this separation of external and internal roles. The wearing of a gi is another.

Participating in a martial art requires us to learn about and practice violence towards other human beings. Though the mindset of the martial artist should be purely about defending oneself, the techniques often needed to do that are inherently dangerous and violent. It is imperative that training is done is a controlled and mutually respectful environment that is free from ego and machismo. Reishiki helps to create this respectful environment.

When practising a martial art we are benefiting from the skill and teachings of our martial arts forebears, people who devoted most of their time to developing and perfecting techniques and encoding them in ways that we can remember today. Reishiki is a way in which we remember and honour the founders of our system and also honour the sensei that teaches us that system today.

How does reishiki achieve these things?

A typical reishiki ceremony:

Sensei gives the following commands:

1.       Seiretsu. The students are called to line up in grade order. This is the time when you have to address your position in the dojo and let go of external roles which become unimportant in this context.

2.       Seiza.  The students sit in a formal kneeling position. In some clubs the students may be sitting opposite the shomen or shinzen (shrine). In clubs that meet in a school gym or other temporary ‘dojo’ the students may face a symbolic shomen i.e. face a direction that sensei points to. Other clubs may miss this stage out altogether and just face sensei.

3.       Mokuso. The students close their eyes and observe a few moments of meditation. The idea of this is to let the students clear their minds of distracting (outside) thoughts and prepare for the training ahead.  See ‘Why do we…….perform mokuso’

4.       Mokuso yame. The students stop meditating and open their eyes.

The senior student (or a student chosen by sensei) will then give the commands:

a.       Shomen ni rei. The students bow to the shomen in order to remember and show respect to their founder.  In clubs where there is no longer any connection or communication with their Japanese origins this step may be omitted altogether.

b.      Sensei ni rei.  The students bow to sensei to show their respect to him/her and show that they are ready to listen and learn.

c.       Otaga ni rei. The students and sensei bow to each other in a mutual display of respect and courtesy. Remember, in martial arts bowing is about showing respect not subservience.

At this point the students may say words such as onegaishimasu or osu (note that osu is a contraction of the word onegaishimasu). This basically means "please let me train with you." It's an entreaty often used in asking the other person to teach you, and that you are ready to accept the other person's teaching.

Sensei then gives the following commands:

5.       Kiritsu. The students stand up with feet together and arms by their side.

6.       Rei. The students perform a small standing bow to end the ceremony.

The whole ceremony is then repeated at the end of the lesson with the gesture Arigatou gazaimashita which means thank you.

Though each class begins and ends with reishiki it must be remembered that good manners, courtesy and respect must permeate throughout the class. This keeps the class civilised, controlled and safe at all times and keeps big egos in check.

Do you have any particular reishiki rules or behaviours to share?

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Why do we.........perform Mokuso?

Do you perform mokuso (moh-kso) during the opening and closing ceremonies of your martial arts class? Do you regard it as just a part of one of those quaint Japanese rituals that you’re expected to participate in when you practice a traditional martial art, or do you think it has real value in preparing you for training and enhancing your performance of martial arts?

If you regard mokuso as merely a traditional ritual then you are probably just going through the motions of performing it and are gaining no benefit from doing so.

So what is this mokuso thing about?

Mokuso is quiet reflection, concentration or meditation. It is generally performed whilst kneeling in seiza at the beginning and/or end of a martial arts class. The purpose of mokuso is to quieten the mind, stabilise the emotions and release tension from the body.

Quieten the mind: You can’t effectively practice a martial art if your mind is filled with the events of the day or things you’ve got to do later. Mokuso allows you to empty your mind of these extraneous thoughts and concentrate on the training you are about to embark on.

Stabilise the emotions: Perhaps you’ve had a bad day and are upset or angry with someone or perhaps you are worried about something. These negative emotions can impinge on your ability to train effectively. Mokuso enables you to let these feelings go so that you become emotionally stable and better able to concentrate on your training without distraction or excess aggression.

Release tension from the body: At the beginning of training, particularly if you have been rushing around to get there your muscles may be tense. Mokuso gives you a few minutes to relax and let the tension go through a process of slow controlled breathing. A tense body will not perform well and may lead to an increased risk of injury.

So, how do we do mokuso?

Effective mokuso requires good posture, correct breathing and focus on the task. Some will say that mokuso is performed to enable you to achieve a state of mushin (empty mind) but that is rather a tall order in the 1-2 minutes you are likely to spend doing it. To be able to put oneself into a state of mushin quickly takes years of training and prolonged periods of meditation, so don’t expect miracles after 2 minutes of mokuso!

Posture:  Mokuso is generally done kneeling in seiza when it is performed in a martial arts class but it can be done sitting on a chair or even lying down. The important thing is that the spine is properly aligned and you are comfortable, so if you are in seiza make sure you are upright and your arms rest comfortably on your lap.

Breathing: Correct breathing is important for several reasons – it fills the lungs fully with air, oxygenating the blood; it helps release tension from the muscles; it gives you a focus on which to concentrate which in turn helps you to rid your mind of extraneous thoughts and negative emotions.

You should breath in through your nose steadily, hold the breath for a couple of seconds and then breathe out slowly through the mouth. The whole cycle should take 10 – 15 seconds. The breaths should be deep, filling the abdomen. Counting the breaths is a good way of maintaining concentration on the task.

Focus on the task: You only have a minute or two in mokuso to prepare the mind and body for training so it is important to maintain focus and not let your mind wander. Remember you are not trying to empty the mind just quieten it and shed those negative emotions. Focus on your breathing and let your muscles relax. Visualise negative thoughts and emotions draining away from your body. Some people find focusing a soft gaze on the floor a couple of metres ahead of them a useful way to maintain concentration and not be distracted by other people in the dojo. Others prefer to shut their eyes completely.

To be effective mokuso takes practice. You can practice mokuso outside the dojo as well where you may have more time to spend on it. Over time you should find your practice of mokuso enables you to prepare your mind and body for training very quickly, allowing you to control the ebb and flow of your emotions and enhance your practice of your chosen martial art.

So, do you still think it’s just a quaint Japanese ritual performed at the beginning and end of class?

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Happiness is.....being a modern day Samurai.

In the Times supplement last Saturday there was an article called ‘The nine secrets of contentment’. The article was essentially about those aspects of living that makes us truly happy. I have been struck at the similarities between ‘The nine secrets of contentment’ and the ‘Seven virtues of Bushido’– a Samurai moral code. I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that the Samurai must have been a happy contented bunch of guys! Let me explain….

The nine secrets of contentment that psychologists have recently identified are: having a social life, altruism, having a belief system, having a goal or ambition, moderate wealth, listening to music, planning a holiday, being totally absorbed in a hobby and sex. The seven virtues of bushido are: rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honour and loyalty. Associated virtues are filial piety and wisdom. Let’s dig a bit deeper to see how they match up…

A definition of happiness: a state of well-being and contentment and a pleasurable or satisfying experience.

There are many other personal definitions of happiness that have been quoted by various people but what they all have in common is the need for personal action to bring about happiness and the requirement to act in a virtuous way. According to Aristotle happiness is, "the virtuous activity of the soul in accordance with reason": In other words happiness is the practice of virtue.

This brings us back to the Samurai who very much led their lives according to the seven virtues listed above. So, looking at the nine modern secrets of contentment let’s see which virtues are required to bring them about:

1. Social life. To have a social life we need friends. According to research, the more close friends we have, the more stable our happiness. Ten close friends are an optimal number. The definition of a friend is: A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts and is regarded with affection and loyalty. To keep good friends one has to be a good friend. This requires you to show them respect, loyalty and honesty – all Samurai virtues.

2. Altruism. This is about doing good deeds and having unselfish concern for the welfare of others. Research shows that we receive a deeper and longer lasting feeling of happiness when we do good deeds for others compared with getting a quick blast of pleasure e.g. taking part in a fun activity. Altruism requires benevolence (charitable kindness), respect (consideration for others), possibly courage (e.g. work of the voluntary lifeboat men and women) and honour (carrying out the commitments you’ve made to help someone)

3. Belief system. Research has shown that having an internal belief system had a positive impact on happiness. This didn’t have to be a religious belief system necessarily. A strong belief in your work, a hobby, a cause, family and home or a creative outlet had a similar impact on happiness to a religious belief system. It’s about believing in something bigger than yourself. Depending on what your belief is then any or all of the bushido virtues may be required to follow it.

4. Goals and ambitions: research suggests that having specific goals can contribute to happiness and if those goals are altruistic they also contribute to good health in old age. Apparently, what is most important is the journey you go on to reach the goal rather than the end point of achieving it. On the journey you may make new friendships, learn new skills and overcome fears and barriers. These achievements may be more rewarding than achieving the goal itself. Working towards goals in a purposeful and rewarding way which requires the application of many virtues e.g. rectitude (honesty, integrity and morality), courage (to move out our comfort zone), loyalty and respect (to people that help us on the journey), honesty and wisdom.

5. Moderate wealth. Apparently the optimum salary most likely to contribute to a person’s happiness is £45,000 ($75,000). Beyond this emotional happiness does not improve. What’s the point in pursuing ever more money and material wealth if it doesn’t make you happy? It’s just time wasted that could be spent pursuing activities that do lead to happiness, perhaps more altruistic ones? Many a rich person has discovered that the path to happiness is through philanthropy (and therefore benevolence) rather than selfish greed. Frugality and self-sacrifice were the order of the day for Samurai.

6. Listening to music. It is thought that music taps into parts of the brain that produce feelings of euphoria. Even sad music can be cathartic. In fact, people are generally happier when their lives include a degree of culture such as music, works of art or performance, aesthetics etc. These things add to the quality of life experiences. The Samurai knew this only too well and pursued excellence in many arts such as flower arranging, calligraphy, Noh theatre and the tea ceremony. Art provided peace and respite from war.

7. Planning a holiday. The important thing about this is the planning rather than the taking of the holiday that makes us happy. Apparently we are happiest in the 8 weeks before the holiday starts. Clearly our anticipation of having a good time is better than the reality! What is important about this is that planning a holiday represents respite from work – it is part of achieving a good work/life balance. I’m pretty sure that Samurai didn’t plan holidays or think about work/life balance but they did need to achieve a life/death balance – balance the perils of war with activities of peace and calm, hence their dedication to art and recreation.

8. Being totally absorbed in a hobby. Psychologists describe the happiness derived from being totally absorbed in a hobby as a ‘flow state’. Martial artists recognise it as ‘mushin’. In this state you don’t notice time passing and the ego falls away, freeing you of all thoughts of daily problems and preoccupations. The Samurai would have achieved a state of mushin both in battle and in recreation as they pursued their artistic endeavours.

9. Sex. Sex enters strongly and positively in happiness equations. Sex within a loving relationship is most strongly equated with happiness and wellbeing so the virtue of loyalty (as in faithfulness and fidelity) is highly important in sexual relationships.

To be a Samurai was to be virtuous. A Samurai had the discipline to meditate, practice the arts, and live a life of humility and service to fit the demands of a daimyo’s life. To be calm in the heat of battle and to achieve excellence in the arts were the requirements of the day. All this was at the heart of Zen.

If, as Aristotle suggested, happiness is the practice of virtue, then the Samurai must have been happy with their lives. Certainly carrying the burdens of guilt, deceit or total selfishness on our consciences will not lead to happiness.

Perhaps living the life of a modern Samurai or ‘warrior’ is a good thing – a path to happiness.

Are you happy? Are you virtuous?

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Nanba Aruki

For the able-bodied, walking seems like the most natural thing in the world. We learn to walk at such an early stage in our lives that I assumed the process of walking, with opposite arm swinging to leg, was due to some kind of biological programming. In other words, I assumed that our walking style was nature rather than nurture.

Then I read about nanba aruki. Now I realise that the way in which we walk is nurture rather than nature. It only feels natural because we have been doing it for so long!

Nanba aruki is a style of walking in which the same arm and leg are moved at the same time. The centre of gravity is lowered and the legs remain slightly bent with the torso relaxed. The left arm moves with the left leg and the right arm with the right leg. The centre line of the body acts as a pivot as the person takes small steps forward in this manner, landing on the ball of the foot first.

Here's some Nanba walking:

Nanba aruki was a style of walking that would have seemed very natural to the Japanese during the Edo period (1603-1868).  It is thought that the word nanba means 'difficult place' and aurki means 'to walk'. So one interpretation of nanba aurki is to walk away from a difficult place. In other words nanba walking was designed to get you out of a trouble or do difficult jobs more easily.

The bushi walked in this style and farmers tending the fields used a variation of it. It is difficult to walk in a sodden paddy field in the usual way so the farmers adopted a stance with the right leg and arm forward and shuffled forwards in this semi-sidewards position, pushing the hoe in front of them. This variant of nanba walking (where the same leg and arm remain in the front) is called hitoemi and essentially means to move the body along a single line as one mass. Hitoemi is used extensively in many sword arts as well as in bojutsu and other weapon arts.

The principles of nanba aruki are inherent in the classical Japanese martial arts including karate, aikido, jujitsu and kobujutsu. This style of movement is more energy efficient, less fatiguing and quicker than the more Western (sport/athletic) way of moving and suits martial arts in particular. The centre of gravity is kept low and centred; and the upper and lower parts of the body remain unified all the time. In the Edo period, samurai messengers and couriers (hikyaku) would travel between Edo and Kyoto (310 miles) in as little as 6 days running in nanba aruki :- that's 50 - 60 miles per day, carrying a load!

In martial arts the principles of hitoemi and nanba aruki are used in tai sabaki, most of the stances and kamae positions (same arm and leg forward) and oi zuki (step through punch). In the skillful practitioner this principle of movement allows concealment of the transfer of body weight because the torso remains relaxed and movement starts with the hips, projecting energy in a horizontal plane. The rotational movement around a central axis means the body can move as a whole and allows increased speed with little muscular effort.

Here's a video of some karate nanba:




 In Japan, nanba aruki fell out of favour during the Meiji restoration when Japan wished to adopt all things Western. People were taught and encouraged to walk with opposing arms swinging. Many martial arts became sports focused and adopted Western patterns of movement. Karate adopted the gyaku zuki (reverse punch) which actually aligns more with the boxing or kick-boxing techniques and is counter to the principles of classical karate and nanba aruki. Many people lament the introduction of western style sports principles into classical martial arts as they consider it to be a distortion and erosion of the essence of the art.

What do you think? Does your art utilise the principles of nanba aruki or have you adopted the western 'sports' way of moving?

Further reading:

http://www.nanbanote.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/The-Way-You-Walk.pdf
http://www.budomontreal.com/Document/History_of_movements.pdf

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Japanese 'Way' with words.

I don't speak Japanese, except for the words and phrases that I have learnt as part of my martial arts training. However, I am struck by the richness of some of these words. It seems that in Japanese, a single word or phrase can encapsulate a profound meaning that is conceptual, abstract, metaphorical, descriptive and emotional all at the same time. It's as if a single Japanese word can speak a thousand English ones.

Many of these conceptual words are used in the martial arts. Words like mushin, zanshin, kime and ma-ai. Often we add simple descriptive labels to these words such as mushin = empty mind, zanshin = awareness, kime = focus and ma-ai = space and distance. These simple descriptors do not do justice to the real meanings of these words. These words are concepts that need to be felt and experienced first hand to be truly understood.

I once tried to write a post about kime. I researched the word on the Internet quite extensively but it became clear that most people who had written about it did not understand it either. Peoples understanding of the word focus varied enormously! For some people focus was about mental concentration, for others it was about focusing power on an imaginary target. I never did write the post because I couldn't be sure in my own mind exactly what was meant by 'focus' let alone 'kime'! I think this is because I haven't truly experienced kime yet. I'm hoping that when I do, I'll recognize and understand it, but I expect by then it will have become tacit knowledge - something you intuitively know but can't explain to others. So I still won't be able to write the post!

However, despite my lack of direct experience with some of these Japanese concepts, I seem to instinctively know that they are important to the martial artist. They are not just important for the development of technical proficiency but for the development of the mind and mind-set. They are part of the Way.

To clearly understand these concepts one needs to think about them, particularly whilst training, but outside of training too. To think about them you need the vocabulary to do so (we can't think without words!) So, at least knowing of the existence of these Japanese words and their simple English descriptors is something to work with. Hopefully, through training, reading, thinking and self-exploration these terms will become clearer and their deeper meanings revealed. Maybe then, they will inform my practice of marital arts more profoundly.

It is indeed a long and difficult journey that we have embarked on.......

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Why do we.........say 'Osu!'?

Do you 'Osu!' in your dojo? Generally speaking, we do not 'Osu!' in ours except for one of our experienced black belts who regularly osus! I find it quite alarming (and intriguing) to hear him shout 'Osu!' up to 10 or 15 times a session. He osus when he bows announces a kata, starts a technique or whenever the instructor asks or tells him something. I presume his use of this word is related to his karate 'upbringing' over 30 years ago.

So what is this 'Osu!' thing all about? I decided to do some research:

First, let’s just say the correct pronunciation is 'oh-sss' rather than 'oo-sss', which is a common mispronunciation in the West.

Osu is a Japanese greeting word (aisatsu). It is a contraction of other greeting words such as Ohayossu or ohayoosu, Ohayo or even just Oh. The more contracted the word the less formal the greeting. It's a bit like going from 'Good Morning', to 'Hello' to 'Hi' depending on the context and company you are in.

In general parlance in Japan 'Osu' is a very 'rough' male greeting between friends in an athletic setting. It is a very male word - an expression of masculinity, something men may greet each other with in a football or baseball club. It is generally only used by children and 'macho' or rough men! In Japan, a woman would never use such an impolite word and a man would be considered rude to use it to greet a woman.

So why do we use it in martial arts?

It is a word mainly used in karate clubs, though some judo and taekwondo clubs have been known to use it too (possibly because the instructor has a karate background). It is not an Okinawan word so Okinawan styles of karate generally don't use it. The origin of the word is not entirely clear but it is thought that the use of “Osu!” first appeared in the Officers Academy of the Imperial Japanese Navy, in the early 20th century and later became common with karate students. This helped establish the rough masculine nature of the word.

What is its purpose in the dojo?

In some dojo's 'osuing' is a standard part of the dojo etiquette and all students are expected to use it, whereas in other dojo's it is actively discouraged because it is not considered very polite, preferring more polite expressions such as “Onegaishimasu.”!

However, if you consider another translation of the word, which is also a contraction of the two kanji symbols used to write the term “Oshi Shinobu” it means "to persevere while pushing oneself to the absolute limit.” The strength of character that develops from hard training is known as “osu no seishin” (the spirit of “Osu!”). It implies a willingness to push oneself to the limits of endurance, to persevere under any kind of pressure. This is the context in which it is being used in the dojo.

The word 'Osu!' has many purposes in the dojo. It can be used to greet fellow students instead of saying hello (at least among the men); to respond to a question or instruction instead of saying yes; if your instructor thinks you are weak or injured you can reply 'osu' to reaffirm that despite your weakness/injury you are willing to still try your best; you can say it to remind yourself that despite the pain you need to carry on i.e. show your 'warrior spirit' or you can use it to acknowledge your opponents skill at a technique or in a tournament. It seems like a very flexible and versatile word!

And finally! Some general 'Osu!' etiquette:

• "Osu!" is primarily a greeting.
• You use it toward other people, not toward an empty room when you bow onto the mat or before you perform a kata.
• You cannot really use it for "goodbye."
• It is never a question and does not mean "I understand."

So do you 'Osu!' in your dojo?

Click here if you want to read a comprehensive article on the use of 'Osu'.

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What is your martial art's mindset?

Do you have a 'bugei' or a 'budo' mindset?

Since I have been blogging and reading other martial arts blogs I have been struck by the different 'mindsets' that people have in relation to their martial art. By 'mindset' I mean their approach to studying martial arts - their aims, focus and priorities. It seems to me that people fall into two broad camps - those with a mainly 'bugei' mindset and those with a mainly 'budo' mindset.

Bugei simply means traditional martial arts, i.e. those of the samurai. Budo means martial Ways and is a more modern concept, where the definition of 'modern', in Japanese martial arts, refers to the period after the start of the Meiji Restoration in1866, i.e. post samurai era. Of course that doesn't mean that the concept of a Japanese Way is modern, just its application to the fighting arts. Indeed the idea of seeking self improvement through the pursuit of mind, body and spiritual harmony is an ancient Japanese and Chinese tradition based on Zen principles going back to about the 7th century. Once the samurai were disbanded after the Meiji Restoration, applying these self-improvement principles to their fighting arts was a way to retain a purpose to continue to study them now they weren't needed on the battlefield.

The traditional bugei arts such as jujitsu, kobujutsu, ninjutsu, sumo, kenjutsu, and others together with the more contemporary combat arts such as krav maga or reality based systems are very much about learning practical defensive fighting skills and training mainly involves working with a partner to perfect skills. Modern budo (karate-do, aikido, judo, kendo, iaido, kobudo etc), on the other hand, use the art of learning to ‘fight’ as a means to master control of one’s body and mind with the lofty aim of achieving ‘self-perfection’. In other words budo becomes the medium through which one strives for self-improvement. In Japanese terms one could just as easily achieve this through the medium of ikebana (flower arranging), chado (tea-ceremony), shado (calligraphy) or any other of the Japanese Ways.

In order to follow a bugei or contemporary combat art it seems that a very pragmatic mindset is needed. The primary aim is to learn effective self-defense and this is valued above all else. This means that training methods become direct and technique driven. Indirect techniques such as ippon kumite or kata are generally much less valued, particularly in contemporary combat arts. In my jujitsu/kobujutsu club the training is very syllabus focused. Students work on the syllabus for their grade, generally with the same training partner. There is very little whole class teaching or 'off syllabus' stuff introduced. Once you have graded you start on a new syllabus and learn some new techniques - the training is very linear. However, progress in achieving the aim of learning self-defence is fairly rapid.

The mindset of the budo practitioner appears very different. Indirect training methods are valued very highly because the primary aim is mastering control of ones body and mind rather than learning to 'fight'. Thus in karate-do the student sees merit in drilling kihon, practising kata and perfecting distance and timing through sparring practice. This does not mean that the budo practitioner does not value the self-defence aspects of martial arts it's just that they are not necessarily the primary focus.

In my karate class, training is not so syllabus or technique focused. Obviously each grade has a syllabus for grading purposes but these are often not looked at until a grading is coming up. Instead, most of the time is spent in 'whole class' teaching. Even when working with partners everyone will be working on the same thing whether it be from the red belt syllabus or the black belt syllabus.
The emphasis is much more on learning to move properly, react quickly and have proper control of your limbs.The only time we break into grade groups is to practice kata, which is grade specific. Working in this way means that techniques, combinations and various other exercises are met again and again - training is much more circular. However, this method of learning self-defence is clearly the slow route and requires much patience.

I am not for one minute suggesting that one mindset is better or worse than the other - they are just different and drive us to persue the style of martial art that suits our aims and needs better. However I do think that one should be cautious in judging a budo art with a bugei mindset or vice versa because they will always be found wanting. Of course we are not all so easy to categorise and many of us may change our mindset as we progress along our martial arts journeys or even weave back and forth between the bugei and budo arts in search of a more fulfilling and complete experience.  I expect our backgrounds, jobs and life experiences affect our needs and determine our priorities when it comes to choosing a martial art so it is fantastic that there is such a plethora of different arts and Ways to suit every conceivable mindset.

So do you have a 'bugei 'or a 'budo' mindset?

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Ikebana and Martial Arts - a shared philosophy

Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arranging. Ikebana means arranged flower but is also known as Kado - the Way of flowers. Ikebana is a very ancient Japanese art that has its roots in Zen Buddhism.

It started around the 6th century in Japan as a religious offering at Buddhist temples and then slowly increased in popularity among the aristocracy and the samurai class. To reach a state of peace of mind and a state of concentration before going to battle, the samurai would perform both Ikebana and Chado Tea ceremony to 'purify the heart and mind'. (1)

The blogger Nadia (Cylamen)(2) describes the performance of an Ikebana practitioner doing a demonstration:

“A very slight young man but with a lot of force in his dramatic movements
during his ikebana performance which can be compared to an exercise in sword
fighting. I can imagine young samurais after battle trying to relax by
bending flowering branches of cherry blossoms. One slightly slashing a
branch closing his eyes and raising the branch above his eyes close to his
forehead and with a determine gesture bends a branch. This is what I was
actually seeing, but the samurai was a modern young man with a diamond stud
in one ear and a fashionable belt with his sharp ikebana scissors in lieu of
a samurai sword.”

Like many of the traditional Japanese arts, Ikebana is a system of aesthetics, philosophy and practice with a focus on personal development as well as artistic achievement. In this respect it has much in common with traditional martial arts.
The goal of Ikebana is not just the creation of beautiful arrangements; the journey is as important as the result. This idea of spiritual enlightenment through concentration and practice is central to the Zen Buddhist philosophy. For many of its practitioners, Ikebana is a lifelong lesson, a way to achieve a little inner stillness in which to work towards a richer spiritual understanding of the world (3). Again, the traditional martial artist will recognise the similarities between their philosophies.

Ikebana differs from Western styles of flower arranging in which the emphasis is often on displaying a colourful array of flowers. Ikebana, on the other hand, includes working with all areas of the plant, and draws emphasis towards shape, line and form. It often employs minimalistic principles, using only a minimal number of blooms interspersed among stalk and leaves.Though Ikebana is a creative expression, it has certain rules governing its form. One rule is that all the elements used in construction must be organic, be they branches, leaves, grasses, or flowers. The artist's intention behind each arrangement is shown through a piece's colour combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the usually implied meaning of the arrangement.

The structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on a scalene triangle delineated by three main points, usually twigs, considered in some schools to symbolize heaven, earth and man and in others sun, moon, love & earth. The container is also a key element of the composition, and various styles of pottery may be used in their construction (4).

The spiritual aspect of Ikebana is considered very important to its practitioners. Silence is a must during practices of Ikebana. It is a time to appreciate things in nature that people often overlook because of their busy lives. The idea is that one becomes more patient and tolerant of differences, not only in nature, but also in general.

In the classic Ikebana text, Rikka-Imayo-Sugata (1688), it lists ten virtues of the Ikebana master. Several of these virtues may also be considered the virtues of the traditional martial arts master (3):

• No discrimination.
  'Nature does not discriminate; neither should the Ikebana practitioner. Through contemplating the capacity of nature to just exist, we learn to interact with all people and all things equally.'
  
• Selfless mind.
  'When we face flowers, we are free from any concerns and we can clear our minds.' This is similar to the concept of mushin - empty mind


• Making friends without words.
  'Facing flowers, we feel a joy beyond words. When we share this joy with other people, we can form a bond that transcends language. Through our arrangements we can communicate on a deeper level with people no matter what language they speak'. Martial arts is a language in itself - understood and appreciated around the world, bringing people together with a common purpose.
• Gain respect.
  'Through meditation, no discrimination and working towards the selfless mind, Ikebana helps us develop our best character. As a result, many people respect Ikebana artists. If you visit Japan, you will find how well respected Ikebana teachers are in their communities'. The martial artist strives to achieve the same aims.


• Peaceful mind.
  ''As we acquire peaceful mind through Ikebana, we can nourish ourselves and live longer.' 'Obviously the author of this text in the 17th century was intending to promote Ikebana and he knew how to sell his product: this makes you live longer! In actual fact, statistics show that even today Ikebana teachers are one of the occupation groups that live longest in Japan, a country with some of the oldest people in the world''. In Japan martial artists have also been one of the longest lived groups of people.

The practice of Ikebana is still very important in many traditional dojos, particularly in Japan but also in many Western dojos that stay very close to their Japanese roots. In Dave Lowry's book Traditions, he recounts how it was often his job to do the flower arrangement for his dojo. These arrangements were displayed in the tokonoma (alcove) at the front of the training hall and served as both a memorial to the founder of the budo being studied and a reminder for the martial artist of the fragility of life (5).

References:

1.http://www.auroville.org/art&culture/ikebana.htm

2.http://nadia-cyclamen.blogspot.com/2009/10/rock-and-roll-martial-arts-and-ikebana_19.html

3.http://www.japep.com.au/Ikebana_Zen.pdf

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikebana

5. Traditions - moving towards stillness. Dave Lowry.

The photographs are courtesy of http://www.neibert.com/FloralDetail/Ikebana_Gallery.html released under creative commons licence: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License.




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Why do we.........wear a gi?

The word gi literally means 'dress' or 'clothes' but is often used to mean 'uniform'. Using the word gi to describe a martial arts uniform is common in English but is an incorrect use of the term in Japanese where the full name of keikogi is used. However, it is common to replace the word keiko with the name of the martial art being practised, such as karategi, judogi or aikidogi.

The gi consists of uwagi or jacket, zubon or pants, and an obi or belt.

So where did this almost universal style of martial arts uniform come from? Some sources suggest that the karategi originated in Okinawa as a functional garment that resembled the clothes that peasants and farmers were already wearing. It is suggested that the garment was designed to be light, with short sleeves and legs to make training easier in the hot sun, whilst still being suitable for both night training and sleeping in. However there is much photographic evidence that Okinawans actually trained in shorts and t-shirts or even just in their underwear! Sensei Funakoshi (founder of Shotokan karate) himself trained in shorts and t-shirt right up until he went to Japan. (You can view a photo of typical early Okinawan fighters in training here)

It is unlikely therefore that the gi originated in Okinawa. It's introduction as a martial arts uniform is generally attributed to Jigoro Kano who developed judo from jujitsu in the early years of the 20th century. Sensei Kano's first students wore their everyday kimonos to practice, so he had them wear black sashes to keep the kimonos closed while they grappled.

However, the light weight materials used in kimonos were not suitable for grappling arts and Sensei Kano restored to use a uniform based on an ancient one used in old jujitsu made of linen, in coffee colour and covered with cotton fabric. The ancient stories say that due to the effect of the sweat and the intense rubbing of the practices plus routine washing, they would turn white naturally. Due to this, when Sensei Kano decided to restore the official outfit for Judo, he took into account the above, and decided that the most suitable colour would be white.

Senseis Kano and Funakoshi were good friends and when Funakoshi came to Japan for the second time in 1922 to demonstrate karate at Sensei Kano's Kodakan (the central dojo for judo in Japan), Kano was alarmed that Funakoshi was going to do the demonstration in shorts and t-shirt. Kano persuaded him to borrow a judogi so that he would look more professional in front of the dignitaries he was trying to impress. Funakoshi agreed and later took back the gi to Okinawa as a gift from Kano. The wearing of the gi then spread throughout Okinawa as well as Japan in karate dojos.

In judo there are exacting standards for the weight, size, style and colour of the gi - particularly for competitions. The gis are thick and heavy for durability. In karate the gi was modified to be thinner and lighter with shorter sleeves and legs to aid kicking and striking. However, many karate practitioners prefer a heavier weight gi for kata work (particularly in competition) as it gives a characteristic 'snapping' sound when movements are performed quickly and sharply.

Is it still relevant to wear a gi in martial arts today? Many modern martial arts such as kickboxing and mixed martial arts have dropped the gi as a uniform and tend to wear more modern clothes such as shorts or t-shirts and track pants. However, most traditional styles of martial arts have retained its use or wear a modified version, often in a colour other than white.

There are five reasons put forward as to why a traditional gi should be worn:

1. A different place. The wearing of a gi reminds the practitioner that the place where he trains is different to the place where he lives and works. When he enters the dojo, he enters a place where the realities and worries of the world can be set aside and he can focus entirely on the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of his training.

2. Uniformity and organisation. The wearing of a gi helps us to see at a glance who is of which rank, who is sensei and who is a student. This organisation of rank and hierarchy enables one to have organisation of thought and a sensible progression of training. It enables individuals to know their position and what must be achieved to raise their position in the dojo.

3.Commitment. When an individual values a uniform that individual becomes more committed to the art in which they belong for a greater length of time.

4. Practicality. A gi is comfortable, practical and hard wearing. It is fit for purpose. Remaining comfortable allows one to continue training for longer periods of time which should result in achieving greater ability.

5. Retaining the integrity of the art. The gi helps to retain the integrity of the art. Wearing the gi shows knowledge and respect for the history, culture and origin of the art. Ignoring the usefulness of a uniform ignores the roots of the art from which it comes. It 'mocks' the very source in which the art hails.

(Adapted from Heritage Martial Arts - Student manual )

It seems the gi is more than just a uniform but is a symbol of all that it means to be a martial artist. Keep it neat, keep it clean, wear it with pride.




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Why do we..........practice karate barefoot?

When I started reading and thinking about this question I expected to find a definitive answer: We practice karate barefoot because......... However, there doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer. Different sources give different reasons and generally these are offered as suggestions rather than real reasons.

The reasons offered seem to fall into three categories:

1.Tradition. This refers to the Japanese tradition of separating 'indoors' from 'outdoors', which involves taking your shoes off when entering someone’s home. This evolved as a practical courtesy to prevent you from treading dirt into someone’s home or damaging the tatami mats, that covered the floors, with shoes. However, the custom didn’t necessarily stretch to taking off your shoes in public buildings. Shoes were allowed to be worn in museums or libraries or other buildings that acted as meeting places.

This traditional argument is quite quaint but it doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny very well. To start with isn’t a dojo a public place in the sense that it is not a residential place but a meeting place for people following a martial art? Also, originally karate was practised outside in courtyards or gardens in bare feet – so karate was already a barefoot martial art before it was practiced indoors.

Others suggest that karate is practised barefoot because it was developed by peasants who had no shoes but karate wasn’t developed by peasants it was developed by the Okinawan nobility – the Keimochi. These people would have worn geta, thonged wooden clogs when walking outdoors. So a lack of shoes does not explain why karate developed as a barefoot martial art.

2. Health and safety. This refers to health and safety in a dojo setting. It is suggested that shoes bring dirt into the dojo and may damage mats. This is true if you are talking about normal outdoor footwear but people practising kung fu, for example, always train in soft martial arts shoes, which presumably don’t damage mats or dirty the floor.

Most ‘health’ arguments I have read seem to refer to keeping the dojo floor clean rather than a concern for the practitioner’s feet. The downside of practising barefoot from a health point of view is the risk of spreading fungal infections, such as Athlete’s foot, or viral infections, such as verrucas. Obviously it is the student’s responsibility to treat such infections promptly and abstain from training barefoot until the situation is resolved – but the idea that barefoot is healthier than wearing shoes? I’m not convinced.

I’m not sure the safety argument holds up to well either. Okay, being kicked by a shoed foot will hurt more than a barefoot one – but only if you’re wearing outdoor or hard shoes. Perhaps it doesn’t if you wear soft martial arts shoes.

3.Bio-mechanics in karate. This relates to the delivery of power when punching and kicking and being able to grip the floor in order to make strong stances and maintain balance. Every karate student learns that power starts at the feet and is transmitted up through the body to its target. It’s what we all strive to achieve through our constant practice. If we don’t grip the floor well, maintain strong stances and introduce torque (twist) into our kicks and punches, they won’t be very powerful.

This argument for barefoot training appeals to me most and makes the most sense. It would explain why karate developed as a barefoot art in the first place – before it was ever practised indoors. The strong, muscular feet needed to practice karate well (I call them karate feet – see my earlier post) don’t develop if cushioned by shoes so for this reason I think karate is best practiced barefoot.

Though I favour the bio-mechanics reason for barefoot training it is not necessarily the definitive one. I don’t know what the definitive answer is – maybe we continue to train barefoot simply because ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it’. What do you think?




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Why do we.........sit in Seiza?

Things don’t get more Japanese than sitting in seiza do they? Seiza (correct sitting) is the ‘sitting on knees’ position adopted in many Ways of life in traditional Japan, including chado (tea ceremony), shodo (calligraphy), ikebana (flower arranging) and many martial arts. Never has man risked showing disrespect to his seniors more than being unable to correctly get into, maintain, move and get out of the seiza position!

The degree of accuracy required in adopting a respectful seiza position varies according to the context, the occasion and the type of clothing worn. For example, the specific steps and etiquette required by a woman to sit in seiza wearing a tight kimono to perform a tea ceremony in front of important dignitaries may be a bit different to a man adopting the seiza position in a loose gi in a modern dojo on a normal club night. However, getting it right for the context you are in is important.

The precision of the steps for adopting seiza vary a lot from martial art to martial art. In the more modern ‘do’ arts such as karate-do and judo the subtleties of proper kneeling and moving have been lost. However in the more bugei arts such as kenjutsu , kendo, iaijutsu and iaido the precision of the steps and position of the feet, knee width etc, is much more prescribed. So why are there these differences?

To answer that you need to look at the original purpose of adopting seiza. As with many things Japanese, the seiza position was originally a Chinese development. It was a practical way to sit before the convention of sitting on chairs was adopted in Asian culture! It kept the feet out of the way when performing practical tasks like cooking. It was well suited to sitting on matted (tatami) floors and if you adopted the position from an early enough age – it was comfortable!

However, it soon became more than a practical way of sitting. A culture of etiquette and respect has long pervaded Japanese life and sitting correctly in seiza has been a part of that culture for centuries. But showing respect is only part of the answer. In Feudal Japan many aspects of etiquette had the dual purpose of also being linked to the practice of sword and other weapon arts, as well as self-defence strategies. So walking, moving, where to position the hands, what distance to stand or sit from others, how to sit etc, were all related to being able to instantaneously respond to being attacked.

A Samurai needed to be able to draw his sword from a sitting or standing position without hindrance or delay. If his seiza position was sloppy or inaccurate he would be a sitting duck. So Samurai were taught how to draw a sword instantly from seiza and how to parry a strike or remove an opponent’s sword from his grasp. Having the ability to rise up from seiza quickly by raising the right leg first, made drawing the sword easier and quicker. It also positioned him for further movement and bought him closer to his attacker.

This close association between sitting in seiza and drawing of the sword explains why the practice of seiza is much more precise in those martial arts that focus on sword. The true meaning of the etiquette involved still prevails. However in martial arts that don’t involve the use of sword the true meaning of sitting in seiza has been lost and in many dojos it is now not much more than a ritual for displaying respect at the beginning and end of a class.

It should be remembered though that sitting in seiza offers the martial artist a few moments to empty the mind of daily clutter and focus on the task they are about to embark on or, at the end of class, a moment to reflect on the training that has just occurred.



Ref: http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=168
wikipedia - seiza

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Tanabata Festival

This week the Japanese are celebrating a festival called Tanabata also called the ‘star festival’. Tanabata is based on the fusion of an ancient Chinese festival called the Festival to plead for Skills in which girls wished for better sewing and craftsmanship, and boys wished for better handwriting by writing wishes on strips of paper, with a Shinto purification ceremony in which a Shinto miko (shrine maiden) wove a special cloth on a loom, called a Tanabata, near waters and offered it to a god to pray for protection of rice crops from rain or storm and for good harvest later in autumn.

In a modern day Tanabata festival the elements of these two ancient ceremonies are still celebrated by writing wishes, sometimes in the form of poetry, on tanzaku ,small pieces of paper, and hanging them on bamboo outside houses, sometimes with other decorations in the hope that these wishes come true. The most common tanabata decorations are colourful streamers, which are said to symbolize the weaving of threads. Other tanabata decorations are toami (casting net), which means good luck for fishing and farming and kinchaku (hand bag), which means wealth. The bamboo and decorations are often set afloat on a river or burned after the festival, around midnight or on the next day.

However, as with much folklore in Japan there is also a love story behind the celebration of this festival. It is said that two gods Orihime (the Weaving Princess- daughter of the Tentei, Sky King, or the universe itself ) and Hikoboshi (Cow Herder Prince) met and fell in love. They were so besotted with each other that they neglected their duties and in anger the Tentei separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa River (Milky Way) and forbade them to meet except for one day a year – the seventh day of the seventh month. It is said that a flock of magpies form a bridge across the Amanogawa River with their wings so Orihime can cross but if it rains the magpies cannot come and the two lovers must wait another year. Often during the tanabata ceremony people pray that there will not be rain so that the lovers can meet.

Tanabata festivals are held all over Japan in the main cities, though some are held on August 7th rather than July 7th. Today the big festival will be in Hiratsuka. The streets will be decorated with elaborate streamers and there will be many side stalls selling food and souvenirs.






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