Riding the wave into 2016

One particular lesson from 2015 still stands out for me. I was struggling with a larger and tight muscled opponent, and every time I felt resistance, I also tried to get stronger, and my technique became unsafer and less effective as a result. This did not escape the attention of our teacher.

After stepping in to demonstrate without issue, Jack asked me to focus on being in the right position to deal with the opponent's force, and to go with the opponent rather than fight him. I followed this advice as best I could, the result was not perfect but much improved on what I had been doing. Jack asked my partner "what was the feeling?", and my partner replied that he "Didn't really feel that much" comparing to my earlier attempts. Then Jack said something funny, he said when you do it right your partner should say to you "Wow! I never DIDN'T feel anything like that before!".

Although it had me smiling on my commute home from the Dōjō, this statement certainly made me more aware of what I felt, or didn't feel, as techniques were applied to me during the rest of the year. Which gradually became less and less feeling towards the end, especially in Japan, training with so many high level members of the Bujinkan and in such a Budō rich environment.

It seemed in stark contrast to how the training had started in January and for much or the year. Working on the Sanshin, Kihon Happō and basic Kata of Kukishinden Ryu Dakentaijutsu, we often communicated with our training partners regarding specifically the feeling, trying to coax each other to achieve more efficient Taijutsu. Now the forms were often flowing and adjusting according to the Uke, becoming less and less like specific recognizable techniques.

This kind of training was hard to maintain though, because...how can I put this? I was not quite able to employ the required level of Taijutsu consistently. My foundational skills were not quite up to scratch, my experience was not quite there, my understanding had not yet fully developed. I often looked for insight as to what specifically I was doing wrong, but after demonstrating something I could not comprehend, Jack would simply say "I can't teach you this, this can't be taught...you just have to keep training". That actually made me happy in a way, that there are levels of this art which are out of reach to those that do not study diligently.

Soon enough though, January 2016 arrived, and we spent our first class of the year again working on Sanshin and Kihon Happō. This time however there were new details for me to observe, refinements to take into consideration. As a fellow student quipped "advanced basics".

The 52 week cycle of learning has begun anew for us. Not quite as impressive as the current 42 year cycle of the Bujinkan, but a cycle within a cycle. Who knows where 2016 will take the training for us, but just like a surfer, one must ride the wave, and go with the flow.

Nami Nin - Wave man
by Hatsumi Sensei Bujinkan Sōke