Jack opened up the class by verbally explaining some of the themes for the year. We had focused on a lot of Kotō Ryu, Mutō Dori, and controlling the balance point.
On the subject of Kotō Ryu, Jack said that he wasn't really teaching Kotō Ryu as a standalone art, nor did he feel particularly qualified to do so. His point was that in all the years he has seen Soke work on the different schools, he stills sees the same overall Bujinkan Taijutsu. He said that a better way to describe what we were doing was Bujinkan Taijutsu using the Kotō Ryu kata as a reference point. We weren't doing a historical reenactment but rather finding a modern relevance in the form.
With that in mind, training began. We began with the Shoden Gata of Kotō Ryu, in the first two techniques the attacker is attempting a throw. Jack pointed out the important difference between trying to resist the throw by stiffening, which gave the attacker a better "sense" of how to throw you, versus moving to a better position where the attacker was temporarily unbalanced.
In Yokutō for example, the basic evasion is done using yoko-aruki, but where and when is this movement done? We were instructed to find the place where our movement captured the opponents balance and allowed us to freely strike the opponent. With trial and error, and watching the instructor's example we could start to find a good tactical position. Having good feedback from the Uke was critical in this regard. The tricky part was the timing, that was something that just had to be felt and hopefully one day understood. Once the initial move started to work, it was much easier to capitalize on the Uke's response with a koppō, keri, and shako.
The next kata Ōgyaku was a good example of this; after breaking their kamae by pressing on the back of the hip and extending their spine the Uke attempted to straighten up. This allowed us to drive into their butsumetsu with a shitō fist quite easily, felling them with mostly their own movement.
In Koyoku the attack was a punch, and rather than waiting we covered the attacking arm and intercepted the attack by striking the Kimon with a Niōken, followed by a Ganseki Nage. The key part here, again, was finding the correct position and having the correct timing to intercept the attackers center, breaking their kamae from the very beginning. Now the key became space management, and creating a lever in their arm such that when the Uke fights and resists they progress themselves to the ground. As Jack demonstrated it, it almost looked fake watching the Uke fall down. As Uke though, you felt how it worked and realized that appearances are very deceiving.
For Shitō, Hosoku, and Hōteki we used similar principles, creating Gyaku, striking with Kikaku, or performing Taki-otoshi. Leverage, Juppō Sessho, Kukan, and Kaname. Jack mentioned that we keep reviewing ideas and concepts from previous years but always from a new perspective or deeper level of understanding.
After a lunch break we returned and changed gears to practice dealing with multiple attackers.
Here the principle was the same as with a single attacker, except we had to utilize the one Uke against the other. Pinning them together and seeing the balance point to control two individuals together. This was no easy task, but a good puzzle. Jack gave us pointers, trying to coax us to move in the right direction. In this way we began to at least get an idea of what we should be doing. Finally we had a demo of using the same principle against three attackers, so much to learn.
Next we moved on to Mutō-dori, which Jack explained as much deeper than just "unarmed against a sword", perhaps more in the line of dealing with opponents that have an advantage of any kind. We began though with the traditional sword, and a Shomen strike. At first we moved in a way similar to shown at Buyū Camp, where we moved just enough to avoid the outside of the cut and at a distance which exceed the sword's reach. Then once we started to feel the timing of this movement we looked at a new space, which involved us moving into and beside the cut. We were instructed not to "dodge" the sword and instead improve our timing, physically moving as little as possible. It was OK to be hit a few times with the padded training weapon while we tested our distance and timing. We were experimenting (playing one might say).
The attack then changed to a horizontal cut, and then a tsuki. In all cases we had to focus on the timing of the space and avoid staring at the sword. Here more than ever we could see and work on the positioning with our partners, but getting that good sense of timing would take practice.
Finally we switched to a Tantō, a weapon with reduced range but increased maneuverability. From a slash, a hold up, even pinned against a wall, we had to focus on the same principles. Balance, timing, space. Not easy in such a confined and would-be dangerous situation. There was definitely something to be said for the concepts, even if we could not yet fully grasp and execute them. "Don't mess around with the knife!", Jack pointed out. It was better to injure and disable the attacker rather than try to wrestle their weapon away.
After we thanked our training partners we took a moment to discuss another talking point from the year. How different parts of the brain work, and how under stress we often rely on our cerebral cortex to make very non-tactical and reactive decisions. Jack talked about how humans have beaten any animal on earth using intelligence, but we could never beat a dangerous animal using only instinct. In fact much of the Taijutsu we use requires some rational awareness to recognize and execute in the moment. At the same time, if we are too intellectual we might lack the innate skills to recognize and react to danger in the first place. So part of training is the ability to toggle the consciousness according to the situation. As an example; he talked about highly trained members of SWAT teams practice their methods over and over again, often under stress, so that in the real world they do not panic. Correct methodology, frequent repetition.
Of course, this led me to a realization, the Kotō Ryu, the Mutō Dori, the Mindset....these were not the true themes of the year at all. It was the same theme as every year...Bujinkan Budō Taijutsu!
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