Jodan Blog

Shodai comes to town

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:47:36 -0800

Recently I had the great fortune of practicing with Shodai Kenji Sensei during his visit to some of the local dojo in Seattle. My bout with him was two minutes long. My feet were already a wreck with blisters received just days before, and I had already practiced with several very energetic people before hand. Still, for that two minutes I gave him everything I had. The match went as expected. I got in a few hits, he got in a lot more. He was fast, in control, and very accurate.

From the videos I’ve watched on YouTube, I’ve always admired Shodai’s kendo, especially for the energy that he brings to the match. Meeting him, I was also struck by his attentiveness, his presence of mind, and his compassion. Without really getting to know him, I have the impression that he is a genuinely pleasant individual.

The practice was informative to a degree, but moreover it solidified and reiterated a number of technical points that I already knew and needed to be reminded of. What I really took away from the practice was a great deal of inspiration.

Shodai reminded me of me (just younger and better looking ). Not as I am now, but as I would like to be and of how much can be achieved. He reminded me of why I started Jodan in the first place, why I continued in the face of great obstacles, and why I just won’t quit.

I’m looking at the future a little differently now. I know where I want to be and how I want to get there. I’m full of the sort of fire and optimism I had when I was Ikkyu and just starting jodan.

Thank you Shodai Sensei, for a rigorous, inspirational practice!

The Silver Lining

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:21:45 -0800

I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated the site… it’s amazing how much difference a new job and lower access to resources can affect what you are able to do on your computer. My apologies.

This weekend I got an eye opener at the 2009 Steveston Taikai. I’ve been down lately, and getting completely run over in my individual match did not help. I didn’t last more than a minute with my opponent and lost to two well timed hiki-men.

I came out of that match wanting to get in my car and drive home. I felt completely useless and a waste of space. Worse still, I had wasted another 3 hour drive with nothing to show for it but a battered ego. I kept asking myself the same question, “Why do I even bother?” This thought crept in to my heart and began working it’s poison until it became more dangerous questions. “Why bother going to taikai?” “Why keep doing Jodan?” “Why do you even do kendo at all?” “Why would anyone want to listen to you when you have such miserable performances?”

Because that’s what kendo is about. And that’s what Jodan is about. It’s about overcoming obstacles. It’s about boldly facing challenges with the strongest spirit possible. It’s about pulling yourself up by your fucking bootstraps, tightening your abdomen and taking a bold step forward. It’s about opening yourself up, exposing your weaknesses, and winning anyway. It’s about remembering that you are the enemy… you and your fragile little ego.

So, I scraped myself back together and put in an extremely adequate performance in our team matches. I did my job and did it well. Overall, I left the taikai feeling slightly better than when I arrived.

At dinner, the feedback started coming about my individual match, and all of it the same. According to those watching (including every Sensei in the world apparently) I was opening and closing my left hand, creating significant moments where I would not be able to strike. I had no idea I was doing this. In fact, I thought I was doing something else entirely. So, when I got home, I got out the hitting dummy and the video camera and started practicing to see what was going on.

Sure enough, when I thought I was bringing my hands in to create pressure and seme, I was actually just opening and closing my left hand. After working on it for a little while I found out why, and what the consequences were.

You can find out more about it by visiting the Waza section where I’ll post the explanation.

Tradition Vs. Sport : The Battle Continues

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 16:59:43 -0700

Another taikai season looms, starting for me with the PNKF Taikai in November. I’ve been training hard recently hoping to perform better this year than in years past. With this push to be ready for competition the question of traditional kendo vs. sport kendo has raised its well worn head again.

I’ve heard many sensei lament that more and more dojo are concerned too much with “sport kendo” and do not focus on the traditional values that “should” be taught. They say that the desire to win and the chase for trophies takes the focus of teaching away from the traditional values of kendo.

Having moved fairly recently from a more “traditional” dojo to one accused of being too sport oriented, I have to say that the accusations just don’t hold water… at least not from my experience. The dojo I’m part of now is no more or less traditional than the one I left. It’s just a little different. It’s also funny to me that the sensei that I have heard complain the most about “sport” kendo don’t seem to offer anything fundamentally different than those sensei accused of being to competition oriented.

To me there are two fundamental flaws in the argument.

First, let’s take a look at the “traditional”, historical kendo. We know from historical record that from the moment bogu was created and swordsmen were able to practice full on against each other without fear of death, individuals began to compete to see who was better. Shortly thereafter, neighboring dojo began to compete with each other. So really, nothing could be MORE traditional than competition. The only thing more traditional than that might be dying in a “comparison of techniques”.

Also, we know from historical accounts that various kenshi experimented with different lengths of shinai and other equipment to try to gain advantage. We also know that some went to great lengths to deny that others had bested them in competition. So, if you want to hang on to “traditional values”, you might need to keep cheating around as well. I know it’s obsurd, but it lives in our history, and I don’t think it’s a tradition we want to keep and pass on.

Second, the argument that “sport” kendo is somehow bankrupt of traditional values and therefore devoid of worth, seems to be giving the idea of “sport” in general a poke in the eye. I don’t know about anyone else, but when I was young, I was taught that sport was good for you because it taught values like teamwork, respect, perseverance, and humility. It’s funny, these sound a lot like the “traditional” values we want to get from kendo.

I bet if you asked any famous professional athlete, they’d tell you that the sport they chose taught them everything about life, and how to interact with others. Surely there’s value in that. Not to mention, every sport has its own tradition. Even if you only taught kendo as a sport, and not as a martial art, these values would still come through… they are inherent in the activity itself.

To me the bottom line is the heart of the individual kenshi. If you want a pass time or hobby, or a purely sport oriented version of kendo, you can have that. If you want to find something more, something philosophical or spiritual, that is there for you as well. The tradition is what you keep in your own heart and what you pass on to others.

I want both. I want to practice a traditional martial art and be able to experience competition using that art. I want to challenge myself and overcome my own doubts and poor self esteem. I believe that the ultimate achievement for a swordsman is the true realization and understanding of “becoming the enemy” and being able to obliterate your own ego, not permanently, but in the living moment… being able to act freely without hesitation, doubt or desire, and be triumphant.

I train with that spirit. I drive myself onward with that desire. I hold what little actual tradition I know in my heart and I bring it with me to shiai.

Things will be different this year. This year I will win.

Samurai Moments

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:43:26 -0700

To protect myself and the innocent, I won’t name names in this example. While getting ready for keiko, a particular high ranking sensei came walking into the changing room. On his way in, the himo from his hakama caught on the door handle. He pulled. The himo stayed in place. He pulled again. No use. He pulled harder. Still no luck. He used both hands to unwind the himo. This made things worse. He dropped his other articles and finally untangled the himo from the door handle. I found myself face to face with a nanadan, trying very hard not to laugh.
These moments happen to all of us. We train hard to have the physical and mental prowess of the samurai, and yet we stub our toes, drop jars of mayonnaise, or jump and scream when we see a spider. Afterward, we feel embarrassed and defeated, but we still have that urge to laugh.
The worst of these that I experience was about a year and a half ago. It was right after a huge ice storm had hit Seattle (a fairly rare event). I couldn’t go to work so I decided to practice kendo on my hitting dummy. I threw rock salt on my driveway to melt the ice, then added kitty litter to soak up any surface moisture. Within half an hour I was ready to go. It is important to note that I have an “arm” on my dummy that holds a shinai, so I can practice kote and be aware of maai very easily.
I decided to practice a little longer than usual because the local dojos had been closed down due to the storm. About half way through though, my moment came. My footwork on the driveway, combined with the rock salt and kitty litter, left a thin layer of mud over the hard frozen ground. I had just started to work on hitting katate men from a far distance and pushed off hard.
My back foot slipped only a little, but enough to cause me to come up short. My kensen struck the hitting dummy in the tsuki and caused it to rock up and back violently on its lower brace. At this point I was very worried, because if the dummy were to fall to one side or the other, it could damage either my house or my car.
I pulled my shinai out quickly to take the pressure off the dummy. This worked perfectly. The dummy fell forward, away from the house and car… bringing its shinai down directly on top of my head.
I had lost a nuki-men point to an inanimate object.
I looked around to see if anyone was watching. Then I carefully packed up all my gear and went back inside to watch TV.
These moments happen to everyone. Take the time to laugh at yourself, and have the courage to share with others. This is simply nature’s way of telling us that there is always room for more zanshin.

Dokkodo

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 11:17:10 -0700

As I’ve mentioned before, being fully committed to jodan can be a very lonely path. People try to discourage you. It is sometimes difficult to find someone to teach you. There are few, clear resources to guide you in training outside of your dojo. And, it’s just plain difficult. Some nights your sensei decides to put you through the ringer… twenty minutes of kakarigeiko followed by kiri-kaeshi, followed by conditioning drills, then keiko after keiko after keiko. By the end, your arms are so sore, all you want to do is drop them and fight from chudan. . . But you can’t. That is not the way for the jodan player.
Even when you have the support of others, jodan takes you in directions that others cannot understand. It isolates you, even in a crowd. It focuses attention on you. It draws scrutiny from everyone. Even the mention of jodan will start a flurry of comments that are designed to encourage, educate, or dissuade you.
This isn’t always a bad thing. I have always enjoyed the feeling of fighting from a deficit. If I can do a thing, let me try the challenge of doing that thing with fewer resources. If people tell me not to do jodan, let me show them just how far I can take it.
The feelings I get from facing the challenge of jodan are remarkably similar to what I feel when I read Dokkodo (The Way to be Walked Alone) by Miyamoto Musashi. I don’t imagine myself to be like Musashi… not in this lifetime, but I do imagine he faced some of the same feelings that we jodan kenshi face. I believe we can all learn much from these words.

Dokkodo
1. "Accept everything just the way it is."
2. "Do not seek pleasure for its own sake."
3. "Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling."
4. "Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world."
5. "Be detached from desire your whole life long."
6. "Do not regret what you have done."
7. "Never be jealous."
8. "Never let yourself be saddened by a separation."
9. "Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself or others."
10. "Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love."
11. "In all things have no preferences."
12. "Be indifferent to where you live."
13. "Do not pursue the taste of good food."
14. "Do not hold on to possessions you no longer need."
15. "Do not act following customary beliefs."
16. "Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful."
17. "Do not fear death."
18. "Do not seek to possess either goods or fiefs for your old age."
19. "Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help." [1]
20. "You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honour."
21. "Never stray from the Way."