Heart, Faith and Steel » hatsumi

Ninja and Assassin

Joe — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:00:14 +0000

I recently saw two ninja movies that came out last year and though both were entertaining, neither was very good. So, here’s my review:

Ninja (2009): Age old story, boy meets girl in ninja school, they bond. Rival ninja student hates boy does bad things and gets a tabi boot to the butt. Rival student returns to make everyone regret the day…

Ninja Assassin (2009): Age old story, boy meets girl in ninja school, they bond. Rival ninja student kills girl. Boy escapes and returns to make everyone regret the day…

So, I’m glad I didn’t pay theater prices ($10 per flick) to see them… Instead i borrowed them from my local library (free).

Who YOU Gonna Call?

Joe — Fri, 21 May 2010 11:00:11 +0000

If you haven’t heard of ImprovEverywhere, here’s a clip for you to watch.

You gotta hand it to them, they always do a wonderful job at their events. you can see more of them here: Improv Everywhere!

The Bells Were Ringing

Joe — Tue, 11 May 2010 12:00:26 +0000

The martial arts are about living (not dying). We study the arts of protecting our friends, family and ourselves from those who would harm us; but equal in importance we are studying how to live, grow and foster the same in those around us.

So, (on Saturday, April 24, 2010) when one of the members of our group was getting married, it was obvious that many of us would be attending. Bill and his beautiful wife, Geovanna, had a wonderful sunny day and awesome wedding! Congratulations!

Per cent’anni!

The power of zero

Joe — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:30:35 +0000

It’s not form or technique, it’s the koppo. It’s the whole body. It’s the power of zero. Don’t hit or strike. Play in the space. — Hatsumi-soke

Recently, a friend asked me to voice my thoughts on the quote above. here’s what I wrote back:

We always think of “koppo” in terms of bone attacks but a few years ago, Hatsumi-soke explained that koppo has a deeper meaning. My simple understanding of Koppo is knack (“skillful means”). So, koppo is letting go of the form and intent; moving naturally to effect others within “their” movements.

Additionally, soke often speaks and demos how we shouldn’t think of hitting the opponent, but move in ways that cause imbalance (loss of stability in body/mind) in the opponent.

For me a really “cool” non-martial way of explaining this is:
“A boozer looking for a fight walks into a bar. His attitude is plastered all over his face and body… Jackie [Chan], sitting in a chair, turns the chair and the boozer goes flipping over Jackie’s leg smacking his head on a table and falling unconscious.”

But as another friend of mine used to say, “Of course, I might have it all wrong.”

Saturday May 1 Workshop overview

Joe — Mon, 03 May 2010 14:30:14 +0000

On many occasions, I get email from people interested in joining our Bujinkan Dojo training. Some occasions are specifically about attending a Saturday workshop and how that differs from a regular class. So, I decided to present here an overview of our May 1, 2010 session:

1. Explanation and demonstration of Bojutsu reiho. Standing and seated versions.

2. Description of the length and type of wood used in crafting a real rokushakubo (six foot staff). Also, detailed explanation on how to craft a padded training rokushakubo, jo (tsue) and hanbo. Recommendation that all students craft their own training version so they can have it available at class from May through September.

3.How to grip the staff: the floating grip, sliding the staff along the hips and allowing it to “snake out” at the opponent.

4. Moving the staff from posture or twirl to position for striking.

5. Shiho furi gata. All directional twirl. Practice this regularly for a few weeks so you get the knack of it.

6. Understand that our art physically emphasizes Taijutsu (circa 40%), Kenjutsu (20%), Bojutsu (20%) and all other weapons (20%). Additioanlly, much of our early years of training should stress 80% physical and 20% mental while after about 20 years that changes to something like 40% physical and 60% mental.

7. Proper hand positioning and movement while thrusting (tsuki) the staff.

8. Understanding and applying a sinking motion (bending of the knees) to create a strong foundation for the strike.

9. Recommendation of a book to read: Zen in the Martial Arts by Joe Hyams.

10. Waza. Rokushaku Bo Shiho furi gata to tsuki. Tori to understanding the transition and making it seemless so as not to allow openings for the opponent to attack. Uke practices how to use his sword to invite attack, then deflect or guard against the staff thrust.

11. Sempai – Kohai relationship and how it applies to dojo, learning and fostering a positive training enviroment.

12. Waza. Uke begins in Daijodan no kamae and then cuts shomen giri.
Tori (person receiving the attack) begins in Seigan no kamae while creating an opening for the Uke. You step left foot to left side as left elbow raises slightly to begin uke nagashi. His cut is guarded and deflected toward your right as you continue your flow to deliver a left kote strike to his outer right arm. Continue to move on your forward left diagonal as you cut across his torso. (kotsu: lower your center of gravity when striking, keep proper distance, move in proper timing and keep a guard).

13. Waza. Uke right punch.
Tori begins in Ichimonji no kamae and receives attack with Jodan Uke Nagashi. Migite shuto to his inner right wrist as you left step to your left diagonal. Study: Timing, Distance, Angling and Flow.

14. Waza. Uke right punch.
Tori begins in Ichimonji no kamae and receives attack with Jodan Uke (guard, not striking). Migite clasp hand… as left leg steps on diagonal, right hand uses timing to apply omote gyaku with your body motion rather than strength. Study: Timing, Distance, Angling and Flow.

15. Discussed a variety of topics during our after workshop chat (local seminars, current movies, books and DVDs by Hatsumi-soke, and the nature of the many “ninja” people advertising on the internet.

Daikomyosai 2009 DVD

Joe — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:00:27 +0000

Like many of my buyu, I am eagerly awaiting the latest release of Quest Video’s Bujinkan DVD line: Daikomyosai 2009. Having been there during the filming, I know from experience that it’s a must have for all Bujinkan shidoshi.

Follow this link to watch a clip on YouTube.

Moti: Think knifely

Joe — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:00:47 +0000

Moti Nativ, shihan

So, I have been a bit busy with work and traveling to Japan for Daikomyosai (more on that in another upcoming post). But upon my return, I was very pleased to hear that an old buyu (warrior friend) will be visiting the NYC area on January 6 (Wednesday) for a night class. That warrants a quick note here on the blog.

When Moti was last in the NY area, he offered a wonderful night class that fueled weeks of practice and talks for us at the Bujinkan New York Dojo.

If you aren’t aware, Moti Nativ is head of Bujinkan Israel and former Chairman of the Israeli presidium of the International Budo Academy. He has been in martial arts since 1966 and in the Bujinkan since 1975. Moti has taught martial arts since 1979 including: Self-defense (Krav-maga), Judo and Budo Taijutsu. Over the past 10 years Moti has specialized in the traditional kata of the Bujinkan Schools and in performing the Shinken-gata. Moti is also an internationally-known Feldenkrais teacher, and he specializes in seminars for martial artists. Moti is a Retired Colonel from the Israeli Defense Forces and Judan Kugyo in Bujinkan.

If you are interested in quality instructors and his powerful lessons, I highly recommend attending this event.

Good for a Hearty Laugh

Joe — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:00:04 +0000

John Pinette “France & Italy”:

Milkman versus Mailman

Joe — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:00:27 +0000

Sometimes, there are these little clips on YouTube that make you laugh. This is one gave me a nig smile, so I thought I’d share.

Lunge Punch – a note

Joe — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:25:51 +0000

A note from one of my students:

Hi Joe,

Just wanted to let you know that I check your page a couple times a week and find the blog both informative and insightful, and at times really funny — like the Iron Man vs Bruce Lee fight you just posted.

Anyway, the lunge punch question you addressed has been one that I’ve wanted to ask you about for a while. Your answers helped me to understand what the true advantages are. After I thought about what you wrote I concluded that the ninjutsu lunge punch just seems to fit with the philosophy of the art. I’m speaking solely based on the small amount of knowledge I have about ninjutsu thus far, but as you’ve said using the whole body and being able to flow and move from one punch/technique to another without ever grounding yourself seems ideal. That being said, I don’t think I have a good “ninja” punch yet… I’m still working on the leg movement and arm timing.

Furthermore I was thinking that when one grounds themself to throw a karate reverse punch they’re providing both a fixed and broader target and more time for the attacker to hit you. I guess that punch better count! A Wing-Chun teacher that I trained with at a seminar once said… “You karate people are always throwing punches from your waist… it’s going to get you in trouble”, referring to the fact that it leaves you quite vulnerable, especially the face.

I can comment on the technique behind the karate reverse punch that I learned fairly well while studying Goju-Ryu. You probably know most of this already, but it will be a good exercise for me to remember everything.

The power of the punch comes from two primary sources, the rapid twisting of the hips using core muscles to get the weight of the upper body behind it, and the grounding of the feet with a slight push from the rear leg to add power. It’s definitely not a mobile punch, meaning that you must be glued to the ground to make it powerful. And it is a very powerful punch when executed properly.

Breaking it down into parts…
1. Concentrating the power of the whole punch into the first two knuckles (index and middle finger knuckles). This yields maximum pressure (and damage) on impact since the area of the two knuckles is small compared to say the flat front area of a fist that most people hit with. Pressure=(Force) divided by (Area)… smaller area gives a higher pressure.

2. A twisting of the forearm to lock together the two bones of the forearm, the ulna and radius. In the twisted position the elbow is almost pointing down at the ground rather than out and away from the body, while the fist remains at a 45-90 degree angle from vertical. This locks the whole arm and makes it solid for energy transfer.

3. The lat muscle of your back is contracted to lock the shoulder joint down and into a solid position, providing efficient transfer of energy from the core into the punching arm. Again, the less slack in the body the less energy wasted and more energy transferred along to the fist.

4. The elbow of the punching arm stays very close to the ribs as the arm extends. Based on the principle that the closer your arms are to your body the more power and control you have. The arm will then easily follow the twisting motion of the hips as the punch is being extended.

5. The feet are locked to the ground using the toes to dig in and grip. The front knee is bent and rear leg is extended behind in a typical karate front stance. The body weight is lowered/grounded with a feeling of heaviness and connection to the ground. As the punch is extended the front leg becomes tense with the knee turning in ever so slightly as the rear leg pushes from the ground going to almost full extension (extension of the rear leg is small, only an inch or so of total movement from relaxed to tense) drawing energy up from the ground. The feet do not budge from their grip of the ground.

In physics terms… Newton’s Third Law of Motion… every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction. If I push the earth below my feet (an immoveable object) with some force the earth will “push” back with equivalent force on me (the same thing happens when we jump into the air). Therefore since the earth isn’t moving, the energy is transferred up the leg to add energy to driving the hip forward.

6. The hips are rapidly twisted using the abs and obliques in a snapping motion with the punching side coming forward with the arm as it extends. This is to get the weight of the upper body behind the punch.

7. The punch extends through the target by about three inches. There can also be a twisting of the punch at the very end to cause more damage at the impact site by twisting and tearing muscle tissue below the surface as it penetrates into the target.

When it’s all done with the right timing, the overall goal is to take the power of the core, the legs, the shoulder, chest, triceps, and forearm muscles and focus it into the 1-inch between the first two knuckles.

It’s a great punch and can be done quickly, but again you’re completely fixed when executing it. From training in the Bujinkan I am starting to see the great benefit of moving the whole body and the effect it can have on an opponent’s balance and structure with little effort on your part.

I now look back at my karate training and think of it metaphorically as two fists smashing together, where force meets force. Whereas I look at the Bujinkan as a fist trying to strike a cloud of smoke. The fist hits nothing and smoke suddenly envelopes it, and then anything is possible.

That’s about it… I think I’ve written enough, and hopefully it was worth reading.

I’ll see you on Tuesday.