August 03, 2004
Quote of the Day
I do not believe that fighting is the primary goal of martial arts in contemporary times. I believe that it has far greater potential. Hatsumi Sensei [says] that it is to produce higher human beings and create peace. Although these may sound like lofty ideals, we have all witnessed the personal evolution of practitioners and seen the spirit of friendship flourish between countries. In many cases, the Bujinkan has created friendships between students even when their home countries were still hostile.
Martial arts provide a model of life. They teach us to be positive and resolved in the face of adversity. They teach us to seek truth (albeit at first through technique), they teach us to seek harmony rather than accord, they teach us cooperation (which is necessary during practice) and they teach us the humility to know that we must act as part of nature not contrary to it. If we must fight, then we should do so with a pure heart. To harm an opponent more than is necessary is savagery and is unbecoming of an artist. It is better that we are judged on our dignity and humanity, rather than by how fearsome we are.
In Japanese martial arts, there is a saying, ‘The sword that kills and the sword that spares’. This is usually taken to mean that the swordsman would have such skill that he could choose whether to kill or spare an opponent. Hatsumi Sensei said that there is another meaning, that one action may have included both. An example of this may have been when faced with no other choice, a samurai would have killed an attacker to prevent him from taking innocent lives. Although regretting the taking of life, his one sword cut would have killed and spared life at the same time. To make such a judgement for the correct reasons, the swordsman needed to have had a highly developed sense of humanity and justice. Taking life cannot be compared with giving life. Hurting cannot be compared to healing and destruction cannot be compared to creativity. We are not just martial practitioners, we are martial artists and we should create beauty through the movements of our bodies and hearts.
Posted by Russell Whitaker at August 3, 2004 12:32 AM | TrackBack...and that's the beauty of training with the man. He stops the class quite often to talk about what we're doing, why we're doing it and the essentials of the move as they pertain to the range of movement of the human body. He isn't just a Bujin practitioner - the art is a part of the natural range of movements of *his* body.
It's so interesting to listen and have an 'aha'! moment about what you were doing wrong...then try the modification to your partner and note how very easy, very natural and fluid the movement is and how effective. In fact, it's an interesting inverse equation...if you're doing it right, you'll need far less effort to achieve far more effect. A reason why there's a funny moment of 'eep! did I just do that?' when, on the 4th try, everything clicks into place and your partner is sprawled some feet away from you looking dazed.
Egads, watch me fill up the screen. I'll leave the waffling to my blog, shall I? :)
M
Posted by: Monica on August 4, 2004 09:54 AMThe sword that slays may be the sword that spares in yet another way.
If the swordsman uses his sword to kill a wrongdoer, he spares the wrongdoer the curse of further wrongdoing.
Could not such an act be considered merciful, even to the victim?
JR
Posted by: Jeb on July 28, 2005 09:11 AMokay I agree
Posted by: lord on March 31, 2007 09:39 AMokay I agree
Posted by: lord on March 31, 2007 09:40 AM