“This forms a model (be modeled on) of the transmission and movement of the master across the repetition of the technique to the paroxysm, taking the practitioner to a space of more depth in his discipline, to the comprehension of the “heihô” or “Hyôhô” (“兵法”).

Across the constant and deep repetition, the body of the practitioner is waking up to a corporal attitude of practice beyond that of a repetitive movement, this movement is moving from the general form gradually to the daily life: walk, sit down, get up, take objects, etc…

The breathing turns partly of the practice, the form in that you communicate to yourself and with the persons is a way of practice, sleep, eat, drink is recognized as a way of practice.

Then the repetition of the technique turns into something vital for the sincere practitioner, this repetition is the seed of something deeper in his interior, the meeting with an art, with the current (流) in his life.

Every state and internal change causes changes in the outside and vice versa.

The masters of any spiritual or artistic current repeat habitual form, not to establish difference between the regular practice and the daily life.They understand that the art and the artist have to establish a relation of unity that leads to the multiplicity in the interior and the exterior of his life”. (Editors note: a economy of method)

“The art of movement and his Form of transmission must penetrate the soul of the practitioner; in the nature of his subconscious mind. Because in the encounter with the reality of real combat, it is only the work of the pure nature of the subconscious mind, and the art of transmission and his rules goes directly to the center of the being of the pupil. Here the importance of the ego and inner work is to to access and make space for the art of the master and his current in our being. COPYING IS AN ART.

The founder’s masters had to find a way to discover a state of unity of the body and the heart (eyes of the body) in situations of extreme danger, on the battlefield, in wars and armed conflicts, in losses and lost. In a state in which a human being negotiates the madness and in the imbalance of the mind and the heart through of the cruel experience of the war, and the emotional and psychological scars that remain within the “apparent” winner. I invite you to reflect on your inner state after having a controversy with a family member, partner, friend or when you live an existential complex situation.

This harmony is vital in the heart (spirit), body, and mind of the master, all connected in our universe, from within so without and vice versa, from subtle and invisible until the vast and visible, from life to death, from love to hatred, from peace to war. The master seeks to control and can be able to evaluate the midpoint of the opposite poles, the master want know the nature of the danger and the influence on his heart, mind, body, and life, and in the lives of those around him.

And it is at this point where the founder’s masters, created an art, a martial art that was in balance with the nature around them and the environment that they inhabited, and at the same moment, harmony with the inside and the beating and beliefs of his heart. Here is the great mastery of the founder’s masters in the art of “Mutô dori” and in the real combat, they expect the opponent’s attack until the last moment with an open and flexible state of the body, mind, and heart. The art is the art of perceiving and predicting the opponent’s movement from a internal state of zero or emptyness. The masters of the art or “shisho” (師匠) called this “sacchi suru” (察知); which we could interpret as predicting or sensing danger, which is the ability to anticipate, read and perceive the opponent’s movement or a dangerous situation.

A condition that connects the vision of the eyes of the subconscious with the movement of the body in unison. Therefore there is no space for the ego and a nature that is not the essential nature of the human being in the transmission of the levels of “mutô dori”, the duality of the ego separates the union that connects the heart and the body with the original nature of the human being.

The depth of the transmission of the founder’s masters and his lineage is a treasure for those who “observe” (metsuke; 目付) and practice with the “eyes of the heart”. A current, a “ryû” (流) is an art that expresses the connection between mind, body and heart with its reflection in the IN-EX-TERIOR, any subtle change that occurred on the outside and in the environment could be perceived by the subconscious mind and the heart of the master in the art.

However, realization of this type of transmission that is based on images, concepts and paradigms that cover a “esoteric” space and that are too complex to explain in written words, I’ll leave writing the only basis that can serve to the practitioner and the honest and sincere seeker of the art: THE FORM FOLLOWS THE FUNCTION.

Is very easy for the follower or practitioner to get lost in the illusions of the ego. “The formless form” , “form without form”, or “Mukei No kurai” (無形之位), is a state of practice that begins to discern or glimpse in more than 30–40 years of practicing the basics, until the basics is part of the bones and blood of the practitioner, and this is not even a guarantee that the practitioner can come to the “elite of the elite”. The art of “Mutô dori” and the real combat of a “koryû” is something extremely serious, techniques that communicate through life and death.

For this the real practice begins and ends in our hearts… The environment and nature around us (ryû) is the true witness of our practice, we cannot fool the image reflected in the mirror of the image of the master, the mirror of our more intimate solitude, where we are naked of filters and conditioning of the ego… in that space is where the art resides.

“The heart of the Form is the sword of the disciple. It is with it that he fights his enemies and by it that he pushes back the calamities that threaten him” (Toda Shinryûken).

Because every battle is fought first in our hearts.

Written David Esteban Guzmán, edited and reposted with permission by Luke Crocker

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Shinpo: Principles of the Heart and Mind was originally published in Classical Martial Arts on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A few months ago the Onmitsu Kage platform launched, serving as a sort of NetFlix of seminars led by the acclaimed Dr. Kacem Zoughari.

This excited me quite a bit as this is the man who, upon meeting him, single-handedly changed my approach to martial arts completely. He’s even the reason why I delved into academics, returned to school, completed my (ten years later) high school education and a number of university courses. In this time, I was only able to see Kacem whenever he came to Toronto, Ontario here in Canada. However, our local government caught wind that he was coming here to do business, and since then the bureaucracy has complicated his visits. Thus I haven't seen him in maybe four years.

So the launching of this program has been a very big gift to my practice. Accordingly, I immediately began taking extensive notes, after all, I might be able to afford this subscription now, but there's no promise of later.

Before long I realized that I was writing files that spanned from 14 to 24 pages each, and I decided to approach the guys that were making the project possible. Now they are hosting said files on their site as a supporting service!

So for this particular seminar, the material was focused on Gyokko-ryu Kosshijutsu and Tojutsu. Pretty much everyone in the Bujinkan has seen many of the techniques of Kosshijutsu, but in this case, Kacem also spoke of Koppojutsu in that tradition as well. He explained how at different times, depending on the particular master’s proficiency, favorite techniques (which was a perspective not recommended), or capacity in certain movements, it might be referred to as kosshijutsu, koppojutsu, taijutsu, etc. “There is also Gyokko-ryū Daken (striking with the fists; 打拳) and Gyokko-ryū torite (grabbing with the hands; 捕手), all depending on the master, the area, the expertise, what he like, some people are sometimes better in one thing then the other, just like how some are just right handed, some are just left handed, some are both, some have very good balance. So there is Koppōjutsu and kosshijutsu, some have said that there is no weapon. This is not true, this has come from using the spear, longsword (tachi; 太刀), iai (居合), shuriken, the kusari (chain; 鎖) a way of using the kodachi (small sword; 小太刀).”

“When you keep on practicing you need to engage yourself on something like a high class way of moving and a high standard of moving. After that, you’re free to do what you want.” — Kacem Zoughari

In regards to Tojutsu (science of the katana; 刀術), Kacem explained that the word kenjutsu (剣術) is fairly new in the Japanese history of martial arts. Before that, you use tōjutsu. “Tō” mean katana, it is the same writing (刀), but a different way of reading it. Most of the classical masters like Bokuden, Hidetsuna, Matsumoto Bizen no kami, Itō Ittōsai, etc. they used to be known as masters of tōsōjutsu (刀槍術), or sōtōjutsu (槍刀術), which means spear and sword. The sword was always the last weapon, not really a very important weapon, but it became a symbol of the warrior class when there was no more war, when it became a peaceful era. So it because a symbol when you don’t use it anymore.

So I continue to make such a product for Onmitsu Kage, and quite enjoy it, however, I do not get paid for such work, and I happen to have a Patreon page for such efforts. So if you feel that my efforts are useful to your training, curiosities, or life, please consider becoming a patron of my works and donating a little something on my page here:

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Notes: Stockholm 2010 Gyokko-ryu Kosshijutsu and Tojutsu was originally published in Classical Martial Arts on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Just a “quick” update on some of the projects going on at the Classical Martial Arts Research Academy.

Been working with the Onmitsu Kage Co. guys in publishing my extensive notes on their service. When they launched a NetFlix-like subscription service of the years of seminars with martial arts historian Dr. Kacem Zoughari, I went nuts with taking notes. then I approached them about publishing it, so now it’s available for subscribers! Onmitsu Kage Co.

I have also been making my Bujinkan ryuha translations public on my ResearchGate page. back in 2008, when Masaaki Hatsumi’s “Unarmed Fighting Techniques of the Samurai” book was published, I found the translations lacking. So from time to time I’ve worked on my own translation: Luke Crocker on ResearchGate

Finally, I have launched a Patreon page for CMARA, if you guys find that my work has been helpful and has provided value, please consider shooting a buck or two there, every dollar is encouraging to continue my public efforts!

CMARA on Patreon

Updates at CMARA was originally published in Classical Martial Arts on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Written by David Esteban Guzmán, who has provided permission for me to share his works here.

There exists a concept that we can find inside the documents of transmission of the culture and the art of movement of the ”Koryû” (古流). This concept expresses the importance of the union between the interior and the exterior of holistic form in the art and the way of developing the techniques “waza” (技).

The term is “Te no uchi” (手之内) and is commonly translated as the interior of the hands, however this is much deeper in meaning than the simple translation of the concept, we could understand like the perception inside of the hands in the developing of the techniques in the art of “Kobujutsu” (古武術).

The use of the hands of an artist reveals his state of evolution in any kind of art, whether “Kobujutsu”, “ikebana” or “kadō” (way or ceremony of the flowers; 華道), “Shodō” (the way of the writing; 書道), sadō/chadō (way of the tea; 茶道) , playing a musical instrument, etc…

A master collects all the necessary information about the state and depth of practice in his disciple, with a moment of observation when perceived as holding a weapon, grab, writing, wave (karuku) etc…

Some masters of “Kobujutsu” use the concept of “Tai no uchi” (体の内) the interior of the body, to invite their disciples to penetrate more into the concept of the interior of the hands.

This “Te” (手) hands, and “Tai” (体) body. It might be understood like analogous and synonymous of the technique, the interior of the technique.

How to copy the technique of the master? How to copy something that has been created to be kept secret and hidden to the perception of the five senses (“mienai” — invisible; 見え ない) and to the comprehension of the intellect (“wakaranai” — incomprehensible; 分から ない)?

From the unit to the multiplicity. “shoden” (初伝) is “okuden” (奥伝) and “okuden” is “shoden”, the basic transmission contains the secret transmission and vice versa… The search without end nor beginning of the comprehension with the mind, the body and the heart of the interior of the hands, body and the essence of the master and his current (流).

The repetitive practice of the basics is vital and necessary for any follower of the “kobujutsu”, nevertheless it is not a question of sowing a mechanical practice, with rigid seeds and without life. Through the conscious repetition one wants to cultivate a deep sensation of the movement of the body, the interior of the body is visualized, the practitioner wants to feel the body, a state of movement is created where every repetition is a call of the practitioner to the unit with the technique in a deep relation with his body and spirit.

This unit in the technique will take the practitioner to a multiplicity in the strategy; this strategy can be understood in the “kobujutsu” as “Heihô” or “Hyôhô” (兵法).

“Heihô” is literally the “method of the soldier” (this methodology are the rules, practices and techniques of the soldier, the disciplines called “Bugei Juhappan” (武芸十八), nevertheless the Kanji of “heihô” (兵法) refer to deeper meanings, like the terms of strategy or tactics.

This strategy consists of the unit of being that is able to adapt to any type of situation of danger, physical, psychic or emotional imbalance (E.g. economic crisis). This involves the acquisition of a state of deep technical knowledge transmitted by the masters, a way of life where adaptability, flexibility, and humility are essential.

A fruitful repetition of the technique takes root in the capacity, the talent, and the intuition of the practitioner of understanding the what, how, when, and where to practice the technique. When to take the body to the limit and the most important thing as to recover and to rest the body, the mind and the heart, to be able to continue in a deep practice of the art when the youth grows to maturity, and the maturity to the wisdom of the oldness.

This forms a model (be modeled on) to transmit the movement of the master through the repetition of the technique to the paroxysm, and takes the practitioner to a space of more depth in his discipline, to the comprehension of the “heihô”.

Through constant and deep repetition, the body of the practitioner is waking up to a corporal attitude of practice beyond simple repetition of movement, this movement is gradually becoming the form of daily life: walk, sit down, get up, take objects, etc…

The breathing changes in part from the practice, the form in that you communicate to yourself and with others is a way of practice, sleeping, eating, drinking, is all recognized as a way of practice.

Then the repetition of the technique turns into something vital for the sincere practitioner; this repetition is the seed of something deeper in his interior, the meeting with an art, with the current (流) in his life.

Every state and internal change causes changes in the outside and vice versa.

The masters of any spiritual or artistic current repeat their form habitually, not to establish difference between the regular practice and the daily life. They understand that the art and the artist have to establish a relation of unity that leads to the multiplicity in the interior and the exterior of his life.

The practice of an art is like a Japanese bamboo plant during the first seven years. Is very exiguous in growth during his first seven years of existence, scarcely it is possible to estimate its growth potential. Perhaps an ignorant farmer would not have the patience and give up. However, once it reach it’s seventh year, in just six weeks the Japanese bamboo plant can grow over thirty meters.

What happened? Why not grow during the first seven years? It’s not that it didn’t grow, but during the first seven years of apparent inactivity, the bamboo was generating a complex root system that would allow it to hold when growth began.

Come to this point is important to meditate about this concept used by the masters “Take no uchi” (The interior of the bamboo; 竹の内).

How to copy the technique of the master? How to copy something that has been created to be kept secret and hidden to the perception of the five senses (“mienai” — invisible; 見え ない) and to the comprehension of the intellect (“wakaranai” — incomprehensible; 分から ない)?

THE INTERIOR (INWARD) OF THE BAMBOO IS EMPTY.

“The way should not be hidden. To make known is the best means of keeping it hidden” Yagyū Munenori

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The Art is to Copy the Master was originally published in Classical Martial Arts on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In the different communities around the rope arts, be it shibari, hojojutsu, or camp-craft, there has always been a conflict of preference for the material of which ones rope is. Is hemp better than jute, nylon or cotton? Anyone with enough experience will tell you that you should choose the right rope material for the task, just as you would choose the right knot for the job. Well fro hojojutsu, there are four types of material that are sufficient, two of which I particularly recommend, but the other two will suffice for the job as long as you keep certain concerns in consideration.

They are:

• Nylon
• Hemp
• Jute
• Para-cord

In many cases, someone just beginning in hojojutsu, or any other rope based practice, will run to their local hardware or dollar store and grab cotton or something synthetic. Depending on the material in question, there are different reasons that I wouldn’t recommend it. Instead of tearing each possibility apart, I’ll just skip to the preferred methods.

Nylon

This is financially inexpensive, handles well, and depending on the weave, can prove to be resistant to rope burn. It tends to have low teeth, that is to say, it doesn’t grip much so it is easy to drag over fabric such as clothing, and thus isn’t much of a hassle to work with. It is also soft and slightly stretchy, which means that you can practice for a long time before your partner’s wrists, arms and neck hurt.

Hemp

This is the classical material used by the samurai and other warriors in feudal Japan. According to Fujita Seiko, “Arresting rope is to be made of extremely high quality and flexible hemp [. . .] Silk rope is strong and good for tension, but its disadvantage is that it’s easy to untie. Arresting rope in the Edō period was made in three states, of them the state of Hōzōji was most valued.” Accordingly, attention was placed not only on the material but also the grade, weave, and quality of the hemp to be used. If the hemp is weaved in one of the more modern kernmantle styles for climbing and such, it loses its flexibility, while if it's in a two or three ply weave it has more opportunity to bend, which is desired for this purpose.

Jute

Probably the most popular and preferred material is tossa jute, a super lightweight, medium to low tooth fiber rope. It has many of the qualities of hemp, except that it seasons at a slower rate than hemp. While on the other hand once it is well conditioned, it becomes smooth almost like a light leather, while being quite light. Thus it handles quite quickly, holds knots like hemp does, and the concern for rope burn is quite low. In a general all around purpose I would recommend jute above all else for hojojutsu.

550 Para-cord

This stuff is popular among military, campers, survivalists and doomsday preppers for it is small and compact, light and water resistant, and strong beyond reason. However for the purpose, I do not generally recommend this as it is usually quite thin, meaning that it will bight into the flesh painfully (though this may be desired for detaining a personal) which can impinge nerves easily and put your training partner out of use and permanently damage your detainee. and it has a texture similar to the above mentioned silk, in that it is very smooth and does not hold the required knots found in hojojutsu very well. On the other hand, it is quite inexpensive, very durable and very good for all around use (outside of hojojutsu).

Ultimately, the bottom line is what works for you, however, unlike shibari, it is less about what you like and more about what works. For that reason I would recommend nylon for practice, jute and hemp for arresting, and para-cord for camp-craft and the rest.

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Nawa no Koto — The Matter of Rope was originally published in Classical Martial Arts on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In regard to hojōjutsu, there is hayanawa and honnawa.

Hayanawa (Fast rope; 早縄) is also called sokunawa (quick rope; 速縄), as well as karinawa (temporary rope; 仮縄) and karishibari (temporary tie; 仮縛). This can be implemented to quickly detain those who encourage riots and disorders, the arresting rope can be used to arrest criminals for the time being, and is also referred to the single person capturing rope.

The honnawa (main rope; 本縄) is an abbreviation of the honshikinawa (formal rope; 本式縄), and was also used for formal tying. In the situation that the culprit was already detained they would be transferred to this rope, and a different method of being bound would be applied to the prisoner for escorting.

This hayanawa, honnawa, and their variations uses are dictated by the ryūha in question, of which the honnawa is the stronger. Also, there is the division of shingyōso (真行草), where the honnawa is shin, the hayanawa is sō, and some of the different ties that can be applied with both honnawa and hayanawa are called gyō. In addition, there is the rope method of kagenawa (陰縄), and there is also hinawa (陽縄). This is viewed from nawahyō (rope appearance; 縄表), whereas hinawa is worn openly or over the clothing and is visible, while kagenawa is out of view.

It should be noted, that the names of the rope forms are not standardized universally and are often unique between the various ryūha. Though the rope tying method may be similar the name may differ drastically.

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Hayanawa — Quick Rope 早縄 was originally published in Classical Martial Arts on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Gyokko-ryū Tōjutsu no maki

Gogyō doesn’t mean, as a scholar, I would never translate it as “five elements”, it means the “five phases”. Secondly, it’s not really martial arts, the meaning of the word is deeper than that. It is written, “Gogyō no Gokei Jo”, the five areas, Me, I, Mi, Shu, soku nari (目、意、身、手、足成り). Translation: the five things is the way you look, the eyes, the intention and the way you develop and cultivate the intention, Mi is the flesh, hands and legs. So, it’s how you practice, how you breath, how you condition your body through the technique.

Then, when you understand that, there is the Sangaku (Three learnings; 三学), the three knowledge of the practice, Ichimonji, Jūmonji, Hichō. And you’ll see what’s really cool is that this is just the beginning…

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Gogyō no Gokei Jo 五行之五系序 was originally published in Classical Martial Arts on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

By Pertti Ruha, Translated by Luke Crocker

To fully understand the Sanshin no kata, we must be spontaneous and natural in our movements; we need to recreate the pure “heart”*.

Hatsumi Sensei has said:

“This kata has been around for thousands of years, in a spontaneous and unexplained form.
It consists of an ingenious combination of the five elements, which are the building blocks of our surroundings; earth, water, fire, wind and nothingness are embedded in the Sanshin no kata, but the characters of water, fire and wind are prevalent.

The key to these movements is the naturalness that we perform them with.
We must move spontaneously and hearken to the free movement of our body.

Before we start to use our arms and hands, it is particularly important to know the position of the feet.
The hands can be used to distract opponents focus. From beginning to end, the body must be moved with naturalness.

When we train with a single partner, we must not forget that the real battle may be several opponents. We must be prepared for all kinds of circumstances, where most is to our detriment. With the first glance, it is important to assess the space between us and the aggressor.
We must not make the mistake of relating too close to the opponent. We must always leave room to move freely.

It is reprehensible to copy and memorize techniques. All waza must be seen as examples of principles. With constant training and insight into the principles we learn to adapt to the ongoing battle.
When we reached this insight, we can create martial arts.”

* Heart = jap. Shin [心], can also be interpreted as the “center” or “opportunity”

Other homonyms for “shin”;
[神] — spirit, mind; divinity
[真] — truth, authenticity, reality
[信] — honesty, trust; faith
[芯] — core; heart; center
[親] — closeness, intimacy
[臣] — servants; A humble way to say “I do”
[讖] — predict, foretell
[瞋] — evil intention, antipathy {in Buddhism; box}
[新] — new, neo

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Sanshin no Kata was originally published in Classical Martial Arts on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Kacem Zoughari on Stretching

Transcribed by Luke Crocker, minor edits for understanding.

Flexibility, stretching, extending yourself… well first, when you talk about stretching, you need to understand the idea of “warming up”, and those kinds of exercises you do before starting the class.

First of all, you need to understand that in classical martial arts, whatever the ryūha, whatever the style, doesn’t exist. Warming up doesn’t exist, and nowadays every ryūha does warming up, even in kendō and things like that, they are things taken from sports in order to fit or to help to practice. In classical martial arts there is no warming up, etcetera, exercises. There is this aspect of Tanren (tempering; 鍛錬) conditioning and reinforcement. So every movement that you do in daily life needs to support, it needs to apply the technique. So you need to work your body in order to be flexible, to be precise, to be shaped, but at the same time to not show that you practice martial arts, or that you practice those kinds of techniques.

In the world of warriors, in the world of the 14th century, 15th century, 16th century, showing that you are strong can be good, but can also be a problem, and you can be a very easy target. You cannot show that you have a certain kind of ability. A ninja cannot say, “I’m a ninja!” and jumping like, etcetera, and doing things like… so they might recognize you, you need to always hide the aspect of knowledge you have of the art of fighting. You are a master, you are known as a master, but we don’t know how deep you can fight, unless we don’t see it completely, unless we don’t show it, the master doesn’t show it. That’s a very important thing.

You cannot also, have two different kinds of exercise like something to warm up the body, and something for practicing martial arts; you can’t divide a practice. You need to have everything as one thing that supports what you want to build. So some people might practice yōga, some people might practice stretching, that’s good! But as long as it doesn’t make your practice worse. For example, there are some people that are very good at yoga, that are very good in flexibility, but when you ask the to kick and keep the foot out at a certain level, and do the same movement, they cannot because this requires a certain kind of flexibility, and a certain kind of work on the ligaments, and the muscle as well. And at the same time some people can rise very well, and lift the legs, but not do flexibility. Here again it is a certain kind of muscle working.

That is why you can say that there are two kinds of flexibility: there is dynamic flexibility and static flexibility. Then after there is the flexibility that you need for the martial art, that you need for the art you practice, whatever the ryūha.

So about this flexibility and things, the word itself in Japanese, you have many words. For example, Jūnan (flexibility; 柔軟) like the Jūnan Taisō (calisthenics; 柔軟体操), the word on itself you don’t find before the Meiji period (1868–1912.), it’s something created with the foreign influence. The kanji you use mainly in Japanese mainly are for example for flexibility are like yawarakai (softness; 柔らかい), yawaragu (to soften; 和らぐ), the kanji of wa (harmony, peace; 和), which expresses not only flexibility, but at the same time the image of the branch, of something that takes the weight but doesn’t break, something that bends, also something that fits, something that adapts. And this image of the nature, this image of the bamboo… that’s the idea of the things we have of yawarakai, of Jūjutsu, Jūdō, and also the other kanji of ‘wa’ as in yawaragu, a very interesting kanji. For example, the ‘wa’ of Wadō-ryū (和同流), which is used also for jūjutsu. Why? Because in this way it also means peace.

We think that everything that bends, everything that fits, everything that accepts the situation means that it can be in balance. By being balanced, you are in harmony, you synchronize. So your body needs to be synchronized, your body needs to follow the flow, needs to be part of the flow, needs to become the flow. And for that, of course, because the body is consisting of 70% of water, and because everything inside is not made to be like a rock; you just need to see the internal organs, just need to see the muscle. You can get harder, you can get stiff, but the bodies nature still, look, flesh, blood, certain kinds of liquid; so we are not made of rock, not like a tree… we are very weak, the body is weak, but I think there is great strength in understanding the weakness. You have to understand your weakness which is also another aspect of the flexibility, because flexibility is weak. But strong…. Strong, deep, because of all this different weakness adds to a deep weakness makes something stronger.

So flexibility is very important, but being flexible and being stiff in the mind, it’s illogical; you have all the flexibility, and also to support a certain vision, a certain way of looking at things. By stretching means to stretch your mind, to stretch yourself. Then after there is different kinds of exercise; you need to understand that flexibility can be not good for the body if you don’t do it in the right way. You have to listen to your body, that’s what I mean by weakness; know your weakness, study your weakness, understand your weakness, understand the nature of the weakness of your body. Like this you understand the weakness of your psychology, and from that you can understand what is strong, what can be strengthened, reinforced, etcetera. So in that case, practicing flexibility is very important.

Now when we look at certain pictures of Ueshiba Sensei, the way you see hi at a certain age, you can see a certain kind of flexibility. We have also accounts from different people who have met Takeda Sōkaku, they used to say that the man was very flexible. True or not we don’t know, it’s always dependant of the men, how flexible he was and what is the nature, or the definition he had of the word flexibility and stretching.

In the case of Hatsumi sensei, like Takamatsu sensei, even now at eighty years old, a lot of people have noticed, have witnessed the kind of flexibility. The fact of going lower like that when splitting the legs (splits stretch) at eighty years old.

Flexibility is a proof of a certain kind of health of the body, how the body can be healthy, how the tendon can work. At the same time, the muscle needs to be strong, you need muscle and flexibility that fit together. So it’s a kind of… not perfect balance, but a certain kind of balance that allows you to always support the movement you are looking for. You need a certain kind of flexibility for a certain kind of kick, a certain kind of flexibility to sit like that, to kick like this, to move. You need a certain kind of flexibility to add to it a certain beauty, because flexibility includes a beauty, includes also synchronization of the movement. Flexibility without synchronization? No.

I mean, everyone on earth doesn’t [necessarily] like ballet or the classical dance, but when you look at the way they do it and the grace in the movement, slowly, surely, and even when they go fast they are sloe, there is a certain kind of beauty. Which of course this is related to that kind of fraise, “the slow is smooth, the smooth is invisible” in the case of the practice. Everyone thinks that the martial arts should be done- or the technique should be done fast. Actually the more you do it fast, the damage you receive are faster, in both cases. I think, the word “flow”, which is really similar to the word “slow”, I think the flow is slow. You don’t really see it because it’s a flow. And flexibility is based on that.

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Besides hojojutsu, there is also the methodology of rope hooking, how to initially restrain the enemy’s movement, or if one happens to encounter the occurrence of a fugitive escaping. Later on this developed into categories and structures: the Generals rope is for the Generals, the officers and soldier rope for the officers and soldiers, and of course the servant rope is applied to the servants. This is a way to recognize the social status and rank. Thus there was a standardized method of nawagake (Hooking with the Rope; 縄掛) for recognizing this. Finally, this was not only used for their status and class, how someone was tied was also defined by their trade position: a samurai was tied like a samurai, a commoner as a commoner, a monk as a monk, a priest as a priest, mountain priest, ascetic, woman, child, blind person, beggar and so on. The methodology of how the rope is applied in nawagake hō is consistent to each style, and in matters of criminals, the method of binding has become standardized in relation as to how severe the crime committed is, so this can be determined at a glance. Therefore, it is good to follow a standard method of tying with the rope, and for the person who applies a method that differs from the standard method is at fault, and to do so is shameful for the person who applied the tie.

These are the general methods for binding with rope in the Tokugawa era :
• Samurai — Nijū Hishinawa (Double Diamond Rope).
• Commoners and crude people — Jūmonji (Cruciform), Waribishi (Split Diamond), Chigaibishi (the Different Diamond), and Jōnawa (Upper Rope).
• Monks and Priests — Kaeshinawa (Reverse Rope) and Takahane (Hawk Feather).
• Shrine servants and Shintō priests — Shimenawa (Sacred Shrine Rope) and Torii Agata (Shintō Shrine Archway suspension).
• Mountain Priests — Kyūkyōnawa (Large Oak box for traveling merchants).
• Women — Chichigakenawa (Breast Hooking Rope).
• Children — Chigonawa (Pageboy Rope).
• Blind person — Zatōnawa (Blind man’s Rope).
• Confrontational Person — Taiketsu Hanetsuku Nawa (Wing Restricting Rope).
• Strong Men — Sokutōnawa (Fighting the Legs Rope).
• For those that are skillful at escaping rope — Tome Nawa (Stopping Rope).
• For banished criminals — Kainawa (Shellfish Rope), Okunawa (Presenting Rope), and the Watashinawa (Delivery Rope).
• For exposing objects — Sarashinawa (Bleaching Rope).
• For house crimes (breaking in) — Kubikirinawa (Head Cutting Rope), Kirinawa (Cutting Rope), Kinawa (Beheading Rope), Gennawa (Presentation Rope), Rakka (Falling Petals), Sutenawa (Discarding Rope), Hatsunawa (Punishment Rope).
• For Arsonists — Hitsukinawa (Arson Rope).
• For Vagrants — Hininnawa (Vagrants Rope).
From these standard methods many methods arose and so on. Consequently because of the various ryūha, there were many different ways of binding with the rope.

Source:

Seiko, Fujita. Zukai Hojōjutsu. (1986).

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Defining the Science of Rope Arrests Hojojutsu part 3 was originally published in Classical Martial Arts on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.