The budo charter

I bought an Ozzy Osborne CD the other day and immediately put on Crazy Train. Reminds me of my youth when I'd listen to lots of heavy metal. Smashing. You don't half get the hoovernig done quicker with rock music playing! This particular CD was Ozzy Osborne Live at the Budokan. Hmmm. Budo kan. I'll have to google that. There's not much in English out there apart from a wikipedia entry telling of how the hall was built for the 1964 Olympics but is now mostly known for concerts such as Ozzy's. When I further googled Budokan English pages I came up with this: The Budo charter...

http://www.nipponbudokan.or.jp/shinkoujigyou/budochater.html 

Call me naive (actually I'd rather you didn't) but I didn't realise that there was a budo charter covering Japanese budo (of which Shorinji Kempo is one). I often study the philosophy of shorinji kempo and it covers much of what is laid out in the charter below but this idea of promoting an overall vision for Japanese budo was new to me. It's quite a unifying feeling that I can sit next to a Judoka and feel as if, through different techniques, we have underlying broad goals.

The Japanese Budo Association (Nippon  Budo Kyogikai) states in its preamble to the charter, "a recent trend towards infatuation just with technical ability compounded by an excessive concern with winning is a severe threat to the essence of budo".  This charter seems to bring the idea of character building through physical training into a global vision.

Check it out and see if this fits in with your training pattern- or not.

ARTICLE 1：OBJECTIVE OF BUDO

Through physical and mental training in the Japanese martial ways, budo exponents seek to build their character, enhance their sense of judgement, and become disciplined individuals capable of making contributions to society at large.

ARTICLE 2：KEIKO (Training)

When training in budo , practitioners must always act with respect and courtesy, adhere to the prescribed fundamentals of the art, and resist the temptation to pursue mere technical skill rather than strive towards the perfect unity of mind, body, and technique.

ARTICLE 3：SHIAI (Competition)

Whether competing in a match or doing set forms (kata), exponents must externalise the spirit underlying budo. They must do their best at all times, winning with modesty, accepting defeat gracefully, and constantly exhibiting self-control.

ARTICLE 4：DOJO (Training Hall)

The dojo is a special place for training the mind and body. In the dojo, budo practitioners must maintain discipline, and show proper courtesies and respect. 

The dojo should be a quiet, clean, safe, and solemn environment.

ARTICLE 5：TEACHING

Teachers of budo should always encourage others to also strive to better themselves and diligently train their minds and bodies, while continuing to further their understanding of the technical principles of budo. Teachers should not allow focus to be put on winning or losing in competition, or on technical ability alone. Above all, teachers have a responsibility to set an example as role models.

ARTICLE 6：PROMOTING 

Persons promoting budo must maintain an open-minded and international perspective as they uphold traditional values. They should make efforts to contribute to research and teaching, and do their utmost to advance budo in every way.

Indian VC who stuck to his gun

"The regimental machinegun section of the 129th...was placed in the portion of the defence held by the 6th Lancers.

Man after man was hit but the brave detachment continued to serve their guns, inflicting severe loss on the enemy....The enemy afforded an excellent target and the gun did much execution.

The heroic gun team, fighting tioll the last, were bayonetted at their posts, Khudadad Khan, the sole survivor, though badly wounded, managed after a time to rejoin his company, but did not quit his gun till he had ensured it would be valueless to the enemy."

An abridged version of the report in The Times of 27th January, 1915, headed, "Two Indian VCs".

Khudadad Khan won the Victoria Cross and returned home to India.

Another reference here.

Clever Hans and observer expectancy effect

No this isn't a pun on hands it's actually the name of a horse. Called Hans. Who was...wait for it....clever! Yes a clever horse who could count and do simple arithmetic by tapping out numbers with his hoof. The case amazed all of Germany (and probably the world) in the early 20th Century. He amazed so many people that an eminent psychologist called Oskar Pfungst was called in to investigate Hans in 1907.

Pfungst's studies established that Hans was, sadly, unable to count or make simple sums. His gift was an uncanny ability to read the expectation on the face and in the body language of his owner who would ask him questions. When the answer was five (for example), the owner would (inadvertently) give off signals for the horse to stop tapping his hooves when five had been reached. He couldn't repeat this when the owner wasn't in sight. Hans seems to have had an ability to read these visual clues in order to please his owner (and possibly get a food reward).

I thought of this the other night in training because when we train in partners we tend to do this too. No, not tap our hooves to count but we do give off 'expectation' in our expressions. What is meant to be 'spontaneous' attack is sometimes telegraphed by these expressions or even simply an eyebrow raise! In Tang Soo Do a kihap is often performed by both attacker and defender to ensure everyone is ready and from that point onward the attack can be initiated at any moment. In practice the kihap is perfunctory and initiates the technique. This shouldn't be the case. We need to stay focused and ready to receive the attack at any time and without telegraphing by the attacker. No raised eyebrows, head lifting or hoof tapping.

So Hans couldn't count but he could read his owner's subtle body and facial language. We should train with this in mind.

Beautiful dojang

I love this dojang in Switzerland. I came across it some time ago and was struck by the wonderful minimalist interior stripping out all extraneous distractions giving you no chance to do anything other than concentrate on your art. Ahhh!

http://www.soobahkdo.ch/html/tdotoct08_31.html

http://www.soobahkdo.ch/html/ko_dan_ja_shim_sa_39.html

http://www.soobahkdo.ch/html/ko_dan_ja_shim_sa_3.html

Soo Bahk Do in Switzerland, Wald, near Zurich.

http://www.soobahkdo.ch/html/e_welcome.html

The Black Knight

Taken from the 7th Chapter of the Hagakure:

"It is said that every time Oki Hyobu's group gathered and after all their affairs were finished he would say, "Young men should discipline themselves rigorously in intention and courage. This will be accomplished if only courage is fixed in one's heart. If one's sword is broken, he will strike with his hands. If his hands are cut off, he will press the enemy down with his shoulders. If his shoulders are cut away, he will bite through ten or fifteen enemy necks with his teeth. Courage is such a thing"

Sound similar...?

The art of war

A hectic night out with the lads in Bristol was followed by a sedate Sunday morning nursing hangovers. I managed to slip away from the group and mooch around and, as is often the case, I gravitated to the local museum and art gallery and found a couple of smashing pieces of art portraying fighting arts.

The following is a roof tile portraying Guan Yu, a popular 3rd Century Chinese general who is still revered today.

This solid looking chap was worked by Gaudier-Brzeska at the turn of the 20th Century. I was struck by his quiet power and t'ai chi hands. Although this sculpture looks still and unmoving (because of the nature of the subject), Gaudier-Brzeska famously worked on dynamic movement in his work.

Saturday seminar (mawashi geri)

Given that trains to London via Kings Cross were all cancelled and I had to take a train to Liverpool Street Station which seemed to stop at intervals of 3 minutes I should have been in a grump on the way to the seminar on Saturday. Somehow I felt good though. The sun was shining through and I had plenty of time to meander across London on the tube so I was in no rush. Equally I'd prepared all of my equipment the night before: gi, knee pads (a must when you don't have the luxury of using mats- a tip I picked up from practicing iai), mitts, tanto, flip flops, towel. Ah! Everything in order.

I further felt lifted when, upon approaching the gym, I saw a tall, muscular guy on a traffic island, nestled away from the cars by the trees around him, dressed in bright orange trousers and Chinese style gaiters warming up to do some kung fu. He was windmilling his arms gently round in what looked like preparation with the sun warming him. It was going to be a good day.

This seminar focused on mawashi geri: attacks and defences. The three main elements we looked at were: 'bouncing' out of the attack and back in to counter, receiving and blocking the mawashi geri attack early and countering with a straight kick and finally stepping striaght in with punches against a jun mawashi geri (no block). These were built up nicely so weren't hammering away at it straight away. I found bouncing out and in again to counter quite dynamic but you have to make sure both feet are pointing towards your opponent for maximum efficiency of movement. It has to be quick!

We eventually mixed up the attack defence so it was random: we could choose which counter from the three we'd practiced. This always makes me a bit anxious. Oh the choice! Will I get it wrong? Well as long as I remain focused and if I mess up put it behind me that's ok. It's a collaborative environment so I need to relax more. I need to relax more (full stop!).

Finally we worked on some juho take-down techniques with particular application of pinning the opponent to the floor when s/he is resisting. Good to feel the best places to apply in order to pin effectively.

On the way home the day was still bright and the wind quite refreshing. Three hours of training does wonders for you and as I made my way to the tube station the same guy was still practicing his kung fu (this time he seemed to be using a hand held mop). Train when you can.