Mushinzui Dojo - Bujinkan Saffron Walden Martial Arts School

23/05/2023

The biggest cause of our own distress and dissatisfaction in life is our inability to accept and go along with change as it happens.

On a deep subtle level of perception, as well as often overtly, we want things to stay as they are, not realising that without change, time itself, the very essence of life, would not exist.

If we can learn to stop clinging to the past moment, no matter how fresh it is, a tension is released inside of us, a deep relaxation occurs, we free up internal reserves that are no longer required to hold back the psychological dam, and we develop a deep capacity to deal with anything life throws at us.

This is how to practice Ninpo in our modern times.

Ganbatte!!!!

16/04/2023

Expectation and what actually happens are so often in opposite directions in life....

We create a fantasy in our mind, but reality turns out to be very different, because our fantasy is just something we make up in our own mind.

Sometimes this leads to either let down or surprise.

I feel it is important when learning traditional martial arts, for the teacher not to hide behind a curtain, like the wizard of oz, but rather be completely approachable and show their true face....warts and all.

Only then can a student really be prepared for the reality of a real life confrontational situation, which will never be like the romanticised images that we see on the big screen.

Teachers who train this way will not have many students, as most want to be taught by a 'super human', fulfil their fantasy, and be entertained...

But those that do stick around will be well prepared, and may well start to see things as they really are...

Bufu Ikkan!!

01/03/2023

Using Ukemi to throw the opponent....

In this clip, the Judoka uses a single handed handstand to Zenpo Kaiten in combination with a Muso Dori arm bar and Uchi Mata leg reap.

Very skillful indeed!!!

27/02/2023

Forms (kata) are traps:

“if you use a Waza from any Ryū, it will get you killed, you have to adapt it to the situation.” - Hatsumi Sensei.

A waza is only a teaching tool to get new knowledge; a waza is not a checklist of some sort but the visible result of a potential outcome. Only when you can adapt it to the terrain, the weather, and the opponent(s), can you use it.

~ Extract from a 2019 article by Arnaud Cousergue.

26/02/2023

We must not confuse consuming with learning.....

If we do an activity as a way to be entertained, then eventually we will become bored and want to change the channel, so that we can consume something new.

Learning a technical skill requires more than just turning up to a class, going along with the lesson, then not thinking about things until the next class.

To properly learn something technical, like classical Jujutsu, we must keep it in the back of our mind in daily life. This way, by thinking about, and therefore applying mental activity to the skill we have been learning, even if only for 5 mins here and there, we reinforced what we have learned, strengthening newly developing neural pathways.

Additionally, by doing this, the skill we are learning starts to become part of us, rather than just something consumed at a class. This fuels our own enthusiasm, and we never get bored.

Sadly, many people in this age of increasingly rapid consumerism, have become habituated to consuming, inhibiting there ability to learn.

So, if you want to learn a technical skill, such as a classical martial art, then your first step should be to decide not to be a consumer. If you can’t do this then you will never succeed.

19/02/2023

One drop of self motivation is of more value than a whole ocean of being motivated by others.

Being motivated by others creates a chore that we eventually resent;

Self motivation creates habit through pleasure.

So don't wait until your next class to think about your personal training, take this moment to do something, even if only for five minutes.

16/02/2023

When training in martial arts, as we change the way our body moves, we must also change our mind.

Our mind is a powerful thing indeed, holding the key to heaven or hell.

If we don't develop wisdom and humility alongside our Taijutsu, we will become like the Tengu, turning into a despot in our own narcissistic Universe.

13/02/2023

09/02/2023

https://fb.watch/iAbrTPa4Gd/

12/07/2022

She was definitely the last female samurai to be alive in Japan.

Nakazawa Koto was pinning down her own father/sword master by the time she was 24. So in 1863, her brother applied himself and Koto for a position as a bodyguard to protect the sh**un from terrorists. If there was a skill test, she must have aced it because she got the job 😂!

After her first mission was over, she became one of the police samurai of Edo City (the old name of Tokyo), always dressed as a man when she was on duty. She was 170cm (5’6”) tall at a time when the average height of men was 155cm (5’1”).

Townswomen approached her often while she was patrolling; she was a skilled and handsome samurai to their eyes. Off duty, when she changed into kimono, men approached her often 😂.

1868 was a major turning point for Japan. A new government was pulling the curtain down on the 700-year age of samurai rule. When war broke out between the new and old governments, Koto fought on the side of the old.

While close to 5,000 samurai were killed in the war, Koto survived and lived on to see a revamped and modernizing Japan… for another 58 years 😂!!

She said “I will not marry a man who’s weaker than me.” She died single at 88. Apparently no man could pin her down 😫😂!!!

Colorized photo of a woman in armor.

▶︎ ▶︎ Please check out my book on Japanese culture and history at: https://a.co/d/3xuVxTJ