Kokyu - breath 呼吸

Breathing - the first act outside the womb to prove if we are meant for this world or not.  It is our first and most immediate link to our environment.  It is the line where the external world blends with the internal.  It is basis for activity, health and dealing with pain.

The main thing I have learned in my time studying Systema is to focus on relationship with breathing while doing my aiki.  Kokyu is in the principals of our art, but I simply had not encountered a teacher that focused on it before.

I suggest you embrace the breath.  It is training.  It is meditation.  It is a simple way to control the tension in our system. While training I notice the people that quickly burn out hold their breath while performing actions.


Look to the other arts.

The Zen students focus on breath.  Shooters, weight lifters, runners, swimmers, and child bearers all focus on the breath.  We should too.  I suggest breathing exercises friends.  It has changed my art and my relationship with my body.



Funny thing about the word kokyu- the word's definition not only means breathing, but another definition is that is it the trick or secret of doing something.  Makes me think there is more to this breathing thing in the arts after all.

術 Jutsu not Jitsu

English speakers by and large  have been writing and pronouncing the the second charecter in the word 'jujitsu' wrong.  It is the pronunciation and writing is jutsu, not jitsu. I have found some modern romanizations use jyutsu - but lets stick with jutsu.



Yes you will find some older books with the use of jitsu or even the awful jiu-jitsu spellings. Honestly there was no standardization of romanization. "The lack of solidarity in romanisation of Japanese (both by Japanese nationals and others) when these words were first borrowed brought all of this on - and it stuck. At least nowadays the Japanese Language Council has prescribed one system of romanization." - Daniel Lee on E-budo
Honestly this is a lost battle. No matter how many times I correct the internet - people keep writing 'jitsu' Cool. I lose. But if you want to have a little more correctness in your use of the Japanese language for your writings, I do suggest the utsu spelling.

Long had I believed both writings were OK.  Long have  I sworn my teacher in Japan said 'jitsu'.  And even my business card says 'jitsu'.  The window at my dojo says 'jitsu'.  I was wrong.

from Jisho

術 

art; means; technique  - the kana for it's pronounciation is quite clear  じゅつ = jutsu.

from romanjidesu

術 
art; technique; skill; means; trick; resources; magic again in katakana - ジュツ = jutsu


again - ジュツ = jutsu

Jutsu  -  Wikipedia


Last Chrismas I had the pleasure of sitting down with 20 Japanese teachers studying English at my wife's school.  I asked them the jitsu versus jutsu question.  They ALL told me it was jutsu.  Still I refused to believe and pressed them further.  They speculated that English speakers simply cannot easily pronounce jutsu so there was some pronounciation drift.  Simply we like saying jitsu, just like Japanese people say 'wapuro' instead of word processor.

Another film

I got some new editing software and I needed to play with it.  I am just demoing some stuff to my class slow and mellow.

 Be good to one another.  Don't play with knives kids.

Elbow Techniques

 My poor blog.  Neglected. 

I did however shoot a little film of the hiji waza set of our primary grouping of techniques.  I start with a weak line balance break/ikkyo.  Then it moves on through the rest of the standard kata.

ZenBrush App pieces

Here are a few more pieces I have written using the Zen Brush app for the Ipad.  The first is Buddhist and Aiki iconography of the triangle circle and square.  The second piece is a seal script form of 崩 kuzu,  to crumble/collapse.  Often in Judo we translate it as balance break.

Daito Ryu 大東流 Calligraphy

This is a piece I worked on today.  It is a combination of old oracle style and bronze age style calligraphy.  It reads 大東流 - big east school.  It is the style of martial arts I studied when I lived in Japan.

Recently I bought the ZenBrush app for the Ipad.  This is an experiment.

2012 Reflection

So its a new year.  Time for some reflection.

It has been four years since this blog started.  It is no longer a priority in my training. I do still see it as a valuable resource in my development.  I have been going back and correcting and updating old posts.  I plan on continuing to blog, but have it be more infrequent yet more in depth posting.

My little group in Austin is thriving.  I have a few devoted regulars, a pool of of semi regulars and a whole host of people that periodically pop in.  We train hard and get by.  They seem to like the class.  I love it.

The quality of our practice continues to slowly climb.  I am pushing the group past its comfort zone on issues I see.  Ukemi continues to be a problem I am drilling on.  As a group the quality of balance breaking and precision is up 100 percent since last year.  By and large I think I am doing a good job teaching, as I am consistently improving both my technical understanding and my pedagogical approach.

The aikido class is thriving.  Students are getting it.  People are showing up an hour early to work on specific aspects of their training.  I cannot be happier.

The Daito Ryu class is starting slow yet steady.  New students are coming in.  The refocus on Daito Ryu mechanics is really working to improve my game.

 Systema breathing and body work have become an important part of my study.  I am looking forward to learning more and studying deeply. 

My judo practice has been lax the past six months.  After a few sessions with Matl Sensei lately, I plan on refocusing on learning his method.  I am blessed to share space with his genius. 

My teachers in budo impress me.  My teachers of a few years now; Nick, Brendan, Zdenek, Russell, J.W. and Jack continue to be my best friends and light my path with their friendship.  New teachers like Arseniy, Howard and Joe are exciting additions to my development team. I have not had enough hands on time with him, but Pat is cool too.

The students of my art are my best friends and my inspiration.  All of them challenge me daily. I love them and the group we make together.

Last summer was a blast.  On one trip I trained with the Denton Dojo, Windsong, Lawton Tactical, Enso Center,  Ginjukai Daito Ryu, Seattle ASU, and I met numerous other artists.  Awesome.  Life changing.

 An organization has turned against me.  I have heard a high ranked teacher instructing members to not interact or train with me.  I find this puzzling on many levels.  I love my memories with them dearly.  Alas, the world is large enough for people to walk their own paths.  May their lives go well.  There is no animosity on my part.  Everyone with a positive attitude no matter their political affiliation is free to train in my dojo.


I am not a fighter, a warrior or a champion. 


I am a student and a humble teacher.  I hope to be a healer and a community builder.



Life is good.