Ted T.

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. These are my notes on reading The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, translation by Thomas Cleary (Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1993). The Earth Scroll This introduces Musashi’s thesis that those who would be warriors must study the way of martial arts. Contrary to the popular opinion of his day that all warriors thought about was death, he claimed: … and included such diverse activities as service to your lord, self service and social prominence. This was written after a long life full of battle in which he apparently killed 60 some opponents in duels. He tells us that it was after his success as a fighter that he discovered the principles of the martial arts, which he recorded for us in his scrolls. He wrote this to distinguish his approach from those who taught sword fighting (or any martial art) as technique only, who have missed the deeper aspects of the martial arts, the underlying martial science which creates the deepest skill and the broadest plan which will bring success in every endeavor. So even if you learn how to kill an enemy as he did in his youth, if you learn no more than that, you have no understanding of the way of martial arts, even though you never lose a battle. In sum: the way is the underlying principles of any skill or lifestyle, including the martial arts, which make it useful for success. And following his comparison of the principles of the martial arts to the mind of a master carpenter, we see that the principles involved are social principles, not unlike the study of psychology. The way of the martial arts involves attention to detail as if you were a master craftsman, not just a fighter. Deviance from the true way is caused by lack of commitment to the way from the beginning. Quotes to remember: The Earth scroll ends with a discourse on “Rhythms in Martial arts”… to know rhythms so you can “produce formless rhythms from rhythms of wisdom” and a list of the rules for learning his art. These rules seem to be self evident in that if you followed them, they must work for you but the problem would seem to be to attain to the practice of following them. Once you learn to deal with one, you have learned to deal with many. The Water Scroll The purity of Mushashi’s sword technique. I imagine that this also refers to the practice of any style of weaponry, hand to hand or even to carpentry. Learn details and you master the broader concepts also; i.e.: But it ends with a mystery: The Fire Scroll This scroll contains the science of fighting: 1. Use your environment to advantage: - See where the obstacles are and chase your opponent into them, avoiding them yourself. Keep the light at your back or on your right. 2. Use preemptive strikes: - Attack on your own initiative. - When he attacks, preempt him with a strong attack after he falters. - Simultaneous attack can be preemptive. This idea sounds similar to Sensei Richard Kim’s punching reversals - how to turn his attack into a defensive posture. 3. Perceive his intention before he acts and stifle it at the start. - Allow them to do what is useless, stop what is useful. 4. Crossing at the ford: - A bit confusing in that he is writing of crossing a “sea” in a boat not a river on foot. To me, this sounds like a compilation of #’s 1 and 2. 5. Know the state of affairs: - Assessing your opponent, his traditions, his character, his strength and weaknesses, move contrary to his expectations, (be flexible in your traditions!) determine his “highs and lows” and make the first move. 6. Stomping a sword: - This means to regain the initiative after he attacks by overpowering his assault with your response so a second attack can’t be made. Sensei Kim taught us a number of these techniques, which I came to call “punching reversals” (how to reverse a flurry of punches so you don’t get caught “chasing hands” with blocks.) 7. Knowing disintegration: - This is about timing… when an attack falters - take advantage before a second attack starts. You must lash out with power. 8. Become your opponent: - Put yourself in his place, empathize and see his point of view. 9. Letting go of our hands: - If it looks like a deadlock is about to happen, you must immediately change your approach and (come out of left field) win with an unsuspected tactic. Be flexible! 10. Moving shadows: - This refers to making a move to elicit a response from our opponent so as to read his intentions and know how to win. If you are inattentive, you lose. Again, we have heard this from Sensei Richard Kim. 11. Arresting shadows: - When facing an aggressive action, arrest it at the moment of impulse to act with a strong demonstration of control over the situation. This works by using rhythm. (I have a younger, stronger, fiercer friend that I can beat because every time he throws a punch, if I punch, too; very fast, he will always turn his punch into a block. I haven’t told him about this yet!) 12. Infection: - In the sense that a yawn is infectious. Your actions can cause a similar action in your opponent even if they are false, i.e. a ploy to manipulate him. Calm an excited opponent with calmness and enter quickly when he slackens. “Entrancing” is used with boredom, restlessness and faintheartedness but its difference from “infection” is not written. 13. Upset: - Cause a feeling of “upset” in your opponent by having him feel acute pressure, unreasonable strain or surprise. - Use surprise and unexpected maneuvers to take the initiative and advantage. 14. Threat: - This means being frightened by the unexpected. - You can threaten by body, by weapon and by voice but a threat must be sudden and unexpected to create the fear that allows advantage. - #’s 13 and 14 are both parts of “surprise.” 15. Sticking tight: - When you are contesting power with someone and it is not going well, keep pushing, sticking close and keep thinking, be flexible and look for an advantage in the struggle. 16. Coming up against corners: - Instead of going in straight on to contest power, chip away at his corners with your strength. Collapse a corner and all will collapse. - Each time he attacks, cause him pain, without regard to a kill shot. (Didn’t Funakoshi Sensei write: “Defeat your enemies with many small injuries.”?) Weaken him by degrees. 17. Flustering: - Act so as to unsteady their mind. - Manipulate their attention, make them think confusing thoughts about your intentions, find a flustering rhythm… change your actions so as to be confusing 18. Three shouts: - In a shout, the voice shows force and power. - There are initial, middle and final shouts; initial shouts are loud as possible, middle shouts are low pitched and boom from the depths and final shouts are loud and strong after victory. - Shouting on a feint can deceive him that it is a ‘real’ move then when he is stirred, lash out. This is a “before” shout. Your “after” shout signals victory and demoralizes others. 19. Mixing: - To attack in zig zag. - Zig to attack a flank then zag to attack your real target, the center of his force. Combine with #16? - Also useful against multiple attackers when by yourself, after finishing a weak opponent, attack a strong one. - It also applies to a sense of rushing straight in against a stronger opponent. 20. Crushing: - This is the attitude you use to overwhelm a weak opponent or a strong one who is fouled-up, off his timing or backing off, do not let him catch his breath, just mow him down. 21. Mountain and sea changing: - Means that it is bad to be repetitive and predictable. - Repeat once but never thrice. Be flexible. Be creative. If a punch doesn’t work, kick. If the kick doesn’t work, throw. 22. Knocking the heart out: - Useful for opponents who are beaten but who refuse to give up. He must feel defeated to the bottom of his heart. - Use your weapons, your body and/or your mind. As long as they have ambitions, they won’t collapse. 23. Becoming new: - When you feel snarled up and are making no progress, think strongly in your heart that you are now starting everything new. As you get the rhythm, you will discern how to win. 24. Small and large: - Again, when you feel snarled up and are making no progress, remember that in the midst of minute details suddenly shift to a larger perspective. - Changing to great or small is essential to all human endeavors and critical to even small scale encounters. 25. A commander knowing his soldiers: - Thinking of your opponents as your own troops to be manipulated as you will. 26. Letting go of the hilt: - Variously, to win without a sword, or failing to win with a sword. (?) 27. Being like a rock wall: - A master who is inaccessible and immovable. (?) The Wind Scroll This is the knowledge of the methods of other schools. Quotes to remember: Sum: the “tricks” of a style are designed to give them an edge because they are deficient in the real Way of the true science of martial arts. Simplicity, directness, focused intent to kill, being on the attack, watch the hearts and minds of your enemy, keep the footwork natural, don’t rush... these are the principles of victory in all matters of contention. Scroll of Emptiness I have no better idea of what he means when he uses the word “emptiness” after reading this scroll than I did before I read it...

Drop a grenade in his diapers!

Don't forget Kipp's FAST style BulletMan suit. Pricey at $1000 for the training and $1000 for the suit. Everytime you decrease bulk for mobility, you increase risk. Nothing is perfectly safe. Good compromises can be made. The BulletMan is known to protect the neck when the face is punched full out but the knees are exposed. Compromise is the name of the game. The biggy for me would be the repitious damage to the brain from concussion...

For a real treat, you really must check out Mr. Bob Orlando. For a walk on the wild side, visit Mr. Marc MacYoung, in Castle Rock, just south of Denver. Between these two experts, you'll have more than you can handle for years to come! Tell 'em the hippy from Canada sent you!

"Why is it that Tai Chi Chuan is often not seen as a Martial Art in the Western World?" Because it isn't one... Even in China most tai chi isn't martial. Even in Chen style, which has the strongest martial roots, many teachers have dropped ( or not learned) the power aspects and at best do push hands for sport. On the other hand, even those styles that proclaim to be a"practical style" base their sd on techniques that take many years to perfect and most people, when they think of sd, want it now!

"However, I often end up hitting my curled fingers painfully, and forcing my wrist back." If your fingers hit, forcing your wrist to bend, you are doing it wrong, either from a bad wrist position at the start or a bad angle...If you can't get a good angle, slap. Don't think of a stiff hand with your fingers curled in tight, (bear paw?) think of hlding a grapefruit then push the root knuckles a little forward. Don't over bend the wrist, pull it back just enought to expose the palm heel to the target. Then practice on hard stuff!!

For those who disagreed with my assertion that years are necessary to "use" taic chi effectively, Is tai chi just ordinary training done slow or something else? Are a boxer's punch, a karate punch and a tai chi punch all the same? Anyone can hit someone else with their fist. Training teaches us how to be stronger, to be more effective at hitting and should teach us something about avoiding getting hit and distancing too. I have trained in schools where tai chi was taught and the principles were the same as basic Japanese karate; only the form of the hand and the directional arc of the punch were different and the training was done slow, not fast and hard. Other than that, no difference! Is that tai chi? Of course not... The simplest way to hit someone is to just swing your fist at them. The easiest way to hit with a bit more force is to step into the hit a little and to drop your weight into the hit. The next easiest method to learn is to torque the hips as you step to add the waist into the generation of power. External styles all do these things, from East to West. If your tai chi does this, it is an external style, not internal. If this is what we are tailking about as effective taichi, then ok, why not, it is all good, But, Internal development of power depends upon a lining up of the joints and torso to align all the power available from the feet up into a powerless hand. The power comes from inside the body's actual structure, not its "strength" or musculature, and from rotation only. First it takes years to open the joints so they are loose enough to do what you ask of them. Then you have to be asking them to do the right thing to create power. Then you have to learn to do it fast and hard. Then you have to learn how to cope with a resisting opponent when working with a cooperative partner is hard enough! If you get all this in three months, you can be called The Bruce! I can teach anyone who can walk, talk and chew gum at the same time practical self defence in three hours - - but it ain't tai chi. imho May I refer you to the clip current in the forums (I'm sorry, I don't have time to find a reference), in which Drunken stylists are beaten pretty well by karate guys. Why? Because they insisted on "doing their style" rather than fighting. Is tai chi effective? Nope, but some of its principles are...

Some of my best friends are intelectual martial arts thugs... have a good day.

O'Sensei Richard Kim would teach us three or four kata in a 4 day seminar. Some folks dedicated themslves to practicing every kata he taught. It seemed like that as he got older and more frail he wanted to teach everything he knew and it was a lot! We ended up with over 80 kata, both empty hand and weapons kata. We'd often have three or four versions of the major kata and kata from other systems etc. The funniest thing about it is, after my 30 yrs training, I can literaly say, "I've forgotten more karate than most people ever learn!"

Go here for Chen Practical Method, the Chen fighting system: http://www.chenzhonghua.com/ and choose Products near the bottom of the page.

I think we are in more danger from pointy headed people than pointy ended knives...

So, which is better: one year playing guitar in a honky tonk band in every dive between Houston and Baton Rouge or ten years music study in Juliard? Hmmmm?

Ummm, and the yellow pages in the phone book say.....? I'm 3000 miles away for one, can't help you, sorry.

Our version of Matsumura Potsai ends in the same position as the more regular Patsai Dai, but you have to step back and to the right with your left foot and then straight back with your right foot to get to the starting point, so that is what we do. No fancy hopping ot confuse things, just, step back to where you started.

Not all traditions are the same... O'Sensei Richard Kim has taught that the Pinans were based on a symbolism of Peace thru archery. Pinan Sandan was based on the symbol of the person as target - how do you be a success when you are the target? How do you make things better? How do you face failure and defeat? Thus it is symbolic to end the kata a full step behind where you started because some days you just can't win tho never defeated. It also symbolizes that every fight will cost you something and it is a bit of a fanstasy to expect to come thru a fight exactly as you went in. So, ronryu, don't worry abut it!