For a while there, the world wondered what happened to Ura & Omote. Well, it’s back, and that’s the only thing that matters. And seeing how any set wouldn’t be complete with a piece missing, Liz and I are pleased to provide you all with the previously unreleased final installation of the “Year of the Jo.” Even though our training has moved into Shinden Fudo Ryu this year, the comments and wisdom of Soke, no matter when they are made, are always applicable to training and to life. I hope they can be of help to you all. For those who have never seen Soke in person, please do your best to get to a nearby Taikai. For those who haven’t been here in a while, it’s time to make the investment again. Remember: train hard, nurture a caring heart, and have fun.

May all your choices be good ones.

— ben

This is a collection of quotations made by Masaaki Hatsumi-sensei during practice sessions at Ayase, as recorded in my training diary. As for the content, I try to remember the general flow of the training sessions when I record my thoughts, because, as Hatsumi-sensei once said, “I teach from what I see around me.” I have tried keep these quotes in essentially the same order as they were made during the training session, but naturally memory does play its tricks. These are my interpretations as to what Hatsumi-sensei was saying, based upon my feelings at the time. They should not be viewed as verbatim nor as “official.” Words in parentheses are my comments, most of which are for clarification.

September 2 (Tuesday)
“There will be practice at the Hombu Dojo this Sunday from 1:00. I will be teaching. As well, we now have air conditioning (Laughs) to make things a little more bearable.”

“You are not trying to ’take’ anything; you are trying to engulf everything.”

“Your job is to hide all your actions and intentions so your opponents cannot ‘read’ you... Make it your job to confuse them.”

“Because there are no ‘points’, they cannot react against anything you are doing.”

“It’s like when you trap a lion or other such beast. You have to enclose the entire thing in a trap, then lift the entire trap up in the air (with a helicopter) (Turns to his trapped uke, Tim Bathurst, and says) You’re the lion... in two meanings.” (From that point on, Soke began calling Tim the “Australian Lion.” It would be fair to say that many such nicknames or martial names began in a similar fashion.)

“I will be releasing several videos in the future on each grade from first to third dans. Please understand, however, that they are merely ‘suggestions.’ Taijutsu is just something too all-encompassing to be written down or recorded.”

“This is not just your body moving when you strike here. You are using or creating air streams (like those used by airplanes) to propel you faster than you normally could go.”

“Your Taijutsu is very good. At this point, continuing your training and watching the videos as guides should be enough to keep up your skills.”

“Outstanding actors, successful politicians, masterful artists, learned scho lars — it does not matter who they are, they all want to attain the same things: Mastery of their art. That’s one of the things I enjoy about going to America and meeting such outstanding individuals. They all share this common thread. I myself have received three Doctorates. I want you all to achieve similar levels. In a sense, I want you all to have Doctorates in Taijutsu.”

“It would be interesting to create the Bujinden (wherein the ‘den’ means ‘palace’) rather than the Bujinkan (wherein the ‘kan’ means ‘hall’). And it wi ll be from that ‘palace’ that I will help guide you. It sounds funny, but many, many years ago, if you weren’t of high status in society, then you could not learn normally. Only the higher classes had the opportunity to learn. (We are truly privileged, aren’t we?)”

“We’ve spent all this time on jo, and these were the last bricks in your foundation. From next year, we will delve into the Happo Biken of Shinden Fudo Ryu. This is what we’ve been working towards.”

“This is not something that can be taught.”

“You must have more confidence. You have much better Taijutsu than you think.”

“You must punch in a way that they cannot see. (Whack!) I am teaching you so that you may live.”

“It doesn’t matter if it is jo, yari, naginata, or sword-you cannot use weapons unless you understand the principle of Taijutsu that underlies them.”

“If you did this for real, you would shatter their shin. Be very careful.”

September 5 (Friday)
“There will be practice at Hombu dojo this Sunday from 1:00.”

(To the tori of Anthony Netzler) “Please don’t kill him. I need Anthony. He is coming with me to (South) Africa for the Taikai, and because he has more meat on his bones, he’ll be the most likely prey of the lions, giving me the chance to escape.” (Laughs)

“Oguri-sensei. Go up and teach anything from Takagi-ryu...using the jo. (Oguri-sensei starts examining his mental encyclopedia of techniques as he makes his way to the center of the circle with his uke.) As a menkyo (license) holder in Takagi-ryu, you should be able to come up with something interesting ...” (He did ;-)

“The ability to kill is inherent in all human beings. We are, after all, mere animals. Yet we have learned to set those animalistic tendencies aside. In a life-or-death situation, however, you must be prepared to go the distance ... Sometimes, it is kill or be killed.”

(To a particular practitioner) “Very good. You also could have incorporated a head butt there, if you had wanted. What you did was good, nonetheless.” (Please remember that it is the principles, rather than the particular manifestations that Soke is looking for)

“Don’t try to remember the techniques of today, just try to remember the feeling.”

“As a teacher, it is your responsibility to assess when to teach certain techniques, especially fatal ones. I would never teach this to a beginner, because their ukemi would not be developed enough to assure their safety.”

September 7 (Sunday)
This day was a significant one for the Bujinkan. It marked the first official practice at the Hombu Dojo, which Soke has dubbed the Bujinden. These excerpts are from that first practice.

“There will be an article in ‘Hiden’ (a Kobudo magazine here in Japan). The author of the article is (some dude).... His being the one to write the article is interesting in and of itself. Oguri, do you remember Takushima? (Oguri-sensei nods) He has a chonmage-like haircut (a samurai-style haircut). He came to me years ago and wanted to become my student, but I sent him away because I was not taking any new students at that time. But he just kept coming back. He had traveled around the country visiting dojo after dojo, so he was very knowledgeable and had much respect for budo. Even today, I receive an end-of-the-year greeting letter from him every year. He writes things like ‘Goroshi etc. etc.’ (Something comparable to writing in Shakespearean English). This may seem like a strange or rude thing to write because it is an old phrase usually reserved for very elderly teachers, but in Chinese, it was originally used to impart great respect to one’s teacher. So he uses these words, and has a great respect for the arts of the Bujinkan. He has imparted this sense of respect down to the author of the ‘Hiden’ article in a sort of father-son exchange, so that the author has a great respect for what this art is. The article should be very interesting.”

“Please be aware of the bottom windows and make sure not to break them and hurt yourself. Eventually, we will be taking them out and replacing the glass with something else, but not today.”

“Does anyone remember the last technique we did on Saturday? (“Do you mean the one with three people?” a practitioner replies.) Yes, good. Go up and show it.”

“Let’s do some henka of Kihon Happo today. Everyone stay seated. Nagato, come here.”

“Your distance is all wrong, people. You are too close. You would never want to be in a fight at that distance, you must be out here. You cannot be this close or you can be punched, or kicked with great force. The confrontation could be over instantly at this distance. You must be about this far so that they’re punch will actually weaken and they must overcompensate to reach you. This will allow you to suck them in.”

“Although we are practicing it with three people, this should have the feeling as if you are only doing it with two people.”

“I will show you until this point only. From there, make it up yourself. You must learn to trust what’s inside yourself. You all have very good things inside you. You do not need to imitate what I do to create good Taijutsu. Experiment with what you already have.”

“Too many people involved in the martial arts here in Japan have forgotten what Budo is truly supposed to be. It does not matter if the people training beside us (at Ayase, when we share the room with other martial arts groups) do not know what they are doing and just go through motions; they could never do anything with any techniques that they may see us do. You must not forget this when you train. You must bring yourself to this higher point. I want you all to reach an almost artisan level in your Taijutsu. If it doesn’t reach that level, it can never survive out in the real world.”

“There are many truly amazing warriors around the world. Some of them do not even train in the martial arts. There are people who are very good at killing others — killing others to protect their country. Do not treat this fact lightly when you train. You must prepare in such a way that our art will be embraced throughout the entire world.”

“At the Paris Taikai, there was a huge SAS soldier who passed his fifth dan test. He was towering over everyone at the Taikai. But when it came time to take the picture of all the people who had passed, he didn’t stand out at all. He was no taller than anyone else in the photo. It was like he was hiding within a crowd. This ability to protect yourself instinctively is very important. You could learn a lot from this.”

“I can only teach reality.”

“Bud (Malmstrom) spoke about this when he was here — that time back years ago when I told (Stephen) Hayes to punch at me from behind. I was standing much like this speaking to a large group of people when he came to punch...”

“When I first went abroad by myself, I must admit that I wasn’t sure whether things would go well... Later, I went abroad with several of you, Kan, Nagato. Who else was there? Oguri... It was a very interesting experience. Kan, please talk about that time... Everyone please sit down. You shall learn a lot from this.”

(Kan-sensei) “When I was preparing for my trip, I told my wife-which was a mistake. She thought that I was going over to have fun without her. Perhaps, I should have done like Nagato-sensei and not told my wife till I got home. (Smiles) Anyway, it was not the type of vacation that she had expected. For three days, I didn’t eat, sleep or go to the bathroom; it was such an intense experience. Soke was always speaking till late in the evening so even he didn’t rest either. At every point, Soke was grilling us and training us to be aware of everything. We were, in a sense, training all the time. That time abroad was the first time I really understood ’training outside of training... ’ In fact, the only time I could relax was when we were physically training... Soke was very strict with us on everything we did. I seriously didn’t eat, sleep or use the bathroom for three days.”

(Nagato-sensei) “I agree with what Kan has said. As you know, I had had some experience in America beforehand, so I actually felt that there might be danger. We were in San Francisco and we wanted to go visit such sights as Fisherman’s Wharf. We were, after all, ’on vacation.’ Once we arrived, the organizers were quite willing to take us on such sightseeing, but I actually thought that it might be dangerous, and so I stayed in my room and read instead. When Hatsumi-sensei returned from that day out, his entire mood had changed, and the real training began.”

(Kan-sensei) “Much as Soke mentioned earlier, you need to be aware when you go in a building such as the dojo. You need to recognize what areas are dangerous, and be aware of them when you train. Japan tends to be a very safe place. We train in a comfortable environment in the dojo, so when we are out in our normal lives we tend to let our guards down. Especially here in Japan where there is little perceived threat in our daily lives. But actually we should always be on our guards, especially when in a new area or a foreign country. Perhaps my mentioning this will affect your awareness outside the dojo, like when you are walking to the station after practice, or when you are shopping at the supermarket. I felt a deep sense of the importance of being aware in any environment. And perhaps you will feel this necessity as well.”

(Kan-sensei) “Soke was constantly warning us to be on our guards at all times. Whether we were walking around looking through the viewfinder of a camera when sightseeing, or sitting on the plane, we could never let our guards down. Soke would come up behind us when we were sitting on the plane and ‘attack us’. When we couldn’t feel him or his ‘attack’ coming, he would berate us, emphasizing the importance of being aware at all times. I was a nervous wreck, especially when he would come up behind me when on the plane. I just wa nted to slink under the seat and disappear. Soke was constantly testing us — to be on our guard at all time.”

(Nagato-sensei) “I also agree with what Kan said about that the only time I could relax was when we were actually physically training. At one point in the training, I let my guard down for just a second and Hatsumi-sensei threw a hanbo at me. (Kan-sensei piped in, “Oh! I remember that!”... Nagato-sensei nods, then continues,) Yeah. He threw a hambo at me, and it struck me in the face. I had wished that I had been able to move out of the way, but I was frozen and could do nothing. Only after I was hit, did my ‘eyes open.’ I looked behind me and there had been a person in a wheelchair directly behind me... If I had move out of the way, that person might have been hit instead. So in a strange sense, it was a good thing that I hadn’t moved.”

(Kan-sensei) “One evening, I was sleeping in a very large bed and then I suddenly found myself in mid-air and then falling to the ground. I woke up dazed. Another person in the room had seen me literally fly up 30 centimeters from the bed and then hit the floor. I remembered then, that I had been having a dream of training with Hatsumi-sensei. I was such a nervous wreck, that I couldn’t even sleep well. The training was so intense that I was being affected in my sleep. I believe I was being thrown by Soke at that point in the dream, but that was a big bed... Flew thirty centimeters straight up.”

(Oguri-sensei) “Over the years, I had experienced severely painful physical training with Soke, but never such intense mental training as during that trip.” (To which Kan added,) “Yes, He was polishing us as he punished us. Soke used that time to try out new things on us. We were the guinea pigs.” (Soke laughed and retorted) “That’s not true at all. I’m not THAT mean. I wouldn’t just try things out on you. It was all training.” (Smiles)

“Normally, when the mass media contact me and want me to go on this program or be in this article, I tell them that they should not be involved with such articles if they are not involved in the martial arts. This is because they cannot possibly understand what we are doing. That’s why I turn them down now.... Those in the mass media act on their own agendas. The unfortunate death of Princess Diana has brought that gruesome reality directly to us all. Perhaps we can learn something from it all.”

“It is very important to listen to your elders in this way, and to respect them for their experiences. (Turning to the Shihan) We all have much to teach and have the obligation to share these experiences with the people who have followed after us... (Turns back to us) This is a very good stopping point for today.”

Sept. 9 (Tuesday)
“This isn’t a strike. This is a guard, protecting you from all other punches and kicks.”

(Concerning a two-on-one technique) “When you are working together with someone (as a team), you need to work interdependently, not independently. Read each others’ intentions and act as one unit.”

“Yoshida! Put a sword in your belt and go and do that same move, incorporating the sword, jo and Taijutsu.”

“Andrew! Do that technique, but this time without a jo.”

“When they come to punch here, I am not grabbing. Actually, my wrist has adhered glue-like to his wrist. So it just follows him wherever he goes. So when he retracts his arm, the technique just goes right in.”

(To a practitioner) “Don’t go catching it with both hands like that. What did I just get done telling you? THAT is the ART of what we do.”

October 7 (Tuesday)
“The Hombu dojo is complete, and when I am available I teach there from 1:00 in the afternoon.”

“Because there are so many people here, there will be extra practices. Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Hombu dojo, and then that evening at Noguchi dojo. Friday there will be no practice here, so I will teach at Hombu from 1:00. The same with Saturday. Sunday there will be no practice due to Nakadai’s wedding.”

“For those of you visiting, please take advantage of the opportunities to train with all of the teachers who just raised their hands. You normally only have 1 or 2 weeks, so please train as much as you can.”

“The Bujinkan has moved beyond the era of techniques (waza). We have now entered the era of flow (nagare).”

“As you can see, I am doing this very half-assed. Regardless, it is effective because it is not a technique. If half-assed is all I can do, then half-assed is all I can teach... Find the flow.” (Sorry about the seeming obscenity, but that’s the most befitting word I could find to get across the feeling of his words.)

“You can move from ura gyaku to hongyaku here very easily.”

“I was not using a technique. Could you feel it? (To his uke)”

“Extend and lock his elbow like this, then you can break it whenever you want (pretends to kick it).”

November 25 (Tuesday)
“Okay, Jack (Hoban). Teach something.”

“You need to move in like this-with your body.”

“Jumonji is truly done like this. (Gestures the forms used in Kihon Happo) This is how it was meant to be done. (Begins thrashing his uke)”

“A fight is very fast. It doesn’t matter if you hit here or not, so long as you move into the next move.”

“That’s why I repeat over and over the need to throw away the forms. But for too many people, they do not understand no matter how many times they hear this.”

“This is Kanashibari.” (I’m afraid I didn’t know what Kanashibari was, even though Soke had asked me to interpret this practice. Mark O’Brien did know, however, and bailed me out. Kanashibari is a technique wherein you wrap up your opponent so that they cannot move.)

(Turning to his uke after moving in an unexpected way) “Did you see that coming?” (The uke shook his head) “There is no way you could have. I didn’t want you to.”

“Please practice learning how to demobilize the limbs that are attacking you... You can practice these techniques using a jo and boxing gloves, for examp le.“

“Most of you are not using both hands to assure your balance. You’re using only one hand.... After Jumonji here, open yourself up here with both hands for proper balance.”

“You actually thought you had hit me, didn’t you? (The uke nods) It’s like you’ve punched through a glass wall... No, more like gelatine-a wall that engulfs your arm.”

“You must learn to utilize the space around you.”

“If you want to force your opponent to ‘swim’ through the space, you yourself must ’swim’ as well.”

“You have to be willing to let go of your weapon at any point.”

“You need to completely tie your opponent up so there is no escape. An example of this is a snake, which entrances its prey with its eyes, while it entangles them.”

(Soke calls on Jack to join him in a two-on-one technique with jos. )“When there are two of us together like this...” (Jack gets in the exact same kamae as Soke) No. For this one, turn your jo around to the other side. (Jack switches feet and changes his grip) This becomes Hachimonji (This was a play on words because the two jo tips were tilted toward each other, resembling the Japanese kanji for eight, or which is the direct translation of “Hachimonji”. After Soke and Jack tied up their uke, the poor chap ended up sitting on the ground, his legs splayed open like a giant ‘V’. This resembled an upside-down version of the Japanese kanji for eight, and Soke naturally noticed the connection with what he had said earlier) “This is Hachimonji again.”

“The reason why you are moving here is to set yourself up for the next move. ”

“If you do your Taijutsu kinda lackadaisically, beautiful techniques will just come out.... The most important thing is to just have fun. Have fun playi ng with these techniques.”

“Just lay your hand on their arm here. You are not grabbing, but merely holding their arm where it is. And from there, by stepping out, their arm just comes with you.”

“This movement is like when Takamatsu-sensei spoke of being like a butterfly — flitting about, yet in total balance and control.”

“Until now, there were many Japanese Budoka who were open to seeing the good in other martial arts. The only thing they feared was the temptation of switching arts.... I myself like the Temptations, you know, the musical group.” (Then he starts singing as he walks away.)

“Everyone has so many good things to share. Everyone around us. But it is those who cannot, or refuse to, recognize the good in others who ultimately lose.”

“Ninja also used to walk like this. (Sidesteps holding his staff in jumonji to protect himself) And if they had shuriken hidden inside their jackets, they could easily throw them from here. (Noting how close the hands are to the chest in jumonji).”

“It’s like taking hold of the rudder of a boat. Use your body to move your jo.”

November 28 (Friday)
“There is no need to rush here. Practice very slowly to make sure you have everything correct.”

“You are all being too stylish with this jo throw. So long as you bring the jo perfectly square to the punch at the beginning, you don’t need to worry about anything. Just throw it into their arm. It’ll hit.”

“Please remember this hit is not intended to finish the fight. Against a physically stronger opponent, you would lose if you relied only on this. It is a distraction. This is what I am trying to show you today-distractions.”

“It’s not the strike that’s important here. When you step on the jo and break their toes, they’ll know.”

“You must turn perpendicular to the punching arm here. If you are not completely lined up, you are doing it wrong.”

“Through this, you will come to understand the importance of distance.”

“If you cannot go any further with your jo (such as when your opponent grabs it and starts wrestling for control), let go.”

“It is important not to have what is called a ‘monkey’s mind.’ (I’m afraid I didn’t understand what Soke meant by this, but Tim Bathurst came to the rescue on this one.) If you put something that a monkey wants in a jar, the monkey will reach in and grab it. But if the monkey cannot then remove its hand, it will not think to release the object the free its hand.”

“It’s very important to take the center. That way you are free to go in any direction.”

“It’s because you normally train with only one partner that you forget there could be any number against you.”

“You must all learn how to do this. It is a technique that is not really a technique.”

“What you do has to vary according to the moment and the opponent. The last time, when I brought the jo to this point, it was sufficient to throw my uke. This time, however, such is not the case. Instead, I must move here to find the point where his balance is off, so it doesn’t become a battle of strength. Use this time when you are moving into position to feel them out.”

“When someone grabs your jo, the first thing you must do (in this case) is flip your jo over... Use your feet (by moving in) to flip your jo over.”

“The trick is to flip your jo over without them knowing it. If they can feel you doing it, they will start fighting with you for control of the jo. You must turn the jo over so that they cannot feel it.”

December 2 (Tuesday)
Soke’s birthday. “I’m sorry about yesterday (he had promised to teach but failed to show up), but something very important came up that I had to attend to.”

“Is there anyone here who wants to train tomorrow? Very well, then. One o’clock at Hombu tomorrow.”

(About an anti-knife technique) “You can move here and place the knife against your body (against your side under your armpit). Don’t worry. It can’t cut you (if its part of you).”

“Don’t wait to move. Don’t wait. Don’t think. Just move freely so as to be able to alter your movement at any point. Don’t wait.”

(To a practicioner trying to move laterally to avoid a Dai Jodan strike to the head) “Don’t move only your head; move your body. If your head moves first, your body is trailing behind and may get hit. Move your body and your head will go with it.”

“If you can’t throw ’em, then just kick ’em.” (Smiles)

December 12 (Friday)
“Okay, Stephen (Hayes). Show us something continuing on from last practice.”

“If you miss getting the jo between their legs, don’t worry. Simply press the end hard into the ground and use that as the focum from which you will press them to the ground.”

“Make sure to insert it between their legs. Focus on a certain point in the ground. You must make a fulcrum point from which to apply the pressure.”

“Those who desire only techniques will never understand this art. It’s everything beyond that.”

“This tossing away of techniques is the third element of the Sanshin. The first is learning a technique. The second is to understand the techniques through practice. And the third is to discard those very techniques. If you understand this, you understand the Sanshin, which is the beginning of every thing I teach.... The beginning is not the fire, water, wind, earth and emptyness — the Godai no kata. Everything begins with the Sanshin.”

“Do not see with your eyes. Do not see with your eyes. See with your nose. See with your ears. See with all six senses. Did you notice that when I just complimented Shiraishi-sensei for his movement. I hadn’t actually been looking at him. You must use all your senses to understand what I am trying to teach.”

“There is something else. It is not merely getting out of the way. It is not merely blocking. There is something else. There is something else. Here, let me show you again.”

(To his uke) “See how I am not doing anything, then I move in here. Notice my elbow holding you here. (Soke continues to move) I am holding down every thing. ’All!’ (He says in affected English)”

(At one point during practice Doron Navon walks in the door) “Doron, teach something, anything, and I’ll expand upon it. (Doron obliges. Soke turns to us, smiling,) See how good a teacher Doron is? I am such a bad teacher of my own techniques.”

“Everyone, please learn from your elders.”

“You can do this technique in many different ways. If you do it this way, it is Gikan-ryu. If you do it this way, it is Kumogakure-ryu. If you do it this way, it is Togakure-ryu.”

December 16 (Tuesday)
“Everyone has come along nicely in their training, so you are all ready to b egin next year. Please keep practicing.”

“Don’t grab (your jo)!”

“Please aim at their kyusho with this strike. If you hit here or their ankle, you will shatter their bones.”

“The same goes with striking the other side as well. Break their leg on both sides with this.”

“Keep spinning. This will create a seeming helicopter.”

“If you stop spinning the jo and moving your feet, you will crash just like a helicopter whose propellers has stopped.”

“The reason why you are not grabbing your jo here is so you can do this. (Sends his uke flying).”

“You must understand your own body’s balance to do this technique. This will show you whether or not you have good Taijutsu.”

Ben’s email address has changed. He can be reached at 6551312@tmail.toyota.co.jp.