| Succession in the Martial Arts No. 20 ‘The purpose of training in Bujutsu is to live on and survive’ A translation of an article appearing in Kendo Nihon, January 2005. Original text by Ikeda Seiyo, translated into English by Antony Cundy |
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| Prologue The succession of Bujutsu ryuha in the modern day is becoming something of a rarity. In this article we will look at an art born on the battlefields of the Sengoku Era the scene of violent conflicts. Suio Ryu Iai Kenpo has been passed down unaffected by the ties of modern life from father to son (in the manner known as Isshi Soden) over three generations. Will it be passed down to the next generation? Even with the closeness of father and son, succession in a ryuha does not permit even a moment's inattention. It has been a while since I have seen Katsuse san and I notice his right cheekbone is swollen. It is the after effects of surgery undertaken a month before. “I was evading a strike and hit myself in the face with my fist. We are always training and performing at the outer limits and that is what makes the Suio Ryu scary. Anyway, I guess it can’t be helped,” jokes a nonchalant Katsuse. It seems not to be such a rare occurrence. In relation to a previous occurrence, “I remember performing a technique and feeling safe and confident upon its completion. However, at that very moment my opponent performed a remarkable counter, which seemed to come out of nowhere. Before I knew it I had been hit in the face and was flat on my back. No one seemed too concerned and then someone looked down from above me and noticed that my nose had been bent (he laughs again). Anyway, I was taken to the hospital where the attending doctor arrived with what looked like a hammer. 3 or 4 of my students pinned me down and the doctor gave my nose a whack. It hurt so much it brought tears to my eyes. The doctor brought over a mirror and said ‘What do you reckon? Do you think it needs another whack?’ Was he mad? It hurt like hell. I was then given a spray anesthetic and sent home. There are certain things that you cannot understand unless you understand them through the medium of pain. I would have been better off not feeling so safe and opening my posture slightly to the outside that time. My son is not as reckless as me and does not have the same injuries.” Fumitaka san makes light of some tough situations. “ My father has confidence in his ability to receive any attack that his students might throw at him so sometimes things like that happen. I am not yet at that level.” Apart from those demonstrations performed abroad Katsuse san always uses his son as his opponent. In practice with his students he uses a bokuto, but with Fumitaka it is always a katana. They neither practice or pre arrange. “If we were to prearrange things with our opponent the result would not be a true conflict. We do not harmonize things such as our ki. Fumitaka is the same, but when I go to cut I know that he will not be able to evade it. It is the same in Kendo where we say that the moment mutual balance is achieved is the chance to strike. Both he and I are seeking openings. The amount of steps we take is irrelevant as is whether we start off of our right foot or our left. Now! That is the moment to cut. If we do not perform in this manner then we are simply performing staid forms. Once, while demonstrating kusarigama in America, Fumitaka came in cutting with ferocious momentum. I was able to block it but the impact broke the retaining pin in the kusarigama. When I shouted ‘you idiot!’ he replied ‘I just thought that today I would come in no holds barred’. It was a hell of a strike that had a beautiful cutting line. After that we performed a technique in which the kusarigama chain is wrapped around the attackers neck. I decided to perform the technique ‘no holds barred’ and after wrapping the chain around his neck yanked on it. It bit straight in and he dropped unconscious to the floor.” Katsuse san’s wife Fusako adds amusedly, “Of course both of them claim to be ‘being careful and mindful’” Isshi Soden techniques are passed down in this manner from father to son. Blood causes it to be so: From father to son and son to grandson The Hekiunkan that doubles as both dojo and domicile looks like a home in which martial arts are passed down. Although from the outside you would not know it, on entering the front porch one enters the interconnected living space of the 95 year old wife of the former Soke, Katsuse Yoshimitsu san and his wife, Fumitaka san and his wife and their 3 children, a reception room and the training area. It was here that Katsuse san, Fumitaka san and his son Daichi (named after a technique in the Suio Ryu curriculum called Daien Kyouchi), presently a fourth grader in elementary school, were brought up from their infancy watching severe Bujutsu training. Katsuse san relates: “ I was never taught techniques by my father. I am the same way. I don’t really teach Fumitaka anything. But, because it is such a part of our lifestyle, at some point we started training. I was 42 when I gave up my profession and concentrated on my training. Through training over seven hours a day and helping my father interpret the scrolls of the tradition I received the 250 techniques that make up its technical curriculum. I succeeded as the 15th Soke of the tradition and received the martial name Kagehiro. Having performed extremely hard training I made the techniques part of my body and realized that my students were able to absorb the techniques much faster. After having received some peace of mind after passing on the tradition to his son my father was concerned about whether his grandson would carry on the tradition.” Fumitaka san practiced both kendo and iaido during his elementary school years. As can be expected from someone living in area with such a famous soccer reputation, it being the home of Shimizu S Pulse, one day Fumitaka said to his mother ‘I want to play soccer’. On returning his father simply said ‘No way’. “I remember when my son was in the 3rd grade of junior high school and we were at a Kobudo demonstration, he said to me ‘Do I have to do these techniques?’ I replied ‘As you were born into this household I guess you will have to, although you are free to go to university if you so wish’. After that time, in order train to become the tradition’s successor he went to a technical college and declared that he would work at a nearby factory. And true to his word he started work at a factory not a minutes walk from our house,” relates his mother Fusako. “I decided at the age of 15 that I would train in only kendo and iaido. Having been born in a Suio Ryu household I could not do anything embarrassing. I also knew that my grandfather wanted me to do so. My parents never once told me to buckle down and study. Although the road may be tough I knew that I just needed to commit myself to training and so I began to train in earnest. As per usual my father never said anything to me. I memorized from watching. When I began to understand, my fears also disappeared. I knew that when I paired with my father that even if I made an error he would be able to respond, whatever movement I made he would take the appropriate distance and finish the encounter. However, even though I want to perform a different iai from that of my father, it is still yet a dream. My abilities have not yet grown sufficient. At the moment I must just try and grasp his teachings. I understand that whatever I am taught it will only be over a long period of experimentation that I will be able to make it my own. Having been born into this household I must not become lost in my pursuit.” After Fumitaka had begun training in earnest to succeed him his father designated him as the 16th Soke of the tradition by presenting him with the Souzoku no Sho (lit. proof of succession, passed on in the form of a document. See Kendo World article on the Suio Ryu for a picture of Katsuse Yoshimitsu Soke’s Souzoku no Sho). It was at this time that Fumitaka received the martial name Kagesada. In the same manner from his infancy Daichi was brought into the dojo to watch training by his ‘gramps’. “I am sure that if it becomes ingrained in Daichi he will also follow on,” remarks a clearly happy Katsuse. Dissemination abroad: The reason is in the interchange of life. Suio Ryu, containing among others iaijutsu, kumiiai, kusarigamajutsu and jojutsu, has gained a strong reputation at Kobudo demonstrations nationally and abroad for its realism. The number of people wishing to train in its arts has also grown significantly. “Teaching handwork and footwork too soon does not benefit the student. Koryu is simple, just train until you make it part of your own body. It is something that you search out for yourself. Until you are able to understand it through your own body no matter how it is explained to you, you will not fully understand it. Once a junior high school student said to me, ‘In the past 5 years you have said nothing to me. Is that alright?’ I also wondered, but having looked at their iai it was very good. If you are able to perform techniques from your heart at any one time then that is enough. It is not a desire to perform techniques in the easiest manner. It is the desire to perform them in the most difficult manner that is the study of Bujutsu.” The Suio Ryu now has branches in Brazil, America, France and Spain. In the US there are a number of physicians practicing its arts. In particular for surgeons Bujutsu training has proved useful to them. Amongst these there is one individual who performs acrobat flying in a biplane as a hobby. He says that ‘Suio Ryu is helpful in developing mental coordination and enhancing the ability to make split second decisions.’ As in America and Europe mimicking Bujutsu traditions as a business is not uncommon, one student of the tradition, a lawyer, has had the name ‘Suio Ryu Iai Kenpo’ copyrighted in English, French and Spanish. Another student, a sea kayak adventurer, entered the dojo to ‘develop my ability to make split second decisions and to enhance the sensitivity of the five senses that I rely on to protect my life.’ States Katsuse san, “I have come to believe that Bujutsu training is in order to survive. To not die.” Katsuse san on sensing that his hips and legs were becoming weaker sought medical advice. The diagnosis was a disease affecting the tendons of the leg. Incurable, the sinew of the legs, the life of the bujutsu practitioner, will drop away. At the Suio Ryu Taikai in 2003 he performed in front of a number of his students a series of 8 techniques, which he intended to be his final testament. “I understood then that I could still perform using ki power.” Whilst in America some of the physicians performed some tests on him and recommended corrective surgery. However, before that operation there is the Suio Ryu Koden Taikai to be held in the Fujieda Sports Hall in October, which this year celebrates its 30th year. At this event Katsuse san and Fumitaka san were joined, for the first time, by Daichi to demonstrate techniques of the tradition. According to both grandfather and father he performed admirably. “He seems to have the right stuff, I’m look forward to the future,” says the 15th generation Soke, his face clearly relaxing as he speaks. |
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