Beyond the Physical

[shorin student]

First let me say that I find Ninpo a truly fascinating art and I hope that this will show in this thread.

I would ask a question that I hope is not political or offensive to any member of the Ninpo/Ninjutsu community. I am totally interested in what beyond the physical attributes does Ninpo offer as far as a way of life goes. Philosophy, approaches to life type of examples.

The martial arts are very dear to me and I am exploring arts that seem to be a way of life as well as effective self defense.

Also if it is not too much trouble could you advise me on how to approach a instructor of Ninpo on this matter so as not to sound strange or disrespectful.

All replies are welcome from any of the branches and I hope that all of you will know that I have the utmost respect and admiration for this beautiful art.

All my best

John Cross

[skuggvarg]

Dear Mr Cross,

Within all traditional japanese martial arts are deep and profound strategies. These can often be applied to other fields asides from fighting. However, I doubt you will find a teacher who "teaches" this. You will most likely have to find your own way.

Best of luck! / Skuggvarg

[Solitary Ninja]

I both agree and disagree wih Skuggvarg on this point, John. While I don't think that instructors will sit you down and "show you the path to enlightenment," I do believe there are many, although few and far between, that would be happy to talk with you about how to apply the fundamental characteristics of the art to your life and way of thinking. I know I used to tell my students early on in their training to practice opening doors, and things like that, with their taijutsu just to get them thinking about using their skills outside of the confines of the dōjō. Later we might talk about life philosophies and such, depending on the people I was talking with.

In my own experience, I've been blessed to have two wonderful instructors that have always been kind enough to sit down and talk with me about how we apply this training to our daily lives. Papa-san (Ed Martin) was who I trained with before going to Japan and meeting Shiraishi-sensei and I would usually arrive an hour before training just for such talks. Shiraishi-sensei likewise advises me constantly on even methodology of walking as well as interactions with people and the like.

As for how to approacch an instructor, you may want to have a specific topic in mind if you're the one bringing this up. I've always been fortunate in that I only ever had to have open ears. To ask about the "philosophy" of the art is too broad. For that, simply open any number of Hatsumi-sensei's books and you will find things. I imagine works by Tanemura-san and Manaka-san are the same. Hatsumi-sensei is always talking about life applications in his classes as well. The problem seems to be that people are too busy focusing on technique to remember such things later on. Try asking a Ninpō instrucor about somthing more focused (i.e. breathing methodology, minimalization of energy, etc.) and you might get somewhere. I'm not saying that all instructors will have the answers you seek, but again, you asked for advice on how to ask the questions. ;) Good luck!

[shorin student]

Friends,

Thank you for your advice-it is all welcome and I hope it keeps coming.

It is all giving me much to think about!