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Thread: Understanding the Meaning Behind Every Action

  1. #1
    Kimpatsu Guest

    Arrow Understanding the Meaning Behind Every Action

    Gassho.
    This thread grew out of an earlier discussion of application of techniques in the Shorinji Kempo forum on Budoseek, in which I stated that Shorinji Kempo kata are the original WYSIWYG. I was wondering, how many people understand the reason for making gassho rei at the entrance to the doin, and why we also make gassho rei to shomen (i.e., the manji scroll at the top of the room). There's a reason, which is explained below, but first I'd be interested to see how many Kenshi misunderstand the purpose behind it.
    The gassho rei is not to "show the doin respect". I doubt that four brick walls and a white plaster ceiling could care less about how you treat them. You can't hurt the floor's feelings either, no matter how hard you land. The intent is introspection; do not simply rei perfunctorily and rush to enter the doin as quickly as possible; instead, take a moment to promise yourself on entering that you'll give 100% to the class tonight, and upon leaving, be honest and pause a moment to ask yourself whether you gave that 100%. Similarly, as we move through each section of the class (kihon, chinkon, kamokujutsu, etc.), which are all punctuated ("top and tails") by gassho rei to shomen, promise yourself you'll give 100% of what is required for that segment. One of the charges levelled against Shorinji Kempo is that we are a "religion" (in many people's minds, ethics and religion are mistakenly intertwined, as if it were impossible to be an ethical atheist!), rather than a movement. In Shorinji Kempo there are no sacred cows (although according to some people, my intellect is sufficiently bovine! ); consequently, if you are performing an action for which you do not understand the purpose, ask. Don't just carry on performing by rote--that way, you'll grow stale and jaded too quickly. One obvious case in point is samu. At the Kokubunji Doin, eveyone takes a turn with the brooms before training every class, even though the floor by the end is obviously spic-and-span. So why carry on cleaning after the job is done? The answer lies in the term we use to describe cleaning, "samu". The ordinary word for the household chore is "soji". By contrast, "samu" implies an action taken intended to clean your heart as well as the doin. The humble action puts you in the right frame of mind for training: an empty vessel, ready to have sensei's knowledge put in. Although the wording of the Dokun differs between countries, in the UK we say, "We pledge to leave our pasts aside, and to devote ourselves to mastering the art as plainly and naïvely as infants". The "empty vessel" analogy has become a cliché these days, which is a pity, because I can't think of anything more apt, despite the fact that as a cliché, its impact is diminished.
    This started out as a quick one-liner, but stream of consciousness has led to me typing a full-blown rant. I'd be interested to hear my fellow Kenshi's opinions on the subject. I shall also post this rant on Budoseek.
    Kesshu.

  2. #2
    TheStrongest Guest

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    Hi! I'm not a kenshi(I'm assuming thats a japanese student), but the whole "training as an infant" line is probably one of the most important mentalities you can take into the dojo. I just joined Hwa-Rang Do, and I'm still working on that mentality.

  3. #3
    Kimpatsu Guest

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    A Kenshi is someone who practices Kempo. A Shorinji Kenshi is therefore somewone who practices Shorinji Kempo.
    HTH.

  4. #4
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    Gassho __||__

    Hi Tony!

    I think that you are correct in thinking that some kenshi are not as aware as they should be at the meaning and purpose of Gassho Rei at the entrance to the dojo. Your analysis is sound. I have been to several seminarts and found some kenshi quite lacking in good dojo manner. I found that my training time in Japan made sure that my manner was proper but also with meaning. Noda-sensei here even went one step back to the change room, and explained that your daily clothes are like the troubles of your day. You take them off and all the mental baggage that goes with it. Then you put on a nice white Dogi, emptying your mind as you do so. So when you have finished tieing your obi you are mentally prepared for the training ahead.


    on the side ... how is Budoseek? Are there a lot of kenshi there as well?

    Kesshu

    Onno Kok
    Alberta Shibu
    Calgary, Canada

  5. #5
    Kimpatsu Guest

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    Gassho, Onno-san! Say hello to Chieko for me.
    There's only me, Colin Linz, and one other, Finnish Kenshi on Budoseek at the moment; we need more people. Come and join in the fun.
    The monthly Shorinji Kempo magazine, Gekkan Shorinji Kempo, carried a letter back in the summer from a Kenshi who went to a seminar at Hombu, and was upset enough to write to the magazine about how some Kenshi didn't leave their shoes in a tidy manner at the entrance to the Rensei Dojo. These messages, such as Kyakka-shoko and an understanding of the purpose behind every action, seem to need reinforcing, IMHO. I guess if we gently prod other people every time they do something wrong, and they prod us, eventually it will sink in.
    Kesshu.

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    Gassho __||__

    Chieko says hello back.

    When we were at Honzan I did not notice anything like that. Maybe the letter you speak of changed a few things. Once, when I needed to get some traning pads out of the Rensei-dojo for another class. The door was already open and a class was in progress, so gashho-ed as I entered quietly. The entire class of about 30 or 40 Kenshi stopped, turned to face me and gassho-ed with a loud Konichiwa! I felt like I was some star Sensei (like that will ever happen). I have never Gassho-ed as much as I did that week at Honzan. Every time you pass someone in the hall, turn the corner, enter a room, leave a room. It was hard to keep track sometimes if you had already said good morning to some one just 2 minuts before or not.

    Talk to you again soon.

    Kesshu

    Onno Kok
    Alberta Shibu
    Calgary Canada

  7. #7
    Kimpatsu Guest

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    Gassho.
    Interesting point, Onno. It could be that the letter stung the conscience of a few people. Morita Sensei at the Kokubunji Doin for one is a stickler about keeping our shoes tidy, not just at the entrance to the doin, but also for example, if we have a party in a Japanese restaurant. "Kyakka-shoko" seems to be his favourite word. (I'm not complaining, BTW; this is no bad thing.) Also, when I was licving in Kyoto, Hayashi Sensei gave the whole doin a ticking off because none of us used keigo when talking to him. It really spurred me on to get my keigo up and fluent, and as natural as possible. O-wakari de irasshaimasu ka?
    Talk to you again soon.
    Kesshu.

  8. #8
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    Question

    Hi Tony,

    Please excuse my ignorance, what does 'keigo' mean?

    Gassho
    Ross MacIntyre
    'There are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.'

  9. #9
    Kimpatsu Guest

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    Gassho.
    Keigo is polite Japanese. It's more formal than the standard Japanese used in normal conversation, but should be used towards your superiors, which is why we were all chewed out for not using it to Sensei. HTH.
    Kesshu.

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    Being rather poor at Randori and a bit lazy, I tended to pick up on the smaller details of training etiquette, hoping to become the perfect kenshi-diamond by polishing those facets first. Consequently I made a great deal out of Samu, and Dogi neatness at all times. One of the bits I recall fondly was the explanation we gave to beginners (I shall call them Minarai from now on, thanks to E-Budo members in recent threads) about how to tie the Obi correctly. The knot should end up as a flat diamond shape with tails of equal length that extend at 30 degrees from horizontal, displaying the Kempo name and the Kenshi's name the correct way around. The use of the term "diamond" was related to the Kongo Zen message of reaching perfection like a diamond, by smoothing out the imperfections bit by bit.

    I also recall advising Kenshi to rub the dirt from the soles of their feet prior to the training commencing, saying "the dirt on your soles may soon be on someone else's face, one goal tonight might be to leave the Dojo with a clean face"... well, maybe I just made that bit up... it is a long time since I was in the dojo, the mind can play tricks when affected by nostalgia .
    David Noble
    Shorinji Kempo (1983 - 1988)
    I'll think of a proper sig when I get a minute...

    For now, I'm just waiting for the smack of the Bo against a hard wooden floor....

  11. #11
    Kimpatsu Guest

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    The mind can also play tricks when affected by drugs, David...

  12. #12
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    Tony

    If you are suggesting that I may bear a passing resemblance to Reverend Jim in the old TV series "Taxi" (as played by Christopher Lloyd), then your powers of perception are becoming quite eery. Are you sure you're not taking this Kenshi=Jedi thing a bit too far?

    In which case your powers of mind-control shall be a fearsome thing, sure enough. You've shown great skills in the "wind-up-other-Ebudo-posters-with-the-persistence-of-my-argument" and "tickle-the-funny-bone-with-a-large-poll". I marvel at these feets(sic), from someone who professes to only be here for the "kicks" .



    I have a question however, that comes back to the original post. How much of the ritual and formal set-up of a Kempo class is simply a standard set of salutations, exercises and formal signals shared with the pre-work taiso and school PE classes across Japan. As Westerners unfamiliar with the concept of a group warm-up prior to starting work at the office, it may be surprising just how much of the basic Kempo routine is common to forms of general exercise across Japan. Things I did in the Dojo, I considered to be 100% Shorinji Kempo, actually turned out to be thiings that every Japanese schoolkid does every morning, or every office worker does just before starting work. I remember walking past a Sumitomo Bank in Tokyo at around 08:55 in the morning, looking through the window to see all the uniformed staff going through a set of warm-up and stretches that were identical to the ones we used at the beginning of our sessions.
    David Noble
    Shorinji Kempo (1983 - 1988)
    I'll think of a proper sig when I get a minute...

    For now, I'm just waiting for the smack of the Bo against a hard wooden floor....

  13. #13
    Kimpatsu Guest

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    Gassho.
    That would probably be the best time to rob the pace, David; when all the guards are occupied with Taiso.
    The standard (sic) Shorinji Kempo warmup may bear a superficial resemblence to schoolkids' taiso, but its objective is different. The fundamental intention in your guards' case was group dynamics; get everyone doing the same thing at the same time for "wa", or group harmony. The purpose behind the Shorinji Kempo warmup is exactly that: to warm up. I remember Gerry Rixen's warmups would put the Navy SEAL training routine to shame. This is not to say, however, that the two aren't mutually exclusive; warmups can promote wa, and vice-versa, as intertwined functions. But here, the mindset is radically different.
    Just my 2-yen worth.
    Kesshu.

  14. #14
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    ... not just the Bank Guards, but also the managers, cleaners and dozens of those extra pretty ladies-of-the-counter, with their smart tartan uniforms. (What is it with the tartan in Office Uniforms? Always makes me think of the old British Caledonian airline stewardesses ).



    Wa, but of course. Reminds me of the good ol' "Wa Nuki"... ah, thems were the days
    David Noble
    Shorinji Kempo (1983 - 1988)
    I'll think of a proper sig when I get a minute...

    For now, I'm just waiting for the smack of the Bo against a hard wooden floor....

  15. #15
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    Default re japanese culture and dojo etiquette

    Happened to catch one of Michael Palin's travel programmes where he sojourned with the Kodo drummers - they were up at literally the crack of dawn and off for a 10k run, prepatory to drumming all day, and they're just musicians, for pity's sake... also remember a South Park episode where it turns out that the Chipokemon cult (no legally actionable resemblance to Pokemon can be construed, I'm sure) is a sinister Japanese plot to take over the world - cut to the training camp, where legions of susceptible American youngsters are performing star jumps in unison "ichi,ni,san,shi.." I fell off the chair laughing...

    I would agree that mindful practice of Kempo is very important - it's all too easy to just get into a routine and do it because you do it, not because the actions involved have a deeper significance. One thing I try to get across to our beginners is that the disciplines of dojo etiquette are ultimately for their benefit, because they'll be switched on, learne faster, and train more safely if everybody in the dojo is engaged in mindful practice.

    On the other hand, I probably don't share the wholesale fascination for Japanese culture and mores which some Western Kempo martial artists in general have: this may make me a dilettante in the eyes of some, but I wouldn't want to be uncritical about taking on any value system, regardless of its cultural source.

    Tony leith

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