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Thread: The Modern Bushi and"Martial Arts"

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hissho View Post
    Do they really dismiss it?

    Some maybe, but not sure they speak for all.
    Speaking only personally, I'm not particularly impressed with the video of fast Glock shooting above. By which I mean, obviously he has a high level of technical skill, but it doesn't really speak to me. It's like watching someone juggle knives or torches. But I can say the same thing of a whole lotta iai I've seen! Fast draws, spiritless cuts, and pointlessly high-speed noto. Isao Machida cutting BBs does nothing for me, and I'm not inclined to call what he does "budo".

    On the other hand, I've seen iaido that was breathtaking. Its component elements nothing special: draw not especially fast, a single cut, and a simple, modest noto. But the physical and mental presence of the practitioner could be felt from across the room (or through the computer monitor). The cut simple and unadorned -- not lightning fast, no tachikaze, and yet it was the cut of man seeking unattainable perfection. And there's nothing here that cannot be transferred to shooting. If not many people do so, or rather, if not many people have experience with shooting done in that way, then I see that as more of a cultural thing, where transformative experiences through the lifelong pursuit of unattainable perfection is just not something that has as much cachet in the U.S. compared to Japan.
    Josh Reyer

    Swa sceal man don, žonne he ęt guše gengan ženceš longsumne lof, na ymb his lif cearaš. - The Beowulf Poet

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  3. #17
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    Very well said, Josh. And not said often enough. It is what makes movement, an art.

    May I offer that the same can be said for escalating levels of martial movement of all types? Whether it be more or less martially effective; the pursuit of perfection in a movement may still apply. Granted it is far, far more difficult to execute and complete a kata with visualized danger over real danger, say; Kits Iai alone in a room compared cuffing someone with zanshin in a bad environment. Or executing a perfect set up to a triangle choke with some one who has never has been in one, over trying that on an experienced grappler. Couldn't both, executed well...be art?
    Effective practice (Martial is not really applicable) within movement is only a choice when you know the difference. It doesn't matter what the practice; there is uneffective or defective movement in anything, like arresting, frisking and cuffing someone with your back turned to a group of his friends. I watched that unfold and was blown away. Thankfully the LEO wasn't. Regrettably, facing potential threats without back-up and NOT turning your back was not part of his kata.

    The inverse is when we have very capable men (soldiers, grapplers, etc) who choose aikido as a nonviolent way to connect with people... in an art form. I had a former wrestler/ MT guy who said " I could take everyone apart in this room, including my teacher. I'm not doing this for that. I enjoy the buttons this is NOT pushing in me. Who ever thought I would enjoy the art of it all." That's pretty close to a direct quote of what he said. I have heard much the same from many spec ops guys involved in the martial arts.
    Anyway back to my main point. None of which makes anyone a modern bushi. We are all better off, at least cleaner, to let go of these romantisized and misinformed sword swinging samurai comparisons. It actually does the bushi class an injustice as well.
    Last edited by Dan Harden; 16th January 2015 at 16:25.
    Dan
    [url=www.bodyworkseminars.org][COLOR=#B22222][B]Ancient traditions * Modern Combatives[/B][/COLOR][B][/url] [/B][COLOR=#B22222][/COLOR]

  4. #18
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    Josh - yes well said. The art for its own sake is not my bias and one that I tend to forget or gloss over. Even the art for performance in the lab of competition, etc. Its a different thing to my mind. However, when it comes to the elements of movement and performance Dan notes: there is a reason that the best special operators in the world bring in the best shooters regardless of whether its "combative" or not. Its about movement and art that can be applied to their needs. I've also had similar conversations with people into budo as a way to connect, with themselves and others, "not doing this for that," and think its enviable and may be a healthier way to go about doing martial practice. At times I regret having the skew I do because I don't enjoy some things I should.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Harden View Post

    Granted it is far, far more difficult to execute and complete a kata with visualized danger over real danger, say; Kits Iai alone in a room compared cuffing someone with zanshin in a bad environment. ...
    Crucial point. Some Force Science Research suggests that training without even the simulated stressors is actually training for a different kind of performance altogether. Things get really different the minute you start injecting uncertainty, decision making, competitive initative, etc. and performance drops when it has not been honed under like conditions. One reason progressive force on force is so important, and why being able to learn from experience is critical. If the goal is effective martial performance (Id add Mind to Movement), having an experienced teacher who can create stress and elicit proper behaviors is also very important.




    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Harden View Post
    Anyway back to my main point. None of which makes anyone a modern bushi. We are all better off, at least cleaner, to let go of these romantisized and misinformed sword swinging samurai comparisons. It actually does the bushi class an injustice as well.
    Of course I'd have to mostly concede this point from a cultural and historical perspective. I think you are I are only on different parts of the spectrum, maybe. Mainly I am intrigued with the concept because I have found that the martial tradition (remember more about a specific warrior ethos than fighting skills, even from the beginning), offers some alternative approach in an area in which - to borrow an IHS term - Use of Force Professionals are floundering. From "Guardians versus Warriors" and the decrying of "Police Militarization," identifying a balance between civil servant and warrior protector is elusive. (Hell, look what it did to the bushi class!!)

    We live in a day and age when "Officer Friendly" is the standard and yet at any minute a police officer can go from handling a domestic or other disturbance or mental health event that requires an almost parental guiding hand or compassionate tone, to being ambushed with deadly effect at coffee, or responding as a counter terrorist officer to an active shooter with multiple casualties. We have mentally ill people who are sick, and yet who in that sickness arm themselves and present a danger to the public, and the police are called and respond to a man with a gun; Prioritize the compassion for the illness or your own and other's lives? We have Ferguson and New York juxtaposed with Lakewood and Flagstaff and Paris....where is that balance struck?

    To me, on some level, the Japanese warrior ethos evoked by men such as Bokuden have something to offer. May be a dead end, but what we are doing now is far too much of a mixed message and the public and the legal system simply do not understand how their own officers operate.

    I am somewhat heartened by the fact that balance seems to be coming back in after the Ferguson and New York demonstrations; the video of the Flagstaff event, the video posted in the other thread where the anti-police activist went through force on force training are very illustrative as to the competing mindsets and interests of an officer going through such events.

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