Hontai Hakkei Ryu Aikijujutsu with Bojutsu and Taijutsu

[Cady Goldfield]

In viewing this video, a couple of key points come to mind.

One, is that there is a strong emphasis on weapons in Hontai Hakkei Ryu, and Salahuddin Sensei frequently remarks at his seminars that the art is a weapons-based one with myriad taijutsu applications that are derived from weapons methods. This, in contrast to many systems in which empty-hand is the principle method, and weapons are added to the system.

If you watch Salahuddin Sensei's empty-hand techniques, after watching his bojutsu waza, you might notice that the essential movements are the same, and the points of contact, including vectors, remain the same as well. This, to me, shows clearly the relationship between the weapons and the taijutsu (body techniques/empty-hand). The principle difference between wielding a weapon and working empty-handed, in my perception, is the maiai -- distancing. Timing, not so much, because aiki is there, and so regardless of how distant the actor is standing from the acted-upon, with the weapon length in between, as soon as weapon touches opponent, the kuzushi is already there.

And, that's the second point: Aiki.

Aiki, then, is what ties it all together. Without it, time would be lost in creating kuzushi ... meaning more gaps that an opponent can exploit.

Aiki makes the weapon's power instantaneous... actually, pre-existing before contact.

One interesting part, for those interested in aiki, is a short sequence in which a visitor to the dojo is asked to try and detect, hands-on, where the power is coming from in Salahuddin Sensei's technique.

Salahuddin Muhammad has stated that because this video is publicly accessible, he has altered some of the waza and method slightly from what would be presented in the dojo, and also points out that, like his other video footage, this video was produced to show specific facets of the art, at a specific level. His videos vary in the degree of internals/aiki, "straight jujutsu," and emphasis on certain kinds of waza, all based on the intended audience(s). Most of his videos are taken at workshops and seminars that are presenting certain materials of specific interest to the participants, but not representative of the art's traditional curriculum and kata. However...

This particular clip is unusual in its length and in its being part of a class, not a seminar. There is a degree of depth here -- most of it unspoken and not pointed out -- that makes this video a particularly good lesson for those of us who are students of the method. I hope that others will jump in and add their comments, regardless of at what point on the path they are on. There's a lot of meat to chew on, here.

[Cady Goldfield]

Sharing (with permission) some comments Salahuddin Muhammad made on the above video, on another site:

Bukiho (weapons methods) cannot be avoided if one wants this material. The structural dynamics are ingrained through proper kenjutsu, bojutsu, tanto jutsu, and other weapons.

The way that most people use a katana is very different than what we are advocating. Dropping the truly older methods was definitely throwing the baby out with the bath water. The old methods work and are quite dynamic, it is the training processes that were misunderstood or, even more so, not revealed. People made assumptions based on limited, deep old-world study and revised things based on surface level material. Not popular to hear but certainly true. The tanren offered with bukiho are vital.

[Cady Goldfield]

Sharing (with permission) some comments Salahuddin Muhammad made on the above video, on another site:

Bukiho (weapons methods) cannot be avoided if one wants this material. The structural dynamics are ingrained through proper kenjutsu, bojutsu, tanto jutsu, and other weapons.

The way that most people use a katana is very different than what we are advocating. Dropping the truly older methods was definitely throwing the baby out with the bath water. The old methods work and are quite dynamic, it is the training processes that were misunderstood or, even more so, not revealed. People made assumptions based on limited, deep old-world study and revised things based on surface level material. Not popular to hear but certainly true. The tanren offered with bukiho are vital.

What he is saying, basically, is that many people didn't get the internal/aiki training that powered these very old arts, and so re-tooled weapons methods into the "external" (conventionally driven) forms that are seen in modern systems.

[Raff]

What he is saying, basically, is that many people didn't get the internal/aiki training that powered these very old arts, and so re-tooled weapons methods into the "external" (conventionally driven) forms that are seen in modern systems.

This is unfortunately the case in many arts which are still around today but which are not doing too well anymore, some of them even being on the verge of extinction. Some arts are dying not because they are outdated but because what made them valuable is not present/accessibile anymore or is not taught widely.

I might add that even high ranked individuals failed to master those skills and that the vast majority of the practioners are totally unaware of the hidden potential lying within their respective arts.

Because a lot of people could not get/understand it, whatever the reason, those arts now tend to focus on "hyperspecialized" waza including an enormous amount of details (the devil is the detail) which appear to be counterproductive or impossible to apply successfully in a "real" situation.

I guess that those who were not given the proper keys to solve the puzzle had to resort to the technical aspect (typically external stuff) in order to make the techniques work just as Sensei used to do.

I think that this is what happened to some of the arts which are often discussed here, and this explains a lot of things once you accept it as a fact.