Fire Palm Seminar April 8th

I'm a big fan of Shifu John Painter's work.  I can't just say Juilong Baguazhang, because I am inspired by his work with Xing Yi Chuan and Taijichuan and the whole of Daochichuan in the Li Family system.  It was his choice to promote Baguazhang over the others, and I am sorry for the loss of the other systems and the Li Family system as a whole.  He shows me that higher level martial arts can make sense and be discussed rationally - something I missed in most of my Aikido and Taiji training.

We have a Fire Palm seminar coming up in North Carolina soon.  So, here is a little bit about the Fire Gua in my limited understanding of it.  I feel like I am starting to have a relationship with it finally.

Hexagram #30  Synergy/Brightness/Intelligence/Clarity/Consciousness/Illumination/Dependance/The Clinging/Fire/Shining

Fire itself needs fuel and oxygen to start.  Shifu told us when he was here last that we can pick our fuel, and the volume of our fuel.  One of the dangers of practicing Fire is that we need to be careful when we pick our fuel.  I guess Fire can touch on addiction?

The Change Lines

The Top (6th) Line:  It is up to you to penetrate to the source of the trouble in the situation and eradicate it.  Go after the root cause of the problem, not the minor problems.  Once the major problem is out of the way, order will reign.  It is best to kill the leaders.  The king sets out and advances.  There is a good executioner, but it is not the enemy that is captured.  No harm.  The king goes on expedition, and has excellence.  Kill the Chiefs.  Capture the followers.  No Blame.

The Fifth Line:  There is tremendous grief and acceptance of what has transpired.  Better times are coming.  Tears in floods, sighing and lamenting.  Good fortune.  Tears flow in torrents, a mournful lament and auspicious.  Burst into tears like torrents as if groaning sorrowfully.  Luck.

The Fourth Line:  Overly enthusiastic energigies and endeavours will exhaust you.  Nothing will come of it at all.  Brightness may arise suddenly and then die out as quickly.  This is the course of life.  It flames up, it dies down, it is thrown away.  Dashing forth, coming forth, burning, dying and being abandoned.  As if coming suddenly, As if buring; as if dying; as if abandoned.

The Third Line:    The best attitude to cultivate is a general acceptance of fate.  To totally lose yourself in the happiness of the moment is as bad as to bemoan the passing of time.  Such folly of the mind and the emotions leads to a loss of inner freedom.  The sunset is bright.  Now is the time to enjoy it's blessings, like that of a long life well lived.  Sighing in sorrow for its end brings misfortune.  ...In the light of the setting sun.  The Fire of the Setting Sun - when one no longer drums on earthern jars and sings, then there is only the lament of old age and the inauspicious.  Shining in the setting sun, not beating clay pots and singing but groaning like an old man of eighty - calamity.  Pay Respect and receive no blame.  Otherwise, you'll be strutting as if confused.

The Second Line:  A reasonable and moderate attitude will bring you the best possible luck.  Remember, indulge in no excess, no extremes of thought or action.  Bright sunshine falls upon the earth.  Moderation brings success.  Yellow light, supreme good fortune.  Yellow Fire, a major auspicious omen.  Yellow Shining - Primal Luck.  (Yellow apparently refers to moderation here according to the translators.)

The Bottom (1st) Line:  Brightness at the beginning can lead to confusion.  Tread lightly like a beginner, and there will be no mistakes.  When you first begin in your new path, you are bombarded by impressions.  Keep your goal in mind constantly and you can avoid confusion and error.  The beginning holds the seed of all that is to follow.  You tread onward, alternating the feet.  Show respect, no harm.

This is transscribing from R.L Wing's I Ching, Brian Arnold's The Book of Transformations, A guide to the Wilhelm/Baynes translation by Carol Anthony, Yi Jing Book of Changes by Richter ( the least comprehensible sentences, but some useful ones.)  Gia-Fu Feng's Taoist translation with Frank Kegan.

With the final two books, there was so much effort put into being as literal as possible that some sentences weren't very clear - I resisted the urge to add minor words and punctuation and eventually gave up for the sake of not wasting my time.  The wording is still close.  The most literal translations used imagery that had a context that we in the West don't have, like the Yellow Light. 

Still, so much of this does actually speak to me about what Fire is and should be practiced to be.  Intelligent, mindful use with correct timing (on many levels) and no overreaching or holding on to a strategy while paying full attention to the relationship between yourself and your opponent.  Danger and grief comes from a static mindset - take opportunites, and let them go when they have passed.  Taking what you have, but keeping your eye on your goal.  Fire doesn't bat arms around, it grabs the opponent's spine and balance.  Fire can appear and vanish quickly, and the timing and targeting is important.  A moderate attitude helps you to sense what is needed, helps you to hold back until that timing and relationship is created for the Fa Jin that is one of the hallmarks of Fire.  Fire has an area of influence, and recognizing when that limit is reached and stopping is important.  Not being too flamboyant is important.

And, finally recognizing when it is time to go mow the lawn instead of typing at the computer though I would like to continue...

Context (Or, the unfortunate story behind the Dokka of O Sensei)

What did O Sensei really write?  We have many people holding up "his ideals", "his philosophy" and "his beliefs."  It was very interesting for me to read this post by Stanley Pranin of Aikido Journal Online that I've tagged on below.  It's a fabulously written article.  I'm not sure most of the people in my dojo go to his website, so I posted it here.  Pranin Sensei, I do not mean to violate copywrite or disrespect you.  I have the highest respect for your work.

My first book on Aikido was The Way of Harmony, co-authored by John Stevens and Shirata Rinjiro Sensei.  It remains one of my favourite books, and one that shows more depth and variety that just about any other book I have ever come across.  Stevens Sensei is a very good writer, and the clarity of his explainations shows to me a good understanding of the subject matter as well.

I did buy a copy of his Art of Peace, which is a collection of O Sensei's Dokka.  This book is not as clear to read.  Many Dokka have very little in common.  Statements like "Seize their minds and scatter them all" and "Aikido is 99% atemi" and one of my favourite, "In extreme situations the entire universe becomes our foe - Do not let your heart waiver!" don't resonate with a large number of students.  (I don't have my copy right in front of me, so I am not using the exact wording.)  These are right beside pages that say things like, "All life is a manifestation of the spirit, the manifestation of Love." and "The spirit of self-sacrifice creates trust in the power of Love."  Sometimes they are very concrete:  "When an opponent moves forward, move in to greet him; when he wants to pull back send him on his way."  Sometimes they are very spiritually minded:  "When you bow deeply to the universe, it bows back; when you call out the name of God, it echoes inside of you."  Some, like "the left hand takes hold of Life and Death, the right hand controls it" are difficult for me to make use of.  It sounds like a sword reference.

I've had a growing library for over 20 years now, and I try to get books which talk about the source of Aikido, as well as other martial arts.  If I ask a Taiji teacher about Baguazhang, I get a response from someone who looked at Baguazhang and chose to go in another direction.  The best books on Judo are written by Kano Jigoro and the Kodokan.  Shioda, Saito and the Ueshiba family have high quality Aikido books - I don't go to YouTube to read what boxers and MMA fighters have to say about Aikido or Taiji.  But is something automatically strong, valid source material because it has O Sensei's name on the cover?

I was getting ready for my Shodan test and Kawahara Sensei was in Saskatoon at a seminar.  The technique we spent most of  a class on was Hanmi Handachi Shomenuchi Ikkyo.  I had seen a number of variations, but they all felt incredibly fake to me.  This was a technique that all students were required to waste some time on I had decided, but it had little use that I could see.

Sensei then told us this which I recognized as a Dokka:  "One should be prepared to receive 99% of an enemy's attack and stare death right in the face."  This statement had previously made no sense for Aikido techniques to me.  Does that sound like Tenkan to anyone out there?

Sensei went on to tell us of his early training days.  In Hanmi Handachi, his school required that you use a short sword and a long sword and block a live sword strike to the head by raising your weapons above your head.  This was mandatory for his test - if your block failed, you failed the test.  (I heard so very few stories of his early training, but enough to know I don't train at his level at all.) 

Inspired and enlightened, I tried it.  I tried holding my ground, not letting my heart waiver as the attack came.  I learned to do hanmi handachi shomenuchi ikkyo with decisive results.  In trying to run away, dodge or blend I never got the kuzushi or the leverage.  In holding my ground and absorbing uke's arm fully into my power I could drop uke to the ground in front of me with every bit of power they sent my way.

I learned the lesson all over again a few years later when I was out with a Taiji teacher.  I entered the restaurant first, then a young Asian man started running at the door. I did a beautiful Tenkan, got out of way and...left my friend to get a playful sucker punch.  The "attacker" was actually a high school friend of the Taiji teacher and was just playing around, but I learned about using Aikido to protect others - if I want to shield someone, I need to hold my ground.

It was very shortly after that I realized that Hanmi Handachi is about working with people who are taller than you and have superior mobility, reach and leverage.  This was how I could do Ikkyo to a student of mine who was 6'7".  Sensei gave me a real gift that day.  He was always giving us insights that worked on many levels and that still resonate with me.

As the class went on, I realized that the Dokka were given to us in the Art of Peace without context.  Pranin Sensei's essay would seem to support that.  So, to do Shomen-Ate, this one Aikido technique is clearly 99% atemi (it's a Tomiki name, but no one else ever gave me a specific name for this movement).  Most of Saito Sensei's Ki-no-nagare are almost purely atemi.  But, many techniques simply aren't like this.  This dokka belongs in a specific context I think. 

Another Dokka was reportedly coined when O Sensei had a chance to meet with John Glen and asked him what it was like to walk in space.  Glen was very eloquent about how deeply humbly, inspiring and moving the experience had been looking down on the Earth.  O Sensei responded, "Science and Religion are one, both bear witness to the magesty of God."

I'm not trashing the Art of Peace.  I just give myself permission to try to frame each sentence in context - something that those who try to deseminate O Sensei denied us when they tried to spread his legacy.  For example, the original text of O Sensei's rules for practice said never teach non-Japanese; things like this were quickly homogenized in post-war Japan it seems.  The text now reads don't teach people of poor morale character or something like that.

I got so much value from the Art of Peace though.  "Heaven is where you are standing, and that is the right place to train" took me through many transitions in my life that took me far from a dojo and eventually far from my Sensei.  "Never fail to learn from the ever-pure voice of a mountain stream flowing over the rocks" carried me through my time in the Canadian Rockies and formed the basis of my standing meditation practice for years.

Maybe O Sensei didn't say half the stuff attributed to him.  Out of what he did say, we might never be able to properly translate it let alone fully understand his meaning.  Several teachers who were there have admitted they didn't know what O Sensei was saying most of the time.  Maybe as we all come to our own understanding of the mind-body relationship as well as our relationships with others and the universe as a whole we touch what touched O Sensei.  "Many paths to the top of the mountain, but only one summit." 

Kawahara Sensei once told us at another seminar that we were all weaker than the old time students.  In the old days, they trained hard.  We weren't anywhere near as capable as they had been nor as likely to endure what they had endured.  We were weak.  We were all chagrined, and certain this was true.  I braced for the tongue lashing that would drive me forward to work harder through more pain, trying to ignore that my knees and feet were bleeding from practice. 

Then Sensei smiled at us.  He lit up the room with his smile.  He told us we were good people, and we enjoyed our practice and we cared about the world and about other people.  He said, he thought O Sensei would be happy. 

Sensei will always mean more to me than any book.



“O-Sensei’s Spiritual Writings: Where did they really come from?” by Stanley Pranin
Recently, due to the publication of a series of books whose authorship has been attributed to Morihei Ueshiba, founder of aikido, I have felt compelled to weigh in on the subject of what O-Sensei actually did write during his career as a martial artist. The answer is in brief, “almost nothing.”
Works attributed to him—both before and after the war—were based on his spoken words and lectures rather than on texts that he had composed himself. They were transcribed and edited primarily by his son, Second Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba, and by several trusted students having varying degrees of literary skills. This is especially the case after World War II. Much of what we think of as the spiritual writings of Morihei is based on material published in the “Aikido Shimbun” of the Aikikai Hombu Dojo starting in 1959 and continuing following his passing in 1969. What was published in the “Aikido Shimbun” as “Doka” (Songs of the Way) were actually culled from heavily edited transcriptions of tape-recorded talks and lectures given by O-Sensei inside the dojo and elsewhere.
To understand the rationale for the editing of Morihei’s remarks, one must take into consideration the times and psychology of the Japanese during this period. World War II had recently ended, and much of the population were either direct participants, or deeply affected by the war and its outcome. Japan had acquired the stigma of a defeated nation, and many Japanese wished to distance themselves from all things associated with the conflict and those that had led the country into it.

During the early postwar period, subjects related to Japan’s military and political institutions, State Shinto, and the heavy destruction wrought upon the country were topics many Japanese chose to avoid due to the painful associations they held. Moreover, Morihei’s active role in teaching at numerous military installations during the 1930s and early 40s was a subject that the Aikikai chose to mention only in passing for understandable reasons.
Given Morihei’s tendency to speak using religious terminology and concepts and the difficulty modern Japanese had in interpreting his meaning, the decision-makers at the Hombu Dojo chose to edit O-Sensei’s words in an attempt to make them more palatable to the postwar generation. Another important consideration in this decision was the fact that the effort to disseminate aikido on foreign soil was in full swing. It was thought that foreign enthusiasts of the art would be incapable of understanding such religious imagery anyway, and that some might take offense considering that many early practitioners abroad were themselves war veterans, or adversely affected by the war.
I first became aware of the discrepancy between what had been published under the name of Morihei, and his actual way of speaking when, little by little, recorded tapes of his talks and interviews found their way into my hands in the course of my research.
Early on while residing in Japan, I attempted to have one of these tapes transcribed by educated native speakers on three occasions. The result was the same in that each of them in turn abandoned their attempt due to their inability to understand O-Sensei’s words and determine the appropriate kanji, or Chinese characters, to render difficult terms and concepts.
When I at last produced a transcription and translation of a somewhat easier text of a radio interview of Morihei, we faced a similar problem though on a smaller scale. In an effort to clear up several difficult passages, we approached three persons versed in the subject matter who were close to O-Sensei to aid us in deciphering their meaning. The amazing thing was that every answer on every point of each of the three authorities was different! From that point on, I fully understood the difficulties confronting anyone who attempted to make sense of Morihei’s words.
It is my opinion that there is only one published text that faithfully preserves the content and flavor of O-Sensei’s actual speech. The book is titled “Takemusu Aiki,” edited by Hideo Takahashi of the Byakko Shin Kokai. This Japanese-language book consists of transcriptions of a series of lectures given by Morihei before members of this religious group. Mr. Takahashi was very diligent in transcribing Morihei’s speech and visited the founder periodically in Iwama for help in determining the correct meaning of O-Sensei’s words.
With the permission of Mr. Takahashi, a colleague Sonoko Tanaka—a black-belt student of Morihiro Saito Sensei—and I translated the first four chapters of “Takemusu Aiki.” It was a daunting task, and Sonoko did a good deal of background reading, especially on the “Kojiki,” before undertaking the translation. Below are the links to our translations of these chapters of “Takemusu Aiki.”
Takemusu Aiki, Chapter 1
Takemusu Aiki, Chapter 2
Takemusu Aiki, Chapter 3
Takemusu Aiki, Chapter 4
These English translations represent our best efforts to faithfully render the original Japanese. There are a copious amount of notes accompanying the translations to provide further explanation of difficult passages. We were asked to stop our translation work at this point due to the intervention of the Aikikai.
There are a few other sources of faithful transcriptions and translations of Morihei’s spoken words. These consist of the aforementioned radio interview as well as two other interviews transcribed from audio tapes and translated with English subtitles. Here are the links for the video presentations available at Aikido Journal that contain the original recordings of O-Sensei and their translations:
Morihei Ueshiba: “Way of Harmony”
Morihei Ueshiba: “Divine Techniques”
Morihei Ueshiba: “The Founder of Aikido”
In recent years, Professor John Stevens, a Japanese scholar and high-ranking aikidoka, has published a series of volumes on aikido through the Kodansha Publishing House. Several of these books bear the name of “Morihei Ueshiba” as the author. I confess not to have reviewed these works carefully, but Professor Stevens himself has alluded to the difficulty of translating various passages attributed to the founder. Other considerations such as the requirements of the publisher to enhance the saleability of the published works undoubtedly came into play when making editorial decisions.
I wish to make a few observations here. Professor Stevens’ earlier translations were based on materials already published in Japanese, mainly “Doka” appearing in the previously alluded to “Aikido Shimbun.” As I have pointed out, these passages were extensively edited to purge the text of Shinto imagery and difficult-to-understand passages. Professor Stevens latest work, “The Heart of Aikido: The Philosophy of Takemusu Aiki,” is a rather loose translation of the Japanese lectures edited by Mr. Takahashi.
Personally speaking, I don’t have any objection to the presentation of Morihei Ueshiba’s spoken word and philosophy in the above-described manner. Given the extenuating circumstances of the aftermath of World War II and the desire to spread aikido beyond the shores of Japan, it is difficult to fault the Aikikai in their decision to proceed in this manner.
At the same time in fairness to readers, I feel it incumbent upon anyone who publishes a work attributed to Founder Morihei Ueshiba to clarify the source of the original Japanese, and any modifications to these texts and the reasoning behind such editorial determinations. I believe this holds true for translated texts as well, particularly given the difficult subject matter.
In conclusion, the published books containing quotations attributed to Morihei Ueshiba available in various Western languages are based on “sanitized” Japanese versions of Morihei’s words. They have been edited and simplified with an eye to presenting text accesible to modern readers, but are devoid of many of those terms and metaphors actually used by the founder of aikido which failed to match the tenor of the times.
A serious attempt to faithfully transcribe, edit and annotate the corpus of recordings of O-Sensei’s speeches and lectures has yet to be undertaken. Readers of the currently available materials should bear this in mind when researching the philosophy of the aikido founder.

Omote and Ura, part 2

I'm on the road now, and I'll need to go more indepth with this post later.  I'll probably need some video to help this make sense too.

Omote is the public face.  In martial arts, the Omote techniques are often the more linear and more direct movements.

It is my observation with professional assault restraint techniques, the movements that are more conducive to working in a formation are more direct and linear.  They are simpler looking (not necessarily easier). 

The Uke will be sent back the direction they are coming.  This means that the Uke will be falling into their own formation, and disrupting their colleagues more.

A turning motion would have an Uke crashing into your own line.  Big turning motions would have you disrupting your own formation.  If you knock your own people over, the whole formation becomes less stable and more vulnerable.  If you can stand side-by-side and fight effectively, the formation becomes more dangerous.

The Romans made heavy use of formation fighting, as did many major cultures.  How to fight as part of a cohesive group was the major secret to strategy in years gone by.  A war started to be a strategic game, instead of a large collection of one-on-one battles.

In most basic Omote techniques, they are techniques that are well suited to being a part of a formation.  The later uses of Omote and Ura in Aikikai are murky and less likely to fit these constraints.  Techniques like Shihonage didn't have an Omote or an Ura in the past and I suspect both major versions were really Ura.  Shihonage Omote throws Uke into the people standing beside you.  Most Shihonage variations involve turning.

The frequent direction changes of the Ura techniques would play havoc against a formation.  They aren't suited to fighting as part of a cohesive group.  They are well suited to breaking a formation and they give the individual against the group more advantages.

Ura, the hidden teachings, would affect the balance of power.  You could learn the Omote techniques and be a solid part of a formation, but the linear approach is limited against a group.   With the Ura movements, a single individual could stand against the social order.  These were the techniques that allowed a leader to stand in front of his men with less fear.

So this is how I think the names Omote and Ura were maybe to be used initially.  Omote made you a useful member of the rank-and-file.  Ura let you stand alone against many, and would have been taught to the leaders.

Lately, "real combat" to most people is a third type of senario.  One on One doesn't restrict the movements being used as much as Omote, because you don't need to worry about hitting people beside you.  The turning motions of Ura leave you more vulnerable because your attention isn't where it needs to be.  It actually becomes pretty artificial and encourages poor awareness, but this senario can happen.

Running to the side of the room makes sense against a formation.  It makes no sense against a scattered group. 

Getting behind a group by yourself doesn't change things much, but if you break the line to get behind and you are part of a group, the people you are attacking are at disadvantage.  They are having to fight in two directions.  This is like a pawn in chess getting to the other side of the board and becoming the most powerful piece on the board.

This is how I started to find meaning in Omote and Ura, after doing some reading before and finding the ideas unclear and not overly useful.