After the Kotō ryū of the other day, Noguchi sensei began the study of the Chūden no Sabaki Gata from the Takagi Yōshin ryū, starting with Katamune Dori.
A group of 20 students gathered to attend the class, and I was happy to see many “old-timers”. There is nothing disrespectful here. People at Noguchi sensei’s classes are mainly practitioners who have been attending his classes for ten or twenty years (in my case, thirty-five years) because his vision of Budō is brilliant, based on knowledge rather than brute force. (1)
Even though he is now Sōke of the Kotō ryū, he is still teaching the “Noguchi ryū”, his understanding of the Bujinkan arts.
After this last class, I’m no longer sure Noguchi sensei only does what he has been doing for decades. There is no change; he is still destructuring each waza (grab, one-fist attack, double attack, inside, outside, locking with the head, etc.) in the same way.
But last night, we saw a Kotō tiger in the branches of the willow tree. There is a Kotō ryū tiger hidden in the tree. (2)(3)
After training with Noguchi sensei for so many years, I could easily spot this significant change in his taijutsu. They say that a Sōke embodies the spirit of the fighting system (ryū) he represents. After last night, I think there is some truth about it.
Now, don’t get me wrong, Noguchi sensei is still the same perfect gentleman; nothing differs from his regular taijutsu, but there is a new “presence” in his movements. Some feline vibe. His actions have always been unreadable; this new quality makes it even more difficult for uke not to die.
From that class and apart from this “felinity”, here are a few valuable tips we got during class:
- Tsukame janai: Do not grab firmly; maintain contact and let uke think he is free, even though he is not. Be like a cat -or a tiger- playing with a mouse.
- Chikara janai: Do not use strength; use movement instead. Here, you can relate to the willow tree. Branches move with the wind, and when there is a burst of wind, it looks like à wave going through the leaves.
- Ritsudō: Rhythm is everything. Don’t follow a repetitive pattern of movement. Variation is important. If you don’t, the giant worms from Dune will get you. (4)
- Turn your whole body during the movement to balance your weight and increase efficiency. The direction of the feet is key to applying the waza.
- Kamae: As he did last time, use the kamae not as a rigid, unhealthy stance but rather as a suggestion. It is a more relaxed kamae, less formal.
- Basics: Whatever the complexity of the waza we studied, Noguchi sensei was always able to cut it down into basic moves from the Tenchijin (Ura Gyaku, Yoko Nagare, Ō Soto Gake, Musha Dori, etc).
As demonstrated by Noguchi sensei in class, mastering your basics is vital to understanding what you see here at honbu. After class, Paloma, a young teacher from Valparaiso, told me that the Koi Martial Arts videos helped a lot in improving my basics. (5)(6)
If you have weak basics, you cannot become the tiger hidden in the branches of the willow tree; you are only a harmless “paper tiger”. (7)
Thank you, Noguchi sensei, for another excellent moment.
Don’t forget to register for the Paris Nagato Taikai at the end of the year. It is a great opportunity to train with an excellent teacher. https://facebook.com/events/s/nagato-taikai-paris/1682157225737627/
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- Strength is necessary at some point, but if you can apply the waza softly in the training hall, you might be more capable of using strength when facing à real attack by multiple opponents.
- The Kotō refers to a tiger (see previous post), and the Takagi Yōshin refers to the willow tree.
- Yōshin ryū (“The School of the Willow Heart”) is a common name for several different martial traditions founded in Japan in the Edo Period.
- Ritsudō, 律動, rhythm.
- Paloma is a Shidōshi teaching in her dōjō in Valparaiso, Chile. https://www.instagram.com/tokuho_dojo/
- www.koimartialart.com: Online streaming platform in English with 160 GB of videos.
- Paper Tiger: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/paper-tiger
Shiro Kuma 