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Kaeshi Waza: the Ura of the Omote?


Bô against biken

When we train the techniques of the different weapons or ryûha we often skip this important part of the training which is the kaeshi waza.

Kaeshi waza is for me the essence of our budô as it is vital to know how to overcome any technique. Countering is always implied in a technique. In a real fight you will have to apply those “aite to kumu kokoro gamae” in order to keep the advantage over the attacker.

In the buki waza dvds (jo, biken, bô, yari, and naginata) I have included those kaeshi waza into the basic forms to give the students a better understanding of them. We did the same for each technique of  the shoden, chûden, okuden, and keiko sabaki gata of the kukishin bô.

Once the forms have been acquired, you have learn the omote, with the ura you enter the hidden side of reality. Those two aspects of waza are intimately intertwined and missing the kaeshi waza is like walking with one leg!

In each technique there is a kankaku (feeling) that you must find. Once this feeling understood, you can use it against the waza and understand the real depth of budô. The developing of the ura side of the waza is the gokui (essence) of the bujinkan as it triggers our creativity and foster our imagination in a new powerful way.

Kaeshi waza is the ura of the omote, the kaitatsu of the waza, the jissen of the jissen.

Focus & Reach your Goals


Ooty Golf course India

When you train you often forget the goal you are trying to reach and you lose your focus. Whether you are on the tatami or outside the dôjô, this is the quality of your focus and what you live that gives you the solution.

Do not believe the waza, they are only there to channel an idea in order to decipher the feeling that is not written. Focusing on each moment of your life guarantees success.  Do not try to achieve a result as you would project your intention into a non defined future. On the contrary focus on the instant like in nakaima (middle of now) and you will be adaptable to any change happening in the instant. If you are doing a technique, you are actually seeing your victory that has not happened yet. Your tamashii (spirit, soul) is the tool allowing you to use your saino (ability) level to its best, in the utsuwa in which you are caught.

This permanent focusing of the total being (body and mind) by the use of saino konki renders possible the reaching of your goals whatever they are. The goal is not important per se but it will, like a waza, bring to your understanding, things that are not obvious at first sight.

Remember our art is to “render the invisible visible”. This is how we must see Life. And when you are able to do that, in and outside the dôjô, you are living into the rokkon shôjô.

Happiness is the only things that matter. 🙂

Kukishin Bô Jutsu Shoden


old bô jutsu drawing by hokusai

Did you ever notice that the three levels of bô jutsu from the kukishin represented the three levels of the ten chi jin?

Did you ever notice that in the shoden no kata you had 3 groups of 3 techniques? Each name of technique begins with the name of a kamae followed by the principle hidden within each one of the groups. 

Those principles can be written in different ways, I offer here three possible meanings.

The first group deals with kangi which can have the same meaning of ” intuition, sixth sense” (gi means waza = technique). kan (勘)

The second group is gogi and can have the meaning of go(shin), “defense”. Go (護).

The third group is kôki and can have the meaning of “achievement, success”. Kô (功).

If we add those three meanings we get the idea the the first level of the kukishin bô is to develop our intuition to defend ourselves in order to find success”.

Funnily, the last technique (the ninth) of the level look like a mix of all the waza studied in the level. If not in the form at least in the feeling.

The last technique is called tenchijin… 🙂