Mind Control II

                                                         Manage your emotions

    They are the feelings that can inspire us to accomplish great things, for ourselves and our societies, or impel us to destroy. Emotions are neither positive or negative in themselves. Anger can motivate us to take action to overcome abuse, but unbridled anger makes us abusers. Fear is an essential survival tool, but uncontrolled or unwarranted fear lead to paralysis and panic. Love, that beautiful emotion, can induce despair. Even hate, abhorrence of cruelty for example, can be positive motivator. Not emotions, but the ability to manage them, determines how well they serve us, or undo us.

                            An angry man defeats himself in life as well as in combat.

    And there's no way to stop them, even if we wanted to. We'll get angry when something or someone pushes our buttons. When we perceive danger we will feel fear. The warriors ideal of Mu Shin (no mindedness) is elusive. How, then, do we train the mind to use our emotions without succumbing to them. 
    Emotions and feelings aren't readily changed by thoughts. Your mind is much more susceptible to your actions. If you act unafraid when you are afraid, your mind responds by lessening the fear. If you act calm when you are angry you can avoid escalating the anger, in yourself and in another. For the warrior, to show fatigue when tired was a disgrace. Fortitude, accepting hardship without complaint, mitigates the pain. How you act influences how you feel.

    Meditation, I found to be one of the most essential practices of Bushido. The Bushi were zen warriors. The practice of Zazen, formal sitting to meditate, was an integral part of warrior life. I made it a part of mine. Learning to temper those emotions is a pretty important social skill. Being able to remain clear headed and calm in the face of danger, a pretty important survival skill.
    If enlightenment is the goal of meditation I have a long way to go. I still don't know what enlightenment is. But meditating, even with imperfect regularity, has been an important asset in my journey. The virtues and benefits of meditation extend to all aspects of life and include:
   Serenity, being able to quiet the inner dialogue.
   Stress management.
   Self confidence.
   Enhanced awareness, sensory and intuitive.
   Spontaneous reaction, reflexive or conditioned responses are enhanced.
   Emotional control.

   Just as you need to train the body through regular practice to develop your physical skills, developing your ability to quiet the "inner dialogue" requires regular practice. Regular practice requires serious commitment. 
    I asked my high school track coach how to become a better runner. He said "run every day."
    I asked my meditation teacher how to become better at meditating. He said, "meditate regularly.
    "It is easy to meditate, anyone can meditate, but to meditate regularly requires heroic effort."

    Saimen Jutsu, the art of mind control, begins with the control of ones own mind.

                                                                                  On the rim of the Grande Canyon returning from a tournament in Phoenix

      
Ron Small
                                                                                            Bob Webster

Mind Control

Direct your thoughts.

    Critical thinking was instilled in me. My father was a Bates graduate, trained to be a medic for WWII. Scientific by nature he had a healthy scepticism and encouraged me to take an analytical view of life. Question authority. Consider the source. Ask why.

    I arrived at Colorado University in 1960 a naieve 17 yr old with an exaggerated sense of my own importance. After a less than stellar 2 years, I took a year off to establish Colorado residency and qualify for in state tuition. Boulder was a great place to live, and I'd fallen in love with a Denver girl, so a year out of school was no hardship. After a summer supporting myself with campus lawn care jobs I was hired as a security guard.
   The American Karate School was on Pearl St, a block from Broadway. The job with the security service came with a eight week jujutsu class conducted by Boulder Police Dept. officer and self defense instructor Gene Sparks. Although he was only a brown belt instructor, he was competent and I am grateful to him for that introduction. Eight weeks, and I'd be able to handle myself in any situation. It was rudimentary, but I imagined I'd learned quite a lot over those two months.
    Along about the last week we had a special instructor. Frank J Goody, a man they called Shihan, and two of his yudansha came from the parent school in Denver, the American Budo College. Shihan Goody spent much of the class demonstrating aspects and principles of Jujutsu, including Judo, Aikido, and Yawara. It was a  demonstration that is still highlighted in my memory fifty years later.
    I saw magic that night in the power and precision of the execution of technique, and in the profound elegance of the art. I'd learned barely enough to appreciate what I was seeing, and I saw enough to realize that I'd learned very little indeed. It was a start.
   The class continued. I was invited to attend the Jujutsu class at the home dojo. Walter F. Doris, Sensei became my mentor and benefactor, teaching me lessons in life and Bushido in the tradition of a Japanese sensei.
   The American Karate School of Boulder was in fact a Tang Soo Do School. The head instructor was Jerry Bestol, Cho Dan, who had studied with Lt. Choi of the Moo Duk Kwan, at the invitation of Shihan Goody. Karate was the rising martial art, and after I had been studying Jujutsu something less than a year I wanted to join the Tang Soo Do class as well. With Sensei Doris's blessing I started cross training.
   Jerry Bestol, our last Moo Duk Kwan black belt, had moved to Ariz., leaving Robert Jay in charge of the classes. In Korea, in an act of nationalistic pride, the government preempted the Moo Duk Kwan and declared the all Korean style to be Tae Kwan Do, effectively orphaning American Tang Soo Do. Being a branch school of the American Budo College we fell under the Shin Go Ju Ryu school of Karate, of which Shihan Goody was hachi (8th) dan and Grand Master. Although our style and technique remained Tang Soo Do, all subsequent promotions in Karate, including my own, were in Shin Go Ju Ryu.
    I relished the discipline of Tang Soo Do training and the challenge of tournament competition, and it certainly refined my striking skills, but I always saw it as a subset of jujutsu technique. As with judo, tournament karate offered valuable lessons and experience, but the rules of competition invite disaster in real combat if training doesn't transcend them.
    Inspired by my Senseis I started setting goals for the first time in my life. Writing down my objectives, and the time I hoped to accomplish them. Keeping them in the forefront of my mind by regularly reviewing and affirming my intentions, tracking my progress. The discipline of regular training encouraged me to use my time more wisely. I grew more fitness conscious, giving up some detrimental habits.
   I learned to direct my thoughts. It's not done by thinking or willing it, but by action. Setting a goal of becoming Yudansha in 5 yrs I accomplished it in less, with the help and encouragement of many fellow students, the motivation and guidance of Senseis Jay and Doris, and the inspiration and benevolence of Shihan Goody, himself.
    Setting goals, specific trackable goals, and tracking them;
    Controlling your environment, who you associate with, the media you listen to;
    Committing to action; regular and sustained activity in furtherence of your goals;
    Seeking the guidance of those whose mastery you admire, and the help of those with whom you interact, even in competition.
    These are a few specifics that helped me combat self indulgence and follow my own Bushido.
    These, and the practice of meditation, about which more to follow.

   
Bob Jay, Sensei, Bob Webster, Ron Small, Al Richardson
American Karate School of Boulder ca 1968

Jujutsu - The Gentle Art of Self Defense

 

                                            

      Jujutsu was the unarmed combat art of the Bushi, the Nobility and the Warriors of feudal Japan. Along with the right to wear swords, training in the Warrior Arts, weapons, tactics, and spirit was pretty much confined to the Bushi. The Samurai were the most sophisticated and fearsome Warriors of their time.

   “In aggregate, Jujutsu could be defined as an art or technique to attack barehanded or with a short weapon or to defend himself from an opponent barehanded or with the weapon.” Kano Jigoro.

   With this definition the Founder of Judo summarized the broad spectrum of technique that is Jujutsu. This includes throwing, striking vital centers, joint twisting, joint locking, choking, arresting and restraining techniques. Training in safe falling, footwork and body management, even mind control are all encompassed in Jujutsu.
   Jujutsu is about self defense. In traditional Japanese Jujutsu there are no rules of competition, no unfair techniques, and no targets off limits. Classical Jujutsu is not contested. The techniques are such that the risk of injury is unacceptable.
   Though not restricted by rules or defined by technique, Jujutsu is guided by principles. Among these principles are:

    Ju - soft, gentle, yielding.
    “Yield and overcome, bend and be straight.” Lao Tsu
    Jujutsu is literally the art of yielding. Often described as using an opponents force against himself. Deflecting, avoiding, and redirecting an attack allow a weaker smaller force to overcome a stronger greater one. Bamboo in a hurricane is laid over by the wind, but straightens when it passes, while mighty oaks are broken. Flexibility, mental and physical, is a great asset.

    Restraint - to use force only when necessary, and only as much as necessary.
   In a society of sword armed Warriors, Bushido, like the code of Chivalry in Medieval Europe, provided a framework for honor, reason, and virtue, and discouraged excess and abuse of power. The skills of Jujutsu allowed a warrior to defeat unarmed attackers, or unworthy opponents without the dishonor of having to use lethal force, or draw his sword.
    For us refraining from unwarranted aggression or overreaction is the responsibility that comes with the privilege of learning this art.
    Our Bushido includes a simple Budo pledge.
    I will never use my Budo ability to injure or intimidate another person unless necessary to defend myself or others.
    I will never demonstrate my Budo ability in an arrogant or aggressive manner.
    I will practice Budo with care and respect for myself and others.
    I will teach Budo only with the knowledge and consent of my Sensei.
    I will respect my art and obey my Sensei

    “To win a hundred victories in a hundred battles is not the highest skill. To overcome an enemy without fighting is the highest skill.” (Sun Tzu).
    A fight is over when you can safely walk away.

    Zen - meditation. A word associated with Zen Buddhism, but meditation is a stand alone principle, not specific to any philosophy or religion. The regular practice of meditation should be an integral part of Jujutsu training. While the ideal of meditation is enlightenment, the virtues and benefits of meditation are many and practical.
Managing ones negative emotions so that fear doesn’t devolve into panic, nor anger become rage.
Quieting the mind, helpful at any time, essential when dealing with urgent situations, allows clear sight, heightened awareness, spontaneous reaction.
Integrating body, mind and spirit.
    It is a Samurai maxim that “The spirit, controls the mind, controls the body.”
    Training the body, practicing until technique be comes reflexive. Seeking knowledge and wisdom. Meditating regularly. These are the practices that bring mind, body and spirit into harmony.

    Ki - the power of the Spirit.
    When we act without inhibition or reservation, either through training, or in desperation, we are capable of extraordinary feats. The power we access, called Ki in Japanese (Chi in Chinese), is demonstrable, if quasi mystical. Ueshiba created Aikido, developing many exercises to enhance and demonstrate the power of the spirit. Ki flows in all of us. When our motives are free of ego and inhibition we can direct and apply a higher power.
 
    Rational technique. For it to be Jujutsu, a technique must be effective, efficient, and appropriate.
    Effective - it only counts if it works.
    Efficient - the maximum effect with the minimum effort.
    Appropriate - necessary and sufficient to meet the needs of the situation.

   A little historical perspective
   In the 12th century Minamoto no Yoritomo defeated the Taira clan and consolidated his power as the first Shogun (warlord) of Japan. A form of warrior wrestling (sumai) was then practiced by the Samurai. According to some accounts the personal army of Yoritomo, Ainu from the island of Hokkaido, were trained in a Ju, or gentle, form of self defense inherently so superior it was rapidly adopted by the Bushi.
   Jujutsu evolved for over the next 300+ years under several names and schools, or family systems, called Ryu.
In the 16th century Takenouchi Hisamori, founder of Takenouchi Ryu Jujutsu, attempted to chronicle and consolidate the schools and styles including Taijutsu, Taido, Wajutsu, Jujutsu, Aikijutsu, and Yawara  under the Jujutsu name. The art continued to flourish until the end of Japan’s feudal period and the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
   As one of the Bugei arts that were the combat training of the Samurai, Jujutsu had been taught in secrecy and only to the Bushi class for hundreds of years. With the end of feudal Japan many of the hundreds of Jujutsu and Bujutsu schools fell into obscurity. Others quietly kept their legacy alive.  
   Kano Jigoro, a master of Kito Ryu and Tenshin Shinryu Jujutsu, founded the Kodokan in 1875. Preserving the spirit of Jujutsu while limiting the more dangerous techniques by rules of competition Kano created the first Budo (modern Japanese martial art). Judo, the way of gentleness, was taught openly to Japanese and westerners alike. Yamashita Yoshiaki, an inner student of Kano, brought Jiu Jitsu* to the United States at the outset of the 20th century, training President Teddy Roosevelt himself as well as many of his family and staff.
                                                                     
    At about the same time Mitsuyo Maeda, Kodokan trained, emigrated to Brazil where he taught Carlos Gracie and others. In recent years Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has emerged as a combat sport, emphasizing and refining the Katame Waza (matwork), or grappling aspects of the art. The success of the Gracies and their students in UFC competition and other submission grappling venues in the past two decades has propelled BJJ to prominence as a recent addition to the modern sport forms. 

    Ueshiba Morihei, a student of Jujutsu and protege of Takeda Sokaku, founder of Daito Ryu AikiJutsu, taught the style while training as a Shinto Priest. From his Jujutsu and spiritual training Ueshiba created another Budo art, Aikido, the Way of Oneness with the Spirit, and founded the Aikikai Hombu. Ueshiba, too, believed in teaching Aikido to any sincere student. Shihan Goody studied at the Hombu under Ueshiba, and was one of the first two Americans he ever certified as Sensei.
   
    * Judo, Aikido, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu all are direct descendants of Jujutsu. In the early twentieth century Kodokan Jujutsu was interchangeable with Judo. The variant spellings (ju jitsu, jiu jitsu) attempt to Americanize the translation from Kanji into Romaji. 

Bushido

                                                            Bushido

   Bushido, the Way of the Warrior, is the Way of Jujutsu. It is a code of ethical conduct, a framework for living with purpose and integrity, and a guide to developing one’s greatest potential. Traditionally a Sensei’s lessons were about Bushido in a feudal society. Today, a Sensei must apply Bushido in a modern democracy. This may require innovation, but the fundamentals transcend time and culture.
    The virtues of Wisdom, Benevolence, Courage, of living with Integrity, of managing one’s fear and anger, of conducting oneself with dignity, of practicing fortitude, restraint and self discipline, are as relevant today as in feudal Japan.

                                                Warriors and Teachers



                       

 

     
  

      Shihan Frank J. Goody Sr, my Sensei, traveled to Japan as a teenager. With letters of introduction from his grandfather and/or uncle he became one of the few Westerners to study and train at the Old Kodokan, under Grand Masters like Mifune Sensei, Nagai Sensei, and Ichijima Sensei, earning the rank of Ni Dan.
    When World War II broke out he joined the Marines, was a hand to hand combat instructor, and saw extensive combat in the Pacific theater, where he was seriously wounded in the Island fighting.
    After the war he joined the Denver Police Dept. He met Frank Matsuyama, Hereditary Grand Master of the Matsuyama Yawarakai (Yawara being an advanced jujutsu system taught only in a few Hatamoto family schools), became his Ichi Ban, and partnered with him to found the American Judo College (later renamed American Budo College). When he died in 1957 Matsuyama designated Shihan Goody as his successor. 
    Shihan Goody was 19 years a police officer, and Denver P.D. hand to hand combat instructor. When I joined the American Budo College in 1963 Shihan Goody held, among others, the following ranks and titles. Judo - Ni Dan (Kodokan), Jujutsu - Roku Dan (Nagai Ryu), Goju Karate - Sho Dan (Yamaguchi), Shin Go Ju Ryu Karate - Hachi Dan (Tin Yang), Tang Soo Do - Yi Dan (honorary - Hwang Ki), Aikido - Sensei (Morihei Ueshiba), Wu Style Tai Chi Ch'uan - Sifu, Yawara - Shichi Dan, Hereditary Grand Master of the Matsuyama Yawarakai. United States Karate Assn. - Hachi Dan and Western Regional Director (Rob't Trias).

    It is Jujutsu Sensei’s responsibility to lead by example, teaching the techniques, principles, and tactics of Warrior Jujutsu, along with spirit of Bushido, the Way of the Warrior. Lessons in life are integrated into the training and practice.
    His responsibility begins with mastery of the principles and techniques of his art.           
 
        “You can’t teach what you don’t know, you can’t lead where you won’t go.”  
 
    Beyond mastery of his art, it’s principles and philosophy, a sensei should approach teaching with humility and respect for tradition, honoring the Sensei’s who have gone before.
    A Sensei must be able to inspire and encourage students. In order for a student to care what you know he needs to know that you care. Know that you care about your art and all aspects that you teach. Know that you honor and respect those who taught and guided you. Know that you care about them, their progress, their safety and well-being.

    I make no pretense to profound scholarship. I’m am not an expert on Japanese culture. Regarding the history of Jujutsu and the philosophy of Bushido I rely on the lessons of my teachers and the writings of others, Japanese and westerners. My Sensei studied in the Japanese dojos of pre WWII and my Japanese terminology probably reflects that. I will offer my views from more than fifty years of training in, studying, and teaching bujutsu. My only expertise is on my own journey.
   From brash young student to Sensei emeritus I’ve tried to approach my art with intellectual curiosity and an open mind. I’ve learned enough to know that seemingly impossible feats can be mastered, and magic can be explained. I’ve seen enough I can neither do nor explain keep me humble in my quest.     
     A traditional sensei is as much about teaching how to live as how to fight. I hope to share some of these “lessons of life” that have meant so much to me, and to my students. I share them as they were passed down to me, some as universal wisdom, some as casual observations, some as rules for conduct and etiquette
   For those who share my interest in martial arts I offer such insights from my training and experience as you may find relevant. For everyone, I hope you find my writings interesting and informative.

Introduction

                              Welcome to my blog - Sensei’s Ramblings.

    This is a blog about martial arts, particularly Japanese jujutsu. However I may be reflecting on many topics, from martial arts to music, philosophy to politics, from the perspective of an American Sensei. 
   What is Sensei? A teacher or professor, in Japanese, “one who has gone before”. Sensei is the title of a teacher of a Japanese martial art. I am a lifelong student and teacher of Jujutsu, the traditional Japanese Warrior art of unarmed self defense.



Ron Small, Sensei - WMJS

    What does it mean to be a warrior?
    A warrior is a person who prepares for and engages in warfare or fighting, not for personal gain but in the interests of his or her community. A warrior defends the people, territory, and way of life. These attributes distinguish a warrior from those who fight for personal motivations, such as money or power. Ideals such as sacrifice, courage, loyalty, and honor are often associated with the warrior.
    In feudal Japan the Warrior class was called Bushi, their code, Bushido - the Way of the Warrior. Samurai were warriors in service, soldiers in the armies of one or another warlord. In war times fighting was their life. In peace times, preparation, refining their combat skills, training in the classical combat arts, of which Jujutsu was the art of unarmed combat.
     Today the warrior’s enemy may be belligerents, states or people, or metaphorically, disease, poverty, or injustice. Soldiers may be warriors, but so may doctors and nurses, lawyers and police officers, politicians, and teachers. 

       For us, warriors are not what you think of as warriors. The warrior, for us, is one who sacrifices himself for the good of others. His task is to protect the elderly, the defenseless, those who cannot provide for themselves, and above all, the children, the future of humanity. (Attributed to Sitting Bull)

   The Warrior is the providence of those in need. He is eyes for the blind, strength for the weak, a shield for the defenseless. He rises by lifting others. Bending over the fallen, he stands erect.     (from Ingersol’s - the superior man)

    Just as not all warriors are soldiers, not all soldiers are warriors. What distinguishes the warrior? That he places social interest over self interest. The warrior chooses his Way. He knows what he is doing, and why. He accepts responsibility for his actions. We can all be warriors, preparing ourselves for, and living a life of purpose.

    A warrior is a man, or woman, of action, guided by reason, controlled by his/her will.


Saiko Shihan Frank J. Goody Sr
A great warrior, and a great Sensei.