From https://www.rojodojo.com A preview of my Bujinkan video exploring the Bujinkan idea of 闘てない tōtenai. We warmed up with 腰折 koshi ore with the hanbo. The main theme for the class was 闘てない tōtenai, which means not fighting. Hatsumi Sensei always tells us not to fight while doing our taijutsu.
With that in mind, we used the hanbo to adapt against a resisting opponent. It is very natural to change to ganseki. But a more subtle change is to pivot around the arm and do form of 附入 tsuke iri.
Next, I used the kata 理拳 riken to explore henka that share ideas I learned in Japan about tōtenai. Many of us when we do a technique in class, or experience real life conflict, there is a clash that happens. It may be a clash of technique vs. technique, force against force, or even ego confronting ego. We strive to eliminate that binary approach and become zero. Whatever the other person is trying to do, you don’t confront it with your own technique, your force, or your ego. Instead you dissolve his attack.
After doing the basic form, I showed a counter that uses these ideas. When the opponent pulls, I follow. This painfully traps his legs under my knees and shins.
When I returned to a standing technique, I used dynamic pressure to throw my opponent. You may enter in for a throw, but find yourself needing a lot of force to move the opponent. Applying dynamic pressure uses natural principles of physics to defeat any resistance.
But to go even deeper, I attack and my grab and punch are an illusion. This 虚実 kyojitsu is at the heart of not fighting. My grab floats across the opponent’s body to trap.
He traps himself as he attempts to counter the grab that was never real. Your attack never fixes on any point. Instead it creates dynamic shifts and changes that cannot be countered because they are are not real.
Whenever Hatsumi Sensei has invited me to attack him, he creates confusion this way. Your mind and body feel lost in a sea of confusion. This is because he is not fighting.
When you come at someone with a fight, it causes a reaction. But when you come at them with no fight, they become unsure about how to react. Hatsumi Sensei says it’s like you are making friends.
Of Note: pax in absentia
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