Reflections on our 4th Annual Summer Seminar

The family resemblances among the martial arts of Japan continues to remind me of the importance of lineage.
We would not be able to experience this genealogy among the arts we practice quite so directly, I think, without there having been those who have gone before us and on down the line, attempting to keep the schools alive. I say this with goodwill, for there are those who abuse and misunderstand lineage and also those who disparage its worth.
The consistency of fundamentals between schools like the Kage, Muso Shinden, Hyoho Niten Ichi and seitei jo (SMR) are a testament to the importance of lineage. Of course, the goodwill I speak of includes headmasters who chose their successors wisely, believing that the fundamentals of the arts would continue to be transmitted.
Our weekend seminar drove the above idea home for me, in part thanks to Taylor sensei's thoughts about lineage and proficiency, thoughts I believe are largely grounded in a view of the arts as utilitarian, as proficient, as pragmatic: they need to kill. Lineage as transmission requires the transmitters to have understanding and proficiency, however far that can be tested without actually engaging in the acts of violence they have been based upon. It is too simple to debunk lineage as a homily to one's abilities or lack thereof, exclusively. So, when Yamamoto sensei tells me about the time Mitsuzuka sensei came to him, after three years of training together six and sometimes seven nights per week, and told him to leave, to go start his own dojo, because he was ready for this, I believe I have been witness to hearing about an act of inheritance. An inheritance based on the wisdom of Mitsuzuka sensei, perhaps a wisdom developed through his relationship with Danzaki and Hakudo. This is the goodwill I carry in talking about lineage. When the day comes for me to tell my students to get lost, it will be because I believe I've got some insight into their preparedness to carry on the fundamentals of Muso Shinden we have been given from Yamamoto sensei. That's important, I think. And this wouldn't happen if I didn't believe the youth around me were going to surpass me.

Moving on...

A student made a comment very similar to a comment I made many years ago when I first moved to Japan. I understand that comment now, in both contexts. The comment, then and now, was to the effect that our visiting instructors gave so much detail, so much in depth instruction, that it surpassed what we were typically used to. Hmmm. Yes, this is why the young need the old, and why we must all embrace being beginners. And we must also, at the same time, not forget the depth of instruction we have already received, and are yet to receive. Visiting instructors open the flood gates usually, because of the limited time they have with us. They also give understanding that the home instructor will take this information and decide how best to bring that to students, case by case. There is also care and caution needed, and I have been very guilty of this over the years, to not forget the reasons already explained in detail, for the things we do. How we hold information and express it in the arts is one of the most difficult tasks there is, I believe. I struggle with this all the time! I try to whyle away on new information. Dwell on it, roll it around, think about it, remembers what came before, compare, assimilate, throw away. In short, do what Foucault and Kant and many other great minds have asked us to do as we live in the world 'Dare to know!' So, years ago when I unintentionally disparaged my first sensei while training in a dojo in Japan, I did not consider that I was there because of him, and that I was being told what I was being told because of him. Today, I can still do a pretty solid front kick, and that's because of him.

I'm deeply grateful for the patience and persuasion of those around me. Without doubt, Taylor sensei and Watkin sensei are living treasures of martial being. We are honoured and privileged to have them with us every year. We continue to grow because of them. And while we grow we must continue to think for ourselves, as they would expect of us. They are where they are because of such thinking. Thankfully, lineage has brought us all full circle, I believe. The fundamentals are there - they are the same - and so we continue to polish ourselves on the same stones, sometimes guided by different hands.

I look forward to our training in September and bringing into the fold of our lives that which has been shared with us this past weekend.

Chris