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Posted August 2002
Comments, ideas, thoughts? email us at wmuromoto@hotmail.com
(If you don't want your email address posted, just let me know in your email.)
Howdy From Texas
There is no tenacity like budo tenacity...... You certainly prove that. I don't know if you remember me. We were in touch some time ago. I have a small iaido/karate school way down here in Texas. Congratulations are producing a new edition of Furyu. I am CERTAIN that it will join the others as a classic litterature in English for those serious about true budo. . .
New Seitei gata forms! (Oh, man! Just when I got the first ten down...)
Just a note. You have a well designed and informative sight. I happened upon it while looking up furyu, and was pleased by it. You might want to correct your section on seitei though as there are now 11 and 12 which have been added to the curriculum. Keep up the good work
Tom Groendal
Coordinator of International Relations
Tsurumi Town Hall
http://www.tsurumi.tv/~tom/
Is There All Ten Kendo Kata Somewhere?
Hello, and thank you for displaying the Kendo kata 1,2 and 3 on www.furyu.com. I'm a Kendo student from Stockholm Sweden and I am trying to find all the Kendo katas on internet films. (As I am trying to learn the kata's right now it wold make my learning more effective.) Do you know where it is possible to watch all ten? Thank you in advance for any advice in this matter!As we informed Jonas, we may post the rest of the kendo kata one day, but we don't know when, exactly. If anyone knows of any other web site that has all ten kendo kata, please let Jonas (and us!) know!
Thanks for Issue #10
Thank-you for issue #10. Many of your articles were very enlighten.I especially like "Takeuchi Hisayoshi, the Little Warrior." I'm looking forward to your latest issue when it comes out.
Again,
Thank You
Gene Rega
Lots of Food for Thought
I found Furyu the Budo Journal online by happy accident. My 6-year-old nephew recently began to study karate and wants me to join the dojo, too, but I didn't know how martial arts would fit with my Zen practice and membership in the Peacemaker Community. So, I've been looking at martial arts sites, trying to learn more. From what I've learned from Furyu, karate and Zen are perfect together, so that leaves me grappling with whether or not a Peacemaker should also be involved in martial arts.
But that's not why I'm writing (my high school English teacher is psychically groaning --get to the point in the first paragraph!).
While going through the archives I came across "Daruma: Determination and Zen Training in Budo" by Charles C. Goodin. Perhaps this discussion should be with Charles, but as a person raised with some Japanese culture, I feel that I'll get a better perspective from another Japanese (My mother is Japanese; I was born in Japan. My father is Irish-American, and I was raised in the US, with a brief stay on Okinawa).
Charles quotes a Japanese saying, "Nanakorobi yaoki, jinsei wa kore kara da," with the translation, "To fall seven times, to rise eight times, life starts from now." I understand that there is a Japanese belief that cycles of rebuilding, or starting over, run every twenty years. This is probably because in old times everything was lost periodically due to earthquake, fire, tidal wave, war, etc. And I know that the Japanese are among the most hard-working, determined people on the planet and probably strive for success more than any other culture. But if one looks at the contemporary attitude toward personal failure, it hardly seems that many Japanese are willing or able to rise again after falling down. You know how that goes in Japan--high school kids kill themselves because they fail the university exam, the sidewalks of Tokyo were splattered with businessmen who flung themselves off rooftops when the market crashed a couple of years ago. I have a cousin in Japan who became an alcoholic bum after his business failed and his wife left him (although the American side of the family believes he was an alcoholic bum to begin with and that's why his business failed and his wife left). The shame associated with failure seems to inhibit the potential to start over, and even if one moves to a distant city to begin anew, the stigma follows.
We were always taught that Daruma represented determination because if you work hard at what you want, persevere through whatever hardships it brings, and simply keep at it, you'll get there. Mom never mentioned what to do if we failed; we just knew that failure wasn't an option. Although, hmmm, now that I think about it, Mom never allowed any sharp objects around the house when we were growing up.
So I was wondering what you think about that quote. Does it represent a cultural attitude, the type of mass-thinking that allowed the Japanese to rebuild from ruins after WWII to become a global economic power in mere decades? Or is it meant to be a personal code?
As an aside, I really enjoyed your article about which martial art is best for self-defense. Your answers, one--give up the money, and two--the best martial art is the one you practice for years, were sensible and accurate. I was mugged at knife-point years ago, and found myself literally cornered. I knew that survival meant getting out into the open where I could escape. My father, a military self-defense expert, had informally taught me techniques as a child, but I hadn't practiced blocking, punching, or judo-throws since childhood, and so those skills weren't automatically available. Thus, my mouth, along with a lot of false bravado, went into action and I was able to get out into an open area around other people. The assailant followed, intent on getting my bag. He grabbed me, but pumped on adreneline, I let out a good kiai, and my hands and feet took on lives of their own (I'm 5'3", less than 110 lbs at the time). The guy gave me that look that says, "This bitch is crazy," and rapidly limped away, unfortunately with my bag. But I survived. I didn't "win", I didn't beat him up, but I escaped with my life. And I wished that I'd taken the martial arts classes my mom wanted me to take as a teenager. By the way, the open area to which I escaped was full of people, but none came to my aid. In fact, when I let out that scream, the place cleared out--maybe I should have yelled, "fire!", instead of "AAII!"
So on that note, thanks for putting Furyu out there on the Net.
Best wishes,
Mary
September 11 from a New York POV
Glad to see you are back on track personally.
I appreciated your comments on the recent tragedy. Luckily I and my family suffered no immediate losses, but we did lose 2 firemen from our area. Neither practiced the martial arts, but as they rushed into and up, as the everyday joe's ran down and out, they exhibited the essence of zansen.
To all lost and missing on September 11 and to the true warriors.,,, the rescuers and especially the firemen still missing, our sympathies!!!
To the two we lost, may we keep their memories forever....Paul Gill (34) and Chris Santora (23).
Regards,
Tommy Milletello
Thanks, Lars
... I spent three weeks on Maui in March this year for the opening ceremony of the new Shunshinkan Dojo in Wailuku. There I met Shinichi Tohei sensei and the training staff of Ki no Kenkykai. It was really great and I hope you will feature (or already featured this) in one of your issues....By the way: Furyu is the most brilliant maganzine on Martial Arts I ever read!Lars Bauman
Strange World, Jo World
'Tis a strange world that we exist in, where martial arts are often presumed to be for the body, strength and defense against others. Personally I find them to be useful in defense against ourselves when we fall into mental and emotional traps. And God knows that the arts without humor is a dull bully preparing to break a few bricks for show. Regardless of my minor ramblings, I am interested in finding a source of material on jodo, wether it is from a book of a video tape. Your site is excellent in the basic information, however I would like to begin honing my skills with the jo.
Any assistance would be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Greg ChenevertTry koryubooks.com, and perhaps corresponding with Diane and Meik Skoss, who are both jodo practitioners!
Toyoda Sensei Web Site
An early version of the Toyoda site is now available. You can find it by following the links on our website at www.kenshinkandojo.com or use the absolute url http://members.home.net/kenshinkandojo/Toyoda/index.htm
The site will grow as I continue to add material. If you would, ask your readers if they have any material (old photos, articles, etc.) of Toyoda Sensei they would like to share. I will gladly post them at no charge. Again, thanks for letting me use your article. If you are ever in the So. California area, drop by and visit our dojo (directions on the website).
Sincerely
Derek Reynolds
Kenshinkan Dojo
Whoops! Okay, I'll Make the Link...Ah...Soon!
I am writing to request a link to my website, "BudoSeek! Martial Arts Community" at http://www.budoseek.net. Furyu has long been a favorite place for me to visit, and when we did a reorganization of our Search Engine two months ago, I placed Furyu's listing as a top level listing in the Japanese Arts category. I even added a little commentary to the description! :) Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thanks and best always,
Robert M. Carver
BudoSeek! Martial Arts Community
Where D'Ya Git Some Kenjutsu in a One-Horse Town?
Hello! I just found your site a couple of days ago and am about to send in an order for a subscription. This is really cool...keep up the good work.
I am 13 years old and live in a small town in Colorado. I took kenpo karate while back and had fun, but that was before I moved here about fiveyears ago. I have wanted to learn kenjutsu for about that long, too, but just can't get it...there aren't any dojo's in this dinky little town. How should i go about getting a proper education while i'm still young, or do i have to wait 'til I'm 20?
I really want to start now...If anyone can help....Just email Kaleb. I personally had no idea.
And So the Question Remains...
...So the dilemma I face is whether or not I am truly commiting to a culture of nonviolence if I'm also practicing karate.Even though I've not made a commitment to a school or sensei, I am in a sense "practicing" karate when my nephew asks me to throw a punch for him to block (I've watched a few of his classes and try my best to do it right), or when he asks me to pretend to be the "judge" while he goes through his kata as though in competition.
A decade ago I spent a month in Costa Rica, a country that disbanded its military in 1946 following an attempted coup. I saw a bumper sticker there that read, "If you believe in peace, you don't prepare for war. Costa Rica is a country for peace." Thus, the question in my mind is, if you practice a martial art, are you in essence preparing for conflict?
