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Thoughts About Why We Train & What We Learn...

Looking Ahead...  

12/21/2015

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I reread this post today and was immediately struck by the fact that our message, our goals and our concerns have been remarkably consistent over the years.  We still actively debate the role that a national or international organization might have with our own dojo.  Time hasn't softened the passion of the discussion as merits are assessed in dojo group forum.
PictureOld Beikoku Rembukan Dojo
The Rembukan Dojo continues to try and offer traditional budo within the context of Western culture.  It is fair to say that Westerners and Japanese learn and process information differently coming from very different cultural backgrounds.
We will continue to practice Jo and Iai with a focus on the old ways, paying attention to the myriad little details that separate what we do from other traditions. Towards that end and with an eye on quality control, we will continue to demand the best efforts of our instructors and students.  


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Rembukan Admittance in the 70's 

4/30/2015

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Draeger S. Performing Oku with Shimizu S.
Foreigners hoping to study Shindo Muso Ryu at the original Rembukan Dojo in Tokyo, Japan were interviewed by both Shimizu and Draeger Sensei.  Donn was responsible for all non-Japanese students of SMRJ. 

Below is the text that each non-Japanese had to read and sign prior to being allowed entry into the dojo.

This process was taken very seriously.  Each student had a sponsor that the teacher would communicate through. 
Author's NOTE:  My Sempai Bruce Brown's guarantor Mr. Horii and I met in April 2015 at the Tokyo Budokan.  Still active within the Jodo Division of the Kendo Renmei, Horii San and I enjoyed coming full circle after all of these years.

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What's In a Name?

7/4/2013

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Ever wonder why some Jodo practitioners say Shindo Muso Ryu Jodo  and others say Shinto Muso Ryu Jodo? Still others have returned to the name Shindo Muso Ryu Jojutsu. 神道 夢想流 杖術1
​

Documents clearly show that Shimizu Sensei made a conscious effort after World War II to change the name “Jojutsu” to “Jodo” in order to capture the essence of training for self-improvement.  The nuanced goals might’ve been amended but the actual martial system was not adjusted in any meaningful way as some would argue that the techniques were then watered down.

The Rembukan Dojo’s short decade long life was at an end due to a family tragedy of the owner of the property and friend of Shimizu Sensei.  And although Shimizu Sensei had visited and approved of the Zoshyukan’s rented space, he never trained there succumbing to illness and death a short time later.  


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Bruce Lee vs. Donn Draeger  

5/7/2012

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Draeger Sensei practicing Isshin Ryu Kusarigamajutsu with Shimizu Sensei
​I was talking with a well accomplished local Goju Ryu karate instructor recently and the perennial subject of the icon Bruce Lee came up. 

No, this wasn’t about which style of karate or "non" style is best or which teacher surpasses all others. Though we did chuckle about the “good ole days” when movies like "Fists of Fury" and "Enter the Dragon" were released to the joys of young people everywhere -erh well I was young then!  An urban legend advanced when Bruce Lee first burst onto the big screen here in the US market - that he was one of the “6 best fighters in the world.”  Of course, no one could recite the names of the other five fighters that could best the man let alone the also-rans. Bruce Lee entered that legendary space where his name is probably as well known today as it was over 40 years ago.

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East meets West & the Teachable Moment  

10/1/2011

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The original Rembukan Dojo was my first true introduction to the fact that the Japanese taught and learned differently from how I had been taught growing up in an American styled karate dojo and within the American educational system.[1]

Lessons in Japan and at the Rembukan in particular were mostly non-verbal and aside from commands little dialogue was offered.  It might not have mattered anyway as my Japanese language skills were virtually nonexistent!  I admit that the lack of positive reinforcement was/is frustrating, especially in Jodo.  But it was obvious that when Shimizu Sensei was present that the senior instructors had to intuit his intentions as he made almost inaudible sighs and grunts to communicate.[2]

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About Rick Polland 

9/1/2011

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PictureFrom left: Yuri, Rick, Kuroda S, Kaminoda S, Osato Sensei at Imperial Palace - Tokyo
Growing up in the Midwest I visited every dojo (all three (1-Judo, 1-Judo & Jujutsu, 1 Karate and Judo) in a city with over 1 million inhabitants and selected the karate dojo. They really didn't do judo.  I studied "Kempo-Goju" karate, a made-up compilation though I didn't know it at the time.
​
In college and while teaching karate I met a judoka and policeman named Bruce Brown.  He introduced me to Jodo, Tomiki Aikido, Iaido as well as Masaki Ryu.  I began studying Jodo and Iai in earnest in 1974.


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Donn F. Draeger  (August 2011)

8/1/2011

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Donn’s official bio in part reads as follows: “…regular officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, is a research historian, author, and lecturer on Asian martial disciplines, in which he holds a large number of expert ranks and teaching licenses.”  Donn also continued to try and create publications that had a broad public appeal for folks interested in budo from both an academic and practitioner’s vantage point.  Donn resurrected Sir Richard Burton’s classification for the study of Hopology, the impact of martial arts on culture and truly dedicated his life to this pursuit.  Today, his efforts still have a profound bearing on many of the folks that he intersected with.
Donn lived all over Asia and hobnobbed with some of the greatest martial artists of his day earning their respect and often gaining access to the intricacies of their own martial systems.


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Reminiscences About Japan 

7/19/2011

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3 of Us lived in a yojohan in Nerima Ku
​In the early 1970's - it sounds so long ago now, I remember flying to Japan for the first time.  747's Were the big thing then and a ticket was in the $200 range. On approach I saw the fabled  MT. Fuji (never forget the "San") rise out of the water surrounded by a brown haze as the plane banked up the coast towards Tokyo and Haneda airport.  It was a powerful sensation, not to wax too romantic to see Japan rise up out of the ocean after hours cramped in a plane.

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Did Musashi & Muso Ever Meet?  

1/4/2011

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Portrait commonly thought to be of Musashi, Miyamoto

Jodo's history is inextricably linked to this famous 16th century kenshi (sword saint). 
​
Maybe not a saint by western standards :It is widely accepted by those of us who study Shindo Muso Ryu Jodo that the founder, Muso Gunnosuke dueled with Musashi twice. 
After being defeated while using a bo (long staff), Muso retired to a cave on Mt. Homan to meditate upon his defeat and how to better his art.  Upon reducing the size of a bo to that of a jo and developing waza (techniques) that controlled seigetsu (solar plexus) it is said that another duel between Musashi and Muso occurred in the castle town of Himeji, where the jo broke the famous two sword block known as "Jujidome".    

The cave used and kept today as a shrine for Muso was used by many wandering warriors practicing shyugyo (austerity rites). They would live in seclusion to train and meditation and forge their spirits. 
PictureCalligraphy attributed to Musashi
​Musashi was eventually hired and worked at Kumamoto castle as a kenjutsu (sword) instructor into his old age. For those of us that do Jodo, the Kuroda Han is not too far away geographically. It will be interesting to see if any verification of a meeting or a duel between Musashi and Muso Gonnosuke can be substantiated.   ​

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Tradition - Tradition  (Posted 2010)

11/3/2010

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Kuroda with Shimizu Sensei after the later had been recognized by the Imperial Household for his contributions to Japanese budo 1968
When Shimizu Sensei opted into the idea of incorporating Shindo Muso Ryu Jodo (SMRJ) into the All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF) (ZNKR then) he knew about the controversies this action would create. 
​

Besides his desire to see Jodo grow worldwide after seeing and teaching such deserving students as Donn F. Draeger et al. he was truly concerned that such a small membership of practitioners within Japan might dwindle to obscurity.  Many of his contemporaries, even close associates opposed his decision to “popularize” Jodo under the much larger Kendo umbrella. There were two main concerns voiced; first that many kendoka (kendo practitioners) performed waza (technique) at odds with Koryu (older) traditions, (ie. A higher stance floating the hips and having a raised rear ankle) and second that over time Jodo would lose its identity within the larger political framework.

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