Memorial Day

Today has been set aside as a time of reflection. Many of us will fill this day with activities involving family, friends, the back yard grill, and maybe a parade. Surely, these are all good things. Indeed, those who we commemorate on this day died so that we may enjoy this day and every other under the banner of a free republic. There are those that remain on the battlements and guard us in the dark night against the predations of wicked men. Civilized society is insulated from the brutality of evil men and the ravenous appetites of despots. But they are there, prowling on the other side of civilized society's keep, ready to burn, pillage, and do murder. Soft men in tailored suits, ensconced in the delicacies of urban society have been bred to effete manners and assume that the role of the warrior is obsolete because they live within a sterile cocoon, blind and ignorant like hatchlings given their sustenance and defended. Left to themselves, they would go blundering from safety and be rent into bloody shreds, amid their meager flapping and piteous shrieks. Today we must remember the naked reality that evil will run wild if left unpunished by warriors and that noble men have gone before to man the wall against the barbarians and have died for their brothers-in-arms, for their wives and children, for their countrymen, for the golden dream of a free republic. We owe them the homage of our thoughts and our respect. We owe them the honor of fame and the glory of monument. Let the insipid metro-man give place. Let us honor the noble warrior today and shower their memory with the laurels of our deepest gratitude.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Way of The Sword Saint

Since ancient times the sword has been intimately associated with the warrior.  In Japan, the sword was so identified with the Samurai that it was thought to embody his soul.  It has long been regarded as a weapon of honor and holds a mystical place in the combat arts of the world. This emphasis on the sword exists in Ninjutsu as well.  In fact, Soke has stated that to properly understand budo one must master both the sword and the bo.  Historically, the sword was a development and refinement of the bo and can be seen to share many of its characteristics. In ancient times, the sword was made of wood, metallic swords only being available to the most privileged.  It is not merely a tool for cutting; it has a far more subtle character.  It has been identified with the warrior for millennia and has been imbued with the notions of warriorship.  The key to wielding the sword is to enter into combat with the feeling of Muto Dori.  As it should be, the focus is on the taijutsu.  The body and sword move as one.

Combat is always kyojutsu, truth and falsehood; therefore, the true sword is that of the mind and spirit.  Ultimately, the Word of God is the secret sword, cutting not merely bone and marrow but soul and spirit.

"Succeeding in this [muto dori], the mysteries of the secret sword (hiken) will be revealed, and no matter what weapon you hold, your heart and your taijutsu will dance skillfully in the void (koku)." Masaaki Hatsumi, Japanese Sword Fighting