Budo

As initiated by a late night discussion, this short essay was originally going to be a short transcript, but then it grew as I looked for more sources and use of the term 心妙剣 in relation to Buddhism, bujutsu and ninjutsu.

This is a rather early stage and will be better compiled in the future.

能に独特の不動の身体性は、〈カマエ〉と呼ばれる姿勢構築技法によって実現される。これが成立したのは江戸初期と考えられる。本稿は、〈カマエ〉のなかった世阿弥時代から能の身体がいかにして変容してきたのかを検証した。とりわけ、世阿弥が近江猿楽から導入し、後に大和猿楽の舞の身体性を根本的に規定した「天女舞」を詳細に分析した。それを通じ、（1）「腰を据える」という技法が天女舞に特有のものであった、（2）腰を据えることは、現在のカマエのそれとは異なり、ダイナミックな身体運動を可能にする技法であった、（3）その後の技法内容の変化は同時代の兵法の技法変化と連動していた、等の事実を明らかにした。

The practice of martial arts in the United States has become widespread. As a practitioner of Japanese
martial arts, I was intrigued by the connections between the martial arts and Asian philosophy and religions,
and how Americans viewed their practice. This connection was particularly apparent in the case of Aikido,
a Japanese martial art founded in the first half of the twentieth century.
The initial research examined the writings of Aikido's founder, Ueshiba Morihei, his personal students, and
the writings of American Aikido practitioners. After developing a background for Aikido as a form of
spiritual practice from these writings, detailed interviews were conducted with 33 Americans who practice
Aikido in the Midwest at a number of different dojos (martial arts practice halls) representing different
styles of Aikido.
The results of these interviews showed that for approximately two-thirds of the subjects, Aikido was a
spiritual practice. Of these, roughly half saw their Aikido practice as a supplement to traditional Western
religious practice. The other half, however, had rejected or given up traditional Western religious practices
and had made Aikido a part of their personal religious beliefs and practices, without aligning themselves
with any particular religious institution.

This paper uses documentary research techniques to analyse the use of kata, forms, in the Japanese martial arts. Following an introduction on the existence of kata practice, using existing sources of information the paper first examines the spiritual developments of bushido, secondly, the social changes that led to the redevelopment of bujutsu into budo is scrutinsised. Next, the position of kata in relation to budo martial arts is explored followed by a discussion on the use of kata as a pedagogy. Finally, kata is repositioned in light of the contextual expansion investigated demonstrating how kata could represent the intended essence of budo as well a culturally‐valued, spiritual pedagogy.

Inoue Shōji (1927-2018) was born in Tokushima prefecture, Japan. As a youngster he took up jūdō. Later, he studied Kitō-ryū jūjutsu for some time with Odaka Shigeru. During his professional career as a prison guard he followed up on an offer to become a jūdō therapist. In a dōjō in the Yamashina-ku ward in Kyōto he taught both jūdō and a limited catalogue of Kitō-ryū that included exercises that were adopted into Kōdōkan jūdō under the name koshiki-no-kata [The Antique Forms]. With Kōdōkan jūdō continuing to deteriorate into an ordinary sport and losing its core values and purpose, Inoue increasingly appreciated the traditional martial arts values preserved in Kitō-ryū jūjutsu. His enthusiasm was reflected in beginning to give public demonstrations at various events in Japan and becoming a representative of Kitō-ryū in the Nihon Kobudō Kyōkai. Inoue’s supreme moment of glory likely was his public demonstration in 2013 at the occasion of the Fifth International Judo Federation (IJF) World Kata Judo Championships held in Kyōto. It was this performance that introduced him to the international jūdō community and brought him certain fame. For most foreign jūdōka this was their first contact with Kitō-ryū. Irrespective of the quality of Inoue’s display, his approach offered a counterweight against the Kōdōkan’s historic reinvention and the IJF sports kata caricature. Several video clips publicly available on YouTube remain as a lasting memory of his art. Inoue Shōji held the rank of Kōdōkan 8th dan, and peacefully died in Kyōto on October 30th, 2018.

Western philosophical discourse on Zen and its relationship with the Japanese budō (martial arts) has long been dominated by the concept of Gelassenheit (“detachment” or “releasement”). This term, coined in the early fourteenth century by the Christian theologian and mystic Meister Eckhart, originally referred to a selfless relationship with divinity categorized by a stripping away of individual characteristics in order to realize the ground of one’s own existence in the transcendent Godhead. In an article comparing Meister Eckhart and Buddhism, the scholar Daisetz T. Suzuki argued that this concept of Gelassenheit closely approximated the Zen concept of sūnyatā. In 1948, the German philosopher Eugen Herrigel, who was a colleague and friend of Suzuki, in his highly influential Zen in der Kunst des Bogenschiessens (“Zen in the Art of Archery”) recounted his attempt at (and apparent success in) living Eckhart’s mystical lifestyle through his engagement with kyūdō (Japanese Archery). Following the work of Shoji Yamada and Alexander Bennett and by reflecting on European notions of Zen’s place in budō, this paper argues that Suzuki and Herrigel’s equation of Zen with Eckhart’s mysticism misrepresents and conflates both sūnyatā and Gelassenheit. This in turn has led to an essentialist and orientalising understanding of the role of spirituality in budō.

This article relates the training of gendai budō/mudo to theatrical performance. While there are already studies that discuss theatricality in martial arts, the aim of this paper is to provide a systematic overview of the theatrical structuring of elements of martial arts training. This could be further developed in the study of different martial arts and in comparative case studies. For this purpose, Andreas Kotte's theory of scenic processes is used to arrange different phenomena in martial arts training systematically, representing the constitutive aspects of theatricality as derived from theatre and performance art. Gendai budō/mudo are used as cases to elaborate a systematic approach to the analysis of martial arts as theatrical performance. These examples were chosen because of their emphasis on aesthetics and technical expertise, rather than practical fighting applications. While theatricality in martial arts is usually seen as something for enjoyment or possibly to improve and display athleticism, it is argued here that theatricality has to be viewed as a mode of communication to convincingly elevate and spread information. It is therefore possible to trace ideological features such norms, values, and ideals in the theatrical staging of martial arts training. Martin Minarik has studied Philosophy, History, as well as Theatre-, Film-, and Media Studies in Bielefeld/Germany and Vienna/ Austria. During that time, he was also a member of the off-theatre ensemble FLEISCHEREI_mobil, which he still collaborates with as an independent choreographer and performer. He is currently working at the faculty of cultural sciences at the Paderborn University, while also a PhD candidate at Hamburg University. His research includes East Asian, especially Korean, martial arts, cultural theory, theatre and performance studies, and sociological practice theory. He has practiced different martial arts since 2002, especially kukki-style taekwondo.

This paper examines the unique and long-standing tradition of Japanese security culture based upon the foundation of Japan's samurai culture and its Bushido code of honor, focusing on its ethical aspects. It also raises the issue of the usefulness and availability of Far-Eastern, particularly Japanese, martial arts traditions in the context of security culture. In the trichotomous categorization of 'pillars of security culture', with said pillars being mental and spiritual (the first), organizational and legal (the second) and material pillar; Far-Eastern heritage can prove especially advantageous for the first pillar.

Background and Study Aim: Aikido is considered a modern budo. Created in Japan around 1942, aikido has its origins in several martial arts and some religious aspects. In turn, the care of the self represents an antique spirituality composed by knowledge and practices that have been passed down through ages. Our study aims to reflect on elements of the care of the self in aikido philosophy, identifying contributions for physical education.

Material and Methods: This is a qualitative study with an hermeneutic approach based on Paul Ricœur, which interprets some works by Morihei, Kisshomaru, Moriteru Ueshiba, and Michel Foucault.

Results: We identified notions of ki (vital energy), kotodama (spiritual study of sounds), misogi (purification) and budo (path of self-improvement) in aikido, and in the care of the self, formation of the ethical subject and their art of living. We identified elements of the care of the self in aikido, and finally we perceive physical education as an art of well living through the spirituality notion built from the identified elements.

Conclusions: We perceive this hermeneutic study as a possibility to identify the care of the self elements in aikido. Beyond this, the identified elements favors physical education sociophilosophical studies when we perceive them as a path, a lifestyle through the aesthetics of existence in the martial arts context, especially in the practice of budo, in the sense of considering it as an art of well living.

1 Ueshiba's experience in all martial arts while simultaneously founded on the principles of buddhism and taoism, Aikido was unique in that its aim was not war but peace. Ai-ki-do-the way of harmony between man and (nature's) energy-is the only martial art that does not have two fighters, only one: the attacker (Uke). The other person (Tori) simply aims at redirecting Uke's attack and making it harmless (see pic. 1). Like many martial arts, Aikido has 2 seldom been studied from a Physics perspective. It is generally portrayed in a simplistic manner, or with the aid of drawings. The very nature of 3 Aikido, lacking a real fight between two opponents, allows us to bypass the details of a biomechanical analysis and deal directly with general quantities. Moreover, it pulls us towards a relativistic perspective. Here we sketch the main features of a first detailed analysis:-first we use tensors to represent an action dynamics-then we introduce a Machian frame of reference-at last we formulate three general laws of Aikido moves .

В статье рассмотрена рецепция социокультурных практик эзотерических школ буддизма школами японских боевых искусств. Использованы методы культурной и интерпретативной антропологии. Выделены ритуалы, методы тренировки, специфические техники, а также философские понятия боевых искусств, на которые оказал влияние буддизм Сингон. Кроме того, показано отражение синто-буддийского синкретизма в традициях школ боевых искусств. Сделан вывод о том, что буддистские секты являлись богатым источником социокультурных практик, рецепция которых была осуществлена школами боевых искусств. При этом заимствованные практики претерпели сущностные изменения, так как целью их применения стало достижение мастерства в боевом искусстве, а не религиозное стремление достичь состояния будды. С этой точки зрения также оценены специфические воинские ритуалы, нацеленные на помощь в битве. Ключевые слова: боевые искусства, Сингон, буддизм, история Японии, воинская культура, социокультурные практики Изучение истории создания социокультурных практик и традиций японских боевых искусств необходимо проводить в контексте мировосприятия, сложившегося под влиянием религиозных и философских течений, доминировавших в конкретный исторический период. Происхождение многих упомянутых практик связано с рецепцией буддистских учений, а также их адаптацией под цели и задачи школы. Эзотерические буддистские школы стали богатым источником ритуалов для школ боевых искусств. Назначением данных практик было получение технического преимущества за счет избавления от страха смерти, концентрации на текущем моменте, веры в сверхъестественную защиту. Хотя буддизм не приемлет убийства живых существ, буддистские методики в школах боевых искусств использовались в качестве вспомогательного средства достижения именно этой цели. Для разрешения подобных противоречий мастерами боевых искусств была выработана особая философская система, в которой служение господину и выполнение долга соответствовало служению будде, а меч, отнимающий жизнь, становился мечом, уничтожающим зло и заблуждения, что в конечном итоге служило делу спасения человечества.

The first part of this article presents insights into the nature of mind-body theory and practice in modern Japanese budo in general, and Aikido in particular. Based on personal experience and observations as both a trained academic and a professional Aikido instructor, I suggest that modern budo retains elements of spiritual formation inherited in part from Buddhist thought and practice in Japan. The second part of the article is a sample of doka, "poems of the way," that I have composed as a form of Zen inspired advice songs to foster confidence in the holistic practice of budo and to encourage further exploration in these areas.

В статье рассматривается вопрос трансляции космологических и этических представлений китайской цивилизации на воинскую культуру Японии, а также рецепция китайских социокультурных практик японскими школами боевых искусств. Использованы методы культур-ной и интерпретативной антропологии. Выделены основные направления влияния китайской культуры на японские боевые искусства: стратегия, ритуалы, методы тренировки, специфические техники, а также философские понятия боевых искусств. По результатам исследования автор приходит к выводу о том, что китайские учения являлись богатым источником социокультурных практик, рецепция которых была осуществлена школами боевых искусств. Китайские учения наполнили воинские традиции стратегическим, философским и морально-нравственным содержанием. При этом автор полагает, что японцы творчески переосмыслили китайские учения на основе своего практического опыта. Кроме того, в качестве важного отличия между китайской и японской культурой автор выделяет различное социальное положение воина и отношение к воинскому делу. Ключевые слова: боевые искусства, история Японии, воинская культура, социокультурные практики, китайская мысль, будо, стратегия. Для цитирования:
The article discusses the translation of cosmological and ethical representations of Chinese civilization into the war-rior's culture of Japan, as well as the reception of Chinese soci-ocultural practices by Japanese martial arts schools. The methods of cultural and interpretive anthropology are used. The main directions of the influence of Chinese culture on Japa-nese martial arts are highlighted: strategy, rituals, training methods, specific techniques, as well as philosophical concepts of martial arts. According to the results of the study, the author concludes that Chinese teachings were a rich source of sociocul-tural practices, the reception of which was carried out by martial arts schools. Chinese teachings filled warrior's traditions with strategic, philosophical and moral content. Moreover, the author believes that the Japanese have creatively rethought Chinese teachings based on their practical experience. In addition , as an important distinction between Chinese and Japanese culture, the author emphasizes the different social status of the warrior and his attitude to military duty.

Een verkenning van de vraag wat de mens moet of kan doen met zijn agressie, in de keuze tussen repressie of ontwikkeling. In lijn met de psychoanalytische voorliefde voor het creatief en bewust omgaan met onze duistere kantjes, vinden we het beeld van non-dualiteit dat resulteert uit een ophouden met veroordelen en opsluiten van agressieve verlangens en een veredeling ervan langsheen de krijgskunst. De enige weg naar vrede lijkt daarmee een verheffen en niet langer verdringen van onze agressie. Een verlichting in plaats van het verduisteren.

Japon savaş sanatı aikidonun kurucusu Morihei Ueshiba (1883 - 1969) ile Kondo Hidezo (1908 - 1979) arasında 1956 yılında gerçekleşen bir röportaj.

An interview between the founder of aikido, a Japanese martial art, Morihei Ueshiba (1883 - 1969) and a Japanese interviewer Kondo Hidezo that took place in 1956.

This paper aims to examine the usefulness of karate by looking at Sri Lankan karate practitioners’ awareness about karate usefulness in their daily life, and to clarify the values which they find in karate.
Karate activities in Sri Lanka are managed by Sri Lankan Karate-Do Federation which is member of World Karate Federation. This means that mainly sport karate with focus on competition is diffused there, and as a result Budo spirit, emphasizing the cultivation of the mind, is not widely transmitted as a part of karate. The author conducted a questionnaire survey in 6 karate organizations in Sri Lanka in August 2017. The answers of 241 practitioners were collected. 82.5% of respondents replied that karate is useful for their daily life. While the most frequent reason was for self-defence (71%), 48% chose “as an education to develop mental skills,” 23% chose “as a sport – for health,” 17% chose “as an education to develop personality,” etc. These results would imply that a significant number of Sri Lankan practitioners is aware about usefulness of karate not only for fighting, but also for developing mental skills, health and personality.
This is demonstrated by the results of qualitative analysis. Many respondents claimed karate is useful for developing mental skills, such as concentration, discipline, patience, endurance, and confidence. Furthermore, some respondents also mentioned usefulness of karate for developing personality - to become polite and humble person. These results confirm the previous research conducted in Japan that karate practice can improve mental skills and personality, which is useful for daily life.

Catalogue de l’exposition : Ultime Combat au Musée du Quai Branly (26 sept. 2021 - 16 janv 2022).
version française
« Une histoire des arts martiaux japonais», Julien Rousseau, Stéphane de Mesnildot (dir.), Ultime Combat – Arts martiaux d’Asie, Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac, septembre 2021, 272 p, pp. 145-159.

Bu makalede, "aikido" kelimesinin özel isim olup olmadığı ve ilk harfinin nasıl yazılması gerektiği üzerine düşünceler ve bulgular derlenmiş ve yorumlanmıştır.

In this article, whether the word "aikido" should be capitalized or not and should it be considered a proper noun is discussed.

Вниманию читателей журнала «Современные востоковедческие исследования» представляется эксклюзивное интервью с легендой японского будо-сэнсэем Йошида Нобумаса (9 дан дзю-дзюцу, 9 дан айкидо). Интервьюирование является признанным научным методом в культурологии, позволяющим получить как эксклюзивную информацию от перво-источника, так и его личную интерпретацию исто-рических событий, свидетелем которых он был. Интервью у сэнсэя Н. Йошида было взято в стенах клуба боевых искусств «Фурудэра додзё» во время летнего международного семинара по Дзю-Току-Дзюку Дзю-Дзюцу 2019 года. В интервью также при-нимали участие: Эдзава Кацуми (6 дан дзю-дзюцу), Роман Георгиевич Асеев (руководитель клуба боевых искусств «Фурудэра додзё»), Денис Наримович Эйдинов (главный редактор «Aikibudo Today», руководи-тель клуба боевых искусств «Тэнсин»), Антон Евге-ньевич Лестев (к.и.н., инструктор клуба боевых ис-кусств «Тэнсин»), Елена Сергеевна Денисова (переводчик с японского языка). Ключевые слова: боевые искусства, история Японии, воинская культура, дзю-дзюцу, дзюдо, будо, Ёсэйкан.

In this essay, I try to describe what practising budo can be like for
a person on the autistic spectrum, with all the different bene- fits, but with a recognition of the obstacles on the road as well. By writing this ‘auti-ethnography’, I hope to inform and inspire people of all neurotypes to work together to build a world full of inclusive dojo.

Минору Мотидзуки (перевод с английского – А. Носов; редактор перевода – А. Лестев) *Статья сэнсэя М. Мотидзуки была впервые опубликована в AikidoJournal в переводе Икуко Кимуры и Стэнли Прэнина под за-главием " Theory of the essence of judo ". Предисловие С. Пранина к английской версии статьи: «Данная статья представляется читателям с позволения Минору Мотидзуки, ученика таких прославленных мастеров как Морихэй Уэсиба и Дзигоро Кано. В настоящей статье описывается история превращения дзюдо в спортивную дисциплину, что представляет значительный интерес, т.к. сходные процессы сейчас происходят и в мире айкидо». Русский перевод статьи публикуется в Aikibudo Today с официального разрешения выпускающего редактора AikidoJournal Джоша Голда (Josh Gold), предоставленного А. Лестеву.

Cet ouvrage est une adaptation de mon travail de thèse. Il présente les arts Martiaux traditionnels d’orient, leur histoire, leurs valeurs essentielles ainsi que l’ensemble des éléments psychologiques et socio-culturels liés à leur développement. Il aborde les anciennes cultures et traditions des pays d’Asie, mais aussi la modernité et la vision occidentale de la compétition, des sports de combat ou du sport en général.
Il explore aussi la dimension thérapeutique des pratiques martiales anciennes en lien avec les médecines traditionnelles de l’Asie et les pratiques méditatives qu’elles soient d’essence religieuse ou thérapeutique.
Il évoque le développement moderne de la culture martiale dans le commerce, l’entreprise ou la vie en général. Il aborde enfin la fascination moderne pour le combat réel et les risques de dérive mercantile ou violente des sports de combat.

The practice of budo - Japanese martial arts - has a positive impact on people’s quality of life. Yet the threshold for entering a dojo can be high, especially for people from minority groups. Therefore, my aim is to create graphic designs that show people that budo is for everyone.

My apprenticeship at VRMGN in Utrecht, the Netherlands, kindly allowed me to follow the Domestika course “Creating an Illustrated Brand: From the Idea to Merchandising” by Vania Bachur. Thus the illustrated brand BudoGirl was born, with images of women and girls in various types of Japanese martial arts.

The look and feel of the collection is cheerful and positive. BudoGirl is happy, not aggressive. She likes martial arts, vegan “milk” and sushi, cats and fruits. She also likes the sun, moon, stars, planets, flowers, mountains and rainbows. Her colours are all sorts of blue, plus purple, black, off -white, yellow and sometimes pink. Supporting elements are Japanese calligraphy (shodo and sumi-e), like the enso circle, and empowering feminist quotes.

It is my wish that this Style Guide will lead to the production of nice bags, key rings, phone cases, note books, pencil cases, wallets etc. for female budoka, and that these products will inspire, encourage and empower them.

This article relates the training of gendai budō/mudo to theatrical performance. While there are already studies that discuss theatricality in martial arts, the aim of this paper is to provide a systematic overview of the theatrical structuring of elements of martial arts training. This could be further developed in the study of different martial arts and in comparative case studies. For this purpose, Andreas Kotte’s theory of scenic processes is used to arrange different phenomena in martial arts training systematically, representing the constitutive aspects of theatricality as derived from theatre and performance art. Gendai budō/mudo are used as cases to elaborate a systematic approach to the analysis of martial arts as theatrical performance. These examples were chosen because of their emphasis on aesthetics and technical expertise, rather than practical fighting applications. While theatricality in martial arts is usually seen as something for enjoyment or possibly to improve a...