Bushinden Tasmania Toku Bu Ryū Sui Budō Dōjō 武神傳徳武流水武道道場

Hicho no Ken
( flying bird sword )

THINK BY YOURSELF
– By Sôke Masaaki Hatsumi

In ancient times, a person who strived to learn Budô would do individual keiko. After learning skills from his teacher, he trained himself to master those lessons. He had to have the determination to study through the techniques alone. Going into the mountains, he would repeat his solo training in nature, fighting with animals and trees.
These days, so many people forget to ”go into the mountains.” These people tend to desire the easy way out. If they are having problems that are complicated, they immediately ask someone older to solve it for them. Moreover, the elder gives them easy advice. Most people answer nicely because they think it would be good to help the situation along, but in fact, this often ends up hurting the individual`s growth.

It might be a little different for keiko in Budô, but some problems can only be understood by the person who has the problem. An advisor gives suggestions trying to solve the problem through applying his own experiences, while the listener ( who does not have those same experiences ) listens to the guidance as if it were being recieved from some divine being. There is sometimes a serious danger in missing a lesson`s important point. Therefore, you should sometimes offer the advice, ”Ponder the dilemma yourself.” You may consider this ”coldhearted.” However, being cold illustrates the need to solve a problem ( finding warmth ).Perhaps some days later, the individual will return saying: ”I can`t figure out a solution…” and he will recount his problem in a totally different manner than his first telling. You will now be able to discern how to offer advice that is more appropriate by judging from his revised account.

In Budô, we inform students of the proper answer after the “torment” of making them think for themselves. Some things must be learned through suffering or they will be forgotten for the rest of your life. We must all learn to solve our own difficult problems. Furthermore, in Budô, we suffer great pains to master the best techniques. It was throught the pains and labors of our ancestors, who became the founders of our traditions, that these techniques were invented.

裏には裏がある
ura ni wa ura ga aru
( Japanese proverb )

Martial Arts is more than punching and kicking, wrestling, showmanship, entering competitions or winning trophies.
True Budô is the study of the past,present and future,traditions,culture,philosophy,language,the artistic and spiritual world. Budô is the practice of constant self reflection and self awakening through entering the mysterious and inspiring world of Yūgen.

"If all you do is think about fighting, you will not understand the martial arts."- Hatsumi Sôke.

Kenjutsu Keiko 剣術稽古
Ura Shutô 裏手刀 Te no uchi 手の内

Naginata Dōjō Keiko
足拂　Ashi Barai
掬上 Sukui Age
変化. Henka