Mr.  Wayne Muromoto has been posting various articles and essays on the traditional Japanese martial arts over at The Classic Budoka.

I’ve been reading through the archives there and finding a treasure trove of insights and perspectives.  Each post has something of interest and relevance to anyone who trains in the classical Japanese arts.  Just go through some of the recent posts and pick a few to start.

Highly recommended.

The Budo Bum has written a great post on ranking in the traditional Japanese martial arts. It captures so much of how I think about ranking and being a part of a traditional Japanese ryu. Much to consider and think about.

Read it here: What Is Martial Arts Rank?

As discussed in On Relaxation, excess or unnecessary tension when performing movements can be a common problem in disciplines like martial arts and music. In jujutsu, the unnecessary tension tends to find its way into the upper body, in particular the shoulders.

The upper body (including the arms) often feels like it needs to do more work than actually necessary, when it’s main role should be to convey the forces from the lower body rather than generate force. It can be pretty obvious to the trained eye and body when one’s shoulders are getting involved and doing too much work.

However, what is often not as obvious is how tight lower back muscles can also get in the way of good posture, mobility, and optimal movement. It’s certainly been an issue for me, so I was very pleased to see that Jonathan FitzGordon of CoreWalking.com recently posted a good article on the topic.

In the post he talks about the impact that tight lower back muscles can have on our overall posture, and how they can create an excessive arch in the lower spine.  He also says that addressing this issue is not always a simple matter as changes in one part of the body can result in unintentional changes in another part. However, as with most things the first step is awareness and FitzGordon’s article is a good place to start: Poor Posture and Tight Lower Back Muscles.

For those unfamiliar with Jonathan’s work and blog, I highly recommend it. His Core Walking package is a great value and his Skype sessions can be very helpful in getting personal feedback from a knowledgeable source and different set of eyes.

Relaxation is necessary tension.
Tension is unnecessary tension.
Relaxation is never accidental.

– Robert Fripp

My jujutsu teacher was fond of this aphorism from Robert Fripp, founder and guitar player in the legendary rock band King Crimson.  Although Mr. Fripp is best known for his music and work with Guitar Craft, my sensei felt that the aphorism very much related to our Hakkoryu practice.  I agree, and to this day it continues to serve as a useful point of reference when I hear the word ‘relax’ or find myself saying it to others (which is quite often in an art like Hakkoryu).

Why is it important to ‘relax’ in music, jujutsu, or any other mind-body discipline?  Well, Mr. Fripp seems to be suggesting that relaxation is a process of discerning necessary tensions in one’s body from unnecessary tensions.  Unnecessary tensions are just that, they are not needed and potentially get in the way of whatever we’re doing.  Its a question of efficiency and economy of movement.  He also appears to be saying that relaxation is not a passive state, but an active one where “relaxation is never accidental”.  This suggests to me a certain awareness or presence of mind is needed which can make the distinction between the necessary and the unnecessary in a given moment.

This may sound like an easy thing to do, but in my experience it isn’t.  I recall on many occasions practicing techniques with my teacher and thinking that I was relaxed. When it was suggested that I was not, I even remember indignantly arguing the point and proclaiming “I am relaxed!”.  The reality of course was that I was using too much force and tension in a particular technique, it just didn’t seem so at the time.  Through a variety of efforts over the years, I eventually came to see how much unnecessary tension I was in fact bringing into my jujutsu practice.  I discovered that a constant vigilance and awareness is required (at least initially) to identify and release unnecessary tensions in order to continue returning to a more relaxed state.

I also learned that something else needs to happen in that initial moment when one is grabbed or begins a technique. F. M. Alexander, the originator of the body/mind discipline The Alexander Technique identified this action as ‘inhibition’, where through conscious awareness of our actions we inhibit our conditioned response and introduce a new response. In the case of the Alexander Technique it is the intent to allow the head to release in a forward and up direction.  This leads us to a different kind of body use, better structural organization, and more natural or effortless quality of movement.

In jujutsu, when grabbed, my habitual tendency has been set up against it in some way. That is to say, I meet the tension in the grab with more tension.   It often seems like the appropriate response at the time: this guy attacked me, and so I’m going attack him back.  However when I respond with more force or tension, I broadcast or telegraph my intentions and the other person can easily anticipate my response.  It seems that our nervous systems are really good at reading other’s intent through the overt tensions in their bodies.

If instead of meeting force with more force, I flow with the attack, adjusting my distance as needed, and fitting with the other person I find that I am able to better maintain structural integration and keep my options open.  I am no longer fighting myself with unnecessary tensions in my body, but moving in a more efficient manner and flowing with whatever is presented.  Here, nothing is added and I am working with whatever tension or force that is already in the system.  In some Asian martial arts the image of water is used as symbolic for this quality of being.

At this point, I think its necessary to emphasize that “relaxation” and “not using force” do not equate to weakness.  I actually made this mistake early on when I became so enamored with developing ‘magical’ or ‘effortless’ technique that I neglected the fundamental physicality of martial practice.  There are lots of stories in the traditional Asian martial arts literature describing how the smaller and older man is able to defeat younger and larger opponents through superior technique.  But what sometimes gets overlooked is that these ‘old men’ had strong bodies to go with their relaxed and soft technique. The individuals in such stories had usually spent many hours training their bodies to both issue and receive forces very effectively.

In fact, certain tensions are very necessary in maintaining form and the structural integration of the body.  A total lack of tension in the body would result in a collapse of one’s physical structure which can have dire consequences in the context of self-protection. Excess tension gets in the way of optimal movement and can limit our sensitivity and ability to respond quickly in any given moment.  So ‘relaxation’ is about using specific muscles and tensions to maintain one’s structure in the face of external forces and gravity, and letting go of the unnecessary muscles and tensions. Letting the muscles that should be active do the work, while releasing the ones that are unneeded.

If we make relaxation a value in the our practice, we may find that there are much deeper levels of relaxation than we were previously aware of.  An art like Hakkoryu Jujutsu provides a great opportunity to do this. Where we can approach the forms and techniques as a context to become more familiar with our habitual patterns and ultimately discover more efficient ways of moving and using our bodies.

Eric Spinelli recently posted a great article called “Budo and Breathing” on kenshi247.net, a translation of excerpts on the subject of breathing from “The Essence Of Budo” by Kawakubo Takiji (1896 – 1985).

Its a fairly detailed and extensive survey of the key components of natural hara or tanden focused breathing and a good read for those looking to bring more awareness to their breath and the role it plays in the Japanese martial arts.

Reading through the text, I find many parallels to how breathing is approached in our Hakkoryu practice, and in particular how it is described in Shodai Soke’s writings on the Goshin Taiso.

The full article can be found here: “Budo and Breathing“

Lately I’ve been considering why there is such a small percentage of women compared with men in the traditional martial arts. Like most things in life there are probably more than a few reasons for this, but as I see it the main factor has been cultural.

We know that the traditional arts, with few exceptions, have been dominated by males for centuries. In the past, women likely did not have the same access to these arts that they do today. Many martial arts schools were not open to women and if women were actually allowed to participate they may have been discouraged in continuing by abusive behavior on the part of men. It may also be that practicing martial arts was not considered “lady-like” or acceptable behavior for a women and may have been further discouraged by families and peer groups.

Thankfully times are changing in the martial arts world and today the benefits of the traditional martial arts apply equally (if not more so) to women as they do to men. This seems to be especially so when the arts in question offer solutions to violence beyond promoting greater aggression, size and strength.

Examples of such martial arts include (but are not limited to) the Japanese arts of Jujutsu and Aikido, as well as Chinese arts of Tai Chi and various styles of Kung Fu. These arts are, to a large degree, based on the recognition that superior technique can often trump size, strength, and speed alone.

Many of the women that I’ve trained with seem to get this and end up being better technicians in general than the men. I think this is probably because, on some level, they recognize that there will always be someone bigger, stronger, and faster out there. That being the case, women tend to put more attention and effort in developing technique while many guys continue using size, strength, and/or aggression as long as they can get away with it.

Furthermore, I think that most women are more naturally tuned into the subtle and sophisticated elements of these arts. They innately (although perhaps not fully consciously) know that feminine, receptive, and yielding does not equate to weakness, but is its own kind of strength. When this is embraced and embodied, I see the potential for a much better balance between the masculine and feminine (yo/in) in the individual.

This is what we all should be striving for in an art like the one I practice – Hakkoryu Jujutsu where we are told to “throw out one’s strength” or the more commonly used and perhaps more frustrating admonition to “relax”. To “relax” doesn’t mean to collapse one’s structure but rather to be aware of and release unnecessary tensions in one’s body. “Throwing out one’s strength” does not equate to weakness or defeat.

Rather, I believe these are suggestions that there are more efficient and effective ways of getting the job done. Yet these skills require a greater degree of subtlety and body awareness than most of us are accustomed to. Most women seem to get this naturally or quicker than most men do.

So, why are there not more women in these kids of arts?

The confidence, assertiveness, and ability that comes with excelling in martial arts would be attractive to many women today. It’s also an opportunity to participate in traditions that haven’t been accessible to women in the past. Moreover, as most men whom have spent a significant amount of time training with women know, the dojo would be a better place because of it.