Dewdrops scatter!
a sparrow sings
of a better life to come…

- – - Issa

The Scroll of Emptiness…

…otherwise known as The Book of the Void, The Scroll of the Void, The Book of Emptiness – from the GoRin no Sho:  the Book of Five Rings

This being the Scroll of Emptiness, I must now set down plainly in writing [the manner in which] Ni-To-Ichi-Ryu Martial Practice is a ‘Way’: -

The heart of what is called ‘emptiness’ has [traditionally] been seen as the place where there is nothing, [and as] a thing that is not known [in the way that other things are known]. [Well,] of course emptiness is where there is nothing! [But] to know the place of “there is” while also knowing the place of “there is nothing”, that indeed is emptiness.

In the world at large, there is a mistaken view that sees the state of mind where you do not discriminate as emptiness. This is not true emptiness, it is the common, confused heart [that we all share]…

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-  Knowing the higher, intermediate and lower  levels of martial practice…

In martial practice there are physical kamae. In the martial practice of  the sword there being various kamae to be seen: the obviously strong, and what can be seen as fast,  you should know these to be a lower level. Again, martial practice which is meticulously detailed, so that the techniques are clearly visible, and rhythm is visibly skilfully managed, and which – because of these things – can be considered a beautiful martial practice: this is the  intermediate level. The higher level martial practice is “without strength, without weakness” – the corners are not visible [as it were], no haste is visible, and there is not even anything beautiful about it: but no errors are to be seen, it is expansive, upright, and direct, and it is martial practice with a visible clarity: this is the higher level. You should think carefully about this.

- paragraph 9 of the  Hyoho Sanju go Kojo (1641)

“Crash their elbow into their head”
- – - transmitted in the Yamamoto-ha
- – - reported by Keisetsu YOSHIMARU in Aikido no Ogi

“Even in the roppo of kabuki,  it is not only a matter of shape or form:  arm movements and the stepping of the feet are informed by [an essential] vigilance in relation to the enemy[ies];  [and] a body without [discernable] arc or bow is [absolutely] necessary.”

- – - reported by Kodo HORIKAWA Sensei  to  Seigo OKAMOTO Sensei
- – - Daito-ryu Aiki-Jujutsu  p.207

Once, at the beginning of the Taisho era, Takeda Sokaku, while staying for a short while in Tokyo, had an opportunity to go out to the theatre. Sokaku, having set up camp near the hanamichi was observing Kikugoro’s movements. He was [playing] Benkei, at the Ataka Barrier. Making to chase after Yoshitsune’s party after they exited,  Kikugoro was stepping along the hanamichi  near where Sokaku had set himself.

At that moment, Sokaku commented: “the performance is good, but the footwork is bad:  the roppo is really bad,” …

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Aiki, of course, is the process of matching and combining ki.

We can see that the [natural] Universe, Heaven and Earth, Nature, and every single thing are all, by means of ongoing mutual adjustment and harmonization, in perfect,  spiralic, smoothly continuous motion. This harmonization, it is clear, is of the same nature as aiki…

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April 20, 1964
What’s special about aiki is that place where you enter lightly. Like a cloud, maybe, or mist: enter lightly.

October 31, 1965
In the old days, as soon as you had them, you’d drive in an atemi, these days when we train we omit this, we put our emphasis on drilling the waza.

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