Sunday, February 06, 2005
The Koya Submission
I always wanted to have a post sound like the title to a a Robert Ludlum novel. So there you have it.
Anyway, this weekend, I went to Koya-san (Mt. Koya), which is the home to Shingon Buddhism.
As the story goes, the young priest Kukai traveled to China to complete his studies under the greatest monk of the day. Kukai was so gifted that in only 18 months, he learned everything. Sanskrit, sutras, everything. Then the old master monk died and Kukai returned to Japan. Just as he was stepping on the boat in China that would carry him back, he threw his Buddhist Implement towards Japan. It sailed over the horizon and into the distance.
Once Kukai got to Japan, he began to wander around to find a good place to set up a monestary. On day, he met a mysterious hunter who had one black dog and one white dog. The hunter disappeared but not before saying something mysterious along the lines of, “My dogs will help you find what you are looking for.” So Kukai followed the dogs, who led him to a tree. And embedded in that tree was the Buddhist Implement.
You see, the hunter was the spirit of that mountain. And the Buddhist Implement had flow all the way from China to mark the spot. So today there is a huge temple complex on Mount Koya.
At one time, there were 2,000 or so temples. Over the years, there was consolidation, and now about 180 remain. And quite a few take in guests for the night.
So, I got to go to evening services, as well as wake up before dawn to go to morning services.
Buddhist chanting is quite sublime and trance inducing. And freezing cold in the winter, as it’s done in an unheated room. But even so, you go into a trance like state if you relax and just open up and listen.
There had been a major snowfall a few days before, so all the temples were quite lovely, carpeted in snow. I’m going to put some pictures below.
But the other amazing thing about Koya-san is the graveyard. You see, devotees of Shingon Buddhism do not believe that Kukai ever died. Rather, he retired to a cave to meditate and has been meditating ever since. It is said that for the last 1200 years monks have gone in twice a year to cut his nails and trim his hair. But he does not move, as he continues to meditate.
The belief is that he will meditate until the end of the world. So many Japanese are buried nearby in order that they might secure in some way a kind of protection from his meditation.
There are believed to be over 500,000 graves at Koya-san, making it the largest active graveyard in the world.
Kukai is nowdays know by the Japanese as Kobo Daishi, which means "Propagator of Dharma."
Nanahon (Nage) Kuzushi Waza Tips
Here are some things I’ve learned about the kuzushi waza.
For the high level (jo dan), the point of the kuzushi is to break uke’s balance up. Up on to his toes (s)he should go, just the same kuzushi as they get in judo by grabbing your uniform with both hands on the chest, getting a fist full of gi in both hands and lifting up. Uke is pulled up on to his toes and slightly forward so that he is off balance both forward and up.
For the mid-level, the point is to be quick enough so that uke’s weight is pulled so that his knee comes forward of his foot. (Right knee farther forward than the right foot if the right foot is the forward foot the way the guy is standing.) And do zip around, as you want to time it so that just after you are grabbed, he is being pulled forward and off balance. And then you push through with your tegatana in your center to really move him/her.
For the low level, it’s very sword like. Let me describe the cross hand grab, assuming that your start in a right foot forward stance. Uke comes to grab your right hand with his right hand. Step forward, still facing forward, with your left leg. So you go from a right foot forward stance to a left foot forwards stance because your left leg steps forward. As that is happening, your right and turns over. That is, your right hand was palm up at the time uke grabbed it, and it turns over as you step forward with your left leg. Push forward and down along your center line. Your hand should end up next to your knee just to the right of it. Doing all that should quite break uke’s balance. (Your thumb and your fingers end up on either side of uke’s right forearm. Do not grab back!) Now turn your hips. Rotate to the right, keeping your hand in your center line. Push through and then after you’ve going 180 degrees, raise your hand up your center line. The result will be that uke’s balance is quite broken and then he’s walked forward a couple of steps.
For the same side grab, uke will use his left hand to grab your right. And you are waiting in a right foot forward stance. As he grabs, turn your thumb down (or, as Alan says, elbow up). Keep a good, stiff tegatana, and then push your tegatana forward towards the right knee. (You take a small sliding step forward with your right leg as you do this and push to wards the knee.) The pushing is done in your center line and as you do so, so your hand rotates. That is it will rotate clockwise (on this side—it rotates the opposite direction if your left hand is grabbed!) Push so that your tegatana ends up just to the left of your right knee. Now pivot to your left on the balls of both feet, keeping your tegatana in your center line. This will walk uke forwards. As you push through, you should be leading (since you rotated your hand) with your tegatana blade.
Both of these low level grabs are like poking forward with a sword and then swinging through by pivoting the hips.
Ki Phrase of the Day
Ki ga wakai literally means your ki is young. And it does indeed idiomatically describe someone who is young at heart or acts much younger than their chronological age.
Anyway, this weekend, I went to Koya-san (Mt. Koya), which is the home to Shingon Buddhism.
As the story goes, the young priest Kukai traveled to China to complete his studies under the greatest monk of the day. Kukai was so gifted that in only 18 months, he learned everything. Sanskrit, sutras, everything. Then the old master monk died and Kukai returned to Japan. Just as he was stepping on the boat in China that would carry him back, he threw his Buddhist Implement towards Japan. It sailed over the horizon and into the distance.
Once Kukai got to Japan, he began to wander around to find a good place to set up a monestary. On day, he met a mysterious hunter who had one black dog and one white dog. The hunter disappeared but not before saying something mysterious along the lines of, “My dogs will help you find what you are looking for.” So Kukai followed the dogs, who led him to a tree. And embedded in that tree was the Buddhist Implement.
You see, the hunter was the spirit of that mountain. And the Buddhist Implement had flow all the way from China to mark the spot. So today there is a huge temple complex on Mount Koya.
At one time, there were 2,000 or so temples. Over the years, there was consolidation, and now about 180 remain. And quite a few take in guests for the night.
So, I got to go to evening services, as well as wake up before dawn to go to morning services.
Buddhist chanting is quite sublime and trance inducing. And freezing cold in the winter, as it’s done in an unheated room. But even so, you go into a trance like state if you relax and just open up and listen.
There had been a major snowfall a few days before, so all the temples were quite lovely, carpeted in snow. I’m going to put some pictures below.
But the other amazing thing about Koya-san is the graveyard. You see, devotees of Shingon Buddhism do not believe that Kukai ever died. Rather, he retired to a cave to meditate and has been meditating ever since. It is said that for the last 1200 years monks have gone in twice a year to cut his nails and trim his hair. But he does not move, as he continues to meditate.
The belief is that he will meditate until the end of the world. So many Japanese are buried nearby in order that they might secure in some way a kind of protection from his meditation.
There are believed to be over 500,000 graves at Koya-san, making it the largest active graveyard in the world.
Kukai is nowdays know by the Japanese as Kobo Daishi, which means "Propagator of Dharma."
Nanahon (Nage) Kuzushi Waza Tips
Here are some things I’ve learned about the kuzushi waza.
For the high level (jo dan), the point of the kuzushi is to break uke’s balance up. Up on to his toes (s)he should go, just the same kuzushi as they get in judo by grabbing your uniform with both hands on the chest, getting a fist full of gi in both hands and lifting up. Uke is pulled up on to his toes and slightly forward so that he is off balance both forward and up.
For the mid-level, the point is to be quick enough so that uke’s weight is pulled so that his knee comes forward of his foot. (Right knee farther forward than the right foot if the right foot is the forward foot the way the guy is standing.) And do zip around, as you want to time it so that just after you are grabbed, he is being pulled forward and off balance. And then you push through with your tegatana in your center to really move him/her.
For the low level, it’s very sword like. Let me describe the cross hand grab, assuming that your start in a right foot forward stance. Uke comes to grab your right hand with his right hand. Step forward, still facing forward, with your left leg. So you go from a right foot forward stance to a left foot forwards stance because your left leg steps forward. As that is happening, your right and turns over. That is, your right hand was palm up at the time uke grabbed it, and it turns over as you step forward with your left leg. Push forward and down along your center line. Your hand should end up next to your knee just to the right of it. Doing all that should quite break uke’s balance. (Your thumb and your fingers end up on either side of uke’s right forearm. Do not grab back!) Now turn your hips. Rotate to the right, keeping your hand in your center line. Push through and then after you’ve going 180 degrees, raise your hand up your center line. The result will be that uke’s balance is quite broken and then he’s walked forward a couple of steps.
For the same side grab, uke will use his left hand to grab your right. And you are waiting in a right foot forward stance. As he grabs, turn your thumb down (or, as Alan says, elbow up). Keep a good, stiff tegatana, and then push your tegatana forward towards the right knee. (You take a small sliding step forward with your right leg as you do this and push to wards the knee.) The pushing is done in your center line and as you do so, so your hand rotates. That is it will rotate clockwise (on this side—it rotates the opposite direction if your left hand is grabbed!) Push so that your tegatana ends up just to the left of your right knee. Now pivot to your left on the balls of both feet, keeping your tegatana in your center line. This will walk uke forwards. As you push through, you should be leading (since you rotated your hand) with your tegatana blade.
Both of these low level grabs are like poking forward with a sword and then swinging through by pivoting the hips.
Ki Phrase of the Day
Ki ga wakai literally means your ki is young. And it does indeed idiomatically describe someone who is young at heart or acts much younger than their chronological age.
