by Robert Wolfe • Photos by Diane Skoss and Robert Wolfe
The second annual, joint Shutokukan Dojo / Itten Dojo observation of Kagami
Biraki (Japanese New Year) was held on Saturday, January 4th, at the Itten
Dojo. Although, as I understand it, this was a week early to be entirely proper, our
celebration was moved forward to accommodate the folks heading to Woodinville, Washington,
the following weekend to attend Kagami Biraki at Relnick Sensei’s dojo.
Our festivities commenced at 4:30 in the afternoon, with demonstrations of gendai budo and a variety of koryu. Including the participants, about 60 people viewed the presentations.
Itten Dojo Toho and Aikido
The Itten Dojo crew led off with toho, the “generic”
swordsmanship developed by Meik Skoss. Toho uses the Nihon Kendo Kata as templates for
learning proper fundamentals of swordsmanship, and adds a series of drills — created
by Meik or derived from a number of different sources — to instill in students the
ability to employ a sword both offensively and defensively, in an effective, spontaneous,
and dynamic manner. While Meik originally envisioned toho as an ancillary practice for
persons whose primary arts do not include weapons, the concept and core material are
sufficiently deep to provide years of fascinating and highly productive training.
Left: Randy
Manning and Bob Wolfe work through the kendo kata. Right: Alan Starner and Bob Wolfe in a
kumitachi combining elements of Meik’s striking/receiving drills and the kendo kata.
Continuing the Itten Dojo portion of the presentations, a short sampling of aikido was offered.
Left: Bob Wolfe
and Alan Starner at the start of a set of joint-locking techniques used as a warm-up in
Itten Dojo aikido classes. Right: John Butz and Carmen Altomonte present a selection of
throws and pins.
Hontai Yoshin-ryu
Next up were Dr. Steve Fabian and his daughter, Becca, to present an overview of Hontai Yoshin-ryu. This classical style of jujutsu was founded sometime around 1660 and, in addition to its unarmed repertoire, includes the use of the staff (both rokushaku bo and hanbo) and kenjutsu. We hope to invite Dr. Fabian back to visit our dojo again later this year for a seminar in this fascinating art.
Left: Dr. Fabian
and Becca in an elaborate, paired practice with six-foot staffs. Right: Becca receives a
front kick just prior to asking, “Now, Dad, about the car keys…” Bottom: Dr
Fabian and Hontai Yoshin-ryu iai.
Kaze Arashi-ryu (sic)
At the time of this event, Kaze Arashi-ryu was advertised as “a system of combat derived from the battlefield methods practiced in the past by Shugendo followers of Dewa Sanzan Jingu (Three Mountain Shrine of Dewa) in what is currently the Yamagata prefecture.” Although that claim has since been shown to be untrue, largely through the efforts of Mark Raugas, the demonstrations presented by Mr. Raugas, Kevin Tsai, and Denis Ramirez were thrilling — no other word for it. The techniques they executed were devastating, and Mark, Kevin, and Denis worked right at the edge through their entire set. Most interesting, other than the surprise that all three survived the demonstration, was the fact the body movements employed remained very consistent regardless of the weapon or empty-hand art used in a particular engagement.
Left: Mark Raugas
and Denis Ramirez present bojutsu. Right: Kevin Tsai and Mark in one a kenjutsu kata. (Note the length and shape of the bokuto, which are sized to simulate a
large shoto with an oversized hilt, which was said to be done to circumvent restrictions on use of
long swords).
Left: Mark and Denis, engaging with tanto. Right: Jujutsu with Mark and Denis. This was actually about the most gentle fall Denis took that evening — notice how much he’s enjoying the experience. In fact, Meik Skoss was heard to opine that Denis was probably about six or seven inches taller, prior to starting to train with Mark, but was trimmed down by the number of times he’s been landed on his head.
Yagyu Shinkage-ryu
Yagyu Shinkage-ryu heiho is one of the most famous, as well as one of the most
esoteric, of the arts of the bushi.
According to Dave Lowry in Persimmon Wind, “The salient characteristic of the Yagyu
Shinkage-ryu is that it seeks to teach the bugeisha to attain victory by penetrating into
the opponent’s mind. Through various exercises that are an integral part of its
curriculum and by constant training, the Shinkage-ryu swordsman learns to “read”
the intentions of an adversary and to respond a split instant before those intentions are
realized. In less philosophical, more practical terms, this means that it is not until the
oncoming strike is unleashed or the opponent’s evasion against him already committed
that the Shinkage-ryu exponent acts. Timing is critical. Correct distancing is essential.
A fraction too early or too late, a hairsbreadth too near or too far, and it is death for
certain...”
Two members of our dojo, Eric Fennell and Joe Palumbo, commute regularly to New
York City to train with the New York Yagyukai. They joined their New York Yagyukai sempai,
Meik Skoss and Dave Rabinowicz, for this demonstration.
Joe Palumbo is the most junior, and also tallest, member of the group. As the
junior, he is consistently in the role of shidachi, the “winning” side of the
kata (more properly, the side being instructed by the senior). Following the
demonstrations, Joe was approached by the mother of one of the members of the dojo who
demanded, “Why did you always hit the smaller boys on the head, when they’d
already stopped attacking you?” Joe had a difficult time explaining it was a) the
kata and b) only because they allowed him to.
Left: Meik Skoss and Dave Rabinowicz. Right: Eric Fennell and Joe Palumbo.
Left: Dave and Eric. Right: Meik and Joe.
Shinto Muso-ryu
The finale for the evening was presented by the Shutokukan Dojo / Itten Dojo
Shinto Muso-ryu jo practitioners. Following an abbreviated warm up, the demonstrators
broke into groups and performed sections of the Omote and Chudan,sets, as well as portions
of the Oku, Kage, Samidare, and Ran-ai sets.
Left: Alan
Starner, Bob Wolfe, and John Butz in the Omote set. Right: Kevin Cantwell and John Mark in
the Chudan set.
Left: Diane Skoss and Lu Brezler in the Chudan set. Right: Meik and Diane demonstrate the kata Kage no Hissage.
Once the dust settled from the demonstrations, a buffet dinner was laid out by
our friend Bebe, of the Bangkok House Thai Restaurant. As usual, Bebe provided more food
than we could possibly eat, despite everyone stuffing themselves beyond any semblance of
propriety or moderation.
All in all, the celebration was a huge success. We especially appreciated the participation of our out-of-town guests and the opportunity to observe two arts most of us had never seen. We’re looking forward to having everyone back next year.
Postscript: Shortly after this event, as noted above, the “Kaze Arashi-ryu” was shown to be the relatively recent creation of a number of American practitioners of jujutsu, rather than an authentic koryu. None of the exemplary gentlemen demonstrating the art at our dojo are any longer affiliated with the KAR organization, and all now train in other arts.