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Coffee with Sensei

Thoughts and comments by Sensei Jorge Kishkawa




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    18-Jul-2018

    Sensitivity and precision




    Paula - Niten Argentina

    The feminine touch in action.




    16-Jul-2018

    Chudan Nito Tachi Tsuki





    The millenarian technique is prophesied

    10-Jul-2018

    Almost






    To a layperson may seem like a simple frontal attack, but the experienced one was almost a cut from the bottom up on the arm. Kenjutsu stuff ...


    05-Jul-2018

    Japan X Belgium

    Two basic lessons can be drawn from Japan"s game against Belgium:

    1- There´s a maxim in Kenjutsu combat: "Never attack your opponent if your flank is vulnerable."
    That´s our 12th kata.



    2 - Regardless of the results, remember in each fight to thank those who supported us throughout the journey. Masters, colleagues, family, and supporters.

    03-Jul-2018

    Women - Tomoe Gozen

    Nowadays, the woman has to be stronger more than ever, cause war happens every day: inside and outside the house. At home, at work and relationships.
    But, how to be strong?
    Answer: being a Samurai.
    - Samurai? This is a man thing - will say lay people.
    Women Samurai already exists for almost a thousand years, and one of them was Tomoe Gozen, who fought extraordinarily in Genpei battle (1180). One of your techniques consists of cutting the enemy´s arm, called Utigote.






    The war goes on and to be stronger, nothing better than inspiring yourself in real characters!

    28-Jun-2018

    GASHUKU SHIAI - Hesitation

    Hesitation.
    We hesitate to take a course, change jobs, start a business or go deeper into some relationship. Join Niten.
    Even the signs showing us that this is the way, we falter.
    The opportunity is then lost.
    Years go by and, obviously, countless Golden Moments and important lessons to be happy remain in the past without the possibility of retrieving them.
    Do not hesitate: Start.




    "Shitsurei shimasu,

    This weekend of June 16th, I was able to participate for the first time in a Gashuku. A little while ago I said in a text about being able to see how big the sea is after training in RJ (Rio de Janeiro) ... And after Gashuku, I could contemplate a little more this immensity and feel that there is still much to see.

    One of the first points of the trip ... Know the environment where you are going. Make sure you are carrying everything you needed, especially to handle the cold. Accustomed to a predominantly warm climate, you can not underestimate the cold.

    I had the honor to meet Sensei for the first time. He greeted me with a warm smile. I felt welcome to Niten. There was an energy there that made the urge to train even more.

    Summarizing the training, I had the opportunity to train the iaijutsu, the Sekiguchi style, and train lots of kenjutsu. Each time I train with a different senpai, I gain a tip, a new perception, that contributes a lot to the improvement. The same goes for kenjutsu. Combat also brings a lot of experience. Facing colleagues of varying levels in each match allows for an incredible gain in experience and insights.

    One feeling I had was that I lacked speed in some attacks, but over time I also realized that part of the speed factor was connected to my energy and hesitation. Or think too much. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to attack, what opened a gap. Or do not believe too much in my blow, that made my move slower and less precise.

    After a sequence of many keiko it became increasingly clear that the strikes I took came in times of hesitation or for thinking too much. I thank for every hit I took to make me realize that. This gives me more energy to take that first hit, an attack, which when I do not hit, I need to act fast against attacking the blow that will surely come from the opponent. Another point is also that certain tactics that I thought during the combat, after many fights and training end up becoming something that does not have to be much thought about, but they end up being consolidated more naturally during the combat*. It is difficult to describe the countless sensations and perceptions that happen in short moments of combat because they are very rich experiences. Another point that also took my attention, is that in a cold climate like this, the hot breath blurs the men´s visor very much. If you control the way you breathe, you can direct the air better to avoid blurring the viewfinder. And the breathing that blurs the men is the one that comes unconsciously when I give myself to tiredness to catch my breath.

    But if I have to sum up in a small phrase, what I concluded from all this is: do not hesitate, always be ready to attack, do not lower your guard. And a lots of training.

    Shiai was also a training where I was able to put into practice what I learned in combat. And when it was not my time to fight, I could watch how other classmates struggled, and also take lessons from it.

    * Returning to what I said in the asterisk back there, this is also worth for learning from Niten in the Golden Moments. These are good behaviors that we started thinking about in order to be able to act in this way, but after a time of Niten, living all the practices with these practices, they end up being a natural part of our daily activities.

    Another interesting point that I could also observe in training is that senior Senpais are also well trained to observe how the less graduates struggle, not only because of arbitration but also as a way of perceiving where they are wrong and how to correct. They even train how to pull the least graded into combat, how to help bring forth their energy.

    During the times of fraternization, I had the opportunity to talk with colleagues from different units, to know what took each one to Niten. It´s nice to discover that while we have a lot in common, the way we travel is different for each one. But we all agree that the Niten greatly modifies our lives in a way no one imagined when it came ... "



    Couto still tells more about the "birudo at the end of the long training day on Saturday",
    about the shiai among the colleagues of 3rd kyu and above,
    About the General´s speech that attended part of our training, his words about friendship,
    about the invitation to come to train Iaijutsu in Sao Paulo valid for all Niten students
    and about the closing ceremony of Gashuku.



    "... I thank very much all the colleagues of our Vitória unit, as well as all the other senpais with whom I had the opportunity to train, all of them for the generous teachings and for the inspiration. And a special thanks to Sensei for accepting me and for this valuable opportunity. Arigatou Gozaimashita " Couto - Vitória Unit




    25-Jun-2018

    Climbing the Mountain



    ¨There was a boy, for whom no one gave anything. No gleam in the eyes, empty and weak in every way..
    One beautiful day, this boy decided to climb the Mountain. An isolated place where the Master lived.
    After a few springs, the boy went down to the Mountain.
    He was different. With a sharp look and warrior posture, the transformation was remarkable.
    -Wow! What happened to him? He´s very different! "-everyone noticed in the village.
    They asked him what kind of training the Master had given him.
    What had made the dull boy into a wise warrior was no training, no special secret.
    It had been just the simple acquaintance with the Master.¨- Shin Hagakure, Thoughts of a Modern Samurai Vol.1

    This is what happens, in other words, when one climbs the Mountain:


    21-Jun-2018

    GASHUKU SHIAI - Battles

    At the end of Gashuku, I received the email from this student, to which I replied:
    "Your father is happy to see you on the right Path ..."



    "Konbawá Sensei,

    Shitsurei shimasu. At the moment that I said "Hai" to participate in Cooper Cotia"s Gashuku, I had the feeling that it would be a special weekend.

    Acting as my own business owner in the last 3 years, I have valued every opportunity to increase my Ki. And the Gashuku is a privileged moment!

    Building a brand of my own, winning customers, delivering high-quality jobs, persevering despite the adversities of the country"s economic situation are a reality for which we are prepared to face in the Dojo. The strategy we learned: move forward with Courage!

    I had the privilege to follow for 20 years my father"s struggle on this "battlefield" to develop his own business. His action was always guided by Honesty, Loyalty and Courage, values that we practice in NITEN.

    This June 16, he would have completed 72 years, if his fight had not ceased in 2015.

    Achieving, therefore, the 5th Kyu of Iaijutsu on this date had a special meaning. It"s as if I"m receiving a blessing from my father, recognizing that I"m on the right track. Or better, on the Path of the Sword.

    Domo arigatô gozaimashitá, Sensei!

    Sayounará," Martins







    Martins in the Gashuku of Kenjutsu - This Weekend in Cotia (São Paulo)



    19-Jun-2018

    110 Years of Japanese Immigration - June 18, 2018

    This weekend at Gashuku held at Coopecotia I was approached by a notable Softball teacher from Atibaia.
    She was thrilled to hear of my presence and that there were still descendants of Japanese willing to preserve our culture despite these rough times.
    Immigration 110 Years. Niten 25 Years.
    We can say that Niten is already part of this great story, isn´t it ???

    Arigato to all!




    "Immigration began with Kasato Maru ship with 781 Japanese. Today, in Brazil, we have the largest Japanese community outside of Japan.

    I want to honor all immigrants who have had the courage to leave their own country and come to such a distant place, with strange habits, new foods, and way of life so different.

    To honor, especially, my family, who came in the 60"s. They had a very difficult life, with many sacrifices, many tears, a lot of famine, many desperations, but they never gave up.

    They practiced TAN REN* in their daily lives. They overcame each obstacle with much effort, with great effort. And, it"s that courage, it"s this TAN REN that I seek. It is in the example of my family that I find strength, determination to face all the difficulties that life imposes on us.

    Today, part of my family is returning to Japan, as Brazilian immigrants trying to live a better life in Japan. It is with great sadness that I see this exodus because it is giving up a country that was built by immigrants of all races. They are giving up all the effort and struggle that have been conquered by our ancestors ... It"s a shame ...

    I see in Sensei, in NITEN, a hope ... There is a gigantic effort from Sensei, in bringing the best of the Japanese culture, adapting to the Brazilian way of life.
    I see in Sensei the TAN REN of the ancient ancestors, and I respect him deeply for giving us this example.



    The baby is me, YUMI, the Brazilian who is with her parents and grandmother, the Japanese immigrants.
    Arigatou gozaimashita"

    Yumi
    Rio de Janeiro Unit



    *TAN REN = Expression mentioned in the Golden Moments approaching Strenght, Resilience etc








    12-Jun-2018

    16 TBIK 11



    Meloni x Weber - Shiai of Graduates in the 16th TBIK
    Nito Tsuki (Two-Sword Competitor Attacks Opponent´s Neck)

    Sensei´s Review:
    What we can see in this fight is the result obtained with the practice of our warming-up with two swords, Kihon Nito.
    At Niten, even the warm-up strengthens you in the combat. Do not underestimate ...




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