Bunkai and Kagamimochi

Monday's class was taken by a sensei well versed in Aikijutsu, so as we ran through some of the kata (Saifa, Seiyunchin, Shisochin, etc), we also practiced the Bunkai, or applications, on each other, with particular focus on the various ways of breaking an opponent's grip on one's arm.  There will be plenty more on this subject in the future, but the interesting point for me was that there are always at least four or five, probably many more, ways of applying any single move in a kata, and many of these applications are deliberately hidden. You must either figure them out by continuous practice and trial and error, or else be taught directly by someone who knows.  There is a very strong sense of this in the dojo and in Okinawa GoJuRyu in general: that not everything is for popular consumption, and that many techniques must be kept obscure and not taught openly.  This "esoteric" aspect is something to be gone into in more depth in future blogs, but it makes sense given how dangerous some of the knowledge can be.

Continuing last time's aisatsu theme, as you enter the dojo, there is an Shinto altar on the right containing a deity - this must also be greeted.  At the start and end of each session, everyone kneels before the altar at the front, and after closing their eyes briefly in concentration, bows to the altar, then to the Kancho or head of the dojo, and then to the instructors and each other.  As you leave the dojo, you can greet the god in the traditional Japanese way - bow twice, clap twice, and then bow once.  However, I have not seen many people go this far.

At the start of the year, the altar has kagamimochi, a traditional New Year decoration consisting of two rice cakes and a bitter orange, placed on it. This practice, according to wikipedia, was introduced into martial arts dojos in 1884 by the founder of judo, Mr. Jigoro Kano, and is now widespread throughout Japan.