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How to Fin&Joi

A TraditionaJapaneseRy



Ancient Traditions In A Modern World

By Wayne Muromoto

As a writer, I've received surpris-ingly fewletters - of complaintsorcomplments - directly from readersof mymartial arts magazine articles.Maybe it's because my chosen beatdoesn't force me to get involved inall contemporary ego-politics andone-upmanship shenanigans so rife inthe American martial arts field. Ofmynoninvolvement in those arguments,I amforever grateful. .But of the few letters I've

received, most of them have asked mefor some advice on how to find andjoin a Ico-ryu (Old, tradi tionalJapanese martial arts as opposed toshin-budo ("newer" martial arts suchas karate-do, aikido, judo, kendo,kyudo, and so on). The letters arewell-meaning, and after a few ofthem, I believe that some advicemight do well in print, especiallyafter a spate of other articles onhow to avoid fake shin-budo schools.

Ko-ryu and Shin-budo

First-of all, we must make aqualified and tentative definition ofthe difference between shin-budo and

the ko-ryu. The late Donn F.Draeger'sdelineation is quite explicit,especially whenhe used to talk aboutbujutsu and budo, which is basicallywhat wemeanby Ico-ryu and shin-budo.Bujutsu schools, by their veryname, are more closely tied to actual"battlefield" methods, in the sensethat the kata and methodology arerelatively unchanged from. when theywere found to be successful on aclassical warrior's battlefield.Note that we said "classicalwarrior's battlefield." The bujutsuschools couldn't care less aboutwhether the techniques look good in atournament down in Butte, Montana orin the urban streets of Chicago.

One of the most important and mis-understood concepts of the Ico-ryu isits respect and reverence fortradition. The u.s. is a mere 200years old, so it may be natural formany of us to denigrate tradition asso much needless claptrap. In manyways, breaks with bad traditions -such as slavery and the lower statusof women - are good. But that Is notalways the case when It comes to allcultural and artistic traditions.A student of the Owari Yagyu familyShinkage-ryu, Miek Skoss, once put itthis way to me: if the Ico-ryu has asits reason for existence the

practicality of their techniques forcontemporary street fighting, theirtechniques would have been alteredlong ago. Such a style would havelong since thrown out empty-hand orsword techniques for learning how tohandle a loaded .45 pistol. But theydidn't, and the reason why might

include the following:For one thing, we are talking about

fami ly traditions. Stop thinkingabout martial arts as. a machosel f-defense ego tripping endeavor,for a moment, and think of it is afami ly artistic tradition like teaceremony or flower arrangement. Eachgeneration of a family that inheritsthe lineage can add to or alter theexisting forms or kata of all suchJapanese arts, but they must never

step out of the flow that has comedown from the family founders. Inthis way, they pay their respects totheir ancestors and continue a flowbased on an ancestor's god-giveninspiration.This is the reason why styles are

denoted by appending the term -ryu atthe end of their names, such asshito-ryu, or daito-ryu, or goju-ryu.The character for ryu can also bepronounced nagare. Nagare means flow,as in a flowing river. The founder ofa ryu is its fountainhead, itswellspring. Whathe or she developedis the flow of the river, with itsmany tributaries and branches. Thatriver is the ryu, or style.

As students of a Ico-ryu, we can putour feet into the ryu, take a drinkof the river, and help the stylealong. As we get water and nourish-ment from the river, or nagare, sotoo our responsibility lies in seeingthat the ryu is ever-flowing, everclean. We can come and go, but theryu flows along its way, nourishedfrom amaster in the past.So in the example of swordsmanship,

it will matter little if we can use

the methods dir~ctly in a self-defense situation in our modernstreets. What matters is thattheories and strategies set down by.the ryu founders st ill come acrossclearly to us, decade after decade.

In contrast, the shin-budO arerelatively recent arrivals on theJapanese martial arts scene. Theearliest of the shin-budo, judo andkendo, are modern inventions, from amodern society, peopled largely bymerchants and businessmen. Whenjudowas organized, the day of the samuraiwas long gone. So the actual need forsuch older Ico-ryu also disappeared.What the modern founders sought to dowas to mold old fighting arts intosomething that would be of spiritual,physical, and mental benefit to themodern individual. Notice here thatwe don't say anything about fighting.Self-defense is. a very distant andfrivolous topping to the essentialmeanings of shin-budo such as judo,kendo, aikido, and karate-do.This Is not to imply that a shin-

budo disciple is incapable ofhandling himself. I've mesome of thetoughest men and women in judo,

aikido, and karate-do who, because oftheir physical and mental toughness,could take on all comers in any free-for-all. Simple from the sheardiscipline involved and their topphys ical shape, followers of shin-budo are tough. .shin-budo may also follow

tradition, but for the sportive shin-budo such as karate-do, kendo andjudo, competition is an importantpart of training. Transforming budo

into a sport allows for innovationand alteration of techniques not towin on a battle-field, but in anarena where there are rules andregulations.Along with these differences is amatter of taste. Writer Dave Lowryonce likened shin-budO and the Ico-ryuto beer and fine wine.. Both havetheir special tastes, and both havetheir uses. Some people are beerdrinkers and some are wineconnoisseurs. The Ico-ryu is like finewine, aged and with a delicate andsubtle taste. The shin-budo is likegood beer. And like fine wine, theIco-ryu is not for everyone, "hereasgood beer is available enough so that

many people can drink it.Most people are content to be partof a shin-budo, and in actuality, theIco-ryu is not ever going to be apopular pastime in the States becausein its purest form, it will notchange to fit our lifestyle: we haveto change to fit the Ico-ryu. So ifyou are perfectly contented studyingkarate from a good teacher, there isno reason why you .should spend allyour money seeking out a Ico-ryumaster. Especially when they arestill rare in the U.S. and many whodo claim to be are frauds.But supposing you knowall this and

sti II feel that the Ico-ryu are fnryou, What do you do?

Finding a 1C0-ryu

Step one is finding a school. Theyusua II y aren't money-making ventures,so don't go looking for them in theYellow Pages or in shopping mall ads.Your best bet is to ask. Kendoteachers may know of another kendoteacher who is teaching Ico-ryu iai toa few students. Or a judo teacher mayknow someone licensed in ju- jutsu.Also, taking an active interest inJapanese cultural clubs is a good wayto build up contacts and friendships.A tea ceremony teacher might knowofa friend who has a menkyo (teachinglicense) In a naginata school, forexample. It would be best to go thisroute in any case, since the Ico-ryuare still mostly taught by Japanesenationals or people who have spentlong years in Japan and maintain aclose tie to Japanese culture.



Whenyou do find a lead, you wiIIfind that your comections with localJapanese or Japanese-Americans mightbe a plus, because your nutual friendwill have to serve as a shoka i foryou. It is possible to silJ1)ly walkoff the streets and be accepted in aschool, but the easiest way of beingfully accepted is to have a nutualfriend introduce you to the teacher.Having someone shokai for you meansthat the friend is - in an unspokenand informal way- vouching for yourreliability and moral character. Inlong ago Japan, entrance into old

schools were almost always done onthis basis, someone within the schoolor well-known by the headmaster wouldhave to vouch for you.In this era, the shokai is not

necessary, but it's a good way tostart off on the right foot.Because the ko-ryu are usually non-

moneymaking ventures, classes aresmall and tuition is free or minimal.There are no real strictures againstasking to observe the first session,to see if the style is to yourliking.If you observe the practice

session, it would do well to realizethat you are being watched as closelyas you are watching the practice. Not

that you're being acutely scrutinizedfrom head to foot, but how you carryyourself, how you act in thissituation will affect whether youwill be accepted or not.In my experience, I've seen some

people come in, quietly removingtheir shoes or slippers, and bowingand asking to observe practice. Oncegiven approval, someof them will sitin seiza (formal sitting position) orstand without slouching. Whenpractice is over, they will waituntil the sensei (teacher) isfinished with the formal part ofclass and then ask questions of thesensei or the senior students. AndI've also seen people tr8lJ1) into the

practice hall with their shoes cakedwith dirt, ask to watch, and thendrape their bodies over a pile ofmats in the corner. One guess as towhich of the two examples is allowedto join and which of the two can bearthe discipline and practice?There is no problem with asking

questions about the ryu's history andphil osophy, as weII as some of thebasic techniques or things such asclub dues etc. But don't think you'llbe appreciated if you begin needl ingthe ryu's members about the meaningsbehind some of the higher-leveltechniques or its okuden (secretteachings). Even with many of theokuden nowwritten down in books (in

Japanese, at least), practitioners ofthe ko-ryu are still wary of silJ1)lygiving out such information to anyonewho stumbles into their dojo(training hall). Reading about it isone thing, actually learning themethods are another thing, and a lot

of the forms are still carefully keptfrom those judged too inmature.Maturity in a potential student isthe most important characteristic,ahead of physical ability orintelligence. One karate student wasintent on joining the loca, jo (shortstaff) club here in Hawaii, so heshowed his earnestness by running upa steep hill that led to the practiceground, baring his chest, growl ing,letting out loud kiai (yells), anddoing hundreds of sit ups andgyaku-zuki (front punches) in frontof our dojo before practice. One of

my sensei silJ1)ly thought the fellowwas a bit loony. He was never allowedinto the ryu, and he could neverfigure out why.What will you see? Don't expect tosee unkept louts screaming andassuming fantastic stances as seen ina chanbara, the sanurai equivalent ofour cowboy western movies. It's asure bet that if people are doingthings that look like they copied itfrom a sanurai movie, they've madeuptheir style cOlJ1)letely fromcelluloid. Don't expect, either, nuchmodern innovation beyond plastic usedfor the tsuba (sword guard) for somebokken (wooden swords). Authent ic leo-ryu sword styles will never use -asI found demonstrated in one articleby a supposed American swordmaster -shovels to ilJ1)rove their swing, foampillows as target dummies, or cushionchairs to sit in meditation.As a rule (save for some very

unusual styles such as the famousJigen-ryu kenjutsu school), most leo-ryu kata are spare and conservativeto the point of being boring to theeyes of an untrained observer.Also, don't expect a Ico-ryu toresentlle karate very nuch. Karate,even in its Japanized form, has itsroots In Okinawa, an island culturethat is very different and separatefrom old Japanese culture. Not onlyare many of the kamae (stances) of

the kO-ryu different, but even theweaponry are very, very d if ferent,save for some basic implements suchas the bo (long staff). Except forbasics or kata for iai or

batto-jitsu, most of the leo-ryu katarequire a partner. The kata, unlikemany advanced karate kata, areusually quite short and simple.Listen to what the teacher or

senior student says, how he or shepresents the ryu. Be aware of thecharacteristics of the ko-ryu andwatch how students and teachersconduct themselves. If it is actuallyconnected with an old school ofJapanese martial arts, then you arebound to see a lot of etiquette and

dignity involved, carried over fromthe traditional culture that gavebirth to the Ico-ryu. Don't look formacho-out types with crazy looks intheir eyes. Look instead at howhumanely and dignified people are intreating other people. Don't even

expect to see a display of bulgingIlUScles. Ico-ryu schools preferunderstated clothing: a silJ1)le whitegi, for eX8IJ1)1e,or a hakama over adark blue keikogi.

Once You're In

Now let's suppose that in spite ofall the fakery, hype and simplescarcity of leo-ryu, you happen tostumble onto a good school. Once youbegin, what should you expect? Don'texpect to be decked out in fancysatin pajamas, doing your kata to the

latest top ten nusic beat. For manypeople, the leo-ryu might be simplyboring.Gi and perhaps hakama, simple

black, indigo blue or white. Verylittle, if any patches, insignia orentIlems. A spotless and sparepractice hall. And repetition.Endless repetition of basic moves andkata, year in and year out, unti lthey become part of your body andmind.Can you handle doing hundreds of

men-uchi (head cuts), practice afterpractice? Or as in the case of iai,havi ng to endl ess l y repeat theinitial drawing and cutting motionbefore ever learning the first kata?

If this sounds like I'm trying todiscourage those amongyou with shortattention spans, whoneed to dress upin open-chested gari sh costumes ordisplay five foot tournament trophiesin your living room on top of yourTV set, I am. The ko-ryu are not foreverybody. And while I have person-ally found nuch satisfaction intraining in various Ico-ryu, I wouldhesitate to popularize an art formthat is, to be honest, el itist andexclusive.

Going back to writer Dave Lowry'sanalogy, the Ico-ryu and shin-budo arelike fine wine and good beer; bothare all right, and either are chosenaccording to your tastes. But as

Draeger concluded in his monumentalthree-volume book on budo andbujutsu, both have nuch to learn fromeach other. The leo-ryu could do wellto open up its doors a bi t to morepeople, so that more people canunderstand the heart and root ofJapanese martial arts. And the shin-budo would do to heed the way the leo-ryu has retained its dignity andgrace over centuries of trial anderror. Maybe a little bit of dignityand self-pride should be infused intothe shin-budO to drag it out of itsdregs of moronic and childishbehavior on the part of its morevocal and small-minded exponents.Time will tell, and so will a new

generation of martial arts studentswho are even now studying in Japan.They may soon herald a new wave ofmartial arts on the fertile shores ofthe United States. Whether they willbe enough to displace the ralJ1)ant ko-ryu fakes remains to be seen.



However, once through all of this,and if you do find that you mesh witha legitimate and authentic leo-ryu,then count yourself lucky. The leo-ryuare still a rare phenomenon in theU.S. and the odds of stumbling acrosssuch a school are quite low. So low,in fact, that if you really wanted toinvol ve yourself in a leo-ryu, thebest bet still is to go to Japan andspend over two years getting to knowthe basics of a system. Yep. Twoyears to learn only the basics. leo-ryu training is measured in thedecades, not by months or years.But

-and here's the lure of the

leo-ryu . there is no end to them. Youcan spend years in it and still findsecrets and meanings that illuminateyour practice; give it new life. Andin the decades of training, the leo.ryu also teaches lessons that can beapplied to the rest of your life. YouwiII find yourself subtly beingmolded by the dignified and event~ered manner of these warrior artsthat stretch back hundreds of years.For anyone wiII ing to spend the

time and effort, the leo-ryu are likedrinking cool and l He-rejuvenatingwaters that f low from a deep andancient fountain.

NOTE:One practical resource infinding out whether a leo-ryu teacher

in America is a fraud or not is byquerying JMAS,the Japan Martial ArtsSociety, clo C.P.O., Box 279, Tokyo,Japan 100. JMASis an organizationof English-speaking martial artsstudents in Japan, many of whomareengaged in a study of one or more leo-ryu styles. This is the best clearinghouse for all queries, since manyother organizations that claim torepresent mainstream leo-ryu inAmerica are suspect or inflate theirclaims to an unbelievable degree.JMASis not an official sanctioning

organization per se, but is a looseafti l i ation of foreign-born martial

arts practitioners in Japan whosponsor lectures, seminars andpubl ications in Engl ish on variousaspects of traditional Japanesemartial arts.

AbcU !he 8UIhar:Wayne Muromoto 18 a frequentcontributor to martial art:s publicalionL

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