Ryu Kyu Kobujutsu 

Yuishinkai

 

Background: 

Yuishinkai Kobojutsu was founded in the 1940s by the late Japanese martial art grandmaster Inoue Gansho. The words mean the group that strives for "earnest and sincere training of the body and mind through martial art training,  weapon training, and karate."

 

Inoue had experienced the horrors of the war and wanted the younger generation to have more peaceful and healthful alternatives. He tried to guide the students back to the traditional path, away from"an unhealthy emphasis on competition," and give a method to meet life through their training.

 

Inoue Gansho founded to promote and preserve martial arts in the original armed and unarmed format. 

He felt that competition and mindless, egotist teachers, were diverting the martial arts from the real path. He was concerned that people were training only for point-scoring, and no longer seriously cultivated Zanshin (physical and mental alertness) ma-ai (distancing - similar to defensive space) tai sabaki (body movement to avoid conflict mentally and physically) and kata(physical and mental posture and attitude)

 

Bo, the Japanese word for martial, embraces the concept of "using a stronger force, with upright, good intent, to stop or control violence in others and more so in yourself."

 

The real aim of classical martial arts, Inoue says, is to cultivate "a peaceful, humility, and respect for self and others." It is a method to "meet life" with the awareness to avoid conflict, but "always to be in control, if a conflict is inevitable."

 

Traditional weapons training cultivated the "right mind" of Kokomo, the right thoughts, right attitude, and action that help to avoid conflict.

 

Sensai Eddie says traditional martial arts train the body and the mind because the two are one.

 

The warrior must be a scholar & the scholar a warrior. The pen & the sword are not separate. We train the body to educate the mind and a healthy mind will, in turn, teach the body.

This is the lesson of balance   - O'senai 

 

Traditional training learns about life and death. When students learn about death, they learn the value of life and the preservation of life.  When a student learns about death, they are more likely to avoid conflict. 

 

Gary's first lesson in the martial art was  "it is effortless to hurt, but it takes many months to heal." 

 

This parallels the highest value of the Jewish faith the value life,

 

"To save a life is to save an entire world ."

 

Not just the saving of life, but the value and life, we celebrate to live, we strive to enliven life, ours and others in doing so we tie ourselves to the form of all life. 

 

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Increasing numbers are returning to traditional martial art practice not only to defend themselves, but to improve mind, body, and spirit, and to learn to avoid and neutralize conflict.  "The authentic values of the martial arts lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants."

 

Ultimately, traditional martial arts are about conquering the self, the most critical opponent a person will ever have to confront.

 

Jardine quotes an ancient Eastern wisdom

 

"to conquer a 1000 men in 1000 battles is not the ultimate aim. The true warrior learns to conquer himself."

 

Summed up in the words of our sages:

 

אזה גיבור משהו כבש את יצרו״

"Who is a warrior, he who conquers his desires" 

 

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