Today, 19th Feb, is Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti or the birth anniversary of Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji Maharaj, who lived between 1630 and 1680, was the founder of the Maratha Empire (later Confederacy) that grew to be the most powerful political and military entity in India in the 18th century. He is also an extremely influential historical and cultural icon in modern India.
Portrait of Shivaji Maharaj. Image credit – Wikipedia
Shivaji Maharaj is an icon because of his military, political and social achievements. There are several books, series and movies featuring his life. His life is filled with several instances of derring-do, each of which, if not known history, would seem like the imagination of a great script writer. Shivaji and many of his military leaders were involved in acts of military heroism and greatness that are remembered to this day. Listening to the stories of their escapades is a hair raising, goose-bump inducing experience to this day, simply because these were audacious and carried out against overwhelming odds. Some of these would perhaps be called “Special Forces” operations if they had occurred in contemporary times.
Listed below are some of the incredible victories of Shivaji Maharaj and his military leaders in the second half of the 17th century. These are the ones that are top of mind for me, not a comprehensive listing.
The Battle of Pratapgarh, Nov 1659 – Shivaji Maharaj killed Afzal Khan with his Bagh Nakh during this conflict.
The Battle of Pavankhind (Ghodkhind) July 1660 – Maratha General Baji Prabhu Deshpande with 300 troops held back a Bijapur army many times its own size in a narrow pass allowing Shivaji Maharaj to escape.
Battle of Surat, Jan 1664 – Shivaji Maharaj led a daring night attack against much larger Mughal forces led by Shaista Khan.
Escape from Agra, Aug 1666 – Shivaji Maharaj and his son Sambhaji were political prisoners in Agra. They escaped through stealth, without a military action.
Battle of Singhagad (Kondhana)*, Feb 1670 – Maratha General Tanhaji Malusare and his troops scaled the walls of the Kondhana fort to defeat Mughal forces in a surprise attack.
Capture of Panhala fort, 1673 – Maratha commander Kondaji Farzand is supposed to have captured the fortress of Panhala with just 60 men, defeating a garrison of 2500 men (I am not aware if this is confirmed history of if folklore is mixed with history).
Battle of Umrani, 1674– Maratha General Prataprao Gujar led Maratha troops to victory against the army of the Bijapur Sultanate. There is a story relating to this battle where 7 Maratha warriors attacked the enemy camp, losing their lives in the process, but leading to an eventual Maratha victory.
Southern conquest – Shivaji Maharaj embarked on a conquest of many parts of Southern India between 1674 and 1680. This was in the direction opposite to that of their primary threat, the Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb! This military action later allowed the Marathas to survive the 26 year long Mughal-Maratha war.
Bahirji Naik – He was supposed to the spy master for Shivaji Maharaj, who was instrumental is several successful military campaigns. I am not aware of the full details of his specific role in the many military actions of the then fledgling Maratha Kingdom (it became an Empire later).
Maratha navy – The Marathas built a coastal navy which for many decades was a match for the Siddis of Janjira and all the European navies operating off the Indian coast at that time.
Consider the first battle mentioned above, the Battle of Pratapgarh. This occurred in late 1659 between the army of the Adil Shashi Sultanate of Bijapur and the Maratha Army. The Adil Shashi army was led by Afzal Khan and the Marathas were led by Shivaji. Afzal Khan was supposed to have been a giant of a man, standing somewhere between 6’6” and 7’ tall, and suitably large as well. Shivaji was supposed to have been about 5’6”.
This is a representation of the size disparity that was likely between Afzal Khan and Shivaji Maharaj!
The Marathas could not win in a pitched field battle and Afzal Khan’s troops could not face the Marathas in the hills and jungles. So, there was a siege of sorts of the Pratapgarh fort. A parley was arranged to allow for negotiation and perhaps a surrender of the Marathas without bloodshed. Afzal Khan and Shivaji were supposed to meet without any weapons and one bodyguard each to parley.
They are supposed to have met in a tent. Afzal Khan had a dagger hidden in the robes of his garments. Shivaji Maharaj did not trust Afzal Khan and hence wore chain mail armour under his garment. Shivaji also wore a Bagh Nakh (sometimes called the Wagh Nakh). This is a small weapon that resembles the claws of a tiger and is worn on the palm. “Wagh” or “Bagh” means “tiger” and “Nakh” means “claws”. The weapon is worn through rings on the fore and little fingers. The weapon is not visible and stays hidden in the hand. An opponent in front only sees two finger rings at first glance. Images of the bagh nakh and how it was carried are seen below.
A representation of a “bagh nakh” / “wagh nakh”
When they met in the tent to parley, Afzal Khan is supposed to have invited Shivaji for an embrace as he was the son of his friend. Afzal Khan knew Shivaji’s father who was also in the service of the Bijapur Sultanate. When the two embraced, Afzal Khan is supposed to have used his massive size and strength to try and crush the much smaller Shivaji. When this failed due to the chain mail, the large man drew his dagger and attempted to stab his opponent to death. This also failed as the dagger did not penetrate the mail shirt.
In defence against this attack, Shivaji used the bagh nakh against Afzal Khan. He managed to disembowel and kill the gigantic enemy General. With their General dead, the Bijapur army was routed by the Maratha forces. With this victory, the “Bagh Nakh” has achieved eternal fame in Indian military history.
A representation of how a bagh nakh is worn
The bagh nakh is memorable to such an extent that it is today used as the nickname of the 21st Batallion of the Special Para. This is one of Special Forces units of India. The unit is referred to as the “wagh nakhs”, “Tiger’s Claws”!
Considering my blog is about the intersection between Hindu culture, Indian history and the martial arts, here is the link between the use of the bagh nakh mentioned above and the martial arts. As my readers may know, I am a practitioner of the Bujinkan system of martial arts. The Bujinkan is a martial art of Japanese origin.
In the Bujinkan system, there is a close quarters weapon that is used, called “Shuko”. The shuko is no different from the bagh nakh. It was used historically as a tool to aid in climbing trees or scaling walls. The shuko was worn on the arms of the user and could double up as a weapon in a pinch. There is a version of the shuko that is worn on the legs, which also helps in climbing. An image of the training version of the shuko is seen below.
A representation of training version of a Shuko
The shuko can be used in grappling against an opponent wearing armour, by using the hooks or claws as points of leverage against the armour. They can also be used against unarmoured opponents to get past clothing and cause flesh wounds. In extreme situations, they can be used as protection for the palms when blocking a strike by a staff or even a sword. They are not guaranteed to protect the hand, but might improve the chances of reducing injuries. This potential use of the shuko as a weapon, shows that it is nothing but a Japanese version of the bagh nakh. Both versions of the same weapon seem to have come in handy in a really tight spot!
Another training version of the Shuko, with spikes instead of hooks
The equivalence between the bagh nakh and the shuko is the main purpose of this article, as elucidated above. But beyond this, I can see similarities in the military ways of the Marathas and the original teachings of the Bujinkan. One of the aspects taught in the Bujinkan system is “Ninpo Taijutsu”, also called “Ninjutsu”. There are 18 parts of study related to Ninjutsu, some of which include unconventional warfare.
Dr. Kacem Zoughari, a long time senior practitioner of the Bujinkan, has written a book about the history and origins of Ninjutsu, called “The Ninja, The Secret History of Ninjutsu: Ancient Shadow Warriors of Japan”. A link to this book is seen in the notes below. In this book, he gives many examples of how Shinobi were used in medieval times. A lot of these examples would seem like examples of sabotage and infiltration activities today.
The use of surprise raids and actions, using fire or darkness to allow small units to gain an advantage over larger forces are examples one sees in the book. This is pretty much the same thing that the Marathas employed against their more numerous opponents, who also had access to greater resources. The Marathas are always known for guerrilla warfare in the Indian mind. So, in the early stages of the formation of the Maratha Empire, their military actions were very similar to how the Shinobi operated in a roughly contemporaneous period in Japan.
I am not suggesting that either the Shinobi or the Marathas had any role in the evolution of the tactics and methods of the other. It is, in my opinion, a case of convergent evolution when faced by similar situations. But what this does reveal is that we in India have perhaps not done enough to popularize the actual combat methods of the Marathas.
The Marathas and Shivaji Maharaj are likely more popular in India than the Ninja are in Japan. But the study of the actual martial arts of historic Japan are definitely more prevalent when compared to those in India (including those of the Marathas). Yes, Mardani Khela, the martial art of the Marathas is still very popular in Maharashtra and other parts of India – but more as a performance and demonstration art. I am not sure if there are manuals of Maratha techniques that have been compiled and the same can be practiced today.
A bagh nakh integrated with a bichua (scorpion) knife
Perhaps seeing links with traditional martial arts in other countries will bring India to document her own traditional fighting arts, as more than dance, gymnastics and other performances. If traditional fighting arts can be documented elsewhere, the same can be done here, and the process might reveal a lot, like its application in other walks of life. This is perhaps as much a pranaam to Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj as is preserving his memory and legacy of patriotism and valour.
Notes –
The Ninja, The Secret History of Ninjutsu: Ancient Shadow Warriors of Japan – Dr. Kacem Zoughari
* A link to an older post of mine, where I discuss the attack on the fortress of Kondhana and other such forts.
Learning from oral transmission and experiences in the training spaces
The purpose of this series of posts is multi-fold. Firstly, it is a resource I can share with people who are not practitioners of the martial arts. For most of us, a majority of the people we interact with do not practice any form of martial art. Sharing ideas and practices about martial arts might require some “first principles” like definitions, overarching themes and ideas and objectives of the art form. Hopefully this series will be that resource.
Secondly, it is an opportunity for me to look back at my own thoughts about the Bujinkan. The thoughts are a document I can refer in the future to see if I my thinking has changed or evolved.
Lastly, practitioners of the Bujinkan who are relatively new to the system and long-time practitioners who might need a look back at aspects from earlier years could use this as a starting point for further discovery. There are several practitioners and Sensei of the Bujinkan with a lot more experience compared to me, who share content about the art form and the system. I strongly recommend that everyone consume the content from those sources. This series is possibly an index to search further in those sources.
So, this series in not a deep dive, it is more like a primer of my thoughts with scope for expansion in each aspect. Most importantly, whatever knowledge can be gleaned from this series is a conversation starter or direction pointer at best; it does not in any way replace actual training in a dojo with fellow budoka and a teacher who can help one progress.
In the first post of this series, I had given an introduction to this series and defined some basic concepts that would be revisited during subsequent posts. In the second post, I had looked in greater detail at the “Ten Chi and Jin”, which is considered the “basics” of the Bujinkan. In the third post, I discussed in brief the 5 styles of fighting and the 9 schools that make up the Bujinkan system of martial arts. In the fourth post I discussed the use of weapons as a part of training in the Bujinkan and martial arts in general, which in my opinion is the most important aspect of the martial arts. In this part, I will discuss how learning occurs in the Bujinkan and perhaps in most martial arts around the world. This is last of the aspects I had referred to as the “physical aspects” of the Bujinkan. These are seen in the screenshot below. The topic highlighted is the focus of this article.
This post refers to the actual training, learning, experience, expression and realization that happens in the space where martial arts training occurs. The space of training can be called dojo, akhada, kalari, garadi mane, gym or by any other name depending on the part of the world one is training in. The finer points of the various concepts, forms, weapons and their use, and the nuances of the movement and its flow; all of these can only ever be assimilated when one actually trains physically with a teacher and fellow practitioners (hopefully both senior and junior in martial experience).
It is because of the experiential nature and perpetual flow of learning that it is impossible to document it all. It is documented at a personal level and in most cases, perhaps never. Most individuals just use the martial arts to generate wisdom and lead a good life, and never bother to document their learning and journey. This aspect will be expanded upon later in this post.
A representation of experiential learning. Credit for the images – Left & Centre – “Mahabharata 5 – Enter Drona”, published by Amar Chitra Katha, Right – “Mahabharata 16 – Pandavas conquer the World”, published by Amar Chitra Katha
The words spoken by the teacher and fellow practitioners and experiences shared while training form the oral transmission part of the training. Each person hears everything differently and develops a system of movement that works for her or him individually. This works over years of training because the objective is learning and not teaching.
A representation of learning with a teacher. Credit for the images – “Mahabharata 5 – Enter Drona”, published by Amar Chitra Katha
Again, because there are as many variations of learning as there are people, it is impossible to document in any media. To give an analogy from Hindu culture, it is said that there are 300 versions of the Ramayana. But since every person who consumes any version experiences some part of the epic differently from every other person who consumes the same, a new personalized version is created for that person. So, there are in reality, as many versions of the Ramayana as there are people who experience the same in any media. And this changes every time there is another experience depending on the media of experience or the situation of the person, in terms of age and physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual states. So, there literally are infinite versions of the Ramayana. This same is true of actual martial arts training.
This nature of learning is why most of the training is called “Kuden”, in the Bujinkan system. The “ku” in kuden is refers to empty space and “den” comes from the word “densho”. Densho refers to the scroll or book of teachings which is more like a syllabus. So, kuden means learning that is not contained in or cannot be obtained from a written document. In the modern world, densho can extend to videos or any other media available through social media and digital technology. Thus, literally everything that is learnt ONLY from experience can be classified under kuden.
A representation of learning by practice. Sketch by Vishnu Mohan.
Another analogy here from Hindu tradition is the difference between Shruthi and Smriti. Shruti refers to that which is heard and hence is analogous to the kuden mentioned above. Smriti refers to that which is documented (in the past it was books). Many a time, Shruthi could be some knowledge created due to a wonderful revelation that has occurred in a moment of great inspiration. This adds to one’s own and also to the learning of others. Of course, the inspiration in that special moment itself could be due to earlier experiences, learning, wisdom, or exposure to some Shruthi or Smriti. Also, over time, some Shruthi could become Smriti, if it becomes commonplace and can be documented to the advantage of many practitioners. This is when a densho gets created to supplement or replace kuden. Even this article could be considered a personal Smriti of years of Shruthi on my part.
A representation of “Shruthi”, or learning from the spoken word in the presence of a teacher. Image credit – “Mahabharata 1 – Veda Vyasa”, published by Amar Chitra Katha
Going by this analogy and the defined concept, all the other 4 parts before this one, where I discuss my understanding of the Bujinkan, where I have discussed the physical aspect of martial arts training, are a broad documentation that can be used to “learn about” the Bujinkan and maybe about martial arts in general. But the information there cannot be used to “learn” either the Bujinkan or the any other martial art. It is information about the martial art form, but not a guide to learning the martial art.
A representation of “Densho” or “Smriti”, a manual a student can use for practice. Sketch by Vishnu Mohan.
An aside here – I am adding a bit of personal opinion. I think learning happens through the skin, by means of osmosis while training in the dojo or an equivalent space. Many a time one is confused in the mind and hence learning is not active. Seeing and hearing lead to a semblance of imitation, but not learning. Also, I have never heard of anyone learn through smell and taste. Therefore based on what I have experienced and seen, learning seems to be through the skin, and passive. Maybe someone can share more details based on their knowledge & experience.
Considering that the martial arts lend themselves to learning through personal experience and not all of it is documented, an important concept takes shape. The one of the “martial journey” or “Shugyo” as it is referred to in Japanese. Over the years of training any martial art, one likely trains with multiple teachers and their respective students. These teachers contribute one’s experience and realizations through their own expressions of the art forms. These teachers might be from different countries, cultures and backgrounds, all of which adds to the learnings.
Then there is the exposure to knowledge from other media that is available today, like YouTube, books, and any other media. There are also online workshops and conferences that while not great for starting one’s martial journey, are great tools to share knowledge. All of this leads to one’s growth as a martial artist. Due to the long time this takes and perhaps the journey across many geographies, it is a journey in a very real sense. This journey is where one finds expressions of kuden by different individuals. Also, every time one finds a new set of documented experiences of kuden from a martial artist one has not trained with before, that is a new station in one’s martial journey as well.
One last point about the martial journey is that it is not necessarily a linear one. It helps one buttress one’s existing learning and add layers to one’s own experience. It also, more importantly, allows one to remember concepts that have been forgotten, basics that have not been revisited and practices that have been discontinued to one’s detriment. In this sense, it is a reminder and hence a circular journey to reconnect with basics or roots and make them stronger.
Word of caution – All of the above is my personal experience from class. It could be different from those of others, and I could be wrong in some of my perceptions. For details of specific concepts, techniques and forms, I recommend people train and experience the art form on their own. Barring that, there are several books and videos by the Soke (Hatsumi Sensei) himself, and then there is content in various media by people who have trained from around the time I was born or even before that. So, there is a lot of experience to immerse oneself in.
This is the last post that delves into physical aspects of the Bujinkan. The next series of 5 posts will deal with the non-physical aspects of the Bujinkan. These are seen in the screenshot seen below. I will start this series of posts in late March or April ’25.
Today, 29th January, 2025, is the Chinese New Year. This year is the “Year of the Snake”. More specifically, it is the “Year of the Wood Snake”, “wood” being the element associated with the animal of the zodiac this year. Due to historical cultural connections between China & Japan, we use the zodiac animal associated with the year as inspiration for training, every now and then, in the Bujinkan (which is of Japanese origin). This is not a norm, but something that is not uncommon either. Snakes are animals that have a strong presence in Hindu culture. So, me being a Hindu, a Budoka, and someone who has a deep respect for snakes, inspired me to write this article.
Everyone knows of the main aspects that are considered advantages in the martial arts. These generally are strength, speed and agility. Skill and experience can offset some of these. But weapons mitigate the advantage physical prowess provides. This includes both offensive and defensive weapons. In my previous post, from last week, I had discussed the importance of weapons in the martial arts*. This seems like a nice follow-up. One advantage that weapons additionally provide is reach, or how far away an attack can be carried out. Modern weapons of course also have “range” which is how large an area can be affected (of course, “range” can also be used interchangeably with “reach”, when it comes to modern weapons).
While training the Bujinkan system of martial arts, one story that everyone learns is that of Ishikawa Goemon. Ishikawa Goemon is a legendary character from the Sengoku Jidai (warring states period) of Japan, which is the second half of the 16th century. Ishikawa Goemon is a shinobi from Iga who tries to assassinate either Oda Nobunaga or Hideyoshi Toyotomi, using poison. I have been told that there are stories which describe him as trying to assassinate one or the other, though neither of them are supposedly strictly historical. In both stories, the attempted assassination fails. Goemon is supposed to have been executed along with his family according to some tales while some supposedly say that he escaped.
Chains that guide rain water into a harvesting area – something like Goemon used to guide poison into his quarry’s mouth?
Despite the failure of the attempt, the means he used in the assassination is fascinating! He gained access to the bed chamber of his target and hid in the rafters overhead. When the quarry was asleep, he let poison drip into the mouth of the sleeping individual over a thin rope. Think of this as the chains used to guide water into a harvesting tank below. The poison only made the target sick but was insufficient to kill the person. This legend was used in a sequence in the James Bond movie “You Live Only Twice” starring Sean Connery.
Another story related to “Ninja” using poison is something I saw in the old Discovery Channel series “Ancient Warriors”. This series showed how various groups of historical warriors fought and lived. This series ran between 1994 and 1995. One episode of this series focused on the Ninja and was titled, “The Ninja: Warrior of the Night”! This series has not aged well. The “facts” shown in the series are questioned and not considered entirely accurate.
In this episode about the “Ninja” a situation is narrated where the ninja assassinate a warlord by sprinkling poison powder on flowers in his garden. The ninjas observe that the warlord takes a stroll in his garden every morning smelling the flowers. They use this behaviour of his to kill him. Even in the episode, the name of the warlord is not mentioned, nor is any context given for the assassination. So, I am not sure if this is historical, and if it is just a story, I would request anyone else who might have heard the same, of its antecedents. Who is being referred to in the story and in what quasi-historical situation? I am attaching a link to a video of this episode in the notes below**.
Irrespective of the provenance of the second story, the two stories mentioned above show that the use of poison is certainly attributed to Shinobi. And this links the Shinobi/Ninja to snakes. Many creatures on our planet have developed “Venom” as a survival strategy. These include molluscs (e.g. snails), arthropods (e.g. scorpions), insects (e.g. wasps), amphibians (e.g. frogs) and reptiles (snakes and lizards). But snakes are undoubtedly “top of mind” when it comes to creatures that use chemical weaponry, namely venom (many a time referred to as “poison’).
An old photo of a Saw Scaled Viper
A small tangent here. Venom is poisonous. I have heard a beautiful explanation regarding when the terms venom and poison should be used. I will repeat the same here. If a snake bites a person and the person dies, the snake is VENOMOUS. If a person bites a snake and the person dies, the snake is POISONOUS. In contrast, if a snake bites a person and the snake dies, the person is POISONOUS. If a person bites a snake and the snake dies, the person is VENOMOUS.
This is why there exist frogs referred to as “Arrow Poison Frogs”. These frogs secrete a venom from their skin. So, if any animal bites these frogs or tries to eat them, the frog is POISONOUS and hence they learn to not consider the frog food. Similarly, there are “poisonous” mushrooms, which if eaten, can kill the individuals who eat them. Now, we go back to the main article.
One of the things that a practitioner of the Bujinkan system learns in the first few months of training is the “Hi Ken Juroppo”. This refers to the 16 ways of striking/hitting an opponent, without weapons. This includes the use of the fists, fingers, elbows, knees, feet etc. Apart from this, a concept called “Shizen Ken” is taught. Shizen Ken can be translated as “natural weapons”. This generally refers to nails, teeth and spit in humans. In other words, one can scratch or bite or spit at opponents. These are not trained as a part of “striking” an opponent as these are considered to be more “natural” or something we do due to our evolutionary past.
When it comes to animals, shizen ken would be horns, claws, fangs, tongues (think chameleons), beaks, and of course, VENOM. Obviously, when we consider weapons, we need to consider defensive weaponry as well, the examples mentioned earlier being exclusively offensive in nature.
Defensive weapons in animals include armours (carapace, cuticle, shell ec) in the case of crocodiles, tortoises and crabs, secretions (like the ink used by squids and octopi and the stink raised by skunks), spikes in porcupines and of course the wide range of camouflage that exists in nature. Beyond these, we can include the warning mechanisms used by animals under shizen ken. This includes the warning sounds used by various animals and the bright display colours that poisonous animals like frogs and caterpillars sport.
If we consider protection developed by various creatures against the heat, cold and the natural elements, this list of “natural weaponry” deployed by life on earth increases manifold! Of course, the development of weaponry is not limited to the animal kingdom. Weapons, mainly defensive ones are seen even in the plant kingdom, like thorns, resins, hard shells and of course poison.
Considering just snakes, they have developed a natural weapon that gives them a huge advantage in the battle for survival. Venomous snakes are distributed all across the world, but not all snakes are venomous. Venom is one of the weapons that snakes have evolved apart from size, speed, camouflage, agility and flexibility, which are seen in many species of snakes, sometimes in conjunction with venom.
An old photo of a young Common Krait. I could be mistaken here, this could be a Wolf Snake, which looks very similar to a Common Krait.
One factor about weapons is that they nullify the advantage proffered by size and strength. This is true in all species. This means that venomous snakes can afford to evolutionarily be smaller in comparison to many other snakes. This also means that they can be ambush hunters and minimize the risk they face from prey, struggling or otherwise. Of course, nature being nature, not all venomous snakes are small. Some rattlers and bushmasters in the Americas grow pretty large. Gaboon Vipers in Africa are large as well, and then there is the King Cobra, which is a very big snake by all standards, by length if not weight and girth. But most venomous snakes can be small or medium sized. In India, the Saw Scaled Viper, the Common Krait and many of the Pit Vipers tend to be on the smaller side according to common parlance. Cobras and Russel’s Vipers are medium sized snakes.
A majestic King Cobra
I have seen on some nature documentaries, the afore mentioned African Gaboon Vipers described as “docile”. This is in relation to its behaviour vis-à-vis humans. Of course, every snake has a different temperament and this is only a general characterization that I have heard. I am not even sure if this observation is correct. But assuming what I have seen is correct, I make the following observation. The Gaboon Viper has very large fangs to deliver venom, the largest of any extant snake. It can deliver a large dose of venom in a single bite. So, if I anthropomorphize the Gaboon Viper, it is so certain of its natural abilities and of course weapons, it has no need for any aggression. It knows its opponents will stay away due to fear or evolutionary knowledge of its weapons. Thus, it can AFFORD to be docile!
The Gaboon Viper also has a fantastic camouflage pattern that resembles the leaf litter on a forest floor. Lastly, it is an ambush hunter. Now consider the following traits. The Gaboon Viper can inject sufficient venom to kill its prey in a single bite – it is therefore armed with lethal weapons. Due to its camouflage, its quarry cannot see it coming. Being an ambush hunter, it can lie in wait for long durations. Consider these traits together – it is literally an Ishikawa Goemon from another species! Of course, there are several other snakes that have the same combination of traits and I am just using this as an example.
A Gaboon Viper amidst leaf litter. Image credit – “1000 Wonders of Nature”, published by Reader’s Digest
In India, in the stories from Hindu culture, there are entities called the “Nagas”. Nagas are depicted as part human and part snake in many representations. They are also depicted exactly as snakes in others. I have heard some people distinguish between Nagas and snakes. Snakes are also referred to as “sarpa” in many Indian languages. Some people suggest that Nagas are different from “sarpa” or snakes since they have traits that far exceed those of snakes, traits that far exceed those of humans as well. But the Nagas are definitely linked to snakes and in modern Indian culture, the difference is hardly ever considered. Nagas are also prevalent is South-East Asian culture.
A representation of a Naga as depicted in South East Asia
The Nagas, based on my knowledge have three traits that most Hindus are commonly aware of.
Firstly, they are symbolic of fertility, in humans and of the land itself.
Secondly, Nagas and snakes in general, are considered guardians. They are depicted as guardians of material wealth, like ancient and hidden treasure. They are also symbolic of wisdom and spiritual prowess.
Lastly, Nagas are considered technologically superior as cultures go, which is perhaps an offshoot of their being associated with wisdom.
I will share a couple of examples of this technological superiority. In the Mahabharata, during the Ashwamedha Yajna after the Kurukshetra War, Arjuna is killed by own son Babruvāhana. He is healed and brought back to life by his wife Uloopi, who is a Naga princess. Uloopi uses a “Naga Mani” to heal Arjuna. The “Naga Mani” is a popular trope in modern Indian entertainment as well. It again links treasure (Mani is a gemstone) with the Nagas. This story shows Nagas possessing technology or knowledge that allows them to perform tasks that are beyond normal humans. It brings them closer to the divinities in this sense.
Uloopi summoning the “Naga Mani” or the Gem of the Nagas. Image credit – “Uloopi”, published by Amar Chitra Katha
The other example is the “Sarpāstra” or the “Nagāstra”. “Astra” can be translated as an arrow or a projectile weapon. Astra can be used to depict any weapon that is discharged, with a bow or any other device (the air-to-air missile developed by India for its fighter aircraft is also called “Astra”). This is a special arrow used in both the Ramayana and the Mahabharta. This arrow is supposed to never miss, unlike other arrows. Further, an adversary who is struck by this arrow is either sure to die, with no hope of recovery, or be bound for all time, as one can never escape the weapon’s clutches. In essence, this Naga weapon is more capable compared to those used by humans.
A representation of the “Sarpastra” being superior to a normal human arrow. Image credit – “Uloopi”, published by Amar Chitra Katha
These positive traits associated with Nagas results in names associated with Nagas being widely prevalent in India even today! Names like “Nagaraj”, “Nagaswamy”, Nageshwar (male version) and Nageshwari (female version) and many others associated with Nagas are encountered by all of us regularly. All of these names translate to “King / Lord/ Chief” of the Nagas. I am sure all of us can recall at least one friend or relative who has a name associated with the Nagas. This is not to mean that snakes are not feared in modern India. There is a healthy respect for snakes all across India. The association with the Nagas, and hence snakes, is not new. Many royal lines from the times of Ramayana and Mahabharata to historical times link themselves to Naga ancestry.
It might seem that Nagas, who are part of legend and folklore in India are the ones who have positive traits. It is not snakes that have positive traits. I beg to differ on this point. I will share my personal opinion on this point. Let us begin with venom again. Earlier, I mentioned the astra named after snakes or Nagas. This is literally true in snakes! Snakes have developed the mechanism to deliver venom at a “stand-off” distance. There are multiple species of Spitting Cobras that have evolved a fang with an opening through which they can spray venom on an adversary, and keep them at bay. This is a true astra indeed!
Let us now consider aspects of snakes beyond the use of venom. Let us begin with the physical trait of snakes that everyone recognizes – the forked tongue that snakes possess and flick in and out of their mouth every now and then. Snakes use their tongue to analyse the environment around them. Snakes have an organ on the roof of their mouths, on the inside, called the “Jacobson’s Organ”. The tongue collects samples from the air and deposits it onto the Jacobson’s Organ, which in turn determines what the surrounding atmosphere is like. This is like snakes carrying around a lab inside their heads that can analyse their surroundings! This is miniature technology like no other!
The forked tongue of a snake
Of course, this is not limited to snakes. Other species have evolutionary senses that seem like magic, or at least marvels of technology, thanks to modern science. Some raptors (birds of prey) can see in the ultraviolet spectrum, sharks can detect the electrical signals in water to find food and elephants can communicate using infra sound. These are just a few examples from the natural world, without even considering the plant kingdom.
Considering evolutionary senses, one cannot ignore “the Pit” used by snakes. Pit vipers and some pythons have an organ called the “Pit” at the top of their heads on the outside. This pit is a sensory organ that allows the snakes that possess them to perceive their surroundings through something like “heat vision”. They can identify temperature differences to identify prey and track them.
So, considering just the two examples above, snakes carry in their heads, heat vision equipment and a lab to study their surroundings! 😛 This does indeed seem like high technology to us humans, in hindsight of course. Therefore, Nagas, who are linked to snakes and sometimes are nothing more than anthropomorphized forms of snakes, are no doubt considered wise and technologically advanced.
Nagas represented as part human and part snake.Image credit – “Uloopi”, published by Amar Chitra Katha
Even if one considers humans before modern science revealed all the “super senses” that snakes possess, we can still explain the fascination with snakes. In a previous article of mine***, titled “Ashta Siddhi and Budo”, I had discussed what are considered the “8 achievements” of a warrior and how they can be understood through modern budo practice. The fifth of these five achievements is called “Praapti”.
“Praapti” can be considered to be “able to receive everything”. This in modern parlance, in my opinion, refers to being able to perceive all the information in a given time and space, which in turn aids in conflict management and hopefully conflict mitigation. For practitioners of the Bujinkan, this would, again in my opinion, be nothing other than “Sakkijutsu”. Sakkijutsu, put simply, is one’s intuitive ability, which could also be termed as “awareness”, “situational awareness” or “mindfulness”.
The sensory abilities of snakes described earlier would be apparent to people in historical times, for they were keen observers of the natural world as well. The senses of snakes might not have been explained, but it would not be something unknown either. So, in a culture where, the ability to perceive the surroundings is celebrated as one of the “8 achievements” and the ability of snakes would be known, would snakes and therefore the Nagas, not be deeply respected as well? I would say that they definitely would be.
All of the above aspects I have mentioned are beyond the usual symbolism attached to snakes – that of growth. The act of moulting has made snakes a symbol of “growth” and therefore “transcendence”. The points shared above are from the perspective of a Hindu in modern India, who is also a practitioner of the Bujinkan (an expression of Budo).
I had started this post with a couple of quasi historical stories from Japanese history. I will now revert to Japan to make yet another point. During my training the Bujinkan, I have learnt from a mentor of ours, Arnaud Cousergue, that the Togakure Ryu, one of the schools of Ninpo Taijutsu (sometimes referred to as Ninjutsu) that we learn, is divided into 18 segments. Only a few of these 18 segments are trained in dojos these days. One of these 18 segments is “Kayaka Jutusu”. This refers to training the use of explosives. There is no segment that is attributed to the practice and use of poisons. But Ninjas did use poison as evidenced by the two stories mentioned earlier. So, could it be that a segment for poisons was not present in just the Togakure Ryu? Or was it subsumed under “unconventional weapons”, the chief of which was gunpowder and explosives in later centuries? I am not a historian and have no answer to this question.
In my personal opinion, this segment, “Kayaka Jutsu”, could perhaps be considered to refer to the use of unconventional weapons. A theory about the origin of the Togakure Ryu states that it originates in the 12th century. This was before Japan’s first encounter with gunpowder and explosives, which was during the Mongol invasion, in the late 13th century. So, maybe this segment among the 18 was added later during the evolution of the Togakure Ryu? Or, as mentioned earlier, was it that this segment referred to “unconventional weapons” in general and later became specific to explosives as that was the primary new weapon? I am assuming it was so. If anyone knows otherwise, please do share your knowledge with me.
While considering “unconventional weapons”, there is one trait of snakes that is truly staggering, the very definition of “unconventional”. Snakes have no ears and do not hear like other animals. Snakes sense vibrations through the bones in their head. But their “hearing” or perception of sound in comparison to humans and other animals is poor. But snakes use sound to warn potential threats.
Russel’s Viper
The best example of this are rattle snakes. They have evolved a rattle to warn creatures who intrude on their habitats. Similarly, in India, if anyone has heard the warning hiss of a Russel’s Viper, it sounds like a pressure cooker about to go off! In both these cases, sound is used as a warning device. This means that snakes use a medium of perception to warn creatures, that they themselves do not possess! Snakes cannot hear but know other creatures can! And they use that sense for the benefit of both! How cool is that! It is baffling and “unconventional” to say the least.
Of course, the ability to use a medium one cannot perceive well is a product of evolution over millions of years. And evolution itself brings to mind two aspects that are expressed in the Bujinkan. These are Kami Waza and the fourth of the Gojo, “Shizen no choetsu”.
Kami Waza is a concept where one moves during a fight in such an amazing manner that it seems like one was being moved by something divine. This is exactly what evolution is! The outcome of evolution seems truly magical in hindsight. I had referred to Kami Waza in my article about the Ashta Siddhi, which is linked here. “Shizen no choetsu” could be translated as “the transcendence of nature”. It is the fourth of the 5 Gojo that is oft quoted in Bujinkan dojos. I had written an article some time ago where I have discussed my understanding of the five Gojo. The same is linked here+.
Evolution that is seen in nature is about continuous and incremental changes to overcome challenges in ways that are inconceivable at any given time. The ability of a creature that does not use sound to ward off creatures that do use it, without knowing the experience of sound is exactly that! Transcendence in its essence! First an animal realizes that other animals perceive something that it does not, and then devices a means to use that perception to its advantage, but without developing that perception in itself! 😀 I know, I am saying this a lot, because it boggles the mind!
There is another Gojo, the third of the five that goes, “Shizen no Ninniku”. This can be translated as “the forbearance of nature”. This refers to how one needs to persevere through any activity, just like nature has an abundance of ability to take any challenge and over time overcome the same. I have discussed this also in my previous article. I will use a personal experience of mine to show this trait in snakes.
My family used to run a rescue and rehabilitation centre for wild animals within the city many years ago. This centre functioned from the late 1970s through the late 2000s. Sometime in the late 90s of the early 2000s, an interesting incident took place. We got a call from a local timber yard about a snake in one of the logs at their premises. It was a log that had been transported from Malaysia to India. In the log was a clutch of eggs that had not been noticed earlier and had somehow survived the processing of the tree before transportation.
One of the eggs hatched and a live Small Banded Kukri Snake emerged from the same. It was a Malaysian species of Kukri Snake which hatched in India. Unfortunately the snake did not survive long. But this does show how snakes can survive and extend their territories. In this case an egg travelled from Malaysia to India and hatched. We hear many stories of how Burmese Pythons have successfully created a habitat for themselves in Florida, the other side of the ocean.
A large Indian Rock Python
Snakes can endure habitat destruction, disturbances to their nests and dwellings, human trade in exotic pets and still find new habitats to inhabit. This is a wonderful example of how nature perseveres, its forbearance is infinite. This is not unlike how one needs to spend years to train the martial arts. It is a gradual process, demanding time, effort and many resources to be expended.
That is a roundup of the fascinating connections between snakes, the martial arts and Indian culture. In conclusion, snakes are like a living breathing sensor package, much like modern day fighter aircraft and other weapons systems. This is like “Praapti” in Hindu culture and Sakkijutsu in the Bujinkan. This is also the key behind modern day 5th generation warfare, where conflicts are not kinetic and information gathering is of paramount importance and technology is a vital ingredient. Technology of a natural kind is what snakes also deploy, chemical weaponry, or venom, in a world where strength, speed and size matter. This leads back to the martial arts, where unarmed combat might be basic, but weapons are the true expression of the art. And we have not even spoken about flying snakes or the world of the sea snakes…
Acknowledgements – All images unless mentioned, were taken over the course of many years by various members of my family. I share my deep gratitude to my uncle, Dr. Shashidhar for sharing many images of the many creatures that shared our home over the decades.
This post would be incomplete without sharing a couple of images of another uncle of mine, the late Srinath. He had an innate understanding of all wild creatures and a knack for working with snakes that was, to say the least, intuitive. He could sense the temperament of any snake, or any animal for that matter, in an instant. Watching him work with wildlife will be something that I will never not miss!
Left – With a King Cobra. Right – With a Spectacled Cobra.
Weapons and the feeling of armour/defensive equipment
In the first post of this series, I had given an introduction to this series and defined some basic concepts that will be revisited during subsequent posts. In the second post, I had looked in greater detail at the “Ten Chi and Jin”, which is considered the “basics” of the Bujinkan. In the third post, I discussed in brief the 5 styles of fighting and the 9 schools that make up the Bujinkan system of martial arts. In this post I will discuss the use of weapons as a part of training in the Bujinkan, which in my opinion is the most important aspect of the martial arts. This is one of the 4 aspects I had referred to as the “physical aspects” of the Bujinkan. These are seen in the screenshot below. The topic highlighted is the focus of this article.
A bit of a disclaimer before we start. A better title for this post would perhaps be “Martial Art, as I see it”. This post is a brief look at weapons as considered in martial arts as a whole, and is not specific to just the weapons used in the Bujinkan system alone. I might write an article about the weapons specific to the Bujinkan (there are a lot!) at a future date.
There is another serendipitous connection for this post. Three days from today is the 76th Republic Day of India. Traditionally, the parade during Republic Day of India on Kartavya Path (previously Raj Path) is when a lot of India’s modern weapons systems are on display. They are accompanied by the marching contingents of various units of the Indian Defence Tri-services and various law enforcement organizations. So, a post about weapons so close to the annual display of India’s weapons, seems apt! 🙂
Weapons have always formed a vital part of both self-protection and evasion. All martial arts teach the use of weapons, except perhaps if they have evolved exclusively into sports. Even in this case, if there is a sport version and a traditional version of the same martial art, the traditional version tends to retain training with weapons. Of course, the weapon based fighting itself can evolve into a sport as well.
Once a practitioner has a fair knowledge of oneself and how to affect the opponent (from the Ten Chi and Jin in the case of the Bujinkan), she or he can start training with various weapons. The weapons used can generally be classified based on the range offered by the same. These are,
Short range weapons like the knife, kunai, wakizashi and other short swords, batons, yawara sticks, bagh nakh, katar, ankusha, war hammer and the like.
Medium range weapons like the walking stick, hanbo, jo, longer swords, tachi and katana, dand pata, gada and the like.
Long range weapons like the bo, quarter staff, spear, naginata, halberd, glaive, great sword, vita, dane axe and all the other pole arms.
Projectile weapons like dart, throwing axe, bow and arrow, throwing knife, shuriken, javelin, chakra and other similar weapons that are discharged.
Projectile weapons – Chakra (on the outside) and Shuriken (on the inside)
There are a few additional categories that could be considered. One category is flexible weapons. The weapons that fit into this category can be fit into one of the “ranges” based on how they are used. These include weapons like the urumi, nawa (rope), rope dart, manriki guzari, ball and chain, flails, large flails (almost pole arms), kusari gama (sickle and chain) and others that I might not even know of.
Left – Manriki Guzari, Right – Rassi Gola (Rope with Ball)
One other categorization of weapons that is very important is that between offensive and defensive weapons. The examples mentioned previously and categorizations consist entirely of offensive weapons. Defensive weapons include shields of various types, body armour and helmets of various kinds and protective clothing of any kind. This includes all protective equipment irrespective of which part of the body it protects from harm.
Defensive weapons are perhaps more important that offensive weapons as they are less likely to be illegal to either wear or carry around. Of course, they are also more important as they simply allow all practitioners to train with fewer injuries and more obviously, they are vital because they allow self-preservation with lesser experience in fighting. By this definition, bodyguards would be defensive equipment with offensive capabilities 😊 (this becomes more important I suppose for the near future, when drones take over these roles).
Dhal or Shield – this example is made of metal
Obviously, practitioners train with replica or training weapons without sharp edges and blunt or rounded points. This remains true almost always, irrespective of how experienced the people sparring or training with each other are, as the risk if injury is always to be mitigated when injuries are potentially fatal. Additionally, practitioners might wear protective equipment while training weapons (more so than with unarmed training). In cases where training happens without protective equipment, even with training weapons, practitioners learn to pull blows at the last instant or go slower with the attacks to mitigate injury and enable learning.
A student learns to first move with the weapon and then to use the weapon. Learning to move with a weapon correlates with the “Ten” aspect of unarmed combat and the “taihenjutsu” aspect of the styles of fighting mentioned in my previous article. Similarly, learning to use the weapon correlates with the “Chi” aspect of unarmed combat and the “daken taijutsu” or “jutaijutsu” aspect of the styles of fighting mentioned in my previous post.
Learning to move with the weapon is to learn of oneself with the weapon as an extension. This is very important as self-harm with a weapon is a real risk and to mitigate this, one needs to learn to be aware of or mindful of the weapon. This allows control of the weapon. In the initial stages, this awareness has to be practiced and can be tiring. Obviously, with experience, this becomes easier.
The use of the weapon is equivalent to learning how the weapon can affect an opponent. This is a reason why beginners start with shorter and lighter weapons, which are closer approximations of an extension of the human body. A knife or a kunai or a baton increases range beyond that of a fist, while still not being unwieldy for a student, in terms of momentum and weight.
To reiterate, learning to use a weapon is to realize how it can affect an opponent. A sword is not a staff with an edge, not is it as axe or a hammer where energy is concentrated. It is a device which is to be used with relative motion to cause damage. Similarly, an axe or a hammer requires momentum to cause damage. A staff on the other hand can be used as hammer if the tips of the same are deployed for the attack or it can be used to manipulate the balance of the opponent if it is used to manipulate the spinal structure or to apply joint locks on the opponent. The two can be used together in various ways. This is where one realizes that a weapon can be used with either daken taijutsu or jutaijutsu or a combination of the two (koppo justsu and kosshi jutsu).
An assortment of some weapons used in the Bujinkan system of martial arts
Just as a staff of different lengths can be used in different ways, a sword can be used as something other than a cutting implement as well. A sword could be a shield, an axe, a hammer, or a knife based on the scenario. Consider an opponent who is armoured. There is no way one can cut through the armour. Stabs into gaps in the armour are possible and causing blunt force injuries through the armour are possible, but not cuts. When the tachi was taught initially, this fact was always emphasized. The tachi was an earlier iteration of the nihonto (Japanese sword) compared to the katana. The tachi had its heyday during the Muromachi** period when fighting in armour was prevalent. So, the strike with the back or the blunt edge was also used.
This brings us to the next aspect of weapons training. Armour is the key. There are several aspects of traditional fighting that evolved from the use of armour and shields. Even if one is not wearing armour, it is important to learn its influence and fight like one is wearing the same, at least sometimes. This idea is something that we were reminded of from time to time in training.
To emphasize again, even if one is using a sword or a spear, the same will be used as a shield first, especially in the absence of or the presence of light armour. Protection is always of paramount importance, especially against weapons, even if one has access to one’s own offensive weapons. So, learning the ability to receive an attack from weapons with one’s own, in a defensive manner comes before using the weapon to cause damage to the opponent (the Ten and the Chi with the weapon). This is the “uke nagashi” (ways of receiving an attack) that we described in post regarding the “Ten Chi and Jin”, with weapons of course.
Yoroi – Japanese armour
A last point to note regarding armour and weapons is this. If an opponent is unarmoured, or at best lightly armoured, daken taitutsu would be feasible. If an opponent is well armoured, only jutaijutsu and its allied styles (kosshi jutsu) are feasible. In this context daken taijutsu refers to cutting and stabbing with a sword, stabbing with a spear or any other weapon, and of course striking with blunt force with any weapon is always feasible. If an opponent is well armoured, cuts are ineffective, stabs are only possible in openings which are not easy to access. Blunt force is viable, but is less effective than in the case of light or unarmoured opponents. Grappling is vital, even if one is using a sword or a spear against armoured opponents, as getting them on the ground or exposing openings in the armour has to be achieved only with manoeuvring the opponent’s protected frame.
The following table is a reasonable summary of the above observations.
Armed & Armoured
Armoured & Armed
Cuts are not feasibleGrappling is vitalStabs feasible only into openingsBlunt force strikes useful but less effective
Unarmoured & Armed
Cuts, stabs and hits are feasibleEverything viable in armoured fighting is also feasible
There is one final point to consider regarding weapons; weapons that are not explicitly weapons. In my opinion, the most important of these are the laws of the land. These are weapons too, that are a protection if they are a deterrent to physical violence, or offensive weapons if they can cause trouble through punishment or the cumbersome legal process itself, which one has no training in. These are similar to the “generic competition” in the Porter’s Five Forces Model if that model is applied to weapons. 😛
From what I have heard, there are laws in places where a martial artist can be considered to have assaulted someone with deadly weapons, even if one did not use a real weapon. The knowledge and experience of the martial arts itself is considered a weapon! Similarly, in the case of bouncers, they are supposedly not allowed to initiate a physical encounter in some countries. There are also places, from the little that I know, where bouncers are not allowed to strike anyone, they are only allowed to use restraining and subduing techniques. In other words, they can only use kosshi jutsu or more specifically jutaijutsu even if the attack is daken taijutsu. So, awareness of laws and other such “non-weapons” might also be a part of mindfulness (or even Sakkijutsu*!) and martial artists, especially experienced ones cannot be oblivious of these aspects!
This non-weapon concept can also be expanded to using the weather and the terrain to one’s advantage, making knowledge and the ability to be mindful of the terrain and the atmosphere weapons as well. This is, in some ways, not unlike using the reflection from a sword to blind an opponent or using water gathered in the fuller of a sword to gain a moment by distracting the opponent. This then leads to using a cloak or a lantern or pocket sand/blinding powder as an accessory to weapons, which might lead to significant changes in the physical exchange.
I am ending the post with something I posted at the beginning of the first post in this series. Seen below is the reason I am posting this series of articles. This segment will be present at the end of each of the posts in this series, just as a reiteration.
The purpose of this series of posts is multi-fold. Firstly, it is a resource I can share with people who are not practitioners of the martial arts. For most of us, a majority of the people we interact with do not practice any form of martial art. Sharing ideas and practices about martial arts might require some “first principles” like definitions, overarching themes and ideas and objectives of the art form. Hopefully this series will be that resource.
Secondly, it is an opportunity for me to look back at my own thoughts about the Bujinkan. The thoughts are a document I can refer in the future to see if I my thinking has changed or evolved.
Lastly, practitioners of the Bujinkan who are relatively new to the system and long-time practitioners who might need a look back at aspects from earlier years could use this as a starting point for further discovery. There are several practitioners and Sensei of the Bujinkan with a lot more experience compared to me, who share content about the art form and the system. I strongly recommend that everyone consume the content from those sources. This series is possibly an index to search further in those sources.
So, this series in not a deep dive, more like a primer of my thoughts with scope for expansion in each aspect. Most importantly, whatever knowledge can be gleaned from this series is a conversation starter or direction pointer at best; it does not in any way replace actual training in a dojo with fellow budoka and a teacher who can help one progress.
Wish you all a happy new year and a wonderful 2025! 😀
On to the post now. 🙂
In the first post of this series, I had given an introduction to this series and defined some basic concepts that will be revisited time and again during subsequent posts. In the second post, I had looked in greater detail at the “Ten Chi and Jin”. In this post, the third in the series, I will look at the different schools that make up the Bujinkan system of martial arts. This is the second among the 4 aspects I had referred to as the “physical aspects” of the Bujinkan. These are seen in the screenshot below. The topic highlighted is the focus of this article.
The Bujinkan system of martial arts teaches five styles of unarmed fighting. These styles are fairly universal when it comes to humans fighting humans without firearms and projectile weapons. The Bujinkan system comprises of 9 schools of combat of which six are taught routinely. Of the remaining three, no regular teaching takes place. As I understand it, the schools are less important than the styles of fighting they encompass, as multiple schools can teach similar or related concepts. So, I will focus on the fighting styles and share a few words regarding the schools later in this article.
The five styles of fighting can more realistically be considered to be two styles of fighting, one layer of fundamentals and two other styles which are a combination of the other three, to achieve interesting objectives. The five styles are mentioned below.
Taihenjutsu
Daken taijutsu
Jutaijutsu
Koppo jutsu
Kosshi jutsu
Tainhenjutsu – This is the base layer and involves learning the ability to move the body as desired to achieve favourable outcomes in a fight. It could be said that this is comprised of the Ten Ryaku no Maki and quite a bit of the Chi Ryaku no Maki which I explored in the previous article in this series.
In the martial arts, without the correct positioning of the body, nothing can be achieved in a fight. And positioning can only be achieved with the ability to move the body as required in a given situation. Since Taihenjutsu is all about body movement, this is perhaps the most important layer in the Bujinkan. I would suspect that the equivalent of Taihenjutsu is the most important layer in all martial arts around the world.
A representation of Taihenjutsu, showing movement and body positioning. Sketch by Keane Amaral
Daken taijutsu – Daken taijutsu refers to the style of fighting that involves striking. By that definition, martial arts like boxing, kick boxing, mushti yuddha, sanda, taekwondo and the like are also expressions of daken taijutsu. Striking an opponent with any part of the body would qualify as daken taijutsu. This is not to preclude locks and throws. It is just that striking takes primacy in this style of fighting.
Striking effectively of course, requires one to be in the right position to execute the strike. Also, one needs to move out of range of any strike the opponent may carry out. This part of daken taijutsu is of course, still taihenjutsu. So, daken taijutsu is an additional layer over taihenjutsu.
A representation of Daken Taijutsu, showing potential strikes. Sketch by Keane Amaral.
Jutaijutsu – Jutaijustsu refers to the style of fighting that involves grappling, throws and joint locks. Based on this definition, Olympic wrestling, judo, Brazilian Jiujitsu, malla yuddha, kushti, aikido, sumo wrestling and the like, are expressions of jutaijutsu. The opponent here might be grappling or striking or using a combination of both. But the defence has a primacy towards immobilising the opponent using grappling, locking and throwing the opponent. Like with daken taijutsu, jutaijutsu does not preclude striking, but the focus in not towards striking is all.
Again, taihenjutsu is the base layer with jutaijutsu, even more so than with daken taijutsu. Getting an opponent to the ground to mitigate an attack, requires far more efficient body movement and positioning than striking, as physics and leverage play a very important role in the same. So, jutaijutsu is an additional option available to a practitioner of Budo apart from daken taijutsu, after taihenjutsu has been understood and executed.
An exaggerated representation of Jutaijutsu, representing taking down an opponent . An image I commissioned in a past Comic Con in Bangalore.
The next two fighting styles are expressions of the combination of the above three layers.
Koppo jutsu – Koppo jutsu is generally explained to be a fighting style that uses striking in a specialized manner. One strikes an opponent to affect the skeletal structure of the opponent. In other words, the strike is applied to displace an opponent from the position she or he was in. Alternatively, the strike could be to take the balance of the opponent. Once the opponent has been displaced or has lost balance, a follow through happens where additional strikes are applied, or a throw or lock can be applied as well. All of this could take the opponent down to the ground or the process could continue until the opponent ceases the attack and retreats.
In my opinion, koppo jutsu is a case of referring to taihenjutsu and daken taijutsu together. So, as a simple definition I would state the following.
The above formulation can be explained as follows. Taihenjutsu is the basis of the movement. A strike is applied (daken taijutsu) while moving (taihenjutsu) to affect the opponent’s balance or position. This is followed with jutaijutsu to mitigate the attack effectively. This is the reason I have put jutaijutsu AFTER daken taijutsu in the above formulation.
Koppo jutsu’s defining feature is to strike with effective movement to affect the physical structure of the opponent. In other words, koppo jutsu seems to me to be designed to defeat the taihenjutsu of the opponent, or, the BASIS/ORIGIN of the opponent’s movement/attack. Any aspect of the earlier fighting styles can be used after this is achieved. So, there is no need for this fighting style to be visually different from daken taijutsu, or even jutaijutsu based on the finishing method applied. The difference can only be experienced by the people involved in the martial exchange that occurs.
A representation of Koppo Jutsu, showing a strike putting the opponent off balance. Sketch by Vishnu Mohan.
Kosshi jutsu – In simple terms, Kosshi jutsu can be termed as “specialized jutaijutsu”, in my opinion of course. The focus of this style of fighting is to affect the balance of the opponent by attacking her or his vertical or horizontal axis or the intersection of the two axes. Yes, this sounds awesome and farfetched at the same time. In reality, the attack is mitigated by attacking the hips, shoulders, knees and face of the opponent. Of course, the uke nagashi or receiving the attack without injury is very important here.
Uke nagashi occurs simultaneously with attacking the opponent’s balance. One moves the opponent’s hips or shoulders, knees or face while surviving the attack. This breaks the opponent’s balance even as the attack is being completed. The attack to the opponent’s axes (plural of axis, not the tool) can be with a strike or a push, it often is something in-between, which translates as a soft strike. Once the opponent has lost balance, she or he can be taken down with further daken taijutsu or jutaijutsu. If this is not achieved in the first move, the process continues until the attack is mitigated.
I guess it is obvious that taihenjutsu is again the origin of this fighting style. For uke nagashi has to be achieved while attacking the axes of the opponent. So, good, safe movement is the key to get into a safe position to apply an effective attack against the opponent.
In my opinion, kosshi jutsu can be explained as seen below.
Kosshi Jutsu = Taihenjutsu + Jutaijutsu
Here I use jutaijutsu to refer to “the taking of the balance” and not necessarily with a strike. In reality, the formulation could be thus,
Here, I add daken taijutsu AFTER jutaijutsu, as the primary objective of breaking the opponent’s axes, & hence balance, is geared more towards jutaijutsu rather than daken taijutsu. But the finishing, after the opponent’s balance is taken, can be achieved by applying additional jutaijutsu or daken taijutsu, as the situation warrants. So, in the above formulation, jutaijutsu and daken taijutsu can be interchanged or added twice! It really does not matter. Here again, a bystander might not see a visual difference between kosshi jutsu, daken taijutsu, jutaijutsu and kosshi jutsu. It is purely something experienced by those physically involved in the martial exchange.
An exaggerated representation of Kosshi Jutsu, representing taking an opponent’s balance by misaligning the vertical axis (the spine). An image I commissioned in a past Comic Con in Bangalore.
I must add a qualifier here. These explanations are based on my learning from my teacher and mentors. It is not even necessarily the opinion of my teacher and mentors. There could be other interpretations of these fighting styles from other practitioners who have a lot more experience as compared with mine. Also, people studying the history, origins and evolution of these styles within the context of even just the Bujinkan could have a different interpretation of these fighting styles.
Now we return the schools mentioned earlier. The Bujinkan system comprises of 9 different schools. I will not expound too much on these, but share a few lines about each. One has to physically train and experience the schools for a deeper understanding. Also, since description of the sighting styles fairly encompasses what could be described in brief about the schools. Also, I will revisit the schools in a future article, when we look at some of the non-physical aspects of the Bujinkan, which involves how historical context shapes what we learn in the martial arts.
There are two schools of Daken taijutsu. These are the Shinden Fudo Ryu and the Kukishinden Ryu. The difference between the two is that the Kukishinden Ryu has a lineage of fighting while wearing armour, while the lineage of the Shinden Fudo Ryu is from fighting in wooded areas. Hence, one would expect to be lightly armoured, if at all, while having more obstacles than in the case of the Kukishinden Ryu.
Representative Japanese armour, an example we have at our dojo
Koppo jutsu is represented by the Koto Ryu and the Gikan Ryu. The Koto Ryu is the source of a lot of the basics in the Ten Chi and Jin described in the previous article in this series. The Gikan Ryu supposedly has no densho (scroll/manual) or defined forms/techniques and is not explicitly taught in the Bujinkan.
Kosshi jutsu is represented by the Gyokko Ryu, which is supposed to be the oldest of the schools taught in the Bujinkan. Its historicity is supposed to be from fighting in the small spaces in the interiors of royal buildings and applied by nobles for self-protection.
Jutaijutsu is represented by the Takagi Yoshin Ryu. This school was used by bodyguards of the nobles, and they had a need to immobilize and arrest attackers for later information gathering. Killing the attacker would result in the identity of the person ordering the hit being lost. Of course, this is the objective, it does not mean that assassins were always captured alive.
Lastly, there is the style of Ninpo taijutsu. This is not mentioned in the five styles of fighting as I understand the system. The Togakure Ryu is a ninpo taijutsu school and is taught routinely in the Bujinkan. Based on my experience of the same, it has elements of taihenjutsu (surprise!) daken taijutsu and jutaijutsu.
Two other schools of ninpo taijutsu are a part of the Bujinkan system. One is the Gyokushin Ryu, which does not have a densho, but Soke taught the essence (key points) of this school to a few Daishihan who have shared the same with the rest of the practitioners. The last school of ninpo taijutsu is the Kumogakure Ryu, which also has no densho. I have heard it said that this school had teachings related to disguises, hiding and such. But I have no real knowledge about this school to comment further. This again, is not taught in the Bujinkan despite being a part of the system.
Ninpo taijutsu includes training weapons, espionage, meteorology and use of firearms and explosives, from a historical perspective. These are not commonly taught in most dojos. However, Ninpo Taijutsu is also a source of several concepts that are not just for application in a physical fight. These are aspects I will likely look at in a future article.
So, of the nine schools, six are taught and practiced routinely, while three are not. Of these, practitioners have access to the essence/key points of one, while of the last two, nothing is really known, at least by me.
I am ending the post with something I posted at the beginning of the first post in this series. Seen below is the reason I am posting this series of articles. This segment will be present at the end of each of the posts in this series, just as a reiteration.
The purpose of this series of posts is multi-fold. Firstly, it is a resource I can share with people who are not practitioners of the martial arts. For most of us, a majority of the people we interact with do not practice any form of martial art. Sharing ideas and practices about martial arts might require some “first principles” like definitions, overarching themes and ideas and objectives of the art form. Hopefully this series will be that resource.
Secondly, it is an opportunity for me to look back at my own thoughts about the Bujinkan. The thoughts are a document I can refer in the future to see if I my thinking has changed or evolved.
Lastly, practitioners of the Bujinkan who are relatively new to the system and long-time practitioners who might need a look back at aspects from earlier years could use this as a starting point for further discovery. There are several practitioners and Sensei of the Bujinkan with a lot more experience compared to me, who share content about the art form and the system. I strongly recommend that everyone consume the content from those sources. This series is possibly an index to search further in those sources.
So, this series in not a deep dive, more like a primer of my thoughts with scope for expansion in each. Most importantly, whatever knowledge can be gleaned from this series is a conversation starter or direction pointer at best; it does not in any way replace actual training in a dojo with fellow budoka and a teacher who can help one progress.
Nine years ago, on a trip to Japan one of our mentors made a very interesting statement. It was a trip to train at the Bujinkan Hombu1 dojo with some of the senior most teachers in the system. At that time, a lot of us had passed the Sakki2 test to receive the 5th Dan just a few years previously. Many more of our buyu3 passed the test and achieved the 5th Dan during that trip. The 5th Dan is a requisite to receive a “Shidoshi”4 certificate, which is a prerequisite to start teaching the students of the Bujinkan.
During that trip, one of our mentors, Sensei Darren Horvath, said something very interesting. Sensei Darren has always considered the teachings in the dojo as applicable to human life as a whole, and not just as those applicable in a physical altercation.
He said that the achievement of the rank of “Shidoshi” means that the person who achieves this should be able to, in the near term, at least double her or his income, as a result of the learning achieved so far. This was in the context of how the learning from becoming a Shidoshi should lead to a considerable improvement in the quality of life of the Shidoshi. Considering how monetary wealth is vitally important in modern day life, there should be a surplus of it, which allows for other pursuits important to one’s life. It was in light of this opinion that the earlier statement was made.
To put it simply, personal prosperity is supposed to be an outcome of the training put in, to achieve the Shidoshi certification. This could be classified under the personal or self-development that results from training the martial arts. The Sakki test that needs to be passed on the way to a Shidoshi certification requires development of trust in one’s own intuitive abilities. This can also be called mindfulness or awareness of any situation. This development of an individual is expected to help one advance in aspects of life that have nothing to do with physical combat or the martial arts.
As a Hindu and an Indian, the idea of prosperity is an intersection between Budo and Hindu culture that stands out. This idea inspired this post. Personal prosperity (including monetary wealth), as I understand it, is a vital aspect of Hindu culture. One of the Goddesses we routinely pray to is Lakshmi, who is the Goddess of wealth and also the consort of Lord Vishnu. Another divinity, who is not prayed to as much is Kubera, who is considered the God of Prosperity & Wealth. Kubera is also the lord of the Yakshas.
The wealth of Kubera represented by his loan to the wedding of Lord Venkateshwara. Image credit – “Venkateshwara Taanada Chitragalu”, published by Pioneer Publications
In a previous article of mine, I had shared a sutra* from the Arthashastra, one line of which says “Dharmasya moolam arthaha”. This means that “artha”, or wealth, is the root of Dharma. Wealth is vitally important for Dharma to exist and permeate all walks of life. Dharma, as I understand it, is “that which sustains”. This means that Dharma is doing what needs to be done to sustain a good life. This is why Dharma is sometimes referred to as “doing the right thing” or “doing the best thing possible in a given situation”. Thus, wealth, or prosperity, is very important for a good life by doing the right things. Personal prosperity is the root!
One symbol of prosperity in India, since a very long time, is the elephant. This is perhaps because people or institutions who owned an elephant(s) in India were prosperous, for owning an elephant was expensive, not to mention maintaining several of them. One of the eight forms of Devi Lakshmi is titled, “Gaja Lakshmi”, where Gaja means an elephant. The elephant is associated with Lakshmi as she is the Goddess of Wealth/Prosperity, and the elephant is a symbol of the same.
A representation of the arrangement during the celebration of Aane Habba (Elephant Festival)
15th of December, 2024 was celebrated as “Aane Habba” or “The Elephant Festival”. The date of the festival changes every year as it is based on the Tamil Solar calendar. This is a festival specific to my community and not a festival that is widely observed in India, or elsewhere. But the day on which the Aane Habba is celebrated is observed variously by different Hindu communities. The day on which the festival falls is the Poornima (full moon day) of the Kartika month according to the Tamil Solar calendar. It is an auspicious time and hence is celebrated under different names by different groups.
Devi Lakshmi on the white elephant above
One of these is “Kiru Deepavali” or “Little Diwali”. Another is “Vishnu Deepam”. Yet another festival that occurs a day or two earlier is “Karthigai Deepam”
The Kartika month itself is very important for historical reasons. The “Bali Jatra” festival happens in the state of Odisha during this month. Historically this was the beginning of the voyage from India to South East Asia (Bali in particular) for trade. Bali Jatra is associated with the Kartika Poornima festival. This occurred on 15th November in 2024. This voyage generated enormous wealth historically for the merchants involved and for the nations along the coast. This is the Poornima based on the Lunar calendar, hence the difference in the date of the festival.
The Aane Habba itself is specifically celebrating the elephant, which is another way of saying that we celebrate prosperity and wish for more of it, and in perpetuity. This specific aspect of the festival brings us back to the same idea in Budo which I started with. The notion of personal prosperity seems vitally important, if one is a Hindu. The same idea being reflected as an objective for Budo practice, makes it a wonderful reason to train the same. 😊
In my previous post, I had given an introduction to this series and defined some basic concepts that will be revisited time and again during this series. From this post onward, I will expand on the 4 aspects mentioned as the physical aspects of the Bujinkan. These are seen in the screenshot below from the previous post. The first of these is highlighted in the image below, and is the focus of this article.
The first thing anyone learns when they start training the Bujinkan is the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki. This is roughly translatable as “A scroll of the principles of Heaven, Earth and Man”. As the name suggests, this has three parts, the Ten, the Chi and the Jin. Each of these individually are as mentioned below.
Ten Ryaku no Maki – The scroll of the principles of Heaven
Chi Ryaku no Maki – The scroll of the principles of Earth
Jin Ryaku no Maki – The scroll of the principles of Man (who is supposedly a conduit between Heaven and Earth)
The absolute basic learning from the Bujinkan and root of self-preservation is from the Ten Ryaku no Maki. This part is all about learning about oneself and one’s position in space in relation to the opponent. The Chi Ryaku no Maki is about learning about the opponent and how to affect the body of the opponent in various ways. The Ten Ryaku no Maki is about putting the learning from the Ten and the Chi sections together in various combinations and potential attack combinations (without weapons).
Ten Ryaku no Maki
The key learnings from the Ten Ryaku no Maki are, in my opinion, the following.
Kamae – This section teaches one the various postures that the body might generally need to take to protect oneself and then initiate an attack, if necessary. It specifically focuses on the legs, their angles and weight distribution between the two. The hand positions are also taught, but these are less important compared to those of the legs. This is the case as the Bujinkan is all about movement and this is effected by the legs (even if not initiated by them). This movement aspect is emphasized in the Taihenjutsu aspect of the Bujinkan. We will look at this in a later post of this series.
Representative kamae. Sketches by Vishnu Mohan.
Ukemi – This section teaches one how to receive the ground when one falls or has to move with a low posture in an efficient manner. This means how to roll effectively, and fall, with minimal or no pain and injury. This becomes important when one realizes that she or he will fall and get thrown during training, and maybe even during a real situation involving a fight. Protecting oneself in such a situation, not just the opponent but from the ground, is important to learn and experience.
Representative ukemi flow. Sketches by Vishnu Mohan.
Uke Nagashi – This section is about receiving an attack from an opponent, a human being. One might be attacked in various ways by one or more attackers, with fists, elbows, shoulders, knees, feet, legs, fingers, head butts, grabs from all directions, chokes, joint locks, nails, teeth, throws and any other, or a combination of these. The ways to receive these attacks to nullify the objective of the attack and to do so with minimal physical harm is the objective of this section. It involves, getting out of the line of attack, and getting the right protective posture with the right angle and height to stay as safe as possible against the given attack. Of course, this is not a static or one time activity, but a dynamic aspect to be practiced all through the fight. The objective here is to stay safe, not win a fight. When we say receive, it includes, absorbing, blocking, deflecting, countering, and evading an attack (A, B, C, D, E as defined in the scroll 😊). So, this includes what is also sometimes called a “parry” to an attack.
Kihon Happo and San Shin no Kata – These two segments teach a practitioner how to move in relation to the opponent after the Uke Nagashi is executed. This initiates a practitioner in the basic ways in which one counterattack an opponent. They also expand on the application of the Uke Nagashi in different angles and directions. The ways to move in relation to an opponent include, forward, backward, right, left and from the same spot, but with a lower stance or height. These also include how to rotate around a specific joint of the opponent, like the wrist or the elbow and affect her or him with that movement. Further, the ways to attack while moving forward, backward and twisting on the same spot are also explored.
Thus, the learning from the Ten Ryaku no Maki is about receiving the ground in the best manner possible (Ukemi), using the correct posture (Kamae) to receive an attack from an opponent (Uke Nagashi) and efficient ways to move in relation to the opponent to mitigate the attack (Kihon Happo and San Shin no Kata).
Representative detail of a movement from the San Shin no Kata. Sketches by Vishnu Mohan.
There are additional segments in the Ten Ryaku no Maki which teach practitioners about the various parts of their own body they can use to strike the opponent and the points of the body which when struck cause pain (pressure points or weak points). Conversely, this also means learning which part of the body an opponent can use to attack and which parts of oneself, when struck, cause more pain, and thus need to be protected. This is the origin of the thought process related to “self-protection” and a realization of the need for the other segments in the Ten Ryaku no Maki. It also initiates a practitioner into the idea of how to begin evasion from an attack and therefore start the process of escape.
Chi Ryaku no Maki
This second part of the Ten Chi Jin is about the various ways to cause trouble to the opponent. In the Ten Ryaku no Maki the focus was all about moving the feet and legs, and consequently the lower half of the body. But now, the focus is on the entire body as one unit. Practitioners learn to move the upper body in conjunction and in unison with the lower body to pull off various moves to inconvenience opponents. This is where key features like keeping the hips and shoulders parallel, the back straight and not bending, to keep one’s balance even while sinking low with the legs, are focused on and drilled into students.
Representative form for one of the kicking options. Sketches by Keane Amaral.
The principles learnt relating to Ukemi, Uke Nagashi, Kamae, the Kihon Happo and San Shin no Kata are added to and the movements which cause opponents to lose balance, feel pain, fall over and get injured, if not worse, are learnt.
Due to this objective of the Chi Ryaku no Maki, the segments in this part of the Ten Chi Jin include, throwing opponents, joint locks, choking techniques and ways to kick opponents in the most effective manner to break their balance. Also included here are the ways to break an opponent’s hold on the arms or the upper body (bear hugs, choke attempts, nelson holds) and the ability to keep an opponent pinned (or locked) by applying pressure and causing pain at specific pressure points. Of course, this is after an opponent has been thrown or dropped to the ground due to a combination of joint locks, throws, hits and kicks.
Representative form for one of the throwing options. Sketches by Keane Amaral.
Jin Ryaku no Maki
Simply put, the following is roughly true.
Jin Ryaku no Maki = Ten Ryaku no Maki + Chi Ryaku no Maki
Or more colloquially put, Jin = Ten + Chi (J = T + C)
Ten Ryaku no Maki is about learning about oneself and ways to protect the same. Chi Ryaku no Maki is about learning about the opponent and ways to cause trouble to the same. The two, when put together, form a complete fight (attack & counter) scenario and so, with set forms, practitioners can explore the various ways to apply what has been learnt in the Ten and Chi parts of their study.
Representative kata. Sketches by Keane Amaral.
Students can move as taught in the Ten and apply the principles of the Chi to defeat or mitigate the attack by an opponent. To allow a basic structure that practitioners can use to expand their knowledge and experience of the Bujinkan, set forms or Kata are described. These are recommendations and not set in stone. The basic attacks that are defined are fairly comprehensive though, and include defence against fist attacks, kicks, throws, arm and upper body grabs. These also include combination attacks, which include any or many of those mentioned previously. There is also a set of forms that allows for the exploration defence when attacked while sitting down.
The defence against the set attack forms are taught to students and it is explained how variations and other ways of these defences can be applied as required by the situation. This aspect of permitted variations is the beginning of the practitioners exploring their own strengths and weaknesses based on their physical abilities and lack of the same. It is also where students hopefully begin to realize they are learning an art form and not a precise science. This realization hopefully brings on the epiphany that in a real fight, they can and need to apply their experience however needed and there is no “defined” defence due to the many variables that are involved in life.
Representative kata. Sketches by Keane Amaral.
The Ten, Chi and Jin Ryaku no Maki are not necessarily learnt exclusively or linearly. They are learnt at the same time to show that the three parts are dependent on each other, though in the grading system that might be used in different Dojos, students might be expected to know the difference. This is to enable the development of an intellectual structure apart from a physical one, which enables students to add to their physical vocabulary ably aided by an intellectual one. Also, the Ten Chi Jin is something that practitioners of the Bujinkan revisit all through their life, or at least as long as they train this martial art. Each revision is likely to have fresh revelations and add nuances to their martial repertoire. This key feature of the TCJ is why its knowledge and experience are key to the awarding of a Black Belt to a student. Also, the achievement of a Black Belt is when a practitioner is accepted as a serious student.
In the next article, I will expand on the 9 schools that make up the Bujinkan system of martial arts.
I am ending the post with something I posted at the beginning of the previous one. Seen below is the reason I am posting this series of articles. This segment will be present at the end of each of the posts in this series, just as a reiteration.
The purpose of this series of posts is multi fold. Firstly, it is a resource I can share with people who are not practitioners of the martial arts. Like most of us, a majority of the people we interact with do not practice any form of martial art. Sharing ideas and practices about martial arts might require some “first principles” like definitions, overarching themes and ideas and objectives of the art form. Hopefully this series will be that resource.
Secondly, it is an opportunity for me to look back at my own thoughts about the Bujinkan. The thoughts are a document I can refer in the future to see if I think differently.
Lastly, practitioners of the Bujinkan who are relatively new to the system and longtime practitioners who might need a look back at aspects from earlier years could use this as a starting point for further discovery. There are several practitioners and Sensei of the Bujinkan with a lot more experience compared to me, who share content about the art form and the system. I strongly recommend that everyone consume the content from those sources. This series is possibly an index to search further in those sources.
So, this series in not a deep dive, more like a primer of my thoughts with scope for expansion in each. Most importantly, whatever knowledge can be gleaned from this series is a conversation starter or direction pointer at best; it does not in any way replace actual training in a dojo with fellow budoka and a teacher who can help one progress.
The purpose of this series of posts is multi-fold. Firstly, it is a resource I can share with people who are not practitioners of the martial arts. Like most of us, a majority of the people we interact with do not practice any form of martial art. Sharing ideas and practices about martial arts might require some “first principles” like definitions, overarching themes and ideas and objectives of the art form. Hopefully this series will be that resource.
Secondly, it is an opportunity for me to look back at my own thoughts about the Bujinkan. The thoughts are a document I can refer in the future to see if I think differently.
Lastly, practitioners of the Bujinkan who are relatively new to the system and longtime practitioners who might need a look back at aspects from earlier years could use this as a starting point for further discovery. There are several practitioners and Sensei of the Bujinkan with a lot more experience compared to me, who share content about the art form and the system. I strongly recommend that everyone consume the content from those sources. This series is possibly an index to search further in those sources.
So, this series in not a deep dive, more like a primer of my thoughts with scope for expansion in each. Most importantly, whatever knowledge can be gleaned from this series is a conversation starter or direction pointer at best; it does not in any way replace actual training in a dojo with fellow budoka and a teacher who can help one progress.
The Bujinkan is a martial art system of Japanese origin. Martial arts, as I see it, are about two things. These are self-preservation and conflict management.
Of these two, self-preservation is the grittier, ancient, down to earth aspect of the martial arts. It is more relevant in situations of physical conflict where bodily harm is likely. Of course, bodily harm can lead to psychological and emotional harm as well. But the self-preservation aspect applies first to the physical aspect and to everything else next.
Conflict management is more relevant in all aspects other than physical conflict with potential bodily harm. Simply put, this is more relevant in day-to-day life in contemporary structured societies. This is because we humans cannot resort to physical violence to resolve, or deal with, most conflicts that we encounter in life. And due to this nature of modern living, the psychological and emotional aspects of martial arts are as important as the physical aspect. In fact, these take precedence in many situations. In my opinion, “Martial Arts” is a synonym for “Conflict Management”.
There are two points to clarify with respect to the above paragraphs. The first is that I use the term “conflict management” instead of “conflict resolution” because I feel a resolution is a special case of management or a potential outcome of the management. Even if it is the desired option, management focuses on what needs doing irrespective of whether it leads to a resolution or not.
The second point relates to the physical and emotional/psychological aspects. Many a time, we hear the terms, “mind over matter” and “matter over mind”. Neither of these is specific to either a physical consideration of the martial arts or the emotional/psychological aspects of the same. Both could apply in both interpretations/manifestations of the martial arts.
The physical aspects of the Bujinkan are the following.
Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki
The 6+1+2 schools = The 5 styles of fighting
The Kuden which includes the themes of the year and the other concepts taught while applying the TCJ & the schools (this is the largest part and also the hardest to document).
The various weapons and their use, and their use with the learning from the schools and the concepts mentioned in the previous point.
The psychological and emotional aspects include –
The TCJ and concepts stemming from the historicity of the schools
The weapons and their use (weapons here include all things in life – tools, tech, networks, people, societal behaviour, culture, customs and traditions, work culture).
The Kuden and their teachings (themes of the year and all other soke sayings in class, and their interpretations of the many senior practitioners the world over).
Eventually come the adding or layering of concepts and learnings from one’s own culture, like Hindu/Hinduism (in my case) or any other (philosophy, spirituality, traditional stories, historical personalities and other examples).
Lastly are the experiences from one’s own life, from work, relationships, hardships, pain, loss, conflicts, and the interaction of these points. These are opportunities to apply the learnings from all other points.
Each of the above 9 points will have posts of their own. I will elucidate further on each, as I understand it at this point in life. At various stages of this happening, we will be turning back to look at the self-preservation and conflict management aspects as well. Also, it is likely that other martial art systems have their own versions of the above 9 points.
As I age further, gain more experience in life, my understanding on some or all of these points might change, or they might not. This document is a snapshot of this moment in my budo life, not a documentation of my entire experience. And oh yes! It is not human to be consistent, so do not expect it. 😛
Self-preservation has three components, as I currently understand it. These are –
Intuition
Self-protection
Evasion (includes escaping a situation)
I use the word self-protection and not self-defence deliberately. Self-defence is a commonly used term with reference to the martial arts. It is fairly likely that every practitioner of the martial arts has been either asked about or assumed to be training the same for developing “self-defence skills”.
I personally do not know if self-defence is ever possible. All self-defence concepts and techniques are developed and have origins based on situations experienced by people over time. While it is probable that the these are likely to work in quite a few cases, it need not do so in all cases. This is because, no situation which has been considered to develop a defence against, needs to necessarily ever occur with anyone else, who has learnt the same. So, applying techniques or concepts learnt to survive a specific situation might not work in a different situation, as the same situation almost never occurs twice or with two different individuals.
Also, consider the words “defence” and “protection”. We never use the word “defence” with respect to the elements. We do not say “defend yourself against the wind”. We say, “protect yourself from the wind”. This holds true with the rain or the sun as well. This is because a defence is against something, while protection is from something. Defence is against an attack, and hence has to happen after or during the act. But protection is at all times (not a reaction to a situation); you are prepared for an adverse situation, not waiting for it to happen. A more mundane example would be wearing a helmet while driving a bike. We do not wear it against an accident, we wear it to protect ourselves if ever there is an accident.
A modern day helmet used with vehicles
This is the same with the martial arts (the Bujinkan in this case. One trains self-protection and not self-defence. One cannot expect a technique learnt to work in a situation, instead one trains concepts and techniques to be able to survive an adverse situation at best and get away with minimal physical injury at worst. Of course, there will be emotional, intellectual, and spiritual injuries as well, that surface after the survival, which need to be protected against as well. These injuries occur in daily life to many people routinely, without any physical attack being present.
A representative Samurai helmet
With the difference between defence and protection out of the way, let us look at how protection works. The first step to protection is to be ready. And readiness starts with awareness. “Awareness” as I use the term, is a synonym for “mindfulness”. This means you are able to be aware of your surroundings, the atmosphere of a space and the feeling it gives you. This might seem like a lot of work, and it is, until after a lot of training, when it hopefully becomes second nature.
This does not mean you are James Bond or Jason Bourne. It is not about over doing wariness or working hard to study one’s surroundings. It means one trains to develop one’s innate instincts to be able to perceive a threat (not determine it). If a threat is perceived, do anything needed to get out of the space without any need to second guess oneself. There is no need to look for or wait for evidence of the perceived threat.
With the above observation of awareness, I hope I have established that “Intuition” is key to self-protection. This ability to develop and trust one’s intuition is called “Sakkijutsu” in the Bujinkan system of martial arts. Sakkijutsu is not magic, it is a consequence of training the Bujinkan (or maybe other martial art systems as well), life experience and wisdom achieved as a combination of the two. Also, this is not specific to physical threats either, it can be an ability to perceive coming troubles at work, in a relationship, in traffic, in the wilderness or any other situation.
The entire notion of Sakkijutsu hinges on the notion that waiting for the physical attack or any other problem to commence is already too late to begin action to protect oneself. Protective measures must have already begun when the problem begins to manifest. Consider it as having worn a raincoat while driving a two-wheeler just as a downpour begins because you saw a cloudy sky, or a weather forecast app told you it would rain. This is better than finding shelter to park under before you get the raincoat out of your bag.
This might sound a little like the “Spidey sense” that Spiderman demonstrates. But “intuitive abilities” are not magic, just a normal human ability. In the comic, this ability is a “super-sense”, as a consequence of being a superhero. But in the real world, Sakkijutsu is a consequence of human evolution and individual training/experience.
A comic book page describing one of Spider-Man’s superhero abilities. This is NOT Sakkijutusu! Image credit – “Spider-Man: The Secret Story of Marvel’s World-Famous Wall Crawler” published by Marvel Comics
Sakkijutsu is a fundamental tenet of the Bujinkan system as I understand it. But it is not part of the basics that one trains or learns from the first few training sessions. It is something that is learnt over years of training; it cannot be taught in the conventional methods. So, it is part of the fundamentals, but an advanced concept (not a technique) nevertheless.
I am not writing this article, or the series, in a strictly linear manner as might have been observed. Intuition was the first point, but I started with a discussion on self-protection, and then moved on to an advanced concept which I mentioned as a fundamental tenet. I will be doing this back-and-forth multiple times as we go further in this series as well.
The third part of self-preservation trio is evasion. If there is an attack or a threat, evasion is the obvious thing to do, to prevent or at least mitigate any physical harm. Evasion simply means getting out of the line of the immediate attack or not being in the place where the attack is going to have maximum impact. This can happen due to, along with, or lead to self-protection. So, these two concepts are intricately linked. The learning of the basics of the Bujinkan which we will look at in greater detail further in this series will hopefully elucidate this symbiosis better.
A key point when I mention “self-preservation” is the word “self”. Your training may not necessarily help you protect those with you at the time of the attack, except if your intuition allows you to get them away from the place where the attack might happen, before it happens (yes, it does sound like “luck”).
With that introduction out of the way, let us look at the training of the physical aspects of the Bujinkan in greater detail, starting with the next post in this series.
In martial arts around the world, wood is used a lot for practice weapons. These days weapons made of various polymers like nylon and polypropylene have started to replace wood as the material of choice for practice weapons. But this is not ubiquitous yet. In India, we almost never get training weapons made of anything but wood. It is too expensive due to a lack of demand. Polymer weapons need to be imported, again resulting in great costs. So, wood it is for us for now.
Recently we had a batch of wooden training weapons made and that is where the idea for this article came from. Wood comes from trees. And trees and plants have always played a major role in cultures all over the world from times immemorial, as weapons of both offence and defence. Trees are present in modern day speculative fiction, everyday news and in daily conversations as well. But I have never heard of a “Way of the Tree”.
Let us consider the presence of trees in stories from our tradition, myths from extinct religions, pop culture and modern day conversations.
One the most popular fantasy series of recent times is “The Wheel of Time” written by Robert Jordan and later by Brandon Sanderson. In the series there is a community of nomadic people called “The Traveling people” or “Tuatha’an”. This community follows what is called the “The Way of the Leaf”. It is a completely pacifistic way of living with absolutely no violence at all. This people reminds me of some Jain groups in India, who also follow a way living which abhors violence of all sorts.
An opposite of “The Wheel of Time” is “A Song of Ice & Fire” written by George R R Martin. In this series there is a kind of tree called a Weirwood. This tree is partially magic and has human faces carved into it. These trees might have a hive mind and also accept sacrifices, including human sacrifices!
Who can forget the Huorns and Ents in the Lord of the Rings! The Huorns are literally trees that move! In numbers, they are a forest that moves like an army. And the Ents are called shepherds of the forest, though in my opinion, they are like Generals to the Huorns.
In Norse mythology, mistletoe is a weapon. It is used to kill the God Baldur.
The plant Sanjeevini is used as a medicine in the Ramayana, to save Lakshmana from a weapon deployed by Indrajit (Meghanath), the son of Ravana.
Plant and tree produce are used for healthcare in India, as seen in the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda.
There are Gods for wine-making in many cultures. In old Vedic rituals, sacred Soma or Somarasa, which is believed to be an intoxicating drink made from a plant, is used.
I am a Hindu, and trees are all over our culture. We celebrated the festival of Dasara (Dussehra) a few weeks ago. On the last day (10th day) of the Dasara festival, which is Vijayadashami, a tree takes centre stage. The Banni or Shami tree is worshipped on this day. “Banni Mara” is the name in Kannada and “Shami Vruksh” is the name in Hindi. Both of these supposedly refer to Prosopis Cineraria.
Shami/Banni leaves given as “prasada” after a pooja on the occasion of Vijayadashami
In a lot of folklore in India, ghosts are associated with the Banyan tree. On the positive side, trees are worshipped during marriage ceremonies by some communities. The Peepal tree, called the “Ashwath Mara” in Kannada receives prayers by womenfolk during a marriage ceremony. Of course, the Buddha is supposed to have achieved enlightenment under a Peepal tree. This specific tree was called the Bodhi tree.
Social gatherings under Peepal trees were important for local discussions in India and hence the place under the tree was called a “Katte”, which is the Kannada word for a platform where people can sit and discuss. This was specifically called the “Ashwath Katte” or the “Peepal Platform”! Literally a platform for people under the Peepal! Sandalwood is used to make a paste, called “Chandana” and is offered to Gods. This is also applied on the neck of devotees after the offering, as a blessing from the Gods.
A Peepal tree
If we consider martial aspects, we can go back to the Ramayana. The bow used by Lord Rama was called the “Kodanda”. I have heard that a bow made of bamboo was called “Kodanda”. The bow of Rama was supposed to have three curves, in other words, it was a recurve bow made of bamboo. Just to expand on this point, consider the bow of Lord Vishnu. It is called the “Shāranga”. “Shāranga” is supposed to mean “horn”. So, the bow of Vishnu was made of animal horns. So, does that mean that Vishnu used a composite bow? I am not sure. I am basing this on the fact that when horn is used a material for a bow, it is usually a composite bow where sinew, glue and other materials are used to make the bow.
Representative image of Lord Rama with his bow, “Kodanda”. Image credit – “The Ramayana” published by Amar Chitra Katha.
There is a martial art with its origins in the modern day state of Tamil Nadu, called “Silambam”. The main weapon used in Silambam is a staff made of bamboo or rattan. I have seen it said that Silambam literally means “a staff of bamboo” or a “staff from the hills” which again refers to bamboo. And if the staff is not made of bamboo, it is made of a wood from different trees. There is a martial art called “Lathi Khela”, which focuses specifically on fighting with a staff. This martial art is famous all over the country.
Staff fighting is present in multiple martial art forms originating in India. Even as late as the 19th and early 20th century, the staff was the weapon of the enforcers employed by Landlords or Zamindars. These Zamindars used the enforcers for rent seeking and are considered “villains” in contemporary thinking. The staff is called a “Lathi” and the people who used the staff were called “Lathaith”.
Of course, staff fighting is popular all over the world. From the knobkerrie or rungu used in parts of Africa to the shillelagh in Ireland to the bo in Japan, staffs of various lengths are used in fighting all the time. Robin Hood fighting Little John is a popular story and in modern fantasy there is Matrim Couthon in the Wheel of Time series, who can defeat swordsmen with a quarterstaff.
If we consider defensive weaponry, armour made of fabric, like layers of cotton and the billowing cape used by Japanese cavalrymen to protect against a single arrow are well known examples. A cloth turban to protect the head was present in historical India. Another form of protection is the shield. Shields made of wicker were present in historical China while wooden parrying sticks were used in parts of Africa.
We can even use trees in a metaphorical or philosophical sense to expound on martial concepts.
Training the martial arts is a long term activity. It takes years of training to achieve mastery over the forms. It takes even longer to develop the expertise needed to share the knowledge / experience / wisdom gained. It requires commitment and passion for the art form. Conviction is also needed in the benefits of practice of the martial art to motivate an individual to keep at it.
This is not unlike the life of a tree. A tree takes years to grow, especially the large trees, which create a sense of awe in anyone who beholds them. Some trees live for over a thousand years! They grow from a seed or kernel or acorn into a sapling into a small tree into a giant of epic proportions. A great tree is a treasure because of the sheer time it has taken to get there, which could be centuries if not years! This is not unlike the time taken to master the martial arts, scaled down to a human lifetime of course.
Also consider the numbers game in the martial arts and trees in their early life. A very small fraction of all the students who start training reach the higher levels of any martial art. I am not sure if anyone has carried out a study on this, but a popular saying in the dojo I train with, is that less than 1% of all the students who walk into the dojo last for 10 years. Consider the trees now. How many seeds or saplings survive to grow into the giants we see? It is supposed to be a small fraction again, especially in the tropics where the evergreen forests cut-off most of the sunlight from ever reaching the ground. The fight for light space for a sapling on the forest floor in the tropics is same as the effort it takes a student to make time to practice the martial arts.
Another way of looking at this is the manner in which a forest, through its trees, reclaims land which was inhabited by humans for ages, even with monumental construction. There is the famous photo of the ruins in Cambodia, where the tree has literally taken over what was formerly a human dwelling. This is like sustained siege warfare, that is never let up! The trees are always there, surviving, waiting for an opening to take back what was likely lands they once occupied.
The above two images show trees taking over abandoned settlements at Ta Prohm in Cambodia. Image credit – My cousins
This is like incessant training, making time however possible. It is also like surviving against opponents without trying to win, only focusing on self-protection and self-preservation. Maybe an opening will appear in time, to mitigate the threat of the opponent. One of the senior most teachers in the Bujinkan system of martial arts, Nagato Sensei has a saying which is very popular. He says, “Leave no opening”. This saying of his has actually been put on training t-shirts! 🙂
What Sensei means by his statement, as I understand it, is that one should focus on first ensuring that one has moved to a position against an attack that fully protects oneself. There should be no opening the opponent can exploit or an opportunity to further the attack without revealing an opening in himself or herself. Unless this is achieved, looking to counterattack is counterproductive, as that might in turn give the opponent more opportunities for further attacks.
The above statement by Nagato Sensei is beautifully exemplified by how trees exploit gaps in masonry! If a sapling is not removed in the early stages when it is spotted on masonry, it can go on to crack walls over time and even spread its roots through pipes laid down for wires and plumbing.
Consider how saplings spring up with rains and sunlight in places where there is no soil at all! On concrete terraces with a little debris or construction waste. They are always there, looking for openings and opportunities to grow. This is akin to surviving a fight and to finding time and space to train. It could also be considered a metaphor in negative terms. Could the springing up of saplings on construction waste be more like the retinue of students who pass through a dojo? Like the many that are never really able to stick around to achieve any useful training? After all, a lot of the saplings that spring up are like weeds that do not last very long. Either way, “The Way of the Tree” seems a fine metaphor for the martial arts.
A representation of how flora reclaims gaps in masonry and construction debris.
There are several ways in which the martial arts are described. This includes the martial art systems as a whole, specific forms, weapons used in the art forms and the metaphors used to describe the martial arts as a whole. Top of mind to me for these descriptors are usually reminiscent of animals or geography (including metals, rocks and such), but not really based on flora, either trees or plants. Consider the following examples.
The animal forms of Shaolin Kung Fu have been made famous by the Kung Fu Panda franchise. The Tiger style, Snake style, Monkey style, Crane style, Eagle style, Mantis style are well known.
Metaphors of natural forces like water and wind are also well known, like “flow like water around your opponent”. Responding to the situation metaphorically becomes “water takes the shape of the container”. In India, strength is associated with Vayu, the God of Wind. Vayuputras (sons of the God of the Wind) Bhima and Hanuman are the epitome of strength and martial prowess.
There are representations of metals related to martial prowess as well. Consider Excalibur, which combines metal and water to bestow greatness, which includes martial skill. Another example is the “Sword of Mars” wielded by Attila the Hun. This sword is supposed to have been made of meteor iron and a marker of greatness. Of course, Attila was a great warrior king as well.
Coming to pop culture, in the world of Conan the Cimmerian (Barbarian) written by Robert E Howard and brought to life famously by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is “the riddle of steel”. Again, a metal exemplifies the martial skill embodied by Conan. Even in the world famous “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”, dedication to the martial arts is called “The Iron Way” due to how hard it is and the sacrifices it supposedly entails.
There are examples of trees and plants used, but a lot fewer, and none in pop culture as I can recall. In the Bujinkan, one of the schools studied is the “Takagi Yoshin Ryu”. The name of this school translates to “School of the Weeping Willow”. Here the willow tree is representative of being flexible yet strong. I opine that it is apt, because the Takagi Yoshin Ryu is an expression of jutaijutsu. Jutaijutsu, as I understand it, could be considered a super set that also includes, wrestling, judo, malla yudha, kushti etc. All of these martial arts do need flexibility and strength.
The first 2 techniques trained with the kunai also have tree based names, though not very representative of the martial style as a whole. The first technique is called “Kiri no hito ha” which translates to “cutting the paulownia leaf”. The second technique is called “Rakka” which translates to “falling petals”!
Beyond the above examples, other plant or tree based names and metaphors in the martial arts escape me at this time, at least as “top of mind” examples. If anyone is aware, do share the same with me. This seems strange to me, considering how ubiquitous trees are in our lives. It seems strange that there is no “Way of the Tree” in the martial arts. Is it likely that we might have such a system in the future? Perhaps, as I have tried to make the case for one above.
Considering the importance of the Peepal tree for us Indians, we once had a Bujinkan training t-shirt that had an image of a Peepal tree leaf on it.
Image credit – “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, Illustrated Classic Edition published by Moby Books
In my community, Deepavali used to be a 5 day festival until electric water boilers and modern plumbing became commonplace. That would mean the 1970s and 1980s and even the 1990s in many Indian cities. One can add modern transportation to the mix here. This is something I have heard from my parents and grandparents.
We all know of Deepavali being a 3 day festival. The first day is Naraka Chaturdashi, the second day is Amavāsya (not a festival, more like connective tissue between 2 festivals) and the third day is Bali Pādyami. This nomenclature and observance of course, is specific to my community. Every community could observe the days of the Deepavali with different festivals. The number of days celebrated as part of Deepavali could also be different among different groups of people. I am just sticking to what I know with respect to my own community.
So, I mentioned 3 days of the festival. What are the other 2 days celebrated as? Also, the 3 days I mentioned are the second, third and fourth days in the five day festival. Naraka Chaturdashi being day 2, Amavāsya day 3 and Bali Pādyami day 4. Day 1, the first day, was celebrated as “Neeru Tumbō Habba”. Day 5, the last day, was celebrated as “Varsha Todaku”. As I understand these two festivals today, they are both “trick festivals”. Let me elucidate further, starting with the “Neeru Tumbō Habba”.
“Neeru” means “water” in Kannada. “Tumbō” means “filling” or “to fill” in the same language. The filling here is like one fills a vessel or a bucket with water. “Habba” means “festival”, again in Kannada. So “Neeru Tumbō Habba” in Kannada means, “Water filling festival”. Now come the questions, why and where should water be filled and why is this “filling” a festival?
Remember that I stated early on that this was a festival at a time before modern plumbing and electric water heaters were common in Indian homes? This is the key to this festival. Naraka Charurdashi celebrations started early in the day. This required everyone to wake up early, bathe (not shower, bathe), dress in new clothes (or at least fresh ones) and be ready for pooja activities or to have fun bursting firecrackers.
Back then, joint families were a lot more common compared to current times. Also, families were larger, with more than 10 people living under the same roof being common. Imagine that all of these people have to bathe and be ready early, all using the same bathroom (again, not shower!). This takes a lot of water! Early bathing also means that hot water for bathing could be desirable.
How was water heated for bathing? In large vessels over a fire, using wood as fuel. This large vessel, in Kannada, was called “Hande” and was made of a metal that was a good conductor of heat, generally a copper alloy. These were not vessels out in the open. A vessel, the “Hande”, was built into a fireplace in the bathroom. This fireplace was kept burning continuously until everyone finished bathing. So, water was filled in the “Hande” every few minutes. People took water needed for bathing, added cold water to achieve a comfortable temperature and went about their business. This process was repeated for everyone in the family. And this meant a lot of water was used.
The design of a well from 80s and 90s urban India
Where did all this water come from? It is not from a tap, for modern plumbing was not yet a thing. Water was drawn from a well, usually within the household and used for the bathing. Since many people have to bathe one after the other early in the morning, several buckets and vessels were filled with water ready to be used. And this leads to the origin of the “Water Filling festival”.
An exaggerated representation of carrying water.Image credit – “The Invaluable Treasure” from “Jataka Tales – Stories of Wisdom”, published by Amar Chitra Katha
Since everyone had to bathe early in the morning, the many vessels (called “koda” in Kannada) and buckets including the “Hande” were filled up with water the previous day or night, for immediate use the next morning. This activity took quite some time and human effort as all the water had to be drawn from a well and moved to the bathroom and wherever else it was stored for use the next day. This activity was common for the entire community and everyone knew what one would be doing on the day before Naraka Chaturdashi. So, it became a festival in its own right! And this is where Tom Sawyer comes into the picture.
“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is a very famous novel written by the American novelist Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) in 1876. Tom Sawyer is in his early teens in the novel. At the beginning of the novel, Tom is tasked with whitewashing a fence as punishment, on a beautiful summer day when he should be having fun. Tom is worried that his friends will make fun of him for working when he should be reveling in fun and leisure. But Tom overcomes this problem with ingenuity.
Image credit – “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, Illustrated Classic Edition published by Moby Books
Tom, with clever use of words, convinces his friends that whitewashing the fence is “the thing to be doing”. This leads to his friends wanting to try their hand at the whitewashing. Tom makes them trade him apples and trinkets for the opportunity. In the end, Tom gets his friends to do his chore, makes a profit in trinkets and gets the whitewashing completed well ahead of time! So, he is also left with a large part of the day for fun and games, while he was originally going to spend all of it at whitewashing.
Tom Sawyer made drudgery seem like fun and everyone participated in it enthusiastically! In my opinion, this is exactly what the “Neeru Tumbō Habba” does!Call the chore of drawing and filling water a festival and everyone is enthusiastic about it! Add to this, once it is called a festival, the activity becomes a responsibility and everyone participates in it actively. Naraka Chaturdashi was always the first day of Deepavali, but some clever ancestors of ours added a day “minus one” to the festival and made sure everyone is clean and ready on the first day! Genius indeed. 😀 I am sure Tom Sawyer would flip in approval.
Image credit – “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, Illustrated Classic Edition published by Moby Books
A small aside here. When I was in school, we had a textbook for English called the “Gulmohar English Reader”. These textbooks were used from the first standard to the sixth (I think it would be called “sixth grade” these days). If I recall right, in the Gulmohar textbook for the third standard, the story of Tom Sawyer tricking his friends was a lesson called “Work can be fun” or something like that. If I am wrong about this and anyone recalls differently, please share your information with me.
Now let us have a look at the other festival, the last day of Deepavali, called “Varsha Todaku”. “Varsha” in many Indian languages denotes “year”. “Todaku” in a dialect of Tamil means “continues”. So, “Varsha Todaku” means “The year continues”, in a dialect of Tamil. It is interesting that the first festival “Neeru Tumbō Habba” is in Kannada, while the last festival, “Varsha Todaku”, is named with a word that seems more Tamil than Kannada. This is perhaps because my community originated in what is modern day Tamil Nadu, but have lived for centuries in what is modern day Karnataka, specifically the region that formed the Old Mysore State.
Coming back to the festival, what does “The year continues” mean? How can this be a festival? What is it a celebration of? I do not have clear answers to any of these questions. I have spoken about this to the older members of my family and have no answer that is satisfying to me. I am sharing what I think is the reason for this festival.
Deepavali is an awesome time! It involves holidays filled with visiting and hanging out with family and friends. It involves new clothes, great fun with firecrackers and great food! So, the end of Bali Pādyami leaves one with a heady feeling that one does not want to let go of, and prolong if possible. Back in the early 20th century, would this feeling be more special? Perhaps, I cannot be sure. Either way, getting back to normal life would be hard, or at least leave one with a wistful feeling. Add to this, the cleaning up that might be needed after the celebrations and visitors, a tinge of “I want more” might linger. So, we make the return to normalcy yet another festival!
So, one gradually returns to normal life, starting with cleaning up and maybe a little regular work on the day of “Varsha Todaku”. This is followed by a complete return to normalcy on the next day. Thus, “the year continues”. “Varsha Todaku” then becomes a bridge to come off the festival high and ease back into the routine. If this activity is a festival, it must be important, right? And so must be the letting go of the holidays. This is what I think explains the existence of this festival. Again, if anyone knows differently, please do share what you know with me.
Very few people even in my own family seem to remember or hark back to these two festivals. And Deepavali is now not a 5 day, but a 3 day festival. I feel that this 5 day pattern might not have been followed for very long, maybe a few decades in the first half of the 20th century. If it had been a practice for longer, I opine that its memory would be more prevalent. But I could be wrong here. I request anybody who knows otherwise to please enlighten me.
These days, families are a lot smaller, early starts are not important and hot water is easily made available at all times. So, there is no need to celebrate filling water, “Neeru tumbuvudu”. Similarly, there is so much opportunity to celebrate life these days. There is not even a need to wait for a festival. So, the need of a festival to ease one back to drudgery does not exist. There is no hankering for a festival and hence, no need for a “Varsha Todaku”.
I now have to connect all of the above to the martial arts, for this blog wouldn’t exist without Budo.
Years ago, my teacher shared an anecdote from the Bujinkan. One of the people he was training with, while in Japan, was an ex-paratrooper from France. This person was well built, about 6’3” tall, fit and strong, not to mention a very experienced martial artist. He in turn was training with another individual who was larger than he was. This person was about 6’5” or 6’7” tall. He was as experienced as the paratrooper in the martial arts, specifically the Bujinkan. Most importantly, he was a lot more muscled and in general stronger than the smaller (relatively speaking) individual.
The Bujinkan is not a sport and hence has no weight categories or rules. It is an exploration of real life combat and movement. Due to this and the size difference, the ex-paratrooper had trouble dealing with the larger person in offence and defence. So, he asked one of the senior Japanese teachers, what one can do against opponents that have a considerable physical advantage. The Japanese Sensei is supposed to have said that the way to do this is to make the other, larger person your friend and use his abilities to benefit you, instead of treating the other person as an opponent.
This response is about seeing a problem in a new light, or from a different perspective. Maybe the new perspective will show one how to use the situation which is a problem to one’s own advantage. This is exactly what I think my ancestors did when the festivals of “Neeru Tumbo Habba” and “Varsha Todaku” were added to Deepavali! They changed the perspective and made drudgery fun!
Image credit – “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, Illustrated Classic Edition published by Moby Books
In Hindi, there is a phrase, “aapada mein bhi avasar hai”. It means “there is opportunity in a crisis”. “Aaapada” is crisis and “avasar” is opportunity in Hindi. This is identical in spirit to the English phrase “Never let a crisis go waste”. This phrase usually means that one should use a crisis to make changes for the better. Perhaps these phrases also arise from situations that gave rise to new festivals and the response from our Sensei in the Bujinkan.
Deepavali (also called Diwali) is the celebration of “Light” and the triumph of Dharma over Adharma (very poorly translated as triumph of good over evil). The “light” is almost always associated with knowledge, wisdom and new experiences that help one benefit oneself in life. I guess when we throw “light” on a problem, the change in perspective leads to a solution, which might or might not have anything to do with the problem in the first place.
And finally we have the word “enlightenment”. My teacher once told me that one feels “light” when a weight is dropped. If you are carrying a heavy backpack and you set it down, you feel “enlightened”. By this definition, letting go of an existing or fixed notion is perhaps enlightenment, for the notion was a burden! And the lack of a burden allows a new perspective, which might show the lack of a problem where one previously existed. 🙂
And this perhaps allows for joyous participation in boring chores and the creation of new festivals – opportunities for the celebration of life!
Mundane Budo 