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If anyone lives in London and would like to investigate how the ancient sword arts of japan tie into meditation, I highly recommend http://battodo-fudokan.co.uk

If anyone lives in London and would like to investigate how the ancient sword arts of japan tie into meditation, I highly recommend http://battodo-fudokan.co.uk/ http://battodo-fudokan.co.uk/

sorokod 8y ago
From the websight "Nakamura Ryu Battodo is a distillation of traditional Japanese swordsmanship ..." In other words, it is not a traditional sword system but a modern one.
- sgt101 8y ago
  Heh - I practiced Kendo with Raoul Knutsen for a few years, there wasn't much meditative about the school he followed!
  - sorokod 8y ago
    I have a lot of respect for martial arts disciplines that put martial arts first and keep spiritual aspects of the practice ( if they have one ) off the marketing material.
    - Spearchucker 8y ago
      This is interesting. I've been doing Krav Maga for some time and a few years ago did a week of it in Isreal, sampling all its aspects and applications - military, close protection, civilian, police /crowd control and... it's spiritual side. For a martial art so young I was surprised it even has a spiritual side. It's also become the aspect I find most fascinating. And yet the instructors accompanying us seemed embarrassed by it and the single instructor world wide teaching it from a kibbutz outside Haifa. It certainly wasn't why I chose to practice Krav Maga.
      - hutzlibu 8y ago
        Can you tell more about the spiritual side of Krav Maga? The seeming lack of it, might be why I never took a closer lock into it. So I am also surprised that there might be one. Can it be that just some instructors personal spirituality got mixed into it?
      - golemiprague 8y ago
        Krav maga is a fighting system derived from east european street fighting "wisdom", it is not a martial art per se and got no spiritual side. I know some people who studied it from the guy who invented krav maga, Imi Lichtenfeld. The thing is, because most of them are into martial arts they usually studied also other martial arts and sometimes incorporate it into their brand of krav maga. But it is mostly lessons from boxing and jiu juitsu, simple mma stuff rather than some spiritual stuff. The whole idea of krav maga is to distill whatever is effective and practical in real street situation for people who need to learn it in a relatively short time. Therefore it is based on simple and intuitive techniques with no spiritual side and no regard for any rules which still exist even in mma. If you find any spiritual side in this it would be a very perverted one.
- kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
  Given it's less than savory origins I wouldn't consider it a basis for meditative contemplation either.
  - Razengan 8y ago
    For those wondering, this may be referring to it being the replacement for allegedly using live prisoners for sword practice.
- mirimir 8y ago
  In my experience, Aikido includes many practical bits of Japanese swordsmanship. Practitioners (especially Iwama style) typically use wooden knives, swords and staffs in practice. Because that helps with proper form. Given that most Aikido moves are based on weapon moves.
  - bradknowles 8y ago
    Advanced Judo is also like that. I've never practiced advanced Judo, but I've seen it played. And I saw them using wooden weapons. Given that both Judo and Aikido were born from Jiu Jitsu, that makes sense.
jshaqaw 8y ago
I did tameshigiri for the second time last night. Speaking as someone who regularly practiced zazen for 15 years it is an incredibly Zen meditative experience!
- sorokod 8y ago
  So can be almost any phisical activity that requires simplicity and precision.
  - mercer 8y ago
    so what?
- sorokod 8y ago
  Just because you could match your meditation experience to your martial arts experience does not imply that there is something unique to martial arts going on. As I mentioned, almost any simple physical activity may become a meditative practice and may benefit from such practice. I like the following quote about zanshin (from https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/zanshin https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/zanshin) "In taking a step, it is the weight rolling smoothly and the next step arising. In breathing in completely, it is this breath. In breathing out completely, it is this breath. In life, it is this life. Zanshin means complete follow through, leaving no trace. It means each thing, completely, as it is."

If anyone lives in London and would like to investigate how the ancient sword arts of japan tie into meditation, I highly recommend http://battodo-fudokan.co.uk/ http://battodo-fudokan.co.uk/

sorokod 8y ago

From the websight "Nakamura Ryu Battodo is a distillation of traditional Japanese swordsmanship ..." In other words, it is not a traditional sword system but a modern one.

sgt101 8y ago
Heh - I practiced Kendo with Raoul Knutsen for a few years, there wasn't much meditative about the school he followed!
- sorokod 8y ago
  I have a lot of respect for martial arts disciplines that put martial arts first and keep spiritual aspects of the practice ( if they have one ) off the marketing material.
  - Spearchucker 8y ago
    This is interesting. I've been doing Krav Maga for some time and a few years ago did a week of it in Isreal, sampling all its aspects and applications - military, close protection, civilian, police /crowd control and... it's spiritual side. For a martial art so young I was surprised it even has a spiritual side. It's also become the aspect I find most fascinating. And yet the instructors accompanying us seemed embarrassed by it and the single instructor world wide teaching it from a kibbutz outside Haifa. It certainly wasn't why I chose to practice Krav Maga.
    - hutzlibu 8y ago
      Can you tell more about the spiritual side of Krav Maga? The seeming lack of it, might be why I never took a closer lock into it. So I am also surprised that there might be one. Can it be that just some instructors personal spirituality got mixed into it?
    - golemiprague 8y ago
      Krav maga is a fighting system derived from east european street fighting "wisdom", it is not a martial art per se and got no spiritual side. I know some people who studied it from the guy who invented krav maga, Imi Lichtenfeld. The thing is, because most of them are into martial arts they usually studied also other martial arts and sometimes incorporate it into their brand of krav maga. But it is mostly lessons from boxing and jiu juitsu, simple mma stuff rather than some spiritual stuff. The whole idea of krav maga is to distill whatever is effective and practical in real street situation for people who need to learn it in a relatively short time. Therefore it is based on simple and intuitive techniques with no spiritual side and no regard for any rules which still exist even in mma. If you find any spiritual side in this it would be a very perverted one.
kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
Given it's less than savory origins I wouldn't consider it a basis for meditative contemplation either.
- Razengan 8y ago
  For those wondering, this may be referring to it being the replacement for allegedly using live prisoners for sword practice.
mirimir 8y ago
In my experience, Aikido includes many practical bits of Japanese swordsmanship. Practitioners (especially Iwama style) typically use wooden knives, swords and staffs in practice. Because that helps with proper form. Given that most Aikido moves are based on weapon moves.
- bradknowles 8y ago
  Advanced Judo is also like that. I've never practiced advanced Judo, but I've seen it played. And I saw them using wooden weapons. Given that both Judo and Aikido were born from Jiu Jitsu, that makes sense.

jshaqaw 8y ago

I did tameshigiri for the second time last night. Speaking as someone who regularly practiced zazen for 15 years it is an incredibly Zen meditative experience!

sorokod 8y ago
So can be almost any phisical activity that requires simplicity and precision.
- mercer 8y ago
  so what?
sorokod 8y ago
Just because you could match your meditation experience to your martial arts experience does not imply that there is something unique to martial arts going on. As I mentioned, almost any simple physical activity may become a meditative practice and may benefit from such practice. I like the following quote about zanshin (from https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/zanshin https://wwzc.org/dharma-text/zanshin) "In taking a step, it is the weight rolling smoothly and the next step arising. In breathing in completely, it is this breath. In breathing out completely, it is this breath. In life, it is this life. Zanshin means complete follow through, leaving no trace. It means each thing, completely, as it is."