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As long as you find something beautiful, good, and true to
believe in and abide by, you have the equivalent of God in your life. Thick Nhat Hanh |
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The International Budo Institute is happy to announce that its newly sponsored Budopedia site is now live.
Budopedia is the Free Online Martial Arts Encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Similar to wikipedia and using the same technology Budopedia is specifically limited to the world of Budo, martial arts.
It is hoped that this tool will become an important resource for all Budoka, martial artists, no matter what system they study. At The International Budo Institute we are continually striving to bring you the best of breed applications to the world of martial arts learning.
You can visit Budopedia at
www.budopedia.org.
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Good teachers and spiritual friends help us solve our problems and maintain our loving intentions. Cherish these kindred spirits, friends, and mentors. The Sons and Daughters of the Buddhas all follow this practice.
 Meditating Buddha |
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Founder of the All Japan Karate-do Goju-kai Association and the International Karate-do Goju-kai Association.
Gogen Yamaguchi was born on January 20, 1909, in Kagoshima city on southern Kyushu. Already as a youngster he showed great interest in the martial arts. During his early school days he trained in kendo, (Japanese fencing) and it was during this time that he started his karate training under the tutelage of Mr. Maruta, a carpenter from Okinawa. Mr. Maruta who was a Goju practitioner was drawn to the young Yamaguchi's serious attitude and his willingness to train hard. Mr. Maruta taught Yamaguchi all he knew about the Goju system.
 Gogen Yamaguchi (1909-1989) |
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A violent dragon meets a Bodhisattva on the road one day. The Boddhisattva tells the dragon that he should not kill anymore and should instead adopt the Five Precepts and care for all life. The Boddhisattva inspires the dragon, and afterwards the dragon becomes completely non-violent. But now the children who tend to the animal flocks nearby, seeing that the dragon has become gentle, lose all fear of him. And they begin to torment him, stuffing stones and dirt into his mouth, pulling on his tail, and jumping on his head. Soon the dragon stops eating and becomes very sick.
When the dragon encounters the Bodhisattva again, he complains, "You told me that if I kept the precepts and was compassionate, I would be happy. But now I suffer, and I am not happy at all." To this the Bodhisattva replies: "My son, if you have compassion, morality, and virtue, you must also have wisdom and intelligence. This is the way to protect yourself. The next time the children make you suffer, show them your fire. After that, they will trouble you no more."
Moral: Find the balance between Tolerance and Self-Defense. |
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Matajuro Yagyu was the son of a famous swordsman. His father, believing that his son's work was too mediocre to anticipate mastership, disowned him.
So Matajuro went to Mount Futara and there found the famous swordsman Banzo. But Banzo confirmed the father's judgment. "You wish to learn swordsmanship under my guidance?" asked Banzo. "You cannot fulfill the requirements."
"But if I work hard, how many years will it take me to become a master?" persisted the youth.
"The rest of your life," replied Banzo.
"I cannot wait that long," explained Matajuro. "I am willing to pass through any hardship if only you will teach me. If I become your devoted servant, how long might it be?"
"Oh, maybe ten years," Banzo relented.
"My father is getting old, and soon I must take care of him," continued Matajuro. "If I work far more intensively, how long would it take me?"
"Oh, maybe thirty years," said Banzo.
"Why is that?" asked Matajuro. "First you say ten and now thirty years. I will undergo any hardship to master this art in the shortest time!"
"Well," said Banzo, "in that case you will have to remain with me for seventy years. A man in such a hurry as you are to get results seldom learns quickly."
"Very well," declared the youth, understanding at last that he was being rebuked for impatience, "I agree."
Matajuro was told never to speak of fencing and never to touch a sword. He cooked for his master, washed the dishes, made his bed, cleaned the yard, cared for the garden, all without a word of swordsmanship.
Three years passed. Still Matajuro labored on. Thinking of his future, he was sad. He had not even begun to learn the art to which he had devoted his life.
But one day Banzo crept up behind him and gave him a terrific blow with a wooden sword.
The following day, when Matajuro was cooking rice, Banzo again sprang upon him unexpectedly.
After that, day and night, Matajuro had to defend himself from unexpected thrusts. Not a moment passed in any day that he did not have to think of the taste of Banzo's sword.
He learned so rapidly he brought smiles to the face of his master. Matajuro became the greatest swordsman in the land.
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Buddhism teaches us to see the beauty in this present moment or activity rather than the payoff pleasure that comes at the end of an activity. In this way, you stop pursuing happiness and actually become happy. What you should pursue instead of gratifications are activities that engage your creativity, or your mental faculties, or your physical powers. If you want to be happy, don't work on being happy -- work on learning to play a musical instrument, study karate, take up small engine repair, gardening, or calligraphy, learn a language, paint a house, or try your hand at a souffle.
If you can keep your ego-consciousness from seeping in and turning these wonderful activities into manic fixations, then happiness (not always pleasure) will emerge out of the focused, careful activity itself. A state of well-being and peacefulness comes forth as a by-product of your mindful activity because you have (perhaps only temporarily) dissolved the ego by distracting and luring it into a busy immersion with the minutiae of your chosen activity. This is the oblique pursuit of happiness.
Shihan Henderson's Comment
Budoka know the benefits of focusing in on their Budo training. Like the above says, you lose yourself in the pursuit and many beautiful things happen. On the concrete side, we feel more relaxed and focused, on the metaphysical side we become more spiritually balanced and able to deal with the realities of our day-to-day life.
In order to practice Budo for a long-time you can't be focused on the end game. Belts color or rankings are in themselves empty, you must find your joy, your own happiness in simply training for training's sake. Once accomplished and you're able to obtain happiness simply from training day-to-day you will advance faster than everyone else, because your heart will be pure and your ego will be empty.
Source: Stephen T. Asma, The Gods Drink Whiskey, Stumbling Towards Enlightenment In The Land of The Tattered Buddha. |
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The Roundhouse kick or Mawashi Geri may be performed in two variations. The first variation is the most common where the kick comes around the front from the back position and the opponent is struck with the top of the foot, as in Roundhouse Kick #1. This is shown elsewhere in this section.
The second variation, #2, is where the kick originates from underneath the buttocks and kicks out similar to a side kick and the opponent is struck with the bottom or heel of the foot. This variation is shown below in the schematic highlighting the different paths that either variation follows.
If the video does not play or appear in your browser simply refresh your browser, right mouse click while over the video and select "play". If your browser does not support this video format you must download and view with IE 6+.
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