The Art Comes from Within

As we train; skills, techniques, even philosophy can be gleaned from the instructor or fellow students.  This is the road to the "Martial Mechanic." 

The Art segment of Martial Arts can be demonstrated, filmed, graphed, diagrammed and talked about until the end of time...but only through persistent training does the Artist within a Martial Artist come to be.

As time goes by and the Spirit  grows, magical things begin to happen and understandings of things un-thought begin to unfold.  This is the Martial Metamorphosis, the Artist emerging.    There is much guidance available, but the True Martial Artist is actually self-taught.



When you make this your first and last thought of the day...the magic will seek you out!

~Sensei Marc

"Just wanted you to know...I'm doing well!"

The outpouring of comments, support, and love from from your heart's regarding Choco's transcendence to the next dimension was incredible.  I appreciate each and every one of you for your incredible love, kindness, and support.

A few days after Choco's crossing over with her ancestors, there was a very curious change that happened to one of her pictures in a frame that housed several shots of her over the years.  These pictures ranged from puppy shots to adult shots.  The scientist would send the picture in for forensic study. 
The spiritual growth that occurs with training in the Dojo gives me clear interpretation of the photographic  editing. 
I interpret the changes to the photo something like this...

"Hey guys! 
It's quite different here, but everyone is nice to me.  It was an incredible journey that I hope to communicate and share with you when you come.  Thanks for your love and care...thank you for giving me the chance to meet all the great people at the Dojo and the clinic, I can't wait to play ball again...and catch some fish...
I'm still trying to figure out where they go when you put them back in the water??? 
But mostly, I just want you to know that I made it here safely...I love you!"
~Choco
ps-thump, thump, thump...


I am posting the photo, with the additional markings, so you can make up your own mind.

~Marc Sensei

The Passing of a Dojo Icon

It is rare to loose one of us permanently. 

Too often, a student of "great" proportions wanders off to pursue another interest. 
Fair enough...especially with accountability...when the action is explained and understood. 
Nonetheless, it is often difficult to see one of us walk and not return. 
The hours, the commitment, the blood, sweat and tears is immense. 
Anyone can do this martial art...but it is not for everyone!
The patience, the perseverance...being there, is what it takes, yet so often is too much.

Our loss, particularly my loss, comes not in terms of a traditional student, but a Landmark Icon of the Kusa Dojo for close to five years.  Attending almost every class offered...putting in hours before and after, Adults, Kids, and often the Little Dragons...there was only one who unconditionally greeted and spent time with everyone...no discrimination, no judgements, unconditional respect and love for all of the students...one with a true giving "Spirit."

...but if you picked up a tennis ball...you got her full undivided attention and commitment!

I can say that I have seen her slow down over the last 9 months.  I had hoped to show her the ocean, but will have to be content with my memories of her standing behind me in the river when I would take her fly fishing.  She was as much a fixture in the acupuncture clinic as I was.
You will be missed!
You were loved.

The end was quick and as I can assess, painless.  I asked my Hawaiian Kahuna if there was a prayer to help our friends pass quickly and painlessly back to their ancestors.  He gave me an incredible chant, which I have chanted diligently for the last week. 
I take no responsibility for Choco passing quietly in the arms of the one who has loved her the longest, but it gives me great peace knowing that "the Ancestors" may have come and taken her before any suffering or loss of dignity occurred.

It has been said that dogs only live a short time because they understand unconditional love...a difficult accomplishment for us mortals who need decades and often never really figure much out.  She had 14 wonderful years.

I'll see you on the other side girl!
We'll play ball, tug and catch some fish.
Enjoy your time with the Ancestors.
XXXO
~Marc Sensei

The more you know...

Once every so often you have an exceptionally connected and engaging conversation with someone about a topic of mutual interest.  More often, if it’s an area of deep interest and passion, you notice that your message is only being half understood at best.  At times, the prolonged study of something (like Ninpo) leads us to a place with few peers to bounce our thoughts, ideas and observations off of.  I call this “the more you know, the more you don’t know.”  I encountered this for “my” first time in the mid-70’s when I made the observation to a biochemistry professor that I was struggling with each section we undertook; only to get a solid enough grasp of the subject matter to usually slip through with a B on my exams.  The professor would then launch into the next section leaving me lost in a cloud of meaningless equations and concepts.  Why is it that through all my efforts I felt like I understood less and less?  Why was it that the more I seemingly knew, the more questions I had…the more I didn’t know?

My answer came with the inflating of balloons for a child’s birthday party.  The balloon was my brain…the room was the world of knowledge, options and possibilities.  With each breath into the balloon, my knowledge had increased.  But, as the surface area of the balloon got bigger (my expanded knowledge)…so did the surface area bordering on the outside of the balloon (unknown knowledge, options and possibilities).  As the balloon increases in volume, accumulated knowledge, so does the surface area with the unknown knowledge increase, making…”the more you know, the more you don’t know.

So as you train, it is important to take what you know, and what you don't know, bring it back inside, let it trickle through what you thought you understood, and let it augment what you know, in an auspicious way, that promotes healthy exploration into the unknown territories of this art.

In Ninpo, you often know what you don’t know.  The new concept is sometimes clear, while the prior concept still thwarts you in your training and makes (k)no(w) sense.  While Ninpo employs and destroys laws of physics, Ninpo is not a science, it is not linear.  Unlike the balloon, our knowledge ebbs and flows in unique progressions that are often completely random and nonlinear.  In the Ten-Chi-Wa system, we have added a multitude of waza and exercises to help the student discover and understand principles rather than just acquiring and completing patterns.  All answers lie in the training!  The fast progressions are followed by obstinate roadblocks.  It’s not fair!  It is real!  It is a way of life…and like the lotus blossoms…it is infinite…and eternal.

Train hard…train well...train often!

~Marc Sensei

Guarding Gandhi

Stuff happens! 
 ...this has been said a thousand different ways...
How and why is not as important as what is and what we do with it.

Opportunity passes us by daily, almost like the doors on the "Price is Right."  How many times do we hesitate, taking a few moments to ponder, only to realize that the window of opportunity has passed us by?

One of those opportunities occurred for me when I was recently asked to serve as Personal Security for Mr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi for some of his lectures and personal travel in Hawaii.  I was able to meet and spend time with this iconic person who continues the message of non-violence that his grandfather championed throughout the first half of the 20th Century.  There was no occasion to employ any protection skills other than to thank people for attending and informing them that Mr. Gandhi thanks you all and apologizes for having to rush off to his next appointment.  His schedule was gruelling and I watched his organizers alternate escorting duties to keep from fatigue total collapse.  At 77 Mr. Gandhi is a remarkable and lucid speaker with very clear and realistic ideas on the expansion of the message of non-violence.  In addition to his lecture schedule I was privileged to attend to Mr. Gandhi with Shiatsu and Acupuncture.

During a couple of breaks, I took him swimming on the windward side of the island and snorkeling at Haunama Bay...a first for Mr. Gandhi. This is an energetic man that truly will continue to spread his teachings and experience life to its fullest, until he takes his final breath, which we all hope is a long long time from now.

I am including a link to Mr. Gandhi's personal web-site http://www.arungandhi.org/, I hope you take a few minutes to read some of his blogs or stories surrounding his grandfather, they are quite entertaining and some interesting lessons are passed on through them.

The biggest thing I took away from time with Mr. Gandhi was the need to become aware of our acts of "unconscious" violence.  It is easy to recognize our conscious acts, but how do we unconsciously provoke those around us?   Just the mere mention of a name sometimes can bring us to a point of anger that is ready to spill over. 

For us as  martial artists and people of the "warrior spirit," the philosophy of "maintaining a compassionate heart...pursuing peace and harmony, never carrying a grudge when humiliated or denounced, and possessing a heart as soft as a flower," are all mantras of the same ilk.  And for conflict resolution, "never place your heart second to the sword."

With out night, there can be no day, yin flowing into yang.  With out good, there is no evil.  In an all too often chaotic world...look to the "Warrior Spirit" because first and foremost, these are people of Peace.

"Be the change"

"Be the Spirit"

~Marc Sensei

Tsunami Sunrise and Surf Session

As I left for Hawaii in early February I was inundated with comments about getting eaten by sharks, giant squid, swallowed by whales...and one, "don't get swept away by a tsunami!" I must admit to chuckling and being "lightly" dismissive to the possibility of these exceedingly rare occurrences. But as I have preached regarding the need to know self-defense, "It's always somebody else...until it's you!"

Well Thursday night at 10:00PM, the underground energy from the earthquake in Japan manifested with sirens and all of the islands going into full scale tsunami alert. A web-site showed people in high risk areas and called for an immediate evacuation, with a target time of 3:07AM for the tsunami to hit. Traveling at 500+ miles per hour and estimated to be 2 meters tall, that left me with about 10 inches between the water height and my ceiling fans...time to seek higher ground!

I packed up my important belongings, some water and a bit of food and headed to Pupukea, a small community on the hill overlooking such places as Banzai Pipeline. I set my alarm for 1:00AM to avoid the heavy traffic heading to the hills and wandered up about 1:30AM, found a place to park where I could view the ocean at a famous surf spot called Rockpile. I attempted to sleep in my car, but there was a pretty big Tsunami Party going on so I didn't get much rest. My alarm went off at 3:00AM and I joined a couple of dozen people to see if indeed the end of the world was arriving. Finally at about 3:18AM an organized surge showed up as a large white band across the water in our complete field of view. Thankfully, it was little bigger than the days surf which was pumping out 8 foot bombs all day (it is the North Shore in winter). A full wave came and went with no appreciable follow through. Over the next 30 minutes, we witnessed 3 more organized waves of similar appearance. We presumed that was the tsunami and since it wasn't on IMAX, we were all pretty happy to see such a small sized wave.

The dock at Haleiwa Harbor (about 7 miles from where I am) broke in half, Maui sustained some flooding and a giant honu (sea turtle) was deposited way inland from the surge. Also there was a house floating in the bay off Kona on the Big Island. Nothing like the tragedy that hit Japan!

Anyhow, we were not allowed to come off the hill until about 9:00AM when they decided that the worst was over. I came back to a beach with a flatter angle and debris on the third of eight steps that lead from the beach to the yard. We were fortunate and very grateful to the Goddess Pele and the other Hawaiian deities for looking out for us.

Later that morning I went surfing to waves that held a very different sense of power. Fast paced sets that powered up big and sent my board rocketing to the shore. Those out in the water all agreed, there was a different energy in the waves Friday...our Tsunami-Surf Session.

Well, the sun is back, the whales are spouting, breaching, fluking and spy-hopping. The honu are happily feeding along the shore. The geckos and anoles are all busy eating bugs...and the crowds are back for the weekend.
As was said by Aaron R. in instructor class a few months ago..."we train thousands of hours over several years, for a few seconds we hope never happens."

Tsunami Sunrise

"Nana Anuenue"  Look, a rainbow

Early Friday morning, the tsunami came.  We were ready...and the damage was minor.  And the moral of the story...be aware...be prepared.


Aloha nui loa,

~Sensei Marc



...in the beginning...

There was a time I didn't "live" martial arts...but I don't remember it...

Honestly? ?

Honestly!!

Ninpo is a way of life.  Plain and simple...leave out all the superfluous and the extraneous...loose your affectations...then and only then are you gaining ground on the "spirit" of Ten-Chi-Wa Ninpo-Tai-Jutsu.

A spiritual "hot-line" to the "god's that be!"

...a mainline to truth...

...to be embraced in "mother nature's belly button!"

That's training!

That's living!

...within the realm of what is possible...because it is...

endless options and possibilities...toys in the toy box...

not to be traded...for a single answer...

Be the Spirit!

~Marc Sensei