By Martin E. Hansen, Member until 2018
It was not a coincidence (as usual) that the Hsing-i course was placed as an immediate extension and before the last POMW course, but with full deliberation by Kimu Sensei. One of the essences from POMW went again in Hsing-i – mode.
Hsing-i is part of Shindenkan's wide-ranging curriculum, where Yakami Shinsei-ryu differs from other karate systems. Hsing-i is one of the traditional Chinese martial arts styles and in the "family" with systems such as Tai-chi and Pa Kua. For some of the participants, it would actually also be the first real dan course that they had to take part in. This means that there are other requirements for attitude and attention on the part of the participants. This meant that the course was a bit of an eye-opener also for the old people at farm J
On Friday 18 May, Kimu Sensei welcomed the team, which included almost all Shindenkan brown and black belts, to the first Hsing-i course. But what should this course contain? - most people expected a long PowerPoint slideshow where all the theory was presented followed by a lot of technical training that then led towards the essence of Hsing-i.
Instead, this first course took a slightly different turn, when the participants were told that a dan course is structured somewhat differently from the kyu courses, where you are introduced to a grocery store, so to speak. For a dan course, you are required to be more outgoing and willing to learn, which meant that the participants were told before Hsing-i TSM B to go home and research what they could find about Hsing-i themselves, then they would probably have to later be presented with the essence. This requirement for the participants means that they have to take active participation on another level and be proactive rather than reactive and only receptive.
The message for the training in the first course Hsing-i TSM A, which did not specifically deal with hsing-i techniques, was that hsing-i is essentially about 3 things – speed, power and precision. Precision also means that the power must be delivered "one point", i.e. it must be concentrated in as small an area as possible.
Kimu Sensei therefore introduced the participants to the most used strokes in hsing-i, which are seiken-tsuki, ippon-ken and nakadaka-ken, but also the areas that were most effective to hit, i.e. with the greatest possible effect (knock out) or balance wrestling. Not all people are built the same, not even when it comes to so-called "striking points", which are actually identical to certain acupuncture points. The participants were therefore asked, with changing partners, to find and press these points on each other, partly to feel the effect, but also to see the difference in the reaction to the different opponents. Striking points can be sore, but they can also have an immediate effect, so most people thought it was quite interesting that a point on the chin made the ears equalize pressure, like when you sink, but with hard contact, it means a knock-out J But the precision doesn't come by standing and especially not in a fight that could potentially be about life and death, so it had to be tested in the kumite, not at full blast, but with 30-50% power and speed.
Hitting with optimal speed, power and precision is of course a matter of technique, but equally and perhaps even more importantly a matter of attitude. It was therefore a consistent message in this first part of the course, naturally wrapped in Kimu Sensei's diverse teaching methodologies. Setting comes from many things, not just what you train 2-5 times a week in the dojo. Throughout life you will be met with challenges at work, among friends and in the family - yes, everywhere. You can choose either to be the gray mass and go with the flow, or to stop, be in the moment and decide on your own being. It sounds very philosophical and what does it have to do with Hsing-i? It is actually very essential, as your thinking in all aspects of life is reflected the day you are faced with a situation that may be life and death, your own life or that of your family. If you do like everyone else, you may be the one who dies, but if you are able to be in the moment, take a decision on your own life - be the leader of your own life - you are the one who emerges victorious from a sharp situation.
You must try to be your own best at all times, also when you come to a course. It's about being open and receptive and seeing/observing instead of just looking, if you don't try to see something new or remove your old assumptions, you're just training on something you know and not developing. Here we talk about comfort zones, i.e. do you train in your comfort zone or to what extent do you train outside your comfort zone, where the potential for learning new things is greatest. It's not always about learning new things, but using the knowledge you already have in a new way, as you can suddenly see new contexts.
The Hsing-i principle of delivering with optimal power, speed and precision is actually quite generic, so why not train this with other aspects in life, it could optimize a lot even in one's working life, if you otherwise feel like it job you have J It's about thinking optimally at every moment - in your techniques, there are probably several redundant movements you make, which if they weren't there, it might be impossible for an opponent to see when you attack.
The mindset of coming with an open mind, receptive and with the attitude of wanting to learn something new, the participants had actually faced earlier in the POMW course. In POMW, most of them had no prerequisites for shooting, but they had a martial arts approach with attitude, but also a solid basic knowledge of movement. Here, the main essence was precisely to trust what you were told (e.g. dry training for 3 weeks is the way forward) and to show confidence that the teaching and the POMW shooting technique manual work, but also that you have so much knowledge beforehand that you easily can be used as long as you can see a connection. POMW worked as everyone went from not being able to hit to shooting "hole in hole" in three weeks.
Hsing-i is of course also about trusting the knowledge that Kimu Sensei imparts, but also that you take an active part, come with the attitude of wanting to learn, do your best, do it in a new way and believe in yourself. With this in mind, the participants could prepare for the next part of Hsing-i.
Friday, June 8, it was then time for Hsing-i TSM B. Kimu Sensei continued and immediately grasped the common thread throughout this half-year – setting. The first course has just focused on the attitude to learn and move out of the comfort zone and be present in the moment - the dojo is the place for information, so when you are there, you might as well get the best out of it . Unlike the first part, however, in this course there was more practice, but not without surprises.
Much of today's training took place on hitting pads, where 2 and 2 first had to train basic tsuki. It was the first surprise of the day and a bit of a trap. Most jumped in with both feet, despite the fact that they had just been instructed to hit the seiken tsuki, what resembled a jun-tsuki was hit. Why? With jun-tsuki, you have a greater sense of success when you can really put your weight behind the strike and move your opponent, because you had to show strength in the strike at the same time, that was also part of the task.
Kimu Sensei obviously knew that his built-in trap was working and just emphasized how important it was that you are alert, open and receptive to learning something new.
As in POMW, the participants should have used their open minds as if they had no prerequisites for hitting tsuki on a pillow, just as they had no prerequisites for shooting and hitting with a gun. Again, you shouldn't forget what you can do, but you also shouldn't press the "dead man's" button and just pat the pillow as usual.
In the present, nothing is as usual, because there is no past and no future – of course there is, but it is not relevant in the present. But in the present you exist and must act here and now. What you act on is your instincts and spine technique and the more you have trained this the better the result. In a learning situation, you must also be in the present, which means that you must be able to observe the technique you have just performed or others perform and learn from it, and not just repeat the same and the same, over and over. We are all familiar with this – the workplace where patterns and employees repeat the same thing over and over again.
It is martial arts, where martial arts is the eternal learning spiral and a question of whether you are there or not there - constantly. A samurai, even if taken out of context, probably doesn't even think about what he forgot to buy in Netto or whether the video is set to record the last episode of "Desperate House Wifes", then he was a head shorter on the battlefield, when his opponent was in a completely different place mentally, namely now and here and see what is happening.
The setting woke up the participants and they all fought both an external and internal battle. The pad training became more advanced and introduced how to move optimally, quickly and powerfully and use power generation. The interesting thing was that the participants could see how Hsing-i was built on tools they already knew from e.g. unsuku1 and when it is performed with the attitude and intention that really lies behind it, it is incredibly powerful.
It was some very tired participants who this Friday evening bowed and thanked for a good course. The two out of three Hsing-i courses, which make up the total Hsing-i tsm, have been a positive and surprising experience for all the participants. Not only has it been a meeting with Hsing-i and the essentials behind it, but also a meeting with themselves and what it takes to be able to perform Hsing-i correctly in terms of attitude and clarity. The participants already have the way to understand Hsing-i and indeed other systems in their extensive Yakami Shinsei-ryu toolbox, which is based on 1000 years of knowledge and experience from Kimu Sensei, they "just" have to draw the parallels and connections. Here on the website, you will be able to read a number of articles from the various TG groups about their perception of this course, where the conclusion and last part, not entirely coincidentally, will be a prelude to this year's TLUS summer convention for brown and black belts.
