It can be dangerous to discuss politics in general, let alone in the martial arts world. Yet, Jonathan Bluestein wrote a book about it. I highlight some interesting discussion to be had from the topics in his book though I only scratch the surface.
You can find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Martial-Arts-Politics-Explained-History/dp/B0DHKS2XVS/
WWTT Episode: “Traditional vs. Modern”
https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/walkingtengu/episodes/Traditional-vs-Modern-e3de4i
Ever been told to use less strength and focus on technique?This is both true and not entirely accurate. What we need to actually do is learn to regulate our tension.Let's take a look at what the classics have to say about regulating our strength.The Book of Five Ringshttps://archive.org/stream/MiyamotoMusashi-BookOfFiveRingsgoRinNoSho/Book_of_Five_Rings_djvu.txtSupport Walking With The Tengu by purchasing the small pocket volume of classical quotes with musings and training prompts.
Buy it here: https://www.lulu.com/shop/matthew-krueger/pocket-training-volume-1/paperback/product-e7pqmyv.html
What happens when you give monkeys 3 measures of acorns in the morning and 4 at night? They get angry. But what happens when you give them 4 in the morning and 3 at night? They are content. This is true with martial artists as well. Our perceptions of the same thing presented two different ways can make all the difference in the world.
Find a vast library of classical Chinese works to read for free at: ctext.org
Support Walking With The Tengu by purchasing the small pocket volume of classical quotes with musings and training prompts.
Buy it here: https://www.lulu.com/shop/matthew-krueger/pocket-training-volume-1/paperback/product-e7pqmyv.html
Have you ever been traveling, stuck somewhere, or whatever reason not been able to get in some training?
Today I share for exercises for squeezing some extra training into your day that I've included in a little pocket volume that you can find here:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/matthew-krueger/pocket-training-volume-1/paperback/product-e7pqmyv.html
It contains a collection of short quotes from mostly classical works with a short meditation and paired with an overt and a covert training prompt. I have sourced these from Boxing, BJJ, Judo, Sumo, Shuai Jiao, and Iaido. These 12 solo exercises, 6 overt, 6 covert, can benefit anyone who practices just about any martial art. There is a brief description of each in the back.
What can one learn from a video instructional from a classical Japanese martial art? I think quite a bit, though it may not immediately be obvious.
There are two ideas from the latest OHIR instructional that I think can be applied to any martial art. A lesson on initiative and a lesson on chaining techniques within the tempo of an encounter.
Ono-ha Itto-ryu Volume 1: Kiriotoshi
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/izt1d
Classical Martial Arts Ideas
https://walkingtengu.wixsite.com/tengu/post/classical-martial-arts-ideas
Today we look at just a small set of the lessons to be found in Jonathan Bluestein's book "The Martial Arts Teacher"
These include assuming the best in different situations and the methods and ways of structuring a curriculum.
You can find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Martial-Arts-Teacher-Practical-Guide/dp/B0C6VWP6NP
Today we look at the first book from the "Secrets of Itto-ryu" by Sasamori Junzo and translated by Mark Hague.
Ono-ha Itto-ryu is closely linked with Kendo and was one of the two styles of swordsmanship personally patronized by the Tokugawa Shogunate.
In this text we learn some lessons from the life and mistakes of the founder of the Itto-ryu, Ito Ittosai Kagehisa. Lessons both relevant and important to every martial artist today.
To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF as well as a full translation of Chapter 51 of the Budoushoshinshu about disciplined martial arts training... go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email.
When an atrocity is committed against someone, are they justified in committing an atrocity in return?
We look at what is a justifiable response in today's episode.
To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF as well as a full translation of Chapter 51 of the Budoushoshinshu about disciplined martial arts training... go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email.
Today we have two short parables that contain big lessons for martial artists and we look at how this applies to determining if a martial art is useful.
Find out how a bottle gourd, a hand cream, a twisted tree and a yak relate to determining how useful a martial art is.
References:
https://ctext.org/zhuangzi/enjoyment-in-untroubled-ease
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hui_Shi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi_(book)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_raccoon_dog
To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF as well as a full translation of Chapter 51 of the Budoushoshinshu about disciplined martial arts training... go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email.
I've talked about a few of my confrontations over the years and how they all amounted to nothing happening. Today, I relate the story of the same thing happening to a training partner of mine and how he lived his martial art in his daily life and was able to face physical violence and achieve an acceptable "win condition."
To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF as well as a full translation of Chapter 51 of the Budoushoshinshu about disciplined martial arts training... go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email.
The bad neighbor Hrolleif finally gets justice served after killing Ingimund. Though Thorstein uses quite a bit of strategy to bring it about.
Find out how Jokul hiding in a wood-pile brings about the wretched Hrolleif's demise.
Maps of locations mentioned in the Sagas: sagamap.hi.is
To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF as well as a full translation of Chapter 51 of the Budoushoshinshu about disciplined martial arts training... go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email.
I again tackle the topic of etiquette in the martial arts, why American culture is dying, why etiquette is a reflection of the health of a society, and how this relates a the stability of human society.
Can the martial arts help?
To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF as well as a full translation of Chapter 51 of the Budoushoshinshu about disciplined martial arts training... go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email.
We have another story from the Zhuangzi today. About a little frog in a well and a turtle who tells him of something impossible called "the ocean." I also give you a bonus Chinese idiom known as a cheng yu that I think works well in English too.
坐井觀天 - zuò jǐng guān tiān - Which I might translate as: "To sit in a well and look at the sky."
Listen to today's episode to find out what that means!
To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF as well as a full translation of Chapter 51 of the Budoushoshinshu about disciplined martial arts training... go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email.
We return to the Zhuangzi today where we hear the tale of a monkey who showed off to a king and got some unintended consequences despite his very real skill.
To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF as well as a full translation of Chapter 51 of the Budoushoshinshu about disciplined martial arts training... go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email.
In this episode we look at a new book coming out in November in the US and December 2023 globally. It is being published by YMAA. I have several of their books on my shelves. This new book is called "Blurred Boundaries: A Martial Arts Legacy and the Shaping of Taiwan” by Hong, Tse-han and translated by Chris Bates.
It is a deeply philosophical and yet practical book relevant to all martial artists. I relate a short story about the Hong brothers confronting an organized crime group that was interfering with their family's business in today's episode.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blurred-boundaries-tse-han-hong/1142981332
https://www.amazon.com/Blurred-Boundaries-Martial-Legacy-Shaping/dp/1594399808
To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF as well as a full translation of Chapter 51 of the Budoushoshinshu about disciplined martial arts training... go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email.
We meet Hrolleif and his mother Ljot who are the worst neighbors ever in this section. Find out how salmon fishing brings about the end of dear old Ingimund and how seppuku, ritual suicide, relates to this section of the saga.
Maps of locations mentioned in the Sagas: sagamap.hi.is
To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF as well as a full translation of Chapter 51 of the Budoushoshinshu about disciplined martial arts training... go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email.
Ingimund finally gives in to "fate" and moves to Iceland. We find out he's pretty boring at naming things and that he's not above manipulating people on legal technicalities to get what he wants. Find out what happens when you bring a weapon into a Norse temple.
Maps of locations mentioned in the Sagas: sagamap.hi.is
To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF as well as a full translation of Chapter 51 of the Budoushoshinshu about disciplined martial arts training... go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email.
Our saga takes us through the battle of Havsfjord, a kind of Norwegian battle of Sekigahara, and into the fate and destiny that eventually drives the reluctant Ingimund to move to Iceland. Plus there are some shamans. Some who predict Ingimund's future and in a moment of petulance transports an amulet of his all the way to Iceland just to prove a point. Plus some others who are hired to track it down, while locked in a shed, and are to be paid in butter and tin.
We get a little more insight into free-will, predestination, and what his honorable to this people.
Maps of locations mentioned in the Sagas: sagamap.hi.is
To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF as well as a full translation of Chapter 51 of the Budoushoshinshu about disciplined martial arts training... go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email.