Kyoto & Nara

Visiting sacred places has been an important component of my martial arts training over the years. It was while visiting the Dewa Sanzan area, including the Haguro Shozenin Kotakuji associated to Haguro Shugendo, that I realized I needed to study classical and traditional arts instead of continuing to teach modern jujutsu.

Earlier this year, I had hoped to reconnect with surviving lines of Jikishinkage-ryū but when I reached out to different dojo continuing the art taught by Namiki Yasushi, I did not receive a reply. I thought maybe I would reconnect and see how much the lines had diverged over the last thirty years. For example, the practice of Jikishinkage-ryū Sounkai, led by one of Namiki Yasushi's sons, seems quite close to how I learned in Maryland.

I visited sacred spaces instead. It was time well spent.

While visiting the seat of Honzan-ha Shugendo in Kyoto, not far from the Kyoto Budokan (the site of the Meiji-era Butokukan), I realized I needed to focus entirely on internal martial arts, even if that changes my practice of Shinkage-ryū. Internal martial arts training is my primary practice so when I practice kenjutsu, it has to be in alignment with internal martial arts principles, even if that means I diverge at times from how I received instruction.

Much of my writing on Inner Dharma has been about kobudō but the primary focus of my martial arts practice has been in Chinese internal martial arts. Jikishinkage-ryū to me felt compatible enough with internal martial arts principles and possessing a small enough curriculum that its practice, unlike a sogo bujutsu such as Katori Shintō-ryū, is not in principle as overwhelming to maintain. I felt as though I could practice both internal martial arts and Jikishinkage-ryū without doing injustice to either.

I have been working for the last several years on strengthening my constitution and continuing my dedication to internal martial arts, as my own teacher was encouraged to do by his sempai. Because Jikishinkage-ryū is organized around Taoist principles but winds up being a very hard practice at times, I find utility in and embrace the idea of balancing its practice with elements drawn from the classical internal martial arts (e.g., Bagua, Xingyi and Taiji). My kenjutsu teacher was similarly encouraged to maintian his own practice of Taijiquan by his Jikishinkage-ryū sempai, so I feel I am continuing at least in the spirit of that approach.

I have evolved from thinking in terms of practicing in one or more classical traditions or ryūha (流派) and instead towards maintaining a practice of sword method derived from my training in classical kenjutsu as a form of mindful austerity called shugyō. I attempt to do so in a manner informed by and compatible with internal martial arts principles. Ultimately, the result of this examination is not a lineal practice of a specific ryū — that will have to be left to others. Instead, training earnestly to purify my body, mind and spirit and return to or recognize my original nature is the tradition I am part of.

Kyoto & Nara

Photos from Kyoto and Nara, including the seat of Honzan-ha Shugendō, Kuramadera (鞍馬寺), Yuki Jinja (由岐神社), Todai-ji Nigatsu-do and surroundings.

NOTE: More photos can be found at Inner Capture.

Mark Raugas
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