Kenji Tokitsu

An essential part of the martial arts of Japan, such as sumo and karate, the katas are specific sequences of movement that originated during Sakoku, Japan's period of closure to the outside world from 1633 until 1853. The dedication-to-perfection philosophy of the katas, ubiquitous in Japanese society, is vital to understanding the spiritual aspects of their martial arts as well as other traditional Japanese arts, such as flower arranging, chado (tea ceremonies), and kabuki theater.

With examples from the lives of famous masters, from legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi to 20th-century poet Yukio Mishima, this book explores the psychological and social importance of the katas, including their role in seppuku (ritual suicide), the student-master relationship, and gyo (the point at which the practitioner breaks the mold of the kata and begins to embody it). Looking at their origins in the warrior class and how this pursuit of perfection is ultimately a way to accept the power of death, the author explains how performing the katas transmits ancient knowledge much deeper than just technical movements, providing a way to deepen one's martial arts practice spiritually.

Kenji Tokitsu has doctorates in sociology and in Japanese civilization. Born in Japan, he began studying martial arts a as child. In 1971 he moved to Fance and began teaching karate. He founded the Shaolin-mon Karate-do school in Paris in 1983 and the Tokitsu-ryu Academy in 2001. The author of Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings and Ki and the Way of the Martial Arts, he lives in France.

Contents

Preface
Part One An introduction to katas
Tesshu, or a model life
Kata, or 'Technique and the man are one'
Part Two The emergence of katas
Closing Japan and coming back to oneself
Kami and Japanese polytheism
The katas of the social orders in the Edo Period
Breaking points in history
Part Three The dimensions of kata
The Gyo and self-investment
Death and time
The psycological aspect of kata
Part Four Persistence and transformation in a traditional culture
Seppuku: The cornerstone of the warrior's kata
The warrior's kata in contemporary society
Effeciveness and weight of the katas
Katas today
Conclusion
Notes
Index… (more)

Includes a new translation of the Book of Five Rings, with commentary and annotations

'Miyamoto Musashi is a close look at the legendary swordsman and his treatises on swordsmanship and strategy by a Japanese martial artist. Deeply informed, and with direct and extensive knowledge of martial arts, the book, to my knowledge, has no parallel in Japan-or elsewhere.'-Hiroaki Sato, author of Legends of the Samurai

Undefeated swordsman, master of battlefield strategy, martial arts icon-Miyamoto Musashi, who lived in Japan in the 1600s, is the most famus samurai of all times. His masterwork, the Book kof Five Rings (Gorin no sho), is one of the most insightful texts on the subtle arts of confrontatin and victory to emerge from Asian culture.

Over the centuies, Musashi's reputation has grown to mythic proportions, but, in fact, much about Musashi and his life remains a mystery. Here, Kenji Tokitsu, a modern martial arts master and scholar, turns a critical eye on Musashi's life and writings, separating fact from fiction, and providing a view of the man and his ideas that is accessible and relevant to today's readers and martial arts students.

Tokitsu provides a vivid and meticulously researched biography and a fresh translation of the Book of Five Rings, along with four other texts on strategy, all with extensive commentary. He is a thoughtful and informed guide, putting the historical and philosophical aspects of the text into context.

He also covers:

the main periods in the history of Japanese swordsmanship
Musashi's childhood and his first duel
The founding of Musashi's school of two swords
Musashi's influence on contemporary practice
the evolution of budo, or martial arts ractice for self-cultivation

Musashi was also a respected artist, and this book contains color reproductions of his own calligraphies and paintings, with commentary by the well-known art historian Stephen Addiss.

Kenji Tokitsu was born in Japan and began studying martial arts when he was a child. He has taught karate in Paris since 1071. In 1984 he founded the Shaolin-mon school, where he taches a synthesis of the original combat arts of Japan and China. In 2001, he established the Tkitsu-ryu Academy (www.tokitsu.com) to teach and promote his method. Tlokitsu also holds dctorates in sociology andin Japanese language and civilization. He is the author of Ki and the Way of Martial Arts (Shambhala 2003).

Contents

Introduction
A legendary figure
The main periods in the history of Japanese schools of swordsmanship
Chronology of Musashi's life
Part One The life of Miyamoto Musashi
Introduction to the life of Musashi
1 Childhood and training
The birth of Musashi
Musashi's Childhood and his first duel
The founding of the school of two swords
The two soruces of Musashi's art
The schools of two swords
2 Musashi's duels
Duels and wars from age fifteen to twenty
Studying the arts of other schools through duels
The duel agasinst Sasaki Kojiro
Musashi at the Battle of Osaka
3 Deepening the way
Maturity
Musashi's last years
Composition of the Gorin no sho and Musashi's death
Part Two Musashi's writings
4 'Writings on the five elements' (Gorin no sho)
The scroll of Earth
The scroll of Water
The scroll of Fire
The scroll of Wind
The scroll of Heaven
5 The texts preceding the Gorn no sho
'The mirror of the way of strategy' (Hyodokyo)
'Thirty-five instructions on strategy' (Hyojo sanju go kajo)
'Forty-two instructions on strategy' (Hyoho shiju ni kajo)
'The way to be followed alone' (Dokkodo)
6 Notes of Musashi's disciples on the practice of his school
Notes on mind, energy, and the body in stategy (Hyoho shin ki tai oboe gaki)
Attitude toward training
The school of the fighters of the two heavens (Senki niten ryu)
The state of mind of those devoted to the school of Musashi (Musashi ryu shugyo kokoroe no koto)
Part Three Miiyamoto Musashi and the Martial Arts
7 The school of Musashi (Hyoho niten ichi ryu)
Branches of the school
The school of Musashi today
8 The transmission of Musashi's art
The role of Musashi's writings in the tansmission of his art
The transmission of Musashi's art through practice
9 Musashi today: The practice of a contrmporary adept
The labyrinth created by the way of holding the sword
The Nen ryu and ints lineage
10 Weaons and ethics in swrodsmanship trainng
The status of warriors
Technique and the status of the body
Integration of eh religious element into the art of the sword
The formation of katas
11 Budo
The Meiji turning point and the modern notion of budo
The evolution of Budo in the twentieth century
12 The relationship between adversaries
The complexity of combat in Budo
The significance of the quest for Kizeme
Confrontation and harmony
13 One life, one art
Appendix 1: The translation of the Gorin no sho
Appendix 2: Sen-taking the intitative
Appendix 3: External influences on the Japanese art of the sword
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index… (more)

While technical prowess and physical power are essential characteristics of a martial artist, true mastery of the art comes by cultivationg one's inner strength. Here, Kenji Tokitsu-an authority on Japanese and Chinese combat arts and a respected karate teraacher-shows how cultivating ki (life force) and understanding the principles of budo (the martial path of self-development) can make training in martial arts more meaningful, effective, and personall and spiritually rewarding.

Tokitsu emphasizes the mental aspects of martial arts practice including:

The importance of ki development
Seme, or captruing your opponent's mind
Understanding ma, the spatial relatinship in combat

Studying these concepts, he explains, gives martial artists the tools to train for a lifetime and at the very highest level. Tokitsu also gives a historical and cultural survey of budo, and explains how the Western view of budo trainng is different than the Japanese-a perspective rarely available to Western martial artists.

Kenji Tokitsu was born in Japan and began studying martial arts when he was a child. He has taught karate in Paris since 1971. In 1984, he founded the Shaolin-mn schol, where he teaches a syntensis of the original combat arts of Japan and China. Tokitsu also holds a doctorate in sociology.

Contents

Preface
1 What is Budo?
2 The transmission of budo by the japanese
3 The problem of budo for foreign practitioners
4 A key to budo
5 Ki in Japanese culture
6 The Japanese conception of ki
7 The content of combat in kendo
8 Space in te arts of combat
9 Ki, the guide to budo
10 Ma, the spatial concretization of ki
11 Detect and conceal
12 The combat of ki
13 The meaning and the value of combat
14 The classical methods of developing ki in combat
15 The convergence of two approaches
16 Kiko and combat… (more)