The insights provided by Happoken no Kata (Part 1)

I was recently invited to present a session to advanced jujutsu students of the JDJ tradition. The instructor wants his students to learn more about the connection with the original Jan de Jong Self Defence School and JDJ's teachings. I took the opportunity to sneak in the sharing of some of the insights that I have developed.

Insight. In Seeing What Others Don't: The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights, psychologist Gary Klein explains that insights can produce a new and better understanding. It is a new understanding because it did not exist before and it is a better understanding because it is more accurate, more comprehensive, and more useful then the one that existed before. This new and better understanding can then change the way we understand, think, feel, and act. That is the bold ambition of my books, and it was the bold ambition of my session with the abovementioned students.

One of the paths to gaining insights that Klein identifies is curiosity. He describes the curiosity path in terms of a 'What's going on here?' reaction. My books are the product of curiosity and a continuous stream of 'What's going on here?' reactions, and the insights I shared at the abovementioned session were the product of curiosity and a 'What's going on here?' reaction. The reaction itself is not the insight but it can start the person down the road to gaining insight. It does so when they try and find an answer to their original 'What's going on here?' question. In my case, the insights developed over a 20-30 year period.

Happoken no kata (HnK) is a Yoseikan kata. A Yoseikan 'what' kata is another question. I get lost these days. There is Yoseikan budo, Yoseikan aikido, Yoseikan karate, and now I'm seeing Yoseikan jujutsu. Yoseikan was established by Minoru Mochizuki. The only book he published was on Gyokushin jujutsu, a traditional form of jujutsu that he learned prior to judo, aikido, and karate. I see now that there is Gyokushin aikido. I'll just say that HnK is a Yoseikan kata.

JDJ introduced HnK into his mon grades in the 1970s. Why? An article concerning Branco Bratich provides the answer to that question:

His introduction to karate started in 1973 at Jujutsu Kan, Perth. It was more of a social interest than any serious commitment to the martial arts. His initial interest was karate closely followed by jujutsu. He found the training enjoyable but not physically demanding. In later years Branco realised that the jujutsu training made it easier for him to understand and appreciate the 'bunkai' of kata. After two years training, Jan de Jong, founder of Jujutsu Kan, approached Branco about teaching karate and Branco accepted becoming increasingly aware of his great enjoyment of teaching karate even though he felt his knowledge was limited. In 1974 Jan de Jong invited Sensei Yoshiaki Unno to Perth from the Yoseikan-Budo Hombu dojo in Japan. Thirty Jujutsu Kan instructors and senior students were invited to his first karate training session. At the end of six weeks only five participants were left. Branco was one of them. He easily adapted to the repetitious hard training. Many students quit finding that they were unable to meet the training demands of Sensei Unno. In particular he stated that none of them could punch properly, Sensei Unno insisted that his students punch until they got it right. A simple solution.

The legendary Donn Draeger distinguishes been techniques of percussion (striking) and techniques of prehension (grappling). The above extract suggests that JDJ's instructors and students could not perform percussion techniques properly. 'What's going on here?'

The article is not wrong. It was not wrong in the 70's and it is not wrong today. 

Firstly, do jujutsu students need to be proficient at performing percussion techniques when jujutsu is primarily an art of prehension (grappling)? Most other jujutsu systems would not appear to think so, even Brazilian jujitsu. Nor all aikido styles and of course judo, both derived from jujutsu. Secondly, you only need to study the JDJ jujutsu grading system to realise that there is no real emphasis on percussion techniques and no real means of developing them in the curriculum. Any proficiency has to come extra-curricula activities.

Extra-curricular activities. JDJ - pencak silat. Peter Clarke, the only person to be graded black belt under JDJ in both jujutsu and pencak silat. Me. I realised early on that the JDJ system and instructors do not develop techniques of percussion and went in search of means to develop them extra-curricula. I trained with Bob Jones Zen Do Kai, Malcolm Sue Kung Fu School, Brian Mackie Gojo Ryu, JDJ pencak silat, and finally Richard de Bordes Minangkabau Harimau pencak silat in London, the style of which I introduced into the JDJ pencak silat teachings.

JDJ introduced HnK into the jujutsu mon grades to improve the percussion techniques proficiency of his jujutsu students. However, HnK only includes 'blocks' and strikes. So JDJ developed wakai no kata which included 'blocks', strikes, and kicks, however, the kicks are primarily pencak silat-type kicks. 'What's going on here?'

Unfortunately, JDJ's intention for these kata was never realised as all students simply learn them in the very low grades for their grading and then never return to them to learn the lessons that they were intended to teach.

The following was posted on a Japan Martial Arts Federation Facebook page by what I can only presume is a senior student/instructor of the Hans de Jong Self Defence School. When providing information about the Yoseikan aikido taught at the HDJSDS, the author states,

Due to the lineage of the arts involved in the formation of Yoseikan Aikido, from both O'sensei Ueshiba, and Sensei Mochizuki, Yoseikan Aikido is a very involved art. In essence beginners first learn how to 'attack', or to be uke, the attacker. This involves learning how to strike correctly, which is done through the practice of some simple kata (a prearranged form of movements), namely the Happoken no Kata

'Beware the shoehorn.' 'Shoehorn' is a colloquial term that is used to refer to making something fit. I've had shoehorned answers to questions I raised with my instructors. The above would appear to be a shoehorned explanation as to why HnK is included in the Yoseikan aikido syllabus for anyone presenting themselves as teaching Yoseikan aikido. There is no way, shape, or form that HnK trains an aikidoka to 'attack' properly - properly meaning to inflict harm on tori. What does blocking have to do with learning to attack properly? Try and provide a reasonable equivalency between the strikes in HnK and those performed as an attacker in Yoseikan aikido. I call 'shoehorn.'

The insights that lead to a new and better understanding that changes the way we understand, think, feel and act arising from the study of HnK to continue.