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\ctrline{\bf NOTE!!!}

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A DEMONSTRATION OF \TEX FOR SHERYL DORAN

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\ctrline{\bf Notes on Weapons Training}
   
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\ctrline{\it by Malcolm Brown}
  
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{\it The primary thing when you take a sword in your hands is your intention to cut
the enemy, whatever the means. Whenever you parry, hit, spring, strike or touch
the enemy's cutting sword, you must cut the enemy in the same movement. It is
essential to attain this $\ldots$ More then anything, you must be thinking of
carrying your movement through to cutting him.}
  
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\hangindent 250pt {---Miyamoto Musashi, {\it A Book of Five Rings}}
   
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Does this statement from Musashi's book have any relevance to aikido?
Upon first reading one is tempted to say first that aikido does not train in
martial combat with live swords; hence the notion of ``cutting the enemy'' is not
appropriate in aikido practice. Second, in aikido the attitude with which we
train is not that of cutting down an enemy, but rather of seeking the least
violent means of resolving a conflict.
  
Certainly if we take Musashi's statement literally such objections apply. However,
I detect a kind of spirit in this statement that is very important for us, 
especially with regard to weapons training in aikido. This statement touches a
spirit that should underly and be the source of the various forms we learn in
the course of our training with jo and bokken.
  
In picking up the bokken or jo, it seems to me to be of critical importance
to move beyond the stage in which the bokken is simply a tool that you employ
to accomplish something.  I have heard japanese instructors speak of
{\it swallowing the sword}, that is, of going beyong the stage of tool
implementation and achieving an integration in which the bokken or jo
becomes a dynamic part of you. Another way of thinking of this that we
must learn to extend our spirit into the jo or bokken. This is of great
importance if we our aikido is to become ``large'' enough to touch another
person's center. This is one way I interpret Musashi's statement:
``cutting the enemy'' means to develop a spirit large enough to grasp the
partner's center.  To accomplish this, we must move beyond the stage of
implementation; to ``swallow the sword'' means that you become yourself
a ``cutting'' edge. As Musashi constantly reiterates, this takes diligent
and relentless practice.
  
We often hear that working with weapons is more {\it intense}.  What does this
increased intensity mean?  Certainly there seems to be more at stake if you
are contemplating the prospect of being whacked by a piece of wood. In my own
training, this intensity means that I confront more dramatically that which
hinders my development: my fears for my safety. This tends to make the practice
more mental in the sense that {\it I} begin to try to do something to insure
my safety. The intensity of weapons training seems to bring an increased pressure,
and it is important that we be able to allow our aikido to operate even in
such intense situations.  Just like the plunge into the cold ocean water
on New Year's Day, which tends to take your breath away, the increased pressure
of weapons training makes it difficult to manifest the aikido principles of
relaxed extension, fow, blending, and so forth. It seems to me to be of
the utmost importance to strive to break through the barriers such instensity
tends to construct.  In this case, the ``enemy'' we are striving to ``cut''
is {\it ourselves}.
  
It is often said that working with jo and bokken can assist us in training
proper movement and provide clarification regarding how to align oneself
in {\it tai jitsu} (empty---handed techniques): the realtions worked out
with weapons can be applied to non---↔weapon situations. I certainly feel
that this is true. However, I feel it is also important to keep in mind
that weapons training also trains your spirit. Beyond acquiring a set of
forms, such as {\it suburi} and {\it kata},  we can 
move to a largeness of spirit. This means for me developing an intuitive sense
that is always in connection with the partner's center, which will in turn
allow us to respond appropriately to our partner's movements. This aspect
of training means moving beyond simply {\it knowing} how to cut the enemy
to actually ``cutting'' the enemy, to really touch the partner's
center. ``Cutting'' requires the integrated movement of all that we are:
mind, heart, spirit.
  
These are some aspects of weapons training that I feel are of great importance
and which I have been emphasizing on Friday evenings during the weapons
training.
  
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