Jo 1 and Bokken

2020-10-26

Tsuzukiwaza 25: Jo 1

Jo 1 exists as Hitoriwaza, as Kumiwaza with Bokken in the standard form and as Kumiwaza with Bokken in the long form. In the standard form, Jo performs only the techniques of the Hitoriwaza form. In the long form there are shown other possible situations, too. The long form shows where Uke or Nage can get fatal hits.

Jo 1 and Bokken

From the examination programm for 1rst Dan.
There are Nage (with Jo) and only one Uke in the Tsuzukiwaza. It is important to know that Uke represents several attackers who, one after the other, make life difficult for Nage.
In the first round, Nage counts based on the numbering of the situations in Jo 1 Hitoriwaza. In the second run there is no counting.
The original video material comes from Michael Kunst from Dojo Stuttgart and was filmed in February 2020 in the Dojo Hechingen. Thanks!

The special situations in Jo 1 and Bokken

  • first 1: Uke is hit
  • first 2: Uke is hit
  • first 4: Uke is hit
  • first 5: Uke is hit
  • first 12: Nage is hit
  • first 14: Nage is hit
  • first 15: Uke is hit
  • first 16: Nage is hit
  • first 18: Nage is hit
  • second 18, 19: Uke is hit
  • first 21: Nage is hit
  • 22: Uke and Nage make peace


Amidado dayori 2002

Scenes

Japan, early 2000s. The writer Takao and his wife, the doctor Michiko Ueda, move from Tokyo to the village of Yanaka. Takao's parents' house is there. Michiko Ueda had a burn-out with panic attacks and Takao has been taking a creative break for 10 years.
Many old people live in the village. The dominant themes are health, illness, life and death.

Country life appears ideal in its simplicity. 96-year-old O-Ume lives at the shrine of Amida Buddha (Amidado). She dictates her thoughts to the mute young Sayuri. These are then published as "Letter from Amida Shrine" in the village newsletter.
Koda Sensei, Takao's old, cancer-stricken former teacher, ponders life and death. He practices Shodo (calligraphy) all the time. His motto is 天上 大風 (てんじょう おおかぜ), "Up to heaven with a strong wind". He concludes that the essential thing is form.
Takao and Michiko take relaxing walks in nature. This is how Michiko's health improves. She can work part-time in the village hospital and also help Sayuri with her serious illness.
A very slow film with lots of beautiful pictures and scenes.
Director Takashi Koizumi and the main actor Akira Terao are known from the films "After the Rain (1999)" and "The Professor's Beloved Equation (2006)". The film is based on the book "Amidado dayori" (1995) by the Japanese doctor and writer Keishi Nagi. Thoughts from the works of Miyazawa Kenji, Ryōkan Taigu and Alexander Sergejewitsch Pushkin are quoted.
The international title of the film is "Letters from the mountains".


Terminology in Japan versus philosophical concepts in Europe

When watching the quoted film "Amidado dayori", I noticed the philosophical "depths" in several scenes. The film itself is available in the original language Japanese with Japanese subtitles. English, French and Italian subtitles are available online. I then compared the philosophical passages in these languages. This confirmed my assumption:
Japanese terminology is often inappropriately translated into European philosophical concepts. One should question these translations.

It already begins in Aikido with Shin Shin Tōitsu:

心身統一 SHIN SHIN TŌITSU

DE: Vereinigung von GEIST und KÖRPER
IT: unificazione della MENTE e del CORPO
EN: unification of MIND and BODY
FR : unification de L’ESPRIT et du CORPS
The basic meaning of the first SHIN (心) is heart. The first translation was probably made into English with "mind". The philosophical concepts of "Geist", "mente", "mind" and "esprit" are known not to be congruent.

SATORI is not enlightment

Yoshigasaki Sensei published an interesting text on the term "Satori" in his "Lectures from Doshu" in April 2020:
The word "satori" has been used by Zen people for many years in Japan and most probably someone in Europe or United States translated it as "enlightenment".
So, "enlightenment" has nothing to do with "satori". Satori is based on physical experience. Enlightenment is intellectual and philosophical. ...

A few examples from the film Amidado dayori.

自分の意志で JIBUN NO ISHI DE

DE: durch eigenen Willen
IT: grazie alla propria forza di volontà
EN: by sheer force of will
FR: par la seule force de la volonté
Instead of "will", the "willpower" is immediately used here.

さっぱりした SAPPARISHITA

Knowing that he doesn't have much longer to live, Koda Sensei gives his books to the school library and gives away many personal things. He just says, "This is refreshing". In the translations mind, spirit or soul are used:
DE: das nimmt mir eine Last von der Seele
IT: sto svuotando la mia mente
EN: it’s a load off my mind
FR : c'est un poids en moins pour mon esprit

姿はそのひとの心を映す sugata wa kokoro o utsusu

Koda Sensei formulates his view of life and says that the "form (sugata)" is the essential. He explains the form with:
DE: die Form widerspiegelt das Herz des Menschen.
IT: perché la forma riflette il cuore della persona
EN: form traces the outline of the soul
FR: la forme des traits, c'est l'esquisse de l'âme.
Here, too, "heart" is partly translated as "soul".

私の体から出て行ったのは “気“ なのよぬ 元気の気
watashi no karada kara dete itta no wa "ki" nanoyonu genki no ki

Doctor Michiko Ueda narrates a situation, where she assisted a dying person and in this moment something got out of her body. Later she could only think on death.
DE: was aus meinem Körper entfleuchte war „Ki“, das Ki wie im Wort Gen-ki
IT: quello che era uscito dal mio corpo era il mio "Ki", la mia forza vitale
EN : what got off of my body was my "Ki", my vital force
FR : ce qui est sorti de moi c'était mon ki, ma force vitale
With her words the doctor specifies only the word "Ki 気", saying which Kanji is used. It is the character like in the word Gen-ki (元気). Appropriately, Gen-ki means health. She could also have explained it less appropriately using Den-ki (電気) which is electricity.

生きる エネルギー ikiru enerugii

DE: Lebensenergie
IT: energia vitale
EN: vital energy
FR: énergie vitale
An indication that Ki does not mean "life energy" in Japanese is the use of the expression "ikiru enerugii". Ikiru means "to live" and enerugii is a foreign word in Japanese. It comes from the German "Energie" which means in Japan physical energy.

"Energy" in the European world view does not only refer to physical energy such as the kinetic energy of a body E=½mv², the energy of a photon E=hf or the energy equivalent of a stationary mass E=mc² etc.
"Energy" comes from the ancient Greek ἐνέργεια enérgeia "something inside that can work").


Translate or transfer

Basically, the question always arises as to whether it is better to translate a text literally or to transfer it into the recipient's terminology.
An example from "Amidado dayori" may illustrate this:

Kinpira

The old O-Ume asks the writer Takao whether he is writing stories from real life or fantasy stories. Takao tries to explain it with an example. But O-Ume doesn't understand. So, Sayuri expresses it in the terminology of O-Ume.

Sayuri: You are a writer, I heard.
Takao: When people call me that, I am embarrassed.
I won an award over ten years ago. I haven't written anything since. I'm more of a failed novelist.
Sayuri: (with gestures) No, no! Carry on!
O-Ume: Right!
These novels of yours ... are they lies? Or are they real stories?
Takao: Well, they're not exactly 'true'. Maybe it's a lie that tells the truth. So with an example.
You can't eat burdock straight from the field. But you can prepare it as Kinpira (金平) (sear hot and then cook lightly). If you ask what is 'real', it's the burdock in the field. But if it weren't for Kinpira, you wouldn't know how good it can taste. It's somehow like that.
O-Ume: So you're writing about Kinpira?
Takao: No, that's a misunderstanding ...
Thereupon Sayuri intervenes and explains:
Sayuri: A novel is Amida Buddha in the form of words, I think.
O-Ume: That, I can understand!

Arctium lappa