Move your legs

by Arnaud Cousergue 2004

translation of a previous article in French

Whatever situation you are in the first thing to take into account is your balance. Balance
is given by the way you move and it is thanks to your legs that you stand straight. Move
your legs and then you will find the ideal fighting distance.

If we want to differentiate the Bujinkan Ninjutsu from other martial arts, we have to find
something that makes our art different. The Ninjutsu particularity is found in the leg
movements, however it is the least studied subject in Dôjô. If we look at Karate, we can
see kicks and punches. Aikidô will be seen as an art based on circular movements and
arm locks. Jûdô is the art of throws and immobilizations.

The Ninjutsu of the Bujinkan has a particular way of moving and a

particular foot and legwork. If we carefully study the Ten Chi Jin
Ryaku no Maki -our foundation program- we realize that movements
cover a large part of the first third of the Ten Ryaku no Maki.
As a reminder, we can say that Ten Ryaku no Maki only means
Transmission (teaching/principle) Scroll (book/parchment) of the
Techniques of Heaven.

In the first part, we learn to stand, to use the natural body arms, to Moving the
know the striking areas and to understand movements. legs
Those movements are most of the work in the learning process of the
Ten Ryaku.

Kamae (Kamae= stand, attitude) serve the purpose of building the body posture and the
attitude and musculature associated to those Kamae.
Ukemi teach us how to break fall on the floor (Ukeru = receive).
Kihon Happô teaches us to move in an appropriate way in an attack or a grab situation.
Sanshin no Kata makes us move in the five following directions: middle, left, right, up
and down.

Mutô Dori teaches us the dynamic distance work.

Ten Ryaku does not care about the way techniques are
performed but it teaches us to find the correct distance and
angles in every situations.

Once we are in contact with the opponent, we step into the Chi
Ryaku world that is to say we can apply locks and twists (Gyaku
Waza), throws (Nage Waza, Ryû Sui Iki), controls &
immobilizations (Torite Waza) pressures or chokes (Shime
Stéphane & Waza).
Fernando
The legs are pushing Hajutsu Kyû Hô only helps to counter Uke when the distance
in to take Uke’s becomes too dangerous for us or when he feels our intention.
balance. Ten Ryaku is about the way to arrive to Uke’s contact in every
fighting situation. Chi Ryaku is therefore next to Ten Ryaku.
When I started Ninjutsu in 1984, Hatsumi Sensei was already talking about movement.
Year after year I realized that we were listening to what he was saying but we did not
understand it.

To exemplify this I will take the example of the Uke Nagashi.

For many students, the Uke Nagashi - and still today- is a
powerful sharp strike/block done on the attacking arm or leg of
the opponent. This is not wrong but it is far from being exact.
As it was previously said, Ukeru means to receive. Nagareru
(=Nagashi) means: moving, the flow, which runs, to drain...
We can clearly translate Uke Nagashi as: to receive an attack
with fluidity. The best way to absorb an impact with fluidity is
to find the correct distance. If we are too close it generates a
second instinctive attack, if we are too far it sets Uke to attack
a second time in this distance. Feet are the key to
real Ninjutsu
It clearly appears that only a movement mirroring Uke’s attack will allow us not to
receive the strike. It is clear that leg movements give us the right solution.

However what do we see in Dôjô? We see instructors violently striking or blocking Uke’s
attacks while telling with sincerity that the important part is the leg movement.
The student often only looks at the arm movement then
he/she will strike, block the attack thinking sincerely that
his/her leg movement is correct. Then, once the student
becomes an instructor he will make the same explanations
Strong balance means and then as time passes, Uke Nagashi would become closer to
strong legs Karate movements. It is what I unfortunately see when I
teach in many Dôjô.

To strongly block an attack is correct but it is important to teach beginners to take Uke’s
attack in a flowing motion. Once this movement is understood, the quality of movement
can be used to develop power in the Uke Nagashi.
The leg movement also indirectly appears in the subtitle of Hatsumi Sensei’s videos. I do
not know if you noticed it but each tape has a subtitle: [Bujinkan] “martial art of
distance” however this distance can only be acquired by a precise work of the leg
movement.

If you are a beginner your only focus should be: to go down low on your legs, bend the
knees and to concentrate your work on your body’s lower parts.
The feet will give you the necessary angles to realize efficient Bujinkan techniques. This
difficult learning part is one of the major goals of the first section of the technical
program of Hatsumi Sensei.

When Ten Ryaku no Maki is well understood it makes the student’s technical progress
easier. The Western world is often too eager to learn superior techniques; therefore we
do not understand that deep and well understood foundations are the only guardians of
excellence.

The path is long and learning can often be unpleasing but it is

compulsory to go through the leg work. You can think yourself
as a Ninja if you wish, but you have to understand that you
should focus your study primarily on the leg movements.
Without its legs a Ninja is no more than a martial artist
amongst others lost in his hopes and the illusion of his own
efficiency.
Stepping for victory
It is your own responsibility to become what you dreamed to
become when you decided to join us. The instructor (Sensei= the one who was born
before [in the technique]) only shows the path, but you have to understand what is said
and above all it is you who have to walk this path, the instructor cannot do it for you.
Anchor yourself in the reality of the physical world and quit the appearance of the virtual
world. The real Ninjutsu go through the body and one cannot avoid it.
To finish I would like to remind that to walk a path you have firstly to move the legs.

Arnaud Cousergue
Bujinkan Shihan

Translation by Frédéric Legrand who trains under Marcus Dwyer in Ireland.

To contact him: frederic.legrand@sap.com
Bujinkan Dwyer Dôjô website: http://www.dwyerdojo.com/
To contact Marcus Dwyer: Marcus@dwyerdojo.com