A master, one style

Of Claudio Regoli

I have met Kirby Watson nearly for case, polemizzando on written its published on a bulletin of one society of iaido English. We have begun to correspond enough regularly and then kindly anniversaries from he have invited me to one of the events organize to you call Aiki to you Festival, in which in the course of three days, four instructors of martial limbs to turn show their technique of practicing forehead to folto a number of, and from then we are becomes to you friends. They tie to us, beyond to friendships and ideals, a common interest for the world of the traditional martial limbs of a sure type. Like me, Kirby has tried to along, practicing with several masters, in order to land to the style that for he is more consono, but maintaining one practical open spirit and a curious eye for the most various ones. From true teaching, its better presentation is its students: kind and educated persons that they face with joyful spirit disumane hards work and that they show with the facts and their indubitabile competence, the pregi of practical an intelligent one of the martial limbs. The style practiced from Watson sensei has to me made curious: it is a complete style that it comprises defended to hands knots also against the crews and handling of the same ones in enough interesting way. Clearly little fort in the sword that in other crews, that they vary from the fan from war to sticks of varied type to crews with chain, has movements that can make to think it one style of aiki jutsu. The more recent history is informed me and eccone. In the region of Dewa Sanzan - the three mountains of Dewa - that is the mountains of Haguro, Yudono and Gassan, in the prefettura of Yamagata in the North of Japan, are the Dewa sanctuary, already sung from Basho in its collection Oku not Hosomichi ("the strait way for far away the North").
This sanctuary is managed from yamabushi, that is monaci that they follow the way of the Shugen: the way that door to the lighting system through the asceticism. The shugendosha they are often present in the history of several martial limbs like ispiratori. An example is the secentesca history of Saito Denkibo, than in the course of a combat with one of they it came illuminated and comprised the foundations of the combat. At the moment to separate itself, having asked Denkibo its companion which it was the style from practiced he, the monaco, in Hush, it indicated the sky and one went away in order not to reappear never more. Denkibo founded therefore a called style stretches ryu (the way of the sky) that still today it is the naginata style of more popular in Japan. Nishiyama Shiro (1846-1932) officially orphaned one, more probably son than civil employees in misfortune or contrast with the authority, came raised in the tempio of Dewa from the adepts person of the shugendo. Contrarily to the common sideboard, solos one small part of the shugendosha are interested practically of martial limbs and Nishiyama was fortunate to having between its instructors a follower of Shobo Daichi (832-900) that it practiced to the style classic, than did not have a name just, but that sometimes it came indicated like yama arashi or "tradition of the storm of the mountain". The training happened following the ancient method, to the open on a simple grassy Prato. It finishes you its studies, around vent' the years, Shiro began the own career like instructor of history and military strategy (Heiho) to the Chidokan di Tsukuoka. The Chidokan was a classified school to the young people samurai of the feudo of Sakai that came sluice to the beginning of the Meiji age with the sideslip of the feudi. After the closing of the Chidokan, Shiro served as instructor and guard of the body of numerous personages of the government and the army. In the course of its travels it arrived near the sanctuary Nikko Toshogu where Saigo Tanomo, a former general of the clan of Aizu met (prefettura of Fukushima) and of divenne student. Remembered today above all for its role of instructor of Takeda Sokaku, Saigo Tanomo (1829-1905), known also like Hoshina Chikanori, had been jodai karo (advanced minister) of the feudo of Aizu and resisting of the castle of Shirakawa. Become related descendant and, Matsudaira's holder of feudo from a lateral branch of the Togukawa, it had received the traditional education of the advanced civil employees of the clan, consisting in the school of crews daido ryu founded from Goto Tamauemon Tadayoshi (1644-1736), mizuno shinto ryu jujitsu and the particular technique of the clan, call oshikiuchi, developed from Takeda Takumi not kami Soemon (1758-1853).
To the beginning of the Meiji restoration, like general of a faithful clan to the Togukawa, Saigo fought in the terrible Boshin war. When the main castle of Wakamatsu had to yield to the imperial forces, ventuno members of its family committed seppuku. Not being able to make seppuku for the ballot of fidelity its getlteman, Saigo withdrew from the World becoming priest with the name of Genshin, and adopted a called young person Shida Shiro. That same one, become Shiro Saigo, divenne famous like champion of the Kodokan school, then, withdrawn from the judo, divene journalist (to he we must to the story of the old cat of Musashi) and champion of kyudo. The encounter and the instruction of Saigo it made to very progress the understanding of the martial art of Nishiyama. Hidari Jindoro or Jindoro the mancino had been one scultore exceptionally skillful, than of you avail again invidiosi had cripple of the skillful arm, donde the nickname. Like test al term goddesses its studies, Nishiyama came person in charge from Saigo to recover delle sculptures of Jindoro that had been embezzled al tempio of Sensho. In the course of this adventure it had to be met with five bandit armed. Using just the stick it defeated easy two putting in escape the others. Nishiyama married and put on family, teaching just the style to the descendants. To the dead women of the greater son, it directly taught just to the grandson the family style that did not have a name but that it every a lot called kazemura yama arashi ryu ("the style of the storm on the mountain of the village of the wind"). Nishiyama Akihiro (the 1901-1979) grandson, nicknamed Shitama for one light deformation to the column, divenne founder to the dead women of the grandfather. Like the grandfather, of profession it made teaching, becoming preside of a grammar school. Like teaching, Akihiro organized the family school, shortening some the name in kaze arashi (wind storm), eliminating the poetici names of the techniques for other more described to you and organizing the instruction in three parts: the defense to hands knots before called aiki inyo I have and hour uniform in aikijutsu and atemi jutsu, the techniques with crews white women calls kenjutsu and the techniques with sticks calls jojutsu. The art was however to extinction risk: refined and complex, it demanded a practical exclusive right, while more they were interested only to part of the instruction.
Mas Oyama, the master of karate, churches the instruction of Akihiro only for some taken that included in just the instruction. Taken care for the future of just the style, Akihiro tried to interest other schools various, but being the fashion to favor of gendai budo (the budo modern, bases to you on the western concept of sport, like judo, aikido, kendo) found the doors sluices. Its instruction was classified therefore to the Akemi daughter and little colleagues of the faculty. In the years Fifty Akihiro came invited to exhibit itself during a torneo of judo and kendo. The idea of the organizers was that one to show the crudeness of the traditional limbs in comparison to the evolution of the gendai budo, but in truth it was a triumph for the school of Akihiro. To that exhibition a soldier was present American of career, practicing of judo and kempo, that he had fought in Korea but was at the moment in convalescenza in Japan: David Lee Samuels (1928-1988) these, extremely hit from what it had seen, and then tried when Nishiyama had invited people of the public to try before holding it, then to attack it to piacimento, the churches to become its student. Never it had not happened, therefore it was not possible; before then presentation of someone already within to the ryu was necessary one for being accepted. In the long run, and after a training in which Nishiyama he had sended it near various other schools in order to try of the resistance, finally divenne its student. In order to continue the studies, Samuels remained in the special services of the Marines in Japan, convincing moreover two old fellow soldiers: Renee Barjaval and Jesse Attencio to follow anch' they it instruction of the ryu, and after ten years approximately, received the menkyo of the school. Returned in the United States in the 1968, Samuels sensei it began a collaboration with the intelligence agencies as adviser to the training and opened a school to Forrest Hills where, under the name of "Samurai self defense" it taught parts of the curriculum of the school, this following the old custom not to tie the name of the school if not to persons of full confidence. After to have collected a sure number of students it trusts to you, Samuels sensei sluices the school continuing with the private instruction of what by now it called kaze arashi ryu, the number comprised was Thomas O' Toole, its moglie Miriam and from the 1972 Henry-Robert Vilaire. All and three obtained the menkyo kaiden when Akihiro came to New York in order to see them and to examine them. To the dead women of Akihiro in 1979, for its expressed will, it was Samuels to inherit the guide of the school. Samuels sensei reorganized in more systematic way the instruction grouping the techniques to groups of ten as ten are the tai sabaki fundamental of the system; these groups are the base of the oku iri like come today taught.
After little Samuels years, hit from multiple sclerosis, it replaced the guide of the school to Nishiyama Akemi, daughter of Akihiro, always according to desire of the defunct one soke. With to Akemi that, like already its father, has opened completely the school to the aliens, today there are in the United States menkyo kaiden the Renee Barjaval, that it is practicing the more old, Miriam O' Toole and Henry-Robert Vilaire. Akemi has continued the sistematizzazione of the curriculum inserting in oku iri yama arashi nage and the hojo waza, than before they were part of the mokuroku. Henry-Robert Vilaire, teaching of Kirby Watson, is one of the last ones to have later on studied in the school of New York di Samuels, perfecting itself for two years in Japan near Akihiro and obtaining finally the menkyo kaiden in 1992.
Vilaire is the first one, with the consent of Akemi sensei, to teach the kaze public arashi ryu, while the others follow the old system to only teach to who come introduced from an adept person of the school. To flank to Vilaire there are Abel Castaños, Srinivasan Sastri, Chris Sookchand, Ward Franklin, and Mark Raugas in the USA, while Mark Sprague and Kirby Watson teach in England.