Here's a story of the founder of one of the lineages that I have permission to teach. I think it's significant because it breaks through a lot of the mystery and misguided beliefs that many have about who founded these powerful and schools and why.
You see...
Not all martial arts systems were created for the same reason. Each system, or lineage, was created by its founder to deal with specific situations and types of conflict, with one intention in mind......TO WIN! And...
The Takagi-Yoshin-Ryu, founded in the 15th century by Oriuemon Shigenobu Takagi, was no exception.
Imagine...
...living in a time when brutal assailants would do anything to win and no place was safe from either
- Rogue warriors engaged in terroristic acts,
- the strife of civil war, or...
- ...the ever-present plague of bandits and thieves looking to pounce on the unsuspecting traveler.
Can you imagine a place or time like that?
Sounds a bit like the world of today, doesn't it? And yet, it was exactly the same in the days when Takagi-Sensei set out to create a system for survival against, not just anyone, but assailants who would attack with the strategies and tactics most common for the times. And ironically, we are at a point in history where things are repeating themselves and these tactics are the perfect answer to today's common attacks.
BUT...
Believe it or not, and contrary to popular belief, not all systems were founded by the perfect warrior who never lost a battle. In fact, the Takagi Yoshin Ryu stands out as an exception because it's founder did not die as most did - at the hands of his opponent who had the greater skill!
No. He survived his humiliating loss and decided to re-examine what he always held to be true about the teachings he received. And THIS is one very important reason why the TYR stands out as one of the most powerful and unique lineages ever developed.
You see... similar to the story of Bujinkan Dojo founder and grand master Masaaki Hatsumi, WCI founder Shidoshi Jeffrey M. Miller, and more than a few other modern warriors, Takagi's search for excellence and, what we might call, "True Budo" came not out of years of study in a single martial system...
...but in defeat at the hands of a superior opponent.
This is where true warriors are born. Not in the theory and blind faith of the everyday student.
A Long Time Ago - In a Land, Far, Far...
Oriemon Shigenobi Takagi was a master teacher in the school of Jutaijutsu ("grappling arts that became modern-day, soft-style karate") during Japan's Sengoku-Jidai warrior-states period in the mid-1600's. And, like all accomplished warriors of his time (and UN-LIKE most martial artists and teachers today), he already had several "heads-in-his-closet." Meaning that, he had already survived combat and killed opponents with his skills many times over.
As was common in those days, as both a means of gaining a reputation as an accomplished warrior to be respected and feared, and as a means of keeping martial arts honest during times when the survival of a school depended directly on the effectiveness of what they practiced...
Takagi was challenged to a dual by a visiting practitioner of the Masaki Ryu jutaijutsu.
Long story short...
In this battle, Takagi was beaten so severely that it rocked him at his core. He came to the realization that...
...there was something VERY WRONG with what he had been learning all those years. As a result, he left his school and all the time, effort, and practice he had put into it and set out to find the techniques, tactics, and strategies of True Budo - the "real martial way" of surviving.
What Takagi-Sensei finally realized was that...
...the martial arts were not a game of who can look the best,
...who could run a school with the most students,
...or who can create a system of this-or-that "jutsu" or "do."
It was about having only one life, one chance to do something with that life, and he set out to develop that understanding into something that was more in-touch with what we might call a "martial sense" more than what has become, martial "faith."
After spending much time travelling and watching what others were doing, he finally went into seclusion on Japan's famous Mount Hiei, home of the Tendai School and mother of Japanese Buddhist thought and practice (a very important connection for much of Ninja history). He spent months in continuous practice, training, and reflection until, one day, he came to the realization that...
...before he could win against a skilled opponent, he had to upset his opponent's way of moving...
...AND THINKING!
But, he also realized, if his opponent was too big or too strong, this omote, or "outer" - "obvious" - method of breaking balance would not be enough. He realized that he would also have to be able to...
...upset his "OWN" way of moving and thinking to be able to execute that unexpected move that would take the opponent with him as he fell or was hit.
These realizations, derived from his own personal experience became an important part of his personal way of surviving during hostility.
Armed with this new insight, Oriuemon became a great fighter and survivor. This truth is witnessed by the survival of this powerful lineage for the next 17 generations until now, when today's students are able to learn its secrets.
Secrets that were born out of chaos, confusion, and failure. Only to be turned around into one of the greatest fighting systems the world has ever seen!
I've produced a video about this powerful martial lineage. Footage was taken directly from a live seminar that I conducted at the Academy. The video covers all of the techniques on the Shoden no Maki (1st level scroll), the most important lessons in any lineage. In addition to the kata, I also taught several variations and discussed the ideas and strategies behind each. An important insight if you're ever going to get past the rigid, step-by-step training that 90% of martial artists limit themselves to.
Anyway, check out the page I put up about it (it also includes this article, so just scroll past it if you don't to read it again). Here's the link:
www.warrior-concepts-online.com/takagi-yoshin-ryu
While you're there, don't forget to check out the Article Resource Center for more articles like this.
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