Budo respects everyone, even the enemy, especially the enemy. Budo is a universal philosophy, bringing dignity and self-fulfillment to all. Yet whilst all are created equal, not all can live up to the heritage or the highest callings of Budo.
In this photo sequence, we can see the unbridled awe in which students hold Ben Sensei and the panache with which he retains his Budo-esque sense of humility. In these photos, we can see Ben Sensei's unparalelled ability to display self-defense and hint at the higher meanings of Budo at the same time.
In future posts, a video of Ben Sensei wearing Hakama and a black-and-white sequence of Ben Sensei displaying the martial prowess that has made him an enduring legend in Southeast Asia's self-defense community.
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5 comments:
" Budo begins and ends with respect " ... that saying says it all, although even in practice I'm still bewildered at some instructors/ Sensei comments critizing or even bad mouthing other arts ie: this is Budo and this is not... such hogwash because for me Budo is also in the attitude. It's unfortunate that there are "few" within the budo circles that are too caught up with their "rank" when historically some of the world's best reknowned masters were very humble, humanist and lived exemplary lifes & attitudes.
Mr. Junkers,
Your comments stray dangerously close to criticizing our Sensei. And beware, we in Indonesia have a special art handed down in secret called "serang dari jarak jauh," or long-distance striking, no-touch knockouts. We might have to challenge you to a deathmatch for disagreeing with the Sensei's interpretation of Budo. :-)
Hey Jason! thanks for dropping by the group blog, anyways just to add a little something to the post quoting from the great master Masaaki Hatsumi:
" Budo is only for those, whose heart is in the right place "
Coming from someone with many accolades, international recognition, and world wide respect I cant help but agree with Hatsumi's words.
See you on the mat dude!
Salam Budo!
Hehehe.. nice entries on the blog! salute to Tom san to keep this blog alive and interesting. BTW, I discovered that, while we Japanese martial artists consider the concept of Budo as a good thing, not all martial artists like that concept.. MMA people, combatives people (military combat, Krav Maga etc) are not really looking for a Budo thing.. they want self-defense with the focus of annihilating the enemy. So, to each their own!
Dear Mr. Abu,
I don't know who this Tom character is, but my name is Sumo Semar.
Again, I don't know much about Budo, but its interesting who you claim to speak for, that is, "we Japanese martial artists." Wow. You're speaking for all Japanese martial artists now.
And then there's the MMA and combatives people who you say don't like Budo and just want to annihilate their enemy. Gee, that's also quite interesting. Now you're speaking on "their" behalf as well. There seems to be a 5th Dan in Goju Ryu in Jakarta, a former military man, who teaches both traditional Goju AND mixed martial arts. Could the situation perhaps be a little more complex than you're making out.
Finally, on Budo, perhaps its not that some of those people don't like it, just that the word means different things at different times, depending on what the user wants it to mean. It seems like the higher your Dan grade, the more meanings you can attribute to Budo, even ones the Samurai would have considered very strange -- like not practicing realistic self-defence.
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