By Kimu Sensei

France, Agincourt, 1415 – the arrow Rain

On each 10’Th second 6-8000 arrows hammered into the heavy attacking cavalry, and with greater and greater precision, the closer they got the goal. The total chaos with screaming wounded horses kicking in the mud, and their knights in so heavy armor, that they only with difficulty was able to move, and then the terrain did it is not better. Attacking into a funnel with heavy cavalry in a heavily muddy terrain was definitely not optimal, and ended also completely disastrous. An entire generation of leading French noble men – fathers and sons, died on the battlefield. Studies have shown that a trained longbow shooter could fire up to 6 arrows per minute, and could be quite effective up to 300 m with a so called “blanket bombing”, and, even more precisely from 200 to 150 m. The knight’s armor weighted often from 40 to 70 kg, and did moderate protection against arrows, but for the horses to run fairly well, the protection of these had been minimized. This meant that the horses were quite vulnerable. Imagine then, to ride a distance of 300 meters in very muddy terrain, which reduced the attack speed to “walking pace” in a near deadly shower of arrows in a total chaos. And on the same time have the knowledge that if your horse was hit, you virtually would be at the mercy of the mud, which would weigh the armor down even more – and just wait for the fresh and vengeful opponent’s arrival, whose highest desire was to kill you . So they had ample of time to think about themselves and their leaders’ incompetence and arrogance, despite a numerical superiority of 1 to 5 relative to their opponent, from the beginning.

After the battle where 10,000 princes, dukes, counts, barons, knights and soldiers dead and 2,000 noble men were taken prisoner. Approximately 35-40% of the army was either dead or taken prisoner, and a kingdom was lost. By comparison, only 600 of the opponents were found dead in the mud. The battle we are talking about is of course the battle of Agincourt in France, in 1415, where the optimal use of longbows were essential for a battle and a kingdoms future – just as the battle earlier by Poitier (1356) and Crecy (1346) in France, again between England and France.

Japan, Nagashino, 1575 – the bullet rain

In three waves hail of bullets after bullets pounding into the 10,000 attacking samurai knights, which, given the circumstances, was forced to attack into a funnel of their leader, Damiyo Takeda Katsuyori. In the narrowest point of the funnel, 3,000 elite shooters where waiting in three rows, so that they could give runs of 1,000 bullets, with a very short period of time from a distance of less than 50 m. A study has shown that from a shooting distance of 50 m the death rate is approximately. 20-25% and of 30 meters, it’s 100%. Despite this knowledge, Takeda Katsuyori continued to attack the formations where 3,000 of the musket corps men, in three rows and with three weapons each, was well protected by spear armed samurai warriors. Only when over 4,200 of the Takeda clans famed and feared elite cavalry lay dead in the mud, he interrupted the attack. It was samurai knights who have trained from childhood, and who was loyal to an incompetent and arrogant leader.

When the battle was over, more than 10,000 Takeda samurai warriors died in the mud, along with 54 lords and generals, including eight of the original 24 famous Takeda Shingen elite generals. It was a death rate of 67% of the army and of 56% of all the participating generals from the Takeda clan. By comparison, 6,000 of the opponent’s samurai warriors died in the mud, representing a death rate of 14%. Very few of the opponent’s higher officers were dead. Along with all of the present elite samurai warriors were also the 23’Th Yakami’s Soke died. Along with the other senior generals, he had the day before, tried to talk his leader from, initiating the suicidal attack on an army that where five times bigger than their size and on the premises on the opponent’s very competent leaders.

Somme, France, 1916 – the machinegun bullet rain

The Pipes reads aloud all along the Allied front. The massive rain of grenades was over and the German trenches where pulverized. This was how it should have been, but that did not happen. Most of the grenades had landed in front of the German lines, and created large holes in the ground which the Allies had to cross during the attack. The attack line where stretch to the German lines from a few hundred meters to approx. 1.5 km. The German lines were for the most complete unharmed after the Allied grenade attack, which meant that hundreds of thousands of German soldiers and tens of thousands of well-placed machine gun nests, lay ready to make a counter attack.

 

All of this knew the Allied army leadership, but as the commander-general wrote in his diary “… the total casualties are estimated that over 40,000 to date. This cannot be considered severe in view of the numbers engaged, and the length of the front attacked “. This was only on the first day of the battle, and the English losses were in fact 60,000 men dead and wounded- which were 20% of the total British army. The battle lasted in 4 ½ months and resulted in – nothing. Oh yes, the front line moved up to 10 km on some places. The price was 625,000 dead or wounded Allied soldiers and 450,000 German soldiers.

Incidentally much the same scenario was later repeated on the Ypres battles, in 1917 and the somewhat smaller battles Arras, in the 1917th. The price was approx. 550,000 dead or wounded Allied soldiers and 350,000 German. The question is obviously why it went so bad. The answer is easy; cannons, machine guns, rifles, and extremely incompetent and arrogant leaders – civilian and military. For example. The highest commanding officer of all these battles – was the same. What did the politicians? They promoted him to become a field marshal and the king made him an Earl. It can be said; promoted to incompetence.

What the f .. has it to do with Budo and Bujutsu in the modern world? What is the link?

Minouchi Sensei was one of SST’s teaching masters and probably the most important one. SST is one of Kimu Sensei’s teaching masters and the most important one.

Minouchi Sensei reported that there were three main ways to begin the master’s way to the DO – michi – seen with the traditional starting point from Asia;

I. The traditional Budo way with emphasis on the immediate clarification through philosophy and meditation, backed up with a good integration of martial arts techniques. II. The traditional Bujutsu way with emphasis on the immediate clarification through real-life martial arts techniques, backed up with a good integration of philosophy, meditation and Ki techniques. III. The unconventional and rare way with emphasis on survival through war, supported well up around the practical part of Bujutsu way and possibly some sporadic philosophy and meditation techniques without a red line as the traditional Bujutsu way. But as through an internal clarification and resolution evolves from III to II through a traditional Bujutsu grandmaster. From a western and eastern starting point to an association with Eastern traditional and universal basis.

The quick reader will immediately notice that in the society’s norms eyes;

• Option I, are the “civilized” method
• Option II are “gray area” method
• Option III, are the “uncivilized” method.

In the modern world and normality here is that;

The civilized method here means “that you can talk yourself out of everything, without any great risk” • The gray area there is “with a cash settlement and the risk of loss of ego and detection of yourself” • The uncivilized, “People kill for survival of democracy and the name of God – and this is on television – raw and unsweet – directly into people’s living rooms.”

The society’s eyes, perceptions and norms are created through laws, policies – and double morality on how their own needs often are catered for at the expense of others, the law of “don’t think that you are better than others” and indifference.

This also means that leaders at all levels will usually explain the unconventional and controversial actions and decisions by conventional methodologies in strict accordance with society’s eyes, perception and norm.

The world history has always shown that there is an official policy and standard that is being communicated and officially sold out according to the media – and then there’s the unofficial policy that has no boundaries and norms. That is how illusions are created every day – that’s reality.

How can this be done through 1000’Th years? Controversially – Because this is what the majority of the world’s population, throughout history, want, and therefore they get this. This is of course not officially, because then it will be a dictatorship, not a democracy, and the world’s population egos will be trampled on by the fact that, in reality they are most comfortable with the illusions and they want’s to be led instead of leading others. This is how revolutions occurred throughout history, if the Maslow’s pyramid of illusions became the Maslow’s pyramid of reality, then people were forced to act because of survival.

To be led – to be a leader – this means not to lead other people, nation or world, because here is the circle already closed, and the story is repeated and repeated on the whole – in spite of the technology advances. But to be your own leader, and where the world history circle becomes a clear luminous spiral, where the story develops and evolves – together and as individuals, with a mutual recognition and acceptance of each other’s real star in the sky. Not as a dictator, but as a leader who has shown and shows the way for others.

This is what Minouchi Sensei is talking about – and many new religious books, but without really knowing what they are actually talking about, because you cannot really talk reality and true without you even having been there and is it.

But then, many have found out and realized that the world will be deceived, people will be deceived, they do this and often in a good cause – why? Because they need not be leaders of their own lives and make conscious decisions with all the consequences it brings. For example. To take another life and be fully aware of it – “in a healthy and not psychopathic way.”

This is what Minouchi Sensei describes, that it rarely happens that a student moves from option III, to option II, and perhaps later also to option I. This means that all options have to become one – i.e. all options have to the DO – Michi – The Way. To go from option III to option II and then having success with it, which means become Menkyo, is often happening by a real densho degree on the Joden or Okuden level. Moving from Option II to Option I is a fully conscious choice and can only really happened at the Menkyo kaiden level.

Being all three options – where the three possibilities becomes one, is automatically done at Gokuden level Minouchi sensei says. This means that the old warrior merges together with the modern warrior and becomes one towards God and the universe or the cosmos truth.

The skeptical and bright pupil then will ask the question; the modern world’s finest soldiers against the old world’s best soldiers – who will win ‘.

The question is very simple to answer:

1. With their favorite weapons the modern warrior will be best. He can shoot the old world warrior of a distance of 400 m or 1.4 km – it will be a clean turkey shoot.
2. Without weapons, it will be the old warrior who will win. The new world warrior would not even notice that he was dead. It would be to smack a piss ant.

The question, which is best? Can they learn from each other? Want the best of each be an advantage?

Minouchi sensei said that it was the quality of the warrior’s self-knowledge-i.e. His densho level which ruled the difference on who would be best. It would just be a matter of training and of course the quality of this training.

Therefore Minouchi sensei said that an elite soldier with much experience of war and wish for greater clarity, understanding and self-knowledge could easily jump from opportunity III to opportunity II, but for this to be an success it demanded that is was leaded by a Bujutsu Grandmaster.

It would be rare that this would happen, because the elite soldier with much experience of war would have doubts about what the heck he could use option II to, when he had seen the modern’s war and terror.

Minouchi Sensei also said that a Bujutsu master could easily jump from Option II to Option III, but his path was also somewhat more uncertain, because the quality of the training he would receive, would either be decided by the tournament fighters, soldiers / elite soldiers with very mixed experience and competence to themselves or a combination of this.

Therefore Minouchi Sensei said, that a Bujutsu master could achieve an awareness and understanding of the modern warrior, but this could not make him a better fighter if he was already Bujutsu master (menkyo). This means implicitly that if a Bujutsu student is not menkyo yet, this may be an important complement to the students training and understanding of Bujutsu.

Since Minouchi Sensei said it could be rare that a modern warrior went from option III to option II. This means that this could only happen before or at the densho level of Joden. This means that this must also apply vice versa, because the IN-YO is one. In Shindenkan the Joden level is a martial sports master level and experienced level in Yakami Shinsei-ryu and a 5.dan Bujutsu Kodosokukai karate-do level.

A multi-tracked and total martial art system will not be entirely complete in its timeless and modern toolbox, if a competence and understanding of firearms, is not included as a tool.

Summary, conclusion and common denominator;

Agincourt, 1415; Incompetent and arrogance amongst the French leaders, who optimized the English longbows deadly effect, against themselves. Were they unaware of the impact? No, not since the Poitier and Crecy forecasts 60-70 years earlier, had underlined the deadly efficiency of the English longbows when attacked frontally and in close formation of cavalry and infantry.

Nagashino, 1575; incompetent and arrogant chief executive, who optimized the opponents’ weapons lethal effect against themself. Was he unaware of the impact?, No, not at all, over the past 20-25 years, Portuguese weapons were mass produced and all of the Daimyo’s with respect for themselves, had their own shooting school (Hojutsu) and where educating shooters. This kind of education Takeda Katsuyori had too, but like many other samurai knights, he looked down on these low-skilled soldiers’ shooters with this modern technology. It was not the essence of Bujutsu, but highly effective in war.

Somme, 1916; Incompetent and arrogant Allied leaders, who optimized the opponent weapons lethal effects against themself. Were they ignorant of the effect and use? No, not at all. The Allied army was both well-stocked and well-trained with some of the world’s best heavy machine guns. The problem was the leaders of that time. 2 million where killed and wounded, and was rewarded with a felt marshal and Earl Title, and pay tribute to be a hero.

Shindenkans conclusion is – the perfect toolbox; After the Nagashino battle, in 1575, there were over 200 Bujutsu Hojutsu (shooting methodology) schools in Japan, several of which are still active today. The majority holds, however, only an old tradition alive with the use of 400-200 year old weapons technology, wrapped in Koryo Bujutsu ryuha (technique) and ryugi (philosophy).

Minouchi Sensei said that a practitioner of martial arts under the densho degree of Menkyo, could benefit from the modern technology awareness, use and exploitation. And this would especially be relevant before the densho degree of Joden / Okuden. It would not give him a deeper understanding of martial arts, but it would complete his toolbox and make him a more complete martial artist, if the student also had this modern jurisdiction. Being a leader of your own life, must of course also necessarily lead to follow the developments of time. And when you are dealing with martial arts, this education will not be fully completed in a multi-track martial system, if a correct and optimal competence in small arms, as pistol, revolver, and any shotgun, carbine and rifle were disregarded.

And so was Shindenkan POMW! – Project Old Modern Warrior created. You can be read more about this in the upcoming week’s article.