Adam Mitchell [00:00:00]:
I wanna welcome you to this week's episode of the Shugyo podcast. My name is Adam, and welcome back. I've been gone for a couple weeks. I was in Japan training and traveling a bit. Some of the details of that trip and some of the things that we did along the way, I'm gonna be sharing in later episodes. But for right now, my priority is to share with you the messages that my teacher, Manako Unsui, was happy to provide for us. We sat down on the final day of training, and, we had a conversation centered on the preservation of Kobudo and what that means to him and the considerations that we, as Westerners, should have, going forward in our own training. After the episode, I'm gonna come back, and I'm going to york of, deconstruct what Sensei shared and share my own feelings and observations about that.
Adam Mitchell [00:00:51]:
So for right now, I'd like you to put down the phone or, you know, turn off the television because you're gonna really need to focus. Sensei shares 3 core messages. I was able to discover maybe you'll hear some more than I was able to. But really focus here because, I feel that this is one of the more important conversations that I've had with my teacher, especially given the times that we live in. What Sensei has to share with us is meaningful, and also a bit profound. So with this episode, I welcome my teacher, Manaka Unsui. Let's get started.
Unsui Sensei [00:01:26]:
Of course, I talk about Japanese culture and the education, some things. Before, 2nd war 1945, Our education system or education, subject is comes from Bushido Bushido based on Kobudo. That's why KOBODO is very, very the fundamental, the of course, not only, technique. Mental part is very important. So we said, usually, we said, start. Before start, valve. After twin, valve. Then he had Jimari, then he worry.
Unsui Sensei [00:02:28]:
It's from, Kubudo, everything. And then so Japanese studied that, mana or knowledge or something. And, yeah, based on. Kobudo. But after second war, you are general Makassar, inhibit kobudu, bushido, shinto, everything. That's why now Japanese so some almost 70 Japanese cannot understand the or, busido, something. So now the relation is very strict. Not normal Japanese, I think.
Unsui Sensei [00:03:30]:
Our age is protein between the modern and the old style. I'm here. But I studied. I trained many many many old Japanese. Therefore, I can keep the 100 the other was Japanese. This is very, very, interesting and, important, very important point. So you can't understand Japanese modern Japanese. Maybe they have not that education fundamental.
Unsui Sensei [00:04:15]:
The modern Japanese studies McArthur General McArthur education. That is not our Japanese, unfortunately. Budo, recently, so, we have to We have to back to the old style education was subject or something because same as AI, now the, human controlled AI, But next year, AI control AI. And then after next year, AI control human, I think. So at that time, human come back to the analog society, analog something. An alarm society is our society, martial arts society. So Adam is very good because he he built up the new dojo inside the forest, and then no light, no electricity. It's good.
Unsui Sensei [00:05:45]:
New electricity is very nice. The night is lantern, something, kerosene lantern or something. And then you cannot use this. No TV. But your mental come back to the original human life. It's, new life, I think. Right. I think the now, detail society, it's very difficult to not to to what too fast to go to something.
Unsui Sensei [00:06:28]:
Right? So human doesn't keep up with the changing. Therefore, you have a lot of stress. The food is same. Now we we eat, food, the changing DNA, it is not original. So the changing DNA, plan, against the insect or some sick or something. I think that is bad for our bodies. Insect eat something. Human eat the same one.
Unsui Sensei [00:07:12]:
It's good. It's natural, I think. So we should back to, 100 years ago's education or something, I think. So, when you teach our, is don't remember, don't forget the base on. Bushido. The manner well, how to think. The Bushido, it's always always. Not.
Unsui Sensei [00:08:03]:
So So our martial arts based on. Yeah. Watching every everything and understand, and then you should do something. Maybe next next year, I retired, from, martial arts, every martial arts. I go to the sad sad sad society. Now part society is military. The communist society is martial arts. And then so I'm searching new that what is my next life.
Unsui Sensei [00:08:48]:
Understand? The in my basic idea of Dojo is natural, not house, not like this. Outside, nature is dojo. It's my idea. Important is, how to think. Only how to sing. Exactly. The gi, no gi, that'll new. You have you can wear the bathing suits or something in the frame.
Unsui Sensei [00:09:30]:
But the don't forget the fundamental. Fundamental part is the, or something. Other things is facility or the or something. This part is important. So you chose the dojo or gi or something. It's done. The my knowledge or experience is older 50%, more than 50%. So please back to the 100 years ago, something.
Unsui Sensei [00:10:30]:
I recommend you can understand the they are Japanese, What kind of subject they study? No. I did 100 years ago book, the the kid book. That book is very easy to understand how to create baby to teenage, the first 5 years that you have to do do this something. New 5 years, you should do something. Then then then then then then age is different to learn and then do the something. At first, it's make a friend. Next generation, take care york parent. You are old.
Unsui Sensei [00:11:43]:
Like that. And then last part is, you have to study the all of Japanese history. I think you have also.
Adam Mitchell [00:12:04]:
I hope you were able to get as much from that conversation, that I was able to possibly, you were able to see a couple of things, that you'd like to share in the comments wherever you're listening to this or watching the video. The 3 things that stood out for me in, Sensei's message, the first being that our need to really understand the original way of the Japanese mindset pre World War 2 when he talked about how young people were educated and so much of the bushido, was implemented in their study. And how Sensei has gone on and he references that 50% of his life is in the new and 50% still exists in the old and how important this is to maintain a uniquely, sort of Japanese construct around what it is that we do. So I think that there's a lot of lessons to be taken away from that, especially when he merged into talking about, sort of, the alignment with nature. I thought it was interesting how Sensei brought up AI and those three stages that he shared where right now man controls ai because it's something that was created programmatically by man. He Said, but maybe next york, AI is gonna control AI, and we're already seeing that where AI is now writing, its own algorithms. And then the year after that, Sensei says, then AI will control humans. And what does that mean for us? And how can we york of, how can we resolve that within ourselves, within our communities, or if you're an instructor for your students? Well, that's to continue your training as you arts, but do so in that early mindset, that early construct that Sensei was talking about and, not deviating from that, being close to nature.
Adam Mitchell [00:14:02]:
Since he talked about the dojo, not having electricity and not having heat, but actually training out in the natural environment, and that that was his dojo. I think that this is very important, especially going forward as we become more reliant as we have over the last 30 years and even further back. As we become more reliant on technology, I think that there's gonna be even more of a creep than we expected of this technology in to our, not just our day to day, but our hour to hour and minute to minute lives. Our reliance on artificial intelligence, our reliance on technologies to not to the point where we begin to lose our own decision making and these technologies make our decisions for us. Kobudo and the study in pursuit of, this the the work that we do in the dojo is gonna become a very important thing for all of us. So I think, Sensei's message there should be really heard. Finally, Sensei shared that, in alignment with everything is to not worry so much about the look of your gi or the what's, you know, what design you have in your dojo or what patches you wear on your sleeve, but to focus on the origin and the original mindset of Kobudo and to follow that path, with with certain dignity and with commitment. And the path will reveal itself through the training, And you have to stay true to the training, and not make things up and not play make believe, but also not be so concerned with the vanity of, you know, the big beautiful dojo and, you know, wearing the right uniform.
Adam Mitchell [00:15:52]:
In fact, Sensei said, that's up to you. You can wear any uniform. You can train anywhere. And he said to me, my dojo is the woods. It's in the rain. It's in the sunshine. This is very inspiring to me because this, this validated a lot of things, and a lot of beliefs that I have and a lot of the direction that I'm going in my own personal training. I know that, and not to reveal too much right now because I don't like really talking about things that haven't come true yet, but some of my own personal goals involve providing opportunities for people to step away from states of anxiety and stress, that they're going to live in, as technology continues to accelerate at a slingshot rate.
Adam Mitchell [00:16:36]:
Things are gonna pick up. Things are gonna get faster. And the evolution of these technologies, as I already mentioned, is gonna become much, much more overt in our in our constant lives. And having a york of a retreat to where you can be away from that and you can revert you can return to your primitive self, your natural self to be able to go into the dojo, and to be able to put your gi on and to be able to train whatever that looks like. Regardless of your age and regardless of your abilities or lack of, to be able to still return to nature to where you don't hear the ambient noise of cars and and horns and lights and machines, but you hear the ambient noise of birds in the wind and the leaves where there's a place that message tones and phone ringing don't exist. And you don't hear the noise of the machines and the air conditioners running, but you hear the silence, of nature. And in that, you're able to return to your natural self. And through the study of Kobudo, you're able to actually push yourself forward in that state and be in a place of discovery of who you are, and what potential you have as a human regardless of where you are in your own stage of life.
Adam Mitchell [00:18:02]:
And I think that this is most important. And when it comes to the primitive martial arts, regardless of where they're from, it doesn't make a difference. Asian, European, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, it doesn't make a difference. But being able to have an opportunity to return to the primitive self, to where you can push yourself forward, to where you can go to that place of conflict inside of Keiko, to where you can offer tension so that there can be release. And what do I mean by that? Well, let's think of a guitar. In order for you to find harmony in the strings, the guitar itself has to be balanced. If you have a guitar that's out of balance, the neck is warped or the body is broken somehow, and things just aren't you know, the tuning, knobs are are bent. You're never gonna be able to have harmony.
Adam Mitchell [00:18:52]:
But in order for that balance to exist, everything has to be in a state of tension. Right? So the strings have tension, and the body has to be able to support that tension. This is what, for us as martial artists, this is what the keiko, the training, this is what it provides. And this is only my opinion. I know many books over centuries have been written about this, but this is only my own observation and my own personal feeling of the message that Sensei was able to provide. That through this training in a natural state where we're able to step away and remove ourself from the constant input of technology, we can go to a place where we revert back to our natural state and who we are and we're able to train hard, whether it's grappling, whether it's sword, whether it's even hiking, or just sleeping in a cabin in the woods with no electricity, no phone, no computer, and no agenda. Nobody looking for you, nobody calling you, nobody texting you, no dopamine spikes at 2 AM when you can't sleep and you just hop on Instagram. All of that is gone.
Adam Mitchell [00:19:57]:
And I think that this is an important place for us to consider as we move forward, and it's a wonderful and even beautiful place for our study of kobudo. And I found this to be Sensei's real sincere message in this as we go forward in the considerations as martial artists that we collectively should make. I look forward to seeing you on the next episode of Shoyo.
