The past

The young prospective student lowered his eyes, for to make eye contact with the master would have been an insult. The master knew immediately that here was a serious and potentially good student - one that would some day make a good practitioner of the secret arts. Yet the young twelve-year-old lad had to prove patience. The old master said sternly, "Hmm, if you are still interested in learning the art, come back and ask me again a year from now."

The boy returned again a year later with his sponsor and mentor who again asked the great master if he would consider taking the boy on as his student. The master was quite used to putting the would be disciple off several times before he would consider entering into a formal agreement. Again, the master turned the prospective student away saying, "I may be interested in agreeing to your request, but I need time to think about it. Come back this time next year and I will see.

The boy returned yet again a year later and repeated his request. On this occasion the master decided that as he had the time and space for another mouth to feed in his home he would take on this new acolyte. For these were the days when a martial arts student went and lived with his teacher for the duration of his training.

The lucky boy, now fourteen years old, did not complain or even question the master when he discovered that his training comprised sweeping and then scrubbing the training hall floor twice every day. He was also expected to act as a general dogs-body and errand boy for anyone who wanted to make use of his labour any time they felt the need. After another year of pursuing mundane chores - for the boy still had the exclusive responsibility of scrubbing the training hall floor, he still had not been invited to take part in any martial arts training. A lesser mortal may have asked or even demanded to know what the purpose of the delay was all about, but the young boy knew only that his place in the great scheme of things was to work hard and conscientiously and to show patience. During this time, he was quick to realise the benefits of being observant and remembering everything that he experienced.

Today, if I were to turn a student away and ask him or her to return but a mere six months later s/he would probably think me extreme, disinterested, just plain rude or completely mad. What if after that time I did take on the student only to tell them to scrub the training hall floor? Can you imagine the retort? Most would probably be polite and simply walk away never to return, some would take the gesture as such an affront that they would tell me to my face what to do with the scrubbing brush. Yet, such training is not very archaic. My former sword master, spent his first year scrubbing the training hall floor and doing what seemed to be meaningless exercises under the full flow of an eighty-foot waterfall. There was a special way to scrub the dojo (way place - training hall) floor, and it involved kneeling down on both knees and holding the scrubbing brush in both hands simultaneously. The scrubbing motion was principally forwards and backwards along a longitudinal line, using both the arms and abdominal muscles. The body rocked forwards and the arms extended to their full reach before they were withdrawn and the body rocked back. Each time slightly shifting oneself laterally across the floor after each return stroke. After each lateral sweep of the full width of the floor surface, he moved back a little and repeated the sweep in the opposite direction. Each movement was performed in a monotonous rhythmic manner that led one into a trance like state. I sometimes wonder if he realised at the time that he was actually strengthening his grip, his arms and indeed most of the musculature of his body in a specific way. At the end of a year, he was able to take hold of a sword and make two thousand successive and focused descending sweeps without the slightest indication of a pause!

It is with this background in mind that the prospective Shindo student should orient his or her mentality and enter training. Shindo is a unique blend of contemporary self-defence and a very old classical martial arts system that was nurtured through a period of five hundred years (circa A.D.1400 - A.D.1900) on the now Japanese island of Okinawa. The art historically called Li'u Ch'iu Suidi (archaic) or Ryukyu Shuri Te (the self defence art of the principle town of Okinawa) was practised by the noble class of the island which remained an independent kingdom until 1879. The nobles and royal retainers were situated in and around the royal town of Shun (meaning 'head village'). One such was a famous (in martial arts circles), royal bodyguard named Matsumura who was born circa. 1797. Matsumura following in the footsteps of his illustrious predecessors Sakugawa, Kusanku and Takahara further developed the martial arts system of Shuri which had been introduced from the Chinese mainland. Matsumura passed the secrets of his system down to his grandson Nabe Matsumura who in turn passed them down to his nephew Soken Hohan. Soken Hohan became the third therefore, in the family line to practise the old art. He taught a number of prominent students, among whom is the present chief instructor Nishihira Kosei.

Shindo is a martial art that represents a responsible utilitarian self-defence system and life-skill. Every aspect of the system is oriented to doing something practical and useful for oneself rather than to please, entertain and gratify the onlooker. There is no spectacle or public demonstration in the accepted sense in the Shindo system. There is no inter-personal or inter-club competition or tournament. As a result you will not be taught how to smash boards and bricks or how to leap high into the air performing spinning back kicks and other cinematographic stunts to impress your friends and acquaintances. Shindo (in its advanced and proper form) is one of the most functional systems in the world.

Shindo is a very difficult art to learn, it will take a long time to master the many techniques and methods involved. You will have to learn very quickly the meaning of discipline, respect, courtesy, humility, effort, tenacity, patience, determination, and precision. It has to be said that not all people are well suited to martial arts training. They may find the demands placed upon them unacceptable. Yet in reality, if one is prepared to be patient and consistent, and to work conscientiously in the training hall environment without capitulating to irrational, inconsistent or erratic behaviour, then good and sure progress can be made.

You must understand that training in Shindo is not a pastime, game, casual diversion or sport, it is a long-term life-skill-training programme that will change your perception of life and yourself. The overall training programme lasts for about ten years (depending upon aptitude and hours trained), by which time the student will have graduated the student ranks and subsequent practitioner ranks to become a fully recognised and registered Shindo teacher (it takes about five years to attain practitioner status). It is true that the person who embarks upon serious training in Shindo will never be the same again.

The beginner will have to take on a number of new concepts in his or her life and thinking. The procedures and etiquette in the martial arts training hall are precise and inflexible. The art contains potentially lethal techniques and because of this all practises are strictly monitored and controlled. Everyone must learn to work together harmoniously, to think of others before themselves and to respect those of greater experience, skill and age. There is a strict hierarchy within martial arts. There is no favouritism and everyone, irrespective of previous experience, capability, or qualifications, starts at the bottom. Promotion to higher rank is achieved through hard work in the training sessions, a demonstration of specific technical skills, good character, and above all else, courtesy. Everyone gets treated the same, there is no favouritism. In Shindo, those with higher ranks have achieved them through their own efforts - there is no short cut at all. Every newcomer embarks upon training that is intended to bring out assertive qualities (not aggressive ones), and to increase personal confidence and self-esteem. Humility is another quality you will see in every true student, practitioner, teacher and master alike.

Martial arts training involves a great deal of repetitive work. Each movement must be repeated many thousands of times before the mind and body can reproduce it spontaneously without thought. Each technique must be repeated at least ten thousand times correctly before it has been 'learned' - some ten repetitions of each technique every day for three years.

Most people think that the coveted black belt is the pinnace of training. In reality this is not so. The black belt really represents the very first step in learning. Martial arts training is so difficult that it was felt necessary in modern, perhaps less disciplined times to institute a series of simple part steps towards the attainment of the first rank. This was achieved by introducing the so-called kyu (class) system of coloured belts. Today we have white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and brown belt part steps towards the attainment of the first step black belt rank. The transition from white belt to black belt signifies the step from elementary student to first level practitioner. There are successive black belt ranks through first to ninth degree which will take a minimum of fifty years to negotiate.

Training in Shindo can never end, for perfection is the goal and humans were created rather less than perfect. If you train in the art for three months, you will be three months more experienced and capable than the person who has not trained. Every day in training is cumulative. In martial arts, it is important not to dream of the next promotion so much as to enjoy the art for its own sake and enjoy the ongoing learning process. With the right qualities, the promotions will come of their own accord.

Clearly, you will either enjoy training in Shindo or you will not. Because the system is firmly rooted in the highest ideals of both contemporary and classical traditions, there can be no concessions or changes to embrace the perceived needs of the populace. The art stands as it is - take it or leave it.

You should understand a little about why a martial arts training hall exists at all. Most people think that it is for their own gratification, use and learning. However, this is, in part, to misunderstand the whole martial arts ethos. First is the principle of preserving the ancient knowledge. The core practise forms that have come down to us are essentially unchanged and were created by long dead masters of the art. Every step and every movement that you as a student may perform in the dojo (way place - training hall) have already been performed millions of times previously by successive generations of masters, teachers, practitioners and students. This process can be traced back thousands of years. There is something almost mystical, very special, spiritual and mysterious about this process. When I begin to perform the core of my art - shadow boxing (or kata as it is properly called), it is as if my very being were being permeated by the spirits of long dead exponents. The art comprises a fundamental knowledge that is the culmination of many generations study and research by masters who have come to be venerated by their followers. There is something very special about being able to read the words of past masters in the very few texts that they have left, and to perform the very same movements and actions that we know they have performed. These actions are fundamental and form part of the kinetic meditation principle of the art.

Now what is most important of all, is the preservation of this ancient tradition - the actual practising of it is, in a sense, regarded as of secondary importance. Of course, the two go hand in hand, but the point is that the art takes a lifetime to learn and assimilate. There is not enough time to learn and practise it and at the same time to pass it on to all and sundry like selling cakes in a baker's shop. Being a martial arts teacher in today's society places me in an interesting position. Most people think I am there to teach the art. Every potential student who happens along thinks my job is to teach him or her the secrets of the art. A number of people actually believe that by paying money that I am running a business and benefiting from it. Nothing could be further from the truth. If Shindo were a business, it would have failed miserably years ago. The reality is rather different. First, as a teacher of the art, it is regarded as unseemly that I handle any money paid into the association even though it is used for the benefit of the members collectively and not for myself.

Further, I do not particularly want to busy myself with teaching the art to everyone, especially beginners! In reality, I want to perfect my art and to practise it with other like minded and similarly ranked practitioners and teachers. When some unknown individual walks into my dojo and asks if it is possible to begin training I sigh inwardly knowing that to accept this person is to enter into yet more time consuming expenditure of effort on someone who in all probability will never stay the course anyway. I know this because statistics and experience support the fact that only one in several hundred will achieve the first-degree black belt. So while I am saying, out of courtesy more than any other reason, "Yes, of course you can join in...." my inner thoughts are wrestling with the problem of who it is that I can appoint as initial trainer or teacher to this person and whether I can be really bothered to pursue such tedium and disruption yet again. However, this thinking gives the fundamental lie to the situation, for my inherited obligation to the art demands that I pass the teachings on for the benefit of the next generation.

The martial arts dojo is in some respects a strange place to the uninitiated. To the bugeisha (martial artist) the dojo is anywhere that the art is practised. It could be in a backyard or garden, a village hall, sports or so called leisure centre or more rarely in this country a purpose built building. It does not matter, wherever, whatever, the dojo is treated like a church. The very fabric of the dojo is permeated with the spirit of a long succession of students, the majority of whom have worked hard, have been cajoled, bullied, encouraged, criticised, and urged on during their period of study. Much sweat and emotion has been generated in my principal dojo at Riverhead since it was first used for the purpose in 1979. Therefore, everyone bows courteously on entering and leaving the dojo. The bow is an important and essential feature of all martial arts training. It is not forced or done with an air of superiority or grandeur, rather it is a quiet low key action signifying mutual respect.

A major part of early learning is to be chosen (more or less at random) with little or no regard for the fact that you are a new student - to call cadence. This means to act as the so-called 'chanter' for the group in training. Most often, this is achieved by pointing to a student and asking him or her to count loudly (so that all the class can hear clearly), one to ten. The only problem for the beginner is that the chant or count as it is often called has to be stated in Japanese (of course)! The student selected calls loudly 'Ichi' (pronounced 'itch') for number one, and as if by magic, the whole class responds in unison by performing the technique previously requested by the sensei (teacher). without a pause the chanter goes on to call, 'Ni' ('knee'), 'San' (sahn'), 'Shi' ('shee'), 'Go' ('goh'), 'Roku' ('rock), 'Shichi' ('sitch'), 'Hachi' ('hatch'), 'Ku' ('koo'), 'Ju' ('joo'). After each count the class responds like clockwork and performs the required technique. Some of the more advanced students may be asked to perform several movements in the time it takes the beginner to execute just one. This practise is called 'renketsu waza' (linked techniques) and is introduced gradually as the beginning student gains ability and confidence in performing single techniques.

In one sense, the most difficult time in training is the first few months, for embarking on a completely new study there seems to be a great deal to learn before you can start to use the art in a functional and practical way. lt is for this reason that every aspect of Shindo training is divided into easy to manage steps. Please try to give yourself a fair chance with your new art, you cannot assess its strengths or weaknesses in just a couple of lessons. Take each lesson at a time, assess what you have learned and look back over your progress. Be patient. Everyone wants you to progress and become a fully-fledged practitioner. Perhaps one day we will have so many serious black belts in training that we will be unable to take on any more beginners! I could be inspired to say 'pigs might fly' but I will not.

Despite what I have said, perhaps somewhat tongue in cheek, I really do hope you decide to join our group. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you every success in your life. Best wishes, Roger Sheldon