2012 IBDA Tai Kai
April 16, 2012
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Posted by richard
2012 IBDA Tai Kai
By Shidoshi James Clum
The 2012 IBDA Tai Kai held March 22nd-25th in gorgeous Middletown, California was a smashing success which drew in a large group of enthusiastic Bujinkan students from the continental US and several different countries including Mexico and Canada. This event was the 25th IBDA Tai Kai taught and organized by Shihan Van Donk who has stated ,”this event will be my last.” And what an event it was!
As students gathered together on the first night, each shared their heartfelt reasons for training and being at the event breaking the ice and starting what would become bonds of friendship, respect, and cooperation that grew as the event progressed.
Nestled in the mountains of wine country, the location provided trainees with nearby forests, and fresh brisk air that helped to focus the mind on the purpose of the Tai Kai and to get back to the basics that make Budo Taijutsu the effective martial art that it is. Shihan Van Donk began his teaching by starting with natural movement and explaining how it flows directly from a natural standing position. This on the surface seemed elementary, but actually caused even senior instructors to take a closer look at how movement is generated efficiently and in a way that is hard to perceive easily by others.
An underlying them of the weekend event was “Things to Avoid in Bujinkan Training.” Several of the senior instructors which included Shidoshi Carlito Flores, Shidoshi John Owsiak, Shidoshi Charles Benham, Shidoshi Roman Marquez, Shidoshi Rick Greener, Shidoshi James Clum, Shidoshi Theo Schink, and Shidoshi Jamie Daiken who passed his Godan test at the event were asked to teach points that each thought was pertinent. Each brought up unique and valuable insights into the daily habits that many in the Bujinkan frequently do and may be unaware of. Such habits have not gone unnoticed by other martial arts styles and are in most cases are not characteristics of correct Bujinkan training.
Some of the highlights of these points are included below:
Avoid stopping and continue moving.
Avoid losing contact with the opponent so that you maintain control and can anticipate movements.
Avoid being overly compliant as a training partner or realism will be lost.
Avoid being a training partner that moves mindlessly waiting for his turn.
Avoid over-committing oneself to an attack and leaving openings for counterattacks.
Avoid losing your structure while attacking or defending.
Avoid fixating on any point of conflict or resistance.
Avoid receiving attacks of any kind in such a way that one can be attacked further.
Avoid thinking that you will be attacked in the ways that most people plan.
Avoid thinking in terms of winning conflicts by force, but rather think in terms of bringing conflicts naturally to resolution by using whatever means at your disposal.
With the rising popularity of Mixed Martial Arts, there have been concerns expressed both inside and outside of the martial arts community as to whether or not traditional martial arts are still valid in today’s world. Although people join martial arts for a variety of reasons, their core purpose is self-defense and this point cannot be lost. Without a healthy degree of realism applied to training, there is a danger of falling into routines in which one becomes sloppy about protecting the very gaps and openings that a potential opponent would take advantage of. The IBDA is committed to realistic martial arts training using combat tested methods to provide students with instruction that they can rely on. Testing at this event reflected this necessary element of realism as students were asked to not only demonstrate competency with techniques, but were also forced to improvise and push the levels of their own physical and mental endurance in scenarios that they could not have predicted.
This Tai Kai successfully explored ways to become more aware of what we are doing and why. With over eight senior instructors assisting Shihan Van Donk, there was a lot of one on one time which allowed for each person attending to get personalized instruction suited to his or her needs. Such instruction included working on postures, distance, timing, angles and also strategy and attitude. Each instructor noticed remarkable improvement in each person especially the beginning white belt students who seemed to pick up very complicated movements and concepts inexplicably by the third day. In Shihan Van Donk’s own words, “This Tai Kai got deep fast!”
At the Tai Kai the eight senior instructors that were previously mentioned were appointed by Shihan Van Donk to form a Master’s Council to oversee certain administrative duties necessary to running the IBDA smoothly. The council will focus on ways to maintain high standards of quality Bujinkan training and to continue to support those who seek a more structured curriculum such as the one that IBDA provides. In addition to this, the council will plan future IBDA Tai Kai events and keep members up to date with news and important information useful to IBDA members.
We look forward to seeing you next at our next event! Keep Going!
Written by
James Clum, Shidoshi (8th dan)
IBDA Educational Director
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