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Masaaki Hatsumi Sensei
34th Soke of the Togakure Ryu
by Ilan Gattegno
Yoshiaki Hatsumi was born in the city of Noda,
in the region of Chiba, on the 2nd of December 1931. Subsequently
his name was changed to Masaaki, which is an unusual name in Japan.
At the age of seven Masaaki Hatsumi received from
his father the first wooden sword (bokken) and thus his first contact
with the martial arts. Martial Arts soon became his passion and
he trained on all those that he possible could: Judo, karate, kendo,
Aikido, karate okinawense, jukendo.
Meantime at school he practiced gymnastics and was also the captain of the
football team. He used football to strengthen the leg techniques in the martial
arts that he was also practicing.
During his adolescent years he trained boxing,
continued to play football, was a member of the judo and drama
club and carried on with his studies.
At the age of twenty, in 1951, during his medical
studies, he obtained his 4th Dan in judo. In those days this was
something very rare (for a young man to achieve such a high degree)
which proved his dedication and perseverance. Soon after he was
invited to give judo classes at an American army base (Yokota Army
Base). During the time he spent with the Americans he understood
that the ability that they possessed coupled with their large frame
in comparison to the Japanese, meant that given the same period
of training the Americans would accomplish higher results than
the Japanese who would undoubtedly require longer periods of training
in order to achieve similar levels. This fact actually made master
Masaaki Hatsumi question himself regards his training method, whereby
the stronger individual beating a weaker opponent has no merit
or praise, the real praise would surely come from the reverse.
Sensei Hatsumi recounts as follows: "I have always loved "Budo",
since I was a child in fact. I was a spectator to many "dojos" in
order to learn how to become stronger. When I was twenty years
of age I taught judo at an American base. One day in a small combat
studio a soldier applied extreme force to one of my arms, in a
way similar to "onikudaki". Although I made it look as
if it was nothing I knew that he had won. Since that occasion I
started to doubt some of what I had learned"
Master Hatsumi continued to look for a Martial
Art in which a weaker person could have an opportunity when facing
a stronger opponent. Great part of the decade of the years fifty
were spent looking for a Master that could teach him "budo".
This took him to practice "Kobudo" with
Master Ueno Takashi, with whom for tree years he studied "Kobujutsu
juhappan". Master Takashi instructed him in " Asayama
Icheden Ryu, Shinto Tenshi Ryu, Bokuden Ryu, Kukishinden Ryu, Takagi
YoshginRyu and Takagi Gyokushin Ryu. After three years with him
Takashi allowed master Hatsumi sensei to give classes to his group
of students.
Ueno Takashi had been a student of Master Toshitsugu
Takamatsu, this in turn provided the link to master Masaaki Hatsumi.
As such, at the age of twenty-six, in 1957 he found sensei Takamatsu
in the city of Kashiwabara in the west of the Iga region. Master
Hatsumi makes the following comments about Sensei Takamatsu:"I
went to see the master that everyone spoke to me about. He was
seventy years old and I was twenty-six and full of confidence.
I entered with care and with a certain anxiety, but he soon told
me to relax. During the following years I trained with him every
weekend. The anguish that I experienced provoked by his ability
was certainly different from any previous one. I had only experimented
some cold sensations, this was something much warmer. It was like
an internal explosion- I do not know exactly how to explain- it
was as if all my blood had been extracted and someone was attempting
to kill me afterwards. It was a combination of multiple sensations
that could not pinpoint its source. I knew that this was what I
was looking for. I asked him to be his student, this was in 1957
and at that time he was not taking students. However, from that
moment until the time he expired he taught no one but me. Some
people received manuals and opened schools with similar names,
but I was the only fortunate one to have learned personally with
him. I was chosen as his successor, so to speak. At that time I
was still in Noda and had a practice to mend broken bones. I would
leave home at the weekends to train with my master and would return
home Sunday evenings. This went on for fifteen years until master
Takamatsu died. With master Takamatsu I learned a lot but above
all as he used to say " If you do not want to die, work to
survive, it is not a sport in which you loose or win, it is a question
of life or death. You have to survive this is Budo. This was particularly
true with the Ninja, those that were spies, without learning to
survive they could not complete their missions"
When master Hatsumi began to train with sensei
Takamatsu he ceased with Takashi. The Martial Arts that master
Hatsumi inherited do not place any strong emphases in the genealogical
importance, because this is not the type of art that could upraise
its origins. It is understood that these Martial Arts come about
gradually deriving from cultural interchanges that took place between
several different groups of people. The origin of these Arts can
be retraced to the seventh century, back to the religious orders
of monks from the continent, (China) who introduced Kung fu and
indeed "Shugendo" and also isotheral Buddhism. The religious
and warrior principles and experiences of that particular era began
to form the different groups which took up residence deep in the
mountains away from the populous in order to further develop their
combined skills, which later became schools of different Martial
Arts.
Questions & Answers
with
Masaaki Hatsumi Sensei
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