This is related to sen sen no sen in which one anticipates the opponent and then strikes. Waza wo korosu refers to choosing and successfully executing a waza that renders the opponent’s waza null, thus defeating their technique. Ken wo korosu include wazas such as harai, osae, maki, or renzoku wazas. In regards to ken wo ken wo korosu 1) kill/defeat the sword/shinai, one aims to disrupt the opponent’s katachi no kame, their physical kamae, by taking the initiative (sen) and moving their sword from the centerline and forcibly creating an opening. As stated earlier, they are strongly related to the three initiatives o opportunities to strike, mitsu no sen, which are sen, sen sen no sen, and go no sen. These are translated as: 1) kill/defeat the sword/shinai, 2) kill/defeat the opponent’s technique, 3) and kill/defeat their spirit. Perhaps you know someone who thinks they need the hard certainty of ‘leadership presence,’ when what they really need to cultivate is the gentle confidence of Kigurai.San sappou or san satsu ho, related to the mitsu no sen, refers to the three ways in which one can disrupt the opponnet’s kamae and create an opening and/or opportunity to strike or thrust.The three are known as 1) ken wo korosu, 2) waza wo korosu, and 3) ki wo korosu. But maybe ancient language can give us new ways to see the journey we and our clients are on. I think if you want to go beyond tricks and tips and grow as a person, it takes time and hard work. I’m not offering a quick-fix or “3 steps to leadership greatness”. Where there is much debate about whether leaders are born or made, the message I have consistently received in the traditional martial arts is clear: if you are willing to train hard, then you can learn anything. I have seen these same qualities in masters of their arts and this is very similar in my mind to Kigurai. They also have a kind of aliveness or animation that is inspiring to be around, seeming at once larger than life and an invitation to dream bigger, to dare further and to be part of what they are creating. They have a humility, a deeply held knowing that they don’t have all the answers, which makes it easy to work with them (not just for them). The best leaders I meet manage to combine a kind of solidity, dependability or fierce competence which makes them easy to trust, a natural person to follow. Now, of course, when people are learning something new, most of us are clumsy to begin with but I often have the feeling that what people are aiming for is a little off-target. This frequently ends up having a brittle and arrogant quality to it. So often when people are trying to develop confidence, leadership presence or even just leadership, I see them end up working to create a way of being which seems to declare to the world “I am independent! I don’t need anyone” or particularly when working on leadership “I know what to do”.
This subtle but powerful confidence is Kigurai. A great master of a martial art may humbly welcome you into his dojo (training hall) but it is still his dojo. The way the word is used in Iaido is something more like self-possession. However, something is lost in this translation. If you look up Kigurai in a Japanese-English dictionary, it is typically translated as “arrogance”. It is a word from Japanese martial arts which I came across while practicing Iaido, a Japanese sword art. The word I want to begin with is Kigurai. This then will be the theme of the blog for now: applying ancient wisdom to modern learning. One of the gifts of studying ancient cultures in the way that I have is that I often come across words which have a richness and depth of translation that helps me to concisely articulate something that can be otherwise hard to grasp. I have found that sometimes when I am seeking to develop a quality in myself or others, even finding the language for what we want to learn can be tricky.
I have been invited to take over this blog and wanted to have a theme to shape my writing.