From Dō-in 導引 to 武道 Budō

While practicing and teaching yoga, I always try to integrate Shōshin 初心 - the beginner’s mind - having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions. After practicing for 15 and teaching for 10 years, moving like a beginner is quite a challenge. Lucky for me, I’ve been experiencing full-blown Shōshin again since I started Shorinji Kempo 少林寺拳法 training.

As you can read on my philosophy page, I’ve been teaching Dō-in 導引 since 2013 (aged 23).
導 ‘Dō’ means ‘guidance’, and 引 ‘in’ means ‘to pull’. These kanji combined have different meanings: showing the way, traditional Japanese massage​ (shiatsu) and (derived from Chinese) tao yin; Taoist Neigong; Taoist exercises to promote health.

I always wanted to practice a martial art but never dared to start, because I thought I would be too old and slow to learn. But this year - aged 33 - I finally had the courage to start weekly Shorinji Kempo training. Practicing Dō-in is a way for me to drop into myself, this moment, the healing power of my body and to calm my mind. I love to do it because it’s a soft practice that is in my comfort zone.

Starting 武道 Budō - Japanese martial arts like Shorinji Kempo - is quite the opposite. It’s super challenging on a physical and mental level, and completely out of my comfort zone. But the group of kenshi 拳士 (people who practice Shorinji Kempo) and sensei Paul are treating me like family. Despite not being in my comfort zone, I feel very at home wearing my dōgi 道着 in de dōjō 道場.

The Chinese character 武 ‘bu’, is an ideogram composed of the characters for 戈 ´spear´ and 止 ´stop´. 道 ´dō´ means ‘the way’: Buddhist teachings and Taoism. This shows that budō is about stopping conflict and contributing to peace. The reason I wanted to start martial arts, is to have the skill and courage to defend myself and help others in all kinds of situations. Next to that, I want to improve my physical and mental fitness and focus. And last but not least, I want to learn how Zen Buddhist philosophy is integrated into Japanese martial arts - and how I can implement this in my Dō-in practice and teachings, and everyday life.

For my first grading, I had to write about the history of Shorinji Kempo and the key attitudes in the dōjō. The first part I will share in this blog, and the second part I will share after the summer holidays.

Founding of Shorinji Kempo 少林寺拳法

Michiomi Nakano (1911–1980) lived with his grandfather as a child, who taught him kendo, sōjutsu, and most likely Fusen-ryū jūjutsu. At age 17, he enlisted in the army and started Chinese Quan Fa training at a Taoist school. 

In 1945, the Soviets invaded Manchuria (where Nakano was living at that time). Wounded Japanese soldiers were left behind to die while the army retreated, and many Japanese civilians committed mass suicide. Nakano witnessed the harsh realities of international politics and discovered that events are greatly affected by the character and way of thinking of people in positions of influence. He expressed this as ‘人、 人、 人、 すべて わ人の質にある’ - “The person, the person, person; everything depends on the quality of the person”.

“If society is run by people, then true peace can only come from fostering compassion, courage, and a sense of justice in as many people as possible.”

Nakano ordered and organized the forms of Quan Fa he learned in China, and combined them with the Jūjutsu he learned from his grandfather, to create Shorinji Kempo as it exists today. He turned his home into a practice hall, and taught Shorinji Kempo to youths, to draw out their sense of justice, and nourish their confidence, courage, and vigor. In this way, he educated people to contribute to the revival of Japan. During this time he changed his surname to Sō and started to use the on'yomi variant of his given name: Dōshin, 宗道臣.

The goal for Shorinji Kempo kenshi; is to become people who can:

• live with faith in their potential.
• live as the authors of their own lives.
• act with consideration for the happiness of others.
• act with compassion, courage, and a sense of justice.
• can live to bond with and support each other in solidarity and cooperation.

"Half for one's own happiness, and half for the happiness of others" - Doshin So 宗道臣