Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Kosei Kaizen: Continual Individual Improvement

 

Kosei-Ryu Bu-Jutsu

Sensei Norman Beck of Zen Bu Kai Martial Arts, founder of the Kosei-ryu Bu-jutsu training method, had the idea that students should be introduced to a diverse range of systems and techniques but also require of his students that progression is made while following a guided path of discovery and self-examination.

Kosei-ryu Bu-jutsu translates roughly to "system of traditional martial arts taught with a focus on the individual student" and as such it was designed to follow a unique teaching and ranking process. The method is comprised of four different Martial Arts disciplines and is designed, in the lower ranks, to expose students to each in order increase their ability to defend themselves and to determine which discipline best compliments their physical abilities, mindset, individual preference and personal philosophy.

Kosei-ryu Bu-jutsu is not a game; it is not a sport; it is not a commercial system churning out dozens of high-paying black belt ranks each year. The primary goal of the Kosei-ryu Bu-jutsu system is to train complete martial artists with a strong motivation for self-improvement. Each student will follow an individualized path through pre-defined ranks.

Each martial arts system has a different view of what it takes to make the journey from an empty page to a full page; the Black Belt. In general, the white belt signifies that a student has accumulated little to no basic knowledge of the system they have chosen to train in; they are a blank page to write on. The black belt, on the other hand, acknowledges that the student has learned all of the fundamental techniques required to begin the transition from being a student to becoming a complete martial artist.


At no time, in the Kosei-ryu Bu-jutsu system, is there a push by the instructor(s) to "graduate" up to the next rank. There are no grand belt testing ceremonies or fees. Ranks are not GIVEN... all students are expected to train to their fullest potential in each and every class session and only by doing that will they EARN their new rank. At whatever point the instructor feels that the student has proven the required level of mastery, the student is recognized to the class and awarded the new belt as a reminder of their achievements. The idea is not that the student tests to determine if they are ready for the next rank, but to acknowledge that the student has proven, through training inside and outside class, that they have already achieved that goal. 

Everyone is a beginner at first... and everyone must walk those thousand miles... one step at a time.

Your journey is your own.

Monday, December 30, 2024

New Year 2025: Hope for a New Beginning


In the spirit of the new year, 2025, being upon us with obligatory resolutions sure to come, I think about what habits I might resurrect in my life.  I'm not getting any younger; my body isn't the picture of health that it once was; stress and anxiety washes over most aspects of daily life... and yet, I hope to experience a rejuvenation in the weeks, months, and years to come.  Rejuvenation of life, rejuvenation of love, rejuvenation of optimistic wonder in all things that God has planned next.

To that end, I found myself looking... back.  Could now be the right time for me to experience a new beginning?  If so, where do I even start?  What will be the anchor that keeps me focused?  Perhaps, it's time to reawaken myself in the martial arts.


Perhaps, it's time to rouse the warrior spirit that had gone dormant years ago and find a new way to feed the dragon.



I pray for everyone that happens to stumble upon this random though to enjoy a very Safe and Happy New Year filled with renewed vitality and joy for a forgotten passion.

Thanks for visiting!


Kosei Kaizen: Continual Individual Improvement

  Kosei-Ryu Bu-Jutsu Sensei Norman Beck of Zen Bu Kai Martial Arts , founder of the Kosei-ryu Bu-jutsu training method, had the idea that ...