Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Seminar!

Away in a monastry of 'chimon', way up in the mountains lived a prophet and ninja master of unmatched talents. His name is Shiva Subramanium. He saw the future of mankind and knew the actions to take at specific times in future places, but had no way to propel himself to the time where mankind needed him most. But in a town far over the deepest river lived a mystic ninja sensei with powers only told over dark camp sites in hushed tones, and some that were unspeakable. His name was Shihan Arnaud Cousergue.

On the darkest of most evil days, a day when locals said the devils from below had concorded the heavens and killed the sun, the two omint beings sat together at a bar "Gyokuro" n the localised valley town of "BooGodai" and a plan was hatched to save mankind. With the blessings of their supreme lord and grandmaster - Masaaki Hatsumi they proceeded to initiate some more beings into their way of life.

The "kuma" as the mystic ninja was fondly called used his powers to stir together a potion of the most delicious and addictive mixture for saving mankind. They decided to hold a seminar to partake of their deadly knowledge of the flesh, mind and spirit. With each swift lessen the they helped make men out of mice!!

They Say A teacher affects eternity:he can never tell where his influence stops. Many people would absorb the above story at many levels. To every person who reads this, the above story might have a different meaning. This is how I saw the story of our seminar with Arnaud Cousergue (in the above photo) fold out. I feel what we learnt on the day of the seminar cannot be given a value, and cannot be quantified. This form is truly mystical and grounded at the same time.
The seminar had 30+ attendance. We even had our very own custom made Kuma Tshirts! :)
We realised that A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations. We found out sometimes this was the best motto - "Do One Brave thing today and then Run like hell!" :) . We played, we laughed, we ate, we cried, we sweat, we fell, we jumped, we learnt to go back to 'chi', we kicked and we grew. At the end of the session you realise that you cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind. You have to put the ox to the field and sweat it out in the sun.
Nine-tenths of education is encouragement and "Kuma" has been the most encouraging teacher I have seen till now. This seminar will be an important and memorable event in our quest to be deadlier Ninjas and better humans! :)

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember.I do and I understand. - Chinese Proverb

Friday, July 3, 2009

Women - The Superior Race



It is a universally accepted truth that men and women have different wavelengths in communication. Both genders develop their intimacy, relationships and emotional + spiritual connections differently.

It is Man's eternal need and necessity to understand women. The smart ones have figured out that we never will. After sharing almost 3decades with the other sex I have concluded that a true, deep, infallible understanding of how their mind works is still a long way off. Being able to understand them completely is true understanding of a woman. Their complexity actually lies in their simplicity. I'm sure men from all walks of life will agree with me on this.

This blog is actually part of a "book idea" on how to understand women - my feeble attempt to create an ode for this fantastic kind created to keep man company (read in control). You will have to settle for the sneak preview of the book (ive written 4 pages out of 365).

In the practice of Ninjustu by the Bujinkan, a female ninja is called a Kunoichi.

As days go by I realise that a lot of my personal beliefs are echoed in this class. One of them is that women are the more powerful than men and they are a superior Race. Women also make better Ninja's. It is an accepted fact that women are more sensitive. There are scientific and spiritual reasons for this. Some of them include -
  • They are natural givers and know how to give.
  • They have built in intuition and a sixth sense.
  • They actually train (to be intuitive) daily through life instances and situations *(when they walk on the road, enter a pub, hug a guy.. etc etc)
  • They take in more energy from the cosmos as they have an extra orifice.
  • And according to a recent study women averaged 34 nerve fibers per square centimeter of facial skin while men only averaged 17 nerve fibers. Despite psychosocial expectations for men to be tougher than women when feeling pain, these findings illustrate that women's lower pain tolerance and threshold are physical.

In our DOJO - we DONT hit Girls. We know they already feel the pain. They dont have to be physically exposed to it to understand it. I think this is a fantastic thought! (But just becuase we cant hit them, doesnt mean they cant hit us... Ouch!). And if you meet a Female Ninja - Beware!! You dont want to mess with her!


The essence of all Marital Arts and military strategies is self protection and the prevention of danger. Women excel in this aspect as they naturally have the ability to protect and prevent.
The threshold of pain that women can reach cannot even be fathomed by men. From their monthly defrosting, to childbirth, to the pain of their son moving out - Women really know how to face pain. Hats off to them.

This blog also is inspired by extraordinary women I had the pleasure to give company to - a 2 evenings ago at the Daughters day Celebrations organised by PRCI.
There were discussions of empowerment and gender bias - and I was asked if I beleive its a biased world. And I Said "Yes, I believe theres disparity - Women aren't weak, they're just more 'important' than men. Ive always believed women are more powerful & I'll stand by it any day!"


I am looking forward to this weekend because Shihan Arnaud Cousergue is coming down to Bangalore. Feelings of excitement, anticipation and curiosity rush through me as I share this with you. Arnaud is a 15th dan in Budô Taijutsu. He also has a couple Menkyo Kaiden's - the highest level of license that exists, and the highest rank achievable.

All my Budokas(Friends in martial arts - training partners) are all ecstatic about Arnauds arrival. And since we're on the topic - my Budoka Teja tweeted me and told me the difference between Sensei, Shidoshi and Shihan.
Heere's His tweet.
"@AnjaanRJ I've not heard the term sensei used (in the Bujinkan context) except for Soke and Takamatsu Sensei. Shidoshi is used for teacher. Shidoshi is 5th dan and above, which Shihan is 10th dan and above."

I guess everyone makes mistakes and learns from them right? Afterall it is about learning new things everyday isnt it? But, if I was a woman I wouldnt have made this mistake! Men will never be perfect will they?

After reading this, go buy some gifts for your Mom, Sister, Wife, Daughter, Best friend, or any lady you know - because you now know she's more powerful, so you might as well start sucking up to her! *grin*


And pssst - dont be Fooled by her innocent looks - She has the most lethal weapon in the world!!! She has the superior weapon called Tears! :)