Taijutsu 103: The Good Uke
by Benjamin Cole

For just one moment, imagine the following scenario:

Soke calls up two practitioners to be his uke. Soke asks them to attack him, and the first person outright refuses to punch. She stands there, arms crossed and says, “No, I will not punch.”

What would the crowd of eager students standing around for the lesson do? They would certainly be puzzled. They may even insist that she punch. If she refuses, then eventually Soke (or one of the others) would ask that person to sit down. I am sure that the adamant uke would not be called on again for quite a while.

This consequence is unfortunate, because that student has made a choice that directly affects her access to Soke’s teachings. She is forgoing the opportunity to be touched directly by Soke, to feel the lessons personally despite the public nature of the venue.

Viewing the encounter beyond the individual, we see an even greater tragedy. The uke who has refused to punch has done something, as a student, that was embarrassingly rude to Soke and to his many students. By being unwilling to accept her role as uke, the individual actually has stifled the entire learning experience for everyone observing the encounter.

Certainly, it is not the place of any uke to do that. I think everyone would agree that if this student would always act in the same way when Soke asked her to punch that she would be asked to re-evaluate why she was there in the first place.

This scenario has important implications for training in the Bujinkan, in my opinion. It is especially salient when one considers Soke’s occasional requests for students to not train with certain individuals.

For years, I have seen people argue, “Soke has no right to tell me who I can and cannot train with. This is my journey. I will do as I like.” While we all agree Budo is a personal journey, if you want Soke to help you along the path, you must be willing to listen to his guidance. If you cannot do that, you should search elsewhere for guidance. There are many, many philosophies and martial arts out there--one of them will help you.

With respect to Soke, however, if you are considering not listening to his guidance, it is vital that you realize that it is not just you who is affected. In fact, with things such as Soke’s request to avoid certain teachers, you are interfering with Soke’s ability to teach others. You are denying Soke his right as Soke to bring lessons as he sees fit. The situation really has nothing to do with you, per se. You have become merely a vehicle for the lesson; you are the uke that Soke is throwing in front of the second attacker in a multi-person attack. In short, you have become that practitioner who refuses to punch!

Last year, Soke put out a message via several Shihan that those who train with a particular individual would not be welcome back at Hombu Dojo. That is a pretty serious charge, but I find it even more intriguing that the message was not directed at the individual in question. Clearly, there was a reason why the individual was not called to punch by himself; he was paired with his students in this lesson.

One could argue that the only way to communicate with certain people is through the web of contacts they hold. In my PhD studies, I have investigated this phenomenon and found it to be most fascinating. It happens in neighborhoods, in ethnic groups, among suppliers to firms, and so it is not at all surprising that it would happen in a martial arts organization. If a majority of an instructor’s students suddenly stops training at the same time, it certainly would get the attention of the instructor in question, wouldn’t you agree?

Word spread quickly of this message from Soke. Long time students of this individual called him and told him that they would no longer train with him because of Soke’s request. I personally had several phone calls from concerned students seeking advice. The only thing I could say was, “Your Soke has made a request of you.” By the end of the year, the instructor in question paid a visit to Soke to train. Only time will tell if Soke’s concerns have been resolved.

During my time in Japan, I saw this type of temporal blacklisting numerous times. The actions of a particular Shihan would bring Soke to the point of requesting that students refrain from training with the instructor in question until the issue was resolved. At no time did one of the Japan-based students question the request; they accepted the determination of their Soke. The offending party would accept his social punishment, and in time, would come to prove himself worthy of the opportunity to continue training with Soke. Individuals who could not accept the punishment eventually went their own way. We may not have to clean the dojo and wash the dirty gi of our sempai as seen in other martial arts, but we do have our own social mechanisms of assessing the heart of our dojo mates. Egos may be bruised but lessons are learned. And, in the end, Soke continues his tutelage unhindered.

As students of Soke, we must be willing to take on the role he requests of us. This is especially true if we are Shidoshi, and unconscionably salient if we are Judan or higher. Whether the request to not train with an individual instructor is permanent or temporary, we are obliged to not interfere with Soke’s ability to teach. We must be willing to be the good uke when Soke calls on us to punch. If we cannot do that, then we should recuse ourselves from Soke’s lessons.

May all your choices be good ones.

-ben

Benjamin Cole is a Shidoshi, who lives in Ypsilanti, MI. He has a handful of wonderful students who are very forgiving of his insane philosophy regarding Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. Correspondence can be directed to ben@bushinbooks.com.