Shisei Ryu

The emblem of Shisei Ryu School is a graphical form of the ideas contained in the school.

Describing the emblem of Shisei Ryu, there is no way not to refer to tradition which we so value and with which we identify ourselves while practicing the way of Budo everyday. Such elements as Kamiza  (the most important place in the dojo, where the graphical emblem of the school is placed), Japanese swords (katana, wakizashi), the Japanese language in technical terminology, training clothes (kimono and hakama), all make this School traditional or one that cultivates certain cultural – social traditiones.

This emblem for us is not nothing but a common sign, which gives a sense of belonging to a particular social group. As early as the Middle Ages people began to use common characters (crest, emblem) to unify certain groups, as well as to set them apart from the crowd.

The emblem of Shisei Ryu School we wear on the left arm below the shoulder joint. Such use right away is our flagship and sometimes says more than words.

Triangle and a circle inscribed with four arms extending from its center are the emblem of Shisei Ryu School.

TRIANGLE – symbolizes the foundation, stability and balance. The emblem of  Shisei Ryu has the shape of a triangle, which is equivalent to a stable, strong attitude.

CIRCLE – infinity, security.

Circle, in which the points are  extending from its center and connected by lines form the equivalent of a great art or a great technique. The circle is also a symbol of the “aiki” techniques or a sword that creates no noise: „oto nashi no Ken”.

While describing our emblem we also have to say about the distance to fight. Triangle – far distance, Circle – the average, and the midpoint – a close distance.

The most important is the circle, which is the circle of life, which any good swordsman should take care of. This circle gives us 8 attack and the same defense options. All this makes us more accustomed to fight, when we can see some things. These aspects determine the effective strategy not only to fight, but also to life. The ability to use the distance to some things make us more resilient to stressors that evoke our lives. The ability to take the fight to the corner level makes our strategic skills grow and what we once did not see today becomes obvious.

CENTER OF CIRCLE – is the center from which come four arms that indicate the directions of our development according to the directions in which the person moves. Further broken down into 8 parts they reflect the 8 trajectory directions while cutting with the sword sword.

BLUE COLOUR – symbolizes: limitless, perseverance, loyalty, union, mutual understanding and the colour itself attracts people to it.

WHITE COLOR – symbolizes: purity, peace, freedom, courage, space. White is the color of continuous development, inner transformation and harmony, to which we aspire through training.

All of these elements included in the emblem show us the enormity of possibilities that opens up the School of Shisei Ryu.

This is a traditional system of education in which time plays no role. Full understanding of the course of study, rather than a cursory knowledge transfer is the key. Menkyo kaiden system is a system of licenses. Once a student has mastered the given material he  will be allowed to teach techniques within the scope of his license. It is then that one gets the full understanding of techniques.

Upon learning every Budoka is confronting their knowledge and skills with discernment and openness to questioning by his students. Levels such as: Shoden, Chuden and Okuden are confronted among students of Shisei Ryu, levels of : Menkyo and Menkyo kaiden are held with the participation of representatives from  different schools and communities.

Experience of physical and internal development distinguishes menkyo kaiden system against a widespread system of (dan) degrees which mainly takes into account the development of technical qualities. The assessment of moral attitude takes place not earlier than first dan degree. The system of menkyo kaiden in  Shisei Ryu means that every student becomes a teacher, and every teacher at the same time is a student. In practice, this means that at each stage we are obliged to continuous development, going through all the stages of the menkyo kaiden system.

Describing the Menkyo system we can’t forget about the individual approach to each of the students moving through the system. The concept of  uchi deshi (student of the house) also plays an important role in the traditional transmission. Although today deviates far from the old Japan, where the student lived with his master to thoroughly explore the secrets of the School. Today, it is important to keep this attitude of a student, in order to fully understand the concept of the school. This is the only attitude that leads to full  Menkyo Kaiden – the end of transfer.

At the level of Shoden a student receives basic information about the school and is encouraged to open his own dojo.

At Chuden the student gets to a deeper level of technique and is going through the process of maturation as a teacher for his students and becomes more responsible for their development. This period is very turbulent for the student as one must look from another side on his already acquired skills thus clearing technique from all errors.

At the Okuden level the student-teacher becomes a fully trained Budoka, having knowledge of all the techniques and is able to arrange his own kata using the strategy of Shisei Ryu.

The Menkyo level receives a student-teacher that understands the idea of school and with it becomes its worthy representative. At this stage, the student-teacher is no longer attached to his dojo but also takes the responsibility for all participants of Shisei Ryu.

Finally, the level of menkyo kaiden. A student-teacher is ready to bring his life further with the ideas of the school. His life is “to serve” others, giving oneself to others means to be ready to teach everyone without exception.

Shisei Ryu School with her character refers to the traditional teaching in schools of Bu-jitsu. Although bu-jitsu is largely based on technical knowledge, it does not focus only on the technical knowledge. According to the well-known maxim: “Know and act are one and the same”, it is in this process of teaching, where words do not matter, and the action is best reflected by a fighting technical spirit of the Shisei Ryu School. From a general point of view, we can say that our school can be divided into techniques: Aiki – handmade and Buki – use of weapons to fight.

Menkyo Kaiden system in a clear and transparent way classifies the student to an appropriate level. Each level contains the appropriate dose of material that each student – Budoka is obliged to master. The material is divided into suitable groups with several techniques appropriate to the particular level. In this way, we can say that division of techniques have taken place:

• Hojo undo 運動 – Those are the basic techniques such as positions, blocks, kicks, cuts and throws, etc
• Kata 型– These are formal arrangements that reflect a strategy to combat
• Renzoku Bunkai 連続分解 – These are the analysis of hojo undo techniques and kata applied in a specific order and continuous motion
• Kaeshi Renzoku Bunkai 返し技連続分解 – is a group of techniques in which we apply counterattacks to already known techniques and kata
• Jiyu kumi –te, -tachi – is the application of techniques in combat using appropriate protectors
• Randori 乱捕 – free fight with the possibility of attack from different angles and with the participation of many opponents

Each level also stands out by the way of performing the techniques, which is embedded in the development of Shu-Ha-Ri. The Increase of physical skills must go hand in hand with the development of mental skills, which can be divided into:

• Jitsu – (SHU stage) . At this stage the expression of the performing techniques is only a mechanical based knowledge appropriate to the technical level
• Waza (Ha stage). This is a higher level, more similar to skills, that in a natural way bind to the mechanical way of performing techniques
• Ryaku (Ri stage). The highest level of technique. Here, the development of physical and mental skill is intertwined with the personality of the master. Each technique performed at this stage is raised to the level of art.