Henka -- A blog

I just discovered Doug Wilson's blog, Henka. It's very good, but first a few words on Doug:

A couple of months ago, I attended a seminar in Sacramento led by Doug, and it was terrific. Doug balanced talking about the philosophy behind much of this year's theme (kimon and kukitaisho) with the kinetic training aspect very well, and was very helpful in explaining the nuts and bolts of a movement, or in other words, the "why" of "how." Especially impressive was how Doug responded to a question toward the end of the seminar: Doug's reply to the question was "I'm not sure. Let me think about that." And then he thought about it. And then later, after he had worked with the question, he came back with an accurate and thoughtful reply. For the most part, I don't trust teachers that know everything--chances are they are only good actors. As an ex-English teacher, I can honestly say that there were plenty of questions I couldn't answer off the top of my head, questions that I would either have to think a lot about or research.

In any case, Doug's blog, Henka, is direct from Japan--where Doug resides--and is fully Soke-Approved. Doug's writing is very honest, and in his "about" section he mentions that "Some may find the content to be too direct or controversial. It is not meant to be, it is the truth provided in a “zero” way to those people who are interested in hearing it." I suspect the only people to be wary of his writing are those who feel threatened by it. Soke has spoken about the importance of knowing your weaknesses better than your strenngths, and I suspect that some folks take this to only refer to taijutsu. In fact, I believe that he was referring to something of which taijutsu is only part: a person's life. And finally this leads to the idea of humility. How can we honestly face our weaknesses and flaws if we are too proud (and thus threatened) to perceive them? Doug's writing is honest, accurate, and insightful, and I very much recommend his blog to any and all interested in not just Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, but in martial arts in general and those who are more than happy to read about something outside their usual interest-zone in order to learn a little and hunt for new metaphors.