Hi Apologies- That's not the point I am trying to get at.... My suggestion is that most people, deshi/tourist, Japanese/Gaijin etc receive the same experience of and treatment during the test I think you're disagreeing with this point? Which is a different point from one about receiving grades when ready or not.. What I know is: 1 - I took my test 2 years after it was first suggested that I take the test 2 - I didn't flinch and jump around 3 - The cut went to the floor 4 - I rolled away 5 - Everyone said that it was awesome What I don't know is what triggered the movement (complete blank) I'm not a known entity in the buj so am probably a good representation of the average non-Japanese resident. My experience (perhaps with the exception of 1&3) is pretty much the same as that reported by the hundreds of people (including Japanese deshi) who've sat the test I'm curious to understand what you experienced that suggests that your test was different in some way
You asked how I knew, I guess by your post that you didn't know if yours was or wasn't? I have no such doubts. Not sure what you mean by passing vs being passed? I think we might have a different take on that phrase. Not sure if other people have the same experience or not, I can only report my feelings. However, having looked at a lot of tests, I'd say that a lot of them looked how mine felt(sadly the test isn't administered the same but oh well). There are other ways to verify your test though, although it might be a bit late now. Did you talk to the person who administered it to you? Was it videotaped?
Ahh ok it looks like we agree - apologies i misunderstood you to be saying that your experience was different in some way Sadly my test wasn't taped, it would have been interesting to see it....
That was more a political move from soke then anything else. As Arnaud was one of the persons that tried to get Kacem kicked out of the BJK. Smart people will know that it is a very strange thing to have happened. There is a public face and a private face to this story. There is a lot more to the story that will be revealed in time.
That would be a first. The usual thing is a lot of people hinting that they know what's going on and noone willing to actually say anything other than 'if you want to know just ask <person who is not around online>
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfpIwjtJL0I"]Ninja Godan Test (5th Degree Black Belt) Ninja Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi Sensei Bujinkan Ninjutsu - YouTube[/ame] Practice makes...
Everyone who passed the test in that clip had the test administered by a swordsman who rose up on the balls of their feet before striking. Is that what they are hearing or sensing through the mat perhaps? I'm basically skeptical about the development of this skill without tells.
Being skeptical is good, but has nothing to do with the OP or the actual test. The question is simply whether or not you can avoid a cut from behind without looking or hearing it or something else like a tell. The only way you can find out is to try it for yourself. Anything else is just a light. People can argue about ESP and gullibility or whatever, but at the end of the day it is either yes you can(because you have), or you are unsure(because you are afraid to try, could care less, are convinced it's impossible, or whatever excuse people come up with besides I tried and couldn't do it). Belief has nothing to do with it. It's simple, avoid or get brained.
just posting what you've wrote, since there seemed to be a question about the op. i actually think it's a great thing to practice, if that's what you're into. i'm not saying it's impossible either. you've told us you completed it, with a cut all the way to the floor. i believe you. i also believe that the link between our minds and our body has a subconscious aspect. i'm skeptical when i'm told that passing the test has nothing to do with one's senses. that's all. i really like the other things you've pointed out, like emptying one's mind, calmness. i would disagree about removing fear. i'm not sure how that's possible, although controlling fear is a great aspect of training.
I personally think the 'skill' is trusting the unconscious tells and moving without being a jittery mess. But that just isn't woo enough for most people.
and if it was defined as that, i would be agreeable to the "skill". like you imply, once woo gets involved, then it becomes a whole 'nother story. i was watching an interview with john danaher on youtube, link below, where in part of it, he's talking about how he always makes sure that people in his classes use precise language, because precise language begets precise movements. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpLKrhwGavU"]John Danaher: Coaching High Performance Jiu-Jitsu || BJJ Hacks in NYC - YouTube[/ame] lots of good information in this short video.
No doves flying around, and the movement is quite simple once ukemi has been practiced enough. Nothing mystical or exotic about it, just learning to let go of preconceived notion's and tension in order to react to a stimulus. Those who don't understand never will until they tried to test for themselves. Even having passed it, One may be able to intrinsically understand(read sense) the stimulus without being able to verbalize it. That doesn't make them supernatural, adepts of ESP, or heirs to any other such extravagant claims. I dare anyone who has passed the test to give a concrete and precise definition of what they experienced. I doubt it is possible because it takes place subconsciously.
That issue with description of the subjective event is fair. Subjective experience is not a good validator of anything. The processes of proprioception being a good example. But we can describe how it functions on a physiological basis so if you would... What is the receptor of said stimulus as described in exacting physiological detail? By what method, in exacting bio-physical detail, is the stimulus originated, transmitted, and received?
PR has, in the past, stated that it is not something beyond research and experiment, but those experiments have not taken place yet. So any answer he gives to your question would be pure supposition, and so ultimately futile. Just as it's a boxer's job to punch hard, not to explain the biomechanics behind hard punches, PR is not a scientist. The technique comes first, the explanation second (though obviously the explanation can lead to improvements in technique, but research into sakki has not reached that stage yet). If science wants to ignore sakki as self-evidently false, then we can all carry on as we were. If science wants to understand what is happening (which could be all the way from fakery to an undiscovered sense mechanism), then scientists should test it. I don't see the obligation for Takamatsuden students to give a rational explanation (especially when that might ruin a good rite of passage ritual).
The boxer's ability to knock people unconscious is not in question. Many people disagree over what the best method of knocking people unconscious is and there are plenty of people who can then describe the mechanics of how to do so. They are called instructors. This is where we come back to the fact that if you can't fully and accurately describe it you don't understand it. Scientists invest their time in things likely to pan out. The US army did tests on ESP, telepathy, and telekinesis. Nada. Burden of proof though. He's welcome to go prove it himself. I'm Sure with enough badgering some university with a psych department has extra funding they would throw at it. And if you don't see a need for them to explain how it works I certainly don't see a need for doctors to understand how the insides of a human work or for people doing a rear naked choke to understand that they're cutting off the supply of blood to the brain.
