Kurikara: The Sword and the Serpent

by John Maki Evans, Natanaga Zhander (Foreword by)

Overview

In Mikkyo—Japanese esoteric Buddhism—the dragon Kurikara symbolizes the internal energy developed through sword practice. Kurikara is a manifestation of the fierce bodhisattva Fudo Myo O, the patron of ascetics and warriors in Japan, who uses his sword to destroy delusions and sever attachments. Fudo’s sword represents the gaining of discriminative power and decisiveness—the ability to cut through illusion and attachment. This leads to the development of an inner energy that allows one to “burn up” all obstacles to spiritual freedom.

Kurikara: The Sword and the Serpent sets out the eight basic principles of swordsmanship common to all Japanese sword schools, emphasizing the cultivation of power and mental focus. Accomplished martial artist John Evans provides practical examples from his experience with the sword arts as well as Mikkyo and shugendo (mountain asceticism). The first foreign student to train with Nakamura Taisaburo sensei—widely acknowledged as the master of the sword art battodo—Evans clearly explains how skill such as Nakamurua sensei’s can be systematically developed through tanren, exercises that meld “inner” and “outer” power. Filled with fascinating anecdotes from Evans’s training in Japan, Kurikara is a useful, inspiring guide to Japanese sword practice and its spiritual underpinnings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781583944288
Publisher:	North Atlantic Books
Publication date:	07/05/2011
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

John Maki Evans teaches yoga and battodo in London. He is the director of the Islington Yoga School, which teaches Shadow Yoga, and is head teacher of the Fudokan Battodo dojo, affiliated with the International Battodo Federation. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Foreword Natanaga Zhander ix

Introduction xi

1 Kihon-Basics 1

2 Kata-Forms 17

3 Tanren-Forging Power 31

4 Uchikomi-Striking Targets 49

5 Tameshigiri-Cutting Targets 57

6 Kumitachi-Sparring 67

7 Shinshin Renma-Cultivation of Sensibility 83

8 Sanmitsu Yuga-Three Secrets Integration 95

Appendix I Training Weapons 109

Appendix II Godai Table 111

Appendix III Tenouchi 113

Appendix IV Sword Nomenclature 117

Appendix V Safety 119

Glossary 121

Recommended Reading 137

Editorial Reviews

"Useful for all martial artists, including people who train Chinese martial arts."
—Be not defeated by the Rain

From the Publisher