Walking With The Tengu

How we respond to people when we are asked to do something difficult or unpleasant matters. Daidouji Yuuzan writes on this topic today for young samurai in his Budoushoshinshu and it is important to consider when training the martial arts as well. To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/...

The decisions about why you are willing to commit violence and for what reasons you are willing to die should be considered deeply long before you are ever faced with a real decision on the matter. Daidouji Yuuzan writes on this topic today for young samurai in his Budoushoshinshu . To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artis...

What's the difference between a common thief and a samurai who steals? Daidouji elaborates on this topic and we relate it to the modern martial arts. To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email. To help me keep doing this check out the optio...

"Be strong to be useful." The maintenance of one's health is a topic that spans cultures and history. Today we look at what Daidouji Yuuzan has to say to young samurai about this topic. To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email. To help me...

Daidouji instructs us in this episode about the dangers of growing into positions of authority and the pitfalls that can come with forgetting what it is like to be in a lower position. I compare this to martial arts training and dig a little into the examples Daidouji cites to provide a little background. To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philo...

What should we do when someone comes to us with an idea they want to rope us into? Or wants to ask us for advice? When should we get involved and how should we do this? When should we say no? Daidouji Yuuzan has some thoughts about the when, why, and how of getting involved in other people's affairs. To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy...

What's the point of being a martial artist? Especially, if you're practicing one that is serious about the application of violence. Today we look at how this works practically in our daily lives and what it means to be a "warrior." To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll...

Did you know that there was sick leave and noise complaints in Tokugawa era Japan? Apparently, even samurai had to think about such things. Find out how that relates to us in today's episode.  To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email...

Is there really any point to solo training in the martial arts? Some arts make it a key training method. Others are almost devoid of it. We look at both the criticisms of solo training and what we can do with it. To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to e...

A chance encounter with an Aikido article brought up some interesting questions about translating "The Tengu's Sermon on the Martial Arts" and gives some insight into the value of studying the classics for a martial artist. "Learning From The Tengu" by Miles Kessler: https://theintegraldojo.com/learning-from-the-tengu/ The episode about this section of the Tengu's "sermon." https://anchor.fm/walki...

How should we go about disagreeing with others. Our instructors and training partners? Daidouji gives some advice on this topic. We also speak briefly about the difference of questioning your instructor versus asking questions. An important distinction. To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wi...

I've often described the martial arts world as more gossipy than a sewing circle. Daidouji Yuuzan had some thoughts about this as apparently things were no different in his day and age. He also makes a distinction between people who are merely boastful and those who spread baseless rumors. To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martia...

A six minute episode? This is an extremely fast, practical exercise.   Learn to recognize these four common logical fallacies in your own thoughts and conversations and you'll a better thinker and communicator.  To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bo...

How does a martial artist show their character when there is no conflict? Daidouji Yuuzan points out in today's selection that it's not actually all that hard to find ways to do this. To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email. Help me just...

Reflections on training, tradition and the end of the year.  To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email.

We take a short break from the Budoushoshinshu to tackle a question that I hear come up from time to time: Why do we continue to perform traditions and actions from the cultures where our martial arts originated? To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to e...

When everyone is "special" that quality just becomes "normal." What makes a person truly of value, over and above the normal? We look at what Daidouji Yuuzan thinks about how one can go about surpassing others on the path to excellence. To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and s...

Daidouji Yuuzan joins us this week with some thoughts on how borrowing, stealing and loaning one's lord's authority. We look at how this relates to the logical fallacy of an "appeal to authority." How citing an expert is NOT an example of this fallacy and then spend some time looking at how this all relates to the martial arts. I also give practical steps in how to discern good information from ba...

Are you a part of a tribe? I suspect we all are in some way. We explore Daidouji's thoughts in this next episode about what constituted a noteworthy samurai of his "tribe" and ask some questions about how that may relate to you today.  To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu a...

What do Zen priest and Samurai titles have in common? Don't worry, we're not going to delve too deep into that, but there is a point here that Daidouji Yuuzan makes about not wasting your time and the importance of experts. To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the...

Apparently, some of Daidouji Yuuzan's coworkers were whiners. In this episode we look at his advice on how to push ourselves out of comfort zones and how to have a better mindset when facing hardship. To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your em...

The only thing worse than a sewing circle... is a bunch of martial artists. Let's take a look at what Daidouji Yuuzan, a samurai in the early Tokugawa era had to say about gossip and slander. To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email. Help...

What is better? To be a warrior in a garden or a gardener in a war? Today we look at what Daidouji Yuuzan has to say about the importance of training both the literary and combative arts.  To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: walkingtengu.wix.com/tengu and scroll to the bottom to enter your email. He...

What does choosing a horse have to do with a modern martial artist? Daidouji Yuuzan, author of the Budoushoshinshu, offers some thoughts on the principles of choosing a horse that can have an immediate impact on both your training and your training equipment.  To sign up for new episode notifications and to receive the "Very Brief Introduction to Philosophy for Martial Artists" PDF go to: wal...

In this episode we start into an exploration of the Budoushoshinshu, written in the early Tokugawa era as a manual to young samurai as the warrior class was grappling with what it meant to be warriors in a time and place without war.  We look at a little of the history and the background of the work. Contrast the Confucian nature of this work with the Zen Buddhist outlook of the Hagakure and then...