"The "Book of Wind", the fourth chapter, is not about my own style but rather about the other martial arts and their various styles... The Chinese character for "wind" also means "styles", modern styles, and styles in the various schools; I will here clearly explain the martial arts in this country as well as the techniques of their various styles."
-Miyamoto Musashi, The Go Rin no Sho - The Book of Earth (1644)
All manifestations of the various styles of Budo are expressions of an individual practitioner's cumulative study spanning back through generations of teachers and students. They are living art-forms and continue to evolve. That is why lineage speaks volumes about a practitioner's "style" and why schools and budoka of the same "style" can be so different.
It is important to keep in mind that as Musashi eludes to in the quote above, the kanji used for "ryu" 流 in the name of a Budo school also has the meaning of "flow/stream/trend" which he compares poetically to wind.
The concept of a "style" in the martial arts is not solid, but is rather dynamic and fluid. It is a flow of consciousness handed down from teacher to student, heart to heart, mind to mind. It is just as unconcrete, ephemeral and ethereal as the wind.
A "ryu" is a breeze blowing in the direction one must travel along the Way. Studying the techniques of a "ryu" is as following the swirling dead leaves carried by the wind along the path.
It is important to keep in mind that as Musashi eludes to in the quote above, the kanji used for "ryu" 流 in the name of a Budo school also has the meaning of "flow/stream/trend" which he compares poetically to wind.
The concept of a "style" in the martial arts is not solid, but is rather dynamic and fluid. It is a flow of consciousness handed down from teacher to student, heart to heart, mind to mind. It is just as unconcrete, ephemeral and ethereal as the wind.
A "ryu" is a breeze blowing in the direction one must travel along the Way. Studying the techniques of a "ryu" is as following the swirling dead leaves carried by the wind along the path.
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