Does anyone have any info on the Ryutai Undo? I'm not a Ninjutsu practitioner but I love daily exercises and routines that prepare the body for martial arts. I like to see how different arts do it and look at other ideas and input. Joon Rhee's "daily dozen" is one example. I have a copy of Muller's "system of 15 minutes of exercise" from 1904 too. Are the Ryutai Undo systemised and set down or is more a concept with individual interpretation? All I can really find is an old vid of Hatsumi but no real information.
So don't be coy...what's the system? What's the sequence? Is there any examples on the net? A written list? The Hatsumi vid is linked all over but doesn't show a great deal. I'd like to know what it entails please.
The system is one of the most important aspects of the arts of the Takamatsuden. Doubt you will find any videos or information unless you study under somebody who can teach it to you. There are only a few people who could teach it all to you anyway so you are as likely to be taught the kuji for what it's worth. You can do an advanced search for posts that have the words and see what was posted in the past, might give you some clues. Some of the things are similar to yoga, others not. Probably the most neglected aspect of the Takamatsuden sadly.
That's a shame as it looks very interesting. Any pointers on what it's like at all? First 10 moves or something? Obviously I'm not expecting an in depth lesson but a summary would be nice. From what I've seen Hatsumi doing it'd be something you could at least describe.
There are exercises for the entire body and most individual parts as well, so as you can imagine, the list is long. It is what adds fangs to the techniques of the Takamatsuden and without it, why so many can't use what they learn without heavy supplementation from outside. Basic goals are to balance, strengthen, and prepare the body for combat. Ryutai or dragon body, is what makes or breaks your taijutsu. Breath, posture and alignment, etc are all part of what it entails. A lot of the movements have direct fighting applications as well.
Man...now I'm even more interested. Would it be something you could expand on? I'd love to hear more about it. Or is it really something you can't share?
Im not sure if what I was taught was the whole series, but once you see them, youll probably think "Aww man, is that all..?"
I really won't. I collect old exercise manuals and even when they are dated, misguided, siomple or whatever there's still something to be found in them. For example in Muller's system I mentioned above there's even instructions on how to dry yourself after a shower so that it becomes part of the system. It's anachronistic perhaps but still interesting.
Not to derail the topic, but that sounds really interesting. Are those materials easily found on the net? For free?
No idea. I got my battered copy from an antiquarian book fair for about £30 (collecting old martial arts and wrestling books is a hobby of mine). JP Muller (or Muelller) "The system" is what it's called.
Turns out there's all sorts of resources. http://www.learntomuller.com/home-workout/the-exercises-my-system/
Its actually not an original part of the takamatsuden, but something borrowed from a book in the 70's about stretches to aide zen practise. All the info is on kutaki.org but Im no longer registered there.
Nope, not yoga, not sports science, and definitely not zen stretches. Why would monks need the bodies of dragons? First, you have to ask yourself what kinds of things exemplify dragon's bodies. Then look at what other martial arts use similar terminology. As for the breadth, I doubt anybody has learned them all if they can't think of entire body exercises and several for each part as well. There are not 10s of movements... Again, it is similar to yoga but also hojo undo, and doesn't just end with junan taiso or junbi taiso. These things weren't shared with the early foreigners who came to Japan(looks like the sanshin wasn't either), so if you want to learn the reasons behind the ryutai undo and all the exercises(you don't need to do them all, just know them and know which ones you need to do and why), you need to find a source who has learned them all and is willing to teach you. Applications of them cover everything from wrist lock escapes, punching, and ground fighting, to how to choke, get out of full nelsons and ninja walking. So again, there is a lot more to it than just stretching.
So if I understand it correctly it are moves that strengthen and especially stretch the muscles of your body while at the same time teach you principles of certain techniques? I guess there are solo and duo exercises then? Also, just to add my 10 cents, there are 10 "warming up" exercises found in the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki. This compendium of BBT written by Hatsumi can be found online. Disclaimer: since there is no forum wide consensus on what BBT entails and what its relation with the Takamatsuden entails, I will say in advance that the translated, internationally distributed version of the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki might not be considered "true" BBT/Takamatsuden/Ninjutsu/Ryutai Undo by whatever understanding of "true" the reader in question has.
