Shintaido

[JadecloudAlchemist]

I was watching a program featuring Shintaido.
It seemed like an interesting school with the practice of Misogi(water purification) and Sakki( intent of the killer) From what I have read on the web its founder practice Karate and created the style from visual arts.
My question is anyone have any experience with Shintaido?

 

[tellner]

I met one Shintaido practitioner. He took great pains to explain that this was a "joyous" martial art that aimed at aesthetics and symbolism. The question of it being used to fight horrified him. Based on that experience, if you're looking for a very eccentric form of interpretive dance with extra mysticism it could be just what you're looking for. Otherwise, I dunno.

 

[MarkBarlow]

I saw a demo in Los Angles several years ago and it involved lots of running around with arms wide spread, twisting and turning for no apparent reason and more than a few group hugs. It was interesting and the spokesperson stressed that the art was for living, not for fighting.

It was part of a Japanese cultural festival and what struck me was the animosity they provoked from the Aikido and Karate folks there. I saw it as an interesting if not (in my view) practical interpretation of a narrow slice of martial skills.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

Thanks for the replies. The clips I have seen present it as some form of Aikido mixed with some new age jumping routine. I have read that its roots lay in performance arts. I do still find the Misogi practice and Sakki practice to be cool.

 

[Kembudo-Kai Kempoka]

There are more than one Shintaido. There is the recent version, as described above. It is unfortunate that it shares the same name with an older philosophical/spiritual path associated with shugendo healing practices. "Shin" = spirit; "tai" = body; "do" = way. Some disciplines of Japanese shamanism use this phrase to refer to the rigorous practices by which one comes to know the power of their own spirit, so they can direct it's energy during healing rituals.

Sort of a spiritual calisthenics discipline. And nothing like the running hugs of the new guys.

D.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

/spiritual path associated with shugendo healing practices. "Shin" = spirit; "tai" = body; "do" = way. Some disciplines of Japanese shamanism use this phrase to refer to the rigorous practices by which one comes to know the power of their own spirit, so they can direct it's energy during healing rituals.

Can you please cite a reference in Japanese or in english stating this? In the books I have in Japanese and english I can not find reference to it in regards to Shugendo.

 

[Kembudo-Kai Kempoka]

Can you please cite a reference in Japanese or in english stating this? In the books I have in Japanese and english I can not find reference to it in regards to Shugendo.

I cannot cite a reference, although I know they exist. In the Santa Rosa central library, there is an atlas on world religions. A section on them, actually. I pulled several of them from the reference shelves, and looked up some of my favorite topics.

One of my neighbors in Hawaii was the abbot at a Hongwanji temple. He also practiced shugendo, was the "kahuna" for the local Japanese, and taught this Shintaido as part of the jujutsu/budo classes in the yard at the Japanese school down the street and over the wall. I use some of them still, and it's been over 30 years since my brief stint with him. "The Way of Strengthening your Mental Connection with your Spiritual body, so you can better direct your intent" would be an appropriate interp of his use of the phrase/word. It was meditation in motion. Trance induction while in the middle of some physical activity, through repetition. We used it to prep for firewalking during Bon dances, and for judo/jujutsu classes. I've used it to help kenpo students reach altered states through massive repetitions of the same combinations. I use the "direct your intent" part when I'm "on" in patient care.

If you want to go to the central library and peruse the books to find the section for citation, go for it. Me? Other stuff to do, and I already read it. And lived it.

D.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

I cannot cite a reference, although I know they exist. In the Santa Rosa central library, there is an atlas on world religions

Thanks that is all I needed you to say.

One of my neighbors in Hawaii was the abbot at a Hongwanji temple. He also practiced shugendo, was the "kahuna" for the local Japanese, and taught this Shintaido as part of the jujutsu/budo classes in the yard at the Japanese school down the street and over the wall. I use some of them still, and it's been over 30 years since my brief stint with him. "The Way of Strengthening your Mental Connection with your Spiritual body, so you can better direct your intent" would be an appropriate interp of his use of the phrase/word. It was meditation in motion. Trance induction while in the middle of some physical activity, through repetition. We used it to prep for firewalking during Bon dances, and for judo/jujutsu classes

From my sources I can not find any mention of Shintaido in regards to Shugendo in Japanese or in English. I suppose in a literal sense of the word Shin-Spirit Tai-Body -Do Meaning I guess a spiritual body. But Mediation in motion, Trance/Possession and direction of intent would not be called Shintaido according to The works of Irit Averbuch The Japanese termology would be different for example Spiritual rejuvenation would be Tama Ogi. Shugyou would be a better word instead of Shintaido for use in Shugendou.

If you want to go to the central library and peruse the books to find the section for citation, go for it. Me? Other stuff to do, and I already read it. And lived it.

Making a claim and telling me to research it seems kind of unfair but ok....

 

[Kembudo-Kai Kempoka]

...
Making a claim and telling me to research it seems kind of unfair but ok....

Sorry bout that; you have a point. Didn't mean it as snide as it reads. I don't know much about Japanese linguistics to know what the more or less correct ways of saying a thing are, just what Mitsue sensei said. Only reason the running hug version ever even stayed in my head was seeing a book about it while walking past a metaphysical bookstore in Southern Cal. "Cool", I thought. "I wonder if it's gonna review the stuff I did as a kid". I ducked inside, flipped it open, and my heart sank as page after page was filled with guys in white dresses (hakama...I know the difference, I'm being sarcastic for humor effect) running past each other on the beach, arms flung wide.

Talk about a let-down. Over the last year, while recovering from a nasty car wreck, I've had a lot of time to spend at the library perusing topics of interest at great length and leisure. Now, broke and in hideous debt from a year of not working, I'm scrambling balls-out to get back on the horse. The couple of hours it would take to go sift through the world religion sections to find the exact volume are no longer available to me. Reading my original post, it does seem snotty in tone. It was not meant to, and for that I apologize.

Best Regards,

Dave

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

No harm no foul. :wavey: