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Saigo Ha Daito-Ryu
Okugi ( Oogi ) License
Traditions
The traditional martial art branches of Daito-Ryu have always been taught within specific family lineage groups, ( every aspect being carefully and secretly handed-down within strict family blood-line heritage and tradition. ) each of which preserves its own unique clan-like approach . The proper names of such traditions usually appear in the format of "specific-ryû," from which is derived the general designation ryûha or system tradition and protocol
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Every Daito-Ryu martial arts ryûha carefully guards its own specific mystical folklore concerning the physical and spiritual essence of its approach to the arts. Traditional mastery within most old ryûha ( koryû) is always certified by the transmission of secret ceremonies and secret scrolls within the family unit, with mythological documents, and oral teachings that are always carefully hidden from non-family members .
The technical principles, theoretical fundamentals, and spiritual realization thus conveyed are known within the clan structure by the general designation ryûgi (secret doctrines of a particular ryûha). Every ryûha exists in order to transmit its own unique ryûgi. For this reason, even when the exact same martial technique is practiced in different ryûha, the significance of that technique, its method of application, and its role within the general system of martial training will be different because distinct ryûgi provide dissimilar perspectives and contexts for understanding the technique.
Traditionally, in Daito-Ryu, progress in mastering ryûgi is described by terminology more commonly associated with a journey into a mountain temple or other sacred space: one proceeds from the outer gate (omote), toward the inner grounds (ura), eventually reaching the innermost or deepest temple room (oku). Within each ryûha, therefore, the most profound aspects of its ryûgi, designated by the general term okugi (innermost doctrines), usually consist of its most carefully guarded secret teachings.
What, then, is the essence (the okugi) of traditional Daito-Ryu ? According to the scroll titled Shinto-Ryu Ôgi (okugi), it is Sammon Kaiden ( stairway to the temple entrance) This text states that one's mastery of Sammon Kaiden always develops through three stages:
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In the beginning ( Omote )you must learn to physically control the body
This is accomplished through preset physical mastery of technical skills with or without weapons. (Although this might seem straightforward, it is very complex depending on the principles contained within the specific ryugi of the system . )
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in the middle ( Ura )you must cultivate human character.
In traditional Daito-Ryu, this is accomplished through a pilgrimage of challenges known as " shugyu ", where the students tests his/her inner-strengths through an ongoing series of difficult but meaningful goals. (This can be tests of physical strengths or psychological adaptiveness )
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ultimately ( Uku ) you must awaken to the original creative principles of the universe.
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Daito-Ryu is Shinto, and Shinto is Daito-Ryu ! Both are interwoven to create the perfect koryu martial art system . Shinto is taken from the Chinese kanji which translates into " Way of the Gods " and means to underastand nature .
As Tanomo Saigo, Shinto Priest and grandmaster of Daito-Ryu once said " Not to know " Shinto" is not to know Daito-Ryu ". Shinto is the native Japanese religion of the Samurai which is a combination or ancestor worship and personal creativity within the laws of nature.
What this means in actual practice is explained by another scroll, entitled Daito-Ryu menkyô kaiden mokuroku, which clearly states:
"The essence of Daito-Ryu can be found by those who take delight in justly attacking enemies and striking down the unrighteous, but is best embodied by the noble people who strives to maintain universal order and human peace without excess use of force "it is the transcending of one's mortal interpretation of life into the realm of better understanding the universal laws of " cause and effect " which are the true " way of the gods "..
In modern Saigo Ha Daito-Ryu Aiki Bujutsu, the immediate and ultimate goal of training is the development and fulfillment of one's highest human spiritual potential. This potential is not achieved in total isolation, but must be realized in one's ability to interact skillfully with other humans while attaining understanding of the laws of nature .