Shintaido means "new body way"

Duration: 6 minutes

Year: 2009

Country: United States

Language: English

License: CC - Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives

Genre: Documentary

Producer: Stephen Billias

Director: David Franklin

Views: 361 (67 embedded)

Posted by: gumbysan on Nov 12, 2009

This brief introduction to the martial art Shintaido was shot in Deerfield, MA (USA) in October 2008. Shintaido was developed in Japan in the 1960s and includes the study of martial arts, meditation, and artistic expression. Directed and edited by David Franklin. Videographer: Carlyn Saltman. Producer: Stephen Billias. Associate producer: Bill Burtis. Funded by a grant from Shintaido of America, a non-profit organization.

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Shintaido means "new body way"
Shintaido. Hearing this Japanese word,
you might imagine it has something to do
with the classical martial arts.
Shintaido's roots are in traditional
Japanese karate and sword movements.
But the purpose of Shintaido is not to learn fighting techniques.
Rather, it's to help us live in a better way.
In Deerfield, Massachusetts
Shintaido practitioners gathered
for an annual workshop
at the Shintaido Farm.
He's going to just collapse into the ground
and hit his head.
So, just keep one arm up
and just step back, same hand down.
It's a little scissors move here.
So he will roll this way.
It's fun when your body opens to the movement.
-- Is there an emotional component to the experience? --
Joy! Childish joy!
Rolling! Haven't we all done that kind
of thing for ages before becoming adults?
So it's bringing back this joy.
As far as the practice of martial arts
in this modern time,
I think we all live a very comfortable, protected life.
And, we all live in a "comfort zone"
Having the martial element
in our daily life through practice
challenges us and gives us
a chance to break through.
And it takes a little courage to do that.
That's why it's so important
to keep that essence of a martial art
within Shintaido.
What's interesting for me in the practice
is the invisible part.
That we are able to communicate in that way.
So it's not just physical exercise.
It's communication on a bigger level.
Shintaido, which means, "new body way"
includes the study of martial arts,
meditation, and artistic expression.
It was developed in Japan in the 1960's
by the Rakutenkai group under the
leadership of Hiroyuki Aoki.
The goal of Shintaido is to go a step beyond
the traditional martial arts, so the forms
of Shintaido demonstrate a feeling
of openness and freedom.
Throw, catch, and relax.
Try to receive the jo into your body.
Let the momentum determine
your movement. Try not to block it or stop it.
This one is a lot about letting go.
So if you're holding onto anything
in your head, or emotions,
this is the time to free it up.
So, you can toss it in the air and
just let that piece come down and take you into the earth.
It's definitely had a positive effect.
You start to think in a different way.
Once you visit other parts of your brain,
the right side of your brain,
then it becomes more familiar
so you can function from there more often.
How did you feel when you came to your first Shintaido class
and suddenly people were doing all this yelling?
At first I was a little surprised
that Shintaido was such a vocal art.
Initially, I was reluctant to use my
voice because I really never had.
But once I did, it started to open up
something for me and once I was using
my voice on a regular basis,
I found it to be really freeing.
When I went to my first Shintaido class and they said,
"Ok, now we're going to your voice." I said,
"Right. Sure. We'll see what happens..."
I didn't really expect anything and all of a
sudden everyone belts out these big, "Ah's"
"Okay..." So my first couple were
just really tiny, tiny voices. Eventually I got warmed up to the idea.
Traditionally, meditation has been practiced
in a very quiet environment.
But in reality, we live a very noisy
and busy life.
We need to be able to have this meditative
element even while we are moving
and living in a noisy world.
directed and edited by David FRANKLIN
music by fluttr effect
videographer Carlyn SALTMAN
producer Stephen BILLIAS
associate producer Bill BURTIS
a production of Shintaido of America
a non-profit organization