The path in Martial Arts (3)

You know, there is an Italian saying “take of sex and money from the world and it will stop turning”. It is so true. Today everybody would agree with this about the story of the world. Sex and power, that is the sum-up of the world. But strangely enough, a lot of people want to believe that in the past everyone was divine. In Okinawa and in China people used to be able to jump above a house, and strangely enough these miracle stopped with the apparition of the camera. At that time these divine beings half karatekas, half spidermen had no attractions to power, money or sex. Of course the reality is very different. I don’t say that the past is dark. I just say that the past is like the present, full of lies, manipulations, sex and money.

One day my son told me that he had a friend who was learning in a school and was so strong that he could kill a tiger with one finger. Smiling I wondered “how does he do that?” and my son answered “like this”, doing the move of his index to pull the trigger of a gun. That is indeed so right. If you want to become strong, buy a gun. We also say “since the invention of gun powder from the Chinese people, karate is old-fashioned”.

Budo is a path of power and peace, of violence and love where everything finds out equilibrium to become a man of wisdom. It is something that cannot be understood by most of the people because today we live in a society of craziness. Therefore a man of wisdom is like an international enemy that everybody will criticise, and by commitment in the true path I had a lot of enemies.

On this path I got different middle high levels of different martial arts. First dan in Iaido, second dan in Bô, third dan in Jôdo, Jiu Jitsu, Aikido, Ninjutsu, and I practiced as well a lot of other martial arts, Japanese or not, without getting a special level like Thai Boxing, French Savate, Kyudo, and Kendo. In karate, that was with Kun Fu and Tai Chi Chuan my main practice, I got the highest titles to end with “Hanshi”, which is the highest title you can get in this discipline.

I lived in a temple of Shaolin in Scotland for years. This is where I received these names before leaving. I also received a sentence that is like the symbol of my life. “It’s not a school that is your school, it’s the complete world that is your school”. It doesn’t mean that you are the master of the world, it means that anywhere you go in the world you fight the injustice, you help, guide and protect. Therefore you teach but also learn everywhere in the world. The world is your school of honesty and commitment.

After a long stay in a temple, I received a title from the Shaolin temple that we could assimilate to a new name that is today for me much more my real name than the first one I received when I was born. Hidgi Aika Chuan. In the philosophy of the Budo, at one point of your life it is time to control your life, to go wherever you want to go and to start from where you have decided to start.

For me, I was not really born in 1960. I was born in 1966 when I started to choose my path. And when I got my new names, in the 80^th, it was the result of my commitment in my path starting in 1966. Therefore it’s not a secret that everything I do is done with the name Hidgi. Each of the three names means something. It’s like a commitment, an oath. Hidgi means “to apply on yourself and to become, to change”. You cannot teach something before being the incarnation of what you want to teach, otherwise you are dishonest. Aika means “the path of peace, the harmony applied in your existence” and Chuan means “the fist of the will, to fight the injustice”. Therefore we can sum-up my situation as a warrior of peace and honesty

I was born in 1960 and my name. I started to practice martial arts in 1966. I know, it’s a very long time ago. Therefore I can say that I am part of the history. And I also always wanted to go to the origin of everything. Therefore very young, that is to say a very long time ago, I met and learned with very old teachers and masters.