Filling Emptiness, crossing the bridge

Filling Emptiness, Crossing the Bridge

If you have read our book you will know that I am fairly skeptical of all the people in the martial arts running around with all sorts of titles attached to their names. I have read many of their books and watched a lot of their DVDs or VHS tapes. While it is impossible to learn an art from a book or a DVD, it is possible to get an idea of a person’s intent and their abilities. A man who bought our book said there are two reasons to write a book: to tell something, or to sell something. Gratefully he placed out book in the telling category. This past weekend I watched the latestDVD by a man I consider one of the few real-deals in the knife world. After watching the DVD "Crossing the Bridge" I and came away with an even deeper appreciation of the man and what he had to tell.
Of all the people teaching the bladed arts there is one who has fully committed his life to teaching the art and telling the truth. Master at Arms James A. Keating stands head and shoulders above the crowd. While I have never had the honor of training with Master Keating I have (through various media) watched him explore the diversity of bladed arts from Asian to American and everything in between. What truly makes him a master is his ability to draw them all together, demonstrate the commonalities, and teach conceptually. Master Keating has managed to raise the perception of the knife fighter from the sordid world of thugs, muggers, and salivating pseudo instructors to a more noble art preaching self-restraint over self aggrandizement, awareness of the moral and legal constraints, and promoting defense over offense. In the process you also find, almost subliminally, that your technical skills improve.
I am sure that some of the other instructors out there could cut me to pieces and consider that proof of their superiority. That would still not convince me that they know anything about the art itself, only about violence, and their willingness to inflict more violence than I am. Master Keating’s latest DVD on Crossing the Bridge is what prompted me to write this blog. As he says in the opening, this is not a DVD about techniques, it is one about thinking. Then he goes on from there to break down the concepts of distance, angles, and timing and make it all seem so obvious. This DVD is a masterpiece! In the DVD Master Keating talks about adhering, bridging, and emptiness. These are elements from the warrior arts of the ancient masters literally "bridging" several centuries. When was the last time your instructor, or the instructor on your latest DVD, talked about emptiness? Musashi sama and Munenori sama understood and taught these concepts and ideals. The classes held by our late beloved sensei Yagyu Nobuharu taught these concepts. These are the teachings that transform violence for violence’ sake into a nobler art, and through enlightenment convert the back-stabbing drunken knifer to a thoughtful warrior.
Master Keating has a depth and breadth of martial vocabulary and knowledge that I have not seen in anyone since Donn Draeger. A deep bow and a thank you to Master James A. Keating for the sacrifices he has made in his life to write the books, teach the classes, and make the DVDs that have something profound to tell rather than just something to sell. working with James is Mark Davies from Scotland, a friend and Comtech Instructor certified by James keating .