History of Fudoshin and the Yamagawa Dojo
Fudoshin - the word
Fudoshin is a word first coined by Takuan Soho, a Japanese Zen monk who wrote a famous treatise on swordsmanship. Also known as 'Iwa no Mi', or 'Body of the Rock', the concept of Fudoshin was adopted and further developed by the legendary swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi. Fudoshin is best translated as the 'Immovable Spirit'.
FU - is a prefix meaning 'non' or 'not'
DO - means movement, or moving (not, as is sometimes mistaken for, DO/MICHI which means a path). So we have FU DO, or Non-movable
SHIN - This character (Kokoro) has a much deeper and more profound meaning than simply 'spirit', but 'spirit' is probably the best English word for transliteration purposes. The character Kokoro can, and often does, mean heart, mind, will (as in willpower), spirit (in both the human endeavour-kind as well as the more spiritual-kind), intention, purpose, character and essence. It is an oriental concept that is generally estimated in English as 'spirit' or 'heart'.
Thus, Fudoshin Ryu (our system) is best translated as the School of the Unbreakable Spirit. Despite it's 'tough' sounding translation, Fudoshin refers to a state of mental and spiritual peace, a state of equanimity where the 'self' is not disturbed by external or internal things.
What is Fudoshin?
The term Fudoshin is used often in many Japanese Martial Arts systems. It is a state that many Bugeisha (practitioners of Martial Arts) train towards. Fudoshin is often used together with other states of mind including Shoshin (beginners mind), Zanshin (aware/remaining mind), Mushin (empty mind) and Heijoshin (normal mind).
In the context of Martial Arts, Fudoshin is the state where the Warrior can not be distracted or disturbed. The mind is said to be 'unfettered', even to the point that when an attack does come, the body-mind reacts without reservation or even conscious awareness/thought. Such a state is extremely hard to achieve, thus it's roles in the practice of Martial Arts.
Fudoshin - the system
Soke Robert Lawrence - Ryuso, Fudoshin Combat System. Shodai Soke, BFA.
Robert Lawrence was the founder of the Fudoshin system (Fudoshin Ryu). After training under notable masters in the UK, Japan, Korea and Europe; he became dissatisfied with the apparent 'development' and 'modernisation' of the Martial Arts that was creeping in. He could not find any instructor who would teach him in the ways that he had experienced in the orient. In 1968, he formed the Fudoshin Ryu, teaching Judo, Jujutsu, Karate and Weaponry. These arts were intended to be studied alongside each other to create a more holistic and complete Martial Arts education, however this concept of Sogo Bujutsu was not popular, and most students trained only in one art, delving only occasionally in others. One student, however, was fanatic about his training from the beginning and followed Sensei Lawrence to each Fudoshin dojo in the Association for training. That man was Tony Ball.
For full details about Soke Robert Lawrence and his training history, click here.
Soke Tony Ball - Shodai Soke, AOFA (Australia)
Tony Ball started his Martial Arts journey with Sensei Lawrence in 1969 by attending Judo classes. Soon after, he started to train in Jujutsu, Karate and Weaponry with Sensei Lawrence also. Over the following 13 years, he trained 5-7 days per week, following his Sensei wherever he was teaching as well as being the only person to attend all of the infamous 'All-day seminars' taught by Sensei Lawrence; where one would train 2-hours each in Judo, Jujutsu, Karate and Weaponry in a day.
Tony was Sensei Lawrences number-one student and had achieved 3rd-dan in Judo, Jujutsu and Karate, as well as the rank of Weapons Master, when he immigrated to Australia in 1982 with his family. He soon started teaching Fudoshin in Frankston, Victoria (about 45 minutes outside Melbourne). Tony formed the Association of Oriental Fudoshin Arts (AOFA) and has been training/teaching ever since. He now spends his time teaching the Black Belts and advanced ranks in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. He has also, recently, been asked to further develop Fudoshin skills and philosophy for the Fudoshin Association in England and specifically with Sensei Kevin, one of the most senior ranked students of Soke Lawrence. At the Yamagawa Dojo, we are fortunate to have Soke Ball live so close to us that he frequents the club giving advanced instruction in Fudoshin. In 1999, Soke Ball named his son, Darren Ball, as the representative for Fudoshin in Victoria. Soke Ball teaches at the Honbu (headquarters) of the AOFA in Frankston, Victoria.
For full details about Soke Tony Ball and his training history, click here.
Darren Ball - Shibucho, Fudoshin Victoria. Dojocho, Yamagawa.
Darren Ball (Tony Ball's son) heads up the Yamagawa Dojo and has been training since very young. Darren was privilaged to have also trained under his Godfather, Soke Lawrence, as well as having obvious access to Soke Ball for most of his life. He is currently ranked 4th-dan in Bujutsu and achieved his Weapons Master certificate in 1998. Darren teaches all of the lessons at the Yamagawa Dojo and is supported by a strong team of Black Belts who, in turn, are taught by both himself and Soke Ball. Darren has also achieved Yudansha ranks in Judo, Jujutsu and Karate.
For full details about Darren Ball and his training history, click here.
Yamagawa
Yamagawa is made up of two Japanese words. Yama (山) which means 'mountain' and Gawa (川) meaning 'river' or 'stream'. Darren Ball (Sensei of the Dojo) describes his inspiration for using this as the name for the Dojo as follows:
"In 1999, my best friend Nathaniel went to Malaysia with the Australian Army Reserves as part of his service. Whilst there he was exposed to some of the Chiense culture and came across a man who was inscribing chinese characters on fine polished stones and making jewelry out of them. Nathaniel purchased one of these bracelets as a gift for me. He chose it because of the inscription, which is a famouse chinese saying: "In strength like the mountain, in fluidity like the ocean". This struck a chord with me as Nathaniel always had a way of inspiring me. I had recently begun my Shiatsu practice and was getting heavily into Zen philosophy. The 'Mountain' and 'River' had been important natural icons for Asian people for millenia inspiring great schools of thought and culture. I decided then on the name 'Yamagawa' or Mountain-River to represent the duality of many things, Martial Arts being one of them. The Yin and Yang, Hard and Soft, Fast and Slow, etc. that flows through every aspect of our training is reflected in the phrase 'Yamagawa'.
...I started thinking about some designs for a logo that could illustrate this philosophy. I soon came up with a design of a circle with a mountain in the middle and a flowing river winding down the middle. The mountain had a sun setting behind it, all of which had iconographical meanings. The dillema, of course, was that I could see in my mind exactly what I wanted, but I was never good at design on paper. This is where I had the good fortune of coming across a woman named Caitlyn (now Hosking). This artist managed to put onto paper my thoughts, feelings and personal philosophy behind the naming of the Dojo and came up with the existing design. She also represented the never-ending path of training and development by making the entire logo a continuous, flowing line. This in itself is a powerful lesson.
...The slogan of "Way of the Warrior, Art of the Samurai" I had been using since 1993 in describing what Fudoshin 'is' and it accurately reflects our training which is a combination of Budo and Bujutsu. The kanji on either side of the logo simply pronounces (from right top to bottom then left top to bottom) "Fu-Do-Shin, Ryu-Bu-Jutsu", or "Martial Arts school of the unshakable spirit". It is something that has developed from a genuine passion and has quickly evolved into a symbol that, I can honestly say, represents how I feel about my training, my Dojo, my students and my club."