第十三章
TENKETSUJUTSU
Tetsuhiko Asai was a true genius in martial arts and his mastery of karate was far beyond what we know of Shotokan karate. His story has been told by many and there are many video clips to show his amazing techniques of karate and other martial arts including weapons. Today I want to share a story about one technique he had but it has never been told in the western world and not much even in Japan. This is his mastery of Tenketsu jutsu. The readers should not be embarrassed if they have never heard of this term before. In fact, this word cannot be found in Wikipedia, so you can safely say the word is not “known” in the western world. This technique is also called kyusho jutsu which may sound more familiar to some of the readers. However, many readers will probably recognize a Chinese pronunciation, Dim mak. This term enjoys a long explanation in Wikipedia. Well known it may be but at the same time, it also has a not so reputable history in the US which was started by a certain American character, Count Dante in the 60’s.
I want to emphasize that I am a realist and do not believe in mystic beliefs and other so called “mumbo jumbo”. Before I dive into Tenketsu let me share an experience while on my search for the extra ordinary martial arts techniques. In the 90’s I learned about Master Nishino who was an expert in the area of Ki. He had such strong Ki he could flip people around with his ki without touching them. I read all the books he had written and purchased a few video tapes (VHS then). His performance in the videos truly amazed me as he could throw people (not a few but 10 and 20 people simultaneously) left and right. Some of the people flip and jump as though they were blasted by an explosive or a bomb. In the video, he could easily knock a person down without touching. This technique is called To-Ate, To means far and Ate means hit so it literally means hitting someone from afar.
Here is a YouTube video tape of a demonstration against high school students: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLBa0ie1T-Q_and_feature=related
Interesting, isn’t it? I am a believer of the existence of Ki but I did not believe one can have such a strong Ki enough to knock down another individual. So by viewing these demonstrations in the mid-90’s I believed in his ability and wished to learn the technique. I concluded the technique of To-Ate would be an ultimate technique of the karate punch. I found a job in Japan in 1997 and I moved back to Tokyo to live there for nearly three years. As soon as I moved to Tokyo I joined Nishino dojo in Shibuya. The training fee was extremely expensive but I took two classes weekly. As I expected Master Nishino could flip hundreds of students at his will just like in the video above. It was amazing to watch him in action and very impressive. The actions of the students were not fake but genuine as they were regular citizens of all ages and occupations. They were paying hundreds of dollars each month to learn Ki so there is no reason why they would pretend to be flipped around. One very unfortunate thing was that there was only one student Master Nishino could not throw or move with his Ki. That was me. The funny thing is the students looked at me as though something was wrong with me. I was totally disappointed as I really wanted to feel his Ki and experience the Ki flip without being touched. Though I tried very hard, I did not feel anything at all when he pointed his hand or hands at me. He even touched me and pushed my arm in the
Ki exchange form (my forearm and his forearm are touched and crossed as done in kung fu push hand exercise. He got frustrated and told me I was too stiff and resisting his Ki. I did not argue with him but my situation was completely opposite. I was totally relaxed and was more than willing to be flipped around. Master Nishino came to the dojo once a week. On that day all the students lined up in front of him to receive his Ki. After finding he could not move me, he changed his days at the dojo. He came only on the days when I was not scheduled. I changed my dates so I could be in his class. To make the story short, in the end Master Nishino asked me to stop coming to his class. He told me I was too nervous and my mind was too stiff. So, I quit the school and gave up learning to-ate technique after two years of training at his dojo. I can say that his technique was not universal thus I concluded that it was not something I wanted to learn. With this experience, I remain as a non-believer of mystical power or technique. I certainly had that attitude when I visited Asai in the early 2000’s.
Before I talk about the experience with Asai, let’s look into the definition of Tenketsu or Dim mak so we will have a better understanding of what this technique is about. Dim mak is written in Chinese as 點脈. The first character, 點 means a spot and the second, 脈 means a pulse. Wikipedia translates it as “press artery” or pressure points. This technique is also written as点 穴 and it is pronounced as Tenketsu in Japanese. The first character, 点 is the simplified version of 點 with the same meaning, a spot or a point. The second character, 穴 means a hole or a tunnel. As you can guess its history can be traced back to acupuncture. Tenketsu technique is also called Kyusho jutsu, in Japan. In martial arts, it is explained that this technique is used to attack pressure or vital points. The word Dim mak was introduced to America in the 60’s and became well known in American pop culture in the 80’s according to Wikipedia. However, most of the practitioners or the masters were fakes and this word almost became a joke. Many people believe this only exists in a fairy tale or is simply mumbo jumbo. I want to share the actual experience of the art that was performed by Asai and it is up to the readers to decide if such a technique in fact exists or not.
Tenketsu technique has never been published widely in the western world. In fact, it is not known too much even in Japan. Luckily, a major Japanese magazine, Karatedo has published an article on Asai and his technique of Tenketsu in its February 2002 issue. The translation of this article can be found on the JKS website. The information of Asai is sadly no longer promoted or emphasized by the JKS. This translation of the article is deeply hidden in the Japanese section of the website so it will be extremely difficult for the non-Japanese speaking practitioners to find it. If you are interested you can read the translation of the entire article on the following website: http://www.jks.jp/japanese/data-001.htm.
Below is the section of the article that is related to Tenketsu technique.
Karatedo Magazine (Japan) Febuary 2002 issue
S en sei ’s t ec h n i q u e i s very d eep . O n e exa m p l e o f t h e d ep t h o f h i s kn o wl ed g e i s i n h i s u n d erst a n d i n g a n d a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e Ten ket su Ju t su . Ten ket su Ju t su i s t h e t ec h n i q u es o f a t t a c ki n g vi t a l p o i n t s (a c u p ressu re p o i n t s) o n t h e b o d y. I n C h i n a t h ese p o i n t s h a ve b een u sed f o r g en era t i o n s i n m a rt i a l a rt s, C h i g o n a n d h o l i st i c m ed i c i n e. I n Ka ra t e, h o wever, t h ere a re so m e p o i n t s t h a t H o l i st i c m ed i c i n e i s n o t a wa re o f . I n M a rt i a l Art s, a t t a c ki n g t h e vi t a l p o i n t s c a n c a u se f a i n t i n g , n u m b n ess a n d i n f l i c t p a i n o n yo u r o p p o n en t . H e l ea rn ed t h i s t ec h n i q u e i n C h i n a . Th ese t ec h n i q u es were n o t t a u g h t o p en l y, b a sed t h ei r d a n g ero u s o u t c o m e, h o wever, we a sked Asa i S en sei t o g i ve u s a sp ec i a l i n t ro d u c t i o n a n d exp l a n a t i o n o f t h ese t ec h n i q u es.
I n t h e h u m a n b o d y t h ere a re 365 j o i n t s, 72 “n u m b n ess p o i n t s”, wh i c h c a n c a u se p a ra l ysi s a n d 36 p o i n t s wh i c h c a u se d ea t h . I n a d d i t i o n t o t h i s, yo u m u st kn o w t h a t t h ere i s b l o o d a n d “C h i ” (en erg y) c i rc u l a t i n g i n t h e b o d y. Wi t h t h i s sa i d , n o w we c a n i n t ro d u c e t o yo u t h i s t ec h n i q u e. I f yo u a t t a c k wi t h yo u r f i n g er a c ert a i n p o i n t a t a c ert a i n t i m e, t h e c i rc u l a t i o n o f b o t h b l o o d a n d C h i wi l l st o p , c a u si n g n u m b n ess o r d ea t h t o yo u r o p p o n en t .
Al so , f ro m l o n g a g o h u m a n b ei n g s h a ve h a d n a t u ra l b i o -rh yt h m s. Everyo n e wa kes u p i n t h e m o rn i n g s, sl eep s a t n i g h t , a n d ea t s wh en t h ey a re h u n g ry. D ep en d i n g o n t h e t i m e o f d a y, t h e b l o o d c i rc u l a t i o n c a n va ry. Th eref o re, wh en yo u a t t a c k a c ert a i n p o i n t a t a c ert a i n t i m e, wi t h a c ert a i n a m o u n t o f st ren g t h , yo u i n t erru p t t h e h u m a n b i o -rh yt h m . An d t h en , j u st l i ke yo u t u rn o f f a swi t c h , t h e b o d y rh yt h m i s t u rn ed o f f , a n d t h a t p o i n t o f t h e b o d y st a rt s t o d ec a y. Th e o u t c o m e o f t h e a t t a c k d ep en d s o n t h e st ren g t h o f t h e a t t a c k.
To t h e l a c k o f l u c k t o so m e p eo p l e, i n c l u d i n g M a rt i a l Art c o m p et i t o rs, t h i s t yp e o f a t t a c k c a n o c c u r d u ri n g n o rm a l t ra i n i n g o r a t c o m p et i t i o n s, h a vi n g t h e sa m e d ea d l y resu l t s wi t h o u t t h e rea l i n t en t i o n o f t h e a t t a c ker. Fro m a n o n -m ed i c a l p o i n t o f vi ew, t h i s o u t c o m e i s si m p l y d u e t o t h e f a c t t h a t t h e c o m p et i t o r o r t ra i n ee wa s h i t a t a c ert a i n p o i n t o f h i s b o d y a t a c ert a i n t i m e o f d a y wh i c h c a u sed t h e i n t erru p t i o n o f t h e n o rm a l f l o w o f b l o o d a n d C h i i n h i s o r h er b o d y. Th i s c a n a l so h a p p en t o a n u n l u c ky p erso n wa l ki n g d o wn t h e st reet wh o a c c i d en t a l l y sl i p s a n d f a l l s h i t t i n g t h e g ro u n d wi t h c ert a i n st ren g t h , h i t t i n g a c ert a i n p o i n t i n h i s b o d y a t a c ert a i n t i m e, m a ki n g h i m o r h er u n a b l e t o m o ve. I n a d d i t i o n , t h e o p p o si t e o f t h i s i s a l so t ru e, wh ere t h i s t h eo ry c a n b e u sed f o r h ea l i n g i f yo u st u d y i t .
H o wever, i t i s i m p o rt a n t t o p o i n t o u t t h a t t h e st u d y o f Ten ket su Ju t su c a n b e ext rem el y d a n g ero u s. I n t h e p a st t h i s kn o wl ed g e h a d b een kep t sec ret , o n l y t a u g h t t o a sel ec t ed f ew. I t s n a m e h a d o f t en b een c h a n g ed , t o p erp et u a t e i t s sec rec y.
I f yo u wa n t t o st u d y Ten ket su Ju t su , yo u m u st f i rst st u d y t h e f o l l o wi n g 8 p o i n t s. 1. O n e m u st kn o w wh ere t h e p ressu re p o i n t s a re. (P l a c e a n d t h e o rg a n s t h ey a re c o n n ec t ed t o .) 2. O n e m u st kn o w b l o o d C h i c i rc u l a t i o n p a t h wa ys a n d b i o -rh yt h m s.
3. O n e m u st kn o w Ten ket su Ju t su t h eo ry.
4. O n e m u st st u d y f i n g er t ec h n i q u es (Ten ket su Ju t su m a i n l y u ses f i n g er st ri kes) 5. O n e m u st m a st er f i n g er st i c ki n g t ec h n i q u es.
6. O n e m u st t ra i n o n e’s vi si o n . (Yo u m u st t ra i n t o d et ec t t h e p ressu re p o i n t o f yo u r m o vi n g t a rg et i n t h e d a rk) 7. O n e m u st b e a b l e t o a t t a c k f ro m a l o n g d i st a n c e.
8. O n e m u st l ea rn h o w t o a t t a c k, even wh en t h e o u t l i n e o f o n e’s o p p o n en t i s n o t c l ea r, o r wh en so m et h i n g i s i n b et ween yo u a n d t h e o p p o n en t .
O f c o u rse, even i f o n e’s o p p o n en t m o ves, o n e m u st f i n d t h e p ressu re p o i n t s even i f i n t h e d a rk. By m erel y u si n g o n e’s eyes t h i s i s very d i f f i c u l t ; t h eref o re o n e m u st u se a l l o n e’s sen ses t o f i n d t h e t a rg et . I n o rd er t o p erf ec t t h i s, Asa i sen sei m a d e a l i f e si z e m o d el o f a p erso n a n d m a rked a l l t h e vi t a l p o i n t s o n i t . U si n g t h i s h e wa s a b l e t o p ra c t i c e Ten ket su Ju t su f ro m a va ri et y o f a n g l es a n d p o si t i o n s, n o t o n l y u si n g h i s eyes, b u t h i s wh o l e c o n sc i o u sn ess.
I n a d d i t i o n t o t h a t , h e u ses t h e sh o rt est a n d f a st est wa y t o h i t h i s t a rg et . D u ri n g Ka ra t e d em o n st ra t i o n s, Asa i S en sei d o es n o t h i t t h ese vi t a l p o i n t s, b u t i n st ea d h e h i t s m u sc l e a rea s o n t h e b o d y o f h i s d em o n st ra t i o n su b j ec t .
I f yo u p erf o rm t h e Ten ket su Ju t su Tec h n i q u e o n a n o p p o n en t a n d u se o n l y o n e f i n g er, yo u wi l l h u rt yo u rsel f even t u a l l y b ec a u se o f o veru si n g yo u r f i n g er. Th eref o re, t o m a xi m i z e t h e ef f i c i en c y o f yo u r f i n g er a t t a c k, yo u m u st kn o w wh en yo u r o p p o n en t i s a t t h ei r wea kest m o m en t so t h a t yo u wo u l d n o t h a ve t o u t i l i z e m u c h f o rc e. Th eref o re yo u m u st b e a b l e t o c a t c h t h e m o m en t wh en yo u r o p p o n en t i s a t t h ei r wea kest p o i n t . Yo u h a ve t o g et t h e m a xi m u m ef f ec t u si n g t h e m i n i m u m a m o u n t o f p o wer. Fo r exa m p l e, wh en h u m a n s i n h a l e, t h ey a re a t a wea k m o m en t . I f yo u n o t i c e, a g o o d a t t a c k i s p erf o rm ed a t t h e m o m en t o f exh a l e. Th eref o re, a t t a c ki n g yo u r o p p o n en t a t t h ei r m o m en t o f i n h a l e, wi l l req u i re l ess st ren g t h a n d p o wer f ro m t h e a t t a c ker, a n d st i l l resu l t i n t h e m a xi m u m ef f ec t s.
Wh en yo u a t t a c k t h e p ressu re p o i n t s, n o t o n l y st ri ke, b u t a l so t wi st yo u r st ri ke 45 d eg rees c l o c kwi se o r vi b ra t e yo u r f i n g er, a t t h e m o m en t o f i m p a c t . Yo u c a n c h o o se f ro m a va ri et y o f t ec h n i q u es d ep en d i n g o n t h e p o i n t yo u a re a t t a c ki n g .
S en sei Asa i sa ys t h a t Ten ket su Ju t su n o t o n l y h a s t ec h n i q u es f o r a t t a c ki n g vi t a l p o i n t s, b u t a l so i t h a s m et h o d s f o r a t t a c ki n g t h e p a t h wa ys t h a t c o n n ec t t h ese vi t a l p o i n t s. Th e C en t er o f t h e f ro n t p a rt o f t h e b o d y i s c a l l ed : “N i m ya ku ”. Th e C en t er o f t h e b a c k o f t h e b o d y i s c a l l ed : To ku m ya ku .”??@ U si n g t h e kn i f e ed g e (S h u t o ) o f t h e h a n d a n d t h e f o rea rm o f yo u r h a n d (N a i wa n ) yo u c a n c u t t h e l i n e o f C h i a n d b l o o d c i rc u l a t i o n . a n d t h e o u t c o m e yo u d esi re. (S t ro n g , wea k, d eep , o r sh a l l o w) R evi ew:
Ten ket su Ju t su t ec h n i q u e b el i eves t h a t t h e h u m a n b o d y h a s a p a t h wa y o f C h i f l o wi n g d o wn t h e c en t er o f t h e b o d y. Th i s i s c a l l ed t h e “N i n ya ku ”. I t i s a l so b el i eved t h a t t h ere i s a p a t h wa y o f C h i f l o wi n g d o wn t h e b a c k, c a l l ed t h e “To ku n ya ku ”. I f t h ese l i n es a re a t t a c ked , t h en i t i s ea sy t o st o p t h e b i o -rh yt h m s a n d c i rc u l a t i o n o f o n e’s o p p o n en t . Th i s c a n b e d o n e wi t h sh u t o o r a c u t t i n g a c t i o n wi t h t h e o p en h a n d .
(EN D )
I believe that article in 2002 was the first time he announced publicly that he practiced Tenketsu jutsu. Let me now share the experience I had with Asai in 2004 with this very interesting and unique technique of his.
During the several years before his passing in 2006, I used to visit him monthly and had many meetings with Sensei in his office in Shinbashi (two stations away from Tokyo station). We talked about many subjects, not only about karate but also various cultures and nature of the
people. He was interested in how people think and why people act the way they do. He said he was never interested in business and making money. He said he was interested in psychology, sociology and even history. If he did not pick up karate he could have become a school teacher. We expanded our talk to the difference between Japanese and Chinese.
He had a great respect for the Chinese culture and what it offered. He said he learned a lot when he was living in Taiwan in his early days of training. He was sent there by the JKA just as Kanazawa, Nishiyama and Okazaki were sent to the US and Enoeda, Kase and Shirai were to Europe. He met his future wife while he was living in Taiwan. Her brother, Mr. Chen, happened to be a kung fu master of White Crane style. Mrs. Asai told me many stories about her brother and Sensei exchanging different techniques. This process made his karate very unique and I am sure many readers already know about this.
Though he did not tell me exactly where and from whom he learned this art he certainly knew the technique as he demonstrated it on me. I cannot remember exactly on which day it was but it was the winter of 2004 as I had my suit on and carried my over coat. Here is the summary of the extraordinary experience I encountered on that day.
As usual I visited his business office in Shinbashi near Tokyo station one morning. Asai seemed to have special interest in Latin America so he always wanted to know how the JKS was doing in Latin American countries. So I gave him the update as quickly as possible as on that day I had to leave in one hour because of my other appointments. I wanted to finish the update quickly so that I would have time to ask him some questions. On that day I wanted to ask him about Tenketsu as I got hold of a copy of this particular issue of Karatedo a few weeks before my visit to Japan. He was featured in Karatedo (Feb 2002 issue, per photo) and the article included his ability in Kyusho jutsu or Tenketsu. I know there are some critical points in our body so hitting such a spot is effective. However, I was skeptical about the techniques such as paralyzing a person or hurting someone with a small tap or light grabbing or pinching.
I had to be frank and expressed my skepticism to him. He said with a little smile “So . . . . you are a non-believer.” He laughed and continued, “You came all the way from California. Let me show you a little demonstration.” This was exactly what I wanted but I did not expect he would offer this. So I quickly answered yes but right after that I regretted a little. In my head a thought went through very quickly, “Oh no it will be painful”. With a smile he told me to take off my jacket. He said “I can do it with your jacket on but it will be easier without it.” I was nervous but I did not want to show my fear so I followed his direction. He said “OK first let’s shake hands.” I was not sure why he wanted to do this so I simply extended my right hand. Instead of grabbing my hand he quickly pinched me between my thumb and index finger. The pain was indescribable. He totally had control over me with his two fingers. He raised his hand high and lowered it and dragged me around the room at his will and with ease. I simply could not do anything but follow him. I was impressed but I figured that anyone could do the same if he could pinch very hard. Asai knew what I was thinking so he said with a smile, “I know anyone can do this and this is only a party trick.”
He continued, “Let me show you the real thing.” I was a little scared but I was more curious about what I would experience. He told me to stand and relax. He faced me and extended both of his arms towards my face and put his hands on my shoulders. I was nervous so he smiled and said “Relax! This time it will not hurt you.” He told me to bring up my arms and then to
bring them down so I did that. So what was that for? Then, I felt a pressure on my neck. With his right hand he was holding my left shoulder and with his left hand he was pressing on the right side of my neck. One of his fingers of his left hand pressed a little harder on my neck so I felt a very small pain there, like a needle prick. He told me to lift my arms up again so I tried. Would you believe that I could not? Not only could I not move my arms but I could not turn my head either. My upper body was “frozen” or “locked”. It is hard to describe exactly how I felt with my body at that moment. I felt no pain and I could move my fingers, and my lower body. I could see and talk but I had no control from the neck down to the elbows. I felt the shoulder joints were locked and that part of my body was in a cast. I told him I could not move. He said “Yes that is exactly what this technique would do.” He said with a somber face, “Come back tomorrow and I will fix you then.” Even though I suspected he was just joking, I got in a small panic. Can you imagine trying to conduct a business meeting in this condition? It was not funny at all so I begged Sensei to put me back to normal. This time he smiled and asked “Are you sure?” so I told him “Most definitely yes!” Now I think it was interesting how he set me back. Instead of pressing my neck again, he used both open hands and hit my shoulders, my sides and arms several times very quickly. It was like pounding the air out of my body. He did this a few times and the poundings themselves were pretty hard. The middle of my neck and shoulder muscles had some jerks and spasms then I got my mobility back.
Apparently there are two kinds of Tenketsu techniques. One is soft which he demonstrated. It is called soft because the technique is not based on hitting a body part but rather with pressing of the fingers or different parts of the hand. When a finger is being used there are various methods also. When he pressed my neck he used the finger tips but I hear different