Takamatsu's Words

Toshitsugu Takamatsu once said...

“Let him cut your skin, and you cut his flesh. Let him cut your flesh, and you cut his bones. Let him cut your bones, and you cut off his life.”

My interpretation of these words speaks about the importance of escalating violence against a would be attacker. When fighting, it is important to dominate the spirit of your opponent, as well as their physical shell. One of the best ways to dominate the spirit and body is by escalating any trespasses, with double the force. If struck in the leg, strike back twice as hard, twice as often. Let your opponent know you have a salvo of weapons and can fire off at will. As a fighter, I know the frustrations of fighting hard, only to have the opponent fight back harder, and give back double.

In recent times there has been a movement that have attempted to portray Takamatsu as a Saint, a dreamer, a poet, and a painter. He killed people. He was a fighter. We tend to forget such things when all Hatsumi talks about is prancing bunnies, and how softly Takamatsu used to whisper in his ear...

Takamatsu is an idol of mine, but not because of his artwork or his wisdom in the later years. It is because he trained and fought hard, because he won and took the transmission of his art seriously.