August 11th, 2013
The Claws of the Black Wind
The wind in general or the “white wind” is linked to the mind, logic and reason while the “black wind” shows the element of matter in motion becoming energy while still manifest as material; this shows the thinking mind in union with instinct under the will. Just as the black wind has fangs as shown in the teachings of the Kiai or spirit shout it also has claws, how they are used is made clear in that the medium of the will fusing the thinking mind and instinct is the body. The will is symbolized in the body by the hands and feet showing in a sense not one but two sets of claws. In the way of the Kuroi Kaze one is taught to not use set movements but rather set one’s will and thus create the reaction of the void to which one is prepared to respond, controlling the outcome by controlling what one does no matter what others do. One sets the will through the mind which stirs the emotions which create the will that the body expresses and the life force makes a part of one’s self. By combing thought and Kiai with movement one causes the cosmos to reflect that movement and the Kiai behind it resulting in the thought being woven into the web of outcomes.
Just as the Kiai can be silent or be a mantra or mantram i.e. a spell or it can be used as it is in martial arts so can movement by a strike, block or what have you it can also be no more than a mudra and a mudra can have the force of a strike or block. The Claws of the Black Wind use a union of Meditative Thought and Ritual Action with a martial intent and focus using strikes named for the nine ways aimed at the points on the humanoid body lined up with the Black Lotus Mandala which answer nine blocks. The strikes are shown by the points and lines on the Mandala and the blocks are shown in the curves the blocks being named for the nine ways, strikes and blocks answering each other in pairs. Kicks or leg blocks should mirror those of the hands so that if the hands advance the feet must retreat or vice versa. The idea here is that the warrior and his target each stand in half the Black Lotus Mandala with a second Mandala between them. Both the warrior and the target have the same lines and points and move in the same patterns the idea being that the victor is the one standing at the center that joins the two Mandalas.
Where the eight outer circles of the Mandala represent the union of the 8 types of Chi or external energy the ninth circle, the inner circle represents Ki or personal power produced from refining the types of Chi. The strait lines in the Mandala represent the lines of Ki energy from the center while the curved lines represents the lines of Chi that when refined become Ki energy with the whole showing Kokoro and the interaction of the individual with it. A third spherical Mandala with the same center, curves and lines as the other two surrounds the warrior and the target creating the world that is the combat one is dealing with. On an esoteric or symbolic level the sphere is composed of the auras of the two parties in said combat.