Time for The Field of Kusa to; Listen

Throughout my time of doing stealth training I always found one sense extremely important and reliable, and that was sound. When trained correctly and diligently you can identify where a target is, whether you are being followed, and the sounds of nature both the norm and unfamiliar.

Recently my group and I have stumbled upon a deer corpse within the woods identifying that there was something to eat and remove these remains that are geographically close and native. I came to the conclusion that there are foxes in the area. Then the next session of training as it approached twilight we heard an odd sound, it was the sound of a fox doing it's consecutive barks. Personally I think it resembles the sound of a monkey call, but take this time to become familiar with the sounds of one of the creatures of the night. The Fox.

It's good to know the sounds of nature and how animals communicate with one another because that is when they will also be communicating with you, you just need to take the initiative and be aware.

Mission!: Takagi Yoshin Ryu

Takagi Yoshin Ryu is a very powerful system focused on joint manipulations and prevention of escape from techniques by other martial artists. 

Mission; Locate, research, and redistribute information based on the art of Takagi Yoshin Ryu here for discussion so that we may confirm or deny information, and learn as much as possible. You can find things such as what weapons did they utilize, philosophies, it's origins, just stay open minded and begin looking.

Things to keep in mind;

1) Don't be afraid if you may have something wrong, something is better than nothing and we will do our best to confirm or discuss it so we may grow and learn from it. You also learn more when you do something wrong than if you do it right.

2) Don't just copy and paste, write it in your own words so that yo have the opportunity to digest what you read and so that the information is passed in a manner that we may relate to. You can still source and such, just use it as an opportunity to learn.

3) Have fun and don't stress out about it. The Field of Kusa is a place to grow and prosper with information. You can just begin typing, you're bound to get better at it as you begin exchanging information with people who are already good at it. Just try. 

Ice in the eyes of Kusa

Okay guys well winter is doing it's thing and making it cold and constantly below freezing now, yet there hasn't been that much of an accumulation of snow, but there is Ice! Ice can be a great hazard, if you don't know how to handle it that is or even utilize it for your benefit. First of all be sure that you are comfortable with your rolls and break falls they will save you on and off the ice :) . Second, wear some shoes that have traction. I like to get in the mind frame that you should always be able to react whether it be fight or run in what you're wearing at all times that way when the time comes you're set.

As shinobi though we want to use the ice to our advantage;
For ice to happen you need water and a temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.
So to know where ice may occur you have to know factors that can affect temperature and the amount of water in an area.

Some of those factors being;
1) Elevation, because it gets cooler as you go higher, hence the ice on the tops of mountains and so forth.
2) Wind, there is wind chill due to winds coming from the north where the isn't as much absorption of heat from the sun because of the axis it rotates on can be very cold and aid in the cooling of temperature arrival of ice. There is also the situation as on bridges where there are winds traveling over and under the bridge cooling it from multiple sides and allowing ice to form on it earlier than on other parts of roads and such.
3) Exposure to the Sun, I believe this is very important because you can then be aware of areas that are shadowed over the course of a day and if you ever needed to use it for a strategic advantage you now have known spots where you could lure pursuers or an attacker to escape or use as a way to enhance your abilities.
4) Surface type, ice will form on some spots faster than others because some surfaces will give off heat absorbed from the Sun for a while after it has set and others have been bouncing back the rays all day and haven't absorbed a thing. Dark colored objects absorb the most heat whereas light objects actually reflect them, you can learn more about this as it is an objects albedo. Some objects may also absorb the water instead of allowing it to settle at the surface and form ice. With this knowledge you an plan routes based on types of surfaces and lighting to minimize your chances of slipping or risking injuries on a mission.

Uses;
1) You can use it to prolong the amount of time before food spoils.
2) A way to cover area without leaving tracks, but if you break it you defeat the point.
3) You can apply it to injuries to soothe pain and help swelling go down.
4) If thick enough and at the edge of a river you are trying to cross you can cut a section from it and use it as a raft to get to the other side. (Military FM 21-76 Survival Manual)
5) Utilize it's reflection from the sun as metsubushi
The list goes on :)

Some tips;
1) Train on it! If you become familiarize yourself with it then you will be less afraid.
2) Learn the attributes of ice, it is a tool and readily available.
3) Learn to find out how deep ice is
4) Know what to do in case you were to fall in ice and make it so that you don't freeze.
  Hint: C.O.L.D. -Cover, Overevertion, Layers, Dry -Check it out give some feedback
5) Actually try this stuff don't just read it!

Again you guys are welcome to add what you can to help the knowledge on the topics we cover grow and expand, as the mission in the field of the Kusa is to grow and absorb as much as we can to make us better warriors and people.

Just a Heads Up! Devil's Walkingstick (Aralia spinosa)!!!!

This item I have come across one too many times during night hiking, and it can cause immense pain if you grab onto it or run into it and even worse if you try to climb it. It is known as Devil's Walkingstick (Aralia spinosa), it has thorns that go around in circles every few increments. It is found in the North-East areas in the deciduous forests so it can blend in sometime with other saplings until you hit it haha. 

This plant just takes a bit of imagination to think of uses for it and such. 

First off all this plant can be planted around your house or in areas that you would like to prevent burglars or trespassers of entry because as stated before this plant makes it's point. The plant can also cause irritations or rashes to some people.

Here are some of my ideas;

It could also be used for survival animal traps to pin the animal for retrieval.

You could cut the tree into sections and use for caltrops.

You could even strategically plant it in the perimeters of your property to make it so that people would stray from even the general direction of your facilities.

It would provide a good place of concealment and function as a deterrent for someone that you may be hiding from.

You could also shave off some of the spikes and utilize it as a metsubushi

This is only the Tip of the Devil's Walkingstick, there's plenty more that can be done.

*Important note: this plant is not to be consumed because many of it's parts are poisonous unless properly cooked, so it's best not to try.

Now's your turn to shed some light in the field of the kusa; like what areas that it may like to grow in in the forest such as in lighting or soil and other details?

Yatagarasu （やたがらす）

Yatagarasu, the three legged raven of Japanese folklore. Many people know of it, but it also holds history of the shinobi within it. Yatagarasu can be seen as one of the 1st shinobi symbols in history, where he was recorded to have flown down to help Emperor Jinmu in his time of need as a guide to help him travel from Kumano to Yoshino. On his trip he was encountered, and from the sky came a blinding light in the shape of a kite that took place upon his bow and blinded his enemies, and led to his victory and eventual titling as Emperor. 

Yatagarasu was also a symbol said to be sent from the Sun Godess Amaterasu （あまてらす）and the interesting fact that connects Yatagarasu to the arrival of a blinding light from the skies, to me links those two together well. 

There is also the fact that Yatagarasu is a raven which is a highly intelligent animal and very similar to that of the Tengu. Tengu were said to have given rise to the ninja. 

There is much interconnection, tell me can you add on to it and help brighten the light in this field of Kusa?

1st Mission!: Kusarigama （くさりがま）

The mission is as follows, I would like everyone to do a tad bit of research and tell some facts about the history and use of the weapon known as the Kusarigama. This should be interesting for the 1st Mission. I will also go on my own search and add some extra information here and there to get you guys sparked to add on. So, Gambate desu! (Do your best!)

The Field of Kusa

The reason that this name has been chosen for this blog is because the term Kusa （くさ） is a term that was once applied to those that are commonly referred to today as Shinobi a.k.a. NInja, which one who gathers information. The term means grass, and implied that someone was hiding in the grass and has been trained since a young age to be in a place when needed. With this being said I want this to grow into a field of Kusa so that we can all gather our information together and allow each other to learn and grow.

Please by all means Comment, Comment, Comment! This is how the Kusa shall grow.