by Jean-Louis de Gandt – Interview of Master Minagawa
Please enjoy this interview with Masashi Minagawa sensei conducted on January 25, 2020.
The interview covers a wide range of topics about the martial arts and how Shintaido stands out as a practice of harmony and peace.
“Minagawa sensei heard the Dalai Lama once say, ‘In Buddhism first we have to discard everything inside ourselves and then what is left is joy and light.’ He said we should make the light shine within ourselves, then gradually spread the light to those around us, then spread the light further into society.”
Minagawa realized this is Hei Ho 平法 – the strategy of peace.
“I realized Shintaido is the way of peace. I think the purpose of kumite is to take yourself to zero and with a partner spread joy and happiness.”
Find the article here:
An interview of Master Minagawa 2020
Minagawa sensei’s reinterpretation of kumite as a practice to bring oneself to zero and cultivate shared joy completely flips traditional martial confrontation on its head. Framing Hei Ho around the Dalai Lama’s idea of discarding internal baggage first makes harmony an active discipline rather than a passive outcome. It raises an interesting question about how practitioners maintain that openness when encountering someone who approaches engagement purely as conflict.