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The Sufi Warriors
Author: Wayne Roy
Charles Daniel is often referred to as a "walking encyclopedia" of the physical and spiritual aspects of martial arts training. He started his studies 26 years ago with Western-style boxing and wrestling, and progressed onto the warrior traditions of medieval Europe and the Orient. Over the years he has studied the esoteric teachings of the Apache Indians of North America, and the Sufi tradition of the Middle East. Seven years ago in Japan Charles met Wayne Roy, the founder of Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu in Australia and New Zealand. Sensei Roy has also studied several martial arts, as well as aspects of esoteric Christianity. Their mutual interest in the structure of martial arts and associated esoteric teachings formed the basis of a close friendship, which has continued to this day. Following is a recent discussion on the Sufi influence into some Middle East warrior traditions, and the similarities to the art of Ninjutsu.
WR: Charles, can you tell me something about the Sufi warriors?
CD: Well, the term "Sufi warriors" is somewhat of a misnomer really. Not all Sufi practitioners were warriors.
WR: What about the Janisarians? CD: Well yes, the Janisarians were warriors who had some Sufi (esoteric) training. In actual fact they were slaves who were taken in as children by the Ottoman Turks. They were generally of European stock, and trained from childhood to be warriors. They trained in wrestling, grappling, methods of punching and kicking, the use of knives and swords, and fighting on horseback. And there was some input of Sufi concepts into their trainmg.
WR: Can you give me an example of what they did?
CD: One thing that was commonplace was the Sarna, which involved certain types of music and dance. It's one very interesting phenomenon that was used by the Janisarians, and the practice has been echoed down through the centuries.
Let me give you an example: During the Korean war in the 50s, there were a number of cases where the Turks would be in an area and about to attack a position. What the Turkish troops did was build a bonfire, and they would actually hold a Sarna and chant and dance around the bonfire. As soon as they were finished, they would charge the enemy position with tremendous focus and determination. Many would just break (mentally) and run toward the enemy. It's a fascinating phenomenon that originally stemmed from the training of the J anisarians.
WR: When were the Janisarians at their peak?
CD: I believe it was the 15th or 16th century.
WR: Amazing! To think that aspects of their training have been passed down to today's soldiers?
CD: Yes, a number of the old techniques have echoed down through the ages and been absorbed into the training of the modern Turkish soldiers. Many aspects of the Janisarian training have become part of Turkish folklore. You still find this sort of thing today in Afghanistan.
WR: Is that type of training foundation in other Middle East countries?
CD: You don't find it in Persia so much because a lot of the Sufi orders have been suppressed over the years, and you have the same situation in Iraq. This happened because members of a Sufi orders were quite often advisers to the leaders (caliph, king or shah) of the time, and whenever there was a revolt, the advisers were killed, imprisoned or exiled along with the old leader.
WR: Are you saying that historically, Muslim warlords in that part of the world suppressed Sufism?
CD: Sure, and anyone representing an Orthodox order of the time. It's ironic really, because you've got people like Ah Gazali who was Sufi trained, yet he is considered to be the man who rescued Islam (the Muslim faith). He saved it through his theology. He was even a key source of information for St Thomas Aquinas when he wrote his own great works on theology.
Historically, Sufis have occasionally had some serious faIlings out. For example a great Sufi by the name of Sudowari was executed by Saladin's nephew. A person like that who is interested in individual spiritual development has to engage in practices that ordinary people (even those in high places) don't understand. And of course, when you are dealing with someone who is not understood by the people they associate with, there is going to be conflict.
WR: Would you say Sufism is more directed towards development of the individual more so than the Orthodox orders?
CD: Absolutely, you always have that when you are dealing. with any form of esoteric development. It doesn't matter whether it is associated to warrior training or not.
The ninja had the same problem in Japan. It's the reason they were suppressed by the Warlord Nobunaga, and were later suppressed by Iidioshi. In essence you've got a bunch of people who were saying, "Your society is wonderful, and your politics are wonderful, but we're just not interested thank you." What does a government do with people they can't convert one way or another?
WR: A government usually wipes out people like that, if it can get away with it.
CD: Yea, you kill 'em. They're an upset to the desired structure of things. It happened to the ninja, and it happened to the Sufis. It's still happening to people today.
As far as the martial art connections are concerned, the techniques that would be associated to Sufism are much broader and more subtle than brute wrestling or punching or kicking. They are very involved with the manipulation of certain forms of energy, for example, techniques for mass hypnosis. Politically this Can be a very subtle but powerful tool in swaying masses of people, or it could be used to sway individuals who are advisers, or directly in command of military units.
It's interesting to note that whenever anyone has tried to conquer the Sufi people in that part of the world - let's say Afghanistan - they eventually get defeated themselves. It started with Alexander the Great; he died 10 years after invading Afghanistan. Next it was the British, and just recently it was the Russians.
WR: Yes, I know there was, and is still, a strong undercurrent of Sufi influence throughout that part of the world. It was interesting to see that fact appear as a theme for a movie a few years ago. It was called The Jewel Of The Nile. The "Jewel" was a man, a Sufi, and he was a spiritual teacher and leader to the warriors in that region. He had developed a high level of esoteric power.
CD: That part of the world is actually Sufi headquarters, or it was until the war with the Russians. Many Sufis moved out during and after the Russian-Afghanistan war.
WR: They simply left?
CD: Yes, you can have all the esoteric power in the world, but if someone flies over in an armoured helicopter and fires a rocket through your front door, you're just out of luck. There's no form of esoteric power in the world that lets you alter all the laws of nature.
So a lot of them left, a lot of them stayed, a lot of them got killed. That's what happens when any country is invaded.
WR: On the positive side (if there is one), this would have caused a spreading of the Sufi teachings.
CD: Oh yes, in Sufism this is what they call a "Sprinkle" effect.
WR: Charles, most people have heard the term "Whirling Dervish". Do those warriors have any connection to Sufism?
CD: Yes, you're talking about the Mevlevi (mev-Ieve) Order of Sufism that was founded in the 13th century. They use certain types of dance and music, in particular a turning type of dance to achieve altered states of consciousness. In fact, it wasn't until three generations after the death of the founder that it was formalised into what we recognise today as Whirling Dervish. The historical training period for a Mevlevi Dervish was 1000 days, in which time they went through 18 different stages before they were churned out as a finished product. It was 1000 days of training that was directed to change the essential makeup of the individual who was going through the training process.
WR: Change them from what into what?
CD: From an average, everyday, socially conditioned, run of the mill human being into a self-aware, conscious human being who knew what in the heck they were all about.
WR: And they were all warriors? CD: Not necessarily, but they could be. It's a lot like the historical ninja, I suppose. See, that's the slippery thing about it. You had people who were Sufis and fought in the battlefield. You had others who threw up their hands and left. And you had some who stayed and tried to deal with whoever was conquering their land. So the definition of a warrior is a little bit different. Like the ninja, they weren't part of the established military. And they weren't an actual fighting class the way the American Indian brave was considered to be, or a Japanese Samurai for that matter. WR: Or the New Zealand Maori warrior!
CD: Yes, the Maori were definitely a warrior class.
WR: Has Sufism affected any other warrior cultures or groups in that part of the world?
CD: Well, there are the Sikhs in India, which is very much a warrior sect. They wear a turban that is white, blue and black. Those are the colours of the robes worn by the historic Sufis. There's obviously some influence there, but it's a very difficult thing to actually pinpoint what the influence was, over and above the fact that the (Sikh) men are very intuitive like the Sufis. Due to their years of special meditation and prayer the Sikhs developed a high level of intuition, and that sort of thing can be applied in any area.
WR: And consequently it (intuition) can make them a highly skilled warrior, should they feel the need to undertake that role.
CD: Oh absolutely, any type of training along those lines will do that. The thing is, and I quote a saying that pops up in the Naqshbandi (nashbandy) Order of Sufism, "We don't develop, we quicken". By that they are implying that their teachings speed up the natural process of evolution.
WR: That's an interesting term; I like it. I've been trying to "quicken" the process of Ninjutsu study for years now, and it's working! I suppose it's a natural extension of my own esoteric training. Did the J anisarians undergo any high level (Sufi) spiritual training?
CD: Well, just the usual prayers, meditation and mind-set techniques. It would have been the equivalent of Ninjutsu's Kuji Kiri (a system of finger entwining that triggers hypnotic mindsets such as focus, invincibility or psychic abilities).
WR: So the esoteric training was limited?
CD: Of course, because the Janisarians were a warrior class of slaves. Their Master wouldn't want them to develop too much power. If they did they wouldn't fight any more, they would turn on their enslaver. They were simply taught altered states of consciousness that would make them more fearless in the face of an enemy. That's fairly easy to do, you can do it with hypnotic cues, just like Ninjutsu's Kuji Kiri.
WR: Did the Janisarians learn stalking and tracking?
CD: No, it was a different type of battle in that part of the world. You're talking about open ground, long wide plains, horses and spears. That situation was very different than the ninja's mountainous homeland. In places like that, stalking and tracking are essential skills, especially if you're fighting an enemy.
WR: Thanks, Charles, as usual it's been very interesting talking with you. Next time I'd like to talk to you about the original Assassins from the Middle East, and any similarities to Ninjutsu.
CD: No problem, Wayne, any time! Charles Daniel has written a number of popular books on martial arts (available at most martial art supply outlets) and, in April of this year, Wayne Roy is bringing Mr Daniel out from America.
The scope of this tour has never been offered anywhere else in the world before. It will include over sixteen specialised workshops on the traditional Ninjutsu scrolls, and techniques from the:
Togakure Ryu Gyokko Ryu, Koto Ryu, Kukishin Ryu Shinden Fudo Ryu Takagi Yoshin Ryu
Gikan Ryu, and the Kumogakure Ryu.
Designed exclusively for Mr Roy's schools in Australia and New Zealand, these workshops will present "hidden" techniques that have rarely been seen outside Japan. Also included will be talks on esoteric aspects of martial arts training.
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