This is the test I was referring to in class this week
It's test in Ninja ryuha still done today
some people call it the Godan test as that is the grade you are awarded when you pass it, that and the title Shidoshi
It's the test to become a Ninja - in the old days it was done with a live blade and nobody ever failed to become a Ninja, you either passed or you died - your entire life literally led up to that moment
At the test, in the old days, only people who have passed it or who are going for it are allowed in the room so it's not something anyone would have seen in advance
Now of course there are clips on You Tube
the first starts with old B&W footage and is all successful passes
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-GidagO6C8
back in the day it was something you heard about but had doubts about, though as every Shidoshi had of course passed it, nobody said their doubts outloud
once you see it, and then experience it, you can't doubt it's real
Bruce Lee (not a Ninja) once said "I don't believe in sixth sense but I think I've got it"
This can't be explained, learnt or taught directly
It is not psychic or telepathy, or ESP, nor does anybody claim that it is
As I mentioned there have been a couple of occassions in real fight where I have experienced Sakki, and didn't realise til a moment after - there is no sense of precognition
This second clip is all at one seminar and most of the students fail, and fail badly
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zNP7-unHrw&NR=1&feature=endscreen
just goes to show how much the standard in training has slipped in recent years - and those who pass it look all the more impressive compared to those who simply couldn't do it
Relax, don't move, and after the moment you will realise you have done it - there is no other way to explain it
The thing is, and this is from the perspective of someone who has done this and been tested on it, and experienced it after, is that it is not "psychic" or "supernatural", but perfectly natural.
As for not being able to train it, what you do is train your taijutsu, your body art, moving naturally
kihon happo - when you see the punch comes, move
mutodori - when you see the sword comes move
when a strike comes, move - don't be there when it arrives
after years of doing this you do get to the point where you "just move", when you find you are "not there"
if you tried to "train your eyes" directly to do the punch evasion it wouldn't work, you can't "train your sight"
what you do is train your body to respond (not react) to the visual cue
so eventually your body responds without the visual clue
as you see in the clips - you can't deny it happens - the person completely relaxed sitting there not moving, the sword strike comes, and he just moves
if you tried to "sense" it you would not be fast enough
if you do this facing forward and react as you see the sword coming you aren't fast enough, you get hit - you have to move as the sword moves to not be there when it arrives
Sakki in Japanese means "killer intention" - because Soke really means to hit you on the head (as you saw in the second clip fails), it is his intention, his sakki, that moves his sword and his sakki that moves you - or that you move away from - it's the same thing
This is a very interesting point.
I am not saying these things don't exist or that they do not, I really don't know either way.
But I can tell you the sakki test is neither
You can't do it if you sit and watch with your eyes or wait for a shout, you can't respond quick enough, we've tried it, hence why you can't directly "train" this. SO if you had a "sixth sense" it wouldn't be any use to you, ESP would not help you as you would still move too slow.
As for pre-cognition, again, "seeing the future" is no help as you already know he's going to hit you, you are sitting here waiting for it. Seeing it happen still won't make you react in time. Also, as I said, in that nightclub incident when the bottle hit Lee in the neck, it was only after that I was told it was aimed at my head and I "just moved".
So there ws no precognition and no ESP, I wasn't aware the strike was coming, or even that I had moved until after, my body simply just responded and I moved away from the line of attack and wasn't hit.
Interesting use of the word "student" - the moment you move from the strike you are no longer a student
and you are right, you don't realise the strike came or that you moved
This can be discussed and dissected (much like the frog) endlessly but some of it is really is beyond the realm of what we can understand at this time
as for science -well, as I say, cows eat grass and cows make milk. Everything you need to make milk is in grass, but science does not yet understand the process so we can't make milk from grass, we have to take it from cows
so with the stuff we can't even physically see happening, like sakki, it is even harder
also there is no "reaction" at all - that is not how this works, a reaction would need a stimulus and would, as I said, be too slow - the movement is a response, a trained response, and what causes it is sakki
again, we can see it happening, like the cow's milk, we just can't explain how it happens - yet
(there is another analogy about how milking the cow to get the milk is seen in the Krav Maga's instructor test)
Actually if you think you are perceiving sakki and acting accordingly it means you are not
you need to train your taijutsu to the point where every move is second nature, instinctive, and in the case of sakki, you don't know until after it's happened
what you are getting sparring is reflex, you have performed the movement so many times it comes out when needed
however you are getting closer each time
remember with sparring there is no sakki - your partner has no intention of landing a "Killer" blow, every move is controlled and you are drilled and trained to work together
what you are experiencing is the drilled response coming out spontaneously
the telegraph of a spinning move means you move to cover the line - it is the attribute Line Familiarisation, and it's all the stick drilling you do at the start of the session that makes it come out 2 hours later in the sparring
if you could sense and predict the strike and then react you would not have time - this is "beyond" sensing and reacting - you respond to the sakki itself
if you are thinking you can "feel the strike coming" then it means you aren't
and yes the roots for sakki is in what you are already doing - I'm training you towards the day when I no longer have to train you
but it takes a long time
there is a reason why this is the test for FIFTH DAN
be patient
(feel like saying "Grasshopper" at the end of that 
)
We've discusses this recently and some of the newer members have not seen the thread or are aware of the clips.
In STMA, though nobody is really near yet, it makes sense to use this test for our fifth dan
4th Dan is Full Instructor, where you have all the syllabus of techniques and drills, can perform and explain them, and therefore teach them
a 4th dan black belt will spend his subsequent time consolidating and cycling his training, his taijutsu
but like I say, no matter how skillfull one becomes, if somebody attacks you from behind, from a blind spot, you will no be able to respond - it is a weakness everyone has
expect the Ninja - and that is what the 5th dan test is for, to prove you have this, and that even your blind spot is now covered
This thread was posted in 2013, five years ago, and led to some interesting discourse both here and in class.
Here is a new 2 minute clip of Soke "doing" sakki in a class demo - if you understand what is happening, you will see that he simply ISN'T THERE when the strike arrives.
How you perceive it will depend a lot on where you are in your own Journey
All the members at the session are 5th Dan and above, Shidoshi who have passed the test
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfVoY_VyEsg
