California Bujinkan Dojo/

This is truly the time to understand,accept and act upon the teachings of Soke. Moving with the flow of nature ( Shizen Gyouin Ryu Sui ) and learning to ...appreciate and connect more with the simple things in life. Don’t be trapped by the desire to have things as they were. Don’t dwell on the past but rather learn from it. Be inspired by it. Embrace the change and live for the present with a mind directed toward positive future development and loyalty to your family,friends and teachers. It's important to make an effort under any circumstance - stagnant, sickness, being in an unstable lifestyle, even when society is insane. You should consider such periods as an omen before you move. When you are stuck on something, it is important to hold to your purpose but not press onward against the current. When you can't move at all, try to concentrate, continuing forward as if in a boat switching to a stronger motor. The keiko that is most important when you cannot move is kage no keiko [shadow training]." Hatsumi See more

After a conversation with someone about Bujinkan Martial Arts and if they would really work, I spontaneously said something that I thought, hey, that makes se...nse! (Even a broken clock is right twice per day)... This person was basing his opinion of the arts effectiveness on YouTube videos. So my response was, the thing about Ninpo videos is bad Taijutsu will look like it will never work. And, you are correct. But great Taijutsu will REALLY look like it would never work and you would be VERY wrong. When a person attacks (for real or in training) a good ninpoka, they enter a world that only exists between the two of them. (Not saying a different planet, but every sees the world as they are not as it is, everyone lives in their own personal world on this shared planet) People not involved in the exchange have no real idea what is happening between the two. They have a different perspective. Between the two there is distance, timing perception, slight of hand, psychology, balance, pain, pressure, lack of pressure, and many more things all very subtle. So even though you think you see what’s going on even though you think you understand what’s happening, even the best ninpoka only can understand some of what’s happening. It’s like eating a fresh apple and then trying to describe it to someone who never ate an apple. Only by they themselves eating a fresh apple will they know, and even then even if it was the same apple the experience would be based on the one experiencing it and would be different. This is why people who learn from videos are doomed to have at best only an image of Ninpo not real ninpo. Like a mannequin would be compared to a human even if it’s the worlds best mannequin most lifelike realistic mannequin. Techniques are techniques, everyone has them two arms and two legs. But what makes Taijutsu can be seen or not seen THROUGH techniques. It’s like light cannot be seen until there’s something to be reflected off of. The level of Taijutsu is seen reflected off the techniques and they don’t even have to be Bujinkan techniques a Bujinkan technique is any technique done the Bujinkan way. I suspect that Hatsumi Sensei often gives people grades on what he sees as their level of or understanding of Taijutsu knowing that learning the techniques is the easy part. someone could learn (mimic in a mechanical way, all the waza in the ten chi jin in less than a year. But it would take many years to do those waza with good Taijutsu . I think a lot of people judge a persons skill on what techniques someone knows. While that is important it’s not the most important. But of course just my opinion...

Today is Hatsumi Sensei's 89th birthday. In recognition of this special day, the Japanese Bujinkan Buyukai, or association of martial arts colleagues, together ...purchased a present for him. You can see some pictures below. It's an old carving depicting 'Koteki Ryoda', or a tiger and a dragon fighting. This motif is something that is deeply embedded into the history of the Bujinkan arts. The tiger is a metaphor for youth and vigour, and the dragon for age and wisdom. The tiger represents the physical, the dragon spiritual. These extremes are in eternal conflict with each other. It's interesting that Takamatsu Sensei's bugo or warrior name was Moko no Tora, or the Mongolian Tiger. Hatsumi Sensei's name, given to him by Takamatsu Sensei, is Byaku Ryu, or White Dragon. Later, when Takamatsu Sensei passed away, he added the suffix 'uoh' to his name, meaning venerable or older, so his current bugo is Byakuryuoh. That's what's written on your certificates - his given name, Hatsumi Masaaki, Soke, and Byakuryuoh. Happy Birthday Soke!

One of Japan’s top Shinto historians states in his lecture that the Togakure Ryu is the roots of all Japanese ninjutsu including Iga and Koka. He says it multi...ple times and in several talks. But here is one... at 15:35 https://sp.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm34849063 Ninpo Ichizoku!!!

FREE Woman's Self Defense Is back. We are only taking 12 participants at this time. Please RSVP Thank you!

From Don Roley: So, if you watch this closely you will hear him admit he is no longer part of the Bujinkan in Japan. He is going in his own direction without the guidance of any of the Soke, issuing his own and separate ranks and is modifying what he teaches separate from what is taught and has been taught in Japan. There is some mis-information mixed in. He does not seem to know what is going on in Japan right now. The government won’t let people in on tourist visas for a... while, but when that changes so will a lot of things. We will be able to train in Japan at the Honbu and elsewhere. Ranks of all types are being filled, though there are extreme delays due to the virus. And it looks like there will be a loose confederation that complements each instructor and supports each other. However, even before the virus locked things down, many of the shihan in Japan were questioning students who their teachers were and warning them about some associations. We can expect that to get more pronounced. If you want to train in Japan or with many who do, you need to make sure there is a link and the teachers acknowledge the authority of the Soke of the different styles. A person who teaches and gives rank in one of the schools of the Bujinkan but refuses to have anything to do with the Soke of it, well.... it is not a good thing. As you can imagine, he does put a lot of spin on things to make himself look good and hints that there are secrets he can let everyone know he knows, but can’t reveal. But the essential point that he will be going in one way, and does not concern himself how the Bujinkan of Japan does things is there if you pay very close attention. See more