Bujinkan Santa Monica

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Born to Fly: Japan Report One 令和7年

I titled this post Born to Fly because I sometimes feel like I am compelled to fly to Japan. It feels like a second home. But I also benefit from all of the wonderful Bujinkan training, friends and teachers there. This latest Japan Report video is accompanied by「Born to fly」from アキ SONGBIRD . When I arrived in Noda-shi for a class with Furuta Sensei, I noticed some changes. I walked to my quick bird watching spot in さざんか公園. And I saw the pedestrian bridge over 県道3号 was closed for repair or demolition. Also the パチンコマルキン (pachinko Marukin) is no more. Class with Furuta Sensei Furuta Sensei began with a type of 打払型 uchi harai gata. He struck the opponent in 朝霞 asagasumi. But there was a hidden, hooking finger strike down into the throat. During this exchange he focused on changing levels. He used cross steps to enter and occupy space. And the “body lean” to occupy the gaps in the opponent’s kamae. He had the attacker deliver a second punch. And Furuta Sensei ...

Ittō-ryū Extra: Japan Report Twelve 令和6年

The days and nights have become cold and crisp out in Noda. The founder of Ittō-ryū was in my thoughts during my brisk walk to the Bujinkan Honbu dojo for a class with Sakasai-san. For now, I pulled my thin jacket tight around my shoulders. There were only three of us in the dojo. Ueki-san, myself, and Rich from Florida. Sakasai said it would be his last class for the year and he would resume on the 19th of January. Despite this, tonight he covered a lot of ideas with us. He began with 一文字 ichimonji, 十文字 jūmonji, and 飛鳥 hichō. But he combined them all into one response to the opponent’s attack. Then he did something similar using 五行の型 gogyō no kata. The attack was two punches, and then he adapted chi, sui, ka, fu, and ku to break the opponent down little by little. Next he used 生音 Seion to explore some very subtle angle shifts. No striking, and he did it without the 外掛け soto gake. He wanted us to throw through positioning alone. I found it very difficult because people...

Good Gasshō: Japan Report Eleven 令和6年

Before I got to Gasshō, I began my morning commuting to 菊川駅 Kikukawa station. I was on my way to visit 井上刃物 Inoue Hamono. I had some questions to ask and maybe some items to purchase. At the shop they sell Japanese woodworking tools. Their business has been around since the Meiji era. It is currently run by third and fourth generation family members 井上時夫 Inoue Tokio, and 井上真俊 Inoue Masatoshi. Some tools they sell include: 鉋 kan’na (planes); 彫刻鑿 chokoku nomi (carving chisels); 玄能 Gen’nō (hammers); 鋸 nokogiri (hand saws); and all variety of 刃物 hamono for specific use cases. They even had 尺 shaku and 寸 sun measuring squares. They also displayed a collection of cute 源氏鶴亀墨壺 genji tsurukame sumitsubo (turtle and crane ink pots). These are used like the chalk lines that I grew up using in construction to snap lines on lumber. After running some more errands, I ended up walking to 両国駅 Ryōgoku Station. I caught the train from there all the way to Nodashi. It was...

棒手裏剣 Bō Shuriken Training in Japan Report Ten 令和6年

A few Shuriken at Nagase Sensei's House I woke up early because I had to ride four different trains to go to a 棒手裏剣 Bō Shuriken training session with 菅祐寿 Kan Hirotoshi. If you haven’t met him, he is the son of Kan Sensei and has become an expert with shuriken. In fact, they were training for the 棒手裏剣競技世界大会 Bō Shuriken world championships, so I might learn something! Kan Hirotoshi interview about Bō Shuriken During the practice session, I interviewed him with some basic questions. Q: How did you get interested in shuriken? A: While doing Bujinkan practice, the shuriken is included as part of the training. Q: Why do you like shuriken so much? A: It’s the result you get. You know whether it sticks or not, that result comes out, and that teaches you something very good. Michael with 菅祐寿 Kan Hirotoshi and new Shuriken friends They were training in the basement of a building that was converted into a dojo. There were just 5 of us there but each person was working on their o...

Kyoketsu Shōge: Japan Report Nine 令和6年

I didn’t have time for any tourist stuff today because I was doing three classes in a row. I only include two of them in the video so that it can be a reasonable length. First up was Nagase Sensei and he surprised us with 距跋渉毛 Kyoketsu Shōge. I was really surprised that there were only three of us students in Nagase’s class. But he maintained a great spirit and we got to study obscure things that don’t often come up in Bujinkan training. He began with taijutsu against two punches, with a focus on control of the second punch. But then he transitioned quickly to 十手 jūtte and connected these techniques to using your tsuka for control. Nagase Sensei will check or stop the second attack. But he really is preventing any future attack. He will check the foot, check the other hand, or check the opponent’s weapon. He uses his own feet and hands to do this, but also his position. Next, he focused on 隠剣術 onken jutsu. He explained to the translator that this was 隠す剣 kakusu ken, or...

Behind the Black Gate: Japan Report Eight 令和6年

黒門 Kuromon: the Black Gate This morning I made my way into Tokyo to visit the 黒門 kuromon, or black gate. This was one of the few structures from 寛永寺 Kan’ei-ji that survived the battle of Ueno (上野戦争, Ueno Sensō). During the Boshin War (戊辰戦争, Boshin Sensō), and the gate marked the spot where the 彰義隊 Shōgitai lost a decisive battle against the Imperial troops. Today it is riddled with bullet holes and cannon scars. The Shōgitai were the last of the Tokugawa Samurai. They had swords, arrows, and spears. But they were no match for the 官軍 kangun, the Imperial army led by 西郷隆盛 Saigō Takamori, who used Snider rifles and Armstrong Cannons. 黒門の半分見へて春の雨 the Black Gate is only half visible – rain in spring 〜Kobayashi Issa, 1805 My visit to the black gate was marked by the gentle fall of Ginkgo leaves. A quiet peaceful morning helped me reflect on such a fierce battle. Maybe one of the reasons I am allowed to be here was because of this war which led to the end of the Tokugawa ...