Bujinkan Santa Monica

I got up early for a long train ride to 石神井城跡 Shakujiijō ato. I wanted to investigate the ruins of Shakujii castle. This also gave me some time for reflection on my training here in Japan and to add more detail to my training notes. My view on train ride to 石神井城跡 Shakujiijō ato, photo by Michael Glenn Last night in Furuta Sensei’s class we were training in the old middle school gymnasium. He warmed us up with a bunch of ukemi practice. I was doing ok until he went into the standing forward breakfalls. For some reason after about ten of these, fatigue got the best of me. Maybe all of the classes are catching up to me. After that he went into basic 捕手基本型 Torite Kihon Gata. We did 表逆 Omote Gyaku and 裏逆 Ura Gyaku. He had a particular focus on the line of entry to affect balance. Furuta Sensei evolved the technique from there to do 輦輿 Ren’yo. He kept saying 斯う入る kō hairu, or enter like this. He really emphasized the 雲隠流 Kumogakure Ryū way of entering to set up the technique. Next...

Michael in Leandro Erlich's "The Classroom" at 森美術館, photo Michael Glenn I probably prepare more than most Bujinkan teachers. In fact, I spend 1-2 hours before every training session setting my lesson plan. But when Hatsumi Sensei made me a Daishihan, my prep changed. I had 5 steps before there were two big changes. Step one was easy for me, but step seven I didn’t even know about until recently. Let’s talk about the easy change first.  One: It starts with a Bujinkan theme As you know, Soke used to set yearly themes for the whole Bujinkan to follow. This made it easy to decide what to study every class. For example, If the theme was Gyokko Ryū, we could study the techniques and strategies from that school. But one Fall night in 2017 I showed up to the Bujinkan Honbu Dojo in Japan and change was in the air. Hatsumi Sensei’s wife was ill and Soke had made the difficult choice to move her into a care facility. He sat in front of the Kamidana and said a private prayer at his ...

What can you learn from the Rojodojo membership program? or, Why start an online membership? I have been training all of my life. Started in 1985. Around that same time, I also got into film and video production. So when I began teaching Bujinkan and started my own dojo, It seemed like a natural thing to make training videos. I assumed I would put them out as DVDs. I even made some with chapters, extras (remember those?) and gave them out. But, this was the era of Netflix and streaming video. Many people were abandoning DVDs and VHS was already a dinosaur. Then my next thought was how can I stream these training videos? I put a few on youtube, a few on amazon, and I quickly realized it was a full time job. Between the teaching of classes, the video production, post production, streaming setup… And the equipment wasn’t free either. I knew I had a few friends from my mailing list and from social media who might be interested. So I set up the streaming on my new website Rojodojo.com and I...

Real or fake kick? The other night in my dojo we were practicing fake kicks during the kata 指拍 Shihaku. It is a challenge to practice a fake kick. Here I will give you a method to make your fakes seem real. How do you trick someone into believing something that isn’t real? You act as if it is real. Or even better, make it real. This is how I often explain kyojitsu to my students. 虚 kyo means fake, and 実 jitsu means reality. For kyojitsu to work it has to be both real and fake at the same time. Shihaku has a kick that is kyojitsu. But remember kyojitsu only works if it can be either 虚 kyo or 実 jitsu. Too many people only practice the kyo part of kyojitsu.  Their fake fails because no one would fall for it. So it must be real. Just not necessarily delivered. This means that if the opponent doesn’t react to your fake, then make it real. And you kick him hard! If he’s not buying what you’re selling, then kick his ass with it. So when does does the fake become real? Where does that chan...

Bujinkan Honbu Masks, photo from same day by Michael Glenn Tonight in my class we studied 夢落 yume otoshi. The last time I did this in Japan, Hatsumi Sensei gave us some insights that I want to share with you. He began by telling us 空間で嚮導 Kūkan de kyōdō, or lead the opponent in the kukan. That was when I should have changed into a new gi. Because it was like a new life for an old ninja. I had a breakthrough for my understanding of taijutsu. But my day leading up to that experience gave no warning it would be special. I trained for about 6 weeks in Japan every year. So not every day could be amazing. This particular Friday was cold, wet, and boring. I had only errands to keep me entertained before Hatsumi Sensei’s class . Even my lunch was uninspired. I hunkered down at the low budget family restaurant, Saizeriya in Nagareyama. I only wanted to get out of the cold rain for a bit and work on my training notes in a quiet booth. Christmas music was already playing, but the holiday decor was...

五條天神社で、お焚き上げ otakiage preparations at Gojoten jinja. photo Michael Glenn Happy new year! This year makes more than 35 years in the Bujinkan for me. I am humbled by the many gifts training has given me during all these years. But I still feel excited for what the future holds.  Our 初稽古 Hatsugeiko, or the first training of the new year, was a bit different this year. For one, we actually trained on January 1, 2022. This is a holiday for most people, but many of us choose the dojo for holidays anyway! I know many of you have used your vacation time to train in Japan.  And second, I have reached that point in life where many important teachers and students that I trained with are no longer training at all. Some have died, some have quit training. Either way, I made my hatsugeiko in their honor.  For our first training of the year, I put a strong focus on kihon. It was cold, so I didn’t have to convince anyone to warm up. We all trained hard and got sweaty.  We warmed up ...

Michael Glenn Strikes Emptiness Last night in my class one student said, “This is pretty basic.” I did a double take and said, “Really? You think so?” I told him that the kata was more advanced than it appeared. We were studying 一文字 Ichimonji. This is a 無刀捕 mutōdori kata from 高木揚心流 Takagi Yoshin Ryū. And it does look simple. But mutōdori has so many levels. One morning when Hatsumi Sensei taught this kata he said,  You make him cut the air. This is mutōdori, like he’s practicing by himself and striking emptiness. The question I posed to my students last night was, “How?” How do you get your opponent, ostensibly a competent swordsman, to just cut the air and miss you completely? As an answer, I gave them three insights into advanced mutōdori that I received from Soke. If you are interested, I share these kind of tips for anyone who joins my mailing list, which you can do here: eepurl.com/d0w_r First, give the enemy what he wants. He is seeking violence and destruction. Let him have...

Mt Fuji all the way from Kashiwa, photo by Michael Glenn Hatsumi Sensei surprises me with his teaching. The night before I left for Japan, we studied 忍者刀 Ninjatō in my own dojo. Then, on Friday night in Soke’s class at the Bujinkan Honbu Dojo, he taught one of the secrets of this weapon. I try to prepare for these lessons, yet I am still surprised. I suppose the only way is to always be ready. This is the ukemi of being Hatsumi Sensei’s student. I landed at Narita Airport around 5pm local time. My normal plan is to run through immigration and customs as fast as Japanese bureaucracy will allow. Then catch a two hour train ride straight to Hatsumi Sensei’s class. One hour into the train ride I began to lose my motivation. Warm trains make me sleepy. That, and the 20 hours of travel that wasn’t over yet. I stood up to shake off the tired. It was already dark out, and the train cabin was reflected back to us in the window. I leaned my head against the door to watch the lights p...

Hidden Alcove at 戸定邸 Tojō-tei. photo by Michael Glenn Within the 九法の力 Kyū-hō no chikara, or the power of the 9 methods, there is a kuji that holds the 秘技 higi or secret technique to overcoming a hundred enemies: 「護攻虚変争精神不動」GoKoKyoHenSeiShinFudo This kuji, or gokui, repels any method of capture or defeat. You protect yourself by changing the attack itself with an immovable spirit. This is the time to do or die. You are prepared for death, but you’d rather do the enemy in. How do you do instead of die? In that single moment of life and death you remain unmoved in the middle. That middle place is the key to ninjutsu . On a very hot day in June, I learned about this. The air was loud with the harmonic drone of 蝉 semi (cicadas). But we were training anyway. Hatsumi Sensei told us to train in accordance with the temperature. Two opponents attacked and Soke slipped behind the first attacker. He did this while trapping the second guy in his own attack. Then Hatsumi asked the uke...

山田 記央 photo by Michael Glenn It was the normal chaos at the Bujinkan Honbu dojo. The training had just ended, and everyone rushed to get their photos with Hatsumi Sensei. I rushed to my notebook. I did this because Soke finished the class with a huge surprise for his teaching of 無刀捕 mutōdori. He showed us 空間を作る kūkan o tsukuru, or how to create space. So I scribbled a note about the hidden location for this opening before that secret disappeared into the night. Earlier that day, I had gone into Tokyo to visit Norio Yamada-san. He makes 江戸手描提灯 Edo Tegaki Chōchin, Edo style hand painted paper lanterns. He called to say my order was ready to pick up. It never occurred to me that there could be a connection to Soke’s teaching later that night. Hatsumi Sensei said, “You’re not evading, 空間  浮かす Kūkan ukasu, you’re floating the opponent in the space.” If you’ve ever held one of these paper lanterns, they feel like you’ve caught light and air itself as it glows softly in the ...

when it rains in HK, photo by rocksee I read a curious poem this morning in a story from Saigyō. The Japanese poet Saigyō (1118-1190) was a Buddhist monk and lived most of his life as a traveling mendicant and hermit. His poems often relate the tension he felt between renunciatory Buddhist ideals and his love of natural beauty. In the story I read this morning, he was caught in a rainstorm during his travels through Osaka. He tried to take shelter at a brothel. Yet he was turned away by a prostitute. But this was no ordinary prostitute. In the legend, she was an incarnation of the Bodhisattva Fugen who symbolizes meditation and practice. Knowing this, Saigyō was frustrated that someone so enlightened would  force him back out into the rain. He wrote: How difficult I suppose,     to reject This world of ours.     And yet you begrudge me         a temporary stay. In his frustration, Saigyō could get angry at t...

Infinite Dots - elevator ceiling, Fujisawa. photo by randomidea You may have heard about 万変不驚 Banpen Fugyo and how it has emerged to be part of this year's theme along with Kihon Happo. This arose partially because of the earthquake and other events in Japan, but this is also how Hatsumi Sensei seems to explore every year. Soke says, "To be able to survive and live in the midst of this constant change, it is important to comprehend that which is the essence. To this end, I believe it is important to vary this theme of change every year." Maybe you have a teacher who reminds you of 万変不驚 Banpen Fugyo all the time. You get the idea of "Ten thousand changes, No surprises", but how to put it into practice? There is a poem from the 22nd Buddhist Master 摩拏羅:Manorhita, 心隨萬境轉 the mind follows the ten thousand circumstances and shifts accordingly; 轉處實能幽 It is the shifting that is truly undefined. 隨流認得性 Follow the current and recognize your nature; 無喜復無憂 No rej...

Dusk, Moon with Sunset Reflected in a Bubble. photo by arhadetruit What have you been studying for the Bujinkan yearly theme of 2011? It seems that every year we start out on a journey of exploration. At the beginning of the year our minds seek something concrete to study. And Hatsumi Sensei puts something out there for us to consider. But as the year goes on, the theme evolves so that by the end of the year it feels like something else entirely. However frustrating this may be for those of us who don't live in Japan to try to keep up, this is a very natural way of learning. And it is a lesson in itself. This year started out with Kihon Happo, but has transitioned to also include 万変不驚 Banpenfugyo and Juppo Happo. There are many ways to look at Banpen Fugyo (Infinite change, No surprise). But how do you train on this? A very simple but profound example can be found in nature when we observe the reflection of the moon. I wrote about this before in my post "Ninpo and Mu: W...

Hiding Dog - Sapporo, Japan. photo by MJ/TR (´･ω･) We have a profound strategy in the Bujinkan which often goes unnoticed. I think it is not obvious because the name creates a certain idea. Mutō Dori 無刀捕 (no sword capture). People hear that and they already have an idea in their head about dodging sword cuts. Hatsumi Sensei makes reference to this strategy not just when he is unarmed facing a sword wielding attacker, but also during unarmed taijutsu, and while using all manner of weapons. So forget the sword for a moment, and let's discover some hidden layers in Mutō Dori. First, relying on any weapon or technique is a trap. If you become an expert, your mind will get stuck there. Use your weapons or techniques with the same mindset as mutō dori. This is a natural, everyday mind. In avoiding a sword, if you think about avoiding, you will be cut. If you think about not avoiding, you get cut. You should think about nothing and when the sword cuts, naturally get out of the ...

Silent Hill, photo by Jon▲ What's with all the clapping when we bow in? One of the first strange things a new student in the Bujinkan has to do - after putting on a hood and tabi to scale the castle wall on a moonless night to sneak into the dojo - is learning and performing the bow in before class. Hopefully it only takes them a few mumbles to learn the phrase "Shikin Haramitsu Daikomyo," while they clap and bow, even as their face shows the strain of a beginner sitting in seiza. We all went through this. No matter our age or rank. For me, I remember just trying to fit in during the class. Saying nothing at first, hoping to time my claps with the rhythm of the group. I first learned about one translation of the words when I was trying to learn to pronounce them. I won't go into that now (another post maybe). But what I will say is that the bow in process turned into a habit that lost what little meaning I could give it. Many years later - maybe when I first ...

Water Sunset, Tokyo. photo by xxspecialsherylxx I don't spend a lot of time in front of a mirror. Those of your who know me may think, "that's obvious." But when I do get in front of a mirror, after I get over the shock of my appearance and really look to see what is reflected there, it makes me smile. The smile comes from a recognition of my own spirit reflected back at me. Thankfully, that is a happy reflection. In training it is said that we are polishing each other's hearts so they are clear like a mirror. If we get this natural clarity we will have 平常心 heijōshin and reflect the hearts of our training partners (or opponents) back to them. One of the songs of the gokui says, "If you possess a heart like clear water, the opponent is reflected as though in a mirror."  This state of mind is like 無念無想明鏡止水 munen muso meikyōshisui,  "Without worldly thoughts, clear and serene as a polished mirror or still water." This is very powerful...

Sugimoto-dera temple, Kamakura. photo by Flowizm I took the concept of In and Yo for granted. I had heard about this idea since I first began studying the Bujinkan in the mid '80's. But my mind always glossed over it. I was like yeah, yeah, In Yo - dark and light, yin and yang, positive negative - i get it. They are opposite but the same. Now show me that cool sword draw again! But I didn't get it.  Maybe I needed more life experience to understand. Maybe I needed a teacher who could do more than just talk about the concept but one who actually lived it. Whatever it was, I now find myself feeling like a beginner being inspired by this concept as if for the first time. One of the songs of the Gokui that Hatsumi Sensei has shared with us: "The two guardian gods take the form of In and Yo. The movement of their fists, and also the breath." Hatsumi Sensei changes the kanji to help us understand that this sacred song (seika 聖歌), can only be understood if we mak...

Purple Grid - Yokohama, Japan photo by OiMax Many of you have seen Hatsumi Sensei's purple hair. Everyone wants to know what that is about. Iro 色 (color) is a very important symbol in Japanese culture and martial arts. Let's look at that idea first, then Soke's hairstyle. In martial arts Iro 色 is something that can be observed. For example: the color of your face, color of your sword, color of your attack, color of your Kamae, etc. The opponent's attack or his desire to win is often times described as Iro. I describe hearing Sensei refer to this on my blog post, Beyond Striking and Kiai Into the Mysteries of Toate No Jutsu: I was at a Friday night class with Hatsumi Sensei in the Hombu Dojo when Soke described toate no jutsu as a kiai or projection of spirit (maybe 気迫 kihaku?). Sensei said it was like the color of your heart projecting into space. That color comes from your character or can be that which you decide to project. He said all this with his purple ha...

photo by TANAKA Juuyoh (田中十洋) When I was a young man, one of my favorite movies was "The Karate Kid." The Sensei in that movie, Mr. Miyagi, played by Pat Morita, was full of patient but stern advice for his young student, Daniel-san. In one memorable quote, he chastised Daniel for looking down, "Look eye!, always look eye!" Very good advice for self defense. But there is a lot more to be understood about the eyes in our training. And, despite my fondness for that simple time in my life when a movie meant so much to me, I will break from Miyagi Sensei to suggest you don't always look eye. There is a lot of psychology in a glance. A lot of nonverbal communication that takes place before a fight. Looking someone in the eye can be perceived as aggressive and create tension or make you a target for their anger. At the same time, the right type of look can cause the opponent to back down. Takamatsu said that truly skilled martial artists can decide a fight by ...

Paul Masse Santa Monica Training We had some great training with Paul Masse last weekend. One idea that Paul shared with us is: 強弱柔剛あるべからず　故にこの心から離れ　空という一字に悟り　 体また無しとして　之に配す Neither strong or weak, soft or hard, separate from the heart of these and enlighten yourself to the one character of nothingness. Make your body nothingness and reside therein. This comes to us from Toda Shinzaburo Masahide of the Togakure ryu. Another translation of this phrase can be found in Hatsumi Sensei's book, "The Way of the Ninja," "One should be neither strong nor weak, neither soft nor hard. Leave such thoughts behind, awaken to the Void, and make your body Null to abide by this." Paul had us exploring these ideas through 虚実 kyojitsu, 無心 mushin, and 縁 connection. Paul explained that for kyojitsu to be effective you have to sell it. He likened it to a magician performing an illusion. In order to sell it, he has to believe in it himself. In the world of magicians this is cal...