Bujinkan Santa Monica

I began this day by catching a train to the Bujinkan Honbu Dojo for a class with Furuta Sensei. In the past few years I’ve been able to train with him quite a bit. And each class gives me a little more insight into the gokui of 雲隠流 Kumogakure Ryū and Ninjutsu. Furuta Sensei began class using 乱勝 Ranshō as a springboard to explore many ideas. He would use a dramatic drop or lean in his body to evade and upset his opponent’s balance. He also shifts this way to hide within the opponent’s movement. When he called me to be his uke, he blocked my attack, but the way he held his other hand gave me the impression that I could attack again. Then Furuta Sensei encouraged me to hit him. I said, “are you sure?” But this was intentional because he was baiting me. So when I went for it, I fell into the space as he hit me with an unseen strike. He used this same feeling to access hidden weapons. If you’ve trained with Furuta, you know he always has a couple of knives on him. One mo...

I woke up on the day before Hatsumi Sensei’s birthday party and cranked open the window to find another spring day in December. The weather feels like it is trying to confuse the trees to bloom early. I arrived in Japan over packed with jackets and sweaters, but I end up walking around Tokyo in my t shirt.  This Japan report is summarized from the FULL video available on Rojodojo . During my preparations for the party tomorrow I was thinking about a class with Hatsumi Sensei a few years back. It was on the day when Soke awarded the Daishihan to 筒井巧 Tsutsui Takumi. During the training Hatsumi Sensei told us that he wasn’t teaching, he was just giving examples. Even so, we cannot steal his technique. Soke went on to say that artists must create works that can’t be untangled or stolen. You must create unique or original work that can’t be understood only on a superficial level. This kind of work is unique to you and your spirit. Hatsumi Sensei’s taijutsu or budō is like this...

Empty Mind photo by DerrickT How do you know where to strike? This is a question I often hear from students. It seems like it should be obvious. And sometimes it is. Strike where you find an opening… or where it will do the most damage. But as simple as that sounds, it is not easy to find those spots. Many of us have had the experience of watching Hatsumi Sensei strike someone at a particular spot or kyūsho and the strike causes a dramatic effect in his uke's body. It sends the guy flying, or he is writhing in pain. Then we try to hit the same spot on our uke, and nothing happens. Even if Sensei told us what kyūsho he was striking. This is frustrating indeed. Some people blame their Uke for resisting. Or they think, if I "really" hit him with damaging force he would react. Sometimes people just shrug and say that of course Hatsumi Sensei does it better because he has way more experience. And while that is true, shrugging it off doesn't help us understand what...

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...