Bujinkan Santa Monica

Learning is an interesting thing.  In every field of human knowledge, when you understand something, more questions arise.  The closer you look at any subject the more mysteries you find. In the Bujinkan this process becomes obvious the more you explore.  Usually someone's training goes a little like this: Beginner up to Shodan: Basics.  Just learning where to put your feet and hands.  Basic ukemi, taijutsu and weapons.  This time feels very productive because everything is new and every class is filled with new facts you can get a handle on.  Sometimes there are glimpses of more mysterious aspects of the Bujinkan. Shodan to Godan: More basics.  But also serious study of the ryuha that make up the Bujinkan.  A focus on weapons.  And more advanced concepts of strategy as it connects with distancing, timing and angling.  During this time, the student may begin to encounter contradictions and things that are inexplicable in the t...

One of my students had a question the other night.  The answer to the question may make a big difference in his life.  But it requires dropping preconceptions.  Finding the appropriate kokoro no maai. His question had to do with an idea from Hatsumi Sensei.  The idea is that you should become zero.  Don't be a target.  Erase yourself.  That way anyone who seeks to do harm will not find a target to land their ill intent. His question of me, was how to do this?  And he meant in a practical way.  Because he had sharks circling in his life.  Ready to bloody the water at any moment.  My answer to him came from my own experiences. 間合い I said one way to not be a target was to not be there when something bad happens.  This is a deep idea.  The strategies to achieve it include not hanging around a troubled area or with troubled people.  If you spend your time with people who are in conflict or who seek conflict, you wi...

Last night in class we addressed a common problem.  Many students practice unarmed taijutsu and they more or less are able accomplish the technique.  Maybe not do exactly what the teacher demonstrated, but reproduce a reasonable version that arises from their own taijutsu.  This is good.  This is how the Bujinkan is set up.  Each person's taijutsu is unique to them and should not look like a picture, video, or a mimed version of their teacher.  One problem that arises is when a weapon is put into the mix. When a weapon is introduced, students get very attached to using it, or, conversely, they can't use it at all.  Moving naturally and using the weapon fluidly during the technique is a goal that many miss.  The weapon is an inanimate object.  With no attachment to being useful or even who wields it.  The same way one makes use of the earth, or the wind is how a weapon should be considered. But something more.  Beyond common sens...

How does kyojitsu connect to this years theme of rokkon shoujou ?  I was in a class at the Hombu dojo where Soke said something very curious that may provide a clue: Hatsumi Sensei spoke about not presenting strength, but rather weakness or friendliness. He said in this way you wouldn't be a target or present a target. He said sometimes lies and deception were necessary and that he doesn't get angry when someone uses them on him.  That he respects that they are practicing their Budo. It's a happier way to go through life if you don't get upset over stuff like that. 虎 Remember kyojitsu is an interchange of truth and falsehood.  So you can present friendliness and be ready to be a true friend, but the smile you present is that of purring tiger.  Relaxed yet powerful.  Content and dangerous. Year of the tiger baby!

A well known quote from Sensei: "Gambatte" or "Keep Going. " Simple.  Two words.  So why does it mean so much?  Why is it so hard to do?  And what does he mean exactly? Soke wrote: Forget your sadness, anger, grudges and hatred. Let them pass like smoke caught in a breeze. You should not deviate from the path of righteousness; you should lead a life worthy of a man. Don't be possessed by greed, luxury, or your ego. You should accept sorrows, sadness and hatred as they are, and consider them a chance for trial given to you by the powers... a blessing given by nature. Have both your mind and your time fully engaged in budo, and have your mind deeply set on bujutsu.     Adapted from Tetsuzan, Hatsumi Sensei's original newsletter in English.     © Tetsuzan & Bujinkan International がんばって There is the idea in Japanese culture of Musha Shugyo.   It is a warriors quest.  But also a life quest.  In order to d...

One day at Hombu, after doing a miraculous technique that seemed require impossible coincidence, Hatsumi Sensei said, You have to be the type of person that lucky things happen to. Really.  On reflection, I felt lucky to have heard him say that.  But that was several years ago, and the idea has stayed with me.  There seem to be many layers to that idea,  And I have heard Soke mention variations on it since. Usually the way people speak that idea in English is, "you've got to get lucky."  Or, "hope I get lucky!"  As if luck is something that just happens to you.  Hatsumi Sensei's version seems to suggest that luck is a product of the type of person you are, or maybe an aspect of your heart or spirit. One of the reasons that phrase resonated with me is that I have had many "unlucky" moments in my life.  Moments where I just cannot fathom the depths of my misfortune.  I won't bore you with the details, but Soke's statement seemed to su...

In the Bujinkan we have a large amount of weapons. You can just look at the walls of the Hombu dojo or visit Hatsumi Sensei's house to witness an armory that would rival anything the Quartermaster in the James Bond movies would stock. And as Hatsumi Sensei often says, anything can be a weapon. I once watched him use a bag of walnuts from the market against an attacker! Even with our exotic Ninja weaponry, sometimes the most advanced is the most simple. Something as simple as a rope or chain can be the most challenging to learn. I have seen very skilled martial artists fumble around like a kid tying a shoe when you put a rope in their hands. Flexible weapons are naturally unruly and difficult to control. And that also is their main advantage. A good weapon to learn is kusari fundo or short cord (for safe training). The kusari fundo is a chain around 46 to 76 cm in length and weighted at both ends. It looks so simple lying there. It is easy to transport. And vari...