Bujinkan Santa Monica

Safecast Office window, Shibuya, Tokyo. Photo by Michael Glenn My friend Sean Bonner , a long time Bujinkan student, is organizing the Safecast 3 year Anniversary on March 15-16 in Tokyo . He asked me to extend an invitation to any Bujinkan members who live in Japan, or who will be in Japan on those dates. Safecast is a volunteer organization started a week after the 3/11 earthquake and resulting tsunami that caused the meltdown at the Fukushima power plant. Since there was a absence of reliable information for residents of Japan that really needed it, Safecast began, "working to empower people with data, primarily by mapping radiation levels and building a sensor network, enabling people to both contribute and freely use the data collected. After the 3/11 earthquake and resulting nuclear situation at Fukushima Diachi it became clear that people wanted more data than what was available. Through joint efforts with partners such as International Medcom, Keio University,...

Michael Glenn and Chris Chilton Ever since I started this blog in 2009, or launched my Rojodojo website for my Bujinkan videos , or even writing to my private Bujinkan email list , people from all over the world have connected with me. This is always something I loved about our art. It is truly international and one big family. This week I was lucky to meet Police Officer Chris Chilton from Columbus, OH. He had originally connected with me more than a year ago. And now he decided to take a break from the cold and snow in Ohio to come train with me in person. I don't think the fact that we have 70 degree temperatures and a beach down the street had anything to do with it. I convinced him to speak a little about some of his experiences this last week. He was very kind to share his perspective: http://youtu.be/iykmPki5kO8 I had a great time meeting him and sharing lessons I've studied with Hatsumi Sensei. He got along wonderfully with everyone in my classes. And I ...

電柱 Denchuu in front of Bujinkan Hombu. photo by Michael Glenn Hatsumi Sensei spent all class trying to teach us muto dori. This is not unusual. He mentions muto dori in almost every class. He has been doing so for years. It makes sense, if you are not there when the attack arrives, then you have successfully defended yourself. We were lucky tonight. Soke was teaching us how to use our legs and footwork for muto dori. People sometimes think Hatsumi Sensei is talking about psychology, or he is using metaphor to talk about esoteric ideas about disappearing or being invisible. Well right now he just wanted us to move our feet, dammit! But move them in a special way. He said to step "浮舟のごとし"  ukifune no gotoshi. This means to step like you are stepping onto a floating boat or pontoon. How does one step from the stable dock onto a boat? If it is a small boat, raft, or canoe… you step carefully. Any big or unbalanced movements will rock the boat or tip it over. If you are in a f...

Michael's Broken 鞘 Saya, photo by Lisa Peters Here is an excerpt from my training notes I send every week to subscribers. I thought more people should read about this, so > subscribe here < or keep reading: Tonight my class focus was 鯉口の切り方 Koiguchi no kirikata. This is "cutting the carp's mouth," or freeing your sword from the "mouth" of the saya. There are many great techniques to do this. But sadly, most sword schools obsess on only one or two. Tonight I showed 8 methods. This opens the door for infinite secrets. I used the kata 撥倒 Hatto to give us focus as we practice this iai. First the opponent cuts while my sword is still sheathed. Here I am at an immediate disadvantage. To begin to address this we need the fundamentals of iai. The first two I shared were 外切り sotogiri and 内切り uchigiri. These are very common. You probably have already studied these. The first has the thumb on the tsuba as you push forward the break the seal. The second has ...

御神籤 omikuji, 道祖神社 (Doso jinja) Katsushika, photo by Michael Glenn One day you learn there are no Bujinkan ranks … only people you can choose to invest in. We form many relationships in this world: Family; friends; coworkers; parole officer; guy who works at the sandwich shop… It's obvious not all of them have the same value. One thing I really love about the Bujinkan, is that it is possible to develop some of the most meaningful relationships of life with people you meet in training. I have made lifelong friends. I have seen others do so. I have watched people date and get married after meeting in training. I have witnessed children start training at a young age and grow up to become amazing adults with an entire Bujinkan dojo looking out for them. I have also lost friends who have died. I have my own personal way of honoring their life in my training. But the whole art is richer for the life they shared with us. And many of us feel this deep in our hearts when we bow in for ea...

sky pots, at 赤門勝専寺浄土宗 photo by Michael Glenn There are mysterious and strange surprises when studying the Bujinkan and what it means to be ninja. But the deeper you go, the more you find it is all connected. The mysterious evolves from the not so mysterious. Like kihon. Let's consider the kihon of muto dori. On its surface, it seems simple. Evade when the sword cuts. But this is reasoning from analogy. You know that when you don't move you will get hit or cut, because that has happened in the past or in other situations. But what is so amazing about the teaching Hatsumi Sensei has shared with us, is that we don't reason from analogy. We don't do things because that is the way they've always been done before. That produces a dead and lifeless art. Hatsumi Sensei has written kihon as 奇翻, which suggests an odd turn, or a tricky mind with wondrous power. So, maybe we should reason from first principles instead. So again, with muto dori, what is the first pri...

Hidden Convenience, Kashiwa. photo by Michael Glenn I saw the way Hatsumi Sensei hit the guy in the neck. But his victim fell down like he had been shot. I tried the technique with my training partner. Not the same result. People sometimes ask, when do we study Ninjutsu? I answer, every class. Here is one of the lessons of the Bujinkan. There is more to it than what you can see. This makes it hard to study unless you experience it in person with a qualified instructor. Even then, you will miss most of it. What is happening underneath the surface techniques are what Soke calls 小さな chiisana henka  and 見えない mienai henka. These are small, hidden changes where the real art comes alive. You won't find them in technique descriptions or even in the densho. These are best taught through kuden or even better through 以心伝心. This is why the same kata done by different instructors can appear so completely different. It is also what allows you to win no matter what your opponent d...