Bujinkan Liverpool

The dōjō is not a place of democracy, nor is it built upon a consumer mentality of “give and take” with the teacher. The dōjō and its learning environment exist to cultivate relationships that transcend monetary transaction and superficial exchange.

Isshin Denshin 一心伝心 is the direct and personal transmission of knowledge from teacher to student. It is individual in nature, unique to each person who courageously enters the dōjō and begins the path of Shugyō 修行.

The consumer mentality has no place within the dōjō. It is not a community centre, gymnasium, sports team, or social club. The dōjō is a place where spirit and body are challenged—often in chaotic and uncomfortable ways—in order to develop deeper understanding of the self.

The teacher ( sensei ) is not a coach or just a friend. At times, he must be “cruel to be kind,” addressing what is necessary for growth in accordance with the laws of nature. Training may feel unfair or inhospitable, but this too is life. Budō is life. It is not an art designed to shelter people from hardship, but rather a path that develops the fortitude and resilience necessary to survive and overcome adversity.

Those unwilling to delve deeply into the soul will not last in the dōjō. Even if they remain, their growth may only be skin deep. The dōjō is not a place that everyone can accept. There will be blood, sweat, tears, boredom, and periods of trial.

Yet it is through the spirit of Buyū 武友 ( martial friends) that such hardships become bearable—through laughter, camaraderie, and the brotherhood formed through shared hardship of spirit and body. The tatami may appear soft, but in truth they are a stony path requiring courage to continue walking and falling upon, no matter how painful, challenging, or difficult the journey becomes.

Budō teaches us how to persevere and endure hardship more skilfully within our lives. In turn, this opens the mind and heart to experiencing and appreciating genuine happiness and love. Through hard training we come to recognise the fragility within ourselves and others, hoping to eventually cultivate a balance and morep compassion in our lives.

毎日頑張って下さい
“Keep persevering and doing your best every day.”

南虎
武神館タスマニア
徳武流水道場

"You have to enjoy the process.
If you go down this path, good things will happen."

~ Nagato 宗家

“You must prove your rank.”
宗家Nagato
( April 13th 2024 )

If you understand, you understand.
If you don’t, you don’t.
It’s quite simple.

“It is not a matter of whether the degree ranks have value or not. Any perceived value is totally subjective anyway. Value is in the mind of the beholder. What is important here is to know the facts of just how the degree licenses are given out. It is also true that the time has come for certain people to feel embarrassed if they are satisfied with certificates of rank that were based solely on the premature hopes that those persons would someday develop skills worthy of the title they carry. Many highly-skilled Bujinkan Dōjō instructors are now moving out into the world. A person may claim that he has such-and-such a rank, but I can say that even though the rank is issued under my authority, it cannot be right. After that, it is up to the individual. It is up to his own effort to succeed or fail.
I do not even think about such things as the Bujinkan Dōjō reputation being disgraced because of my actions. The whole world is our training hall, so of course when certain students stumble or fail the whole world will see the Bujinkan tempering process in operation. If critics want to call that a disgrace, there is nothing that I can do about it.”
宗家Hatsumi

In the Bujinkan, rank has never been a single-dimensional measurement. It’s not purely for technical skill and understanding, and it’s not purely symbolic - it’s contextual, relational, deeply personal and often not following conventional norms thus at times, controversial to the misunderstood.

段位は終点ではなく、問いである。
Dan-i wa shūten de wa naku, toi de aru.
“Rank is not an endpoint, but a question.”

Practitioners must come to realise that Rank is not for just one thing - it is given for many things, and not always just for what they want to believe it’s for.

Some examples:

技術の評価 (Gijutsu no hyōka)
– evaluation of technical ability
信頼の証 (Shinrai no akashi)
– a sign of trust
貢献への感謝 (Kōken e no kansha)
– gratitude for contribution
関係性の表現 (Kankeisei no hyōgen)
– expression of relationship
成長の節目 (Seichō no fushime)
– a milestone in one’s path

At times, rank is also given if a teacher falls ill, and is forced to take action quickly for the sake of the Ryûha and lineage’s continuance.

Because of this, no two people with the same rank have necessarily arrived there for the same reasons, but often through very different “currents” along the same river.

Please think well.

南虎