Bujinkan Shugyō Dōjō 武神館修行道場

On distancing...

OBSERVATION: There is way too much unrealistic and sloppy Ma-Ai training out there. When you are training the Kukishin Ryu Bojutsu Kata the person with the Bo needs to have the proper distancing and angling to actually be able to reach the other person with the sword! Bo strikes for example, Ashi Barai are not done to the empty air in front of a person! They are meant to strike their leg (ankle/knee). So take a look at how you are training these Bojutsu forms. The person with a sword should have to avoid and block or actually be hit. If while holding the Bo you cannot reach the targets you are fake striking to, you are actually practicing the forms in a very poor manner. This fake training way builds up very bad habits. You also wreck the training lessons for your partner holding the sword.

You see this unrealistic way of "wrong distance fake striking" in many training videos. Many people need to go back to their Bojutsu striking basics. You have to be able to actually reach and strike your opponent's ankle, knee, mid-section, side of their head, and top of their head. Your thrust should actually feel like you punched a hole in your opponent. These are not all fake air strikes that happen in front of the opponent. Maybe people picked up this poor air fake striking habit because of how they are practicing the Bojutsu Kihon where you clash the end of your Bo together in front of each other? This is not the correct distance for the actual Kata. Don't rush the Kata and practice in such a poor manner that the only thing you are drilling into your memory is how never to beat a person and get yourself killed.

With such poor distance training you will never be able to catch the proper applications of Kyo and Jitsu in the forms. How can you make a strike to the top of their head seem and feel real if you can't even reach their head with your Bo to begin with! Your opponent has no reason to block if you can't actually reach them!

When you train the Bojutsu Kata the sword attacker must actually try and cut the person and really try and cut their targets. The same must hold true for the person with the Bo! Slow down and don't let these bad distance habits be how you train. When you practice the Kata correctly there should be a great "air pressure" between you and your opponent that is created because their is a real chance you will get hit or cut. When you practice with such unrealistic Ma-Ai nothing is created but bad habits.

Teachers should not allow their students to practice with such poor Ma-Ai. If you make no corrections and allow this to continue guess what... you are a poor teacher. Bojutsu is one of the three pillars of our Bujinkan training.

Don't fool yourself and keep your training real!
武風一貫 Bufu Ikkan!

Important Dōjō rules passed down from Toda Sensei.

道場訓 DOJO KUN (Training Hall Rules) by Toda Sensei

一、忍耐は、先ず一服の間とぞ知れ
1. Nintai wa, mazu ippuku no ma tozo shire - To know that patience comes first. Know that endurance is simply a puff of smoke.

二、人の道は、正義也と知れ
2. Hito no michi wa, seigi nari to shire - To know that the path of man comes from justice. Know that the way of men is justice.

三、大欲と楽と依怙の心を忘れよ
3. Taiyoku to raku to iko no kokoro wo wasureyo - To renounce avarice, indolence, and obstinacy. Forget the heart of greed, ease and relying on others.

四、悲しみも恨みも自然の定めと思い、唯だ不動心の悟りを得可し
4. Kanashimi mo urami mo shizen no sadame to omoi, tada fudōshin no satori wo u beshi - To recognize sadness and worry as natural, and to seek the immovable heart. One should regard both sadness and malice as natural laws, and just gain the enlightenment of an unshakable heart.

五、心常に忠孝の道を離れず、深く文武に志す可し
5. Kokoro tsune-ni chūkō no michi wo hanarezu, fukaku bunbu ni kokorozasu beshi - To not stray from the path of loyalty and brotherly love, and to delve always deeper into the heart of Budō. In your heart, never leave the ways of loyalty and filial piety, and aspire greatly for the ways of the pen and the sword.

右、五定を守ること、道場の規定なり。
Migi, gojō wo mamoru koto, dōjō no kitei nari. - Observing the 5 rules above is the law of the dōjō.

明治二十三年春正月 記 戸田真龍軒正光
Meiji-nijūsan-nen Haru-shōgatsu ki Toda Shinryūken Masamitsu
Written on New Year's Day in 1891 Toda Shinryūken Masamitsu

昭和三十三年三月吉日高松寿嗣翊翁
Shōwa-sanjūsan-nen san-gatsu kichijitsu Takamatsu Tosh*tsugu Yokuō
Lucky day in March of 1958 Takamatsu Tosh*tsugu Yokuō

伝初見良昭白龍
Den Hatsumi Masaaki Hakuryū
Transmitted by Hatsumi Masaaki (Venerable White Dragon)

SPANISH TRANSLATION:

道場訓 DOJO KUN (Reglas del Dojo) Por Toda Sensei

一、忍耐は、先ず一服の間とぞ知れ
1. Nintai wa, mazu ippuku no ma tozo shire
Saber que la paciencia es lo primero. Saber que la resistencia es simplemente un soplo de humo.

二、人の道は、正義也と知れ
2. Hito no michi wa, seigi nari to shire
Saber que el camino del ser humano proviene de la justicia. Saber que el camino de los seres humanos es la justicia.

三、大欲と楽と依怙の心を忘れよ
3. Taiyoku to raku to iko no kokoro wo wasureyo –
Renunciar a la avaricia, la indolencia y la obstinación. Olvidar el corazón de la avaricia, la comodidad y el confiar en otros.

四、悲しみも恨みも自然の定めと思い、唯だ不動心の悟りを得可し
4. Kanashimi mo urami mo shizen no sadame to omoi, tada fudōshin no satori wo u beshi
Reconocer la tristeza y la preocupación como algo natural, y buscar el corazón inmutable. Uno debería recordar la tristeza y la malicia como leyes naturales, y obtener la iluminación que procede de un corazón inquebrantable.

五、心常に忠孝の道を離れず、深く文武に志す可し
5. Kokoro tsune-ni chūkō no michi wo hanarezu, fukaku bunbu ni kokorozasu beshi
No te desvíes del camino de la lealtad y del amor fraternal, y ahonda siempre más profundamente en el corazón del Budo. En tu corazón nunca dejes los caminos de la lealtad y piedad filial, y aspira extremadamente a los caminos de la pluma y la espada.

右、五定を守ること、道場の規定なり。
Migi, gojō wo mamoru koto, dōjō no kitei nari.
Las cinco normas anteriores son las Reglas del Dojo.

明治二十三年春正月 記 戸田真龍軒正光
Meiji-nijūsan-nen Haru-shōgatsu ki Toda Shinryūken Masamitsu
Escrito el día de Año Nuevo de 1891 Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu.

昭和三十三年三月吉日高松寿嗣翊翁
Shōwa-sanjūsan-nen san-gatsu kichijitsu Takamatsu Tosh*tsugu Yokuō
Día afortunado de Marzo de 1958 Takamatsu Tosh*tsugu Yokuô

伝初見良昭白龍
Den Hatsumi Masaaki Hakuryū
Transmitido por Hatsumi Masaaki (Venerable Dragón Blanco)

SLOVAK TRANSLATION:

Dojo Kun 道場訓 Pravidla Dojo od Tody Senseia

一、忍耐は、先ず一服の間とぞ知れ
1) Nintai Wa, Mazu Ippuku No Ma Tozo Shire
1) Vedieť, že na prvom mieste je trpezlivosť. Vedieť, že vytrvalosť je len obláčik dymu.

二、人の道は、正義也と知れ
2) Hito No Michi Wa, Seigi Nari To Shire
2) Vedieť, že cesta človeka vychádza zo spravodlivosti. Vedieť, že cestou ľudí je spravodlivosť.

三、大欲と楽と依怙の心を忘れよ
3) Taiyoku To Raku To Iko No Kokoro Wo Wasureyo
3) Zrieknuť sa chamtivosti, lenivosti a zaťatosti (tvrdohlavosti). Zabudnúť na srdce plné chamtivosti, na pohodlnosť a spoliehania sa na iných.

四、悲しみも恨みも自然の定めと思い、唯だ不動心の悟りを得可し
4) Kanashimi Mo Urami Mo Shizen No Sadame To Omoi, Tada Fudoshin No Satori Wo U Beshi
4) Uvedomiť si, že smútok a starosti sú prirodzené, a hľadať neochvejné srdce. Človek by mal zármutok i zášť vnímať ako prírodné zákony a získať osvietenie prostredníctvom neochvejného srdca.

五、心常に忠孝の道を離れず、深く文武に志す可し
5) Kokoro Tsune-ni Chuko No Michi Wo Hanarezu, Fukaku Bunbu Ni Kokorozasu Beshi
5) Neodchýliť sa od cesty vernosti a bratskej lásky a ponárať sa neustále hlbšie do srdca Budo. Vo svojom srdci nikdy neopustiť cestu lojality a synovskej úcty a silno usilovať o cestu pera a meča.

右、五定を守ること、道場の規定なり。
Migi, Gojo Wo Mamoru Koto, Dojo No Kitei Nari.
Dodržovanie piatich vyššie uvedených pravidiel je zákonom Dojo.

明治二十三年春正月 記 戸田真龍軒正光
Meiji-nijusan-nen Haru-shogatsu Ki Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu
Na Nový rok 1891 zapísal Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu.

昭和三十三年三月吉日高松寿嗣翊翁
Showa-sanjusan-nen San-gatsu Kichijitsu Takamatsu Tosh*tsugu Yokuo
Šťastného marcového dňa roku 1958 Takamatsu Tosh*tsugu Yokuo

伝初見良昭白龍
Den Hatsumi Masaaki Hakuryu
Ďalej predal Hatsumi Masaaki (Ctihodný biely drak)

伝承

"As you know, Takamatsu-sensei gave me the Kukishin Ryū scrolls. He was 73 or 74 years old when he did this. He told me that when he himself received the scrolls from his own teacher, Ish*tani-sensei, he was told, 'It is too deep to be written down.' So when the scrolls were passed down to me, Takamatsu-sensei said, 'I am sorry. I am sorry that these things have to be written down in this way, but they must be preserved and there is no one else who could understand.' The things written in the scrolls are extremely difficult to understand. They would be impossible for the average person to comprehend. Although I had the scrolls, I thought about how to comprehend them for many years. I now am able to tell others that the value of all things is determined by our humanity, and that the scrolls' kotodama (spiritual language) originate from the sincere heart of humans. Only now, at nearly 70 years of age, do I understand what the words 'menkyo kaiden' mean, what the Kukishin Ryū scrolls say, and what the Kukishin Ryū teachings are. I hope that you also keep going till the end and learn to hear the kotodama."

- Hatsumi Sensei,

Quotation from 'Understand? Good. Play!' (2001/2012) by Masaaki Hatsumi & Benjamin Cole, image from Saigo no Jissen Ninja, Takamatsu Tosh*tsugu DVD (2003).

This is an incredibly important article, and completely applicable to Bujinkan if you consider the level of physical conditioning of Sōke and the Japanese shihan evidenced in their movement and longevity in training.

Fighting – and, not or – Fitness | Matt Thornton' Why has every successful military force known to man, from the ancient Greeks and Romans, to the modern CAG, Navy SEALS, and SAS, placed physical fitness as a priority?

Great post on the role and responsibilities of the senior students in a traditional Dōjō.

Being Senior In Japan Blog about Japanese martial arts, gendai and koryu budo, koryu bugei

Ninjutsu Senichiya was a series made in the 1960's, featuring Hatsumi Sensei introducing various aspects of Ninjutsu, and staring a number of his original students. A total of 19 episodes are in this playlist, including Sōke demonstrating his hand conditioning by breaking a Japanese roof tile!

Ninjutsu Senichiya 忍術千一夜 - YouTube Ninjutsu Senichiya 忍術千一夜 (The Art of Ninja in 1001 Nights) produced by Daito Pictures. 19 episodes together in one playlist . Videos of Hatsumi Sensei demons...

Wonderful photo of Sōke doing the ketsu-in from the Ge Ryaku No Maki level of Gyokko Ryū, probably from the 1960's.

Gyokko Ryū Mizu Jūji 玉虎流 水十字
To overwhelm the opponent with the feeling of a flood.
(人略反応汎溢合掌 Jinryaku Hannō Fuitsu Gasshō)

武極行雲流水 Bukyoku Gyoun Ryūsui
(Training with the feeling of drifting clouds, and flowing water)

In February 2017 there will be an exhibition of Sōke's art in the Tokyo Foreign Correspondent's Club.

To help cover the costs Steve Olsen, who was behind the masterful Dojo Art book, will be producing a series of large prints of a series of paintings by Hasumi Sensei.

Steve has worked tirelessly before, during and after the Dōjō Art book in promoting Sōke's artistic expression, and this is the latest in his tremendous efforts to share with the world Sōke's artwork.

Please consider purchasing a poster if you can, they can be shipped globally and make of an excellent collector's items and/or Christmas gifts for budōka and art lovers.

More details follow in the link below, including ordering information and other information.

www.kickstarter.com Let's make these paintings by Masaaki Hatsumi into a set of 12, professional quality prints! These prints will commemorate and help us promote his February 2017 art exhibit at The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo. These prints will be:

Sōke was teaching tonight after his brief absence the last week or so. He was in excellent form, and should be back to his regular teaching schedule henceforth.

Coming up in Athlone in just over a week!

For those interested in attending, details can be found on the Bujinkan Kage Dōjō page.

Shihan Dean Rostohar . Bujinkan Ninjutsu . Shihan Dean Rostohar . Bujinkan Ninjutsu .