Bujinkan Happo Dojo

08/15/2026

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This is the first English translation of Masaaki Hatsumi's 1980 book Ima Ninja (いま忍者). The 34th Grandmaster of Togakure-ryū ninpō looks past swords and stealth to the ninja's real weapon: a mind trained to adapt, create, and endure.

📖 Softcover, 310 pages
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Discover the true essence of the ninja with insights from Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi, the 34th Grandmaster of Togakure ryu ninjutsu.

08/09/2026

変化拳 henkaken - changing our tsuki from shikanken to boshiken, fudōken, shakoken, shukiken, shutōken, etc.

“The way one uses the fist must not be monotonous. Some believe in relying on a single “signature” strike to be effective but what matters more is cultivating a sense of the fist’s movement as continuous flow - variation and transition, not a fixed single technique.”

08/01/2026

Onikudaki from tsuki

(wasn’t paying attention and posted the incorrect technique name before! Thanks to those who pointed that out!)

07/27/2026

Step by step is how you polish your technique.

06/26/2026

Note: The editor of the photo I have included in this post freely admitted that they removed some people from the background and it's not something they do on a regular basis. I just chose this one because it was a recent example.

Why do people insist on digitally modifying old photographs using AI simply for their own social media content? Removing people, objects or adding details and color changes the image and memory of what actually happened. Photo enhancement can recover lost detail and make images of the past more vivid but it becomes troubling when modifications cross into changing the details that weren't captured in the original. We rely on photographs as evidence of the past and when people casually modify them for engagement without transparency, they erode our faith in the photograph as an historical document.

If everyone is enhancing their old and new family photos, how do we know which memories are "real"? This matters not just personally, but collectively. It's a subtle rewriting of history. Would it be okay to add myself into a photo of the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944 and post it online with no indication that it's been doctored? Changing the photo is rewriting the memory of what actually happened; colorizing or adding fictional details is an interpretation, not a recovery.

The solution isn't to never touch a photo but to be intentional and honest about it - share the original alongside the enhanced version or note what you've changed up front.

06/01/2026

Once you have gained proficiency in the kihon (kamae, kirigata, ukegata), you study kata in order to learn both how to connect the basic movements together as well as the strategies that exist in the teachings of the tradition.

In this video, we practice the combination of two Kukishinden ryū Happōbiken kata - 四方斬 Shihōgiri and 小蝶返 Kochōgaeshi.

05/29/2026

Here's part of a recent message exchange I had with a Facebook user who had been posting many videos of themselves demonstrating what they thought were the kata of Gyokko ryū. Our conversation was very respectful. I've fleshed-out my thoughts a bit and I think some may find this interesting and useful:

"It sounds like you are really passionate about learning the art. That's great. I would question though, why open a dojo of your own if you are still learning? In order to teach, you have to know something. Of course, yes, in martial arts (as in most things) we are all still learning and (hopefully) getting better with time but when people teach without a really solid foundation, what are they actually teaching? This does a disservice to the student who thinks they are learning things of real value. Additionally, it reflects poorly on the Bujinkan when other people look at videos of "teachers" showing poorly executed techniques and think that this is how things are done."

"This is why it's so disappointing to me to see people choosing online coures and paying money to people who make promises saying that you can learn ninjutsu from them without ever meeting in person. Anyone can put together binders full of material and even make well produced videos that show techniques - all of this material is available in books and videos from Hatsumi sensei. The proof of the art is when you feel the techniques done to you by someone who has learned and has a good understanding of the basics or alternatively, when you are able to use the techniques in a real-life situation. The thing that I say over and over is that the "shape" of the technique - the thing that people first see - is not really the technique. The "knack" of the technique comes from the way the body is used to apply the technique. Trust me when I say that this is not something that can be experienced through books or videos or even just being in the same room with a real master. You have to feel it and learn through the experience."

05/19/2026

Make your strikes and kicks quick and strong. Target the kyūsho (vital point; weak point) and attack sharply. Do not just push the opponent away with the strike.

05/15/2026

We are seeing a lot of new followers of the page recently - thank you for your interest! If you've read it, I'd love to hear any comments on my translation of Hatsumi sensei's Ima Ninja book. What did you find most interesting? What could have been better?

05/12/2026

It seems that many who study the 9 ryū of the Bujinkan have not carefully listened to or read the words of Hatsumi sensei when he explained that Gyokko ryū kosshijutsu is the foundation of all martial arts. So much information has been made available to us already - read, watch, listen and then study these things along with the kihon gata (basic forms) to really learn the art.

玉虎流骨指術と虎倒流についての高松先生からの便り
昭和 36 年1月10日、鏡開きの日、高松先生がこんなことを言われた。「玉虎流骨法術の武道との関係は、というと、戸田真龍軒正光先生より教授せられた時、最後に玉虎流の骨指術起本型が虎倒流を起し、各武道の技を起した根本であると教えられた。今日、つくづく思い見るに、真実、武道の源であるらしい点を顧みらるる故に、本流より忍術をも起すことになったらしいこと故、貴(注・著者の初見をさす)は、この起本型八本を根本として門下に教授せらるべく、それまでは教えることはお控えくださるよう・・・・