![]() There are many Bujinkan branches in such places as the United States and Europe a total of 33 different countries. He has been invited to the FBI, CIA, and the LAPD to teach. Hatsumi sensei is very well known in many countries other than Japan. Is it because the word "ninja" is something very traditional and exotic about the Japanese culture that attracts foreigners? Hatsumi Sensei replies, "I think that it may be that non-Japanese people have a purer appreciation to learn what is truly high quality." However, we could not stop wondering why there are so many foreigners studying Bujinkan Budo. At times it is said that there are up to three or four people translating what Hatsumi Sensei is saying (in Spanish, French, and English). Therefore, students who are fluent in Japanese take turns translating while Hatsumi Sensei is teaching. However, it is quite difficult to understand everything that Hatsumi Sensei is saying in Japanese. "I encourage all my students to study Japanese, for there are many terms in budo that cannot be explained in other languages," says Hatsumi Sensei. The nationalities of the foreign students are quite diverse, as are their backgrounds they range anywhere from the navy, secret police agents, to college professors. Even though many of the people there are well-built and tall, it is surprising how quiet they are the only sound that you can hear is the sound of dogi being rubbed against the tatami floor. They roll around in a way so that it does not hurt them, while making it not as loud as compared to other martial arts. Compared to judo and karate, there are no loud vocal sounds made and even when they are doing the "ukemi". When Hatsumi Sensei says, "Go play", the students usually form a pair and practice the waza on each other. All of the student's expressions are very serious and both the Japanese and the foreigners are well-mannered and disciplined. Hatsumi Sensei will say everything in Japanese and then it will be followed by an English translation, "you have to make them flow up, using the weight shift of your body." The American student who is there usually volunteers to translate. Surrounded by students that are easily over 6 feet tall, Hatsumi Sensei teaches the waza one after the other. There was one female.Because it was the beginning of the new year, there were not that many students as normally, when about 60 students usually train here. In a large room with tatami floor, there were 32 students (more then 70% being foreigners mostly in their 20's and 30's) all wearing black dogi. Honestly, because of what he had told us over the phone about not knowing the number of students in his dojo, we were a bit skeptical does he have deshi that study under him -or does he not? However, when we stepped into the Tokyo Budokan in Adachi-ku where the weekly training takes place, we were taken by surprise. Within the schools there are ones that have been passed along from the Kamakura period, making him a real"ninja" of our time. Hatsumi has trained and mastered many fields including Togakure Ryu Ninpo, Kumogakure Ryu Ninpo, and 7 other schools,making him a master of 9 different schools. Hatsumi started the dojo over 40 years ago. The Bujinkan Dojo teaches traditional Japanese kobujutsu and Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi (69) is the "soke" of Bujinkan Dojo. Heart, Spirit, and Sword coming together as one comprise the roots of budo.ĭr. It will be there if you stop searching and assume that is no longer there. If you think that something is there it is not. One should appreciate its existence with a deeper understanding. ![]() It is like the creation of fire when rock and metal (flint and steel) come together.Įven if you are an 8th dan expert, it proves nothing. One should not seek victory - it should be natural. Providing the situation that would make the enemy naturally think that they will win is the most dangerous for them. True victory exists for the enemy and not yourself. Without the proper heart one will be ill informed if his reasoning is incorrect. If your heart is not pure, no matter how hard one tries, he will not improve. If that is so, then art originates from the heart. It is artful fora person to use waza (technique). Studying the way (reason) of striking is kenjutsu, and simply knowing how and what to do is called firewood chopping. If one was to say that in budo there is the use of the sword, even though it can be said that there are techniques of striking, if you leave it up to the eye, thehand, and strength then one would have to say that chopping firewood is also bujutsu. When one speaks on a grand scale, the purpose of budo is to protect one's country, and on a smaller scale it is a path in which to protect its citizens and oneself.
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