Budo Taijutsu
The Bujinkan is a
collection of nine schools (ryu) of samurai era Japanese
martial arts headed by Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi of Noda City, Japan.
These arts span all of the classic Japanese martial skills,including:
striking and kicking; grappling and throwing; and effective use of
edged (tanto/knife, katana/sword,
yari/spear, etc.), impact (staff,
cane), and flexible (rope, chain and specialized ninja tools such as
kyoketse shoge) weapons.
Taijutsu (lit. the art of using the body), which forms the basis of training,
emphasizes relaxed, natural body movement. Attacks are not directly
resisted and the opponent is always kept off balance, making these arts
ideal for persons facing larger, stronger assailants. Training is
supportive and noncompetitive. Both beginners
and advanced practitioners are able to work together studying the same
waza or technique, each working at their own level.
Instruction is by qualified black belt instructors, usually 5th
degree or higher who visit the Hombu Dojo in Japan each year in order to update their
training in this evolving combat art. Additionally, guest
instructors, some who have lived in Japan for many years, are invited
to conduct periodic weekend seminars.
