ABOUT THE BUJINKAN

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Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu ('Training Hall of the Warrior God') is the name given to the collective study of nine distinct ryūha (schools) of the Samurai and Shinobi warrior dating back to feudal Japan, with the oldest of the nine schools being founded in the 12th century. These schools have continued to be developed over the years, and eventually the leadership of all nine schools passed to Sensei Takamatsu Toshitsugu (1889 - 1972) who in turn passed the leadership to our current Sōke (Grandmaster) Dr. Hatsumi Masaaki. 

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Often called ninjutsu in reference to certain of the nine schools which teach these skills, the Bujinkan is a wide ranging system of self-defence and combat employing armed and unarmed techniques and tactics in order to utilise taijutsu (body movement) to defeat opponents where those opponents may be stronger, faster, or larger in numbers than ourselves.

 

Among the myriad skills trained are:

 

• Daken Taijutsu - striking and attacking methods using body movement to enhance effective power;

• Kosshijutsu - attacking or manipulating pressure points;

• Koppojutsu - attacking the weak points in the skeletal structure;

• Jutaijutsu - grappling, locking and choking methods;

• Ninpo Taijutsu - unarmed striking and attacking methods of the Shinobi;

• Nage Waza - throwing methods;

• Taihenjutsu - methods of movement, including: leaping, rolling, climbing, aruki (walking), and falling to minimise risk of injury;

• Junan Taiso - body conditioning; and

• Weaponry - training the various weapons of Samurai including: katana (sword), tanto (knife), bo (various lengths of staff), yari (spear), etc. and the Shinobi, including: shuko (claws), fundokusari (weighted chain), kama (short sicle), kyoketsu-shoge (hooked knife and rope weapon), kunai (bladed bludgeon), and more.