The Schools of the Bujinkan
The Bujinkan is the overall name given to the study of 9 traditional ryuha (schools) that Soke Masaaki Hatsumi inherited and now teaches out of the hombu dojo in Noda, Japan. The 9 schools are:
- Togakure Ryu
- Gyokko Ryu
- Koto Ryu
- Kukishinden Ryu
- Takagi Yoshin Ryu
- Shinden Fudo Ryu
- Gikan Ryu
- Kumogakure Ryu
- Gyokushin Ryu
Whilst the schools are separate and have various specialities and emphases, the frameworks are similar and complement each other. The nine schools are not limited in scope and were intended to be used to convey principles of combat including distance, timing, direction, balance and timing for warriors in a non-sport environment.
The Art
The schools of the Bujinkan incorporate various components of fighting in a traditional Japanese system. In this way – the training is not limited to a certain type of skill and incorporates strikes, kicks, throws, chokes, locks and holds, as well as numerous weapons such as sword, short and long staff, chain and sickle, throwing weapons, knife and rope.
In Japan, the training is conducted very openly with an emphasis on henka or the ability to adapt and change. For this reason, there is a lot of freedom within the Bujinkan curriculum. Different instructors therefore find different areas for focus and the depth of knowledge in the Bujinkan is very vast, with depth in many different directions.
Shoshin Dojo
Shoshin (初心) is a key concept in Zen Buddhism and Budo/Warrior Arts and means the “Beginners Mind”. It refers to an openness and eagerness to learn even at an advanced level.
At Shoshin Dojo, our focus is on refinement of the simple principles of movement and their relation to combat. Training is conducted in a learning environment between students with the aim of not only learning how to protect yourself but gaining a better understanding of movement, yourself and your connection to the world around you.
