Now it is less than a week until the Ninpo/Ninjutsu Seminar with Dean Rostohar. Here is some updates and news…
Dean is coming on Friday already, but we have no extra training planned. Dean is also bringing some of his top students with him this time, so I’m sure they will also help him with the teaching. This will be an exciting seminar, he will teach lot’s of stuff we usually don’t see in the trainings in a regular Bujinkan Dojo.
Place: We booked the dojo. We will be in Kaigozan Dojo on Sveavägen 130 in Stockholm city (here is the map).
Saturday training: We open the dojo after 10:00, the training start at 11:00 and finish at 18:00 with a longer lunch break.
Saturday evening: As usual we want everyone to join us for dinner at a local restaurant, if you don’t hear about this by e-mail we will inform you about it Saturday morning.
Sunday training: we start at 11:00 and finish around 15:00. We do not have a longer lunchbreak, so prepare yourself with something to eat during the short breaks.
Late people: if you haven’t signed up for the seminar do so immediately, or look at the web site first to see if there is places left before you come.
Seminar fee: One day training is 500 SEK, for both days 850 SEK. We suggest that you sign up and pay early next time to get the discount!
Seminar DVD: We will film this seminar and you can pre order the DVD for 200 SEK ( we will send it to your address when it is done) at the seminar, or you can buy it at the KGZ Budo Shop later… https://www.budoshop.se/store/
I had this on my old blog. I was reminded when I watched a video and realized that maybe the way I do it comes from Judo. So instead of explaining I uploaded the pictures and you can watch the video I found at the bottom of this post.
Bring it around the body, and make sure it is not crossed on the back (not shown).
On the video below, he tuck in the other end first, it doesn’t matter which one goes first.
I haven’t had time to check it the latest weeks. I was recommended the first oen on Facebook, and I searched for more.
Moti is a Good instructor from Israel.
The German Buyukai
Edit: Missed this one from Bujinkan Czech Republic
Actually I couldn’t find anything else good the past three months or so. I avoided the guy who always use CAPS (seems kinda desperate if you ask me). Seems like it is only “non Bujinkan clubs” tagged as Bujinkan at youtube, are they so desperately wanting attention or what :-D, you be the judge of that. …
In the previous tutorial I explained my way of moving the feets when I do the basic jodan-ukemi, so I thought I also show how I attack (still only footwork!).
In Kihon-happo we attack straight to the face with a jodan-tsuki (in basic it should be a shikan-ken), so I will explain from this point of view. If he has a good ichimonji no kamae, he point his arm straight to my center which makes it more difficult. If his front arm is pointing to the side (like Gyokko-ryu), I would try to step on his foot while entering. But he is too clever for that, so he force me to move around his left arm. Going to the inside is not good so I will attack him from his outside.
I keep both knees bent, with the weight a little more on the rear right leg. I keep the spine straight and relaxed. I should be able to jump or push the body in any direction with the left or right foot. When I move in to strike, I want to be as quick as possible without making any signs before I explode forward in to the opponent.
The distance to the opponent decides how big the first step with the left foot should be.
I lift the left foot and quickly push the body forward with the rear right leg. I turn my left knee to the left in the same direction as the left foot is pointing (see the picture). There is no strange angles in the knee, I put the left side of the left foot on the floor first, and when my weight is over the leg, the whole foot will be rooted firmly to the ground.
Then I quickly put the right foot forward. As soon as my body weight passes the left foot I start pushing the body forward with the left foot, as I do this it is important that the left foot is rooted to the ground.
Soon after my right foot is placed on the ground my right fist makes contact. Then the spine twists, and my right foot and leg is starting to stop the body’s forward motion (if that is what I want*) as I strike through the target. The right knee should stop just above the toes, and you should have good balance and both knees bent. More weight on the right foot than the left foot.
*If the opponent jumps backwards or move quickly backwards, I can move the left foot forward very quickly with three more strikes in that left step (I will explain this in another tutorial if I there is interest). I can run after him much faster than he can run backwards, don’t think something else!
Also if the opponent doesn’t move properly here (like I explained in the previous tutorial) it will be very easy for me to kick him in the groin with the left foot (if he move the right foot too much to the side), or placing the left foot behind him for osoto-nage (if he moves his left leg off line).
* Ground the feet’s properly!
It is very, very important that the left foot (picture 2 & 3) does not turn on the ground as you are pushing forwards, then you will loose friction to the ground and you will slip very easily if you push forward strongly. Also Miyamoto Musashi spoke about the importance of rooting the feet to the ground and push the body forwards or backwards with the whole foot rooted, and not on the toes or balls of the feet.…
I think most of you have heard about the 45° step when you do the basic jodan-uke for example, this does not mean that you end up in a 45° angle to the attack that I so often see. I think this is a misunderstanding, and I will explain here so that you have to be an idiot if you don’t understand .
But first let’s make some reference points. To get the distance right we need to understand that the opponent will hit you in the head with his right fist. And that you want to end up at a safe distance where you can block the opponent’s right arm from the inside without being to close or too far away. So you need to move your whole body as one unit about one arms length. So measure how far that is. I will use the tatami mat as a reference point so that you can easily understand. I recommend that you also use the tatami mat as I do here so that you can do the step without looking. And then look down and check if you are on the correct spot, angles and length wise.
Remember that you move the body one arm’s length, it doesn’t matter how long the opponent’s arms is. If he knows how deep he should punch (just through the target and not an inch more!) it will be perfect distance for you.
When you move from point A to point B in the first step you should have the exact same angles but one arms length further back to the side. You should have rotated the whole body about 30° to the left, but the angles and alignment should be the same.
So when you start in the basic Ichimonji no kamae both heel’s should be on the same line and pointing directly against the opponent’s center. I won’t go into detail about anything else than the footwork here. I might do a part two of this tutorial later?
The right foot and toes should be pointing exactly 45° back to the right against the other corner of the tatami mat. Keep a rather low position with both knees bent (in basic training, be extra low), more weight on the right leg.
Lift the right foot and push the body strongly and quickly back to the right with the left foot. You should explode from the position, so make sure the front leg is not too straight. Do not move the left foot first (I say that this is a bad habit). If you keep your right arm straight against the opponent, he will not step on the left foot, as he have to move around your arm.
The right foot should go exactly 45° towards the corner of the tatami. Note how the right foot have turned a little, but the heel should be on the line. At the same time the left foot should follow the right foot in a straight line.
As you can see this angle is about 30° from the starting point. Also worth mentioning is that the feet’s is never this wide apart as it is rather a jump than step, step. It is important that the upper body should not go anywhere else but straight backwards to the side as if you where on wheels.
See how the left foot ends up on the same line. Now you have moved the body 30° back to the right. You should end up in the exact same position as when you started. Your kamae is “closed” and good, aimed directly to the opponents inside.
From here you block and take his balance… as you can see you have also opened up the opponent’s lower region. You have the opening where you will place the right foot as you step in and counter with your own attack.
Training drill
A very good training drill is to stand in Ichimonji no kamae and move from point A to point B as explained above. Repeat this several times, you should move in a big circle keeping a perfect Ichimonji no kamae the whole time. Then change side and do it to the left. This is a good exercise that strenghten your legs and gives you a good foundation.
Shortly after his second Japan trip this year training with Soke and the Shihan, he held this seminar. This video contains Taijutsu techniques with variations including the Hanbo (short staff). Also Hanbojutsu basics with Taijutsu applications. You can see how similar the Taijutsu techniques can be done with a weapon, and how easy it is to do a weapon technique without a weapon.
This movie was filmed June 27′th in 2009 at Kaigozan Dojo. This training was taught by Mats Hjelm, Bujinkan Shihan Kugyo Happobiken.
NOTE! The instructions is in Swedish, but there is not so much talk but more action.
On a Windows PC you can watch it in iTunes or Quicktime player (these programs is available for free on apple.com. VLC is another good program that can play these files.
1. I assume Chûdan no kamaeand plan to make the opponent open up his left side…
2. I move the left foot forward to the left and enter in to the opponent’s right side. I angle the body in a way to draw the attention to my left hand and hide the right hand sliding back to the end of the staff.
3. I step forward with the left foot and thrust in chudan-tsuki to the opponent and force him to move. Since I enter on his right side I pretty much force him to move to his left.
Note: If he is not moving I strike through his guard and get him. If he put force into the block it is better for me, but I’m not waiting to feel it (physically) then it would be to late for the next step.
4. I quickly move the right foot forward and strike his left elbow with dô-uchi.
5. Then another quick kote-haneage strike from under to his right arm to completely disarm him. The kata officially finish here, but it is easy to keep going and take control of the space and the weapon he just lost.
6. Then I jump back to Seigan no kamae and assume zanshin (because the next kata starts from here which makes it easier to remember the next kata).
After you and your partner have learned the kata, try to work on a better defense with the sword. Try to be more offensive and gradually make it more difficult to attack with the staff, instead of moving backwards move forwards and be more offensive. The swordsman’s distance is shorter and he need to be on a safe distance or closer where he can get the opponent with the staff quickly. The person with the staff need to be outside the swordsman’s reach or be completely covered. You can practice this technique with more freely distance and timing, but keep the same sequence of attacks (keep to the kata). If you do this I suggest you use safe weapons (padded weapons) and maybe protections, or just be very careful.
There is also kuden; things taught personally from teacher to student, so please find a good teacher and study with him/her.
I changed the Menu, I hope it looks better and works on all systems, if not please contact me!
I also added two new more pages under “Bujinkan”, it is Kukishin-ryu Dakentaijutsu and Bojutsu. I plan to add pages for the other schools and weapons later.…
The theme for this seminar will be NINPO/NINJUTSU and SHINKEN KATA. Dean will bring together and teach true Ninpo combat from his experience of trainings in Japan with Hatsumi Soke. And also his personal experience as a Police Officer, from the Croatian civil war as a member of the SJP Alpha, and SPECWOG (SPECcial Warriors Operation Group).
Dean has been practicing Martial Arts for 35 years, he is a former Police officer a member of the SJP Alpha (Special Police Force – SWAT) in Croatia. Dean Rostohar is Director, Chief instructor of SPECWOG and a founder of Tactical Technic Combat System T.T.C.S. For his full resume, check out his web site or the SPECWOG web site.
The first boom was in Japan during the 1960’s, they produced a lot of ninja movies then. The producers asked Takamatsu Sensei and Hatsumi Soke for advice and help. The first “Shinobi no mono” movie had Hatsumi Soke as advicor, it turned out to be really cool movie, they made eight movies between 1962-1968. There was also many other ninja movies.
Then in the beginning of the 1980’s the second Ninja boom cam, and it became really big in the west. The Swedish “Ninja Mission” hit big in the US, it was more popular than the new Clint Eastwood movie at the time. It had Bo Munthe who then was a 4′th Dan in Bujinkan (the highest ranked in Europe at this time), and many of his students did stunt work.
There was also plenty of ninja movies and TV series from Hollywood at the time. People came from everywhere and wanted to study this mysterious art Ninjutsu. In Stockholm the dojo had several hundred meters of people lining up to start training. In other countries which hadn’t so well established Bujinkan dojo’s there was charlatans who saw the opportunity to make money. The choice of American filmproducers how they displayed the art was not in favour for true Ninjutsu practitioners. It was often kung fu, tae kwon do, karate, kendo practitioners who got the stunt cordinator job for these movies, the biggest star of this era was probably Sho Kosugi.
He claims he learned Ninjutsu from a “strange neighbour” when he was 7 years old. I believe the neighbour was strange, but I don’t think he knew much about Ninjutsu. How the film industry portaited the Ninja was not good! I wish they (Hollywood industry) spent more time on research than listen to someone who was taught Ninjutsu by a crazy guy when he was seven years old.
Now 54 years later Kosugi still have too much influence in Hollywood, who apparently decided that there will be a third Ninja boom to cash in money on. They still prove they are too lazy to do proper resarch. The forth coming Ninja Movies (see below) this summer and autumn of 2009 will probably not be as successfull as in the 80’s, but they will certainly enforce the stereotype of what a Ninja and Ninjutsu is, which is not true at all.
He previously worked with films such as Matrix, V for Vendetta, and is currently working on the new X-Men to be released in 2011. In this movie the old star Sho Kosugi is playing Lor Ozunu. The main character Raizo in this movie is played by Rain, who is a big pop star in Asia.
The film stars Scott Adkins as a westerner named Casey, who is studying Ninjutsu in Japan when he’s asked by the Sensei to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja. Somehow, cops, the mob, and a rival ninja enter the picture. Much death, sword slashing, and ninja ass kicking ensue.
A Japanese Ninja movie, the ninja movie boom never really went away in Japan.
Recommended reading
If you as an practitioner or teacher in Bujinkan Dojo is getting interviewed by journalists, this article “Ninjutsu and the media” by Mike Hennessy is really good.
For people who doesn’t know much about Ninjas and Ninjutsu apart from what is portrayed on movies, comic books, and games, there is a few things you should know.
There was a Ninja master who died in the 60’s, his name was Seiko Fujita. He wrote books about Ninjutsu (only available in Japanese, and if you are lucky). There is many people who claims that they was taught by him. As far as I know they are all lying. Fujita died without a successor. Basically everyone that claims to teach from the Koga-ryu are all fakes, so please be careful about who to trust.
There was another Ninja master called Takamatsu Toshitsugu had many students in his life time, but at the end when he died in 1972 he only had one true student, and this was Hatsumi Masaaki. Before the first Ninja boom in the early 1960’s there was no other known master of Ninjutsu other than Seiko Fujita (who died without a successor), Takamatsu Toshitsugu and his student Hatsumi Masaaki (Yoshiaki at the time).
Hatsumi Soke is still alive today, he has many, many students all over the world. Hatsumi Soke is the last true Ninja…
Hatsumi Soke had two older students that only once met Takamatsu Sensei that broke off and formed their own organizations, namely Genbukan and Jinenkan. Hatsumi Soke still have students that still trains with him weekly in Honbu Dojo that also meet Takamatsu sensei on the same occasion. Anyone else living than Hatsumi Soke claiming to have been a direct student to Takamatsu Sensei is not telling the truth at all. Unfortunately there is people claiming this.
Organisations that is more or less still teaching Ninjutsu is the following…
- Bujinkan Dojo (headed by Hatsumi Masaaki)
- Genbukan (headed by mr. Tanemura Shoto formerly student of Hatsumi Soke)
- Jinenkan (headed by mr. Manaka Unsui, formerly student of Hatsumi Soke)
- Toshindo (headed by mr. Stephen Hayes, formerly student of Hatsumi Soke)
Unfortunately there is bad examples everywhere, so please don’t judge a whole martial art based on a few rotten apples. Keep an open mind.
There is also a few Japanese Ninja Museum’s, some of them also have coreographed demonstrations (rarely with no authentic Ninjutsu training at all). Please keep in mind these are Museums, and they are not Martial Artists!…
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