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new DVD title, Hankyo 2007 + pre order Iaito

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

28'' Stainless steel iaito
Stainless steel 28” iaito Stainless steel 28” iaito Stainless steel 28” iaito Stainless steel 28” iaito

28″ Stainless Steel Iaito, mirror polish. Total length including blade and handle is 102 cm, the weight is 1087 gr. If anyone is interested in pre ordering this sword, please contact us!
Also, we have only one Togakure-ryu Shinken in stock, if you have other requests please contact us!

The Hankyou 2007 DVD is ready to be ordered, sorry for taking such a long time! I will start shipping the pre orders today, if you don’t get it please contact me!

We still have a limited stock of indoor Tabi from size 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29. Some of the T-shirt sizes are sold out at the moment. Please let me know if there is any interest for sold out sizes so that I know if it is worth ordering more T-shirts. I haven’t got any indication that these t-shirts are popular, I’m stuck with some sizes and want to get rid of at least half of them before I make a new order.

Hankyou 2007
Christmas seminar (Hankyou 2007)
Many instructors from Sweden went to Japan to train with Hatsumi Soke and the Shihan. Many of these instructors came to share their knowledge and feelings from their training trips.

Instructors: Mats Hjelm, Christian Spicker, Petter Swedin, Daniel Åberg, Daniel Neiberg

Note: All instructions is in Swedish!

DVD, 91 minutes, only 239 SEK ($34 / 29 €)

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Order now click here

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Bujinkan India: memories of a fantastic experience

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Dear Buyu from India, I first want to deeply thank you for the profound sense of community I found here in Bangalore sharing my thoughts, interpretations and movements with you. I often give seminars around the world, but the quality of the depth of the commitment I encountered here, was really refreshing to me. And I want to thank you all for this as it is the promise of a successful future for the Bujinkan community of India.A Dojo is complex mix between a teacher and his students. If the teacher is evolving the students are improving, and a group of dedicated students evolving positively pushes the teacher to improve his skills even more. After such a small training time, you have achieved this mix better than in many Dojo I have been teaching to.Reading your comments about the seminar on the Shidoshikai forum, I found that many of you were expecting something different, maybe something including more pain. Pain is important in the learning phase of Budo but it is not the most important thing. Physical pain is an accepted consequence of the training but it is nothing compared to psychological pain. And maybe you have got a glimpse of that during these four days. This is the best lesson you could learn.

Even if our seminar was dedicated to Ninpo, the theme for 2008, many comments speak about how this seminar has (or is going to) improve your basics in Ukemi, Uke Nagashi and Sanshin no Kata. In one of the many late discussions I had, we came to the understanding that everything we do in the Bujinkan has to be easy if we want it to be natural. Water will always find the simplest path to the sea; this is the same with our Budo. If you cannot do a movement it is often because your thinking process is blocking the way as a dam would do it to a small river flow.

Please don’t stop, keep going you are heading towards what real Budo is. Your energy and willingness to improve is an example for all Bujinkan members all over the world, be proud of it. The waythe group  has been structured and taught  explains it but without your willingness to learn, nothing would have been achieved so beautifully.

Someone quoting me wrote: “Noise on the mats is pain outside”. It seems to have been the seminar’s motto. The Dojo is the place where you can make all the mistakes you need to get things correctly. As we explained it several times, you are allowed to make mistakes in the Dojo in order to, hopefully, avoid them in Jissen (true fight) and in Jissen (real life). The Bujinkan is teaching us to become real human beings, living a full and happy life.

After a week in India with you, I came to understand even better the power of what Hatsumi Sensei is teaching us, life. Life is what struck me while I was there. India is a boiling, fast expanding and blooming country that is going to be of major importance for the world in a very near future.

This dynamism is also present in your training and I honestly loved teaching your group. I hope there will be more other seminars like that to follow this first one. I can say that I learnt as much as you did. This is the best lesson of “Shikin Haramitsu Daikomyo” I was ever given. Thank you all for this present.

I want to thank you all for your time and hospitality in Bangalore; for the many exchanges we have had during this week; and for making us feel at home. We feel richer after this trip than ever before.

Chukrya,

Arnaud Cousergue
Bujinkan Shihan


32 trainings… and done!

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

Back at the hotel, doing my laundry and packing. I can’t remember much what was said on the trainings today. Something about conscious knowledge is 1 part and the rest that can not be understood or researched is 9 parts, we have to learn how to use these 10 parts, and one way I think is to become zero. My interpretation is that conscious knowledge plus 9 levels/parts is “kûji” which together becomes “jûji” or “shiki”. We also have nine schools and with Bujinkan it becomes 10. It was kind of difficult to understand what he was talking about because he also said during the training that you can not understand by just seeing, you need to feel it yourself to (even then it is difficult to understand without experience). Anyway maybe you can research more yourself, please feel free to e-mail me your results/thoughts :-)

Ganbatte kudasai!…

30 trainings, one day left

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

Yesterday there was only 25-30 people at Soke’s class in Honbu, it was a long time ago I had more than a whole tatami mat for myself during a class with Soke in Honbu. The training was great as always, even more Santo Tonko no Kata with some crazy applications with hanbô and rokushakubô, let’s not talk about the shikomi-zue :-D .
OK, one more day of training, let’s see what happens the last day.…

27 trainings… and a couple of stories from trainings in the past

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

Two days ago it was snowing and cold (9C in Honbu), yesterday it was warmer but very windy (almost 20C in Honbu). Yesterday one of the Shihan told us about training in the old days when they trained in Hatsumi Soke’s chiropractic office, it was only 8 tatami big full of stuff that they had to carry outside before training. They were usually 10 people training, so they had to be careful when moving not to break the glass window (the door to was glass I think he said). During one training Soke wanted to test one student for the Godan test, he used a Shinai but twice in a row the student failed. So Soke went outside and came back with a real sword and said to the student that he would kill him (if he didn’t move). Soke raised the sword and brought out his ki-power, and all the lights went out. That is how strong his ki was in those days. I’m sure he is stronger today, but he uses no more than necessary, just like taijutsu, no more power than necessary. The Shihan also continued talking about that Soke never showed the same technique twice, and that he never told anyone what to do, and that we are lucky today because Soke do show the same technique a couple of times and let us know when we are doing things wrong and try to help us.

Another Shihan also told us about training in the old days and said that Takamatsu Sensei never ever praised Hatsumi Soke even once during his 15 years of training with Takamatsu Sensei. He did however praise soke for his paintings, but not for his budo. One day Takamatsu Sensei told Hatsumi Soke that he does not need to come back, he thought that he sucked so bad that Takamatsu Sensei finally had given up. But in reality Hatsumi Soke had been taught everything Takamatsu Sensei knew, and he had been appointed the next Soke for our nine schools in Bujinkan.
The Shihan continued saying that today Hatsumi Soke praises everyone (maybe too much). When someone is doing something on the mat Soke says it was good, when it really was not so good (I know this from experience!). This is also Kyôjitsu I think, Soke is teaching us that nothing is necessarily the way it seems or looks.
The same Shihan also said that if we do exactly what Soke tells us to do we will be ok. “Do as the old man tell you to do”, this means also your parents or grand parents, they know a lot of things from experience, and usually knows what they are talking about. So if we do what Soke and the seniors tells us we will be ok. If we don’t believe in Soke and do what he tells us to do, maybe we don’t really belong in the Bujinkan.

I would like to thank Chris who translated from what the Shihan told us. I must also say that what I’ve written here above is a mix between my own thoughts and from what I remember, both the translations and the body language from the Shihan etc. I hope I got the essence of what they wanted to tell us right, not necessarily word for word.…

21 trainings, less people here now?

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

Seems like a couple of groups left Japan now, yesterday (Monday) we was just six people on both Shihan classes. But there will probably come other bigger groups soon? The weather has been quite cold the whole trip, yesterday I looked at the thermometer in Honbu and it was 13 C, it has been that cold the whole time I been there.

Today there was no class (in Honbu at least) during the day so I’ve been sleeping the whole day, and listened to new albums by The Toy Dolls (special Japanese versions not sold overseas). Oh I also found a black tatami mat in Kashiwa that will fit perfect in my newly decorated bedroom.

Soon I will head over to the class with Soke in Ayase.

“tuesday night is bash night this is what they say
we are gonna dig the groove, we’ve waited all day
we wear trendy trousers with belts a mile too long
we are gonna catch the bus into town
we are boogie on down…”

(lyrics from Dig that groove by The Toy Dolls)…

14 trainings in one week

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

We have trained mostly on the first six techniques from Santo Tonko no Kata, the 7th technique is two opponents and you throw metsubushi, strike and disappear, the 8th technique is two in front and two behind, and the 9th is three in front and two behind, you throw teppan and metsubushi, and then disappear. Training on these three techniques seems somewhat pointless, more important is that any technique you train on with your partner you should also try to see everyone else in the dojo as a potential opponent. But there is also many other techniques in Togakure-ryu I hope I will get a chance to study this trip.

This year is even more formless than before, the idea is that a really skilled fighter will pick up what technique you is about to do the same instant you think of it. Almost like the sakki test, but more advanced, it is like the really skilled person can read your mind. So how can we defeat someone that knows what you will do the second you think of the technique? Well, this is not easy, but this is the level Hatsumi Soke is teaching now. If you don’t understand, don’t worry he is teaching to those with 15th Dan, the so called true Shihan of Bujinkan. In other words those who have reached the highest rank in the Bujinkan system.

Traditionally the highest rank in a ryûha is called 免許皆伝 (men-kyo-kai-den、initiation into the secrets of the art), on the new scroll in the honbu Sôke has written Menkyo kaiden with alternative kanji ( 免虚怪伝 ), where the second character means void, emptiness or untrue, the third character means suspicious or mysterious. So maybe becoming a menkyô kaiden in Bujinkan means that you are walking along the mysterious tradition where nothing is as it seems.…

My first training with Soke this year

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

So I’m at the hotel going to bed soon after my first training with Hatsumi sôke this year. Soke was in good spirit as usual. Two basic techniques from Santo Tonko kata was covered, first one being when someone grab the collar from behind. Soke’s kept uke on the toes most of the time by moving before he could get a good grip, it was like he had eyes in the back of his head. He said that we shouldn’t worry if we fail or not, and referring to the poem; “if you think it is there it is not, and if you think it is not there, it is”.

There was around 30-40 people training in Ayase. I think it went pretty well with the techniques and feeling. We trained with Ninja-to, Senban, Shuko and Kyoketsu-shoge, or I should say we tried to, since we didn’t have any weapons to train with. My luggage got stuck in Zurich, I also almost got stuck to, I had to run between the flight connections because the flight from Stockholm was one hour late. But I had three seats on the flight all by myself, so after lunch/dinner I put myself horizontally and sleept until breakfast.

Well, now is bedtime, I should try to rest for tomorrows two trainings. Oh I also got myself a new Tokaido keikogi and belt, so now I look good.…

Web site uppdates

From Kabutoshimen by Toryu

I made an even smaller seminar application that you can put on your web sites, check it out here. I forgot to tell you about the two previous versions, the slick one and the facebook application. It is still free to advertice seminars! For more info see here.

I updated the Shugyou portal now with seminar lists for this year and next year. When we moved the websites to a new server some things crashed. I found out that the newsletter mod didn’t work, and I had to upgrade this module. And even that one did not work, so I had to spend half the day reading support forums, and I finally fixed it. So if you subscribe to the newsletters you have a new mail from us today.

BTNet is also up and running, the forum software is still beta, but it seems pretty stable now. I won’t do any major work on it until the stable release. But this concerns only the back end, so start using it, the messages will still be there after the uppgrade…

There is a lot of new pictures up at the Kaigozan photo album. There was however a lot of spam on it, so I had to update the software. But it is still possible to add spam. It is quite easy to remove, but if it get too much I will close the registration process and ask you to contact me if you want to add pictures. But until then, please start uploading your pictures (Bujinkan related only!).…