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Bujinkan Ranks: The Circular Path of Mastery Through Three Triads

From 武神館兜龍 Bujinkan Toryu by Toryu

Bujinkan Ranks: The Circular Path of Mastery Through Three Triads

Bujinkan ranks shape more than just skill for me as a practitioner. They reflect a profound evolution, echoing the ninja’s circular wisdom of body, mind, and spirit. In our dojo, we distill this into three triads: 天地人 Ten-Chi-Jin, 守破離 Shu-Ha-Ri, and a mysterious third I call 禅空無 Zen-Ku-Mu. Together, these nine stages form a circle, with the final triad as zero—the ultimate enlightenment. Here’s how I see this progression shaping our ranks, starting anew at each milestone.

天地人 Ten-Chi-Jin: The Foundation of Movement, Technique, and Flow

The first triad, 天地人 Ten-Chi-Jin (Heaven-Earth-Man). Builds the ninja’s foundation from 9th Kyū to 5th Dan, culminating at the 師導士 Shidōshi (teacher) level.

天 Ten (Heaven) – Movement (9th Kyū to 1st Dan)

We begin with movement—learning to shift, roll, respond. It’s fluid, like the sky’s rhythm. These beginner *Bujinkan ranks* from 9th Kyū to 1st Dan should hone awareness and flow. A natural base to launch into Chi upon earning 1st Dan.

地 Chi (Earth) – Techniques (1st Dan to 4th Dan)

Once 1st Dan is received, we ground ourselves in techniques—strikes, locks, throws. Understanding the knack of why they work, like earth’s stability. From 1st to 4th Dan, these ranks should sharpen precision and adaptability, preparing us for Jin.

人 Jin (Man) – Integration (4th Dan to 5th Dan)

At 4th Dan, we dive into 人 Jin, blending movement and technique via the Jin Ryaku no Maki. An introduction to the 9 Ryūha’s selected *Waza*. It’s about grasping the flow, intuiting harmony. By 5th Dan, 士道師 Shidōshi embody this seamless unity.

天地人 Ten-Chi-Jin cycles from raw motion to refined flow, a loop we master as teachers.

守破離 Shu-Ha-Ri: The Evolution of Mastery

From 5th Dan to 大師範 Dai Shihan, 守破離 Shu-Ha-Ri (Protect-Break-Leave) spirals us through mastery, each stage igniting at a new rank.

守 Shu (Protect) – 5th Dan to 10th Dan

With 5th Dan earned, we enter 守 Shu, learning all 9 Ryūha techniques. Taijutsu, weapons like swords and staffs—exactly as intended to protect the art’s future. These ranks from 5th to 10th Dan test depth and fidelity, preserving our ninja legacy.

破 Ha (Break Up) – 10th Dan to 15th Dan

At 10th Dan, 破 Ha unlocks freedom—breaking and experimenting with all techniques to forge endless connections and possibilities. I’d love these ranks to showcase creativity, adapting Waza like a ninja’s cunning through to 15th Dan.

離 Ri (Leave) – 15th Dan to Dai Shihan

Reaching 15th Dan, 離 Ri transcends structure and ego. 大師範 Dai Shihan trust intuition for Kami Waza. Divine techniques—acting perfectly in the moment without thought, a departure into pure essence.

守破離 Shu-Ha-Ri refines us, a spiral beyond the dojo’s walls.

禅空無 Zen-Ku-Mu: The Circle of Zero

Beyond ranks lies my third triad: 禅空無 Zen-Ku-Mu (Absolute-Space-Void). Unbound by ranks—a circular mystery for the enlightened, where nine stages become zero.

禅 Zen (Absolute)

Unity of all.

“Root and sky entwine,
Nothing holds the endless now,
Circle turns to none.”

空 Ku (Space)

Boundless possibility.

“Wind carves the silence,
Void dances in open fields,
One step, none remain.”

無 Mu (Void)

Pre-action stillness.

“Shadow cloaks the flame,
Space hums where no foot has stirred,
Zero breathes alive.”

Conclusion: Bujinkan Ranks as Nine to Zero

I see Bujinkan ranks as a circle: 天地人 Ten-Chi-Jin (three) builds the base. 守破離 Shu-Ha-Ri (three) evolves it. And 禅空無 Zen-Ku-Mu (three) completes the nine, circling to zero. Kyū flows into Dans, Dans spiral through the 9 Ryūha and beyond, and the rare master returns to nothing—a living haiku with a smirk. Where are you on this path?

Thanks to Grok 3 Beta for the help.

The post Bujinkan Ranks: The Circular Path of Mastery Through Three Triads appeared first on 武神館兜龍 Bujinkan Toryu.…

Kihon Happo – Ganseki Nage

From YŪDANSHA NO AN'NAISHO by YŪDANSHA NO AN'NAISHO

Kihon Happo is the very foundation of Bujinkan Dojo Budo Taijutsu. Here is the eigth technique called Ganseki Nage from page 48 in the YUDANSHA book.…

Kihon Happo – Musha Dori (Udejime Ashiori Kata)

From YŪDANSHA NO AN'NAISHO by YŪDANSHA NO AN'NAISHO

Kihon Happo is the very foundation of Bujinkan Dojo Budo Taijutsu. Here is the seventh technique called Musha Dori (Ude Jime Ashi Ori Kata) from page 47 in the YUDANSHA book.…

Second edition of Yudansha is out, and the Errata for 3.0

From YŪDANSHA NO AN'NAISHO by YŪDANSHA NO AN'NAISHO

The Second edition v3.1 (Released July 2018) IS OUT NOW!

It is also available as coil bound to make it more practical to use in the dojo. In the future there will also be a luxury version with full colour on all pages and hard cover for real hard core collectors.

The direct link to Lulu with all the book versions is http://bit.ly/yudansha

I found these errors, and made these changes to the new edition.

Errata for the First edition v3.0 (Released May 2018)

    • p.42 JŪMONJI … Move the right foot back to Kōsei no kamae. Zanshin.
      (I forgot why I wrote Hōi no kamae, couldn’t find the source so I changed back to Kōsei)
    • p.49 TAIHENJUTSU MUTŌDORI got the wrong kanji, it should be 体変術無刀捕型
    • p.79 OMOTE. With your left thumb and ring finger… Grab his left Hoshizawa with the right hand…
    • p.81 URA. (Not wrong, but I switched left to right so it matches the picture).
    • p.83 MUSŌ-DORI …His left wrist is trapped with your left arm, the left Shutō is covering his elbow,
    • p.92 YUME NO MAKURA. (Not wrong, but I switched left to right so it matches the picture).
    • p.105 RYŌTE. (Not wrong, but I switched left to right so it matches the picture).
    • p.145 ŌKYO. Should be a left Shitō-ken.
    • p.162 YŪDANSHA. I got the wrong kanji, it should be 雄段者
 which means Man, male or husband. In this context I would say all grown up black belt.

Please write a review what you think about the book, I really appreciate that! Thank’s Norman for your kind words.

 

The direct link to Lulu with all the book versions is http://bit.ly/yudansha…

MUDANSHA BOOK by MATS HJELM

From YŪDANSHA NO AN'NAISHO by YŪDANSHA NO AN'NAISHO

武神館無段者の案内所
MUDANSHA – BEGINNERS GUIDE TO BUJINKAN

List Price: $14.99
Introduction Price: $11.99
You Save: $3.0 ( 20% )
Prints in 3-5 business days

English, Perfect-bound Paperback, 96 pages richly illustrated with pictures and illustrations.

This book is a guide for beginners in the Bujinkan Dojo. Everything about the rules and expectations of you as a pratctitioner, etiquette and traditions as well as the most fundamental techniques in our beautiful art.

  • 天略の巻 TEN RYAKU NO MAKI (The scroll of Heaven)
    Here we learn to move the body naturally and effectively. Essentially how to become a good Uke (receiver of techniques). When Hatsumi Soke’s own teacher Takamatsu Sensei started training over 120 years ago as a young boy he was thrown around the Dojo by the seniors for a year before he was taught any techniques. This gave him a good foundation for the next level.

About the Author: Mats have been training Bujinkan Budo-taijutsu since the early 1980’s. He travelled all around the world to train and teach Bujinkan Budo-taijutsu. http://YudanshaBook.com

Print details: 6″ x 9″, perfect binding, white interior paper (60# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (90# weight), full-color exterior ink.…

MUDANSHA BOOK by MATS HJELM

From Budoshop.se by BUDOSHOP.SE

武神館無段者の案内所
MUDANSHA – BEGINNERS GUIDE TO BUJINKAN

List Price: $14.99
Introduction Price: $11.99
You Save: $3.0 ( 20% )
Prints in 3-5 business days

English, Perfect-bound Paperback, 96 pages richly illustrated with pictures and illustrations.

This book is a guide for beginners in the Bujinkan Dojo. Everything about the rules and expectations of you as a pratctitioner, etiquette and traditions as well as the most fundamental techniques in our beautiful art.

  • 天略の巻 TEN RYAKU NO MAKI (The scroll of Heaven)
    Here we learn to move the body naturally and effectively. Essentially how to become a good Uke (receiver of techniques). When Hatsumi Soke’s own teacher Takamatsu Sensei started training over 120 years ago as a young boy he was thrown around the Dojo by the seniors for a year before he was taught any techniques. This gave him a good foundation for the next level.

About the Author: Mats have been training Bujinkan Budo-taijutsu since the early 1980’s. He travelled all around the world to train and teach Bujinkan Budo-taijutsu. http://YudanshaBook.com

Print details: 6″ x 9″, perfect binding, white interior paper (60# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (90# weight), full-color exterior ink.…

YUDANSHA Book RELEASED on Lulu

From YŪDANSHA NO AN'NAISHO by YŪDANSHA NO AN'NAISHO

武神館有段者の案内所
YUDANSHA – BUJINKAN BLACK BELT GUIDE

List Price: $27.77
Introduction Price: $22.22
You Save: $5.55 ( 20% )
Prints in 3-5 business days

English, Perfect-bound Paperback, 184 pages richly illustrated with pictures and illustrations. (32 483 Words, 145 533 Characters)

This book is a comprehensive guide to understand the Taijutsu of the Bujinkan system as taught by Masaaki Hatsumi Soke. We have this concept of Shu-Ha-Ri which is three major processes to learn Budo. First, we learn the fundamentals, then how to break them up. Then you transcend to a state where you are totally free without even thinking of what you are doing. Needless to say, you can’t get to the last stage without knowing the first stage well. It is said that you should study each level for at least 10 years. This book is all about the first stage we call Shu. It is further divided into three levels.

  • 天略の巻 TEN RYAKU NO MAKI (The scroll of Heaven)
  • 地略の巻 CHI RYAKU NO MAKI (The scroll of Earth)
  • 人略の巻 JIN RYAKU NO MAKI (The scroll of Man)

About the Author: Mats have been training Bujinkan Budo-taijutsu since the early 1980’s. He travelled all around the world to train and teach Bujinkan Budo-taijutsu. http://YudanshaBook.com

Print details: 8.26″ x 11.69″ (EU Standard A4), perfect binding, white interior paper (60# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (90# weight), full-color exterior ink.…

About the book title

From YŪDANSHA NO AN'NAISHO by YŪDANSHA NO AN'NAISHO

The last Friday I asked Sōke if it was ok to publish this book, he said Gambatte before the translation was done. Then he looked through the book quickly and encouraged me to do it. Then it was painting time and I gave him a paper and asked for Yūdansha the book title. He wanted more paper and wrote the same phonetic sound but with different kanji. So I got three versions, like a 三心 Sanshin.

On Sunday (today) I got help finding the right kanji by Noguchi Sensei, then I did some internet research (no thanks to G00g1e that think Yūdansha means a ”stepped-out person” (I guess they mean a LSD tripped out person 🙄), don’t tell them!).

有段者 YŪDANSHA is the normal kanji used which means a person that has a Dan rank (black belt).

If we break up the three kanji we get

有 YŪ (possess, have, exist, happen, occur, approx).

段 DAN (grade, steps, stairs)

者 SHA (someone, person).

勇段者 YŪDANSHA It could mean a black belt hero, a courageous or brave black belt

勇 YŪ (courage, cheer up, be in high spirits, bravery, heroism​)

雅段者 YŪDANSHA it could mean an elegant, graceful or refined black belt.

雅 MIYABI (refinement; elegance; grace​)

All this gave me a great idea to incorporate this in the book. I’m not gonna go further here as the book is unwritten and I might change my mind. But I feel that the book is gonna be something different than all the others and something I will be proud of.…

Basics & Fundamentals (part 3)

From Shiro Kuma's Weblog by kumablog

Why is the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki so important?
.
Until 1990, we had very little knowledge about the schools and the weapons. Remember that we really began the weapons in 1993 with the bô and the study of the schools only in 1998! From the beginning of the Bujinkan (and more precisely when the Togakure Ryû Ninpô Taijutsu was published in 1983) the basics were transmittedthrough the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki. Each student at that time was studying the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki to improve his fundamentals. The Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki was the basic program to reach the black belt. The spreading of the Bujinkan over the last twenty years has abandoned the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki and it has been often discarded by the new generation of teachers.
.
What is a Bujinkan black belt?
.
A Bujinkan black belt is someone who knows the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki so well that every technique demonstrated looks like a patchwork of elemental bricks taken from the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki. Too often students receive a black belt without the knowledge of the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki and this lack in their practice leads to big flaws in their movements. In 2009 I gave a 5-day seminar on the full Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki in India. When the Indian group went to Daikomyô Sai last December they told their teachers that they could see every component of the techniques taught by sensei and the shihan and recognize the strength of the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki.
.
Are you a Bujinkan black belt?
.
Then you must know “by heart” the ten and the chi and be familiar enough with the jin. Without this basic knowledge you will not be able to go far within the Bujinkan system. The heart of “kokoro no budô” is the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki. Learn it, study it and you will see your technical level excel and reach a new understanding. Without studying the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki attending seminars is a loss of time. It is like watching a movie of which you are not part of. Learn the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki and become the actor your own life instead of being a passive observer!
Ryaku in Japanese means “principle” but also “truth”. Learn the truth of things and you will become a true human being able to link the sky and the earth; able to be one with nature. :)

…