Newsletter for the advancement of Bujinkan studies - Takamatsu denJanuary / February 2011, Volume # 45No Dojo Politics ... No Hype ... No Bull

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~ GAMBATTENE; ~

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AKAGAKI :JIASAKATA.Be 1rM ,'ery fond of wine, and though he drank very much he was always polite nnd never could drink enough

to forget himself. He was strong and bold, nnd look great delight in all kinds of muscular exercises, He was willpractised in lhe use of all kinds of military weapons.

After the death ot' 1.83110 and the confiscation of his dominion, he changed his name to Genycmon ; removed toKanto, (Tokio), and lived wit ODO of his brother a,'enge!'S, Yada, in a street called Hamamntsu. While waiting for6e time to attack the enemy, be suffered many, hardships. At last be received the long desired order. Be there,fore called 011 his brother, Shibaynll\(l, in order to bid him the last j;"treweJl; and that lie ma.y exchllllgc a parting cupwith him be took with lnm, wine and fish,

But, unfortunately, he was not nt home, and therefore, IV'" obliged to return without looking at his dear brotherOnce more. On that memorable night, be fought with desperation, and when all was over, he wed bravely.

At his death, he was only twenty-five years oJ

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#13 of the 47 Ronin

MAIBARAMayebara Muncfusa was born in the province of mi and a very intrepid man, .Ho \VU.'! once

the servont of n certain su~ct of .Asaoo. On ~ day his master accompanied h.im to a certain placewhere lIis mllSter was killed by soma ~ . accident. In the height of anger he returned a fBlnl blowagainst the onemy. This was "" known to nU snbjecta of Asano to whose subject he was at lastappointed, He Will!One oft.he best nnd firmest 10YIlli'l. who 1nl; I.h. hi"h fame and honor!'.!ier t.hem,

#14 of the 47 Ronin

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Sword Appreciation Corner

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This month

Keep training and keep well.

Peace man!

Nevin Zeljko BrozShidoshi-ho

Bujinkan Seishin Ronin Dojo

nindja _dude@yahoo.com

OSHIGATAby Naoji Karita

of a "Boys' Day" Aikuchi

On the blade there is a fine Horimono ofShoki, the "Demon Queller"and a Carp pennant (kite)

The right line on the oshigata reads:Noshu Seki ju Fujiwara Kanetoki

The second line on the oshigata reads:Horimono (by) Minamoto Kanenaga

The kakihan on the oshigata reads:"Shin" or "genuine".

W.H.

Sept. 2008

Martial Arts Terms andDefinitions (1)

Budo and Bujutsu

by Wayne Muromoto

The budo of Japan are defined as the "martialarts" of Japan.

The term, more properly and literally defined as"martial ways," in its general usage, applies to allarts of a martial nature, whether or not they weredeveloped by the classical hereditary warriorcaste, or by commoners. The term can be used ina more limited and structured fashion to meanonly what Japanese call "gendai" budo, ormodem budo. Gendai budo refers to budo thatbecame finalized after the Meiji restoration(1868), in other words, budo forms that wereestablished only one or at most three generationsago. In that case, martial arts systems that were

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tembun jutsu (weather forecasting)

hojutsu (gunnery)

etc.

The -ryu

All koryu and several gendai budo schools arecalled such-and-such-ryu. The -ryu appended toa title refers to the system's "name"; it is a "style"or "school" delineation. Therefore, therekaratedo, while a unified gendai budo fightingsystem originating out of Okinawa, retainsseveral strains that are quite different in theirkata and training methods. A Shotokan stylistwould be different from, say, a Goju-ryu stylist,as opposed to an Uechi-ryu stylist. They would'all be doing karate do, certainly, but even theapplication of a simple punch would be verydifferent in terms of placement of the arms, useof force, and so on.

Some gendai budo do not have any -ryu systems.Kendo, for example, has been unified as anational (and international) sport and pastime forthe use of bamboo staves to representswordfighting. There are no "styles" or schoolsof ken do. There is only kendo. All kendo schoolsshare the same general rules when it comes tocompetition and kendo kata (forms). Likewisejudo, although it has fragmented a lot in recenttimes, is basically judo. Even recent iterations ofsome modem "jujutsu" schools are, at heart,simply subsets of some parts of judo,emphasizing perhaps the more combative orroughhouse aspects of judo to the detriment ofthe sportive aspects.

Aikido started out as one and only one martialart form. It, too, has developed along differentstylistic lines due to differences of style,personality clashes, and other kinds of martialarts politics. Aikido arts presently encompassvarious different schools, the larger ones beingAikikai (or hombu, the "main branch" style ofaikido), Ki Society (Ki No Kenkyukai),Yoshinkan, and Torniki-ryu.

The differences between koryu schools are evenwider. While a Shito-ryu stylist may findsimilarities in a kata performed by a Shotokanstylist, some jujutsu schools, for example, haveno common grounds with each other. Evensimilar techniques may go by completelydifferent names.

Koryu Schools

The number of distinct koryu schools havedecreased since Japan's modem era (1868), due

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to Westernization, the consolidation of martialendeavors into the modem -do schools, and sheerneglect. However, a number ofkoryu schoolscontinue to this day. While koryu budo oncenumbered in the thousands, they now number inthe low hundreds, if at all that much. The list thatfollows is very incomplete, but suggests thevariety of possibilities still available in koryuschools. Some of the schools may not fit in thecategory I have assigned them, depending onone's point of view. For that, Ibeg yourindulgence as Iadmit to not having an in-depthexperience with most of the schools listed.

Composite Schools (primarily a variety ofbujutsu methods)

Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu

Kashima Shin-ryu

Kashima Shinto-ryu (Bokuden-ryu)

Takeuchi-ryu (Honke, bunke, and Bitchu-den)

Jujutsu

Daito-ryu

Araki-ryu

Seigo-ryu

Tenshin Shinyo-ryu

Sosuishitsu-ryu

Takagi Hontai Yoshin-ryu

Kito-ryu

laijutsu

Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu

Muso Shinden-ryu

Hoki-ryu

Mugai-ryu

Sekiguchi-ryu iai

Hayashizaki Muso-ryu

Tarniya-ryu

Mugai-ryu

Hasegawa Eishin-ryu

Swordsmanship

Yagyu Shinkage-ryu

Ono-ha Itto-ryu

Sekiguchi-haltto-ryu

Hokushin Itto-ryu

Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu

Jikishinkage-ryu

Maniwa Nen-ryu

Shizen-ryu

Kyo Hachi-ryu

Tamiya-ryu

Jigen-ryu

Kage No-ryu

Staff (bojutsu, jojutsu)

Chikubushima-ryu

Shinto (or Shindo) Muso-ryu

Kukishin-ryu bo

Imaeda-ryu jo

Shuriken jutsu

Shirai-ryu

Negishi-ryu

Sojutsu

Owari Kan-ryu

Hozoin-ryu

Kyujutsu

Ogasawara-ryu (also a school of etiquette andhorsemanship)

Takeda-ryu

Heki-ryu

Naginatajutsu

Tendo-ryu

Jikishinkage-ryu naginatado

Kusarigama

Jikiyuishin-ryu

Martial Arts Terms andDefinitions (2)

Sensei, Sempai, and Other Terms Used inTraining

by Wayne Muromoto

What do you call your teacher? Well, besides"hey, you," for the most part, teachers ofJapanese arts are generically called sensei. Ingeneral terms, sensei can be roughly translated as"teacher." The literal meaning is "one who was

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born before;" i.e., someone older to you.Therefore, in terms of a martial art, he is the onewith the more experience who can guide youalong the path.

Note here that teacher is not synonymous with"saint," "prophet," "religious savior," "spiritualcounselor" or "divine being." Paying properrespects to one's teacher is only right. Treatingyour teacher of martial arts like a cult leader whohas all the answers to what's messed up in yourlife is just dangerous and bizarre.

In proper usage, the term sensei is used after theperson's last name, for example, Smith sensei.This is the Japanese way of giving titles inconversation. Thus, you wouldn't say SenseiSmith, although this is a Western way (as in Mr.Smith, or Sgt. Rock, or Commander Data).Whatever Dan ("black belt level") rank theperson has, ifhe is your club's teacher, he is asensei.

The term sensei is used in modern Japan to referto teachers in educational institutions, inclassical arts and crafts, in taiko drum clubs,paper airplane clubs, medical doctors, professors,martial arts, dance, music .. .in short, all sorts ofteaching-learning environments. Although theliteral term does signify that the person has somekind of age and maturity, there is no set agemarker as to who can be called a sensei. A youngperson in his/her twenties teaching kindergartencan be called a sensei, as can a 90-year oldmaster of archery.

(This vagueness of age as a marker of who is asensei should be particularly emphasized. I oncereceived a letter from an American martial artssupplier who refused to put an ad in mymagazine because he firmly believed that no onebelow his age level should have the right to becalled sensei. I showed my stupidity, he claimed,by allowing a friend who was already teachingand running his own club to be called a "sensei"because he was under that person's requisite 50years of age limit. D'oh. All I know is what Ilearned in Japan. So maybe this fellow out on theEast Coast of the United States knows moreabout Japanese culture than the Japanese. Stupidme. I still call my friend a sensei, however,because he deserves the title.

Some systems also grant the titles of renshi,kyoshi and hanshi. These are derived from kyudoand academic degrees, and may be defined as a

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sort of assistant professor, full professor, andtenured big-cheese professor. These are specialteaching titles, like a Ph.D., and are usually notused in addressing someone in the usual dojoconversation. Thus, someone with a kyoshi rankis usually simply referred to, for example, asSmith sensei, no matter his teaching license levelor belt rank, unless you are discussing thatteacher in a biographical paper, introduction, orso on. In most cases, such teaching titles are onlygiven once the person is past the godan (fifthdegree) level. They are usually bestowed interms of teaching ability and experience. Thus,you could write about someone, listing hiscredentials as Joe Blow, hanshi, godan, as youwould address someone in a formal text as Mr.Joe Blow, Ph.D. in Economics. But it would beawkward to address him as such in a dojoconversation. Simply saying Blow sensei is goodenough.

Recently, some Western martial arts people havegrown tired of the sensei term and have tried tomake up more exotic labels for themselves,calling themselves Dai-sensei, soke-dai, and soon. This betrays, in many cases, a lack ofunderstanding of the Japanese language (andtherefore calls into question these people'sauthenticity). Actually, soke-dai, soke-dairi, orshihandai doesn't mean "heap-big grandmaster."Soke does refer to a master instructor of ahereditary (and often family-inherited) school.But in this case, the word dai in Japanese is notthe character for "big," but" in place of." Thus, ashihandai or soke-dai or soke-dairi means"someone who teaches in temporary place of'the main instructor, for certain reasons, such asthe incapacity of the soke due to injuries orillnesses, etc.No one is called Dai-whatever to refer to their"bigness" or "highness." In only one case,aikido's founder Ueshiba Morihei, was called 0-sensei. This long 0- actually meant "big," or"main" sensei, as opposed to the run-of-the-millsensei under him. I suppose if someone thoughtthey were on the same level as Ueshiba, withover 50 years' worth of intense martial artstraining, he could make people in his club callhim anything he wanted, including having hisstudents call him O-sensei, like Ueshiba, but I'dbe hard pressed to keep from laughing if anyonein the United States, in this era, were to ventureinto that territory. Let's strive towards a littlehumbleness, gang.

Classical martial arts schools, or the koryu, mayhave terms that are unique to their schools thatdo, indeed, refer to levels of expertise. In myown school, the Bitchu-den Takeuchi-ryu, ourhead instructor, the inheritor of the tradition, isreferred to as kancho, or "leader (-cho) of thehall (kan)." This term has been also used in otherarts and crafts schools. Although our system is akoryu, it makes use of the modem dan-kyuranking system, but augments it with other termsto denote levels of mastery of more advancedmethods. But in large part, teachers are usuallysimply referred to as sensei.

Students may be called several things (and Idon't mean just derogatory names). As a studentof martial arts, I often troubled over what term touse without sounding too inflated or self-serving.The following terms carry with them a sense ofdeep-rooted commitment to the arts, and at timesI could not bring myself to think that I was thatdiligent a student. Instead, the Japanese languageallows me to simply say "I do martial arts."However, when pressed, there are certain termsthat could be used.

Deshi is a term that goes back to the old craftstraining system, and infers a kind ofapprenticeship. In Japanese, you can say "I am adeshi of Sato sensei" and the Japanese speakerwill understand that you have an intimate andlong-standing committed training regime withSato sensei. Being an uchi-deshi is to actuallylive and train with the instructor's family, or tostudy in a way that allows you direct, one-to-onecontact with the teacher both within and withoutthe dojo, and you are also bound to performduties beyond those in the dojo proper, like afamily member.Monjin is another term that has an even older,more classical connotation, and I wouldpersonally be wary of using it to refer to myselfexcept in certain conversations. It literally means"someone who has entered the gates" of thetraining school, referring to a person who haspassed the entrance and is firmly involved inintense training of a classical art, craft, or even areligious sect.

Seito means "student" in the modem sense, as astudent in high school or middle school.Rather than try to sound exotic, my own advicewould be to call yourself a "student of such-and-such martial arts," if you were speaking inEnglish.

The more experienced students, in fact, in asernpai-kohai system have to take moreresponsibility for each individual student whostarted after him/her. Whife a sempai may drive akohai to train harder, the sempai may also haveto offer words of support, guidance and evenpersonal help to the kohai when it comes toenduring and surviving the dojo environment.Likewise, even if a kohai was so physicallystrong that he could beat up his sempai in randorior kumite, he would have to differ to them whenit comes to decision-making or other thingswhere knowledge of the dojo history and waystake precedence over technical and physicalsuperiority. That's a hard pill to swallow in ourAmerican culture of King- of- the-Hill Dog-Eat-Dog competition, but think of it this way. If youwere in a combat unit and if you were a buckprivate, even if you were physically stronger andtougher than the sergeant or captain, you'd listento them as your commanding officer because,hopefully, they had more awareness of what wasgoing on and would be looking out for your butt.

Students who are older (in terms of trainingexperience) are called your sempai; thosestudents who went on before you. Students whoare less experienced than you are your kohai,those who came after you, and those who startedat roughly the same time are your dohai ordokyuusei. Although used often in Japan, Iwouldn't use these terms much in a regularAmerican dojo, because they have certainimplications. Being sempai in a Japanesetraining environment means that a personknowingly inherits a lot of responsibility for thetraining, health, welfare and education of thoseunder him. While a kohai therefore must offerrespects to the sempai, in return the sempai(ideally) takes on the kohai like a protectiveolder brother shelters and teaches his youngerbrother the ways of the world. Dokyuusei areexpected to forge bonds of camaraderie that willweather any outside challenges or threats.In these, and in many other Japanese terms andusages, I would offer a personal warning to anyWesterner training in a traditional budo school.The terms are often laden with quite a bit ofbaggage that are often misunderstood ormisinterpreted. Being sempai is not a privilege,but a responsibility. So if a martial arts school inAmerica would like to institute the sernpai-kohairelationship, it must be emphasized that thesystem was not meant to make bullies out ofsenior students, to act like "top dogs" due to theirseniority.

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The dojo, however civilian and non-militaristic itpresently is, is an extension ofthat kind of groupdynamics.

In addition, the way a sensei is treated in Japan isbased on deep-seated cultural traditions. Some ofthose traditions should be transferred to budotraining in the West. Others, because they are socompletely alien to Western educational ways,should be investigated and perhaps altered, evenin a koryu system. But this experimentation,change and cross-cultural pollination is stillongoing. As much as we learn from the Asiancultures that birthed the martial arts, thesecultures are also learning much that the West canoffer. In both cases, the cultures are absorbingsome of the best and (regrettably) some of theworst traits of each other.

It is up to us, as students and teachers, to try tounderstand both our own cultural roots, and toalso try to invigorate our training with the best ofAsian culture. To adopt bowing, for example,without really understanding its proper role andmeaning is to simply replay ritual for ritual'ssake, without any meaning or reason. On theother hand, to quickly discard bowing as "old-fashioned" is also too simplistic. The answer tosuch questions of usage ofterminologies andcustoms are, of course, best left up to theindividuals in the different martial arts. It is notmy province to make any blanket judgmentsover ultimate terms and vocabularies short ofwhat I have already outlined for any school otherthan my own.

Book / Video review

Here we will review books and videos/movies onthe ninja and samurai arts.

This month we will be featuring a review of theDVD's (Hikan) Kuden Densho

by Hatsumi Sensei

Hatsumi Sensei has been allowing videotaping ofhis classes in the Hombu dojo. These are calledthe Hikan Densho or Kuden Densho (guess itdepends who is selling them).

Each DVD contains approximately 4-5 classeson them, which are either filmed at Ayase or theHombu dojo.

As tori steps and punches, uke steps back withhis left leg (naname) and his hanbo turns with hisbody.

If you always wanted to know what training inthe hombu dojo was like then here is your chancewithout actua\1y going to Japan.

UNDERST ANSTING OF THE INFODEMONSTRATED IS UP TO THEPRACTITIONERS ABILITY.

Flying shuriken rating.

Rating:

+++++Five-senban shuriken!

Hanbo technique

Uke begins with a hanbo in his hands in Katateyaburi no kamae. Tori begins in Ichimonji nokamae. .

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Uke now circles the hanbo out and up, thencomes down on the top oftoris' wrist (verypainful).

Uke now adjusts his maai and changes legposition while simultaneously striking a pressurepoint under toris' armpit.

Seminars

Here we will keep you informed of upcomingseminars, as well as reviews of those attended.

If you want to advertise your seminar herecontact us at; nindja _dude@yahoo.com

Shihan Dean Rostohar

Togakure Ryu Ninpo Shinken GataJan 19-20,20 I 1Zagreb, Croatia

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More info on the website:http://www.bujinkan.hr/index -en.php?page=seminar&id=2

Togakure Ryu Ninpo Shinken GataMarch 1-2, 2011

Budapest, HungaryBujinkan Zanshin Dojo - Magyar Attila

Shidoshi Ho

More info on the website:http://www.bujinkan.hrlindex-en.php?page=seminar&id=2

Shihans Pedro Fleitas & JackHoban

The Heart of Budo SeminarJan 22-23, 20 II

Spring Lake. NJ USAMore info on the website:

http://www.winjutsu.eorn/seminars/hoban-fleitas.htm.

Kacem Zoughari

Shinden Fudo Ryu, Kusari fundo and katanaMarch 19-20,2011Toronto, Canada

http://www .mississaugabuj inkan.eomlkacem-zoughari-toronto

orhttp://www.mississaugabuj inkan.eom

Shinnenkai 2010

KihonJan 15 - 16,2011

The Hidden Mountain Bujinkan DojoDurham, NC, USA

Info: http://www .budosites.corn/hmbd/

Shihan Lubos Pokomy

Winter Seminar 2011Jan 21 - 22,2011

Hamry - Czech RepublicInfo: lubos@bujinkandojo.eu or Mobil

+420 603876802

Benefit Seminar - Kihon:Foundations of Budo Taijutsu

Theme for 20 I IFeb 12,2011

Shihan Karl and Carol KochCincinnati, OH

Info: tengu1@msn.eom orhttp://www.budosites.eornlhmbd/

IBDA'Tai Kai - "All ThingsNinja"

"All Things Ninja"Mar 24 - 27,2011

Middletown, Calif. USAhttp://www.ninjutsustore.eorn/store/produet.php?produetid=6311 &eat= 109&page

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Disclaimer

It is highly recommended that medical advice besought before following any of the suggestionswritten in this newsletter. It is also highlyrecommended to seek out a qualified, competentinstructor to guide you safely before attemptingthis or any other potential knowledge.

The purpose of publishing this newsletter is tohelp serious students of the Bujinkan advancetheir studies through a community effort. Thisconcept is reflected in the name of ournewsletter, "Garnbatte ne", which means, "Keepgoing". Please feel free to pass this informationamong other Bujinkaners.All content published here is for the exclusiveuse of Bujinkan students. We will strive to be asaccurate as possible. If anyone feels that theyhave anything to contribute please e-mail it tome and it will be considered for publication.Any comments or questions will be welcomed.

Peace!

The author or any contributors assume noresponsibility whatsoever for any misuse of theinformation found in these pages.

This is NOT an official Bujinkan newsletter.

Please watch who and what youteach.

Nevin Zeljko BrozShidoshi-ho

Bujinkan Seishin Ronin Dojo

Copyright 2011Bujinkan Seishin Ronin Dojo

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