Bujinkan Ninpo Taijutsu(武神館忍術)

おす！！！皆さん、おひさしぶりで〜す

Hey everyone it's been a long time!!

As promised this time I will introduce to you one of the most underrated martial arts which is called Bujinkan Ninpo Taijutsu(or Ninjutsu if you like).

First a little historical facts for the origin of this system.

The Bujinkan (武神館) is an international ninjutsu organization based in Japan and headed by Masaaki Hatsumi. It is best known for its association with the ninja. The system taught by this group, called Bujinkan Budō(or Ninpo) Taijutsu, consists of nine separate martial arts traditions.

Several of the above martial arts taught in the Bujinkan can allegedly be traced back to the Iga region of Japan and were developed and used by the Yamabushi and the Ninja. The arts said to be in the Iga-ryu Ninjutsu tradition include Gyokko Ryu, Koto Ryu, Gikan-ryū and Shinden Fudo Ryu. The alleged connection to Ninjutsu is through Hatsumi's teacher Takamatsu Toshitsugu who was, among other things, permitted to copy the Amatsu Tatara scrolls. Takamatsu Toshitsugu's grandfather was a samurai and a direct descedent of the founder of Gyokko Ryu (the Gikan-ryū was passed to Takamatsu Toshitsugu through another source). Other arts, such as Takagi Yoshin Ryu and Kukishinden Ryu were developed and used by members of Japan’s Samurai families. Today the Bujinkan incorporates techniques from all of the above 9 ryu and others.

In 1843 several of the Bujinkan ryūha were mentioned in the Kakutogi no Rekishi (“The History of Fighting Arts”).^[1] Although details of the ryūha were omitted, the publication states, "even though they are not mentioned in this particular periodical, there are several schools that are well-known for being ‘effective arts’ (jitsuryoku ha)." Among the schools listed in this section are Gyokko Ryū, Gikan-ryū Koppōjutsu, Gyokushin-ryū Ninpō, Kukishin Ryu, Takagi Yōshin-ryū Jūtaijutsu and Asayama Ichiden-ryū (which is not part of the Bujinkan’s nine schools but was studied by Hatsumi via Takashi Ueno). The Bujinkan as a whole has been recognised by the Zen Nippon Todo Renmei (All Japan Sword Federation). However, the recorded history and lineage of several of the ryūha taught in the Bujinkan, as documented by the Bujinkan, especially of Togakure-ryū Ninpō Taijutsu, have been called into question.

Formation of the Bujinkan Organization

The head of the Bujinkan organisation, Masaaki Hatsumi, is the lineage holder of several ryūha taught in the Bujinkan, transferred to him 1958 by his teacher Takamatsu Toshitsugu.
From 1968 and onwards, the Bugei Ryuha Daijiten has entries bearing the name of Hatsumi below his teacher Takamatsu Toshitsugu for the following school entries: Gyokko-ryū Kosshijutsu, Kuki Shinden Happō Bikenjutsu, Kotō-ryū Koppōjutsu, Shinden Fudō-ryū Dakentaijutsu, Takagi Yōshin-ryū Jūtaijutsu, Gikan-ryū Koppōjutsu, Gyokushin-ryū Ninpō and Kumogakure-ryū Ninpō.

So in essence we have a system which has 9 schools(Ryu)each one with a different feeling,strategy,combat philosophy etc. Although we see a lot of different techniques and kamae(postures/stances) through each school  we also see that concepts of techniques like Kihon Happo(which consist sanpo no kata and goho no kata)remain the same within every school but at the same time totally different.What this mean is that for each school there's a different way to interpret the Kihon Happo,different feeling,different movement and strategy.With this thought in mind you can literally create thousands of new techniques.Which brings us to another concept and philosophy of Bujinkan which is called Banpen Fugyo(a thousand attacks,no surprise).What this means if you are free of the form of a technique you can adapt to any situation that comes before you.That is very deep and has to be studied thoroughly and that's the reason why we have to study as students the Bujinkan system for many years before we understand these concepts.

So as mentioned before we have 9 schools:

Gyokko Ryu-Kosshi Jutsu
Koto Ryu-Koppo Jutsu
Togakure Ryu-Ninpo
Kumogakure Ryu-Ninpo
Gyokushin Ryu-Ninpo
Gikan Ryu-Koppo Jutsu

Takagi Yoshi Ryu-Ju Taijutsu
Shinden Fudo Ryu-Daken Taijutsu and Ju Taijutsu
Kukishinden Ryu-Happo Biken

What is also great about this system is that you learn to use and defend weapons and learn the art of Kenjutsu(japanese swordfighting),Bo Jutsu,Jo Jutsu and Hanbo Jutsu(stick fighting with different kind of staff),Shuriken Jutsu(projectile throwing with blades),Tanto Jutsu(knife fighting) and many more.So actually learn how to defend different kind of weapons which can be life-saving in a realistic situation out on the streets.

So there you have it.A brief overview of what Bujinkan is all about.In fututre post we're going to see techniques from each school and we're going to analyze them.

Until next time
頑張ってください(please do your best)
John



 

 

Aikido 合気道 Part 2

武芸者ブログへよこそ

And welcome to Bugeisha blog!!!

As promised in this post I'm going to be discussing about an Aikido technique,so that you can have a better understanding of what Aikido is all about.By no means one technique is a factor to judge the art overall,and that goes to any martial art,but it's the best way to show the mechanics and basic philosophy of the art.I can honestly tell you that I haven't practiced Aikido as much as Judo but I know the basic techniques required for 5th and 4th Kyu,thus I can analyze at least one technique that I have practiced numerous times.

So without further ado the technique is called Kote Gaeshi(counterattack from the wrist or forearm).
I'm sure many of you have seen this technique before,mainly from movies(Steven Seagal has performed this technique in many of his movies).

Before analyzing the technique let's start with the basic terminology,in order to make sense of what I'm talking about:

Ai hanmi katate dori: uke stands with left foot forward and tori with right foot forward(so they are exactly opposite in their stances,uke then steps forward and grabs the wrist from the inside of tori's hand.
Katate dori: both uke and tori are standing like mirror images,same foot forward.That means that when uke initiates a wrist grab,his palm will be at the outside surface of the wrist.
Irimi:enter
Tenkan:turn
Tai sabaki: circular step
Omote:inside
Ura:outside

Kote Gaeshi

Uke: from katate dori he steps forward and attacks to the wrist of tori.

Tori: does a small fraction of a step forward(Irimi) to actually countermeasure the distance of uke and turns(Tenkan) thus creating a tai sabaki outside the range of the attack,so tori is actually outside of uke,right at the moment that uke grabs the wrist of the front hand(which is actually used to bait the opponent in order to create an opening)tori uses the opposite hand to deflect the force created by uke in order to grab uke's wrist with his other hand(previously mentioned front hand.

Since tori is outside the range of the attack of uke,naturally uke will follow trying to deliver a second attack(otherwise there is no point the technique finishes right there).It's common sense that when somebody attacks you and fail they'll go for a second attack(duh).

Using all senses(mainly the sense of touching and motion),tori takes advantage of the follow technique,grabbing the wrist of uke and twisting it in the direction of uke's balance and centrifugal forces take over to actually throw the opponent on his tracks.

In practice when this technique is performed uke actually does an ukemi(breakfall)in order to reduce the stress created in his joint.That explains the "fancy flips" you see in exhibitions,it's for self-protecting purposes,it's not to impress you with acrobatics.And for the doubters I challenge you to get under one such technique and I promise you,you'll be flying all over the place in order to avoid this painful joint lock.

Of course katate dori is not the only grab that you can use kote gaeshi for,there's a variety of attacks like chuudan tsuki(middle punch),ryote dori(grabbing both hands),ai hanmi katate dori,ushiro ryote dori(grabbing both wrists from the rear) shomen uchi(front sword hand strike)and so on so forth.So we see that one technique can be used for a variety of attacks which shows how versatile Aikido is.

So there you go,that's one of the many impressive and effective techniques of Aikido.I hope by now you have grasped the concept of harmonizing your energy with the energy of your opponent through motion.If you practice and grasp the true essence of Aikido you are one step closer to understanding the universal truths about energy and harmony.To my understanding that's the true essence of Aikido,creating something beautiful through motion.Although it sounds quite poetic don't misjudge the effectiveness of the art cause remember,samurai have used these techniques for centuries,so they're tested on the battlefield.If it worked for these warriors it'll definitely work for us modern age fighters ;)

In my next post I'm going to start a series for my favorite so far martial art which is Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu(or Bujinkan Ninjutsu) of Soke Hatsumi Masaaki(he's not the creator but the successor),the art of 9 ancient ryu(schools) of samurai and ninja(yes they are real and not some fiction hollywood pijama assassin killer freak).

Until next post 

頑張ってください(do your best)

John

Aikido 合気道

武芸者のブログへよこそ

Welcome to yet another post of Bugeisha blog.Today's topic is going to be Aikido(合気道) or "the way of unifying your energy".Aikido's founder is a man called Ueshiba Morihei and we could define it as an esoteric martial art system that avoids direct attacks from Tori(the defender we might call it).

Aikido was created by Morihei Ueshiba (植芝 盛平 Ueshiba Morihei, 14 December 1883–26 April 1969), referred to by some aikido practitioners as O sensei ("Great Teacher"). Ueshiba envisioned aikido not only as the synthesis of his martial training, but also an expression of his personal philosophy of universal peace and reconciliation. During Ueshiba's lifetime and continuing today, aikido has evolved from the Aiki that Ueshiba studied into a wide variety of expressions by martial artists throughout the world.

Ueshiba developed aikido primarily during the late 1920s through the 1930s through the synthesis of the older martial arts that he had studies.The core martial art from which aikido derives is Daitou Ryu Aiki Jujutsu, which Ueshiba studied directly with Takeda Sokaku, the reviver of that art. Additionally, Ueshiba is known to have studied Tenjin Shinyou Ryu with Tozawa Tokusaburō in Tokyo in 1901, Gotoha Yagyu Shinkage Ryu under Nakai Masakatsu in Sakai from 1903 to 1908, and Judo with Kiyoichi Takagi (高木 喜代子 Takagi Kiyoichi, 1894–1972) in Tanabe in 1911.
The art of Daitō-ryū is the primary technical influence on aikido. Along with empty-handed throwing and joint-locking techniques, Ueshiba incorporated training movements with weapons, such as those for the spear (yari), short staff (jō), and perhaps the bayonet (銃剣, jūken). However, aikido derives much of its technical structure from the art of swordsmanship (kenjutsu).

Ueshiba moved to Hokkaidō in 1912, and began studying under Takeda Sokaku in 1915. His official association with Daitō-ryū continued until 1937. However, during the latter part of that period, Ueshiba had already begun to distance himself from Takeda and the Daitō-ryū. At that time Ueshiba was referring to his martial art as "Aiki Budō". It is unclear exactly when Ueshiba began using the name "aikido", but it became the official name of the art in 1942 when the Greater Japan Martial Virtue Society (Dai Nippon Butoku Kai) was engaged in a government sponsored reorganization and centralization of Japanese martial arts.

Technique-wise on the empty hand combat Aikido has a variety of joint locks(wrist,elbow,shoulder,knee),throws and chokes.All techniques have a strong sense of absorbing the attack from the opponent through circular and linear movement called Tai Sabaki or Irimi Tenkan(enter and turn).Techniques like Irimi Nage,Kote Gaeshi,Ude Kime Nage,Ikkyo,Nikyo clearly depict that kind of motion.The main philosophy is to never attack and always accept,that's why we see that all techniques start with the opponent attacking first(wrist grab,elbow grap,sword-hand attack etc).Then the one defending moves out of the range of the attack causing the disruption of the balance and leaving an opening for an attack.

We also see that the variety of techniques are directly related to the weaponry Aikido uses,which is Jo,Ken and Tanto(middle staff,sword and knife).What that means that the motions or tai sabaki you use when you are empty handed are exactly the same when you hold a Jo or a bokken(wooden practice sword who is modeled after the japanese sword katana).From this point it's clear that Aikido has roots from a martial art that was used by the warrior classes which manly used weapons to fight and had empty handed combat like a last resort when they lost their weapons.Furthermore we see it clearly from the basic kamae(stance) of Aikido which is like holding a sword.

Next time I'm going to analyze one technique and see in depth what Aikido is all about.

Until Then
頑張ってください(Do your best please)

John

Judo 柔道 Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nESyIcul344

おす！！！！みんなさん

In my last post I gave you general information about Judo.In this post I'm going to analyze a technique which is known to every single one of you,either you are a martial artist(of any style) or not.The technique is called Osoto Gari(major outer reaping).
First of all some terminology so that you can familiarize yourself with the analysis that's coming up.

Tori=the partner that executes the technique or the one who is creating the energy.
Uke=the partner that excepts the technique or the one that excepts the attacker's energy
Ukemi=breakfall to absorb the contact with the mat
Kumi Kata=the way of gripping the judogi
Hiki Te=the hand that pulls or holds the sleeve of the judogi
Tsuri Te=the hand that holds the lapel of the judogi
Kuzushi=breaking the balance of your partner
Tsukuri=placing yourself in the correct position to throw your opponent
Kake=the execution of the throw
Migi=right
Hidari=left
Mae=front
Ushiro=back
Yoko=side
Naname=diagonal
Aruki=walking
Tsugi Ashi=stepping with your one foot on the front as the other one follows from the rear
Shizen Tai/Hon Tai=natural stance with feet shoulder width apart.
Randori=no restriction free training almost like sparring

Osoto Gari Analysis

Firstly we have both partners holding their kumi kata in shizen tai.

Tori: Stepping with the left foot at the right side of uke,not too far and not too close.At the exact moment of stepping in the unbalancing of the uke must be initiated in order to throw.
The hiki te must pull the sleeve in downward direction in order to pin the weight of uke on his right side,thus moving his center of gravity to the right so as to make him vulnerable.
The tsuri te must support hiki te,so it pushes naname migi(diagonally to the right side)in order to further the action of moving the uke's center of gravity to the right side,thus making him even more vulnerable to tori's attack.

All this process I have just described is the method to create kuzushi. It's the most important element we need to throw our uke,without it it's impossible to throw anyone not even if you bench press 1000 pounds or squat 2000 pounds-well if you are in a static situation where your uke is standing still then yes you could do it with brute force,but remember the sole purpose of Judo is to throw with the minimum waste of energy,so it would be pointless to just wrestle a throw.

To sum the technique:
Tori:once you've secured the kuzushi of uke,you bring your right leg(fully extended knee)behind uke's right leg and then you swing it backwards in order to throw your opponent.
Uke:does a yoko ukemi(side breakfall).

Now I know that many of you are wondering "yeah ok but what if the opponent resists,or steps behind" etc. Here is where randori comes into play.You've got to develop a strategy in order to execute a throw,remember you have an opponent that wants to throw you as much as you do so he'll do anything to stop you from throwing.

So how do we execute an osoto gari?Remember the basic characteristics of the technique:we need to unbalance the opponent diagonally backwards to the right side.That means if he's moving forward and we try to do osoto gari we'll collide with his force,so not only we'll be unable to do the throw but we'll see position ourselves to lose our own balance in the process,giving our opponent the advantage to counter attack.We have to make him shift his momentum to the back in order to create an opening for us to attack.How do we do that?We simply use the leverage of the judogi(pushing-pulling)and walk continuously changing the direction to bait your opponent into the desirable direction to do osoto gari.
That's one of the most fundamental strategies of Judo and you can apply it to every single technique.You find through practice the key elements of your favorite technique and you apply it in randori.Sounds simple and easy isn't it?Well it's probably the most difficult thing you'll ever do in Judo just because it's the essence of practicing Judo.It needs countless hours of practice until you get the "trick" of how to effortlessly create a condition to throw,but believe me the first time you do it it's going to liberate you,make you feel like you created something out of nothing,make you feel like the opponent just flied over your head like he was a rag doll,like you didn't even try.

That's the true essence of Judo.

In my next post I'm going to introduce to you Aikido 合気道 the martial art that has descended from the war time Jujutsu of Daito Ryu AikiJutsu.

Until next time

頑張ってください(please do your best)

Judo 柔道

Judo(柔道）is comprised by two kanji(chinese way of written words) Ju(柔) which can be translated as peaceful,gentle and Do(道) which can be translated as the way or road.
Judo is a modern martial art created by Kano Jigoro.Kano was born into a well-to-do Japanese family. His grandfather was a self-made man, a sake brewer from Shiga Prefecture in central Japan. However, Kano's father was not the eldest son and therefore did not inherit the business. Instead, he became a Shinto priest and government official, with enough influence for his son to enter the second incoming class of Tokyo imperial university.

Kano was a small, frail boy, who, even in his twenties, did not weigh more than a hundred pounds (45 kg), and was often picked on by bullies. He first started pursuing jujutsu, at that time a dying art,at the age of 17, but met with little success. This was in part due to difficulties finding a teacher who would take him on as a student. When he went to university to study literature at the age of 18, he continued his martial arts studies, eventually gaining a referral to Fukuda Hachinosuke (c.1828–c.1880), a master of the Tenjin Shinyou Ryu and grandfather of Keiko Fukuda (born 1913), who is Kano's only surviving student, and the highest-ranking female jūdōka in the world. Fukuda Hachinosuke is said to have emphasized technique over formal exercise, sowing the seeds of Kano's emphasis on free practice (randori) in judo.

A little more than a year after Kano joined Fukuda's school, Fukuda became ill and died. Kano then became a student in another Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū school, that of Iso Masatomo (c.1820–c.1881), who put more emphasis on the practice of pre-arranged forms (kata) than Fukuda had. Through dedication, Kano quickly earned the title of master instructor (shihan) and became assistant instructor to Iso at the age of 21. Unfortunately, Iso soon took ill, and Kano, feeling that he still had much to learn, took up another style, becoming a student of Iikubo Tsunetoshi (1835–1889) of Kitou Ryu. Like Fukuda, Iikubo placed much emphasis on free practice. On the other hand, Kitou Ryu emphasized throwing techniques to a much greater degree than Tenjin Shinyou Ryu.

Judo technique-wise can be broken down into the following categories:

1. Nage Waza(Throwing Techniques)
2. Ne Waza(Ground Techniques)
3. Atemi Waza (Striking techniques)
   

It's noteworthy to say that Atemi waza aren't practiced until higher degree black belt(at least Yodan-4th degree black belt)and always in the form of Kata.The reason behind this is because strikes can easily injure a partner or can be misused in a controlled and ineffective manner(stopping the strike a few inches before a persons' body).Kanos' intention was to create an art that can use effectively strength without injuring a parter.Thus you can use your full strength into a throw and if your partner knows how to do a breakfall(Ukemi)to absorb the impact from the mat(tatami)you have literally zero injury.That's why we see a lot of banners in many dojo(school that practice takes place)writing the following words in japanese calligraphy 精力善用 which can be translated as the maximum efficiency of force.This is a major principle for Judo because all the techniques are based on this foundation.That leads us to another aspect of Judo which is what elements are necessary to execute a throw with minimum force but high(maximum) efficiency:

1. Kuzushi(breaking the balance)
   
2. Tsukuri(placing your self for the technique)
   
3. Kake(Throw)

In my opinion the most important of these 3 principles is the first.Kuzushi is the off-balancing of your opponent by any means necessary(pulling,pushing,stepping,using feints etc).To break the balance of you opponent doesn't necessarily mean that you'll use all your strength into it,that would be counter productive and against the principle of maximum efficiency.That's why we learn through practice to use the action-reaction law of physics and the principle of leverage.What that means practically is that you use proper steps(aruki,tsugi ashi,yori ashi, etc)and use the leverage of the judogi(uniform we wear in judo)to break the balance of your opponent.That is the first condition you must clear if you want to execute a proper throw.
We'll discuss the rest of the principles in another episode where we will analyze a technique.

So by now you should understand that Judo is a realistic martial art,highly effective for any kind of situation.It should be,because it's the spawn of jujutsu,the empty hand combat method that soldiers(samurai)used in war.Even in this time and age law enforcement and military use the same techniques for their empty hand combat training.Not to mention the constant use of Judo techniques in MMA(Mixed Martial Arts).Where do you think all those "takedown" techniques come from anyway ;)

In the next episode I'm going to do further analysis on Judo and introduce some of the techniques that make this art so fascinating.

Until then
頑張ってください

John

Introduction

みんなさんはじめまして

Welcome to Bugeisha,a martial arts based blog for all of you.
This blog is dedicated to traditional and modern martial arts of the east.In each episode I'll introduce various concepts that are related to martial arts,as well as various styles.
Being a martial artist for several years I decided to inform both fellow martial artists and those who are aspiring to be one.All the info is going to have direct links for your research through the wonderful path of bugei(martial arts).

Until the first part
頑張ってね
ジョン