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Bujinkan

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File:Buj-logo.jpg
Stylized "Bujinkan" Symbol in Japanese

The Bujinkan (Warrior Spirit Training Hall or House of the Divine Warrior), or more properly the Bujinkan Dōjō (武神館道場) is a martial arts organization. It is headed and operated by sōke Masaaki Hatsumi (初見良昭 Hatsumi Masaaki), who learned from Toshitsugu Takamatsu (高松寿嗣 Takamatsu Toshitsugu).[citation needed] The Bujinkan hombu dōjō is in Noda just outside Tokyo. Bujinkan dōjō can be found all over the world.[citation needed]

The Bujinkan Dōjō method is named Bujinkan Budō Taijutsu (武神館武道体術), and is a collection of nine martial arts ryūha, some of which are or were at some point also family lineages.[citation needed] The art was previously called Bujinkan Ninpō Taijutsu and before that it was known under the more generic name of ninjutsu - a name that many serious practitioners of the art in America today avoid as it has acquired something of a bad reputation there. One thing associated with ninjutsu is the throwing of shuriken and although it is part of the curriculum of some ryūha, it is very much a small facet of a much larger system.

Training

The training is generally referred to as taijutsu (body arts), and is composed of both armed and unarmed methods of fighting. Much of the basic taijutsu taught to beginners comes from six primary lineages in the Bujinkan compendium, namely Kotō-ryū, Gyokko-ryū, Shinden Fudō-ryū, Takagi Yōshin-ryū, Kuki Shinden-ryū, and Togakure-ryū.

A large variety of weapons are taught, including swords such as daito, wakizashi and tanto, bamboo shinai, wooden bokken, mogito (a flexible aluminum replica sword that holds no edge), or swords made by soft modern materials are employed for safety such as fukuro shinai, staves of varying lengths (bō, jō), short staves called (hanbō, Hanjo|hanjō), nawa (rope), kusari-fundo (weighted chain), kusarigama (sickle with chain), yari (spear), kamayari (spear with curved sickle-like blades crossing the principal head), kagiyari (spear with 2 rearward hooks), bisento (known in Mandarin as 'kwandao'), kyoketsu shoge (similar to a kama except it has a dagger point and a rope of several feet attached to an iron ring), jutte (sword trapping truncheon), tessen (iron fan), naginata (Japanese glaive), kunai (a blunt digging tool), as well various form of shuriken including bo-shuriken and senban shuriken.

Bujinkan Budō Taijutsu practice does not include participation in competitions or contests.

Dan

The Bujinkan Dōjō establishes a series of nine kyū grades below the level of shodan, starting with mukyu ("without grade") and then from kukyu (9 kyu) to ikkyu (1 kyu). Kyū levels usually wear green or red belts: green for men and red for women. Although in this matter there is some variety amongst teachers and dōjō in the United States, in Japan and the rest of the world this is the observed custom. There were originally 10 dan levels, as with many other martial arts using the kyū/dan system, but this was changed by sōke Masaaki Hatsumi to 15 dan levels. It was once said that Hatsumi commented that in feudal times, a man was deemed a man ready to go to war at fifteen years of age , hence the 15 dan rlevels.[citation needed] He then went on to joke that now with the mature age being 21, maybe he should raise it again. The grades are divided into three groupings; 1-5 dan Ten (Heaven), 6-10 dan Chi (Earth), 11-15 dan Jin (Man, in the sense of Humanity). The Jin levels are further divided into the five elements of the Godai; chi (earth), sui (water), ka (fire), fū (wind) and kū (void).

The practitioner's level is displayed by the color of the art's emblem, called wappen (ワッペン), inscribed with the kanji "bu"(武) and "jin" (神). There are four kinds of wappen (9 to 1 kyū, 1 to 4 dan, 5 to 9 dan, and 10 to 15 dan) sometimes augmented with up to four silver or gold stars (called hoshi) above or around the emblem, representing the individual ranks.

At 4 dan (yondan), practitioners submit to a test before the sōke to establish that they are able to sense the presence of danger and evade it, considered to be a fundamental survival skill. This is called sakki. This is the test for 5 dan. A practitioner with the level of godan or above is entitled to apply for a teaching liscence (shidōshi menkyo). A shidōshi is entitled to open his own dōjō, and grade students up to the level of 4 dan. A practitioner with the level of between 1 dan to 4 dan may become a licenced "assistant teacher" (shidōshi-ho), if backed by and acting under the supervision of a shidōshi 5th to 9th dan or a person who holds the level of 10 dan (jūdan). In the Bujinkan a person who holds the level of between 10 dan and 15 dan is often referred to as a shihan.

In addition to the kyū/dan system, a few practitioners have earned menkyo kaiden "liscences of complete transmission" in individual schools. These menkyo kaiden essentially establish that the master practitioner has learned all that there is to learn about the particular lineage. Whereas the kyū/dan ranks are often made public, those select practitioners who have earned menkyo kaiden rarely divulge their status.

Nine ryūha lineages of Bujinkan Budō Taijutsu

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