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Bujinkan

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File:Buj-logo.jpg
"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). The Bujinkan hombu dōjō is in Noda just outside Tokyo. Bujinkan dōjō can be found all over the world. The Bujinkan and a few 'off-shoots' are collectively known as the X-kan.

The Bujinkan Dōjō method is named Bujinkan Budō Taijutsu (武神館武道体術), and is a collection of nine martial arts family lineages, called ryūha. 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 today avoid as it has acquired something of a bad reputation. 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, and is composed of both armed and unarmed methods of fighting. Unarmed methods are broken down into three primary categories, dakentaijutsu (striking forms), jūtaijutsu (grappling forms), and taihenjutsu (body movement skills). 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, such as sword (including daito, wakizashi and tanto, bamboo shinai, wooden bokken, iaitō a flexible aluminum replica sword that holds no edge, or swords made by soft modern materials are employed for safety such as padded bokken), staffs of various lengths (bō, jō, hanbō), rope, kusari-fundo (weighted chain), kusarigama (sickle with chain), yari (spear), kamayari (spear with 2 rearward hooking blades), bisento (similar to the naginata), kyoketsu shoge (similar to a kama except it has a dagger point and a rope of several feet attached to an iron ring), jutte (shaped like a sai with just a single prong, at a smaller distance from the shaft of the weapon) tessen (iron fan), naginata (Japanese halberd), kunai (a bladed digging tool), as well various form of shuriken including bo-shuriken and senban shuriken. Weapons are categorized into four primary classes - sticks, blades, flexibles, and projectiles.

As a general rule, Bujinkan Budō Taijutsu practitioners don't engage in competitions or contests.

Ranks

The Bujinkan Dōjō establishes a series of eleven kyū grades below the rank of black belt, starting with Mukyu (no grade) and then from Jukyu (10th kyu) to Ikkyu (1st kyu). Kyū ranks usually wear green or red belts: green for men and red for women, although there is some variety amongst teachers and dōjō. There were originally 10 dan grades, as with many other martial arts using the kyū/dan ranking system, but this was changed by sōke Masaaki Hatsumi to 15 dan grades of black belt. The grades are divided into three groupings; 1st-5th dan Ten (heaven), 6th-10th dan Chi (earth), 11th-15th dan Jin (man). The last five are further divided into the five elements; Chi (earth), Sui (water), Ka (fire), Fū (wind) and Kū (void).

Since there are generally only two belt colors, the practitioner's rank is displayed by the color of the art's emblem (called wappen), which has the kanji bujin on it. There are four kinds of wappen (9th to 1st kyū, 1st to 4th dan, 5th to 9th dan, and 10th to 15th dan) sometimes augmented with up to four silver or gold stars (called hoshi) above or around the emblem, representing the individual ranks.

At 5th dan (godan), 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 the sakki. A practitioner ranked as godan or above has the option of becoming a licenced teacher (shidōshi). A shidōshi is entitled to open his own dōjō, and hand out ranks up to 4th dan at the premises he wishes. A practitioner ranked as 1st to 4th 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 has been given 10th dan (jūdan). in the Bujinkan a 10th to 15th dan is often referred to as a shihan.

In addition to the kyū/dan ranking system, a few select senior master practitioners have earned older menkyo kaiden certificates of mastery in individual school lineages. These menkyo kaiden certificates 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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