Introduction: Bujinkan

Enlightenment Way of Warrior

   Bujinkan Budō Taijutsu (also commonly called as Ninjutsu or Ninpō Taijutsu) meaning "Divine Warrior Hall Martial Way of Free-body Techniques", is the ultimate art of self-defence in daily-life and war periods, developed by Hatsumi Masaaki Sōke (34th Grandmaster Tōgakure-Ryū Ninpō) by combining the essence of nine schools of Budo and Ninpō, which He has inherited from his great master who was once famed as Mongolian Tiger named Takamatsu Toshitsugu, who was the grandson of 32nd grandmaster of Togakure Toda Shinryūken.


   The nine schools (ryū-ha) consist of:

1. Togakure-ryū (Door-Hidden School)
2. Kumogakure-ryū (Cloud-Hidden School)
3. Shinden Fudo-ryū (Heart Transmission Natural Way School)
4. Gyokushin-ryū (Jeweled Heart School)
5. Gikan-ryū (Exemplary Justice School)
6. Takagi Yoshin-ryū (High Tree Good Spirit School)
7. Koto-ryū (Tiger Knocking Down School)
8. Gyokko-ryū (Jeweled Tiger School)
9. Kukishinden-ryū (Nine Demons Divine Transmission School)

   Bujinkan now has thousands of registered members all around the world. Bujinkan is the martial art or as Hatsumi Soké says "Martial Way" and does not only teach Ninjutsu though it does contain what is called "The Essence of Ninjutsu". It itself is definitely not Ninjutsu all on its own and is a combination of all budo ryū-ha Hatsumi Masaaki Sōke has inherited from Takamatsu Sōke, three of which are ninjutsu schools: Togakure-ryū, Kumogakure-ryū and Gyokushin-ryū.

  If you ask me how I feel about Bujinkan budō taijutsu, it is much similar to Tai Chi. In-fact it is true that the old schools of Bujinkan have originated from Old Chinese Boxing. Your forms are not static like other martial arts. Even if you are standing straight as in Shizen no Kamae, it looks static but it isn't; there's an intention, a movement, a flow in it which isn't felt by opponent though he/she does realize that something is just not right, is different or unusual. These flow forms you can see in the Bujinkan Denshō provided to Hatsumi Sōke by Takamatsu Sōke. You not only flow with your body but with your Spirit. There's a continuous flow of Energy within and around you and you also control the energy and flow of your opponent. That's why if you have seen Sōke demonstrating the technique, you may think that the attacker has purposely missed and followed into the technique of Soké but it isn't so. He actually isn't able to attack because he isn't able to judge the true form of Sōke and he seems to follow in the technique because he has been driven in a natural way into the Sōke's technique. This you will actually feel right when you face such an opponent as the Sōke.