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Japanese Ninjutsu dictionary Learn the meaning of all the words that make up your art.Never be caught out or confused again!
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The Tale of the Forty-seven Ronin
The story is a real historical incident that took place in 1701, in which forty-seven loyal samurai revenged the death of their lord. The story has become famous in Japan through countless plays, movies, and novels.
The Story began in the spring of 1701, Lord Asano, the young daimyo (lord) of Ako Castle, was appointed to serve on the reception committee at the Shogun's castle in Edo (Tokyo) for the annual visit of messengers from the Emperor. This was a ceremonious occasion full story here
Ninjutsu Battlefield course September
So you thought that ninjutsu was just training in a nice cosy dojo? Well you’re
wrong. For two days of the year our eyes were just beginning to be opened up to what
it actually meant to be a ninja in the 16th century. Well not entirely. There’s a
few supermarkets down the road, a good pub serving hot food and all the luxuries of
modern life like tents, camp-beds and prima stoves. However the beginnings were
there. Different "clans" of ninja from around the country meeting up under cover of
darkness (it would have been daylight but the directions to the campsite were poorly
followed by my navigator), swapping travelling yarns and most important of all
preparing for battle on the following dawn. Or rather around tenish after a good
fry-up.
The morning began with a fairly tough warm-up, compounded by the fact that a fair
amount of alcohol was imbibed the previous evening, and continued with sword cutting
and blocking that resulted in many a broken bokken. A sure sign that everyone was
well up for training and what ever may lie ahead. The day progressed into some very
interesting aspects of ninjustu I’d not encountered before. Concealment/camouflage
and the principles of attacking and defending a hill. Storming a hill and throwing
one of your new-found friends down it was one of my fondest memories of the weekend.
Many other skills were passed on to us that weekend, ranging from moving in groups
across all types of terrain, guard assassination, communication on the battlefield,
patrol interception and even exploring our own minds. This last one might sound a
little too much like new age bunkum, but it has to be seen to be believed.
As with all national courses it is a great opportunity to train with new and
different bodies. Not knowing how the other person is going to react helps sharpen
the technique and mind. The whole weekend also lets you understand what a wide
ranging martial art ninjutsu is and how much there is available to learn… Oh yeah…
and there are other people out there who like running around in a field and hitting
each other with swords a spears.
Dan Griffiths
1st section of the 18 skills of the Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu (Bujinkan)
The Togakure ryu, established approximately eight hundred years ago, is
now in its thirty-fourth generation. At the height of the historical ninja period, the
clan's ninja operatives were trained in eighteen fundamental areas of
expertise, beginning with this "psychic purity" and progressing through a
vast range of physical and mental skills. The eighteen levels of training
were as follows:
1. Seishin Teki Kyoyo (Spiritual Refinement)
The Togakure ninja worked at developing a deep and accurate knowledge of
himself, his personal power, his strengths and weaknesses, and his
influence on the playing out of life. The ninja had to be very clear about
his intentions, his commitments, and his personal motivations in life.
Personality traits could often mean the difference between life and death
in his line of work. Exercises in mental endurance, ways of looking at
things, and proper perspective when evlatuating things, were taught to the
ninja along with his physical skills. By evolving into a mystic's
understanding of the universal process, the historical Togakure ryu ninja
became a warrior philosopher. His engagements in combat were then
motivated by love or reverance, and not by the mere thrill of violent
danger or need of money.
Welcome to news line 10
This is edition is just a short poem
Ninjutsu Poem
My parents are the Heaven
and earth.
My home is my body.
My power is my loyalty.
My magic is my training.
My life and my death is breathing.
My body is control.
My eyes are the sun and the moon.
My ears are sensitivity
My laws are self protection.
My strength is adaptability.
My ambition is taking every opportunity with fullness.
My friend is my mind.
My enemy is carelessness.
My protection is right action.
My weapons are everything that exists.
My strategy is one foot in front of the other.
My way is Ninjutsu
Live Well and Love life
Andrew Thomas
www.ninjutsu.org.uk
2nd section of the 18 skills of the Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu (Bujinkan)
2. Tai Jutsu (Unarmed Combat)
Skills of daken-taijutsu or striking, kicking, and blocking; jutai-jutsu
or grappling, choking and escaping the holds of others, and taihenjutsu or
silent movement, rolling, leaping, and tumbling asisted the Togakure ninja
in life-threatening, defensive situations.
3. Ninja Ken (Ninja Sword)
The ninja's sword hada short straight single edged blade, and was
considered to be his primary fighting tool. Two distinct sword skills were
required of the ninja. "Fast Draw" techniques centered around drawing the
sword and cutting as a simultaneous action. "Fencing" skills used the
drawn sword in technique clashes with armed attackers.
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Art of War bite
"In conflict, straightforward actions generally lead to engagement, surprising actions generally lead to victory."
HBO Series character, Tony Soprano:
"Been reading that-- that book you told me about. You know, The Art of War by Sun Tzu. I mean here's this guy, a Chinese general, wrote this thing 2400 years ago, and most of it still applies today! Balk the enemy's power. Force him to reveal himself. You know most of the guys that I know, they read Prince Machiavelli, and I had Carmela go and get the Cliff Notes once and -- he's okay. But this book is much better about strategy."
3rd section of the 18 skills of the
Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu (Bujinkan)
4. Bo-Jutsu (Stick and Staff Fighting)
The Japanese stick fighting art, practiced by samurai and peasants alike,
was also a strong skill of the ninja. Togakure ninja were taught to use
the bo long staff (six feet) and hanbo "half-staff" cane (three feet), as
well as sticks and clubs of varying lengths. Specially constructed
shinobi-zue or ninja canes were designed to look like the normal walking
sticks, but concealed blades, chains, or darts that could be used against
an enemy.
5. Shuriken-Jutsu (Throwing Blades)
Throwing blades were carried in concealed pockets and used as harassing
weapons. The Togakure ryu used a special four-pointed throwing star called
a senban shuriken, which was constructed from a thin steel plate. The
blade was thrown with a flat spinning motion and hit its target with a
sawing effect. Bo shuriken or straight shaft darts and spikes were also
constructed for throwing.
Welcome to our news line edition 2
Content
1) Advice for first 12 weeks
2) Syllabus spotlight
3) Friends
4)All you want to know about Samurai swords
1) Advise for new students in their first 12 weeks of training.
Do not try to remember every thing give your self a chance to
absorb the ideas and techniques being taught. The best way to
learn the flowing movements of NINJUTSU is to allow the
techniques to wash over you. Over a period of time you will soak
all these techniques into your subconscious and be able to create
your own techniques as natural reactions to any given situation.
To start with only try to remember the 2 Kata's , Kame no Kata
and Sanchin no Kata and practice stretching, rolls, break falls ,
and cardiovascular exercise this will give your body the best
chance to absorb the techniques when you are in the dojo
And remember the best way to learn is to have fun and enjoy the
training after all if you enjoy it you will learn much faster
Advice for the old hands never forget to do the above or you will
start to lose your edge!!
2) Syllabus spotlight
Taihenjutsu what's that all about???
Means to condition your body for better NINJUTSU and life.
Includes all forms of stamina, endurance and strength training.
Plus all methods of break falls ukemi and rolls kaiten. To enable
you too blend with the earth rather then hit it like a ton of
bricks. Can also include rock climbing, cycling, swimming and
running so all these out side activities are really small piece
of NINJUTSU increasing the fitness of your heart and body.
Junan taisho what's that??
The study of flexibility and diet to develop your natural maximum
flexibility in both static positions and movement. This will
greatly aid the quality of your life and NINJUTSU. You can learn
these skills in the dojo but we also recommend that students seek
extra information.I encourage you to read about this subject.
3) Friends ,If you are really enjoying the benefits
of martial arts training:
* confidence
* fitness
* self defence
* improved coordination
* mental agility,
and, so much more...
Then how about telling your friends?
5) Are you interested in Japanese Samurai swords? if yes look here
Live Well and Love life
Andrew Thomas
info@warriorcrafts.com
www.warriorcrafts.com
www.ninjutsu.org.uk
Japanese Words scroll down for more articles
4th section of the 18 skills of the
Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu (Bujinkan)
11. Shinobi-Iri (Stealth and Entering Methods)
The ninja's techniques of silent movement, breaking and entering, and
gaining access to inaccessible areas became legends in feudal Japan .
Togakure ryu ninja learned special walking and running methods for
covering long distances, passing over floors silently, and for staying in
the shadows while moving, in order to facilitate entry and escape.
12. Ba-Jutsu (Horsemanship)
Togakure ryu ninja were taught to be proficient on horseback, both in
riding and mounted combat skills.
13. Sui-Ren (Water Training)
Stealth swimming, silent movement through water, methods of using special
boats and floats to cross over water, and underwater combat techniques
were taught to Togakure ryu ninja.
14. Bo-Ryaku (Strategy)
Unconventional tactics of deception and battle, political plots, and
advantageous timing for use of current events were used by Togakure ryu
ninja. By employing or influencing seemingly outside forces to bring the
enemy around to doing what the ninja wanted him to do, ninja were able to
work their will without drawing undue attention to themselves.
15. Cho Ho (Espionage)
Methods of successful espionage were perfected. This included ways of
locating and recruiting spies and served as a guide for using espionage
agents most effectively.
16. Inton-Jutsu (Escape and Concealment)
Ninja were experienced masters in the ways of using nature to cover their
exit, allowing them to "dissapear" at will. The goton-po five elements of
escape were based on a working familiarity with the creative use of earth,
water, fire, metal, and wood aspects of nature and the environment.
17. Ten-Mon (Meteorology
Forecasting and taking advantage of weather and seasonal phenomena was an
important part of any battle consideration. Ninja were trained to observe
all the subtle signals from the environment in order to predict weather
conditions.
18. Chi-Mon (Geography)
Knowing and successfully using the features of the terrain were crucial
skills in the historical art of ninjutsu.
Ninjutsu Courses
Matsuri Ninjutsu/Ninjitsu Festival June 2004
Training at the annual Matsuri in Dublin totally transformed my
understanding of Ninjutsu/Ninjitsu. The level of skill of Brian McCarthy and the
Hombu dojo blackbelts is outstanding. The one day National Courses are
excellent, but the annual two day immersion in Ninjutsu makes a massive
difference to my understanding of the art.
Everyone who trains at the Matsuri returns to their Dojo filled with
renewed enthusiasm for their art, fresh techniques, and a selection of
impressive looking bruises.
It is easy to get complacent, training with the same faces and bodies
every week in your own Dojo. Dublin always pushes me out of my comfort
zone, teaching me how much I have to learn and accomplish to evolve as a
martial artist and ultimately make it through the blackbelt gradings .
Training at the Hombu Dojo in a supportive and focussed atmosphere will
make you exceed what you thought was possible.
The most important thing for me about the Matsuri is the spirit of both
the Hombu Dojo and the students in the BBD from across England and
Europe. Well, that and how good a pint of Guinness tastes after you have
really earned it.
By Peter Grey
Welcome to our news line edition 1.
Our news line will always start Warriorcrafts so you can always recognise it in
your inbox.
Firstly use the below for lesson times and directions
http://www.ninjutsu.org.uk/contacts.htm
If you live outside our area's check this out.These are all guys i have trained with
http://www.warriorcrafts.com/links/bbd.html and the rest of the uk and world wide below
http://www.warriorcrafts.com/links/ninjutsu.html
This first news line is a bit long but it explains a lot of key
points for you.
The newslines purpose is to
1) Give information to our new students
2) Provide a question answer format for new & old students send
to questions@warriorcrafts.com
3) Send articles of specific interest
4) Keep you informed on all current events
The news line starts with basic info and slowly moves on to more
in depth material so if you are an old hand bear with us. If you
are new to martial arts/ninjutsu this format will be ideal for
you.
If you have just joined the Portsmouth/Brighton dojo (school)
well done this is a very positive move for you with many
benefits.
If you have not yet started training we look forward to seeing
you soon.
If you are unable to get to lesson's due to your location you
will get many valuable articles relevant to martial arts
/NINJUTSU.
********* DOJO ETIQUETTE *********
Many new students wonder what the correct etiquette is in the
dojo (centre).Let me explain for you.
1) No out door shoes on the mats
2) Bow to shrine when entering dojo this is a sign of respect to
those who brought the system of NINJUTSU to you.
3) Ask as many questions as you like we are only too please to
help.
4) You will need to fill in a registration form this is the
normal basic details.
6) Physical condition you do not need to be fit to start NINJUTSU
what ever your current fitness level we will start from there and
build you up gradually
A word of friendly advice - do not get to carried away and
overexert yourself. This is a classic mistake - the new students
try's so hard to do well (especial in the warm up) and burns them
self out. The result is that next day they cannot move a muscle.
Give yourself the time to develop. For example if you can only
do 2 press ups add an extra 2 to 4 each week don't try to do 50
and kill your self.
4 WEEK INDUCTION PERIOD
This is your golden opportunity to suss out the art of NINJUTSU
with out feeling rushed or making snap decision. You will only
see the smallest amount of the technique we have available to
teach you. But more importantly during this time you can meet the
people you will be training with and the teachers who will be
helping you.Get too know them. This will help you develop more
then fitness and technique. You will find no meat heads in my dojo
the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly by design this fosters an
open atmosphere and new students feel free to question aspects of
the training, this aids them in understanding what we do and
why.
Live well and Love life
Andrew Thomas 4TH Dan
info@warriorcrafts.com
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