Message from Mark Lithgow (April 2016)
From Mark Lithgow: “Really good training with Hatsumi sensei today! I really liked how Phillip started the class before Sensei came. He spoke of how several people mentioned at the recent memorial event about the importance of kihon, and started the class with the Sanshin no Kata. He counted...
How is your Structure?
Fuji-San 2016 I encourage all Bujinkan practitioners, as I am doing myself, to dedicate this year to improving your structure. The Japanese have a saying, “Hone ga arimasuka?” Its a question that translates to, “Does that person have bone?” You hear it in the dojo from the seniors referring to...
Bujinkan 1983
Bujinkan 1983 After publishing articles on my early days of martial arts training in the 70s, several of you asked me to write about my first few years training in the Bujinkan. This article will cover the official start of my Bujinkan training with Larry Beaver in Florida until I moved to Ala...
Aspects of Training- April 2019
Aspects of Training I go to Hombu to be inspired by Soke and to “keep going” as he is wont to say about life. Though experienced in actual combat, fights and competitive martial arts, I continue to study the evolution of violence and ways to counter it. Why? Because the way and the reasons p...
Big News! (recap from our webinar)
Recent Travels Work took me to Japan in early April. My back is close to 100% now; still have hamstring and calf issues. Nerves slow to rebuild. But I am improving day by day. New Hombu looks great. Check all the photos Mark Lithgow put up on the Taka Seigi Facebook page. More square than...
What Rank Should You Be to Train with Soke in Japan?
Joanne, training at Ayase as a green belt (93)and looking a bit bewildered, we can all probably relate to that !! I get asked this question a LOT over the years. What rank do you think you should be in order to get the most out of your training in Japan? I imagine most Shidoshi and Shi...
Sword Training with a Japanese Shihan
Throughout my many years of traveling to Japan for training, I would make specific time to work with one of the top Japanese Shihan who is well known for his skill with the sword. Some say Someya Sensei was taught sword by Hatsumi Soke, others may say Manaka[1] was his sword teacher and still...
Gikan Ryu Koppojutsu-Truth, Loyalty and Justice School
Not much is known about this Bujinkan Ryu. Soke Hatsumi has not taught much, if any of it in public that I am aware of. What I know of this Ryu is limited to a couple of conversations with Soke and one demonstration of a technique that I will discuss below. First read this short synopsis of Gi...
Will Your Training Save You? (part 1)
When it really counts, will your training be there for you? When your life or those of others is on the line, will your training come through? Will you win the day or will you realize tragically that it proved inadequate to successfully deal with a violent situation? In my opinion this is a que...
Will Your Training Save you (part 2)
Make sure you read Part 1 first! SO, what IS the best way to train? How do we know our training will save us in our darkest hour? The short answer is: There is no magic way to train to guarantee success in all situations. You have heard that there are no guarantees in life, right? Well, I ha...
