These articles cover a wide range of training topics that related directly to training in the Bujinkan. We hope you’ll find some useful insights that other practitioners have shared.
I frequently see students practicing rolling very sloppily. They come up to the mat, lean forward and fall through, allowing their legs to stick up in the air and usually slamming their rear ankle on the ground on the way out. They don’t care because it’s on a mat, and when they have to take…
Ukemi (“receiving” technique) is probably the most useful and crucial set of physical skills you will learn in this art. My ukemi training has given me the greatest sense of freedom and confidence out of anything we do, and has without a doubt saved me from serious injury at least twice. If you are training…
Because Hatsumi-sensei has produced so many videos (dozens, if you include over 20 years of Tai Kai and Daikomyosai), and because he’s written so many books and granted so many interviews over the years, it’s tempting to buy up everything that you can for your own studies. So you watch the videos and buy the…
By now we are all familiar with the terms Yin and Yang. We all assume that we understand its meaning. It’s the balance of everything: Good and Bad, Black and White, Male and Female. We know what we have read in books and heard in lectures from wise men. But aside from making a cool…
Very often, people will ask the question, “Why doesn’t Soke do something about so-and-so?” The teacher being discussed may have a reputation for not being very skilled, or being selfish, or too financially driven. Sometimes these criticisms are well founded. Other times they are rumors being passed on by people who have never met the…
by Rich Maloof Recently, I’ve been translating at the Honbu on Saturdays and there are a few points I’d like to bring up on how to make your experience there a little smoother.
Here’s a question: how many people know “muzosa”? I’m sure everyone who’s reading this Journal would say “of course I know “muzosa.” It’s the name of our dojo, duh!!’, which is OK. However, how many people know the meaning behind the word “muzosa”?