A Brief History
Bujinkan Budô Taijutsu
Bujinkan Budô Taijutsu is a Japanese self-defense system headed by Sôke
(family head) Masaaki Hatsumi from his home in Japan.
Historically, Taijutsu is a general name used to define a very ancient
form of fighting from which, according to some sources, all other [Japanese] martial arts
were formed.
Hatsumi Sensei was trained in Ninjutsu, and several other
"traditional" martial arts by Toshitsugu Takamatsu. After his instructor’s
death (1889 — 1972) he continued the teachings of Ninjutsu. In time,
Hatsumi Sensei called his system Bujinkan Ninpô Taijutsu. Ninpô indicates training in
higher levels of spiritual and physical development. A person training in Ninpô is
sometimes called a ninja.
Historically, the Japanese have associated the Ninja with a bad person
or spy. Japanese history books often portray many Ninja as the more socially acceptable
Samurai . Today, this misunderstanding is perpetuated within modern day comic books, which
are widely read by Japanese adults, and other forms of entertainment. This portrayal has
lead many Japanese to believe the Ninja is nothing more than a mythical person with
supernatural powers.
The iconic connection with bad or evil, and strong ties to classical
martial arts like Kendô, Jujitsu, Judô, Karate and the like, have prevented many
Japanese from understanding the value of Ninjutsu training, if in fact they know it exists
at all.
It is interesting to note that the Japanese government has publicly
acknowledged Hatsumi Sensei as a "National Treasure" for preserving and teaching
the "Ninja arts."
Hatsumi Sensei changed the name from Bujinkan Ninpô Taijutsu to
Bujinkan Budô Taijutsu around 1996, In this author's opinion, in response to this
inaccurate perception and association with those training in Ninpô or Ninjutsu. Another
reason, sometimes cited, is that the Bujinkan Dôjô is composed of nine (9) individual
schools of martial arts. Three (3) of these are schools of Ninjutsu. The remaining six (6)
schools are, in essence, "traditional" martial arts or Samurai schools.
As indicated above, Hatsumi Sensei is the Sôke of nine (9)
individual Ryû (styles or schools). Togakure Ryû Ninpô is the lineage with which the
eight other schools were integrated. Today, the skills within each Ryû are taught
collectively as the Bujinkan system. It is important to note however, the unique skills,
style or feeling, and philosophies of each Ryû are still individually maintained and
taught. In other words, Hatsumi Sensei did not select what he thought were the best skills
of each Ryû and discard the "other" skills.
It is a belief in the Bujinkan Dôjô, that a person needs a
wide variety of intuitive skills and knowledge in order to defend against a wide variety
of fighting styles and attacks. There is no single style of self-defense or martial art
that is superior than all other styles. Every style, regardless of its origins, has
strengths and weaknesses. There are no exceptions!
Obviously, luck has an important impact on all fights. But there is a
saying that goes something like, "Luck favors the prepared mind." As the number
of "tools" (skills) someone develops increases, the likelihood that this person
has the most appropriate "tool" for the situation at hand increases
proportionately. Obviously, one must also develop the appropriate intuitive responses in
order to make the selection process of these tools efficient.
In a spontaneous combat situation the defender does not logically "decide"
which skills to implement. The defender’s intuition subconsciously selects the most
natural and appropriate response to the situation. Training conditions us, or at least it
should, to intuitively choose the methods and techniques that best utilize the inherent
weakness of each individual attack.
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