Bujinkan Gyo-Un Ryusui Dojo

06/03/2026

06/03/2026

“Just because it’s not written down, or you don’t believe something because there is no record of it, it doesn’t mean it is not real. The narrow mindedness of many people is extensive.

The most important teachings are Kuden 口伝 ( oral transmission ) Taiden 体伝 ( physical transmission ) and Shinden 心伝 ( heart to heart transmission ).

Only those with direct experience of these will truly understand.”

Recently, I watched a documentary about a group of Ainu women who have dedicated their lives to preserving an ancient form of craftsmanship. For more than twenty years, they worked tirelessly to have their sacred tradition officially recognised and accredited as a traditional art form by the authorities in Tokyo.

The process took so long for a simple reason: Ainu culture transmitted its knowledge orally. Their history, techniques, and lineage were passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. Nothing was written down. There were no documents to establish timelines, no formal records to present as proof. And because of this, the governing institution required evidence that did not exist on paper.

Yet the tradition existed. It had always existed.

It simply lived in people rather than in archives.

Just because something is not written down does not mean it is not authentic. It does not mean it lacks legitimacy or truth. Many traditions throughout history did not record their methods or trade secrets — sometimes intentionally, sometimes because writing was not their way. The absence of documentation is not the absence of reality.

The most important aspect of transmission has always been direct human interaction.

This is how many arts survived for centuries within families and close-knit communities. They endured because they were lived, embodied, and shared directly.

Unfortunately, history has also shown us that many traditions have disappeared due to circumstances beyond their control. War, assimilation, social change, and modernisation have erased countless living lineages.

This should give us pause.

If we care about the arts we practise — if we value what has been entrusted to us — then we must think carefully about how we protect and preserve them. Not for recognition. Not for bureaucracy. But for the betterment of humanity.

南虎

06/02/2026

Don’t EVER do this. He’s cutting with the wrong hand and letting the kisaki dip and fall behind him.
An absolutely horrible habit and bad example to set. This will get you dead against a trained swordsman.

There’s a reason that we’re supposed to train throwing boshuriken with the LEFT hand while holding a sword. Sword remains stable and in position to cut and receive….protecting us. You are NOT protected by any part of the sword if you attempt this. You’ll lose ta-te/totoku protection so central to Takamatsu Sensei’s budo.

06/01/2026

NINJA HACHIMON
The Eight Gates of the Ninja:

1. KIAI (expression of spirit and energy)
2. TAIJUTSU (unarmed skills)
3. KENPO (sword techniques)
4. SOJUTSU (spear methods)
5. SHURIKEN (throwing knives and darts)
6. KAJUTSU (use of fire)
7. UGEI (art of deception and disguise)
8. KYOMON (study of philosophy, meditation, history, mathematics, chemistry, and psychology)

05/14/2026

05/14/2026

It seems that many who study the 9 ryū of the Bujinkan have not carefully listened to or read the words of Hatsumi sensei when he explained that Gyokko ryū kosshijutsu is the foundation of all martial arts. So much information has been made available to us already - read, watch, listen and then study these things along with the kihon gata (basic forms) to really learn the art.

玉虎流骨指術と虎倒流についての高松先生からの便り
昭和 36 年1月10日、鏡開きの日、高松先生がこんなことを言われた。「玉虎流骨法術の武道との関係は、というと、戸田真龍軒正光先生より教授せられた時、最後に玉虎流の骨指術起本型が虎倒流を起し、各武道の技を起した根本であると教えられた。今日、つくづく思い見るに、真実、武道の源であるらしい点を顧みらるる故に、本流より忍術をも起すことになったらしいこと故、貴(注・著者の初見をさす)は、この起本型八本を根本として門下に教授せらるべく、それまでは教えることはお控えくださるよう・・・・

02/12/2026

Kagegakure 影隠れ ( hiding in the shadows )
Some Shinobi fun during the 1st Shinden Fudô Ryû Gasshuku at an outdoor location.

01/24/2026

Battōjutsu Renshu