by admin on December 14, 2011
Ninjutsu is the way to win without fighting. Its strategy is based on universal concepts designed to utilize various principles to achieve certain victory. Strategy was something that was very important for the welfare of a country, in most cases a nation’s very survival or failure depended upon it. This is something that was basic regardless if the country was in danger or not. This is an extremely important matter, not something small and insignificant.
The beginnings of military strategy systems started from the reign of the Chinese emperor Fugi. This was approximately 3,600 years ago. After that in the time of the Kotei Emperor there were gathered many different kinds of war strategies. In those times people took great care to research, make, and preserve these strategies. This was a time of great civil warring in China, similar to the Sengoku period in Japan. Ninjutsu was the strong point of those strategies. There were no books written in those days, but the oral tradition survived. This knowledge later migrated to Japan and spread throughout certain circles orally.
Ninja masters understood this very well and used it wisely. Heiho the art of war and peace is transmitted by densho and by oral teachings. Its tenants are based on the old theory of Yin （蔭）and Yang （陽）and the five elements theory known as Gogyo （五行）or Goki (五期). Based on these principles the strategies of Jumon, Ango jutsu, Hojutsu, Ninja Shoku, Nin Yaku, Henso Jutsu, Tenmon/Chimon and Heiho were developed. These later were organized into 18 ninja skills known as Ninja Juhakei.
by admin on September 22, 2011
The power of deliverance
For some reason I have been thinking lately about the first time I met Sensei so I decided to put it in writing.
I remember the time when I first met Sensei, it was at the 1996 Alicante Taikai. We checked into the hotel early afternoon the day before the event and decided to take a walk and see if we can find friends to connect with. As we were making our way down the hallway Noguchi Sensei greeted us and invited us to Sensei room. Up until that point I only heard about Sensei through word of mouth from various people. When you hear of a great man through the experiences of others you cannot avoid the temptation of creating a self-image.
We entered the room, Sensei was sitting wearing his glasses and writing some notes on small pieces of paper. He greeted us warmly in his own unique way and my teacher introduced me to Sensei. My first impression was not on a physical level but a powerful inner sensation that transcends words. We exchanged a few words thanked him for the opportunity and then continued on our way to connect with friends. Selfishly I wanted to stay longer but deep inside understood that the timing was not right.
Later that night I tried to re-create the minutes of the meeting but had some difficulty, as I could not remember a word we spoke. I thought to my self it was only about 5-10 minutes conversation surely I should be able to recall most of it, after all it only happened few hours ago? I later realized that I was so captivated by Sensei energy that consciously I was not paying attention to the words. It was a great weekend and we had many memorable moments one of which was a play put by the various Spanish Bujinkan Dojo’s enacting the life of Takamatsu and the relationship between him and Hatsumi Sensei. Needless to say the energy levels and feeling at the venue that night were beyond words. The whole weekend was so unique that I forgot my original encounter with Sensei. We then continued to Portugal and Paris enjoying he rest of the trip and connected with different Buyu throughout. When I returned home I decided to travel to Japan the following year.
As planned a year later I boarded a plane and went to Japan for the first time. It was not until I entered Honbu Dojo and greeted by Sensei that I felt the same feeling. I trained for 4 month at times up to 4 times a day, I captured every moment and spend every opportunity I had with Sensei. Sensei was very patient and accommodating (there were not as many people training at that time). I have since been traveling to Japan annually taking every opportunity to grasp the various subtleties of the art and each time Sensei was able in a unique way (most time painfully) to point yet another dimension to training. I learned many important points throughout but above all I learned to appreciate the patience, generosity and kindness Sensei reflected.
Over the years I have come to realize that the ability to transmit is multi dimensional and each aspect of it is as equally important. The relationship between teacher and student transcends technique and sound, it’s the power to transmit without words (神伝極意), the power of deliverance.
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