Before his passing, Bobby used to always mention his admiration of peer Sleiman Azizi. After a while, I had the idea that it would be a great surprise to reunite these two by sneaking Sleiman into the States for a workshop but eventually this desire turned more and more into my own curiosity. I remember…
Since our first demonstration at the Asian festival in 2014, parents have always asked us, can my child train with you? I've always said no and that the student needs to be 18+. It's too much stress for me to filter out curriculum and what I say. Plus, I like to listen to my own…
On Wednesday October 4th, I took some of the members of the dojo to their first trip to train with our teachers in Japan! On Thursday, October 5th we landed! Our first class was with Paul which everyone looked forward to strictly because of jetlag and our minds being a fog from the 16hour flight;…
Bobby Eaton. Bobby left us and joined Heaven on Sunday, August 20th, 2023. There's too much to say or type about who he was to the Bujinkan community, let alone who he was to me. But, I can say, when I was ready to give up on Bujinkan, I finally met the connection that I…
On 12/31/21, we started studying the Ukemi Gata Taihenjutsu which is basic mobility on the ground. Its importance is reprogramming the central nervous system for more natural/unnatural, depending on how you look at it, responses to sudden change, spacial awareness and learning how to correctly receive damage with as less impact to the skin, muscle,…
A year later, we've finally finished our study of the Sanshin no gata! A lot was discovered about our personal freedom and restrictions of movement. It took 6 months to unpack the first foundational movement, Chi no kata alone. The Japanese shihan are always telling us to "please, learn how to walk" and I think…
Another year, another Knoxville Asian Festival! This year, we had the privelage of opening up for the country of Japan. Performers helping were Jacob on the spear, Camille on the naginata, and James on the axe. It was a very humid, sticky, hot day with very little wind or air flow. But, everyone's smiles watching…
Mercy! What a long study. We officially finished a 6 month study of 地の型 Chi no kata (Earth form) from Gyokko ryu! It was a lot of fun and provided a lot of insight about proper initial spacing and entry points which sets up the movements for the next following kata found within the 五行の型…
We had a lot of fun this past weekend in training. My good friend Eda-sensei, who I met back in 2008 when we first started our training group, came to visit class. It was a very special day for three reasons! 1) I let Eda-san put on his first set of 鎧 yoroi (armor) which…
A TaiKai is a large/mass gathering. Back in 2020 when COVID started its spread, the TaiKai bringing in soke Nagato had to be delayed, delayed, delayed more and finally cancelled until October of 2021.
I took the group to train for three days under the direction of soke and watched their eyes in bewilderment. It was…
Starting the study of the dragon body, we're looking at the natural process of personal development. This is a category of exercises to increase awareness of personal ability, the body’s natural operating range, and its ability to discriminate range.
This includes 鍛錬 tanren where you beat and mold shape into a weapon for it to be…
We've been pretty busy through this time of COVID-19. We've moved out training to outdoors and although we miss the dojo setting, the outdoor scene has been hot, but nice it its own way. Our weekend focus has been on the 六尺棒術 rokushaku (6') bo from Kukishinden ryu.
Due to the changes of social distancing because of the COVID-19, we've had to move our classes outside and work on things which have us either not touching one another or working things from a 6'+ distance so we've been working on bojutsu and breakfalls.
The meaning of this technique is symbolism of the movement of a seagull flapping its wings. What’s important is the method in striking down to the opponent’s hands.
In this study we looked at the special 手之内 Te no Uchi (inside the hand) shaping which rests on the opponent which allows us to hover which is…