Ninpo Taijutsu

Kukishinden Ryu Seminar notes

Written by Paul Mannering

八段 Hachidan Ninpo Taijutsu

We met on a fine Sunday morning for this much awaited seminar! During the weeks building up to the seminar we had the opportunity to prepare and familiarize ourselves with the basics and handling of the Bo staff.

The session started with a warm up using the Hanbo and Tai-Sabaki, practicing both moving and handling the weapon as an extension to our bodies. The students practiced deflecting attacks, striking and moving using the Hanbo and then using the weapon to distract and mislead the attacker.

It is often the folly of many handling a weapon, be it a stick, sword or knife to focus on the weapon and forget the natural movement of the feet, combined with timing, distance and balance, good or bad a weapon often magnifies ones movement.

Once the group were familiar with the handling of the Hanbo, we moved on to adding Yoko-Ryuki and the subtleties of Kamae and stance, a drop of the hips or a gentle lean off to mislead and lure your opponent into an untimely mistake! Locking and throwing then were added as well as flanking and distancing.

The next session combined Hanbo against sword, precision cutting and multiple attacks were thwarted by good Kamae, distancing and perfectly timed Tai-Sabaki, it demonstrated the flexibility and opportunities of the humble Hanbo vs the much more lethal Katana.

This again augmented the need for natural movement, kamae and Tai-Sabaki, as some of us suddenly realised when "stuck" with a technique that when we tried the technique without the weapon it worked.

This part of the seminar gave both attacker and defender an opportunity to practice the handling of Bokken and Hanbo in the KukiShinden Ryu style, a Ryu born of the battlefield combining strong stances and powerful cutting techniques with sword and the subterfuge and misdirection of the bojutsu elements.

The latter part of the Seminar we looked at 3 techniques from Rokushaku-bō Bofurigata.

The bōjutsu of Kukishin Ryū is best described as a method used to defeat/trick wielders of other weapons. It has special striking techniques that allow the Bō to feign quickly and re-direct its aim; a special method of "twirling" (Bofurigata) designed to confuse opponents and keep them at bay; and thrusting techniques that correlate with throwing the staff as a projectile (nagebō). Aspects of the Bōjutsu are gleaned from two other weapons within the school: naginata and the spear.

When handling and better understanding the intricacies of the system consider one of the signature weapons of this school.

The Kukishin Ryū Naginata is 225cm in overall length. It has a double edged blade that is 21cm long and is attached to the shaft by wires. It is used to slash, parry, strike, stab and deflect; the blade is also used to hook and arrest. Naginata is a weapon of primary importance in Kukishin Ryū as the Bōjutsu owes its origin to the Naginata. It stands as another signature weapon of Kukishin Ryū and it is perhaps the base of the ryu's creation

One familiar with basic movement drill (Gedan, Chudan and Jodan) attacking and blocking we moved to the 3 techniques.

Without detailing the exact movements of the 3 techniques it probably more noteworthy to refer back to my previous comments.

One opponent armed with a sword the other with the bo, the movement of both must be dedicated, the attacker pressing their attack the defender "twirling" the staff as to keep the swordsman at bay and also lure them into false opportunities, feigned movement and re-directed counter attack in order to gain the tactical advantage in order to overcome their opponent...

April 7^th Seminar 2013

Kukishinden Ryu

This is one of my favourite schools of the 9 Ryu in Ninjutsu and has been a source of interest and inspired some of my research.

It is also on my agenda to get a more in depth understanding with the systems NaginataJutsu!

My personal reflection, albeit a look into a very succesful seminar run Ninpo taijutsu, Tora Dojo, Bristol.

Kukishinden Ryu
(HAPPO HIKENJUTSU)

"HAPPO" means "8 ways".  "HIKENJUTSU" means "Secret sword".  The following is Kukeshinden ryu's Happo Hikenjutsu.

Happo would have varied with the period of history, according to the weapons and needs of the time.

1. Gunryaku tenmon chimon
2. Jojutsu and hanbojutsu
3. Rokushakubo and body distancing
4. Naginata and Bisento
5. Short sword and juttejutsu
6. Horsemanship and water techniques
7. Shuriken and Senbanjutsu
8. Sojutsu
 The above are called "Happo"
 9. Taijutsu kenpo (sword) is called "Hikenjutsu"

NEWS

FREE Ninpo Taijutsu Sessions

FREE 2^nd Kyu, 1^st Kyu & Black belt sessions every Monday.

Come along and join us for some FREE sessions, the current topic is Shoden no kata the first level of the Koto Ryu school (koppo-jutsu) (Ninjutsu practionars only). All sessions must be booked in advance.

Call 01454 853508 for more info

The last UK Bujinkan Taikai back in 2003 with Dr Masaaki Hatsumi founder of the Bujinkan Dojo.

Ninpo Literally

Means 'Nin' used in the words 'Ninja', 'Ninjutsu' and 'Ninpo', consists of 2 radicals or parts. The upper radical called 'Yaiba' means the cutting edge of a blade. The lower radical is read as 'Kokoro' or 'Shin' meaning heart. 'Nin' is also used to write 'Nintai' which means perseverance or patience, implying the important thing for a Ninja is to be patient under impossible circumstances and persevere when he cannot find a way to succeed on a mission. This form of thinking, the spirit of perseverance, is called 'Ninja Seishin'. In Ninpo the practitioner learns patience and perseverance, which we view as its fundamental characteristics and with that one is able to deal with a whole variety of situations. In addition, practicing Ninpo helps to increase one's mental concentration dramatically, leading to more efficient thought processing.

www.britishbujinkan.co.uk

Martial Arts in Bristol

Taijutsu literally

Means ("body techniques") is a term for Japanese martial arts techniques that rely solely on body dynamics as opposed to weapons and other devices. 'A truly dynamic, effective and real-life system of self defense and unarmed combat'.