January 9, 2024

Why Study Kenjutsu?

In this day and age one often has to ask what value the study of kenjutsu (Japanese swordsmanship) has in modern day society. Clearly with the advancement in technology the age of the sword is over, and one could even make the case that the age of the gun has also expired.

So why devote serious time to the sword?
Well, like many spiritual practices there are many benefits both up front and deeply hidden in the practice.
The primary reason to study the sword is much like playing a musical instrument or learning how to paint- it is an exact art that expresses creativity through devotion and extreme concentration. Cultivating the attributes of the sword- patience, focus, compassion, and discipline gradually carry over into real life and benefit the practitioners other interactions.
For those interested there is also the competitive side of study where you compete against a training partner under a set of well defined rules (kendo). Building strength, speed, and stamina you constantly test and refine your ability which of course has obvious benefits to personal development.
And then there is the cultural aspect of the study. In our modern time nothing stays the same. Technology, customs, and society is constantly changing and evolving, yet with the study of the sword one continues to do things exactingly as they were done hundreds of years ago. In this way, there is an inherent immortality in the sword, the strength that comes from participating and drawing on a culture and heritage that is unchanged since samurai times.
From here the benefits transcend to the experience, a place where words cannot accurately capture or describe the benefits- much like a picture is worth a thousand words. It is said to truly understand the (Japanese) martial arts one has to understand the sword- the two are one and the same.
Given the cultural and military importance of the sword, at the highest level of teaching and strategy the sword is the bridge to communicate this- how can one even begin to experience these teachings if one can’t simply hold a sword correctly and execute even the basic cuts required of a novice?   

The aim of the Bujinkan Shinmyoken dojo (war god hall school of the life giving sword) is to understand nature and the movement of being zero through taijutsu- martial ways of using the body. The school exists to create and transmit this feeling and method through the experience of isshi soden- one to one transmission.

Located in Westchester New York, the Bujinkan Shinmyoken dojo is a martial arts training group founded in 2005 with the aim of coming together as martial arts friends to study the Japanese martial arts of Masaaki Hatsumi through the movement lessons of the Bujinkan dojo and the expression of budo taijutsu.

Classes are held on Saturday Mornings from 9-11 AM at a local park in Yonkers New York easily accessible by car, train, and bus. Additional training times are held for workshops and seminars each quarter.

Training is supervised by Fred Feddeck (shidoshi) who has been studying Bujinkan budo taijutsu since 1993.

The transformative effects of the Bujinkan come from the purity of its warrior movement, the movement-philosophy found in taijutsu (body art). This art offers the tools of movement to assimilate the skills needed to meet the challenges of life and prevail against those changes, a movement guide to take control of one’s destiny.

Questions, feedback, and inquiries may be directed to the group here: bujinkanshinmyoken@gmail.com.

The Bujinkan Shinmyoken Dojo practices the Japanese martial art of budo taijutsu as passed to us through Masaaki Hatsumi sensei. It is through the movement-philosophy of taijutsu, as passed down through eight hundred years of warrior movement that we explore these lessons for the here and now of today.

But what is taijutsu?

The easiest and most natural explanation would be to come and participate in a class so one can experience the transmission directly (isshi soden).

With that framework what can be understood intellectually is expressed through s system of movement, used as a vehicle to understand self through martial movement.

Training begins with junan taiso, martial arts stretching, and the re-alignment of the body to a natural state. Methods of undoing the defects of time that one has “learned” and accumulated incorrectly along the way through life. Increasing body capacity and taking stock of where one is currently in order to build and improve on the body’s natural movement capabilities.

The next level of movement development transmits how to generate and use correct body alignment and mechanics in a martial way- it teaches one how to move the body correctly using our unique movement of taijutsu. Methods to illustrate this include ukemi taihenjutsu, kyu kamae, kihon happo, and san shin no kata, illustrating the path of heaven (sky).

Once one has a firm grasp of how to use the movement-philosophy of taijutsu correctly the study of the path of earth begin, how to prevent correct movement through the use of distance, timing, rhythm, and balance. Methods use to show this anti-movement include the gyaku gi, nage waza, hajutsu, and shime-waza.

Those two path lead to the path of man (human), the blending and interplay of the dragon (ten) and the tiger (chi), the interaction between people in a martial arts situation. This jin ryaku no maki section of training offers us glimpses with what is possible, making the impossible possible, as expressed through koku, renyo, seion, gekkan, musan, etc.

The integration of these three aspects of training (tenchijin ryaku no maki) leads to the complete human begin (tatsujin) and the ability to navigate situations in a natural manner.

Yet again, these are just words trying to capture the movement-philosophy of taijutsu, the best way to feel and experience this expression is to take up the training and commit to the warrior path.    






 email contact: bujinkanshinmyoken@gmail.com