Sacramento Ninjutsu
Reliable Ninjutsu information and training for the Sacramento area
What is Ninjutsu?
The term ninjutsu is normally translated as the art of stealth and perseverance. The term is intentionally vague and historically can refer to a large variety of subject matter. In English an appropriate equivalent term would be “special operations”.
According to SpecialOperations.com “The U.S. Armed Forces define special operations as actions "conducted by specially organized, trained, and equipped military and paramilitary forces to achieve military, political, economic, or psychological objectives by nonconventional means in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive areas.”
This definition of special operations provides an excellent means to approach and understand what ninjutsu was and is today. Ninjutsu is essentially a function that is performed or arranged by those of the military class. Ninjutsu can vary in form based on necessity, historically ranging from such subjects as scouting, political espionage, sabotage, guerilla warfare, special security, counterespionage, encryption, etc.
A small handful of schools of Japanese martial arts still retain forms of ninjutsu in their curriculum. In some schools such as the Kukishinden Tenshin Hyoho and Asayama Ichiden Ryu it is no longer practiced and only passed on in their written records for historical purposes. Notable schools that still retain forms of ninjutsu are the Katori Shinto Ryu, Tatsumi Ryu, and Togakure Ryu.
The Togakure Ryu in particular has become famous around the world because its headmaster Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi has enabled Japanese and foreigners alike to study its tradition. Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu is essentially a method of escape and evasion that enables covert operatives to survive when their situation has been compromised.
Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and Ninjutsu
The Bujinkan is an organization formed by Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi to promote the martial knowledge he obtained from his master Takamatsu Toshitsugu and his lifetime of martial studies. Dr. Hatsumi inherited 9 individual schools of Japanese martial arts from Takamatsu and they retain certain forms of ninjutsu.
The Togakure Ryu, Kumogakure Ryu, and Gyokushin Ryu are schools of the Bujinkan that specialize in forms of ninjutsu and other schools such as the Gyokko Ryu and Koto Ryu contain elements of ninjutsu.
The fundamentals of the Bujinkan arts are drawn from the 9 schools and are commonly known as ninpo taijutsu. In fact, for many years the term ninpo taijutsu was used to refer to the overall Bujinkan method. In the 1990’s Dr. Hatsumi decided to refer to the overall Bujinkan method as Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. This refers to the general study of the martial ways; however the spirit of ninjutsu continues to remain an important aspect of our studies and development.
Antelope Bujinkan Dojo and Ninjutsu
The Antelope Bujinkan Dojo is dedicated to the study of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and providing reliable training and information about the Japanese martial arts and ninjutsu to the greater Sacramento area. Our training emphasizes developing a strong foundation in the fundamentals of ninpo taijutsu and the gradual study of the Bujinkan arts, including Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu.
We are a private dojo that offers training to sincere practitioners in the Sacramento area. For more information about training and a current schedule/location please send us an e-mail and tell us a little about yourself. We will respond promptly with more information.
Contact us at: SacramentoBujinkan@yahoo.com
