Outside the Kan

[Bujingodai]

So I must ask, since I have been outside of the Ninjutsu world specifically for a few years, memories of years past with a lot of the indie schools getting smashed about. Which some of them really deserved frankly. But I think that is a general statement of Ninjutsu.

Is there any of the schools outside of the Kans that are still active?

Maybe a good discussion of so many of the schools in that group both good and bad.

Is Hayes and Bussey still active? etc etc.

Now that the Bujinkan is segemented has it lost some steam?

 

[Tony Dismukes]

There are still Toshindo schools around. I don't know how their numbers compare to years past.

 

[Bujingodai]

I've been asked to get back into it somewhat, which I am contemplating.
Just having a good laugh on years past with Konnigun Ryu, Sato Ryu etc etc. Arguments I used to have with so many whackjobs.
Although training with some really good people that were very good artists, that just left the big orgs due to politics etc.

I will most probably not be using the Ninjutsu moniker however. I don't need the abrasive wash. Bujutsu will likely suffice.

 

[Chris Parker]

So I must ask, since I have been outside of the Ninjutsu world specifically for a few years, memories of years past with a lot of the indie schools getting smashed about. Which some of them really deserved frankly. But I think that is a general statement of Ninjutsu.

Hey Dave,

Not sure if I agree or disagree with that, ha!

Is there any of the schools outside of the Kans that are still active?

Probably more than there were before, realistically.

Off the top of my head, outside of the Bujinkan, Genbukan, and Jinenkan, there is Hayes' Toshindo, Brian McCarthy's BBD, and Kosen Ron's Shinsenkan being the biggest, but there also being plenty of independent one-off dojo around, such as Peter Brown's in the UK, The Dojo in the US, the schools that broke away from the Genbukan that I am familiar with in both the US and Europe, and myself in Australia. The Myofu-An are still in active practice, and I believe there are still practitioners of Glenn Morirs' Hoshinjutsu system around.

Simply, the longer a school is around, the more likely there are going to be off-shoots. How successful, and how long they last is another question, of course.

Maybe a good discussion of so many of the schools in that group both good and bad.

Potential... the trick will be finding someone with enough exposure to them all to be able to discuss them with any depth.

Is Hayes and Bussey still active? etc etc.

Hayes, and his Toshindo, are still very much active. As for Robert Bussey, he closed down his RBWI (Robery Bussey's Warrior International) organisation in the early 2000's (which was his "ninjutsu" centric organisation), and has been focusing on his Bussey Combatives system as a more modern expression since about 2010 or so. On my side of things, Wayne Roy disbanded his organisation at the end of 2016 (we left the Bujinkan in 2001), to move away from traditional martial arts.

Now that the Bujinkan is segemented has it lost some steam?

That's a rather fraught question, really... is it segmented? Does it still exist? Arguably, there's no such thing as the Bujinkan anymore... except the people involved hanging onto the idea, who remain committed to the organisation. I would say that this state of being will remain until Hatsumi passes, but the splitting of the schools is, to my mind, bizarre and largely meaningless. I've covered this in other posts, so will leave it here for now...

 

[dunc]

In the past I always felt that the indie schools I had contact with (ie those in the UK) had very immature understanding of the system and at best had filled in a lot of gaps with knowledge from other styles, at worst just made stuff up. This was a function of their not having access to Japan which was the only place to learn details from and that the motivation to leave in many cases had something to do with wanting to be the “main guy“ which often runs counter to continued development
Note: the Bujinkan is a very broad church and there are plenty of folk in the Bujinkan who would also fall into this category despite being part of the org

Perhaps the access to information has changed a bit in recent years with a lot more content being available online. Although this has (pretty major) limitations it does mean that indies perhaps have some ability to continue to develop

I don’t know what will happen to the Bujinkan once Hatsumi-sensei passes away. There are three of his long term students still teaching all of whom are a step above the most experienced westerners. It’s hard to argue why anyone genuinely trying to learn these arts wouldn’t go to these gentlemen while they are still teaching. So I think a lot will depend on how they choose to take things forward

Perhaps the next generation of Japanese will step up also

 

[Oily Dragon]

I don’t know what will happen to the Bujinkan once Hatsumi-sensei passes away.

It's not obvious?

He plans to possess the body of Takumi Tsutsui, and then take out all his enemies. Basically the plot from Ninja III.