Many excellent martial artists practice within the Bujinkan. Here we present only those whose work has a significant impact on the Seijin dojo community.
JAPAN
TAKAMATSU TOSHITSUGU
He was Hatsumi sensei's master and also the 33rd soke (grandmaster) of Togakure ryu. Many legends about his life can be read in various books or on the Internet. Here I only describe the most important data and some interesting stories.
He was born on March 10, 1887 in Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture. He was originally born under the name Hisetsugu, but later changed it to Toshitsugu, which is written with the same kanji. He was also known as Jutaro in his youth.
When he was a little boy, his classmates treated him mercilessly and mocked him as a "weeper". For this reason, his father thought it better for him to move for a while to his maternal grandfather, Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu, who lived in Kobe and was the then Soke, i.e. grandmaster, of Shinden Fudo Ryu.
In the first year, they didn't really teach him anything, he was just used as a mannequin. Later on, he said that this was when he really learned to fall. Then after one year, his real training began and by the age of 13, he received the school's Menkyo Kaiden. After that, he learned many other trends from his grandfather.
He studied the following schools from Toda sensei:
- Shinden Fudo Ryu
- Koto Ryu Koppo Jutsu
- Gyokko Ryu Koshi Jutsu
- Kumogakure Ryu Ninpo
- Gyokushin Ryu Ninpo
- Togakure Ryu Ninpo
Later Takamatsu sensei stated that he didn't really like ninjutsu training.
In 1900, he began studying at George Bundow's English school and at the Kobe School of Chinese Classics. He did not stop practicing martial arts during this period either, he went to study at Mizuta Yoshitaro's Tadafusa dojo, where he was taught the Takagi Yoshin Ryu, and at the age of 17 he became the Menkyo Kaiden of this school as well.
An old man worked in the match factory of Takamatsu's father, Ishitani Matsutaro Takekage, who was a famous martial artist at the time and related to the Takamatsu family. Takamatsu's father provided a small space on the factory grounds for Takamatsu to use as a dojo to learn Kuki Happo Biken no Jutsu, Kukishinden Ryu Happo Biken, Hon Tai Takagi Yoshin Ryu, Gikan Ryu Koppo Jutsu- t and Shinden Muso Ryu from Ishitani.
Ishitani died a few years later, leaving the scrolls of the Ryu to Takamatsu. At the age of 22, he became a Soke, or Grandmaster, of Shinden Fudo Ryu, Koto Ryu, Gyokko Ryu, Togakure Ryu, Kumogakure Ryu, and Gyokushin Ryu by his grandfather, Toda Masamitsu.
According to Takamatsu's diary, he participated in many competitions and challenging duels, not one of which was fatal. He lived an adventurous life. He spent 10 years in Korea and China, where he tested his skills in wars and battles. It was then that he got the name Moko no Tora, which means Mongolian Tiger. In the meantime, he mastered several Chinese and Korean martial arts. He set rules for himself that he believed needed to be followed in order to achieve a proper life.
- Anger and rage should be avoided because they lead to a loss of strength and energy and encourage excessive exertion. This way the personality will be protected.
- You should avoid getting nervous, you shouldn't think too much about insignificant things. This way the nerves will be protected. This will result in fewer problems and a stronger nervous system. Otherwise, you will be insecure.
- Avoid talking too much. This way the soul will be protected. Repetition, chatter, weakens the soul.
- One must avoid longing, thereby protecting the heart. The problems of the mind are usually desires and will. “I want this; that; or I want to be rich" etc. Let's try to be tough and avoid such thoughts and desires. Instead, let's feel and think with a focus on the good.
Although he married, his child was never born. In 1957, he met Masaaki Hatsumi, whom he immediately accepted as his student. Before long, he was primarily concerned with the young Hatsumi. The relationship between the two became very close, a few years before Takamatsu's death, he only dealt with Hatsumi, and he chose her as his successor. It is interesting that although Takamatsu was known and liked by many as a Budo master, very few knew that he was also a Ninjutsu master.
Takamatsu sensei died on April 2, 1972 at the age of 85.
HATSUMI MASAAKI
Founder of Bujinkan. He was born in 1931, on December 2, in Noda, Japan. He started practicing martial arts at the age of seven. At the age of 20, he already taught jūdō to the American soldiers stationed in Japan, at the Yokota military base. At the age of 26, he met Takamatsu Sensei, who was a famous martial arts instructor of his time. He became his student and later his successor. He did a lot to make people aware of real ninjutsu, including giving a lecture on Ninpō to the Emperor of Japan in 1961. He is still actively teaching several times a week at Bujinden Honbu dōjō.
He was also a consultant for many movies and TV series. In 1982, he traveled to the West for the first time with the with the aim of teaching and popularizing Budo. In 1986, he received the title of "Best Instructor of the Year" from the well-known Black Belt magazine. In 1995, he received the title "Master of the Way of the Sword" from the Zen Nippon Todo Renmei, that is, the Japan Association. He is an honorary member of the Texas and Arizona State Rangers. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by several universities and colleges around the world. He is a well-known author and the president of the Society for Literary Arts of Japan. In addition, Hatsumi is also well known as a painter, his works have been presented in several galleries all over Japan, and the goods are related to this.
SHIRAISHI SENSEI
Shiraishi Sensei is also called "the Smiling Demon" because no matter what happens, the smile never leaves his face. As Europeans, we can be grateful to him because he holds training sessions in both English and Japanese. Those who visit Japan a lot must have noticed that Soke often refers to him as uke during Honbu training sessions. You can feel the respect with which Soke honors his old training partner.
Shiraishi Sensei is also called "the Smiling Demon" because no matter what happens, the smile never leaves his face. As Europeans, we can be grateful to him because he holds training sessions in both English and Japanese. Those who visit Japan a lot must have noticed that Soke often refers to him as uke during Honbu training sessions. You can feel the respect with which Soke honors his old training partner.
He always strives for stability in his movements, but also does not miss those imperceptible movements that make the techniques come to life "sneaky way". Practicing with it as a uke, it's very hard to sense the point where you've lost the balance of the uke. European budoks often mention that they learn a lot from him, because he shows the techniques not only to one uk, but to everyone present. According to Shiraishi Sensei, the Soke set him the task of teaching the basics correctly. That is why Shiraishi Sensei often says: "good foundation training this makes".
NAGATO SENSEI
Nagato Sensei is one of the Japan DaiShihans. At first glance, he is not a typical Japanese figure, a tall and strong man, who you could imagine as a mere bouncer of ego. Although his appearance may cause fear in many people at first, he does not use his strength to do the techniques during the training sessions. His movements are much more soft and homogeneous, as if he were dancing with his opponents.
Nagato Sensei was introduced to the world of martial arts when he was still young, at the age of 8. Like most Japanese children, he first encountered judo instruction at school. Later, Nagato Sensei taught judo in the United States in the state of Oregon, while he himself learned a lot. It was during this time that he first heard the name of the judo master Hatsumi Masaaki while reading Andrew Adams' book about ninjas, The Invisible Assassin. After returning to Japan, he continued his martial arts career as a professional kickboxing competitor. However, it can be read in his previous statements that this type of competition did not make him happy. In a 1987 magazine, he said: "Too much beating up, too bad for the health, bad for my face and also, it was not a martial art."
Nagato Sensei probably has the most martial arts experience among the Japanese Shihan, and perhaps has one of the best senses of humor. On the other hand, he always takes the training sessions seriously, apart from when he corrects the movements of one of his budokas, and when he sits around to talk with those present during a break, he usually always keeps the necessary distance.
Nagato Sensei teaches in a unique way in his movements, he often demonstrates a technique by executing several uke strikes, or directing his opponent's attack, waiting for him to bite the bait, and then throw him off balance easily. He often says during training: "if you can catch a baseball, you can catch a punch".
In breaks, Nagato Sensei shares his thoughts on the meaning of Bujinkan and martial arts in addition to training. "Budo, the martial arts world, is the essence of everything. It's all still alive and we want to keep it alive. We look for understanding, for peaceful life and happiness. Budo is good for the country, and for the whole universe.”
My experience: During one of our trips to Japan, Nagato Sensei gave me special permission to make videos in his class, but he asked me not to publish them. And everyone who meets Nagato knows that whoever makes a promise to him keeps it. In addition, I had the honor of being asked by Nagato Sensei to be a uke (partner) in one of his training sessions - which is considered a privilege. In general, he used to grant this privilege to newly graduated Godan ranks.
NAKADAI SENSEI
NOGUCHI SENSEI
EUROPE
DEAN ROSTOHAR
Dean was born in Zagreb in 1965 and has lived there ever since. He started working on martial arts in 1975, and achieved a master's degree in several disciplines. He encountered Ninjutsu for the first time in 1986. At that time, he only learned from books. His first instructors were Dominik and Sasha Tesic. They introduced Ninjutsu in Croatia. He created the first Bujinkan Dojo in 1993 with the help of Domink Tesic. Subsequent to this he wrote and taught Bujinkan Ninjutsu in Croatia. Since 1995, he has been regularly going to Japan for training, where he learned directly from Soke and his best students.
In 1996, he was awarded the 5th Dan degree after successfully passing the Sakki test in Tokyo. He received several awards from Hatsumi Soke, including being the proud owner of the Golden Dragon Medal.
He participated in the South Slavic war as a member of a special unit. During one action, deep behind enemy lines, he was seriously injured. He owes his life to many years of training and his own willpower. Due to his injuries, he was demobilized, but before that he received many awards, including from the President of Croatia. Since 1999, he has been teaching special units of the police and a specialist consultant. Unlike many instructors, his knowledge is not just theoretical. He teaches Ninjutsu in a realistic manner using his experiences in war.
In addition to teaching ninjutsu, managing the Specwog unit he founded plays an important role in his life.
He has been supervising the professional work of the Seijin dojo since 1998. In the beginning, sensei György Csics and Attila Bognár came to him and considered him their master, and from 2007, after sensei György Csics moved to Australia, the current head of the dojo, Gábor Darányi, also asked him for this position. We are very grateful to him for his guidance.
DAVOR GAŠPAROVIĆ
Davor Gašparović was born in Zagreb in 1973. At the age of 16, he joined Dean Rostohar's Ninjutsu dojo and has been participating in training with great humility and hard work ever since. As Dean sensei's right-hand man, he played a major role in the strengthening of Bujinkan in Croatia.
The old dream, the first trip to Japan, came true in 2003, and since then he returns regularly, every year, to train with the Japanese masters.
Nothing proves his knowledge and abilities better than the fact that he is regularly invited as an instructor by various European dojos.
Davor sensei's teaching style is hard, realistic, but at the same time soft and simple. He draws attention to many important small details, which makes it much easier for the students to absorb what they have seen in the seminars. His extremely sophisticated Taihenjutsu is admired by everyone.
Davor Gašparović Shihan is also a Specwog instructor and Croatian Special Forces trainer.
