Here are our favorite links:
Because we believe in the concept of guerilla marketing and have joined Facebook recently, we came across this lad from across the Pond named Paul Michael Weston, who recommended this site. It is very well put together and offers a store that beats the crap out of many of the American sites. We loved the story "Treasury of the Loyal Retainers", it teaches the lesson that honor supersedes the threat of death and many times deception can be used in many creative ways to achieve one's goal. What we liked most is that it clearly defined the different schools of Bujinkan and divides them by their influence, whether it is Shinobi or Samurai. That was an interesting twist and has us questioning how much of modern Bujinkan is influenced by the Samurai, which has always been assumed were the enemy of the ninja. Now, thanks to him, we're back to long nights, drinking lots of Rockstar and attempting to decipher the convoluted history of Bujinkan. What blows us away is that the dojo is run by Shihan Alfredo Castan, a great teacher who has taught Bujinkan students all over the world. If Mr. Weston is willing to have the courage to talk to us about a partnership, then Shihan Castan has done an amazing job cultivating a student and no doubt, a future shihan.
Speaks of the principles to study in the Bujinkan dojo, the complete set of skills of Budo taijutsu and ninpo taijutsu, complete bookstore, and a great set of white pages for you find a dojo to study Bujinkan.
The home page of the Grandmaster, Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi. Not a lot of content, but having him look at you with those demanding eyes can make anyone want to get up and train. Youtube also has some great video of him teaching in Japan.
Shihan Jack Hoban's web site. He's based out of New Jersey and is one of the originators of the Marine Corps. Martial Arts Program. he is one of the country's highest ranked instructors. Jack is one of the Shihan we had on our shortlist to send a copy of the novel to, and he was gracious enough to accept it and send us a nice response. He tours the country annually and if you ever wanted to learn about Bujinkan, you'll learn more in one Jack Hoban seminar than you will learn in three years of reading books.
Arguably the most famous person in American Bujinkan is Stephen K. Hayes, author and lecturer. His style is called To Shin Do, his interpretation of Bujinkan into twenty-first century applications. Recently, we saw him on an episode of "Investigating History" on the Discovery Channel where he demonstrated that a well trained warrior can get the same results as a SWAT team without the weapons, by using subterfuge and a little bit of persistence, or "nin" as it is called.
If you live in the Atlanta area, he's one of the best, look him up. he has a great online store.
This is the page of Shihan Dick Severance. He has taught may great instructors throughout Florida, like Cliff Vann. Dick is just a few who has earned the level of Ju Gon Dan; 15th degree black belt in Bujinkan. Since we are currently residing in the Sunshine State and slaving away for the cartoon Mouse, we have purchased his DVD's before. They're damn good and he sells all sorts of gear to help you in your journey.
Like us, if you have a story to tell and you are stubborn and want to dictate your own terms, this is an excellent way to do it. Tell 'em we sent you!
Paul Richardson, 10th Dan, is one of the best instructors across the Pond in the UK. We loved his site because he gave us something rare to see: a listing of all the past Sokes of the nine schools of the Bujinkan.