Nothing can replicate training in Japan; the immersion in the Japanese culture, the amount of training one squeezes into a trip, the practitioners your surrounded by – a few days changes your movement forever. The most important part of training in Japan is the opportunity to train under the best instructors in the world and Soke Hatsumi himself.

For all of us – Soke is the goal; we are all trying to understand and to grasp how Soke moves. And each of the Sensei in Japan attempt to breakdown his movement into terms the rest of us can understand. At the same time though, each of the Sensei take the principles of Soke and make it their own. It’s a bit like two different painters looking at the same scenery and then painting it to make their own – both paintings can be accurate, and beautiful, but they both can be unique. This is how martial arts work as well; while the principles are the same the movement becomes unique to the practitioner.

Depending on what you’re working on, you may gravitate towards one teacher more than another – just as you may prefer one painter’s style over another. I would caution though not too simply “pick one”; each of the teachers have their strengths and focus that is important – and to not train under one would be to rob yourself of potential insight.

So the question becomes – who to train under? What are the insights each teacher offers? Here is an opinion on the different teachers, and what makes each one unique and valuable. This is only an opinion, and as I learn more and gain understanding, my opinion may change – but at a minimum this can give you a starting point if you never have trained in Japan and may help you find something that the teacher offers.

Let’s start with the Grandmaster himself – Soke Masaaki Hatsumi:

Hatsumi Sensei

The leader of the Bujinkan and the person we can thank for bringing the art to us is Soke Masaaki Hatsumi. I won’t pretend to grasp the lessons of Soke’s classes, but I think I may understand what he’s doing. Soke is always teaching to the Shihan, the highest level practitioners. This makes it difficult for the rest of us who aren’t quite ready for those lessons – like someone who has studied high-school physics sitting in on a lecture by Stephen Hawkings on String Theory. Yet, there are valuable lessons – that if you pay attention – you can grasp.

What Soke is teaching are not techniques, but rather ideas – a philosophy rather than a kata. This is why he talks about feeling; he wants us to recreate the feeling of a movement, not necessarily the movement itself. There is one caveat to this however; we have to go through all those kata and learned proper technique before we can begin to understand the principles within it, and start to play with his ideas.

Soke also has a devilishly funny – and sometimes even a bit dirty – sense of humor. You can tell that he truly enjoys teaching and sharing the art. This might be why after he demonstrates something, he always finishes with “hai okay play”.

Ishizuka Sensei

Ishizuka Sensei is one of the “first generation” of Japanese students of Soke. It’s only been recently that he has become better known in the Bujinkan community for the most recent generation. However, he has played a pivotal role in training many that have become the rest of the teachers we study under.

Ishizuka is nothing short of impressive; his movement is precise and fluid, powerful yet relaxed. He is very much a traditionalist – emphasizing proper kihon and technique. His style of teaching often involves the most senior student demonstrating a specific technique from a Ryuha, and then making small corrections in it’s execution. It’s then up to the rest of the class to drill the form.

The training is his relatively small dojo is intense – but satisfying. The particular type of students he attracts are eager to drill the basics to truly learn the proper form. And his vast experience and willingness to teach it leave your technique and movement more polished.

Just training a handful of times at his dojo, I can see connections between the proper kihon and pretty much everything else being taught by Soke and the other Shihan. It feels like connecting to some root from which everything springs.

Seno Sensei

Seno is also a first generation student. His classes are probably the most frustrating on the first go around due to their precision and subtlety. Often only 3 to 4 techniques or forms are taught, and then the next 30+ minutes involves trying to figure out what and how he did what he did (and a lot of head scratching). You’ll soon realize that Seno is operating on a whole other level of subtlety and precision that is challenging to deconstruct. A few degrees of angle, a change of a few inches of foot placement, and suddenly the technique works flawlessly.

If he sees you struggling however, he’ll come over and give you hands on correction to help you find the hidden details; often this will involve him grabbing your belt and literally walking you through step by step of the technique. You wouldn’t think that someone this detail oriented would be as friendly as he is. But whenever he shows something, or is just interacting with you, there is always this air of humility and warmth to his presence.

Noguchi Sensei

Noguchi Sensei’s classes are maybe the most exhausting, but also the most “playful”. Noguchi Sensei’s movement is all about manipulation – he plays within the space to manipulate the reaction of the opponent. As this is happening, he is twisting your spine and locking you off balance. It borders on magic: he can make you miss a punch with the movement of a hand as if it were a Jedi mind trick.

In his class it’s mind overload; there is technique after technique and variation after variation. We once counted the number of things he showed, and we lost count after 80! Yet, it’s also fun – there is always some laughter from both humor and surprise when he is showing a technique. His playful attitude and joy in teaching will keep you engaged. He also will walk around the class and show each group something – giving insight into a small detail you might have missed. And when he does, there is always a smile and a laugh – all without saying a word in English.

His classes feel the most like Soke’s in the format and speed in which you move on from one technique to the next. And all the things he shows – manipulating the opponent – you can see Soke doing as well in class. It’s as much mental as it is physical.

Nagato Sensei

Arguably the most physically intimidating of the Shihan, Nagato Sensei has possibly the most fighting experience of the Japanese Shihan – as a former Judo teacher and Kickboxing Champion. However, he would say that his former training simply gave him bad habits he had to unlearn. He also has a very good sense of humor, and often will slip in a humorous comment here and there. While he takes the training seriously, and expects the students to the move correctly, he also has a very personable manner.

Nagato Sensei’s movement is remarkable in that he focuses on how to safely enter a technique. When initiating a technique, he is able to cover from just about any secondary attack, almost as if he is constantly setting a trap and waiting to see if the opponent takes the bait. A lot of his movements utilize distance to draw the attack out – throwing off the opponent’s balance, which aids in this method. This is often characterized by his method of recieving as if you were catching a ball: “if you can catch a baseball, you can catch a punch”.

Soke also does this in his techniques as well; in any technique he has already prepared for a subsequent attack and can move freely within the space safely. Interestingly enough, both Soke and Nagato Sensei have somewhat similar Martial Arts backgrounds prior to studying Ninpo.

Shiraishi Sensei

Shiraishi Sensei is called “the Smiling Demon”; no matter what – he always has a smile on his face. Most western students traveling to Japan will notice – and appreciate – that he teaches his classes in both English and Japanese. You’ll also notice that he is often used as uke in Soke’s classes, and you can sense the deep respect and admiration he has for Soke.

Shiraishi Sensei is all about principle and balance. This is characterized by his method of “foot work, spine work, hand work”, where there’s always a shifting of balance onto one foot before moving the other. There is also a rotation of the hips as you shift your balance, lending to the “spinework” aspect of movement.

Not only is this movement extremely stable, but it’s also very sneaky – it’s hard for the opponent to sense where your moving as you confuse their balance. You can also see Soke using this movement if you watch his feet, although it’s extremely hard to catch since Soke performs it so subtly. As Shirashi Sensei would say “good foundation training this makes”.

Someya Sensei

Someya Sensei is a direct descendant of a Samurai family, and it shows. There’s an air of seriousness to his class that demands your focus and attention. Although, when the moment lends itself, you’re likely to share a good laugh about something that comes up in class.

Someya’s movement is precise – like the edge of a katana; it’s impeccable. If you’re curious about the “correct form” of a certain kata – watch how Someya Sensei shows it. He seems to teach the most from what is “written” in the scrolls. He is, as you would expect, the weapon’s specialist of the group; whether he is teaching a katana or naginata kata, he moves fluid yet maintaining incredible control. This is not just with weapons, but extends to his taijutsu and body movement.

He also is very detailed in what he teaches – especially when it comes to weapons. There are many subtle things in a kata that are important to make the technique actually effective, and there is also a historical reason for the methods of the kata. And if you don’t pay attention to some of these details, the technique will fall apart.

Sakasai Sensei

Sakasai is relatively new to teaching at the Honbu. From what I’m told he was a student of Noguchi. I was told his class was about Kihon – but I can tell you that it’s not the kind of kihon you think. Sakasai forms a bit of a bridge between the orthodox forms and the more fluid style movements you see of the other teachers and Soke himself.

The class is more focused than Noguchi Sensei’s class, but if you trained with either you’ll notice overlap. For example he will often use every student as an uke. However there is more repetition, a slower pace and more linear flow to absorb what is being taught. By the end of class, you’ll suddenly see a whole new side to the movement of our art, as well as be better equipped to follow along with other teacher’s training.

You’ll begin to see how to bridge the gap between the basics and the principles.

Final Thoughts on the Martial Arts Instructors

Training in the classes in Japan was always a dream of mine. And each of the above teachers are truly amazing. There are other martial arts teachers at the Hombu Dojo as well. However, I haven’t trained enough in their classes to give any perspective – something I hope to correct by my next trip to Japan.

As I said at the beginning, I suggest training with all of them. Each one is highly skilled and will offer insight into the art and the movements of Soke. Hopefully this can give you an idea of the spectacular training that can be found at the Bujinkan Hombu in Japan. Until then – keep training!