Ninjutsu is an historical Japanese martial art system that was employed by ruling feudal lords throughout Japanese history in times of warfare. Those Ninjutsu practitioners who fought alongside Japanese samurai, and who in some cases were also of the Samurai martial class, were the special forces of their time.

Alongside their self-defence style martial knowledge, Ninjutsu practitioners, or Ninja as they have become known colloquially, employed specialist skill sets such as meteorology, disguise, local knowledge and specialist tools and weapons to infiltrate and invade enemy encampments and fortresses.

Though no longer directly useful in its original and complete form, in a modern peaceful society such as in the UK, the specific martial arts knowledge and strategic approaches to self-defence and protection developed over centuries by Ninjutsu practitioners is still very useful for our self-protection and for the protection of our friends and family.

Koshijutsu and Koppojutsu form the core self-defence methodology for the Ninjutsu practiced in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. With Koshijutsu, we learn how to manipulate an attacker’s balance and use their power against them; we learn how to pacify and restrain an attacker using the minimum of force. With Koppojutsu, we learn a complimentary and yet almost polar opposite strategy to Koshijutsu. Whereas Koshijutsu teaches us subtle sweeping movements for use against an attacker, Koppojutsu teaches us techniques that are very direct and to the point, defending and restraining with direct and accurate strikes and locks.

Ninpo Taijutsu provides different strategic techniques and approaches towards our self-defence, teaching us avoiding and escaping strategies and techniques to help with many potential confrontational situations. With these techniques, we build on the solid martial art and self-defence foundation we gained through training in Koshijutsu and Koppojutsu.

Bujutsu is the umbrella term used for the martial skill set and battle strategies used by the Samurai class, their ruling lords and subordinates in ancient Japan prior to the country’s Westernisation. Traditionally, Bujutsu was a very broad discipline, including skills such as archery, horsemanship, calligraphy, spiritual discipline, battlefield strategies, battlefield weapons skills - including spear, halberd, battle axe and much more. The Samurai and his sword became the typical picture in ancient Japanese person’s mind in more recent centuries when referring to Bujutsu.

Jujutsu is a form of grappling, restraining and throwing an attacker that was the basis for the unarmed fighting techniques for the samurai class and their subordinates. With the Jujutsu of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, we learn techniques and principles that complement and further expand our repertoire of Ninjutsu techniques. The emphasis of Bujinkan Jujutsu is about taking the opponent to the ground and restraining them as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Dakentaijutsu adds the additional skill set of techniques that have evolved from fighting unarmed, whilst wearing armour such as samurai armour and chainmail. Though these types of armour are no longer used in modern societies, the Dakentaijutsu martial arts techniques of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu are appropriate and useful for those wearing modern-day protective armour, such as soldiers and those working in the security industry.

Happo Bikenjutsu forms the backbone of the weapons training when considering the Bujutsu of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. We learn in depth techniques for using various length staffs and sticks. We also learn traditional spear and halberd techniques in addition to techniques for use of long and short samurai swords. Along with learning traditional weapons, Happo Bikenjutsu teaches us how to apply these techniques with everyday objects, such as sweeping brushes, pens, keys, credit cards, and other ‘weapons at hand’.

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