Grandmaster Shoto Tanemura's Harukaze Dojo teaches all the practical physical skills of Ninjutsu as well as the art of some of its more traditional weapons. Unknown to all except those that practice these arts, weapons training can take ones empty hand skills to a new, higher level.

Weapons training focuses on

• Kenjutsu (Japanese Sword fighting)
• Bojutsu (Japanese 3 foot and 6 foot staff fighting)
• Tanto jutsu (Japanese knife fighting).

The Japanese term "Taijutsu" is synonymous with the Art of the Ninja. Taijutsu translates as "The Way or Art of the Body." It usually is associated with the Ancient Japanese Empty Hand Techniques practiced by the Ninja and a few other Ancient Martial Ryuha or lineages. The words are easy enough to understand. However, the Art of the Body is not.

Notice the name is not the "Art of the Body Parts." It is simply the "Art of the Body." One Completely Unified Body. This concept goes all the way back to the Chinese origins of the Japanese Martial Arts where the Chinese say :

" If One Joint Moves, All Nine Joints Move."

This is really profound and difficult to understand on the Physical Level. If you tilt your head slightly, just one joint, your neck, will have moved. Therefore, every other joint in your body will have to shift slightly in order to keep your Structural Integrity intact. If this does not happen, you will lose the Harmony and Balance between your "In" and "Yo" or Yin and Yang. After that, the flow of your Ki or Internal Energy will not be correct and the skill level of your Taijutsu will become much lower. You will have to depend more on local muscle strength and less on whole body power to accomplish your goals. Ki unties your whole body. It is the only one thing that connects the distant parts together. How else can the power from your foot drive your hand? There is no one muscle or even one nerve that travels that whole distance. Yet, with the proper alignment, you can easily feel the power flow from your feet to your finger tips!

Ninpo, however, has always included another dimension in its training. This extra dimension sets a practitioner of our art apart from and above the practitioners of mere fighting systems. Ninpo is elevated above most other martial arts by its realization that the refinement and purification of your heart and character is a prerequisite for the proper opening of your energy channels. This has a twofold effect on your ability to produce power and act quickly.

• It increases the flow of ones internal energy or ki by reducing the internal resistance.
• It enables the practitioner to become tonus-which is the state of being energized while remaining relaxed.

Both of these qualities are necessary to produce a good martial art practitioner.

Ninpo also acknowledges that the final extra dimension of power comes from ones spirit. This part of us can only reach its full potential when it is in harmony with its own inherent nature-which is infinite strength and goodness. This is why Grandmaster Tanemura has begun to teach the precepts of Amatsu Tatara.

This purification/power relationship becomes a closed, ever expanding circle. The purer our heart becomes, the more energy we have available. The more energy we have available, the easier it is to remain true to our morals, our ethics, our values, our honor and our Dharma (our life's mission). The more we live our Dharma (our purpose in life), the purer our Heart becomes....

The Harukaze Dojo and its chief instructor, Gary Giamboi, with the support of Grandmaster Shoto Tanemura, will provide the instruction and nurturing necessary to help our students reach their full multi-dimensional potential as a true spiritual warrior armed with potent self-defense techniques and an indomitable spirit.

Very Sincerely Yours,
Gary Giamboi, Kyoshi, Shibu-Cho

go back to top