I’ve recently had the fortunate opportunity of gaining Shihan Jack Hoban as my Bujinkan instructor and I wanted to pass on some of the stuff he has told or taught me to the community at large. I was once told that “having a senior level Bujinkan shidoshi (Instructor) use you as Uke is somewhat of an honor.” Well, I’ve been honored!

Ignore what I’ve shown you in the past

Something interesting happened the other day when we first started training. I asked Jack to go over sanshin no kata with me and he obliged. I kept trying to “lean” into the forward movements like I had learned from others and also seen in his book, Ninpo

“Ignore the book and videos. I had it all wrong then. Yeah, I know, everything’s wrong and out of date now, but just do what I’m telling you now.” The difference was that he now had an erect posture because it provides greater stability and, when done correctly, allows for more natural movement into other kamae. I was warned, however,
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