Does Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū publicly claim to include any sort of Ninjutsu in its curriculum?
It is well known that TSKSR contains "shinobi no jutsu" teachings. Now whether that means that the leaders of TSKSR are "publicly claiming" this, or that the practitioners of the art are merely revealing their own opinions is unknown. Aside from foreigners, no one would really "care" that much that a given school "contains ninjutsu" per se. It's just part of the art, just like any other part.
Tenguru said:
Does the training appear to be compatible with the Bujinkan's view of natural body movement and combat?
TSKSR is a very formal art. Notice how each kata includes "pagentry" such as drawing the sword in a certain way, lining up the sword so that they cross before beginning, and so forth. It is noticeable that the kamae are very important. Every "attack" accompanies a precise kamae, and so forth.
I believe this type of movement is precisely the type of movement that Hatsumi-sensei wishes people would move away from. People within the Bujinkan who "collect kata" tend to have this style of movement, which, in Hatsumi-sensei's eyes, is considered "dead movement" (like a museum is "dead" but a garden is "alive").
Clearly, the TSKSR instructors think that the strict adherence to these forms is vital for the longevity of the art. Hatsumi-sensei does not think the same for the Bujinkan's longevity.
In terms of "forms," the Bujinkan shares some similarities. We have "traditional forms" wherein people move for certain kamae to the next kamae in orchestrating a kata. A lot of people in the BJK know bo kata or sword kata that contain "five strikes or six strikes before the uke dies" in a similarly choreographed session.
In terms of "spirit", however, the Bujinkan has some strong dissimilarities. This reflects Hatsumi-sensei's "jazz-like" virtuoso and his views of what Takamatsu was truly trying to teach him. Hatsumi-sensei views the kata in the scrolls as vehicles for "something else." For this reason, Hatsumi-sensei teaches "principles" of movement, rather than the actual forms, per se.
When Hatsumi-sensei teaches, for example, he usually starts with the "official form" according to the densho, then transitions hundreds of times building off the exact same principle inherent in the "official form," rather than demanding that people practice the "official form" hundreds of times.
As to precise differences in movement, I noticed difference in the knees and spine when striking, for example, from the way I was taught sword. I am not saying the TSKSR instructors are "wrong," just "different" in terms of what they emphasize. Though seemingly small, these are important aspects because the knees and spine are the true source of power and distance in the Bujinkan.
Tenguru said:
Is there any dialog or relationship between the Bujinkan and the TSKS ryu.
Not really. There is a fundamental difference of "what is important" across both grandmasters. And seeing how they are both grandmasters, they have the right to teach their art as they see fit. Both styles of teaching have "goods" and "bads."
I personally am a huge fan of Hatsumi-sensei's "jazz-like" style, which many people may not like. There is a reason why I chose to train in the Bujinkan, rather than some of the many koryu that were available to me during my almost decade in Japan. (Note: I had never trained in the Bujinkan before I was on Japanese soil, so I did not go there looking to train with Hatsumi-sensei as most people in the Bujinkan do when they move there.) Irrespective, the Bujinkan certainly found me. LOL!
Tenguru said:
Anyone on the forum train in both schools? Would that even be accepted (by the Bujinkan or TSKS)?
There is nothing stopping you from training in both TSKSR and BJK at the same time, but in order to "get good" in each art, you will need to internalize the teachings. If you start doing TSKSR type of movement at BJK Hombu, people will look at you very strangely, and will think that you are acting inappropriately, given Hatsumi-sensei's preferred style of movement. I am certain the same eyebrows would be raised if a BKNer when to a TSKSR dojo and insisted upon doing variation after variation (a la Hatsumi-sensei), rather than working on perfecting the assigned kata.
It would be akin to have two different operating systems in the same computer. It could work, theoretically, but practically, it gets messy. This is especially true when the accidental use of one operating system in the other environment could close off opportunities for future learning.
"There is someone who doesn't get it" could become your catch phrase across both dojo environments! LOL!
Hope that helps!
-ben
