you know about ninjutsu but you don't know about the Bujinkan? poor Soke Hatsumi.... I'll let some other guys who do ninpo explain it to you! it's too complicated for me.
I found this explanation on http://www.questkagami.com/glossary.html This is pretty accurate, politcs aside. Bujinkan -- The organization of ninjutsu training under Soke Masaaki Hatsumi, named for his training hall. This group generally views techniques from the perspective of the 9 ryu. Some also consider an elemental model, and some use the 'Tenchijin' or 'Heaven-Earth-Man' model to understand techniques. The Bujinkan has 10 kyu level ranks and 15 dan level ranks, although the 11th through 15th dan ranks are relatively recent. As of now, the top Bujinkan students are 12th or 13th dan. The Bujinkan has more practitioners than any other ninjutsu organization, with many thousands of students world-wide. Most To-Shin Do practitioners who had ninjutsu experience before To-Shin Do trained in the Bujinkan, some for many years. Bujinkan curricula are not centralized by Masaaki Hatsumi, and so training methods vary radically between dojos. Some use an extremely organized curriculum based on various models, and others choose techniques by whim for each evening of training. There is every shade of grey in between. Similarly, training style is influenced by each dojo's instructor, ranging from archaically traditional to extremely modified and modern. Genbukan -- This group was founded by Shoto Tanemura, one of Hatsumi's senior students who left the Bujinkan in the 80s. The Genbukan is fairly well organized under Tanemura. From the official Genbukan website, they list the purpose of the group this way, "In the interests of maintaining the integrity of the ancient Ninja tradition, Grandmaster Tanemura founded the Genbukan in November of 1984. The Genbukan is dedicated to the factual portrayal and teaching of the Ninja arts in the traditional Japanese manner." The Genbukan takes a strictly traditional approach to ninjutsu training, focusing on the ryu techniques exactly as they were taught historically. Most Genbukan schools also teach 'KJJR' or Kokusai Jujutsu Renmei, a school of samurai jujutsu which Tanemura also leads. This branch was founded in 1991 for much the same stated purpose, "for the preservation and transmission of authentic Japanese Jujutsu." Jinenkan -- This group was founded by Fumio Manaka, one of Hatsumi's senior students who left the Bujinkan. Manaka is also known by the name 'Unsui Sensei' within the Jinenkan. He is now located in the Baltimore, MD area and intends to stay in the US for some years to grow the organization gradually. From the official Jinenkan website FAQ, the difference between the Jinenkan and 'other organizations' is this: "In the Jinenkan a strong emphasis is put on mastering the fundamentals. The basics are not just a step which one passes through on the way to learning more 'advanced' techniques. Every student is expected to keep polishing his or her basics year after year, and not forget them once the test has been passed. Also, we study the techniques as they are written, and in the order they are written in the scrolls. There are reasons why the scrolls are organized as they are, and a piecemeal approach to training can leave a person without the tools he or she needs to learn any technique well. " The Jinenkan is a traditional, scroll-based training organization that is well-known within ninjutsu for extremely precise movement. Manaka, and his top students such as Shawn Havens, have been consulted by Bujinkan and To-Shin Do advanced practitioners at times in order to polish their fundamentals and get extremely detailed views on fundamental movements and techniques. To-Shin Do -- This branch of the martial art was founded by Stephen K. Hayes as a Westernized, modernized version of the traditional principles and techniques that make up ninjutsu as he learned it in the Bujinkan under Masaaki Hatsumi. The techniques are changed very little, but the style with which they are performed reflects modern circumstances. The attacks that are practiced against are also changed from traditional ninjutsu to reflect the type of assaults common in the modern West. The teaching is organized to reflect an elemental approach to technique and a spiritual approach to training and personal expression in life. These are the 4 "true" styles of Ninjutsu. Choose what fits you, not what poeple say becuase of political Tension.
