Santa Cruz de Tenerife (EFE).- Pedro Fleitas from Gran Canaria will be the first Westerner to direct a “tai kai” or great international Bujinkan meeting in Japan, an organization that brings together nine classical schools of Japanese martial arts, the oldest of the century XII, founded by the teacher Masaaki Hatsumi.
The “tai kai” will take place on October 4 and 5 of this year at the “dojo” (headquarters) of Masaaki Hatsumi in Noda and will be a tribute to the “soke” (great teacher), Pedro Fleitas explained to Efe , who has stressed that it will not have much to do with sport but rather with respect and affection for those who had the courage to open their experience to the world.
Born on December 2, 1931 in Noda (Japan), Masaaki Hatsumi, graduated in Medicine and theater arts, practiced various martial arts before training with the master Toshitsugu Takamatsu, known as the “Mongolian Tiger” and who was the 33rd patriarch. from the togakure-ryu school of ninjutsu.
One of Toshitsugu Takamatsu’s greatest disciples was Masaaki Hatsumi, who rose to the title of “soke” in six bujustu (practiced by samurai) and three ninjutsu (ninja) styles and founded the bujinkan system and the art of bujinkan budo taijutsu. .
Masaaki Hatsumi was named the 34th patriarch of the Togakure-ryu school and successor to Toshitsugu Takamatsu and all the schools inherited from him, some from the 12th century.
Hatsumi has adapted the classical Japanese martial arts to the Western world and, to do so, has traveled the world for many years, stressed the teacher Pedro Fleitas, who explained that the idea of ”tai kai” was born during a displacement that in August 2022 made to Japan.
Pedro Fleitas has commented that, during that trip, the teacher Hatsumi told him that “it would be wonderful” for him to do a “tai kai” when the pandemic ended, something that overwhelmed him, since although he has experience in teaching bujinkan in Japan, this is a “freer” exercise than a large international gathering.
The purpose is to pay tribute to Hatsumi on her land, in her “dojo”, more than anything “as an act of love”, reiterated Pedro Fleitas, who pointed out that up to now 70 bujinkan practitioners have signed up.
Pedro Fleitas is a direct disciple of Masaaki Hatsumi, he has traveled to Japan more than 120 times and has participated in various places in Europe and America in events organized by the great master, who has visited the Canary Islands four times, two of them (1991 and 1992) to participate in a “tai kai” and in two others (1995 and 2007) to rest.
The bujinkan system, or “way of the divine warrior”, which is Japan’s national cultural heritage and has its main “dojo” or training place in Noda, is based on taijutsu or art of body movement, with or without weapons ( tools), the first of which are called forms of strike (dakentaijutsu), forms of light combat or locking (jutaijutsu) and skills in movement (taihenjutsu).
As weapons, swords (katanas, washizashi, kodachi, tanto and others) are used, as well as sticks of various sizes (bo, jo, hanbo), ropes (sageo), spear (yari) and fans (tessen), among other tools.
In bujinkan there are ten stages, or “kyu”, before reaching the black belt, from which fifteen dan (degrees) are established, so that to obtain the fifth one must pass a “sakki” test, in which that you have to avoid a blow from behind and, if you overcome it, you reach the level of “shidoshi” (instructor), which gives you the right to open a dojo and give degrees up to fourth dan.
By obtaining the tenth dan, one is a “shihan”, or master, of a martial art for which there are no tournaments or competitions, because it is about arts that were created to survive and not to win prizes, and also because as it is an art of warfare, many of the techniques can be deadly if practiced correctly.