SHINDEN FUDO RYU DAKENTAIJUTSU
"Tradition Of The Immovable God School"
The founder of this Ryu was Izumo Kanja Yoshiteru, who was also it's first Soke. He studied Chinese Kempo Boxing in the beginning. Some of those techniques can still be seen in this Ryu. The same person was also Soke of Kukishinden Ryu.
The History of Shinden Fudo Ryu Dakentaijutsu
The founder of this school, Izumo, learned Chinese Kempo boxing. Today, some of this is still noticeable within the techniques. The second soke, Minamoto Hachiman Tamenari, is credited as being the official founder. At some point in his life he fled to Iga. This was possibly a result of being on the losing side at the end of a battle. One of the secret attributes of the Shinden Fudo Ryu is the "Principle of Nature". The school has two styles of taijutsu: Dakentaijutsu and Jutaijutsu, each with its own sets of techniques. In the Dakentaijutsu, there are no stances- Shizen no kamae represents the 'natural posture' and holds no fixed form. Hojojutsu, the art of tying someone with a length of rope, is also taught in this Ryu-ha. Also taught are several different types of yari (spear), Ono (war axe), O-Tsuchi (war hammer), and naginata. Kuki Takei from the Kuki family of Kukishin Ryu was also from the Shinden Fudo Ryu. Takenaka Tetsunoke, senior student of Jigano Kano, the founder of Judo, was at one time a student at the Shinden Fudo Ryu dojo. The Bugei Ryuha Daijiten lists the soke slightly differently from below, which is the list provided by Hatsumi Sensei, and is missing the 17th and 18th soke. Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu, the 24th soke, was a samurai, and a master in the Bikenshin Ryu. He was also a sword instructor to the Tokugawa Shogunate. He was Takamatsu Sensei's grandfather, and operated a dojo that had a plaque above the door which read: "Shinden Fudo Ryu Dakentaijutsu". This was the first style that Takamatsu Sensei learned from Toda Sensei. "The practitioner must work to cultivate an immovable spirit."
This is a school of dakentaijutsu and jutaijutsu. Dakentaijutsu has throws, strikes, locks, and kicks done in a fairly straightforward manner. It uses the body as a striking weapon and often appears "hard" in application. The shinden fudo ryu was known for its use of nature as an ally, and techniques are often very casual looking. It has many body conditioning methods using items found in nature. There are no formal postures in the school, the kamae are held in your heart. However most of the techniques start from the natural postures: shizen and fudoza. The school teaches Ono (great-axe), O-tsuchi (great-hammer), and O-dachi (great-sword). Literally translated: "divine transmission of immovability", "hard weapon body art".
"A warrior must learn to make every act count, since he is going to be here in this world for only a short while, in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it."