A little corner of Japan in a little corner of Basingstoke.
When we first enquire about martial arts classes we usually have an image in our heads of matted floors, samurai armour, rows and rows of certificates and walls covered with dozens of exotic weapons. We are usually quite surprised when we turn up for our first class and find ourselves in a school gym, a village hall or a dusty scout hut, without a mat or a certificate in sight.
Basingstoke alone has in the region of forty different martial arts clubs. If we multiply that by every town and city in the UK, there must be tens of thousands of martial arts classes throughout the country, all training in halls rented each week.
The vast majority of martial artists train like this, quite happily, week in, week out and there is absolutely nothing wrong with training like this at all. But just for one minute imagine what it would be like to study in a traditional, fully matted, fully equipped Dojo, full of everything you need and looking just how you imagined it. Unfortunately there are probably less than 30 traditional full-time Dojo in all of England, so in all of those thousands of classes the chances are you never will.
But don’t be disappointed because now you can. The Shinobi Kai Ninpo Bugei Dojo now has a full time Dojo, with 1000 square feet of matted floor, suits of armour, certificates, scrolls, traditional altar, toilets, changing rooms, book and DVD library, and weapons of all shapes and description, including some weapons rarely seen outside of Japan. The Dojo also has outside areas for summer training and large seminars, Kyudo (Japanese archery), Japanese falconry and 80 acres of wooded land to train in; making it possibly the best equipped Dojo in the United Kingdom.
The Shinobi Kai teaches the ancient Japanese arts of Koryu Bujutsu and Ninpo Tai Jutsu.
There are only two Grandmasters in the world teaching Togakure Ryu Ninpo Tai Jutsu, Masaaki Hatsumi and Shoto Tanemura. Both of these masters come from a lineage going back to 1161, making it one of the oldest documented martial arts in the world.
The defensive principles of Ninpo Tai Jutsu are very simple, survive and defeat your attacker as quickly and simply as possible. The Togakure Ryu is a collection of nine different, ancient, martial schools and some historians believe that many of the (Japanese) arts we see today are descended from the Togakure Schools. When the 9 schools are combined and added to more than a dozen different weapon disciplines it’s easy to see why Ninpo Tai Jutsu is often regarded as the art of the martial artist, it’s possibly the most complete martial system studied today.
The Instructor (Sensei) Mark Lutman, of the Shinobi Kai Dojo in Basingstoke has been graded to black belt by both Grandmasters and was only the second person in England to have that honour. In the past Mark has taught Judo, Jujutsu and Karate for junior and senior students as well as Ninpo Tai Jutsu, from raw beginner all the way up into the Dan grades. Despite the art, age, gender or grade, none of his students has ever failed any grading. Mark has been studying and teaching martial arts for more than 43 years and has consequently been awarded the title of Hanshi, polished instructor or expert teacher.
Mark has been studying Ninpo Tai Jutsu since the early 1980’s and holds Menkyo Kaiden. (A license to open your own Dojo.) He is an NVQ level 3 Sports Coach, regularly lectures on personal development and is frequently consulted by the media on martial arts related articles and stories.
The Shinobi Kai Ninpo Bugei Dojo was opened by Sensei Peter Brown, one of the first people in England to study Ninpo Tai Jutsu. Peter was the first person in England graded to black belt by both Grandmasters and was awarded his (Ninpo Tai Jutsu) Shodan in 1986, making him of the first (UK) students to achieve a Dan grade. His second Dan was awarded in 1987 and he remains one of the very few (UK) instructors to have jumped from 2nd Dan to 4th Dan. The Shinobi Kai has 5 full member clubs, 2 associate clubs and more than 200 students. With the opening of the Basingstoke Dojo, 4 of the 5 clubs now has its own full time Dojo, making it one of the most professional, longest established, largest, most successful and best equipped Ninpo Tai Jutsu/Koryu Bujutsu associations in the country.
So, if you genuinely want to study Ninpo Tai Jutsu and Koryu Bujutsu, this most ancient of arts, want to study it with experts and highly regarded instructors, want to study in one of the very few full time, traditional Dojo in England, why not get in touch. Weekly classes are for aged 18 and over only.
Private lessons are available by appointment only.
Weapons seminars and workshops on traditional Japanese weaponry for students of all arts also available. Tell us what you’d like to study and we will build a seminar/workshop around what you want. Group discounts available.
Falconry seminars, displays and workshops by appointment only. Please ask for more information.
Our Dojo is available for TV/film/drama producers. Please ask for availability and information.