Jissenkan Ninpo

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Let us delve into the term Jissen,, the term 実践 is composed of two kanji: 実 (truth, reality) and 践 (to step, to execute). Together, they convey the idea of "putting into practice" or "applying in reality." 

Unlike words like 練習 (practice) or 勉強 (study), じっせん emphasizes concrete action, not just preparation. 

After decades of study in the Ninpo related arts, Tenzen sensei noticed that most people were more interested in collecting "kata" like baseball playing cards or the social hierarchy of the school or organization than useable functional ability.

It was mostly fantasy and easy training and very few people had any real ability regardless of rank. No matter where he looked it was always the same.

Having been "raised" in other systems that valued reality-based training and having had many real-life encounters this "pretend training" and fortune cookie spirituality didn't sit well with him.

After many decades of swimming upstream against the current, he decided rather than "fight the system" it was better to just become autonomous and follow his own path and share it with others.

So, this feeling of 実践 Jissen permeates everything we do here at Jissenkan Honbu Dojo. We put everything into useable functional practice. From our martial arts, fitness or to our spirituality. It all comes down to can you actually apply or "do" what you are training... 

If for example you feel calm wise and open on your meditation cushion but freakout in traffic you have some work to do. If you perform well in the Dojo when your partner is allowing you and cooperating with your technique, but fail at the first signs of challenge, you have some work to do.

It would seem to be common sense that you would want to be able to actually use your training under pressure, but many are happy to just play. What is sad to see is many people really believe that they can apply their training in a real case, but they are in fact woefully inadequate. They never know this because they are never tested...

In the Jissenkan, we pressure test every one of the techniques we teach. In addition to technical knowledge and proficiency, students must demonstrate real time ability in a contested noncompliant environment to progress to the higher grades. Much like the fighting video games, there is a "boss level test" to pass to the next stage. The difference is there are no "cheat codes".

Next let's take a look at the term Ninpo 忍法  The first character 忍 means perseverance, endurance or to "put up with" (it can also mean conceal, secrete, spy, sneak). And the second character 法 means law, rule or principle. It implies a "rule that you live your life by".

So, what we have is the idea that we will live our life in a way in which we never give up, we never will surrender, will not have a defeatist attitude. Instead, we have a winning attitude! We will always find a solution... This applies to everything we do. 

What is kan 館? The Japanese suffix '館 (かん)' is commonly used to denote a building or facility dedicated to a specific purpose. It is often attached to nouns to form compound words that describe the type of building or establishment. For example: library「図書館」(としょかん), museum「博物館」(はくぶつかん), gym「体育館」(たいいくかん). This suffix is widely used in names of public and private buildings, indicating their function or the activities that take place there. The Jissenkan Ninpo then means the hall of the real fighting Ninpo. The hall of the serious/practical Ninpo...

Our Ninpo is divided into two main categories, Bumon 武 門 (martial gate) and Shumon  宗門 (spiritual gate)...