SWORD
SPECIALIST COURSE
 BuShinDo University SWORD SPECIALIST
Certification Course
Learn the hidden teachings to true warrior power. Learn both Formal and non-Formal sword teachings in one place.
You must love the sword or you would not be reading this far and what you read below may be just what you have been seeking since you where a child. As you may or may not know one of Shihan Richard Van Donk's favorite studies is the sword. The sword stands for everything it means to being a warrior. Thoughts of honor, justice, personal pursuit of knowledge and perfection, ancient battles, being a champion come to mind. As a child many of us dream of being a great warrior. Many of us put on capes, held a long piece of wood high in the air and climb on the couch wildly proclaiming our victory cry to all that would hear or voice. We played as Zorro (Shihan says he would draw a V - what did you draw?). We played as gladiators battling each other in games.
As we grow older and watch movies we learn of Chinese warriors, Conan, and Ninja's who are invincible night warriors. Later when we perhaps study martial arts we hear of famous swordsmen like Musashi who is reputed to have gone to live in nature for several months before a life and death battle. We learn of the Bushido (path of the warrior) Code and what honor meant to a Samurai. If we dig deeper into the studies we will find that it is through the teachings of the sword that they unveiled to themselves the ways of the knowledge of the unfolding universe and the way of mastering their own perfection.
It is with this in mind that Shihan Van Donk has spent over 20 years in pursuit of these teachings. He first went to train with Soke Hatsumi in Japan in 1986 because he wanted to learn sword from him. Master Van Donk was already proficient in the Eskrima arts using long and short sword blades but something deep within called to him when he picked up a katana (Japanese sword). It has never stopped talking. Soke Hatsumi told him to come back in about 10 years because his students needed to learn taijutsu first before learning the sword. Soke Hatsumi said that the highest level teachings of the Bujinkan was Happo Bikenjutsu (Secret or hidden Sword methods) and one must have great taijutsu to properly learn it. Well that just made Shihan Van Donk come to Japan even more to train with Soke and he kept asking all the teachers, including Soke to share what they knew about sword. Soke was correct in that 10 years latter he started the Kenjutsu teachings (see 1996 Kenjutsu Daikomyosai). Shihan Van Donk pursued every avenue he could. He bought every available video tape and book he could get. And nothing compared to the teachings of 2 extremely gifted and very, very opposite style master teachers. Soke Masaaki Hatsumi who teaches pure budo (true fighting) battlefield realistic warriorship based on concepts and principles for winning with the art of distancing and surprise. And Kancho Kensensai Machida who is the master of perfection with the blade with every move he makes even if it is a kata form with 150+ moves in it. Kancho knows in his head literally hundreds of kata forms from many sword schools at any level of the school and he demands with a light heart that his students do too. At age 72 he has cut through 10 rolled tatami mats in one stroke, a cut that is sure to be a worlds record.
Both Soke Hatsumi and Kancho Machida are endless in their budo knowledge. Both of these head master teachers are the current holders of several martial arts lineages and are near the same age. Both are very spiritual teachers. But studying with them both was a a great gift from the warrior gods. Shihan Van Donk will tell you in this course about the challenges of going from one to the other in the same day sometimes. But like a magnet or a fly to the light he was too pulled by his childhood dreams that he did not want to miss a single minute even if it was snowing and freezing cold (which happened many a night). He did learn for himself that it is so important to know both the formal and the informal teachings to even consider yourself truly proficient with a blade. Well not everyone is as fortunate to be able to have the time, energy or resources to take on a 20 year venture to learn the sword. It is great fortune to even train once with a great master teacher much less being personal students of 2 of the greatest sword masters alive and have them agree to teach you while knowing that you where also training with another master.
So Shihan Richard Van Donk is carefully putting together several sword courses where by you will be able to get official Sword rank certification from Bushindo University in levels of the sword.
The first course will be an overview course consisting of about 10 DVD's of information.
In the future it is planned that you will be able to learn a formal school by itself and an informal school by itself and will have accompanying study manuals and recommended study books.
Look forward to some very fun and very educational sword teachings.
Learn both
Formal and non Formal sword teachings.
Bushindo University Sword Certifications will be available SOON THIS YEAR.
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