I first heard of the Bujinkan through Tom Brown's Tracker School, mainly because "Ninja" Joe Lau was one of the instructors. Joe Lau and Jack Hoban have close ties to the Tracker School. The old Piscataway location was perfect for me to stop by and check out on my way home from work. I liked what I saw, what we did, and especially the fact that we met outdoors.

What keeps me coming to class is the awareness that a pure, simple kernel exists at the core of our art. To me, all of the classes, kata, exercises, etc are ultimately intended to remove our habits, prejudices, attachments and ignorance that hide the pure, simple kernel at the center. I see this as a great metaphor for other similar journeys in life. Essentially I keep coming due to faith that commitment will slowly reveal the kernel.

Also, the training "community" has become one of my favorite aspects. Strong friendships have formed during training and outside of training. Most of the people that I've met along the way seem to have selfless intentions and pure motivations for learning our art.

The thing I like most is how the theme of taijutsu is the foundation for everything in the Bujinkan: all weapons, hand-to-hand, ukemi, walking, etc.

My personal favorite type of class is when we take a kata and work it from many different perspectives, e.g. practice the standard kata, then work in henka, then work in different weapons, then analyze linkages to the basics (sanshin, kihon), and finally talk about historical context.

I got involved in training back in high school with shidoshi Carcano. I attended a few seminars and then didn't train for many years after. I got involved again because I felt like something was missing in my life.

I continue to train because of my instructor's excellent lessons, the people I train with and the good feeling that I get during and after training.

I like the fact that I am learning how to move properly in dangerous situations. I also like that the lessons learned in training can be applied to everything else in my life.

My trainning in Taijuitsu began after graduating from college. I so desperately needed a stabilizing force in my life to balance the anxiety and frustration I felt as I transitioned into the "real world". Following an Internet search, I came accross the Bujinkan and after a very short time I knew that this was a good fit for me. Joining the Bujinkan was the first step in opening doors I had never known existed.

Every class has something new to offer, whether it is learning a new technique or refining an old, I wouldn't want to miss any of it. No two classes are the same, but at the same time it's all connected to something much deeper. To arive at that much deeper more aware place requires practice, commitment, and dedication. The effort I have put into this art has paid off exponentially in many other areas of my own and many other's lives.

I very much enjoy the people that train in this art. Everyone has their own view of life and training not to mention a wide variety of backrounds and interests. Such a group has made training very enjoyable and unique. The dojo would simply not exist without the students.

I started training with a couple of friends back in high school. I fell away for a while but returned in January, 2005. Oh, those lost years....

I return each week with the expectation of learning something new and sharpening skills learned in previous classes. I'm never disappointed.

Although swordplay is a lot of fun, I find that the underlying current of Taijutsu flows through to my everyday life. My health, sense of balance and awareness of the world around me have all improved since I returned to training. I find the seminars that are offered by Don and other senior instructors to be very helpful as well. The fellowship of the Bujinkan community is fantastic!

I became involved in Bujinkan training because initially, I was interested in swords and found the Bujinkan online, and discovered a local dojo.

It's hard to define what keeps me coming to training. The group of people is a big part of it. It seems that the people that are attracted to our art are not like the people I've been around in other arts.

What is the thing you like most about training? Learning the sorts of things you are actually capable of. Rolling seems so natural to me now- a few years ago I would have broken my neck trying.

My brother is the one who introduced me to this style of training. Before this, I was studying Isshinryu Karate. I've been at this for almost a year and am very pleased I made the switch.

What keeps me coming to class is the usefulness and practicality I see in the techniques when I train keeps me coming back. You not only learn basic punching, kicking and grappling techniques, but you learn ways to improve the everyday actions that most people take for granted (like walking).

I really like the structure of the class. We are always learning new techniques that always seem to tie back to the basics. This makes picking up the new technique more natural. Most interesting thing I've done so far is when we were practicing taking on multiple opponents. That is a very "real life" situation that has a lot of benefit.

I got started in this art when I read a few books on Ninjutsu and became hooked; books that told stories of people going on all these adventures. When I finally found out that there was a school, I quickly realized that I had been reading fiction all along. But that opened up an oppurtunity for a new adventure, learning taijutsu. Overall, I find that this adventure is more rewarding than any adventure the books described.

I keep coming to class because I never know what's going to happen. No class is ever the same, and it seems that in each class I see something that I never saw before. The element of surprise is probably the Bujinkan's greatest feature, both in its taijutsu and in the training itself.

The thing I like most is the diversity of the training. Many of the common martial arts out there teach only one type of technique; only throws, only punches, etc. Our training covers rolling, walking, throwing, punching, kicking, cool weapons (emphasis on the cool), philosophy, you name it. I feel like I'll never run out of new things to learn.