The Pittsburgh Bujinkan Taka Seigi Dojo is pleased to host long time resident of Japan – Dai Shihan Phil Legare at our new Dojo for the weekend of April 5th, 6th and 7th.
This event will focus on the aspects of the Bo (6 foot staff). Come see why the RokuShaku Bo is the very Essence of Budo. Dai Shihan Phil Legare will also share the current Bujinkan training theme in Japan. This promises to be a jam packed weekend of training!
Saturday 10am – 5pm (Dinner afterwards, costs on your own)
Sunday 10am – 4pm
(We may have a short Friday night session as well, will confirm if timing works out.)
Open to all, no prior experience necessary. Please bring all associated training weapons with you for the weekend.
Fees for the weekend are $150 per person prior to the seminar dates ($160 at the door). No single day option available. You can send the seminar fees via Paypal to brent@pittsburghbujinkan.com. All credit cards are accepted via Paypal, and if paying at the door, we have Stripe merchant credit card processing account as well.
This will be another great weekend folks and we look forward to seeing you here!
We are pleased to announce that we are up and running in our new Dojo Location (6901 Lynn Way, Suite 205 Pittsburgh, PA 15208). This is an exciting next chapter in our story as we embark upon the NEXT 20 years of the Pittsburgh Bujinkan!
If you have ever considered starting a martial art, now is the time to join us. Schedule your interview to come in and observe a class. This will give us time to discuss if we are a good fit for one another and to discuss your goals on what you want to get out of your training and the changes you want to make in your life.
Schedule your Appointment Now:
Schedule Your Interview Now!
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We have reached an amazing milestone as the Pittsburgh Bujinkan Taka Seigi Dojo celebrates it’s 20th Anniversary! Hard to believe that we opened our doors to the general public a full two decades ago . Along the way we have trained hundreds of students from all walks of life in Budo Taijutsu, Batto Jutsu Japanese Swordmanship, Personal Protective Measures and modern day Self Defense. Please join us as we move into our next decade of training and studies! Exciting times lay ahead.
See YOU on the mat!
Brent Earlewine – Dai Shihan
David Fetterman – Dai Shihan

From Duncan:
“Soke has been mentioning the Gojou 悟宝.
The Gojou represents the five ethics which should be kept by a human being in Confucianism. The Tokugawa Shogunate adopted Confucianism as an official ideology. The Gojou therefore became a samurai’s ethics standard. These are also the five values represented by the five pleats in the front of a hakama.
Fumetsu no Fuse
滅の不施
Everlasting giving
Mamichi no Jikai
真道の持戒
Vow of the true way
Shizen no Ninniku
自然の忍にく
Natural resolve
Shizen no Choetsu
自然の超越
Transcendance of nature
Komyou no Satori
光明の悟り
Illumination of the awakening
I was told a story by Nagato Dai Shihan about Fumetsu no Fuse.
There was once a monk who was proud of his ability to fulfill the goal of being able to selflessly give endlessly. Hearing this, a man approached him and said,” I’d like your ear please.” The monk looked at him, then cut of his ear, and gave it to him. The man took it and when he turned to walk away, he threw it into the bushes!
These precepts are given to aid those in developing a balanced life. If ( like anything ) you develop in an unbalanced way, you can loose the capacity to discern right from wrong and live in society harmoniously with the self and others.
Developing in a balanced manner also allows you to see the truth and falseness that lies everywhere around us. It also minimises the chance of being manipulated.
南虎”

Jo – Introduction or Beginnings
Ha – Change
Kyu – Impact
Or perhaps we could apply this to Shodan, Shidoshi, Shihan?
Or perhaps we could say “learn, understand, apply”?
Or perhaps we could say Form, Formless, always Form?
There is a rhythm to our training and levels of understanding. I drew a circle in class the other night and discussed how it represented the path of training from the beginning with no understanding – all the way to applying the knowledge/mastery. We also discussed how this cycle never really ends and as we THINK we have reached the “end” or mastery, we are actually starting over to discover new depths of the information. So as Jo leads to Kyu, Kyu leads to Jo.
As we have been training on the sword, we are seeing the sword cut away our own misconceptions and lay bare who and what we are. There is nowhere for false bravado or false fronts when faced with the thin line between life and death. In that moment, the truth is self evident.
See you on the mats.