Duncan Mitchell
Founder of the Budo Dokokai and Chief Instructor of Bujinkan Brisbane
Duncan Mitchell and Shiraishi Isamu-sensei - 2024
I joined the Bujinkan in 1988 in Perth, Western Australia, then moved to Japan in 1990, where I lived and trained until 1995. After returning to Australia, I have continued to return to Japan almost every year to further my training and connections within the Bujinkan community.
In Japan, I was fortunate to train directly under the grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi-sensei, senior instructor Isamu Shiraishi-sensei, and many other esteemed Bujinkan teachers, including Seno-sensei, Noguchi-sensei, Sakai-sensei, Hosoda-sensei, Sakuma-sensei, Tezuka-sensei, Oguri-sensei, Nagato-sensei, Nakadai-sensei, Yoshida-sensei, and former Bujinkan teachers Manaka-sensei and Taguchi-sensei.
Upon returning to Australia in 1995, I opened my first club in Perth. In 1997, I moved to Brisbane and established Bujinkan Brisbane, which continues to this day.
Achievements:
- Passed the fifth dan test and received Shidoshi (Instructor) license in 1995.
- Awarded the Bujinkan Gold Medal in 2001.
- Received the highest dan rank issued in the Bujinkan in 2009.
- Received the Bufu Ikkan Award in 2011.
- Received Yūshū Shihan (Teacher of Excellence) Menkyo in 2015.
- Received Dai-Shihan (Senior Teacher) Menkyo in 2017.
In 2020, I published my first book, Budo Taijutsu - An Illustrated Reference Guide of Bujinkan Dojo Budo Taijutsu, and in 2024 published my second book, Bojutsu: Hanbo, Rokushaku-Bo and Jo.
I am currently working on a third book: Bikenjutsu: Ken, Yari, Naginata, Jutte and Kodachi.
About the Bujinkan
The Bujinkan is a martial arts organization founded by Masaaki Hatsumi-sensei to preserve and propagate the essence of the traditional schools of martial arts, for which he inherited the title of Sōke (grandmaster). These schools include:
- Shinden Fudō Ryū Daken-taijutsu
- Gyokko Ryū Kosshi-jutsu
- Kotō Ryū Koppō-jutsu
- Togakure Ryū Ninpō Taijutsu (Ninjutsu)
- Kuki Shinden Ryū Happō Bikenjutsu
- Takagi Yōshin Ryū Jūtai-jutsu (Jujutsu)
Gikan Ryū Koppō-jutsu, Gyokushin Ryū Koppō-jutsu and Kumogakure Ryū Ninpō Taijutsu
Born in 1931 in Noda City, Japan, Masaaki Hatsumi-sensei spent his youth training in various martial arts. His quest for authentic Japanese martial arts led him to Toshitsugu Takamatsu (1888-1972). From 1957 until Takamatsu's passing in 1972, Hatsumi-sensei trained in the nine martial art lineages he would later inherit as grandmaster. He integrated these schools and established the Bujinkan Dōjō in the 1970s. Hatsumi-sensei retired from active training in 2020 at the age of 88.
The Bujinkan, headquartered in Noda City, Japan, has grown internationally, now encompassing many thousands of students worldwide.