Saturday 9-10am at Fullarton Scout Hall (also available in Melbourne)

Originally a battlefield art, with the advent of firearms, the naginata was entrusted to the women warriors of the feudal domains for defence of the home front.  Hence many of the leaders of naginata schools are women.  The 19th generation sōke of Tenshin Buko ryu and my original teacher was Nitta Suzuyo, a highly trained teacher who was held in high regard by the mostly male dominated koryu arts of Japan. 

Tenshin Buko ryu heiho (天真武甲流兵法) is a Japanese koryū martial art which has its roots in the Toda-ryū, founded in the late Muromachi period c. 1560 by Toda Seigen (戸田 清眼).

The ryū contains an extensive curriculum of weapon-arts centreing on naginata jutsu  which includes a study of naginata, kagitsuki naginata (a naginata with a small cross-bar beneath the blade, used for deflecting, trapping and breaking enemy's weaponry), but also sōjutsu, bōjutsu, kenjutsu and kusarigamajutsu.

We are currently aligned with the Melbourne Koryu Kenkyukai, under the direction of Liam Keeley shihan, who also teaches Tatsumi ryu heiho.