Don`t seek to improve. Seek to learn how to endure and maintain the spirit of Heijoushin and Fudoushin.

There is no limit to Budo. There are limits to sports. People must retire or become a coach after a certain period in the sporting world.
Budo is not a sport. We train and study for life, not to win. To win is the concept of a fighter. The feeling of the Budoka is that of surviving. Winning and losing, strength and weakness have no meaning in the real world. Survival requires the living entity to understand that “change” and “adaptability” is the key point ( kaname ).

Therefore, the kaname is forever changing and evolving. This has been the essence of the nine schools that comprise the Bujinkan for thousands of years. Soke trusts this and thus, does nothing to change it. This is wisdom. People attempt to change things because it does not fit with their concept of what martial arts is. They therefore are not really listening to thousands of years of blood,sweat and tears. Do people really think they know better than 2000 years of knowledge after only 25 years of training in the modern world? Soke doesn`t. He has been training for over 50 years and still listens and follows his teachers words and teachings.

This is why I look at the evolution of the Bujinkan through the concept of Shu Ha Ri. We are seeing the evolution of a man ( soke ) and his training path from beginning to end. The most important thing is to search for the Kaname of this process. Takamatsu Sensei apparently said that the most important thing is “sincerity” or magakoro.

Keep training and polish your heart under the sword that cuts away ones vices so you may clearly see the way of living as a martial artist in tune with nature.
忍

This is the path I try to walk.