Shiva Subramanian - 9th Dan (+91-9845049398) 
My name is Shiva Subramanian I am 32 years old and I’m an entrepreneur. The martial arts have always been my passion and I have been training in the martial arts for the past 24 years. I started with training Judo and followed on with Yawara Ryu Jujutsu, Wing Chun, Kick Boxing, submission wrestling and MMA.
When I first encountered Bujinkan Ninjutsu I was intrigued by its 1000 years of martial heritage and philosophy. I found that not only does Ninjutsu have a comprehensive approach to any unarmed situation but it freely incorporates the use of any weapon or available object into its dynamic. Since I had limited knowledge in the use of weaponry, Ninjutsu I thought was the perfect art to enhance my martial ability.
Well that’s how my tryst with Ninjutsu began. Today however after having the privilege to train with the Grandmaster and the Shihan in Japan and around the world, I realize the magic of Budo is inexplicable. The only way to experience all the facets of budo is to train.
The Bujinkan is more than just a physical expression of art. In fact I think that the Bujinkan resonates as a cyclic and contemporary revival of the values of our own Bodhidharma.
Christopher Bernsdorf - 8th Dan
My name is Christopher Bernsdorf, I am 27 years old. I am here in India for around 5 month to train together with my friends here in Bangalore. I was always interested in martial arts and started with Judo when I was a little child. But after some time I stopped and years later at the age of 18/19 I found my way in the Bujinkan. I started at a dojo in Nürnberg, Germany as a student of Dino Gheri. After a few years of training and attending many seminars with other high rank teachers of the Bujinkan like Pedro Fleitas, Sven Eric Bogsäter, Peter King and so on, I started to attend many seminars with Arnaud Cousergue in different countries of Europe. Also I went for 5 years every august to the Jupi summercamp organized by Arnaud Cousergue in the Normandy. Those summercamps were also the reason I met Shiva and my other indian friends who attend the summercamp yearly. During the 10 day summercamp we built up a good friendship and because of my studies at university I decided to come to India for doing my internship there. So I had the oppurtunity to train together with my friends for a long time. Also I am travelling to japan twice a year to train with our grandmaster and the other japanese Shihan. Last year 2009 I already met my indian friends in Japan at the Daikomyosai in december. This year is very special for me because I will travell together with my friends from Bangalore to Japan to train there. Bujinkan changed a lot in my live in a very positive way. I built up a lot of friendships all over the world and I am always very happy to meet and train together with my friends.
For me Bujinkan became one of the most important parts of my life. Bujinkan is something you don’t just train in the Dojo, it is also connected to your daily life outside of the dojo. The way you train inside of the dojo will change your life outside of the dojo..
Arjun Menon - 5th Dan (+91 9820254552)
This is the second testimonial I’m writing for a Bujinkan dojo and a lot has changed since the last time I wrote. I have changed, the training has changed, relationships within the dojo have changed....
Budo teaches us to not fear change by instructing us to live in the moment. Life is a collection of moments, each moment a new breath of life novel to the ones that have passed and so to live in the moment is to not fear change. Here the moment can be compared to the eye of a storm.
When in my more loquacious moods if I’m asked why I train, I might say “I train because it allows me on the rare occasion to be in the moment”. Descartes famously said, “I think, therefore I am”; in the moment there is no thought, just life and freedom.
Other times I might say “I train because like all budoka, it is what I do”. To me both answers are true.
Kiran Kumar - 5th Dan (+91-9845576208)
My name is Kiran Kumar and I am 32 years old and work as a software professional. I got my first glimpse of Ninjutsu in 2006 and received my San Dan in this art in 2010. My original reasons for getting into martial arts training are long forgotten and faded memories. Reason has nothing to do with my training anymore as this has become a part of my life or better still my life has become part of the training.
Training has changed my fundamental views on life, work and just about everything. I look at things differently now and I am more open to possibilities in life than I have ever been before. I do not train to reach a certain level, I train to better myself, to get to the next level and the next after that and so on. It is the journey more than the destination that interests me.
Ninjutsu as an art encompasses everything that is real and so it is the closest I have gotten to training to live more than just training to fight. It is practical and hinges on effective techniques as opposed to elegant and fancy moves. It teaches you to use everything that is available to you and thus creates a more all-round awareness in your approach to a situation. It also balances out the mental and physical aspects of conflict and is therefore more comprehensive in its view of circumstances.
It gives me great pleasure to be part of this wonderful community of martial artists that has spread out to so many countries and continents around the world.
Santosh Nagasamy - 5th Dan (+91-8123456100)
Nandita Abreo - 5th Dan (+91-9945536559)
My name is Nandita Abreo.I own an online store and am a Mother to a toddler and although the former gives me the avenue to use my brains and education, the latter is my passion. I started Ninjutsu in 2006, as a natural progression from my training in Kickboxing and Jujitsu. While initially training for me was for the physical benefits, it’s not so anymore.
Ninjutsu has changed my life. It’s as simple as that. The physical aspect of Ninjutsu is challenging and its nice to be able to defend yourself but for me that’s all secondary. I don’t train so I can beat up some guy or tell everyone I am a black belt, I train because it makes me more true to myself and cuts away all the excuses and rubbish that we humans tend to give ourselves.
Ninjutsu quiet simply makes you one. One in your mind, body and spirit. It challenges you, it makes you look in the mirror and face yourself and it makes you happier. When asked why I train I just tell people that its because I get closer to finding the real me….the happy me…the confident me and the 100% me.
Zameer Mohammed - 5th Dan (+91-98860 00406)
Hi, my friends calls me ‘Zam’ and I run an architecture/Interior design company in Bangalore called ZSP Design+Architecture. I have been training Ninjutsu since 2006 and this has been a natural progression for me from my earlier training of Kickboxing and Jujitsu.
What I like and discovered about Ninjutsu is that it isn’t a sport. Ninjutsu is an art where you are not in it to win or loose or to prove a point, but to survive. And survival according to me is the true essence of life, cause in survival lies existence and to exist in its truest form is “life” itself. Yes, in training there is the physical benefits but Ninjutsu goes beyond and like an onion you start to discover the many ayers that it encapsulates and with each layer you peel there is infinite learning.
I find it incredible how Ninjutsu as a martial art can feed so much to one’s body, mind and spirit. Training to me is like “work in progress”, to be a better human and the perseverance towards being grounded with life.
Karthik Umashankar - 5th Dan (+91-99451 91070)
I'm 26 years old and lead a team of software developers in McAfee Inc. Ninjutsu was my first ever tryst with martial arts and it all happened by accident. In 2007, I was on the look out for kick-boxing instructors (not to learn to whoop some butt, but just to get a little fit), and had sent a friend of mine to inquire about the class held in this dojo. And my friend got back to me saying I've got to look elsewhere as they don't teach kick boxing anymore but are doing something else. I asked him what and he said Ninjutsu. This was right after Nat Geo said in one of its programs that Ninjutsu is the best complete martial art to have existed. Quite naturally I was excited like I've never been before and have been training since then.
Over time I've seen people join and then leave and mostly it's been because they couldn't convince themselves as to why they had to train. That is one question I've never really asked myself, until now. A few months into training, and I was into it that it didn't matter to me if I had managed to get fit or not. I was just going to class. There was something about going to class that made it so appealing. My work, at that time, wasn't too hectic either, so I had all the liberty to go to class whenever I wanted to. Things changed when I got my black belt. I got promoted at work at roughly the same time and there were more responsibilities added which meant, ironically, I couldn't make it to as many classes as I had before I got my black belt.
There is a strong connection between class & life. Things I say & do, the way I react to situations in class pretty much reflects how I'd do them in real life. So far I've been able to bring the person as I am outside in real life into class. I continue to train so that one day I can reverse the cycle. Take what I do in class and apply it in life. A classic example would be work. Even though I'm in a senior role in my team, most of the time what I do is what I'm asked to do, or expected to do. And the others follow suit. Of late, I've been taking charge of a few things. Even though of a smaller scale, it's something that I own. Correlate that to class, I started taking Wednesday classes along with a fellow Nidan, Vikram. But at the time I decided to do both, I didn't see the connection.
The ultimate goal for me, and the reason I continue to train, is to be able to integrate life & class into one. So if I walk in to class after a really bad day, I would be able to forget about it, train, feel happy and then take that back into life once I leave class. And I can say without an iota of doubt, that I'm already doing it at some scale.
Karn Malhotra -5th Dan (+91-98455 22281)
I spell my name Karn and not Karan, so it isn't a typo! Besides being particular about my name, i also run a Branding and Communication Design studio called Exit Design in Bangalore with a sister concern in Bombay
Ninjutsu happened with Shiva saying to me, "Mal (he calls me that), come, this will be good for you". And i was like, "Yea Shiv, dekhte hain". Ultimately i did come for class and through many different times of wanting to leave..i haven't. Ninjutsu has been the single most influencing factor in the shaping of my personality since I started in 2006 - it has taught me discipline and the value of persevering, beyond being stubborn. The physical aspect of training is just an excuse to practice and understand the finer nuances of life..i love what i do and the constant change and evolution of the self is what keeps me going back to class.
Vikram M R - 4th Dan (+91-9916120824)
I am an engineer and also an MBA. I currently work for IBM as an SAP MM consultant. I have also previously worked in the automotive industry. I started training in the Bujinkan in April 2007 and received the Nidan in December 2010.
Originally, after my MBA where I was a fairly good communicator and reasonably bright student, I believed that one needs to be physically capable of defending oneself if ever the ability to negotiate fails. Inspired by Sherlock Holmes, I felt just brains will not do and brawn is necessary as well. Hence, I joined the Bujinkan to learn to defend myself.
I have always loved history, mythology and philosophy and felt any martial art that has lost the above in relation to itself is not complete. Fortunately, the Bujinkan wasn’t so and I continued training.
However, over time and continuing now, the original reason for joining the Bujinkan no longer holds good. I now train for the sheer joy of training. The Bujinkan offers a second family, a world where one can grow by learning from mistakes made and where there is no pressure to be diplomatic or politically correct. It is like an ecosphere insulated from life and maintained in a pristine condition, a space with infinite time to appreciate all that is and become a better individual, for oneself and hopefully others as well.
Sanath Suvarna - 2nd Dan (+91-9845398535)
Hi! I am Sanath, 38 years old and started Ninjutsu in 2008. I can say Ninjutsu happened by chance but now it is a part of me, its within me and there is no looking back. I have changed for the better and gained confidence, learnt self-discipline and i'm at peace with myself.
With every session of training, I am getting connected mentally and physically with this super art form. At home, work, with friends, or day-to-day activities, all these are positively influenced by Ninjutsu. Its difficult to express in words about this art form, all I can say is one has to experience Ninjutsu to know Ninjutsu.
I guess this is my calling in life, my true passion.
Anjaan - 1st Dan
Why did I start training in Martial arts?
Most people have similar reasons and mine included the need to increase my focus, concentration and alertness. I also wanted to be more physically agile and balanced. I was also always intrigued with the arts of unarmed fighting and weapon handling.
Why the Bujinkan?
When I discovered the Bujinkan through my teacher Shiva I realized that there’s much more to martial arts than what I had envisioned through my previous training in other martial forms (Shito Ryu karate, Kannadiga KungFu). I realized training in the Bujinkan was aimed at polishing the ability to “feel”.
Let me explain what I mean by “feel”. My initial classes in the Bujinkan made me realize that mankind (including me) had somehow lost a certain natural intrinsic connection with the Universe. Perhaps it could have been because of upbringing, backgrounds, education and perhaps even societal conditioning. We somehow had lost the ability to be aware of the world around us… the ability to feel the stimuli and sense our surroundings.
Ninjutsu to me helps in increasing this bond with the cosmos and the universe. Training in this form helps me use my visualization and imagination to adapt and flow with given situation. It helps connect me with nature, connects me to people & eventually facilitates a union to the very essence of my being.
Why do I continue to train
I love the fact that what we learn on the tatami (mats) can be applied to life and vice versa. Even though this is a battlefield martial art, today’s wars are not fought on battlefields, they are fought in conference rooms, sales meetings, presentation pitches and the sometimes the (hopefully not) streets..
Though my initial reasons for joining have changed, today I can say I have explored the way of the martial artiste. I sense my capacity to diffuse situations has amplified, and my ability to “feel” has increased. We are all truth seekers, and have our own paths of finding it. I have fun in finding Stillness in movement. This stillness becomes a transformative action. And isn’t it all about change anyway??
Why should you Train?
The universe opens doors for you and brings things to you. Training controls that. All the best to you in your path of transformation!
Vijoy Saldanha - 1st Dan
Sandeep Kumar - 1st Dan
