About Us

Dae Yoo:

Classes at the Benevolent Heart Dojo are fun. There is an element of playfulness because you are training with friends but also a sense of formality that comes with the respect the students show each other. It's a nice balance that creates an environment ideal for learning and improving your skills. The instructors go out of their way to help you understand the reasons behind the techniques as well as help you adapt defensive tactics to your personal strengths. Aside from the physical training you are also exposed to the cultural history and the philosophy behind the success of this centuries old martial art. There's something for everyone here and it is so much fun.

Bo Joseph:

One satisfying aspect of training with this group is that we all have a lot of respect for each other. No matter what the skill level, we are all treated as equals. Everyone watches out for each other's safety and everyone goes out of their way to ensure that everyone understands each technique on their own terms. Not only have I been learning techniques that could save my or someone else's life, I am learning to expand my awareness of my surroundings, to focus my attention on goals and to trust my reflexes and instincts, both physical and mental. Training is very empowering.

Kenneth Armour:

I firmly believe that training at the Benevolent Heart Dojo has made me a better and more complete person. The experience has improved many aspects of my life ranging from the spiritual to the intensely pragmatic. I very much enjoy this dojo's approach of allowing spiritual growth to emerge from diligent martial training, as I have found it to be very effective at cultivating both the mental and physical aspects of the Bujinkan arts. I find that as a result of my training, I am no longer as determined to find concrete, definitive answers, and am able to accept the existence of multiple, contradicting explanations and general mutability of events in the world. I can see that the principles and practices cultivated at the Benevolent Heart Dojo apply to all aspects of life, and not only do I feel more equipped to protect myself and others in a violent situation, but better able to evade and quell the emergence of violence altogether. The practicality of it all continues to astound and amaze me.

Carolyn Sevos:

While training, I am sometimes told to hit with more spirit. This always makes me laugh because I have been training on and off for about a year, and I love it, but I do not have a warrior spirit. I question why I am studying Taijutsu all the time and yet I keep going back to training. Even though I am training with friends, I do try to strike harder and with more precision because I know that at some point, I'll be in a situation where there is no room for error. In class I am challenged to move, think, and focus in a way that I have never had to before. I see how so many ideas are linked and build from sanshin, which I always thought was just a nice warm up. I never thought that it might be safer to get closer to an opponent (as long as your distance and kamae are correct). Rather than hitting, I am amazed at how one, small shift in balance is the difference between staying up while someone twice my size drops to the ground. These moments are the most satisfying. When my friend first introduced me to the Benevolent Heart Dojo it seemed interesting, and each time I go to class I am still interested in seeing where it will lead.

David Levy:

When asked why I train in martial arts, I usually don't know how I should answer. A perfectly valid answer I think to that query is, "It's fun!". But if I go a bit deeper into that, if I ask myself, "Why is it fun?", things get complicated. I think one reason might be that martial arts is the only thing I have found that combines all aspects of my being - Mind, Body, Spirit whatever and allows me to challenge the cumulative result of these elements while still reminding me of one thing: I am not alone! At one point or another training must involve other people. Yet even though I may be in what looks like some form of duel with this individual, I am still only challenging my own person - trying to get to the next level, whatever that may be. I think our dojo provides a good environment for all students to challenge themselves and improve without having to worry about winning or being better than the next.

Cameron McNair:

I have been interested in martial arts for much of my life but did not have the opportunity to engage in formal training until I started college. I truly enjoyed that training and continued with it for many years prior to discovering the Benevolent Heart Dojo. What do I find interesting about martial arts? My interest is multi-faceted: though the physical self-protection aspect is of critical importance, I am also very much interested in the historical, cultural and philosophical components. The Bujinkan tradition speaks to me in all of these areas. In fact, the more I learn about the Bujinkan and these various aspects, the more I want to learn.

My path to the Bujinkan started on a purely physical level: I was searching for a comprehensive system of self-protection. For example, such a system would include (but not be limited to) striking, grappling and weapons training without over-emphasizing any one of these areas. Such a system would be effective against a larger adversary and/or multiple adversaries under less than ideal conditions. It should also teach you how to avoid danger completely when that is the most appropriate action. Whereas my previous training focused almost exclusively on one aspect of hand-to-hand combat, the Bujinkan tradition is comprehensive and, like other classical Japanese martial arts, battle tested. I have come to see that in the Bujinkan there are unifying principles that permeate all of its teachings and this, too, is one of its many strengths.

There are many things that come to mind when I think about my training at the Benevolent Heart dojo. From a technical perspective it's fascinating. The quality of instruction is excellent. The feeling is NOT like that of a large commercial school - the feeling is that of a smaller group of dedicated practitioners who enjoy training and sincerely work to help each other learn. I look forward to each and every class because I know that we will be doing something different and interesting everyday.

I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to train as a member of this dojo. My only regret is that I did not find the Benevolent Heart Dojo earlier in my life.

David Kosky:

I originally joined martial arts for self defense and with the single goal of being able to defend myself if someone decided to take a swing at me in the bar. I quickly realized, however, that the principles and awareness that I was gaining permeated many facets of life, and that even though the physical aspect is an end result, I have gained a great deal more. Confidence, respect, and balance both mentally and socially are properties that I have taken from the class in abundance, as well as being able to stop the guy who wanted to pound my face in.

Shidôshi John Gauntt:

I've trained within the Bujinkan since 1993 and I still can't come up with a neat and clean answer as to why I train - and I'm not too fussed about it. Training simply makes me feel good inside and (I'm told at least) more balanced on the outside. Best of all, the Bujinkan gives people the latitude to be themselves both inside and outside training. If you want to wear your budo affiliation in everything you do no problem, if you don't want that, again no problem. So there is no specific bujinkan "type" person like you expect to find at a full-contact karate dojo or some Olympic-style tae kwon do dojang. Because of that fact, you meet all kinds of people in an environment where most outside status or cultural roles are muted. For example, when I lived in the UK, one of my consistent training partners and I finally got around to discussing what we did for a living - about three years after we first started. More than the feeling or the techniques, it is the people who make things magic. That's why I keep coming back.