Now that Richard Van Donk has left the Bujinkan, we need to think about our relationship with his students.

It needs to be made clear that Van Donk’s International Bujinkan Dojo Association (IBDA) is not the same as the Bujinkan in Japan, even though it uses the name as part of its title. The IBDA is a separate organization.

Soke Hatsumi has passed the responsibility for the ryuha (styles) he headed to several Japanese. To follow his path, those of us that consider ourselves his students should now go to them for instruction.

Van Donk has rejected this, saying he will go his own way. His official statement on the matter is as follows,

“I deeply respect and admire Hatsumi-Sensei’s choice to pass the Sokeships of the schools separately, one-by-one, to senior Japanese DaiShihan students, ending all the schools being under a united Bujinkan. I am most happy for these gentlemen and pray for their ability to properly carry on these traditions. However, I will not be aligning with any one of these new Sokes as I am a DaiShihan of Hatsumi-Sensei myself and also have some 40 years training in se arts. “

So, there you are. Van Donk believes himself just as skilled in all the traditions as those that Hatsumi sensei has charged with the responsibility of soke for.

Van Donk is now issuing his own certificates, instead of getting them from Japan. With the pandemic, there is a delay on getting rank certificates from Japan, but they will be available once the honbu staff think it is safe. But when you train with the IBDA, you won’t get them from Japan. You will get one made by Van Donk for his students in the IBDA.

The IBDA has its own patches, membership cards, and rank structure as well. This is all appropriate seeing as how it is now completely separate from the Bujinkan in Japan.

But how should those of us in the Bujinkan interact with the IBDA? It may be kind of tricky, with many in the IBDA still believing that they are part of the Bujinkan in Japan. Van Donk hasn’t been very clear with his break and still markets his stuff to those seeking Bujinkan. Many don’t notice that they use different patches, don’t get rank certificates from Japan, etc., and think that they are part of the organization with Soke Hatsumi at its head.

Over a decade ago, there was an announcement that Soke Hatsumi did not want us to train with those that have left him. At the time, that meant Genbukan, Jinenkan and Stephen Hayes’ Toshindo. Now that Van Donk has left the Bujinkan, it probably applies to him as well.

There are other concerns to be pondered. In Japanese culture, you don’t teach something like Koto-ryu without the permission of the soke. The soke owns the art, and it is considered immoral to teach it without following his direction. But Van Donk made it clear he won’t follow the new soke, so there is a problem. If he calls what he teaches just taijutsu, that wouldn’t cause much trouble. But if he claims to teach something like Koku from Gyokko-ryu without being aligned with the soke of that art, it will not be viewed favorably. And those supporting him and associating with him might be treated in the same light.

I have translated in the classes of some of the men who are now the new soke. Based on what I heard from some of them, I don’t think Van Donk would have lasted in the new order. Once Soke Hatsumi passes, the new soke will be doing things more their own way, with a few people probably shown the door. I suspect that Von Donk left before he could be thrown out. Soke Hatsumi often states that you can’t learn his art from videos, and yet the IBDA is mainly video learning students.

Then there is the problem with all the child molesters and felons that have gotten in the door of the Bujinkan through his video courses. People like Ralph Hall, who used an IBDA membership card to set himself up as a teacher and seduced a 14 year old student, seem attracted to video courses. Convicted sexual predators can use false names when applying and need not worry about being around teachers enough to accidentally let slip something that would give them away. This problem with the IBDA is known by many of the new soke, and they are not pleased.

I have made the choice not to allow any cross training with members of the IBDA. I rejected someone recently because he started out with the video course the IBDA. It wasn’t just because he went with IBDA, but it was a factor in my decision.

It should be clear, Richard Van Donk will be teaching what he learned in the Bujinkan to the best of his abilities. But while the Japanese might have taught him all knows about the traditions of the Bujinkan, I think it would be egotistical to believe they taught him all they know about the secrets of taijutsu.

Word is out that soon students of the IBDA may be turned away in Japan. Those that went there a few months ago were being told that Von Donk is no longer part of the Bujinkan. Once the word gets out and more people know, then they will have to make the choice of Bujinkan or IBDA. If you never plan on going to Japan and training with the masters, it might not be a concern. But if you believe that the new soke are the best teachers to learn from, you will have to make a choice to follow them or IBDA, you probably won’t be able to do both.