Welcome to our premises...

You've joined us on the web site of the "Budo Research Centre" (Budo Kenkyukai) and the "Tengu Institute" (Tengu Gakuin). If you want to give a meaning of your technique, assume a responsibility for the daily choice of your behavior, and live a genuine martial arts practice without compromising, I suggest that you carefully explore these pages which try to enlighten you on what was always my vision of the true Martial Arts; far from their sporting forms and spectacular, amusing drifts which have left them today dramatically impoverished. For a very long time now I have chosen the Resistance against these distressing avatars of the traditional way, which continue to grow more quickly in the shade of a general deculturation, carefully maintained by decision-makers who have, of course, an interest in this process...

I also want to bring your attention to the vital need to reconsider the meaning of "traditional" when it is applied to Martial Arts, having in mind today’s realities and the needs of our time. Decades of practice, comparing, research and experiments (in many different areas besides the conventional dojos), helped me envision clearly what I generically called "The Tengu Way" (Tengu-No-Michi), which is now at the center of my teachings. This sudden awareness started in 1994 in the framework of the "Budo Research Center" - an international association that I have built and defended since 1974, completely independent of any other organizations and Sports Federations. Today this Way has matured, well defined in its ethics, philosophy, technical aspect, and tactical orientation. More down to earth drills with one objective: strictly self-defense, while remaining realistic and controlled from the initial intentions to the final consequences. It consists of three distinctive, yet complimentary areas of expertise: Tengu-ryu Karate-do, Tengu-ryu Kobudo, and Tengu-ryu Hojutsu. I assert to this Way the same consideration and respect as to any other Martial Way, from Japan or elsewhere, known as "traditional" simply because it is older.

Indeed, I remain convinced that to respect the process started by the masters who have built the tradition, in Karate-do, Kobudo or elsewhere, is seizing the direction they had in the social and historical context of their time, while continuing to nourish it with observations and reflections of the contemporary.  No construction can pass the test of the time without being constantly repaired and improved upon. The best way to honor the memory of yesterday’s creators and founders is to allow what they have built with great efforts, passion and risks, to continue to be convincing and useful in the ever changing world! If we do not give a fresh impulse to the legacy they have left us, the authentic Martial Art, this unique and precious balance between specific gestures designed for effective combat, and ethics which ensures the control, will disappear…. The "Martial" Art is a survival passport and internal lifetime groundwork for progress in life for everyone. There is no place for compromises, lies, deceptive speeches, games, small partisan wars, and derisory attempts by interested gurus of any kind that take advantage of the public, weakened by the absence of answers it seeks in a world where its last marks are about to disappear. The real "Martial" Art is well above this. Then, let’s think together and succeed together. Perhaps it is not too late yet....

Meanwhile, take a good look around the site of the Budo Research Center – Tengu Institute, and have a great journey on the timeless Road that is still alive, on which we are so fortunate to walk on together. That grants us the liberty to be. But, always remember: only if we really want it ! And if we are always prepared to pay the price!