MICHAEL PEARCE



Michael Pearce is an American, training full time with Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi and Noguchi Shihan - living in Noda - since 1991. He  holds a 10th-dan in Shinken Taijutsu and still serves as Hatsumi sensei's uke at the Hombu on Sundays.  You'll often find Michael quietly in the Hombu corner with Mark Lithgow or other long-term staying students - working hard to improve his understanding of 'Sensei's Art'.  Michael began studying martial arts and other warrior ethos when he was eight years old.  Graduating from high school, he served in the US military and after leaving moved to Japan. Not only is Michael an accomplished martial artist, but he's also a Master Instructor in Bonsai from Nihon Bonsai Kyoshitsu Renmei - having served a seven year apprenticeship under Harumi Hamanohe. He also studied traditional Japanese dance with Kimitsuru-sensei (Mrs. Mariko Hatsumi) for 11 years - and has given many exhibitions.  Michael's other interests include fitness, outdoor extreme sports, American indian shamanism,and falconry.  


ROBIN DOENICKE


 

Robin Doenicke is an Australian from Sydney who has been living in Japan since 1996. Over the past 14 years, Robin has trained consistently, and exclusively, with Hatsumi Sensei and Nagato Sensei. His interest in the martial arts began at age 6 when he entered the Kyokushin Karate Dojo in Liverpool, England. Upon moving to Sydney in 1980, Robin began studying Jin Wu Koon Double Dragon Kung Fu and Kick Boxing with renowned champion Sifu Chan Cheuk Fei. After several years studying Jin Wu Koon, Robin spent a period of time practicing Wing Chun and Shotokan Karate, before beginning Ninjutsu with the Wayne Roy organization. After a year training with Wayne Roy, Robin saw an article about the Bujinkan in a martial arts magazine. Intrigued by what he read, he soon afterwards tracked down a Bujinkan teacher called Andrew Macdonald who taught classes at a nearby park in Sydney. After experiencing one class with Andrew, Robin was hooked. He realized this was the art he'd been searching for his whole life. Robin promptly joined Andrew's dojo and trained intensively with him for the next three years. It was around this time that Robin made the decision to go and live and train in Japan. He was 24 years old at the time. With an initial plan to live in Japan for a year or so, 14 years later, he is still living and training in Japan and loving every moment of it. Robin was awarded his 15th dan in early 2009 from Hatsumi-sensei.

Robin approaches each and every training experience as an opportunity to gain a deeper apperception of one's true Self through the feeling of taijutsu. Something he has always kept at the forefront of his mind is an expression written by Toda Shinryuken Sensei, the 32nd Soke of the Togakure ryu - “Know that the secret of taijutsu is the foundation of peace. If you learn this, you can walk the path of the immovable heart." Only in recent years has Robin begun to comprehend the deeper meaning of these profound words. He is convinced, beyond any doubt, that if one perseveres in their taijutsu with a pure heart, all aspects of their life, both personal and professional, inside and outside of the dojo, will increasingly begin to flow in a more natural and spontaneous manner, allowing one to maintain an attitude of fudoshin regardless of their circumstances.

Together with his wife Yuki and daughter Emma, Robin lives in the Shinagawa district near Tokyo Bay. He is the Co-founder and President of Zensho, an executive recruitment firm specializing in the placement of senior lawyers at leading law firms and multinational corporations throughout Japan and the Asia Pacific region.
Contact Phone: +81-90-6489-3649

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PHILLIP LEGARE



Shihan Phillip Legare started his martial arts training in 1969 under SiLum Kung Fu Sifu Jerry Gibson. He began training in the Bujinkan in 1982 and Grandmaster Hatsumi awarded him Judan no Kugyo - licensed master instructor of Budo Taijutsu.  Hatsumi Sensei granted Phillipa special license in Shinken Taijutsu - modern combat.  These techniques were generated from the sum of Soke Hatsumi and Shihan Legare’s experiences. It is now offered to budoka who seek real combat training.

Phillip legare also serves as the Director and Head of the Board of Examiners of Budo Taijutsu and Shinkenjutsu for the United States Martial Arts Association (USMAA).  His experience in various martial arts spans more than 30 years and continues to this day.  He has trained with such diverse instructors as Dan Inosanto, Stephen Hayes, Doron Navon of Israel, Wilderness Survival and Tracking Instructor Tom Brown, the late KuKenpo Soke Shoen Fukuda, and many of the senior Bujinkan Dojo instructors of Japan.  in addition to bujinkan rank Phillip Legare acquired a Rokudan in Judo - awarded by Grandmaster Philip S. Porter - and a Sandan in Kukenpo from Soke Fukuda.

In August of 1993, Phillip Legare co-hosted Soke Hatsumi for the highly acclaimed Washington TaiKai.In December 1993.  he earned his first Bujinkan Golden Dragon medal - the Bujinkan's highest award, in recognition of his contributions to better the art of Budo Taijutsu.In 1996, Soke Hatsumi was recognized by the prestigious USMAA and Legare Shihan was appointed the Bujinkan's senior representative and chief examiner to the USMAA.Legare Shihan was awarded a second gold medal for his work with the USMAA.In September 1998, he co-hosted Soke Hatsumi for another highly successful TaiKai, this time in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

Legare Shihan was awarded his third gold medal in December of 1998, for creating Shinken Taijutsu and teaching it to personnel who travel to high threat environments for the U.S. Government.  In 1998, Legare Shihan was named Master Instructor of the Year and then in 2000, Senior Master Instructor, by the USMAA-Martial Arts Hall of Fame.In 2001, Legare Shihan hosted Hatsumi Soke for a 3rd TaiKai, this time in Washington, DC.The Washington TaiKai 2001 training video earned Legare Shihan an award from the Japanese Art and Film Society for best sports film of the year. Also in 2001, Legare Shihan was awarded an unprecedented fourth Bujinkan Golden Dragon medal.

Legare Shihan has authored a Budo Taijutsu Instructor Manual as well as produced numerous video training tapes available through his web site.