Shihan Toshiro Nagato

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Shihan Nagato Toshiro

We Study Taijutsu based on the teachings of Soke Masaaki Hatsumi and Shihan Toshiro Nagato.

                   Bio

     Every time Soke Masaaki Hatsumi leaves Japan to teach a seminar, he is at his side, like a bodyguard. He looks the part. A giant, well muscled, the type of person you would hire as a bouncer if you owned a night club.

     His muscle makes you fear him, but when he's moving, it seems that he does not use his strength at all. He moves so gently and smoothly that it becomes unclear whether he is fighting or dancing.

     When he was eight. Like most Japanese school children. he took part in the compulsory judo lessons that are as much a part of the educational system there as gym is to American children. The young Nagato enjoyed his judo training and his unusual size and strength helped him win third place in the Kodokan tournament for junior high school students.

     As far as Nagato was concerned, this was to be the end of his career as a judoka, but the Kodokan masters thought differently. They decided to send Toshiro to the U.S. to teach judo at the University of Ontario in Oregon. While teaching there he was also studying, all the while dreaming of something else. He had heard the name of the Judo master, Hatsumi Masaaki and, while in the states, had read Andrew Adams' book Ninja. The Invisible Assassins. Nagato wanted to be a true martial artist, not just a judoka, and ninjutsu seemed the way to go. He decided then and there that when he returned to Japan, he would seek out this art.

Things didn't quite work out the way Nagato had planned as circumstances led him into the professional kickboxing ring. He began entering competitions in Tokyo to earn badly needed money.

Where size had always been his ally, it now became his adversary. A giant at 90 kg (about 195 pounds), he was far heavier than any established division in Japan. He then undertook a strict diet that would eventually drop him to 72.5 kg- still the heaviest division for competition. In three major events in Korakuen Halls, he won all his fights - all by knock-out. These victories made him champion of the Shin Jin - the newcomers.

Despite his victories, kickboxing was no fun for Nagato. "Too much beating up, too bad for the health, bad for my face and also, it was not a martial art."

Nagato found Hatsumi in Noda City. Ninjutsu was completely different from anything he had yet experienced in the martial arts. "It wasn't a sport, but I was glad because I didn't want to fight any more. I didn't go there to fight. Lately, though, I feel that I miss the fighting a little bit, but it's nothing. "

Hatsumi immediately saw talent when Nagato came to him. He saw the man's fighting spirit right away. There is no wonder in this, however, as street-fighting was common in the neighborhood that Nagato grew up in. His background in judo and kickboxing was a big asset as well. Nagato rose through the ranks like a rocket. He put a lot into his training and, before he knew it, he was a master teacher.

Shihan Nagato Toshiro teaching at the Hombu Dojo in Noda City, Japan.

Japanese Martial Arts
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