To-Shin Do

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To-Shin Do is a martial art style established by Stephen K. Hayes as a means of teaching ninjutsu (or taijutsu) in a format more accessible to American audiences. His prior organizations, the Shadows of Iga Ninja Society, and the Nine Gates Institute, relied more on classical martial arts methods of instruction. To-Shin Do was founded to be a blend of classical martial arts techniques taught with more modern educational methods.

1 Lineage
2 History
3 Ranks
4 Related Martial Arts
5 External links

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Lineage

To-Shin Do encompasses the nine schools passed down from Toshitsugu Takamatsu (It should be noted that these schools were taught to Stephen K. Hayes, through soke Masaaki Hatsumi and his Bujinkan organization):

To-Shin Do blends the classical traditions with modern education theory.

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History

To-Shin Do was founded in 1996 as the curriculum for the HGI Quest Centers, a corporation founded by Shihan Hayes, along with business developer Bill Poett and Joseph Koenig. A couple of years later, Poett's role in the corporation decreased, and the business was renamed SKH Quest, Inc.

In 2003, Tom Maienza took over the business development role, and SKH Quest began to offer distance learning systems via DVD, along with the original concept of Quest Center martial arts franchises. Along with the To-Shin Do goshin taijutsu modern self defense, SKH Quest has begun to offer classical certification in individual lineages.

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Ranks

To-Shin Do has a number of different belt ranks corresponding roughly to the former Marishi-Kai belt system above the rank of black belt, with a new, more differentiated ranking system below the rank of black belt. Ranks are based on the go-dai elemental system, historically used as a counting system in Japan.

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