Adult Classes
The Dayton Bujinkan Dojo offers classes for adults six days a week. Students are invited to train as much as they see fit. There are no minimum or maximum limitations on students and class time. Most students average 2-3 classes per week.
Class Descriptions:
Basic Class: Class dedicated to teaching the basics of Budo Taijutsu. Recommended for beginners or for those wanting to review 9th kyu through 6th kyu material from the Dayton Bujinkan Dojo Curriculum. Any level adult student may attend.
Advanced Class: Class dedicated to teaching “technique and application” of Budo Taijutsu. Minimum rank recommendation is 5th kyu. Incorporates 5th kyu and above material from the Dayton Bujinkan Dojo Curriculum. Advanced concepts, weapons training & the yearly Bujinkan theme are incorporated into this class.
Combination Class: Class focuses on training adult students of any rank. Any rank may attend. The instructor determines what material to teach based on the attending student's rank.
Randori Class: Class focuses on resistance and principle-based training incorporating ground-fighting (ne waza), free response (specifically yakusoku randori) and submission training using Budo Taijutsu. Must be 5th Kyu or higher to attend.
The Dayton Bujinkan Dojo is a non-competitive dojo. Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu martial arts does not participate in tournaments of any kind. Safety is of utmost importance during training, and students are never forced to do something they do not feel comfortable with. Because of this, the Dayton Bujinkan Dojo maintains a positive learning environment in a fun and family atmosphere.
The average age of our adult student is 30 years old. We have many students who are in their 40's, and a few who are in their 50's. The youngest adult student accepted into our program is approximately 15 years old. Be sure to view the costs of training explained to the right.
For a PDF version of the training schedule, click here.
The following teachers are mentors that the Dayton Bujinkan Dojo staff instructors look up to for guidance and training in the Bujinkan. Some of the Mentors are senior teachers under Hatsumi Sensei in Japan. All of the mentors help guide us in our path toward understanding Bujinkan Budo.
Masaaki Hatsumi is the inheritor (Soke) of nine Japanese Ryu-ha (lineages) from his teacher, Takamatsu Sensei, who passed away in 1972. Hatsumi Soke created the Bujinkan after his teacher died, in order to preserve and continue the ryu-ha he inherited. Because he shares his budo with students from around the world, he has earned countless awards and honors from government agencies and military forces for his teachings. Currently in his 70's, Hatsumi Soke continues to share his budo at the Bujinkan Hombu in Japan.
Yukio Noguchi Shihan is a longtime student of Hatsumi Soke, and teaches at his own dojo or the Hombu twice a week. His skill in Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, Kyojutsu & henka are unparalleled. It is common to have him place you in a position which forces you to fall, only to find him giggling at you as your mind tries to comprehend how he did it.
Toshiro Nagato Shihan has been training with Hatsumi Sensei for more than 25 years. His background includes professional Judo & kickboxing tournaments for a number of years, before finding Bujinkan Budo - or real budo, as Nagato Shihan says. Although a naturally large man, Nagato Shihan demonstrates Budo Taijutsu through effortless Kihon Happo & San Shin. Nagato Sensei teaches a few times a week at the Hombu and at a recreational center near Tokyo.
Dan Klug (10th Dan Bujinkan, Brown Belt BJJ, Boxer) has been training since the 1980's, and was an original student of Kurt Rittenhouse Martial Arts in 1990. He has trained in Japan a dozen times since the mid-1990's, and is best known for using the concepts of Taijutsu for all his movement, which includes boxing, grappling, and Bujinkan. He typically comes to the Dayton Bujinkan Dojo twice a year to offer seminars and private instruction. Currently living near Olympia, Washington State, Dan continues to be a very active in mentoring the Dayton Bujinkan Dojo.
Sean Askew (15th Dan Bujinkan, Kosen Judo 3rd Dan) lived in Japan for ten years (1991-2001), where he spent much of his time training under Hatsumi Sensei and the Bujinkan Shihan. He also graduated from Sophia University with a degree in Japanese Language & History, and a minor in Japanese Religions during his 10-year stay in Japan. His martial background includes Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, Kosen Judo, and shootfighting. Mr. Askew, creator of the Bujinkan Kokusai Renkoumyo, lived in the US from 2001 through 2006, at which time he moved back to Tokyo, Japan.
Kurt Rittenhouse (8th Dan Bujinkan) began training in Budo Taijutsu in 1983. He originally studied Budo Taijutsu at "The Barn", a dojo near Dayton, Ohio. His instructors were Shawn Havens, a senior student of "The Barn" and Stephen K. Hayes. In the 1990's he studied in Japan with Muramatsu Sensei, Oguri Sensei & Noguchi Sensei. Kurt Rittenhouse Martial Arts was his dojo. Within five years of starting his own school in 1990, Shidoshi Rittenhouse had two dojos (Kettering, OH & Columbus, OH) with over 250 students under him. In the summer of 1997, Shidoshi Rittenhouse chose to close both of his dojos. This is when the Dayton Bujinkan Dojo was created.
Craig Olson, Duncan Stewart, Pete Reynolds (Bujinkan Shihan) live and train in Japan, training with the Japanese instructors regularly. They have each come to the Dayton Bujinkan Dojo to instruct training seminars.
Dr. Luke Molitor, Bujinkan Shihan of the Jigoku Dojo has a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the Japanese warrior arts and ways, and splits his time between Japan and Texas furthering his training under Soke Hatsumi Masaaki. He is also a student of Nagase Hiroshi, Someya Kenichi, and Nagato Toshiro.
The Dayton Bujinkan Dojo is unique in the fact that it is owned and operated by its students. All of the staff members of the dojo have regular careers; the dojo is not run as a fulltime career for any of the instructors. Because of this, the training programs are more grounded, as each instructor is teaching Budo Taijutsu with their own personal experiences intertwined. In addition, the Dayton Bujinkan Dojo and its staff are part of the Bujinkan's Shidoshi Kai (teacher's guild) from the hombu in Japan.
Below provides brief information about the instructors of the Dojo:
Jeff Ochester (Shidoshi)
Co-owner of dojo. Training since 1991. Passed the Godan test at hombu 1999 and was given a Jugodan in 2009. Teaches adult classes. Full-time Career is in the I.T. Industry for the Public Safety sector.
Pam Dunsky (Shidoshi)
Co-owner of dojo. Training since 1995. Passed the Godan at Hombu in 2006 and was given a Judan in 2010. Teaches kids and adults. Full-time career is in senior management for a global financial corporation.
Marty Dunsky (Shidoshi)
Co-owner of dojo. Training since 1995. Passed the Godan at Hombu in 2003 and was given a Jugodan in 2010. Teaches kids and adults. Full-time career is as a licensed Emergency Room Physician (D.O.).
David VandenBos (Shidoshi)
Co-owner of dojo. Training since 2001; been to Japan four times. Passed the Godan at Hombu in 2010. Full-time career is as a Fire Chief for a local Fire Department.
Tony Maddin (Shidoshi)
Training since 1993. Passed the Godan test at Hombu in 2004. Not actively teaching at this time. Full-time career is as an IT Administrator in the healthcare industry.
Charles Gelm (Shidoshi)
Training since 1995. Passed the Godan test at Hombu in 2007. Teaches kids and adults. Full-time career is as an IT Administrator in the Dayton area.
Alan Sakoman (Shidoshi)
Training since 2001. Passed the Godan test at Hombu in 2008. Teaches adults and coaches grappling team. Originally from Croatia, fluent in English, Croatian and Russian. Full-time career is as an IT project manager.
Bob Ensign (Shidoshi)
Training since 1994. Earned a Judan in 2010. Also earned a Kyosei rank in Tenshin Ryu Kenjutsu (non Bujinkan). Assists teaching Monday nights. Full-time career is as a physician assistant (PA) in the Dayton area.
Mike Ockerman (Nidan)
Training since 2001. Teaches both kids and adult classes. Full-time career is in the commercial truck sales industry.
He is also an accomplished musician, playing guitar and bass for local bands in the Miami Valley.
Kevin Dunsky (Yondan)
Training since 1995. Currently in college at Ohio University and maintains a training group that meets weekly.
Mark Gregory (Yondan)
Training since 1998. Teaches adults Thursday nights and runs a training group in Cincinnati, Ohio. Full-time career is as a Christian Minister.
Jim Davis (Yondan)
Training since mid-1980s. Teaches adult class on Thursday nights. Full-time career is in the maintenance industry for local school systems.
The Dayton Bujinkan Dojo charges $65.00 per month for adult students. Family pricing is $65.00 for the first member, and $15.00 for each additional family member per month. 
There is a one-time $150.00 down payment for adults ($100.00 for young adults), which includes your first month's dues, a do-gi uniform, unlimited training, and a training curriculum. The Dayton Bujinkan Dojo does not use any contracts or "student agreements". We ask that our students be responsible for their training and payments.
If a student prefers not to pay $65.00 a month, they may choose to pay $12.00 per class attended.
The costs of training at our dojo pays for the overhead of running the school. Although not a non-profit organization, the dojo is a not-for-profit facility. The moneys the dojo collects in dues goes toward dojo expenses, including rent, insurance, utilities, uniforms, training targets, seminar expenses (bringing guest instructors in), and accounting. During class, the dojo supplies each student with high quality training gear, including weapons, hand targets, and a matted-floor system for safety.
The Dayton Bujinkan Dojo's goal is to provide the best martial arts training and facility for its dojo members. Our instructor's staff is made up of volunteers. We feel our pricing attracts the type of student congruent to the standards of the Bujinkan.
If you are a visiting student, and would like to train with us, our mat fees are $12.00 per class.