Grandmasters

Soke (Professor) Stoffel van Vuuren

The Black Dragon Fighting Society International / Koga Ryu Ninjitsu organization website (http://www.blackdragon.co.za/homepage/126/home/) is overseen by founding member of the Black Dragon Fighting Society, Soke (Professor) Stoffel van Vuuren. The BDFS under members like Soke Stoffel van Vuuren sponsors and promotes the by invitation only no holds barred Kumite matches, as is portrayed in the 1988 martial art cult classic film, Bloodsport. In as much as, on the BDFS homepage appears a photo of a Kumite platform, identical to the one depicted in the movie.

In South Africa, the Bloodsport style matches are more commonly referred to as “Bloodfists,” a name Soke Stoffel van Vuuren states is inspired from Frank Dux’s renowned blow for blow, kick for kick and elbow for elbow strike matches. Bare-knuckle fights Stoffel van Vuuren himself had to participate in as a Black Dragon Fighting Society member and student of Koga Ryu Ninjitsu. Experiences almost identical to the memorable fight scene in Bloodsport that took place between Jean Claude Van Damme (who portrays Frank Dux) and actor/Muay Thai Champion and a native of South Africa - Paulo Touche (who portrays “Paco”) in the film.
Soke (Professor) Stoffel van Vuuren is a well known Martial Artist of long standing with 39 years of experience. During the last few years Soke Stoffel van Vuuren has become a household name in South Africa, made well-known with his having appeared in a Coca Cola international Television Commercial as a Ninjutsu Instructor. He is trained in: Rising Sun Shotokan Karate, South African Ju Jitsu, Atemi-Jitsu and Koga Ryu Ninjitsu. His instructors include Grandmaster Shihan Barry Pictor and Soke Ben Mangels, Master Johan Gerber, Master Ken Wittstock, Master Stan Smith and Grandmaster Art Furnari. Soke van Vuuren is a 10th Dan (trans. “Degree”) Black Belt in Ninjitsu, 6th Dan Ju-Jitsu, 1st Dan Atemi Jitsu, 10th Dan JKA Shotokan, Master Instructor Yang Tai Chi Chuan and Guru Kali / Escrima, 5th Degree Yamaguchi Karate - India as well as 8th Degree Shaolin Temple Master, also 9th Degree Poison Hand System.
Born in South Africa, Pretoria and raised in Randfontein Soke Stoffel van Vuuren began his martial arts training in the late 1960`s with Soke Ben Mangles’ who was teaching a combination of Ju Jutsu and Ninjutsu, who engaged in an eclectic approach of using what is useful and disregarding the rest with the emphasis on 3 second elimination techniques.

“Our training will be in the Dojo with Soke Ben and then at times he will take us outdoors to fight in the streets, with any weapon of choose and we will normally go home after class bleeding, but very impressed by his harsh but productive classes. Until the early 70`s when Shihan Barry Pictor took over from Soke Ben we then purely trained in Ninjutsu and he combined Ju Jutsu and Kempo striking techniques as well. We spend time on bush warfare training, building of traps, survival in bush and finding the basic survival needs. It was because of his approach that Ninjutsu became the BDFS main syllabus and school of thought to train in,” states Soke Stoffel van Vuuren.

“It was during the 80`s when I took over the BDFS in South Africa and re-worked the training syllabus to teach Ninjutsu as our foundation style but also Ju Jutsu, Escrima and Chi Gung as it seem to balance out with each other and so give the general student from the street a additional edge. Our training is so based that we do survival training, rope work including abseiling, traps and snares and on a Yodansha Level explosives and the mechanisms’ and the working parts there off. Once a student would reach the Level for testing in Yodansha he / she have to hand in a 40 x page Thesis on basis Ninjutsu History and Traditions. He will have to complete a First Aid Level 3 course, Scuba Open Water 2 certificate and then Firearms training certificates for handguns and Rifles. Once the student has passed and produced the proper certificates, only then will they be allowed to take the test. The test is done over two days and the first day he is tested on the syllabus contents from white belt to his present rank with a pass rate of 70%, then he may do the final test, held in the nature with a radius of 1 km and he will be up against 30 x students that is allowed to carry weapons during this test. If he reaches the point of cut-off where I will wait for his arrival ONLY THEN has he passed the test of Yodansha.”

Soke Stoffel van Vuuren training started at the tender age of seven (7). His first Sensei Ken Wittstock was instrumental in his having a strong foundation in the Martial Arts. His senior and second instructor Sensei Stan Smith trained him to the level where he took the test for Yodansha. It was then he met Sensei Johan Gerber who was a Ju Jutsu Sensei and introduced Stoffel to the soft and hard side of Martial Arts, which also lead to his searching for what he believed for him to be the Ultimate Style – Koga Ryu Ninjutsu.

Contrary to representations of those who allege Koga Ryu Ninjitsu is a lost art, Soke Stoffel van Vuuren is living proof Koga Ryu Ninjitsu is still alive around the Globe. Unmistakably, the BDFS owes its deep roots and connections to the early 1900’s Imperialist Right Wing Extremist Society sponsored by Japanese Military and its associations with underground criminal organizations, like Genyosha aka “Black Ocean Society” that later became the Kokuryukai (Black Dragon Society). It is the Black Dragons who are believed to have invented the word “Ninja” during World War II, in addition to sponsoring fighting matches for purposes of recruitment.

The attempt to attract to the secret society and recruit into its ranks the fiercest of men led to the Black Dragons sponsoring fighting events established in China by the Chinese to maintain their cultural pride, known as San Soo. The Japanese Kokoryukai in defiance and to subordinate the Chinese and Koreans strictly referred to these events, as Kumite. Those with ties to the Black Dragons who participated in these events with regularity became known as the Black Dragon Fighting Society that many believe first took its name from the Black Dragon Tong. The BDFS remained a secret society up until it was popularized by World War II propaganda films and by a 1966 Kumite fighter competing under the alias “Count Dante” aka John Keehan, of Chicago. Who advertised in the back of comic books his challenge to fight anyone anywhere and by buying his books one could become a member of his chapter of Black Dragon Fighting Society.

With regards to Ninjitsu training being exported outside of Japan long before the emergence of Takamatsu and Hatsumi, in interviews with Hanshi, Frank Dux he corroborates Soke Stoffel van Vuuren’s representations this occurred on a global scale through the efforts of the Black Dragon’s, prior to World War II.

Hanshi Frank Dux as does Soke Stoffel van Vuuren stress that contrary to Hatsumi’s and Steven K. Hayes representations as made in the 1980’s, inferring anyone but their organization had in their possession the legitimate working knowledge of Ninjitsu, several works on Ninjutsu existed in the early twentieth century. But for the most part ended up lost to history due to the Atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, where these treasures were moved to and kept for safekeeping. The move and centralized collection occurred as a result of several historical archives allegedly becoming lost in fires with General Doolittle’s raid over Tokyo.

Frank Dux are in the process of scholarly pursuit authoring a book on Ninjutsu’s history that includes detailed accounts of battles fought along with its own folklore oral traditions. They stress while Gingetsu Ito had learned Koga ryu techniques and history over a long period of time from Tanemura Ihachiro, the techniques described in this book are very similar to those in the Togakure Ryu from Iga.

Gingetsu Ito would be considered one of the essential sources of transmitting the teachings of Koga Ryu that made it to the twentieth century and in all likelihood, given the scale of interaction with Dutch traders, the works made its way to South Africa, accompanied by members of the Japanese Secret Service who maintained relations with members of the Kokuryukai (Black Dragon Society).

Frank Dux points out while the book by Itô Gingetsu is entitled "Ninjutsu Gokui Hidensho" (roughly translated, "Essential Secret Teachings Text of Ninjutsu") it was actually originally published in 1937, as a follow up to Fujita Seiko’s book on Wada-Ha Ninjutsu. Itô Gingetsu did write another book entitled "Ninjutsu no Gokui" ("Essential Points of Ninjutsu") that was published in 1917, well before Fujita Seiko emerged on the scene who Dux considers more of a historian than practitioner.

“It might interest you to know that "Ninjutsu Gokui Hidensho" was able to be reprinted in the 1990’s and is available in some used bookstores in Japan for about 6-8.000 yen. There exist several other titles by Itô Gingetsu and other authors that were exported and used to teach Ninjitsu that found their way to South Africa and the United States, particularly, the American Midwest. So when pompass self appointed or misled authorities scoff at the idea of someone like Soke Stoffel van Vuuren stood a snowball’s chance in hell to learn Ninjitsu, in South Africa, in the 1960’s, this betrays their true ignorance” protests Frank Dux. “The teachers and works of Ninjutsu often found there way into countries that engaged in racial inequality, which was the case in the 1930’s United States and South Africa. The Black Dragons viewed inequality as an exploitable vulnerability by which to create insurrection and undermine Japan’s perceived threats to opposing its imperial ambitions. They trained the black community in the US. In fact, this form of activity led to the arrest of Black Dragon Society members in Chicago, in the 1930’s which by the way is John Keehan aka Counte Dante’s home town. And given the Boar War in which Dutch and German immigrants fought and felt oppressed by the British hierarchy the Black Dragons and their Ninjitsu were exported to South Africa, as well.”
Soke Stoffel van Vuuren is also:
Close Protection Instructor in South Africa and has during his time in service is responsible for protection of Premiers, Presidents and Celebrities from around the Globe.
Full time Member of National Intelligence Agency and hold the rank of Director, and serves on various other Military and Non- Military Committees as Consultant.
Holds a Doctorate in Philosophy – Martial Arts, a Doctor Degree in Medicines and a Professor Degree in Alternative Medicines