Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido origin and development since 1987

As training in black clothing in public parks and school grounds was often viewed with scepticism and martial arts were considered anything but prestigious by the public at the time (apart from a few established competitive sports), the registered sports club “Sport Club Limburgerhof e.V.” – later Budo-Club-Limburgerhof e.V. – today “Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido Limburgerhof e.V.” was founded in 1991 and the training content was defined for the first time.

As a result, the martial art could be practised in a sports hall for the first time. The first indoor lessons took place in the Rudolf-Wihr-Halle Limburgerhof at the beginning of 1992. In winter 1992, lessons also began in the Carl Bosch gymnastics hall in Limburgerhof. This had numerous positive effects: on the one hand, it became more attractive for people who did not want to train outside in all weathers, and on the other hand, lessons in winter were much more pleasant. There were fewer problems with the weather and the darkness in the evenings, which was an enormous hindrance to exercises with partners, especially for less experienced students.

In 1993, Christian Wiederanders joined the German Air Force for 12 years and broadened his horizons at the Warendorf Sports School (the Bundeswehr’s Olympic training centre) and military strategy training courses. Naturally, he continued to train in various martial arts, which he learnt during his career in the Bundeswehr.

In 1998, the structures of the martial art were so well established that the founding of an umbrella organisation, the “Deutsche Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido Kai e.V.” in Limburgerhof, was a further milestone in the ongoing development and expansion.

In the same year, another “Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido” school was opened for the first time in Bad Dürkheim, which quickly established itself as a strong second pillar of the association. Despite its provincial character and the fact that classes in Bad Dürkheim were once again held more outdoors, this school was very popular for some time.

Although the first children took part in training in Limburgerhof at the beginning of the 1990s, it was not until 1998 that an official children’s group was established thanks to the experience gained and a revised concept. Schools such as Ludwigshafen and Landau were added at the end of the 90s. In line with the changing times and technology, the Internet presence of this martial art was launched a year later on 26 August 1999.

An extensive page and collection of material on the subject of martial arts was created, which was only made possible by the contributions submitted by numerous students. Today, it is hard to imagine life without this homepage as a presentation and information medium. It offers the members of the growing association in particular a quick and easy way of accessing up-to-date information and also saves the association management from having to make lengthy telephone calls or send letters to disseminate important information.

It was only in 2005 that we really felt ready to present ourselves and our students at various Budo seminars under the critical eyes of recognised martial artists and were so enthusiastic about the sporting openness and the shared spirit of our martial arts colleagues that we organised such a seminar ourselves a year later (2006+2007) in Limburgerhof together with the Bushido Gala.

Various instructors and students also took part in the international Budo camps in Holland (2006+2007), Sri Lanka (2006) and Thailand (2007).

At the same time, the Kyu and Dan training programme was completed, which had previously been implemented through a transitional programme (2000+2003), including the 1st Kyu grade.

The first self-organised trip to Japan for a group of 25 participants took place in March 2008. In 2008, Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido was offered in Schwetzingen. In the first half of 2009, the German Olympic Sports Confederation recognised the work of Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido on several occasions.

Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido Limburgerhof e.V. was the first to be accepted as a member of the Sportbund-Pfalz. Just one month later, Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido took over the first training and further education programme for the Sportjugend-Pfalz in Limburgerhof. Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido and its prevention trainers were accepted into the “Sport Pro Gesundheit” programme and on 20 June 2009 Christian Wiederanders was awarded the bronze badge of honour for his services to sport. Another trip to Japan took place in March 2010 with 36 participants and was organised by Christian Wiederanders. Timo Gartner successfully passed his 2nd Dan examination in Speyer. The master student Juan Antonio Pena Salinas, 3rd Dan, opens his own dojo in Gran Canaria. Christian Wiederanders travelled to the Canary Islands in summer 2010 to lay the foundation stone. Thorsten Klein was the first to pass the 4th Dan examination at the 18th International Martial Arts and Adventure Camp in Gerbach in 2010. Manuel Huck from Waldbronn also passed the 1st Dan examination.

In August 2010, a Tatsu-Ryu Bushido dojo was also opened in the far north, Wilhelmshaven. With the introduction of the 10-person “Introduction to Samurai Training Methods” course in September, more members can now be addressed and recruited.

At the 2014 Cherry Blossom Festival, Christian Wiederanders was awarded the silver badge of honour by the Sportbund-Pfalz. This year was also the first time he attended the medieval festival in Waldsee-Pfalz.

In 2015, Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido Limburgerhof was selected to take part in the “Sports Club Initiative 2020” project with numerous workshops. Manuel Huck from the Waldbronn dojo was appointed Sensei after passing the 3rd Dan examination. The club also took part in the street festival in Limburgerhof again in 2015. The year 2016 started with an instructor training course in Speyer.

Marius Roth and Ingolf Vogel successfully passed their Dan examination as part of the Samurai Camp in Gerbach and were elevated to the rank of Sensei Ho. A cross-sport team also took part in the CarFit football tournament in Limburgerhof. Another highlight was the participation in the district sports show in Böhl-Iggelheim with a demonstration of Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido. The final event of the year was participation in the EpicCon in Frankfurt am Main.

In 2017, Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido was honoured five times in its 30th anniversary year: These include the renewal of the “Child and Youth Friendly Sports Club” quality seal from 2011; the extension of the “Sport-Pro-Health” quality seal from 2009, the new “German Standard Prevention” quality seal from the health insurance companies and the 13th Palatinate Prize. A special highlight in September was the “Sportvereint” award from the Ditmar Hopp Foundation. The 25th International Martial Arts and Adventure Camp in Gerbach/Pfalz also took place this year.

Further training in Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido was also once again in the foreground and numerous qualification courses were held on the topics of “Violence Prevention” and “No Power to Drugs”. New in 2017 were courses for the VHS (Kreisvolkshochschule Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis) on the topic of prevention. The “Sportverein 2020” programme is also entering its second round and Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido has been selected again. This time the focus is on “Sport for the elderly”.

The year began traditionally with the New Year’s course and in the middle of the basic course Not-with-me in March, everything changed from one day to the next. A shutdown came and the face-to-face training we had been used to for years had to be cancelled immediately.

Even after the shutdown in mid-March 2020, Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido reacted individually and flexibly and switched to online training at the same time. Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido did not just want to provide one-sided videos on YouTube or Facebook as an alternative or supplement to face-to-face classes, but we wanted to focus on the social components and psychological structure and pass on training LIVE, with personal features, seeing and talking to each other online.

In 2020 and 2021, TATSU-RYU-BUSHIDO and its partners offered well over 350 LIVE ONLINE TRAININGS with over 2,500 participants. Later, during the lockdown, face-to-face training sessions were held under the hygiene concept and simultaneous online training for members who were able to train at home as hybrid training. At the end of the year, the new Fit-mit-Spass.online programme was a record success with around 450 participants worldwide. The first pages of the new homepage www.tatsu-ryu-bushido.com, which has been online since 1999, also went online with version 11.

At the end of the year, after long preparations, the state association “Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido Rheinland-Pfalz e.V.” was founded.

Four new clubs were founded at the start of 2023, including Friedelsheim, Mannheim, Neuhofen and Waldsee, although Mannheim and Friedelsheim had already been active in the past.

Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido Limburgerhof e.V. offered two new programmes, AROHA and aqua fitness, which were very well received.

Sensei Timo Gartner, 3rd Dan and Sensei-Ho Andreas Gössel, 1st Dan are back and are strengthening the Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido team with courses

After the loss of the main hall in 2022 and several Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido training days in Limburgerhof, which resulted in a significant loss of members, the hall was moved back into after the summer holidays and the loss of members was almost offset.

After 2006, Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido provided a speaker for the Budo-Camp 2023, but the time showed strong changes in the concept. As a positive result, old friendships from 2006 were revived. Since November 2023, there has been a cooperation with Muay Thai Sri Lanka in the exchange of knowledge. A Tatsu-Ryu-Bushido group is even being set up, in particular through regular live hybrid dojo training, as an exchange every two years is simply not enough.

Preparations are now underway for 2024 and in particular the future project 2025!