CANE SELF DEFENCE with MATS HJELM was filmed at TANRENKAI 5 Workshop in September 2026 in Stockholm.
After two films — one based on Hatsumi Sensei’s Stick Fighting techniques for Self Defence, and one based on the traditional hanbō of Kukishin-ryū — it is time to let those two worlds meet on the floor. And to do it in memory of Ed Martin, who carried that very tool as if it were a part of him.
I remember him from 1997. I was about 32. He was already carrying the cane then, with his wide smile and his many stories.
Five years later I invited him for the first time, to Kaigousuru in Stockholm. It mattered to me. Not because a new chapter was supposed to begin, but because I could see, up close, how he carried age and limited movement — what all of us meet sooner or later — and still kept teaching, laughing, and taking up space. Between 2002 and 2007 he came five times to the taikai I arranged myself. 2007 was the last time I held Kaigousuru, but not the last time we met.
Ed Martin died on 13 July 2017.
Now that I have reached about the same age he was when I first saw him, I want to pass on the cane self-defence I learned from him in those years. Timing, natural movement, and a tool you can actually carry with you. The same thing he gave to so many others.
Cane Self Defence Video Highlights Include
Walking with the Cane, Te-Hodoki, Yoru Na, Kamae to Te no Uchi, The Cane, Kote Uchi Ashi Ori, Kubi Dori, Osoto-Nage, Tsuke-Iri, Musha-Dori, Kosshi-Ori, Bo-Hodoki, Ashirau.
30 Minutes. The language is English with no subtitles.
Dimensions: 1920×1080.
Codecs: QuickTime Text, MPEG-4 AAC, H.264
Download size 674 MB.
Cane Self Defence Promo Video
If you don’t see the promo video below go to BUJINKAN.TV
About the instructor
Mats Hjelm started training in Bujinkan for the first time around 1983. It wasn’t until 1986 when he had the opportunity to start training more seriously under a Shidōshi. He has taught at numerous seminars all around the world, gone to Japan 3-5 times every year. After he started training he never had a training break. He takes his budo training very seriously! If you want to sponsor a seminar or course, please don’t hesitate to contact him. For more information see his web site toryu.se or come and train with him at Kaigozan Dojo.