Welcome

Joel Dentoshi Iverson is the founder of the Art of Life Sanctuary, Way of the Shadow Wind. Mr. Iverson's path to the martial arts began in 1970. With various styles of martial art training under his belt, Jeet Kune Do, Kali, Muay Thai and several animal arts from the Ta-Merrian Institute, Bujinkan and To-Shin Do Ninjutsu organizations, he has over 50 years of experience in martial arts and Ninjutsu.  

He also has 35 years of experience working in the Criminal Justice Field, where he applied and fine tuned his Shinobi techniques.

Sensei Iverson wanted to show how a person could utilize Shinobi techniques in their daily activities or professional life, both physically and mentally.

 To-Shin Do Achievements
Fourth degree black belt Instructor, To Shin Do Kasumi-An Ninjutsu Martial Arts.

Licensed instructor, Kihon Togakure Ryu Ninpo Taijutsu Kata

Licensed instructor, Kihon Kukishinden Ryu Kenjutsu Long Sword.

Licensed instructor, Kihon  Kukishinden Ryu Bo-jutsu Long Staff Combat Method.

Other Achievements

Degree in Criminal Justice specializing in criminal investigations and Security.

Licensed by the State of Michigan to operate in the Criminal Justice Field, in Professional Investigations and Security.

Ninjutsu has become much more than a martial art, it's a way of life. (G)

To-Shin Do

To-Shin Do is a martial art founded by Black Belt Hall of Fame instructor Stephen K. Hayes in 1997. It is a modernized version of ninjutsu, and differs from the traditional form taught by Masaaki Hatsumi’s Bujinkan organization. Instruction focuses on threats found in contemporary western society. 

Symbolism behind the To-Shin name, To-Shin Do is formed of three kanji:

• 刀 – to – Truth
• 心 – shin – heart
• 道 – dō – way, path

The literal Japanese to English translation of To-Shin Do is “Sword Spirit Path”. Practitioners of the art use a more developed translation where To = sword, Shin = the focused spirit of intention, and Do = the path to mastery.

The kanji for to and the kanji for shin combine within the kanji symbol nin 忍, pronounced shinobi, which is the symbol for the ninja, although the top half of 忍 is actually ha/yaiba 刃 not tō 刀.

Ancestor schools: Togakure-ryū

The native village of Togakure is now known as Togakushi, Nagano, and was an early center of Shugendo.  

Daisuke Nishina was a samurai retainer of Yoshinaka who was killed, Daisuke Nishina changed his name to Daisuke Togakure and later becoming the first Soke (family head) of the Togakure ryu ninjutsu.

Iga Province

Iga was the old province of Japan is today Western Mie Prefecture, Iga bordered on Ise, Omi, Yamato and Yamashiro provinces.

Iga province is a small mountain ringed basin (the Ueno basin) in the center of Japan’s Kansai region, on the island of Honshu.

Iga was one of fifteen ancient provinces which made up the Tokaido region. The Tokaido region was situated along the southeastern edge of Honshu, it’s name literally means ‘Eastern Sea Way.

The Iga Province is particularly famous for its clan of ninja, its most notable member samurai, was Hattori Hanzo. Both the Iga and Koga provinces are considered the birthplace of Japan’s Ninjutsu.

The Iga Republic was called Iga Sokoku Ikki in Japanese. In 1581, two years after a failed invasion led by the warlord son, Oda Nobunaga launched a massive invasion on Iga, attacking from six direction with over 40,000 to 60,000 men. After ruthlessly slaughtering great numbers of the inhabitants of the Iga region, Oda Nobunaga declared a cease fire, however it was the end of the independent Iga Republic.

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 Zoom classes are available for at home training.