An Interview with Shihan Sveneric Bogsätter, 15th Dan
 

Material taken from www.bujinkan-belgium.com

"I'm trying to be for instead of against", was the first thing Sveneric Bogsater told me when I started to interview him. In front of me there is an impressive 53 year young man, 12th dan Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. He belongs to the world's finest in our martial art. But you'll never notice that, except when you see him playing around on the tatami. In spite of his status, he remained down to earth and freindly. In fact his friendliness is one of the first things you notice when you go to a seminar taught by him.

With that first sentence he meant that you always have to approach things in a positive way. He tries to be as optimistic and happy as possible in life, this by always being positive. "Don't be against war, be for peace". "Don't tell anyone to quit smoking because he will die if he doesn't. No, tell him he'll live longer if he stops."
 

Off course it isn't possible to be like this day in day out, but it can help you to find peace and harmony in your life. I've met Sveneric a couple of times now and in my personal opinion he has to be very close to complete harmony and happyness in his life. In my opinion, his worldy wisdom will probably have something to do with his age too, because experience means a great deal, also in daily life.
 

Before I start to tell you the history of his martial life, some facts. At the moment of writing (3/9/2000), Sveneric is 53 and he's married to 11th dan Mariette van der Vliet. He claims to have 3 children, namely 2 cats and a dog. He lives in Holland for about 7 years now (He was born in Sweden as you all know).
 

When Sveneric was about 5, he was a small and slender kid (you really can't imagine if you see him now). He told me he was afraid of everything and in his own words "I was a fucking coward". At some point the girls in school had to defend him in a fight (well this sounds familiar, check Takamatsu sensei's bio). His father was a police officer and eventually told the boy that although use of violence is wrong, he had to stick up for himself. To help the little Sveneric, his dad took him to the police school where they practiced wrestling (Greek-Roman style). The small kid didn't like it at all, he didn't like the feeling of the sweaty bodies while entangled in a fight.... it wasn't something for a kid like Sveneric.
 

He often complained about that to his father, and someday some policeman of the youth-section overheard them and suggested that Sveneric would take up Judo. That was the beginning of the martial life of Sveneric, since that day he never quit practicing martial arts, he always studied, worked hard and improved his skills.

Age 15, he took up Kyokushinkai karate (a full contact karate style). He did this for about 10 years. Sveneric quit Kyokushinkai karate when it changed structure (when he came back from his military service). He thought that there was too much emphasis on the competition. People where pushed to compete in full contact fights before they were ready for it, all for the glory of the club. The following year, he practiced some other style karate (Wado ryu if I'm not mistaken).
 

At that point in life, Sveneric was looking for the philosophy behind martial arts, therefore he started practicing Aikido. But with his long history as Karateka that didn't work out very well (as we all know, those 2 systems are quite different). So eventually Aikido didn't work out the way he wanted and he didn't find any philosophy there either. "If even Aikido has no philosophy deep within, I can better concentrate on the true roots of martial arts, and that is fighting!" Sveneric thought, and he joined a ju-jutsu club (after about 2 years of Aikido). In the next 12 year of ju-jutsu he studied about 3 styles.

In the club where he practised ju-jutsu, different martial arts where taught, including Judo. When a certain person called Bo Munte (you already see where this is leading too...) got his judo shodan, he received a book. The book was about Ninjutsu. Bo got interested and went to Japan to meet Hatsumi Sensei (~ 1970). After his return Bo started teaching ninjutsu in his garage.
 

That was the true beginning of ninjutsu in Europe, the first European got in touch with 'The martial arts of distance'.

In 1983 Bo opened his first real dojo. This was the beginning of Sveneric's Bujinkan adventure that till this day on still continues. The real beginning, because at that point he quit all other martial arts. It was also the year in which he went to Japan to meet Hatsumi sensei for the first time. The dojo flourished and Sveneric became instructor together with Larry Jonsson. Small note: Larry Jonsson is not a student of Sveneric (as is often wrongly suggested), he started ninujtsu a year earlier than Sveneric. Of that first group of Europeans that started Bujinkan there are still 4 persons active at this day....

That small group introduced Europe to ninjutsu. Sveneric and Bo went to Spain, Ireland, Holland, Great-Brittain, .... to teach people the Bujinkan system and make it as well known as it now is.
 

By Brecht Claerhout, 3/9/2000,