In order to better communicate the purpose of the Kunoichi Taikai, the organizers have compiled an open letter to all Bujinkan Shihan, Shidoshi and Dojo-cho, in order to ask for their support regarding the event.

See Sheila Haddad's letter below.

"As you probably know, the women in Bujinkan are planning a Kunoichi Taikai in the fall of 2010. We ask for your support as fellow Bujinkan Shihan and Buyu. The women themselves brought up the idea of having all the women in the world get together to meet and train – a women’s taikai.

Our aim is to bring a balance to all of Bujinkan by providing a full and satisfying training experience for everyone. We will come together from all over the world to meet, share, train, learn from one another, and take that experience back to our dojos, our country, and to Bujinkan. The more confident women are in the dojo, the more they are role models, and the more other women will tend to stay and train.

As we have many more women training in Bujinkan, now more than ever, is a gathering of this nature so important. With female instructors coming together to share not only their knowledge and skills but also their personal experiences in training, it inspires other women to not feel so alone. We have a unique perspective that we can share for a positive outcome.

Women sometimes require a different learning strategy. This may be difficult to understand, but I know for myself, it takes a unique woman to walk into a dojo, to be interested in studying (being hit, tied up, and generally thrown around) - it isn't easy to keep going in that sort of minority.

Soke has requested that women become more visible, that they become more united as a force in Bujinkan. He felt that having this would lead to a better balance in the art. He requested something be done that would achieve this and he likes the idea of a Kunoichi Kai.

We hope you will find the results of the taikai beneficial to your dojo, your students, and all of Bujinkan everywhere. We are planning to show your female students how to get more from your teaching as it fits for them, so when they return, they will be better training partners. Female students and instructors in any dojo can often feel outnumbered – having this community will help that.

In this spirit, I thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
Sheila Haddad"