Different styles of Yagyū Shingan-ryū, such as Heihojutsu and Taijutsu, assert different founders, Takenaga Hayato and Araki Mataemon respectively, but they all go back to Ushū Tatewaki (羽州 帯刀), referred to in some historical scrolls as Shindō Tatewaki, who taught a system based on Sengoku-period battlefield tactics, that was called Shindō-ryū.

The word shingan (心眼) is rooted in Zen philosophy, and was chosen to describe a fundamental concept of the style.

[2] Yagyū Shingan-ryū was created to be a battlefield art with a large comprehensive curriculum of weapons, and grappling techniques for use both while armored and unarmored.

[2] In the early days, both the Yagyū Shingan and Shinkage schools were similar,[2] as both consisted of an array of armed and unarmed combat techniques.

For many, he is considered the spiritual founder of the Yagyu Shingan Ryu Taijutsu tradition, but according to Edo era depictions of the skirmish that made him famous (by killing 37 enemies with only 1 assistant), he fought it without wearing armor.

The Yagyu Shingan Ryu Heihojutsu (Sendai line) is directed by Headmaster Shimazu Kenji (Chikuosha).

Small but strong branches under the direct supervision of Shimazu Kenji exist in Australia (Philip Hinshelwood) and Sweden (Per Eriksson).

The Tokugawa shogunate managed to bring stability to the nation, marking the end of a long period of inner conflict.

The armored battlefield tactics naturally evolved into more practical self-defense methods relevant to the locale and social climate.

The style includes the usual array of weapons forms, but is distinguished by its unique staff (6 ft) and ōdachi kata.

In 1908, after five years of training, he received the rank of Shoden from Masakatsu Nakai, a Shihan of the Edo-line of Yagyū Shingan-ryū (stemming from the sixth lineal-headmaster Goto Saburō — hence the name Goto-ha).

[4] Likewise, Kano Jigoro, the founder of judo, trained under the seventh lineal-headmaster of the Edo-line (Yagyū Shingan-ryū Taijutsu), Ohshima Masateru.