Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu newbie questions

[johniemi]

Hello, I'm going to my first Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu class tomorrow and I'd like to know a few things;

1)What is the difference between Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and Taijutsu?

2)How can I verify that the local instructor is really qualified and knows his stuff?

I have been in judo as a kid and spent some time in thaiboxing classes but you could say I'm a newbie when talking about martial arts.

3)Also, I'm very heavy built and, well, to tell the truth; pretty overweight and in poor aerobic condition. I have been doing weightlifting for a few years now but my aerobic endurance is really poor compared to the under 180-pound guys. So this brings me to my last question; could I do ok in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu or should I first lose some weight and then try studying it when I have better physical capabilities. I am pretty strong though, but will that help any?

-John

[tiocfaidh]

1) Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu is the name that Hatsumi sensei changed Ninjutsu to fairly recently. I've been out of Ninjutsu for a while and don't really understand why he did so. The reason he gives is that the art actually studied is made up of nine schools of whic Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu is only one. I think he also felt that there was a negative image attached to Ninjutsu.

Personally I'm not aware of any such negative image and am a little puzzled as to why he did that. I suppose it doesn't really matter as it's still the same art being studied.

2) Taijutsu is the name given to the unarmed combat techniques of Ninjutsu.

[Kinjiro Tsukasa]

Don't worry about your size/weight and aerobic endurance -- just go to class and give it a try! I study Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, and am pretty much in the same boat you are, fitness-wise (and I'm "older", to boot, and one of the few women in the class -- I usually have male training partners). I manage to keep up with the class reasonably well, even though I sometimes have to adapt techniques and do them "my way". This shouldn't be a problem in Budo Taijutsu.

Your strength certainly won't hurt you, but it won't always give you an advantage, either. In class, I find if I do something correctly, I can take down the biggest, strongest guy in the class, but if I do it incorrectly, I can't even take down the smallest or weakest.

There's no need to lose weight and get into great shape first, just go at your own best pace. If you get really winded, a good instructor will let you rest a bit until you're back to "normal". I need to drink water much more frequently than average; that is no problem either.

As for your other questions, I will leave those for the more experienced and knowledgeable people here.

BTW, I notice this is your first post; welcome to MAP!

[johniemi]

The Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu class was advertised in our local newspaper article with phrases like "B.B.T. is a brand new martial art style in (city where I live)" and "Features techniques from nine different styles".

Now I'd just like to know that does the above sound ok or am I looking into someone pretending to teach B.B.T.? I'm not saying that this is a scam, but I want to be sure that what I am learning is really what sensei Hatsumi has developed and not some *******ized home-edited method :)

And about the nine styles or whatever you call them, (sub-schools?), like koshijutsu, koppojutsu etc... What are they exactly?

Can one say that the pressure point techniques in karate and koshijutsu are similar?

So many questions... I would really love to read a looong introduction to B.B.T. and also the whole history of this MA.

-John

[xplasma]

You find out if the instructor is qualified, ask them where they trained, what rank are they, etc. If they are for real, they can answer these questions.

The nine school are proabably referring to:

Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu
Gyokko Ryu Koshijutsu
Kukishin Ryu Happo Hikenjutsu
Shinden Fudo Ryu Dakentaijutsu
Gyokushin Ryu Ninjutsu
Koto Ryu Koppojutsu
Tagaki Yoshin Ryu Jutaijutsu
Gikan Ryu Koppo Taijutsu
Kumogakure Ryu Ninjutsu

Ninpo point technqiues are very disimilar to karate. Koshi-jutsu with the pressure points include muscle and organ ripping technqiues.