I would hazard a guess that there are as many variations as there are instructors. Shinbushi said it when he said there is no such thing as a Bujinkan Dan or Kyu syllabus. Each instructor teaches according to what he/she feels is the best way to get the art across. Some may concentrate on a particular ryu for months at a time until they feel you grasp it. Others may work on kamae/kihon happo through out the many ryu. I have training syllabi (plural of syllabus?) from 3 dojos and none of them are the same. They contain all the same information, but each is structured according to how that particular instructor feels it can best be assimiliated.
Again, the tenchijin is only a guide to get you to black belt, there is far more to learn in between this and different teachers do different stuff.
Well said all. In truth there is nothing its upto the local school and perhaps some info is driven by what ever the tai-kai is covering as this tended to affect where I trained. Its an odd one but this is what leaves the schools open to so many problems as there is not much direction or course after dan grade. Just sort of left to yourself.
sometimes I wish there was a standard buj'-wide training curriculum - at least for shodan. as much as Van Donk's home study course gets ragged on, I think he put together a good set of guidelines for what to know for each kyu rank. many agree that the tenchijin ryaku no maki contains all the material that is recommended to be learned before earning shodan, but the way it is layed out, what parts are required for which kyu? some say that the ten and chi sections will last you up through ikkyu, and then some of the jin section should be learned before shodan, but still, what is the progression? first year work on the ten ryaku, second year work on chi ryaku, and then jin ryaku for the third year? one sensei I trained with said that all he required for shodan was proficiency in ukemi, sanshin, and the kihon happo. but that is only a fraction of the ten section of the tenchijin. ?? if there isn't supposed to be guidelines for each kyu rank, why have separate kyu ranks at all? how about just require at least 3 years of training and then a test to earn shodan? eliminate kyu's altogether - you're either a blackbelt or you're not... for those other students out there that feel as I do, what can we do to convince our teachers to adopt some sort of training curriculum? or even convince "upper management" to develop a standard curriculum for the entire bujinkan? I don't think asking Hatsumi soke would do any good, because I don't believe he cares about anyone in the bujinkan below 5th dan. That's why he leaves everything up individual instructors. It is up to us as individuals to bring ourselves up to the level to be ready for godan and beyond. Until then, we can only hope that we are getting proper guidance.
It seems like some high ranked people (at least here in America) have been discussing this issue: http://groups.msn.com/ninjaclub/gen...Message=7521&LastModified=4675498700524272517 You may or may not have to sign in as a member to read messages in the Ninja Club forum. In case you can't get in to read the whole thread there, here is an excerpt from the opening post just to show that there are instructors out there working on such things: From: George (Original Message) Sent: 11/20/2004 11:26 AM "Thom Humphries and I are considering putting on a Dan-Ranks only seminar for the future and would like everyone's input. As I travel around the country I keep hearing the same things out of my Buyu, 'Who's teaching the teachers?' . . . Now we're not talking about a hands on only type of seminar but one that also has lectures to help the aspiring teachers. Some of the topic could include: 1. How to set up your own curriculim. 2. How to conduct a rank test. 3. How to set up and enforce dojo guidlines. 4. How to shop for affordable training space. 5. How and when to advertise. . . ." ~ George Russell anti-dan
BTW it is Henka. There is NO Bujinkan syllabus. Each Dojocho is allowed run his dojo as he/she sees fit. I trained under Nagato Sensei and he always ranked based on proficiency of movement. I personally rank based on performance in kata, drills and sparring.
Since I last wrote in this thread, I've been training in some different arts (Shotokan karate and jujitsu) and maybe the fact that it's like Shinbushi said it above is not so bad. Maybe it's a very smart thing not to have a set in stone dan syllabus. With these and other arts I've studied, which can have much more defined syllabuses including dan syllabuses, I'm constantly dissappointed by the potential of the art not coming to life in our training. Even if high ranking dan's teach seminars, I've heard the same from many of our dan ranked members in these styles. They're frustrated too and end up looking at other arts. The waza aren't taught or the hanka aren't shown and even the higher ranks don't seem to be in touch anymore with the 'art' of their styles. And it seems to me what has caused a lot of this is the rank syllabuses and the need to say "I've got this belt" or I'm a certified blah, blah, blah. Maybe Hatsumi kept the 'art' in the styles of the Bujinkan by not constricting us with syllabus. Hmmmmm.....
?? to quote shhh here i'm sure soke cares about every1 in the bujinkan regardless of grade!! 5th dan or white belt or i'd like to think so
On a slightly different note... I originally did not know what rank/dan Ian Wilson or Brin Morgan actually were on my initial introduction to this art all I knew by watching these individuals I knew straight away no doubts that I, 100/% wanted what they had to offer. Do I feel any different now and I am worried about grade/politics/curriculum's, my personal answer to that is a resounding No!, I know why I am here and thats more than enough for me.
Yea I'll second that cos when I first heard about the art I didn't even realise there were ranks : because they wear black gis...i thought that was a universal rank ....anyway the point is that--> who cares what rank sum1 is or should be or shouldn't be? It don't affect you. Watch the guy, thats how u can tell how much skill he has. imo
For cj256: I don't like to be mis-quoted, so let me restate, and reclarify what I said. cj256: "to quote shhh here i'm sure soke cares about every1 in the bujinkan regardless of grade!!" That's not what I said. What I said was (emphasis added), "I don't think asking Hatsumi soke would do any good, because I don't believe he cares about anyone in the bujinkan below 5th dan." Now to clarify: I am not implying that our beloved soke doesn't care about our well-being and whether or not we do well in our training. I am confident that he is compassionate and cares about all of us and wants us to be well and happy and healthy and all that. What I meant is that the Bujinkan has so many thousands of members, yet Hatsumi's intentions aren't to spread the art to many people or to make a lot of money. If people want to train, they will train. He doesn't care how we learn what we're supposed to learn as long as we're out there (in the dojo, and in life) doing our best and training with the best people we can find. It is our shidoshi and shihan that I believe he cares the most about, because of the responsibility they have. That, and they are 'born' of Hatsumi, and should be learning directly from him as much as possible. The rest of us on our way up pretty much have to fend for ourselves, and take our own personal responsibility to find the best training we can, so that one day we can learn directly from Hatsumi (and maybe even understand a thing or two) and take on further responsibility as a representative of the Bujinkan Dojo. Sometimes I feel frustrated and wish that there were a set curriculum or some kind of standardization, but after I give my ego a quick kick in the keester and lock it in a closet for a little while, I appreciate the lack of such as just another challenge - another part of training to help us grow. I think hatsumi777 said it quite well, "Maybe Hatsumi kept the 'art' in the styles of the Bujinkan by not constricting us with syllabus." Reminds me of what Bruce Lee was saying about the art side of martial arts - art is about personal expression, about freedom & sponteneity; not being a slave to technique or forms. It also reminds me of an art class I took in junior college: I don't remember if we had any kind of curriculum. I think there was a syllabus that outlined which chapters in the book had what information; however, all I really remember is that along the way we would look at technique and form (analyzing paintings or sculptures from historical 'masters'), but mostly we just 'played' (sound familiar?) with different media, and created from within ourselves.
