Im considering the possibility of going out to japan to further my training post uni. My sensei had to close shop from illness and since then my 1st dan certificate has come through. While I'm dabbling in other arts right now (Bagua and a few other chinese styles) I'm thinking of heading to japan anyway and going to train with the top brass. I've found a hotel location thats walking distance and some target amount of cash for how much I think I'd need but I have some other questions. 1. While I was actively training with my sensei, I often heard of people going away as 1st dan's and coming back 3-4th dan, among claims that dan grades are given out like candy. Is this something to expect if I do go or is that just rumour? 2. Will I probably need to bring a lot of weaponry? I've got the usual mllarky of rubber shuriken, oak bokken and bo, tanto, wakisashi etc. If so, can there be problems getting that through customs? 3. How are visas? Im considering 3 months to be my length of stay and I think that's below the need for a VISA from the UK if I'm correct.
The choice is yours mate, if you're given a grade, you can smile, say Thankyou and forget about it, or you can accept it. There's no need to take weapons, there are plenty at the Honbu. Your allowed three months without a visa. When are you going?, I will be there the first two weeks in May, where are you based in the UK?
Thanks so much for the info, that helps! I'm one of those sorts whole likes to feel like my grades are a sign of progression and I'm worth being addressed by that rank. If I was going to be tested really its the sakki test I'd be most concerned about (how do you even organise sitting that by the way, for future reference) Well, actually going wouldnt be this year easily. I'm currently doing an MA course and have about 12 months left, so it'd be after that most likely. I'm based in the northwest.
If you've gone to Uni in the UK and want to stay in japan for a while then why not look into the JET program (you'll get paid to teach english to japanese students)
tempting, but I currently have some massive deadlines, lectures and this is my last year since its a masters programme. I'm not sure what I can do about that at the moment
When you go there, I suggest you beforehand research the shihan online a bit to know who they are, when they started training, what their movement looks like, etc., and then visit them at their own personal dojo (after having introduced yourself to them in Honbu dojo and asked if you are allowed to visit them). Then find the one you like the most, whose way of moving makes the most sense to you, and focus on learning from that man. Practice what he shows you when you are back home, and if next time in Japan you bring back a flower from the seed you received from him, then he might start teaching you the actual art some day in the future
by the shihan would this be referring to Noguchi sensei, Nagato sensei and Seno sensei? My own instructor had nothing but good things to say about Noguchi
Yes, they are among them but not the only ones. The two most senior shihan are Ishizuka sensei and Seno sensei, who have been with Soke for about 50 years now. And then we have the middle generations with Noguchi sensei and Nagato sensei, and the relatively younger generation with Someya sensei, Nakadai sensei, Nagase sensei, Shiraishi sensei, and others. Check them all out beforehand, see who fits you and what you are after in your training, and go see them
I did JET. One of the problems with JET and your plan is that you might not end up anywhere near "the top brass", you could end up being sent to an island of Hokkaido or something. I was incredibly lucky (i.e. Totally blagged it) and was sent to Tokyo. The system could have changed, but we had little choice in where we went. JET is an easy option to get you into Japan though; flights, visas, housing was all sorted for you. Or, You could do a year with them and move on. Or do the 3 month thing and look for work while you are there. I knew a lot of guys who did 3 months, worked, then went to Thailand or Korea for a week or so, then reentered Japan.
I'm sure they mean think about JET after you graduate. Organizing sitting for the sakki test is easy, legs under bum, facing the other way from the guy with the weapon. The hard part is organizing how to avoid the cut. Seriously though, I wouldn't worry about rank and things like that. If you concentrate on your training, you can learn something that will help you progress. Up to a point, grades don't mean much, even if you are given them in the manner you said. Pretty much everything you learn up till godan is alright, but wouldn't help you in a fight against someone who really knew what they are doing. You really have to prove yourself and make it far along in your training before you learn the truly effective fighting skills.
JET takes a year or so to sort everything out, so you need to think ahead. They send you out there over the summer and you start filling in your forms etc the year before. There is/was no discussion about it. There is other similar companies and organisations...Asia has a huge market for TEFL, you'll see why when you get there.
Will - I really like the contributions that you make here and always appreciate your perspective and intentions But honestly I think this way of looking at things is quite divisive and misleading To define one person as more senior than another based on the date that they first trained with Soke is, in my view, a convenient over simplification I know that Seno-sensei does not consider himself more senior than Noguchi-sensei or Nagato-Sensei for example I feel that this kind of thinking, & I would include the "X Shihan didn't train with Soke for Y years" attitude in this, only serves to create fiefdoms (now or in the future) and tends to lead to a narrowing of perspective We have incredibly clear guidance (for Japan) from Soke on these matters and it seems odd to me that anyone training in this art would allow themselves to be blinded to this by their, or their mentors' ego
I got the impression that Will meant 'senior' in the sense of age, considering that he then mentions 'generation' and 'younger'.
Well, I think it is quite important as people like Ishizuka sensei and indeed Senō sensei started their practice under Sōke a long time before the others, and during a time when Hatsumi sensei focused on other things than later on. Not all Shihan are equal in terms of skill or knowledge or interest in the same areas. They are all different, and this is natural since they are human. But you can see how certain things can be found as common denominators for each "generation" (if you will) of shihan. I very much doubt that Senō sensei does not see himself as senior to the others. Even if he doesn't, the ones junior to him consider him to be their senior. Especially in Japanese society this is very important. If someone doesn't consider Senō sensei their senior, you should ask yourself why... Fact of the matter is that the Bujinkan is such a brilliant organisation that everyone gets out what they want from it, and it's good to know the differences between the teachers. This is just my opinion though, nothing more
This, and nothing more. To protect my anonymity, I have always avoided this conversation, but it is important to realize this important fact. The only way to understand the difference is to be here and experience this for yourself but Big Will isn't lying. He is a bit wrong though, because Manaka Sensei is most senior:whistle: and Doron is senior to the younger generation of "shihan" too(as is Tanemura sensei as a matter of course). Though we tend to treat them as all the same, some of the shihan were actually students of others, some came years later, some weren't treated the same by Hatsumi sensei, and each progressed differently and may have not learned all of the same things as the others. Naturally, you should train under whom you think is best for you, but listening to what others tell you will have a political element to it due to human nature. Choose wisely. Since we're on the topic, I'd also ad that those who tout the party line are just as biased and full of it. Any advances Hatsumi sensei has made in his own training and ability in the last few decades have nothing to do with what anybody coming to Japan once a year(or even once a month) might possibly be able to internalize or learn for that matter. Of course Soke is evolving, what does that have to do with you? You should only train with people who still train with Hatsumi sensei is garbage. You should train with whom you want to, whom you think is best for you, who accepts you and is willing to teach you as their deshi. Having Manaka sensei or Tanemura sensei as your sensei and them accepting you as a deshi is worth way more development wise than does flitting around from dojo to dojo, or worse yet, being a foreigner who claims that Hatsumi sensei is their teacher. Not even Hayes could tell a lie like that and get away with it(everybody knows that Tanemura was though that might have changed over time). Unless you were around in the time of Hayes and Doron and learned exclusively in Japan, Hatsumi sensei is not your teacher. You learned through someone else's filter, not directly from the boss. You have to wonder why Hatsumi sensei says you should still train with him. 99% of the people who attend his classes aren't training with him either way, they are being in his presence. He also awarded menkyo kaiden to several people who no longer train with him for whatever reason. That is their personal business, and doesn't affect what they learned or can teach. I personally wouldn't learn from someone who was no longer in the fold(except for Doron), but that isn't for a dearth of skill on their part and anyone who frames it in that way is trying to sell you something.
If you learn the traditional way, once you pass your godan, it is all very personal and each person's development is vastly different. If you don't learn the traditional way, any rank you hold is suspect, though godan is still an important distinction. The question is, where are your holes and how did you fill them? From a fighting and teaching perspective, if you learned the traditional way and have achieved your godan at least, you should be competent in the Takamatsuden. Meaning you should be able to handle your own, and be able to teach the entire curriculum at least to the first and second level.
