Bujinkan Ninjutsu Are you guys enjoying your classes? Do you feel they are worth it? Do they serve you? How many of you spar? Have you got into a fight? Did Ninjutsu help you? Because first the Bujinkan Ninjutsu gets nonstop attack claimed to being fake, that it is not the art of the Ninja AT ALL. So what is important now is does it serve you? Is what you are learning serving you? Does it help you grow? Expand your perspective? Are you a better person? This Ninjutsu forum no longer is a forum where we learn about the art, because many haven't even decided what it is that they are learning. I check on youtube and I see no sparring whatsoever, how then do we know if our techniques work? Is there sparring in your Bujinkan? My sensei said mine does have sparring. And all I see on youtube is some fat bellied men dressed in black doing ridiculous techniques..
IMO, the kata of the Bujinkan are sets of techniques, in an artificial context, to give you and your partner an excuse to practice various things. Not just kuzushi, timing, and distance, but proper body alignment when punching, rolling, kicking, metsubishi, flow, transitioning smoothly through kamae, gyaku waza etc... They're an excuse for you to play with techniques, playing with them so that you can learn them. I think alot of people tend to have a warped idea of the purpose of kata. They're not an ABC solution to a combat problem. There are so many variables in play IRL for that to even be feasable. IMO, It's like learning scales to be able to solo well. The scales aren't soloing, they're an excuse for you be able to practice smooth transitions between notes, timing, manual dexterity, playing "clean" then later improvisation, but all in an artificial context. If you were playing a show, and it came to the solo, and all you did was the Minor Pentatonic 1st pattern, the notes would fit, but a hell of a lot would be missing and it would sound retarded, however, after you've come to the point where you've learned those lessons built-into practicing those patterns, you can begin to see how to manipulate the way that they interconnect. IMO, practicing kata it pretty much the same as practicing scales on guitar, but only the rudest ass in the room would cut someone down for practicing scales, saying "That's not soloing, try that **** at my club and you'll get boo'ed off stage!" And as far as "techniques not working" goes, I have never studied a martial art that taught techniques that "didn't work", there were plenty of times that I thought I really understood a technique and try it, only for it to fail, but again, it's all about context. Even though I understood how to do a particular technique, I was unfamiliar, due to lack of experience, and play-time, to understand the contexts in which it would or wouldn't work for whatever reason. With certain techniques, certain things have to happen in order for the proper context to present itself, and if it hasn't, the technique will probably fail. Is that the technique's fault, or yours? Probably because those particular people crave attention, which to me indicates an inferiority complex. I worked for more than a few people with this problem. It seems that they believe that as long as your able to convince others that you're successful, it's true. Translation: As long as you can convince other that you really understand Bujinkan combat mechanics, it's true. No matter how detrimental it may be to other who don't really have a need for that kind of fast-food emotional pay-off. Regards
There are four types of people in the Bujinkan. Those who understand Soke's Budo. Those who think they understand Soke's Budo. Those who are trying to understand Soke's Budo. And Those that don't know ****. The best you can hope for is to find someone who understands the essence of Budo and learn from them. Sometimes you need to sift through tonnes of **** to find a golden nugget. Edit: Oh btw it's Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu because the Bujinkan includes ninpo, dakentaijutsu, taijutsu, jutaijutsu, kosshijutsu, koppojutsu, sojutsu, hanbojutsu, naginatajutsu, shurikenjutsu... you get the picture
Are you guys enjoying your classes? I am. Some weeks I enjoy them more than others, sometimes a class is extremely challenging and frustrating for me and other times, I feel like i'm ahead of the curve. Sometimes you hit the bar... Do you feel they are worth it? Yes - how would YOU determine 'worth it'? How many of you spar? Please define sparring. I train with progressive resistance. In the Bujinkan, there is an Uke and a Tori relationship, an attacker and a defender. Please give a real life (not in a cage/ ring/ competition) example where both people in an altercation would have the same objective. My instructor asked me this and It made me think about why this relationship exists. Have you got into a fight? Not intentionally. Did Ninjutsu help you? Yes. It also helps me avoid fighting. Because first the Bujinkan Ninjutsu gets nonstop attack claimed to being fake, that it is not the art of the Ninja AT ALL. I have no interest whatsoever in being a Ninja. So what is important now is does it serve you? Is what you are learning serving you? Yes - The training I receive meets the objectives I set for it. How would you qualify something as serving you? Does it help you grow? Expand your perspective? Yes. It is a very complex martial art. Are you a better person? This is difficult to judge yourself, my buyu would be able to answer that but i'm afraid I would be biased. This Ninjutsu forum no longer is a forum where we learn about the art, because many haven't even decided what it is that they are learning. We are learning Bujinkan Budo as taught by Soke Hatsumi. I dont come onto this forum to learn about the art. I learn about the art when I train. I come on here to interact, get ideas and to see other peoples opinions on things I'm working on, thinking about. This is a resource, not a very reliable one at that. I check on youtube and I see no sparring whatsoever, how then do we know if our techniques work? Is there sparring in your Bujinkan? My sensei said mine does have sparring. And all I see on youtube is some fat bellied men dressed in black doing ridiculous techniques.. I have met a lot of capable people who train in the Bujinkan. Excluding Japanese Shihan, none of them has any footage on Youtube.
Ive used Bujinkan in a real fight and havent trained in it for a while. Since taking up BJJ and now Judo I have not had a real street fight. And I would not use youtube as a site to view quality demo's. Try a good Bujinkan school (There out there, just very few and far, far between).
There is quote that deserves to be mentioned again. It says good on both counts. Practical application and not fighting for the needs to fight.
Ughhh.. I always cringe when there are new posts like this.. To the original poster.."THE FORCE", I mean no disrespect to you at all..its just that most posts here are like a traffic accident, that you cannot stop watching..or a sore tooth that you cannot stop touching.. "Ow, Garth posted another volume of cut and paste, ow my tooth.."
Why is anyone replying to this thread? The OP shouldn't be rewarded for ignoring the "Search" button. -Daniel
"Are you guys enjoying your classes?" Yes, very much so! Do you enjoy your youtubing? "Do you feel they are worth it?" Yes I do. I see progression in myself, not just in technique per se, but in character as well. "Do they serve you?" I see myself growing as a martial artist and as a person. As a person who has studied several arts through the years, I have learned that you get what you take from it, and to always keep an open mind. "How many of you spar?" Just like physical conditioning, not in class. We pressure test and 'never cheat the tori'. I do spar, randori, cross-train when not in my Bujinkan class. An individual must choose the path he wants to take and how he wants to take it. "Have you got into a fight?" Not in a long, long time. Besides, I don't train to fight, I train to avoid a fight and how to defend myself (and my family if need-be) if I fail in avoiding it. "Did Ninjutsu help you?" Yes. Did posting all this help you? "So what is important now is does it serve you? Is what you are learning serving you? Does it help you grow? Expand your perspective? Are you a better person? This Ninjutsu forum no longer is a forum where we learn about the art, because many haven't even decided what it is that they are learning." For most of these answers, see above. As far as going to a forum to learn about an art, there is your first mistake right there. "I check on youtube and I see no sparring whatsoever, how then do we know if our techniques work? Is there sparring in your Bujinkan? My sensei said mine does have sparring. And all I see on youtube is some fat bellied men dressed in black doing ridiculous techniques.." And there is your second problem, it's called youtube. If you really want to learn from youtube, there is a great video dojo that can teach you how to be the ultimate martial artist and swordsmaster, it's called Sacred Fire Dojo. And Hayseed, I loved your guitar analogy!
I check on youtube and I see no sparring whatsoever, how then do we know if our techniques work? Is there sparring in your Bujinkan? My sensei said mine does have sparring. And all I see on youtube is some fat bellied men dressed in black doing ridiculous techniques.. Christ sake, look mate have you ever been in a fight outside your dojo?? I guess not. NOONE has ever tried to spar with me in a fight!!!!!!!!!!!! FAT bellied men have something to prove, ok.
Ha, ha, ha, check again:[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn_nzuDVxjo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn_nzuDVxjo[/ame] You wont know if it works since you train in some other style, obviously! Unless you challenge someone from the Bujinkan to a fight. Im sorry to point it out but its not mine nor yours, its Soke Hatsumi Masaaki´s Bujinkan! Sparring is ok. Hard training is better! Regards / Skuggvarg
That is a neat video although i disagree with the grappling on the ground. You shouldn't let it get to that point and if you do you need to try and stand up. I'm getting some kendo gloves for shinai sparring myself, that's going to be fun. (PS: Don't grapple with shinai, they break )
I try to keep to two different approaches to ground work. Extended, just for training and to build up knowledge (similar to a BJJ, Judo, or Combatives level 1 sparring match); and practical excercises on escapes eg: one person deliberately trying to keep the other on the ground, the idea being the Uke knows he's got buddies on the way who will kick the Torii while the Torii is down and the Torii needs to escape. Both are useful and have their places in training time. Sparring is great for reinforcing techniques learned and getting applications down. Hard training is good for actually teaching the techniques the sparring is supposed reinforce. Both have to be used correctly and at appropriate times, telling a 10th kyu who still hasn't demonstrated a reasonable knowledge of the Kihon Happo to get some gloves on and go to town won't help him that much. That in and of itself is likely how the "Takamatsu-den tai-jutsu guys don't spar!" rumors start. Most dojo don't toss the white belts into the meat grinder, and students who don't get that feel they're being cheated. Like everything else it gets blown out of proportion on the Net and suddenly no one in the X-kans spars, much to the surprise of those of us who do. So here's a question to those who actually try to use this forum for what it's supposed to be used for, exchange of information. My dojo generally has people go to at least 9th kyu before enganging in actual sparring (we use bag gloves, mouth guards and cups), how do you out there in MAP-land do it?
My (teachers) dojo does not spar at all however everyone in the dojo has a strong sparring background so it's not really necessary (although there is encouragement to go out and spar). In the training group i run, sparring is voluntary. We spar for 15 mins at the end of each class. In general i use 5 basic rulesets, grappling on the ground, stand up grappling, striking (light, med, hard), weapons (shinai or bamboo) and everything goes. 10th kyu can participate in the first four on their first day, anyone with a year or more can participate in everything goes. We also do each ruleset with 1v2, 2v2, 3v3, everyone v 1 etc. Fun times
great video and useful to see how one can deal with an apponent on the ground. Unfortunatly sometimes things do go wrong so learning to grapple is useful. We should be prepared for all situations.
