Is it that the photos were pirated from a bunch of photoshoots, or is it truly that he cashed in on the ninjaboom as did Kubota Takiyuki (Did a ninja movie with James Caan in the 1970's) & Kosugi Sho?
I couldn't tell you if the pics were pirated but I've only seen those ones on those Katsumi Toda books and Katsumi Toda does not exist. And if the Sanada thing was indeed a joke it has never been openly stated as such, which is a bit fraudulent as the book is still on sale. I didn't intend this to be an Obata thread (I actually like his Toyama Ryu stuff) but it's turning out to be a turtle disaster!
Hehe, we had a look at it at the start of the class. A white belt with just twelve sessions behind him said "what the crap is going on with his knees?". After that it kind of went downhill rapidly.
If you want to ask about Toshishiro Obata's role in that book, you could try asking on the shinkendo Forum: http://www.shinkendo.com/bbs/index.php?s=
Sticking with Mr Obata for a moment, and a little off topic, but has anyone got any experience of the style that he teaches. I have a Shinkendo club just down the road from myself and was thinking of paying a visit. Garth
Garth said:- Try asking in the "Discussion on Schools And Teachers" section of MAP. http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=44 You're more likely to get an answer by canvassing the wider forum and you're less likely to derail this thread, this incurring the wrath of the Ordo Hereticus and Ordo Malleus (that's me and Spooks! ). EDIT - BTW, just noticed the Tau logo avatar. For the Greater Good!
Returning to the Fuma Ryu for a moment, look what their website has to say about their pirate flags. Yarr! http://www.fumaryu-braintree.co.uk/knowledge/hata.html
BTW, the book doesn't say anything about Sanada-ryu and as far as I know the only thing he is guilty of (if you want to call it that) is him using a fake name. http://www.e-budo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22715 http://www.e-budo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22742 I don't know if the Katsumi Toda books have anything to do with Obata Sensei, though.
I did about a year of Shinkendo here in Iowa and it was excellent. I also went to a seminar taught by Obata Kaiso(he is VERY Japanese, also nice.) The sword work is very precise and effective IMO. All in all, I had a blast.
So we have established that he is a nice guy, good with a sword, is known as an actor, and has had some success with Shinkendo and his Toyama Ryu books, but that he was a bit naughty at some point by writing the Sanada Ryu book, and that whilst he appears on the cover of the Katsumi Toda books, (couldn't they have got oriental nobodies to pose like on the Charles Daniel books and saved themselves some money?) because there are no photos within the text of the Katsumi Toda books we cannot say for certain whether Obata sensei is the author/co-author of these books, except that Katsumi Toda does not exist and nobody seems to know his real identity.
Both books were published by the same company (Dragon Books IIRC). It's feasible that the company simply used stock imagery from their files for the cover of the Silent Kenjutsu one but Sanada's Training Manual has the same guy throughout and it really does appear to be Obata-san. I can take some pictures when I get home and post them if you like.
I have both of these books for reasons unbeknown to me now. I suppose to be fair, all I can really say is that Toshishiro Obata is not a fake, he is a real person with real talent and real credentials in certain real martial arts, although I would be interested to see something from him regarding the 'authentic ninjutsu that he has studied as opposed to the modern synthetic' [Quote: Naked Blade] although his only ninja links seem to be to 'ninjutsu historian' Yuimio Nawa as far as I can ascertain. However, Yukishiro Sanada and Katsumi Toda are indeed fakes, because they are not real people, and because neither is most of the material in their books, whoever is masquerading under these names, be it an individual or collaboration, these are the fakes. I don't see photos of any other respectable masters on the covers on books that have nothing to do with them, especially when such photos don't appear elsewhere but it could happen! If Obata sensei has never written a ninjutsu book, why are there so many pictures of him dressed up as a ninja in a pose that seems to have been set photographically for a book cover rather than any other purpose?
If I may ask, what are the contents of the Book, is it historical information about the Sandana 'clan' or is it full on Fuma Ryu 'style' ninjer information?
I can check properly when I get home but I remember that there is some use of the kama against the katana and lots of stuff that looks remarkably like Aikido/Aikijutsu. It's all very ninja vs samurai-represented-by-guy-in-white-keikogi-and-hakama. I'll take a couple of photos later and post them to give you an idea of the content.
It's a ****take by Obata but that idiot Fuma guy over here, richardson, teaches it, and his "students" are gullible enough to believe him! :bang:
Elf Tengu posted Maybe he's a ninja MWDAndy posted I think its absolutely feasable the power of the publishing companies is absolute. I have known cases where the publisher has demanded rewrites, title changes and new covers. And although its very easy to say that the author should have walked away, when meny of thousands of pounds, your life and livelihood is involved its very very difficult to do that. The following quote might help From http://www.secrets-of-shuriken.com.au/resources.htm Garth
