Way of Shadows ninjutsu

Hello,
can anyone tell me a little more about this guy?

http://www.thewayoftheshadow.com/default.html

His dojo is very nice. And he is very upfront about his rank and training.
But is he any good?

Have any of you Mappers in Cali ever trained with him?

 

I stopped by once.

The instructor seems to be a nice guy - his background in the BJK was brief and he is pretty upfront about the fact that they don't really do much in common with us.

Anything specific you want to know?

-Daniel

 

Hey Daniel...he has MMA training on his website...he kind of makes it sound like its built around BJK so it got me wondering, thats all

I was just wondering what he built his syllabus from. Did you train with him? If so was it the traditional class or the mma class...what were they like?

 

When you spend more than one min on the site it becomes quite clear what they are all about. The head instructor received a shodan in the Bujinkan. The assistand instructors have been training with him since 2006? What his Bujinkan rank has to do with what he seems to be teaching now is beyond me?

He's running a studio, teaching kids, and generally seems to be doing well - best of luck to him. He should have called his martial art something else though.

 

Oh lawd.

http://www.thewayoftheshadow.com/bday.html


What...the...

I hope you like gun oil in your CAKE kid. Grandmaster for a day, wow, i guess it's a good way to scout for successors

Capitalism is great - i can't help but feel that the majority of the worlds problems stem from this country and it's political system/ideologies.

 

so wut is it?

hmmm so is he a credible source of like a modern form of ninjutsu...would u send ur kids to him

 

As long as he's honest about what he's doing and he's honest to his students about what he is and what he is not, he is being credible and whatever he teaches is credible for what it is.

As to whether or not a student should go to him, that's up to the student. The instructor is holding up his end of the deal by not lying about what he offers. The student needs to hold up his and make sure he or she really wants to be there based on their goals.

Thanks
A

 

The peanut gallery never ends it seems.

You sound like you have very little world experience if that's your view. I'd really have to ask if you've ever even been to the US... much less spent any real amount of time there. In fact it sounds like you've never been out of your country.

Following that same type of logic we could easily assume all Aussies sound like Crocodile Dundee and drink Foster's by the gallon. Pffffffffft.

 

Like I said - I only had a single class with him (I try to meet all the local instructors at least once).

With that said - my impression is that he has just merged all of the training he has had into a mish-mash curriculum. His BJK training was pretty short under David from what I can tell - and his MMA thing is most likely a marketing thing. That said - we did focus mitt work and some escrima-type stuff (I don't train in that art - so it was lost on me). The class I attended - the head instructor didn't participate at all - instead just directed class.

Not really my cup of tea - but he seemed like a nice guy. And like I said - he was clear (with me at least) that they are just using the name - he doesn't claim BJK affiliation.

Nick - your MMA training is head and shoulders above what they have there.

Anything more specific you need?

-Daniel

PS. Oddly enough - I met them while doing some background research into a local guy claiming to teach Koto Togakure Ninjutsu (warning: Bullshido investigation link). He closed his doors and left town after this...

 

I don't believe that "modern ninjutsu" exists as a separate entity from "ninjutsu". For me - it is like someone claiming to be scottish who has no scottish decent. Well - I am modern scottish - I don't need any scottish blood to call myself scottish - I just need a kilt.

See what I am getting at. Anyway - I digress.

I wouldn't send my kids (I have none) or my friends kids there. Not because I have anything against the dojo.

I just think every kid should be in Judo.

-Daniel

 

They don't?

 

You've never been to the Highland games have you?

 

I haven't - although I would like to.

But I suspect that real Scotsmen have about the same affinity for "modern" Scotsmen as we do for our modern equivalents.

 

Hey Daniel,
thanks for the info man.

I must say. I liked the fact that he has not tried to hide how much training he's had in the Bujinkan. His website seems very sincere.
How good a technician he is, is a seperate issue.

 

Truthfully, it depends on how obnoxious they are. When I went back to Scotland about 10 years ago, it was less than comfortable until I started walking around with cousins.

That stated, no one was directly rude, they just weren't "warm".

Thanks
A

 

I am a little surprised that he created a ninjutsu system after achieving shodan in the Bujinkan. That just does not sit right.

 

Hmmm it'd be interesting to know how much actual Ninjutsu he learned.

 

Knowing the way people get their grades in the Bujinkan he could have gone to Japan as a Kyu grade and got it there, so maybe not that long, but i could be wrong

 

?

1. He founded his own system of "ninjutsu". Since it's his system he can call it what he wants to.

2. How much Bujinkan ninjutsu he learned is irrelevant because he's said he's not affiliated.

I think it's important to point out that at the point of transmission from teacher to student it stops being the teacher's art and becomes the student's. What he chooses to do with it, what he chooses to call it and how valuable it is or isn't to any particular practitioner isn't a topic for discussion here unless he's allowed to be a part of the discussion.

Just my two cents.. open a dialogue with him and see what he says. Frankly, he looks to just be starting off as an entrepreneur, knows what faults he has and what strengths.. is running a business and is still training himself. Nuff said.

Every different variant of "ninjutsu" does not have to be in direct agreement with the BJK, nor is the BJK the only valid form of ninjutsu. I'd also be willing to go out on a limb and say that takamatsuden isn't the only legit stuff; but that'd be just me playing statistics and not having any particular knowledge to that effect.

 

Indeed but it would make sense that if you’re going to call your system something then it should bear some similarity to what you are calling it.

I could go get my black belt in TKD but if I start a club claiming to be teaching Muay Thai then I’m going to look a bit daft aren’t I?

hmm although maybe not I mean they both have kicks in don't they?

It’s relevant if (a) he’s mentioning his Bujinkan grade and (b) if his systems “Ninjutsu” is based on whatever he learnt from his time in the Bujinkan.

Unless of course it turned out he’d got his Ninjutsu from somewhere else if so then where? And if so then what he learned from said hypothetical system will also be relevant.

If you start your own system then your past training is highly relevant.

Bollocks!

That depends entirely on the art in question.

Yes he can call it what he likes but again my first point above applies.

Just because you call what you do Ninjutsu that doesn’t make it so.

This is an internet forum we can discuss such things regardless of if you like it or not. So no you are wrong it is a valid topic for discussion, yes it would be nice to have his input but it is not necessary for a discussion.

I don’t think anyone has said different in fact he’s been praised for his openness.

I don’t think anyone, with sense anyway, on here would say that it has to be in agreement with the Bujinkan. What it does have to do is show it’s more than some bloke with a couple of dan grades in other arts throwing a system together and calling it Ninjutsu.

For example I could start up a German long sword class but I would be incorrect and misleading people if I called it Kenjutsu.

No need at all to go out on a limb. It’s common knowledge, if you have spent any time looking at the Japanese arts, that “Ninjutsu” exists in other forms in a number of extant Koryu.