While browsing the book store....

Discussion in 'General Martial Arts Discussion' started by Orangeseger, Oct 23, 2007.

  1. Orangeseger

    Orangeseger YouTube =/= Training

    I was in the local bookstore again, and I was making my way down the athletics section, which they combined with the MA section (being rather small.) I finally founght that Teri Tom Straight Lead book I said I would look into, so I was paging through the thing when I saw a kid about 15, maybe 16 years old also looking in the MA section. I'm a friendly guy, so I introduced myself and he introduced himself. He asked me what I was reading and I showed him the book, and I asked him what he was looking for. He said he was looking for a book on "Ninja-jutsu." (It's how he said it...) I tried to direct him to one of the more "credible" looking titles, (I'm not to familiar with ninja stuff). I found a title or two with hatsumi's name, but he said he was looking for some guy with the last name "Kim."

    This is what he said, as best as I can remember it.

    Kid: "No, I'm looking for a book by Kim.."
    Orange: "Kim...on ninja stuff?"
    Kid: "Yeah, I think he must be Korean or something..."
    Orange: "Oh, you mean Ashida Kim, right?"
    Kid: "Yeah, that's the author I'm looking for."


    So I humored the chap and reached him down a copy of "Ninja Mind Control" by Ashida Kim. He took it and began paging through it.

    What I found interesting is he didn't act like all the Ashida nuthuggers I've met. he didn't quicky take the book and run off to purchase it as if buying a lad mag, he actually started to discuss it with me. He obviously had little to no knowledge of ninjas outside what he learned from Mr. Kim's books...because he began to compare the "Mi lu kata" in Mr. Kim's book with the Straight lead book I was reading. He was making statements like "I doesn't matter if you hit hard and faster, this hsows you how to be sneaky and decieve people. See how he uses a sand blind...."

    I wish I could have handed him a copy of one of Ashida Kim's erotic novels and say "Here....here is the man you were looking for..."

    It made me wonder....why do people follow this guy...especially when he did those love story porno book things....if Hatsumi did an erotic novel I think the Bujinkan would undergo mass seppuku....
     
  2. KempoFist

    KempoFist Attention Whore

    how in gods name do people find out about Ashida Kim in the first place? And upon learning of him, what on the internet causes them the urge to purchase anything with his name on it!? The guy is the running joke of the internet Martial Arts community. I don't get it.
     
  3. Orangeseger

    Orangeseger YouTube =/= Training

    I first learned of Ashida Kim at the very spot where the kid was standing. I was young (14) , naive and interested in the more darker aspects of MA. Upon reading his texts I soon realized that not only is the majority of his work stolen from other places, but it doesn't make much sense. He even referenced a Bruce Lee movie without giving the character (in this case, Han the deviant monk in Enter the Dragon) credit.


    Ashida Kim is like a the creepy man in the conspicuous white van....he's offering dark ninja power like the creeper offers candy....

    I still have an interest in ninjas, but I seek good information (not easy to find I can assure you). I suppose this is how many Ashida lovers get started. They are a mix of MA larp and serious interest in ninja. They get suckered into allure of the "quick fix" Ashida offers instead of dealing with the hard work and pain that comes with true ninja training.
     
  4. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    Dude, you're still young. You're half my age. And it's not like I'm ancient.

    *flips through his guide to performing Kata Dante on velociraptors*

    In any event, I think you're exactly right. At one point or another, many of us want to believe that we can attain some sort of ultimate power from knowing something rather than accepting that we can achieve some small measure of power by working very hard.

    It's not a hard sell really.


    Stuart
     
  5. Orangeseger

    Orangeseger YouTube =/= Training

    Oh believe me....I acknowledge I'm still young. I dread the day I am no longer labelled as young because there goes my handicap....

    lol.



    Most kids (and many adults) would rather pay $14.95 for "ultimate fighting power" than pay with blood and sweat for "somewhat decent fighting power that actually works."
     
  6. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    You get others. I'm now reliant on the "frazzled by raising a two-year-old" crutch myself. And older guys than me will likely be able to teach us both a thing or two about whatever excuses we have to look forward to. (E.g., "Sorry, I was just trying to make sense of last night's Matlock rerun.")

    :D
     
  7. slipthejab

    slipthejab Hark, a vagrant! Supporter

    Hahahaha... from the way you phrased that I can guess we are of similar age. :D
     
  8. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    Almost exactly, based on your profile. I turned 36 in June. :)

    And still, no Ultimate Power.
     
  9. Davey Bones

    Davey Bones New Member

    Don't tell me, let me guess, the Border's out by Park City Mall, right, Orangeseger? Their MA section is getting crappier and crappier. However, that's the only store I've ever seen which carries that damned book. I've often thought of complaining... Maybe one day I'll just write a bigass book on all these frauds. *sigh*
     
  10. Orangeseger

    Orangeseger YouTube =/= Training

    Oh, but after figuring out Mr. Kim's cryto-quote I though I had become enlightened....

    I expected to wake up onme morning and realize "hey, I'm a ninja"...then grow eight pack abs and perform the kata dante at all the hip dance clubs.



    Yeah, I'll be 19 soon, and now that I'm in college (Uni), I'm making the transition from "I have it so hard...I had a vocab quiz last class" to "I have four classes, starting at 8AM, and then six hours of work, and hey that paper isn't gonna write itself....and I have an exam on thursday." I seem to be realizing as I get older I am able to tolerate more work and negative stuff. I also find that as I get older the little things that I overlooked in life are exactly the things that make me the happiest.


    I don't claim to be mature...that's a label for other people to give me if I fit the profile in my opinion.
     
  11. Orangeseger

    Orangeseger YouTube =/= Training



    :eek: !!! OMG, I forgot you live right around where I am located right now. YES. It was the borders across the street from the Park City Mall.

    I've been back there recently and I haven't seen anymore copies of anything by Mr. Kim...I'm quite happy that they aren't restocking his blasphemy on a regular basis. I'm happy with the straigh lead book though, (up until the end when Teri starts dissing Dan). I like the detail, but I think had the put the amount of physics I would have wanted in it...it would never sell...


    Geez, for all I know I could have walked straight passed you at some point in the mall or the store or something....smalll world.
     
  12. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    Hey, I was just taking the mickey. Don't worry. :)

    It's one of the perks of passing 30. :D
     
  13. Davey Bones

    Davey Bones New Member


    d'uh, lol. for good MA books you'll need to travel around; Border's book selection is so-so, but they have a great magazine selection (was just in on Sunday picking up a bunch of stuff). don't waste your time in the mall proper, the bookstores there suck. you can try Barnes&Noble on Fruitville Pike (by Circuit City); that has a better selection, although not by much. and they don't carry anything by ashida kim.
     
  14. Orangeseger

    Orangeseger YouTube =/= Training



    Love how you toss that in at the end.

    yeah, typically I don't bother with most book stores....I typically "ninja" the books by taking some time out to sit in one of those comfy chairs and speed reading a book I find interesting...then putting the book back. Pay for it...nah...
     
  15. Orangeseger

    Orangeseger YouTube =/= Training



    I know. I can't believe I haven't even passed 20 yet.
     

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