YA Dojo thread - Bujinkan Boston?

Hello,

I'm going to be in Boston for two and a half weeks, and wondered if anyone can recommend places to train? I'm not sure how much I'll be able to go, but would appreciate your input.

Cheer,

Dan

 

I don't think there's any legit BBT schools in Boston.

I would recommend http://sityodtong.com/ though if you're in the area.

 

I always check here first then do a google search. Looks like at least one in Boston, though I don't know that instructor.

http://www.winjutsu.com/winlinks.html

 

Hello Dan,
I saw your post about being in Boston soon. Where you referring to England or the US, or maybe even some other Boston?

If you were referring to the US, Boston, Massachusetts, then you are welcome to come by our dojo. My name is Hank Recor and I teach from my home in Westwood, MA south of Boston, MA, USA. You are welcome to come by and participate in class. We are a 30 minute drive south of Boston, but are also a 10 minute walk from the train from Boston.

There is also a dojo in the Boston metro area, which would probably be more convenient if you are staying in the city.

BostonMartial Arts Center in Allston, http://www.bostonmartialarts.com/

Mark has been training since the early 1980’s and is very good.

www.bostonmartialarts.com
161 Harvard Ave
Suite 4e
Boston, MA 02134


Have fun.

 

Given certain quality control issues in the Bujinkan, I think it's better to go on personal recommendations about instructors, rather than just going to any dojo and hoping for the best...

 

It's not as if this guy is going to live and train there permanently. He is visiting for 2.5 weeks. Provided there is no physical danger, what is the harm in taking a look at another dojo?

 

The harm is in the potential waste of time:

http://youtu.be/2B_eNekt_7A

Anyone could conceivably walk around a city with a copy of the Yellow Pages and go from dojo to dojo, checking them out to see if they are worth training in.

Personally, I wouldn't do that even if I wasn't on a time budget.


- Mark Spada

 

Well, I only just noticed that dra_uk (who I replied too) was also the OP. So I retract anyway. It was never my intention to try and influence the OP.

 

Mark Spada said - "The harm is in the potential waste of time:

http://youtu.be/2B_eNekt_7A

Anyone could conceivably walk around a city with a copy of the Yellow Pages and go from dojo to dojo, checking them out to see if they are worth training in.

Personally, I wouldn't do that even if I wasn't on a time budget."

A wise man once told me "there's no such thing as wasted reconnaissance."

By looking at other arts and other dojo we have the opportunity to compare, to contrast and to question our experiences to date and yes, to even see things that we might one day be required to face and overcome. Yes, we might indeed find that they are populated by LARPing fools. But maybe - just maybe - we might stumble across the one thing that will trigger a new stage in our personal growth or even give us new insights into our existing training.

What would prevent this?

Fear.

Fear of discovering that our past choices had been bad ones.

Fear that we might be on the wrong path after all.

Fear that our faith might be shaken.

To the OP. Even if you can't find a Bujinkan class in Boston that some words on the internet recommend, take the opportunity to visit whatever types of training are available there anyway. You never know what you'll find.

Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

 

Or fear that our faith in ourselves might be shaken due to wasting valuable time searching for a gold needle in a mountainous heap of ****-colored ones in lieu of making new insights into our training through working hard to delve deeper.

To each their own, yes?

A wise man once told me: "sifting through crap often makes one late for dinner"....

A wiser woman once told me: "why go out for hamburger when you can get steak at home?"


- Mark Spada

 

In an unrelated note, Jon Merz--the tori in the video--co-authored The Idiot's Guide to Ultimate Fighting.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-Guide-Ultimate-Fighting/dp/1592576559"]Amazon.com: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Ultimate Fighting (9781592576555): Rich "Ace" Franklin, Jon F. Merz: Books[/ame]

 

If you are looking for quality training, there is a very good Jinenkan Training group in Cambridge, just across the river from Boston:
http://bostonjissenkobudo.com/index.shtml

 

Many thanks for your reply; it's a shame that our respective organisations are not allow to cross-train.

 

My pleasure. Just an FYI, that limitation is solely on the Bujinkan side. Unsui Sensei places no limitations on his students with regards to whom we may train with.

 

This.

I would also caution anyone in the Bujinkan from presuming that they are forbidden to train at the dojo of another organization or martial art. It is utter horse manure propagated mostly by Noda Thundercats that have their minds on an agenda and their eyes on the prize.

Does anyone with half a brain really believe it would be a bad idea to learn from one of Hatsumi sensei's oldest students, a man whom Hatsumi sensei gave menkyo kaiden to?

Please....


- Mark Spada

 

Noda Thundercats notwithstanding, I believe that it's not that we can't train in any other martial art, it's that we can't train in any other martial art that teaches Ninpo. I was under the impression that this rule exists in both the Bujinkan and the Genbukan, and I'm surprised and impressed that it doesn't exist in the Jinenkan.

I hardly think that I will be drummed out of the Bujinkan corps if I attend a Jinenkan session, but if them's the rules, I'll stick to them.

 

It's considered polite manners among Japanese Bujinkan students to ask their teacher's permission before attending a class of another Bujinkan teacher.

I feel like this has some relevance here with respect to how these sorts of relationships are viewed in the culture.

I take the 'restriction' on training with Jinenkan and Genbukan not so much from any proclamation made by anyone as from it just seeming to make sense from my (limited) understanding of what would be expected from me as a student.

Although I can't, in the strict sense, call myself a student of any of the Shihan, there is one who's classes I attend infallibly while in Japan. He knows my name, makes some small talk, and gives me a little attention when I'm there. So, not a students, perhaps, but some sort of minimal relationship. (Some epsilon > 0, for the math geeks out there).

When I think of, hypothetically, asking him what he thought about me attending a Genbukan dojo, I get the feeling that, actually, I'd rather not ask that. I think that gut feeling probably has something to it. And so, I've made a personal decision.

Edit:

Oh, and from what I've seen on youtube of the Genbukan, it's just a different martial art entirely - in my opinion, so the question is a bit moot in that case. As for the Jinenkan, I haven't seen enough to really get a solid opinion.

 

Hi, Dan.

Please check your messages.

Thank you.

 

I will second Mr. London's notion that the Cambridge JNK is fantastic and you'd be crazy not to check it out.

Chances are the BJK doesn't want you checking out the other orgs because you'll jump ship once you realize how good they really are.

Kidding sort of.

 

I should note that I think that checking out other dojo is a must-do for newbies. I'm speaking more about once you've made an informed decision and picked your poison.