Actually, another bujinkan dojo was suggested...one that was closer to where he lives (St Kilda) as Tim resides just around the corner from us. If that particular Sensei is reading this...Sorry about that chief! As for what happened next 1) Got really upset that he was not allowed to join the class but had to run through an introductory class. 2) Was not comfortable with the concept of a white belt 3) Told the shodan running him through the introduction that he knew all the basics and was taught to "kill differently" 4) Become very very upset and animated when he watched us sparring because we were training with gloves on and on matts, when it should have been - in his words authentic ninja training bare knuckled and on concrete 5) Spent the next hour sitting in the waiting area telling some poor guy that came to watch the class about he he was born to be a ninja...suffice to say the other guy didn't join either. It was funny, but disturbing as well....
This wasn't at a Bujinkan dojo so forgive me, but at the old TKD place I went to there was this kid who was fairly normal.....until we did bag work. Then he would just repeatedly body-check the bag instead of practicing whatever technique we were doing, and nobody could convince him otherwise. He always ended up in trouble, and didn't get very far. It was good for entertainment if you got discouraged though.
Okay, I saw this guy around San Diego in the mid-90s, the guy always wore tabi, black cargo pants, and some polyester chinese-style shirt. Plus, he actually had the Mortal Combat Dragon symbol tattoo'd in the middle of his chest! I always saw him riding around on an old 10spd bike with a shinai tucked under his backpack. I would on occasion go to a friday "sticky hands" gathering at a kung-fu school I knew people at, and sometimes this guy would show up and basically try to muscle people around and then perform flying kicks on the heavy bags whilst screaming Bruce Lee style. I also heard that he attempted to bully folks at some of the coffee shops downtown, but I never saw this. Now for Part II: I told my current girlfriend about the guy on our way to Earth Day '06 in Balboa Park San Diego, and just when we were getting ready to leave, she looked over my shoulder like she'd seen a ghost. I turned around, and THERE THE GUY WAS. On his bike, dressed exactly as he had a decade before, shinai and tabi included! I'll see if I can find a picture. I think that I got one.
We need pictures. Please.... Pictures. Pleeze Pleeze Pleeze Pleeze Pleeze Pleeze Pleeze Pleeze Pleeze Pleeze......
You see... There is a fundamental law of the Universe. You can not have 2 weirdos in any one dojo or there may be a paradox. It is something to do with the universe turning into a Salvador Dali painting or Escher.... Either that or the world implodes and comes back as something more strange. Mind you, that happened a few weeks ago. So basically, you are all none the wiser about it all.
There are many stories i could add to this but I think a few quick ones from the old seminar rounds back in the 80s *The kid who asked me once if I ever killed a man. *observing a student at a seminar warming up by headbutting his head against a wooden post(They breed them tough in texas from memory)
There was a really weird girl who came to class one day...She sounded Welsh, i may be wrong...but i think her name was Victoria....
