DWeidman/Hissatsu Speaks….

March 27, 2009 by editor.

Daniel Weidman (a.k.a. DWeidman or Hissatsu on most of the boards) is a seriously skilled martial artist (on my list of “Hidden Gems of the Bujinkan”) and one heckuva nice guy. Dan is also a fantastically astute and thoroughly consistent debater. Though I have long left the internet boards, friends occasionally toss me snippets from these boards to spice up my day. This quote by Dan from a few months ago on Martial Arts Planet (MAP) certainly did. :-)

To contextualize his commentary, Dan is addressing the fact that boards such as MAP are dominated by dingbats who have zero or little training in our art, yet seem overly preoccupied with frequenting the Bujinkan/Ninjutsu sections and complaining about the Bujinkan movement. As I discussed in my “Why I left the boards” post, this debate was incredibly tiresome and frustrating…and, as evidenced by Dan’s post, is still infecting the boards. Luckily, Dan is as good an antiseptic as there is. :-)

Enjoy!

-ben

Why is it so hard to understand the frustration of owning in an Italian restaurant and having half of the customers try to order Mexican food…

No matter how many times we say it — it NEVER seems to sink in.

We don’t serve Burritos or Tacos here. Ever. EVER. Ever.

I don’t care if you think that Tacos are the greatest food on earth. And most of us aren’t interested in a conversation with any of you about how much better tacos are. We are in the Italian restaurant for a reason…

We like Alfredo and Linguini. You like Tacos and Beer. It’s ok. Most of us who have been around for awhile have had Tacos and Beer as well — so when we show up at the Italian place — it isn’t by accident.

And if you are still in the Italian restaurant, screaming that the food here is trash because you can’t order a Taco, don’t consider it “avoiding the topic” when we shake our head and tell you to not let the door hit your ass on the way out…

Anyone who is surprised that the BJK class is different than the Muay Thai class is an idiot. Yes. An Idiot.

When you understand enough about Italian food to discuss it, let me know. Until then, enjoy your tacos and beer….SOMEWHERE ELSE. It is rude to bring another restaurant’s food in. Take a lesson in manners.

-Daniel

Here is a complementary post by an individual who goes by the username Arashima.

What Hissatsu and I are trying to say (and we will keep coming up with culinary and linguistic analogies until we are as blue in the face as smurfs) is that it seems impossible to talk ninjutsu/taijutsu with other people who practice ninjutsu/taijutsu without constantly facing demands by people from other arts to translate ours into the language of theirs in order that they may understand it, even though most of the time we don’t speak their language, only our own.

Nobody seems to make the effort to try to understand or appreciate our art in its own context, but you don’t find us doing the same in other sections. I am reminded of new work colleagues who never learn the job because they are always harping on about what they did elsewhere and how great they and their previous company were.

You have to let go of what you thought you knew and immerse yourself thoroughly in a new art and wipe clean any preconceptions before you walk through the door, which people seem to find extremely difficult on internet forums. As I said before, hardly anyone who is good at out art posts in youtube. If people have such a problem with a youtube clip, hello, but there is a facility on youtube to comment there. Don’t come and whine to us about it, because we didn’t post the crap, and cannot and should not neet to make excuses for those who do. And even when someone like Adam posts a decent clip of what is obviously kata training, he gets the usual rude and ignorant demands for his art to be translated to the lowest common denominator for armchair appraisal.

And having to constantly justify ourselves for existing because sparring and competing is not the primary focus and end product of our training gets very trying after a while.

Yes you are doing a good job of moderating (because nobody has left yet because of you) but if you as a Mod keep coming in with only the experience of Mexican and expecting us to provide you with a Mexican solution when we are only here in the Italian section to talk and eat Italian it just encourages more Mexican enthusiasts to keep coming and demanding Mexican food.

If this were being played out for real, and the local sheriff (you) and local Mexican fans eventually made it unbearable for Italian cuisine afficionados, the proprietor would have no option but to give up on the Italian food and just sell Mexican just to stay in business, and those who wanted Italian would just have to go *elsewhere*.

It appears that a particular *elsewhere* is under new management and awaiting its grand reopening, so you just have to ask yourself, do you still want the Italians to come and eat here or not? Especially when they have the Italian restaurant they wanted all along and which promises never to sell Mexican food.

And if you don’t care if people stay or go, then you are saying you don’t care about your members. No baby, no bathwater, just a change of diaper when one is full of something unpleasant.

Here is the thread source.

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“Japanese Customs” by Don Roley

March 25, 2009 by editor.

In no way do I consider myself an expert in Japanese social customs. But I have seen some very bad cases in my time and I hope that by writing this I might help people from making honest mistakes. It is hard on those of us who have lived in Japan and tried our best to work within the system to be lumped together with those whom seem to think that the world revolves around them or their culture. Many gaffs are made by people who just don’t care. Many more are made by people who are just not aware of what they are doing. It is for the later group that I write this.

When you take a Japanese martial art in Japan the first thing you need to understand is that it is not a business to the teachers. It is a relationship. In many ways it is like a marriage. But unlike a marriage- one side, the teacher, has all the power. The students defer to the teacher and follow his directions. There is no negotiations, no pick and choose of what to follow or not. The student pretty much jumps when the teacher says jump and sits when the teacher says sit. Your only choice should you not like the situation is to sever your ties and leave. Again, unlike a marriage leaving this relationship is much cheaper. Since you place so much control over yourself when you enter into this relationship, finding a teacher worthy of that trust is important. I know of some people that look the other way in regards to ethical lapses of their teacher because they feel that what they are learning is more important. From a Western viewpoint with its ability to pick and choose it might make sense. But when you place yourself in a situation where you are controlled by the teacher like you do in Japan, you must be certain that the teacher is doing his personal best and is worthy of trust. This is why I look askance at people who pad their resumes with little (or large) lies to make themselves look good. If they are willing to lie to attract students, they fail the test.

One of the problems of following the wishes of a teacher is that Japanese society does not encourage situations that might lead to friction. The Japanese can be very, very indirect. It is maddening to those of us used to straight talk to have to consider that what is not being said might be more important than what is. But the simple fact is that when people live very close together friction is a natural result. And Japan has about half the population of all of America in a land mass barely larger than California- one of the 50 states. Worse, most of Japan is too steep to really encourage agriculture or cities. So you have large groupings of people in a few areas. About one third of the population of Japan can be found in a 100 kilometer radius of Tokyo. That can lead to a lot of friction, but violence in Japan is much, much rarer than it is in America. Even raised voices and arguments are so rare as to stand out. It may not be a perfect system, or even one some of us find satisfying, but it does seem to have kept the Japanese from killing each other off.

So in this respect, people working in a Japanese system like a martial art have to expect that things are not going to be quite as clear cut as we are used to in the West. This makes a huge difference.

For one thing, people in the west think that unless something is expressly forbidden that it is alright to act freely. We expect the rules and boundaries to be laid out in advance. Until we are told not to do something, we think we are free to act. But in Japan it is more common to ask permission ahead of time and assume that nothing is acceptable unless they know that the teacher is fine with it. You can imagine the problems this alone can cause. The western student thinks that since he has not been told to not do something it is fine but the Japanese teacher is expecting the student to come to them for permission before they take action.

To further complicate the problem, Japanese society is one that does not like to use the term “no.” Direct questions can tend to put the Japanese off. A great example of this is one faced by many visitors trying to reserve a room in Japanese. The conversation often goes something like this,

“Hello, I would like to reserve a room for tonight. Is there any vacancies?”

“Yes sir! We are completely booked up for tonight!”

“………….?”

And this is a situation that is relatively direct. The staff has said that there are no vacancies, but merely avoided the term “no.” In some situations refusing to acknowledge something directly is the only sign of refusal you might get. Again this may cause problems since the westerner walks away from a conversation thinking that his teacher has not said “no” to his request, but the Japanese teacher is aware that he has never said “yes.” I am even aware of some situations where Japanese have said “yes” when they did not want to because they are so accustomed to avoiding directly turning someone down. The cases I am aware of led to the Japanese resenting the westerner for putting them in that position in the first place. The westerner was often completely unaware that the Japanese only said “yes” because he was pressed for a clear answer and did not know that he was now in the bad graces of that Japanese.

Here is an actual conversation I had a while back with the supervisor I work under.

Me- “This summer is going to be very busy, isn’t it?”

Supervisor- “Yeah, everything seems to be coming to a head at once.”

Me- “So many people take time off during summer where I am from, but that is not the case here.”

Supervisor- “Many people take time off in Japan as well. Were you thinking of taking time off in the summer?”

Me- “Well, a good friend of mine back home is getting married in July.”

Supervisor- “Oh heck! We can do without you for a week or two! Go have some fun with your friend!”

Me- “Thank you very much.”

You may note that I never directly asked permission. I knew that resources were tight for the time I wanted to take time off for. If it was a time that I knew I would not be needed, I could afford to be more direct.

The last two lines of the conversation might also have ended like this.

Supervisor- “I know how you feel. I am having to cancel a family trip we had been planning because of all the projects this summer.”

Me- “People just don’t understand how hard we work here.”

From a Japanese outlook, I would know that they do not want me to take time off. I never asked, they never refused. But if my supervisor mentioned having to sacrifice his family trip for work, I know it would not look good for me to push for me to leave them in the lurch. Luckily, I am not that important that they can’t do without me for a few weeks.

Avoiding putting people in situations where they might have to refuse directly is a sign of politeness in Japanese society. It takes an ability to judge the situation and pick up on certain clues. It is difficult without long years of practice. And it is not only for students asking their teachers. The teacher might make a suggestion to a student. These carry a lot more weight in Japan than in the west. Instead of a teacher saying “I want you to learn more about things like the tea ceremony while you are here in Japan” he might instead say, “I think that to really understand Japanese martial arts you need to learn other Japanese arts such as the tea ceremony.” Most Japanese students when told that would probably make plans to take a course. But if they did not, then there is no direct refusal to follow the teachers orders standing out for all to see.

What can be maddening is that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. A Japanese teacher might mention to his student that he really admires the foreigners who study things like the tea ceremony while in Japan and mean nothing more than that. He might mean that he thinks the student should study it as well, or he may not. Communication is not perfect, but it is two way. There is give and take in some of the dance of Japanese communications. If a teacher said that he admired foreigners who studied things like studied the tea ceremony, the foreign student might ask if he felt that studying it would be a good move for him. If the teacher responds that it would certainly help, that would take it to another level. But if the teacher said that he thinks that the student was already learning a lot about Japanese culture through his study of martial arts, it is probably safe to assume that it was no more than honest admiration for all foreign students who learn about Japanese culture. Again you see the pattern of no direct question and no direct refusal. But in this case, there is a lot more give and take and the signals are more subtle.

In Japan, before you study another art you are expected to get the permission from your current teacher. Some arts like Shorinji Kenpo and Katori Shinto ryu state in their rules that there are restrictions or outright bans on studying other arts while you study theirs. In many more situations the teachers may have problems with certain schools or teachers and these are not listed in the rules. But you will not easily get permission to train with them. Just because an art may not have an openly stated policy of refusing students to train with any other art does not mean that the student can train with whomever they want. Again, many westerners are listening for refusal that never seems to come when they should be noticing that they never hear words of approval.

It is customary in Japanese martial arts to require a written letter of introduction from the old teacher when studying another art. So there is not much need for these restrictions against certain schools or individuals to be made public. If the teacher does not want his students associating with someone else, they merely have to hold back the letter of introduction. There is little need to make their dislike of anyone visible to the public at large. Another aspect of Japanese culture is to avoid airing dirty laundry in public or causing a scene. It is popular in the west for martial arts figures to bad mouth others in martial arts magazines or on internet forums. This is very, very rare in Japan. Publicly taking a stand against someone goes against the pattern of avoiding friction. This does not just go for martial arts of course, but all of Japanese society. You are hard pressed to find shock jocks or their like in Japan. And you are not likely to find someone saying they dislike someone in public. They exist of course. And while rare, they get more media attention than they might in the west. But my impression of these people and how they are treated strikes me like the wrestlers that play the bad guy roles in America. People pay attention to their antics while saying they do not like them, and later rejoice in their downfall. The wife of a baseball team manager and a flyweight boxer are perfect examples of this that I am aware of. They got attention with their straight talk trashing others in the press, but when they tripped they got no mercy from the public.

The terms “saving face”, “losing face”, etc are well known. Japanese society has a long history of putting importance on “face”. If you insulted someone a few hundred years ago, the probable outcome would be a duel to the death. The more public the insult and the more people would possibly laugh at you the more likely the chance for violence. Unless you want a whole lot of people dead, you have to evolve into a society that avoids putting people into a situation where they loose face. Putting your disapproval of someone out for the world to see can’t but help to cause that person to loose face. And Japanese avoid this whenever possible. Non-Japanese should not expect the bad news and low opinions to be made crystal clear for all to see. It goes against the foundation that keeps Japan so peaceful. Good opinions can be made public. Bad opinions have to be asked for. And it usually takes a bit of a dance to get the full story.

To illustrate this, I am aware of many arts claiming to teach a Japanese martial art outside of Japan without any real training or permission from the real school. The art exists in Japan and the teachers are often aware that there are people using their name fraudulently to teach. But I am not aware of any situation where a Japanese took a public stand and denounced an individual. I am aware of many foreign students of these Japanese teachers taking a very public stand against the frauds, but I am not aware of a Japanese doing the same. They may say that they have no schools overseas, or publish lists of approved schools. But to publicly single an individual out and say in effect that they are a fraud is just not something I can recall a Japanese ever doing.

So if a student is thinking of studying with someone else, they need to sound out their teacher about the matter. It is a matter of good manners. And they should expect to ask opinions that the teacher might have about the school before asking for permission. If you were to ask your teacher about a school of swordsmanship in Japan and his only response is, “I am sure they enjoy doing what they do” you might want to tread with caution. Things of course depend on the situation, the timing and the individual. But it is a good idea to listen for praise and approval rather than trying to note that the teacher would not directly forbid you from training with them.

In the Bujinkan, we are relatively free to do as we please. If we want to study something like Brazilian Jujutsu or Chinese Kenpo, we are not automatically forbidden like many Japanese arts are. But that does not mean that we can train as we please. There are cases where Japanese teachers may have problems with other arts or dojos. If you consider yourself a student of a certain teacher, you owe it to them to sound them out. The head of the Bujinkan, Masaaki Hatsumi, has expressed a wish that members do not train with certain ex-students of his. This is not published as part of the rules of the Bujinkan, nor do they discuss it much in public. But it is a fact. Some people dismiss the cautions as mere rumor and say that unless there is a specific, public announcement that they will do as they please. In some cases, they may merely be mistaken. In others, I think they are trying to get away with doing as they please.

Rumors can be false. But sometimes they can be true. Considering the lack of desire to air ill feelings in public for the Japanese, it is only to be expected that many things will be said in person and not published for all to see. To try to avoid trouble, Bujinkan members should take the cautious route when confronted with a story that is critical of someone. To believe every rumor is not what I am saying. But if many, many people are saying the same thing and there is no public denouncement from the source, then a sounding out should be in order before dismissing the stories as mere rumor.

The best example of how what might happen could be the unfortunate example of Stephen Hayes. For many, many years the stories had gone around that Hatsumi was not pleased with what he was doing or considered him to be qualified for what he was teaching. But the stories were denounced as mere rumors. There were no public statements to the media or inclusion in the rules of the Bujinkan, but it was common knowledge among everyone training in Japan that Hatsumi did not want his students training with Hayes or consider what he did to reflect on the Bujinkan. But many people did not believe the stories and there seemed to be a lot of confusion.

Finally, in May of 2006 I got an e-mail from Johji Ohashi, who takes care of things at training with Hatsumi. It was a note saying that Hatsumi had ordered him to take down Hayes’ name from the board of recognized judan in the Bujinkan. According to his note Hatsumi had said that Hayes had not been paying fees for years anyways and that he wanted the name taken down now. He suggested I pass the word along to others. I could hardly believe it. I had heard directly from Hatsumi himself many of the same things and more, but it was the public act that was so shocking. I had to see for myself. Sure enough, the name was gone. According to Johji, he had thrown the name plate in the trash, but it had been taken from it and put in a drawer by someone else. Later someone in the honbu dojo took it out to show me while we waited for class to start. Some time later, the name plate was disposed of properly.

This may not seem like a big deal to some, but it is a clear statement for anyone who knows the Japanese. Many people from other arts I know had trouble believing it as well. This sort of action is about as extreme a case as you can find in Japan. Most cases do not get this far.

And for those who might be tempted to contact me in regards to Hayes, I will share something that Johji posted on his web site.

Although the latest news from the Hombu seems to have surprised many people, the facts involved are very simple. Soke has decided that the person in question has moved away from the Bujinkan and so he is no longer recognized as a Bujinkan member. His name placard has been removed from the 10th dan board in the Hombu Dojo. (Soke doesn’t care if people call it a Hamon or not.) I hope this clarifies the issue. Please stop making a fuss on the Internet. There is no need for discussion on this matter, but you can contact Soke if you are REALLY concerned.

I echo the idea that if you are really concerned about the matter, you should not take it up with the messenger. In other words, I am not interested in debating the matter. It is a fact, contact Hatsumi himself if you don’t believe me. End of discussion.

But this is not how most bad events end. It is an unusual case. I think it was due to the confusion and people being led to believe something was part of the Bujinkan that led to the need for these actions. In most cases, the world at large never need know of anyone’s disapproval, maybe not even the person himself.

This is another facet of Japanese culture that is a source of trouble for those unfamiliar with it. To avoid friction and causing people to lose face, most of the time when a Japanese has troubles with you or your actions they will not show it openly. To those that are not quick on the uptake it may be that they never find out that many people dislike them. If you fall into disfavor you may never be told it directly. You may hear about it through a mutual friend trying to play the role of peacemaker, but not directly in a situation that could lead to disharmony. It may sound like people talking behind others backs, but in many cases it is a form of appeal for others to step in and try to help with the situation.

What does this mean for martial artists? The following quote by Ellis Amdur illustrates the possibilities.

“Nishioka Tsuneo, master instructor of Shinto Muso-ryu jojutsu said to me in a conversation that for him, the modern-day equivalent of hamon (expulsion from a ryu) is to ignore a student who offends him. They are welcome to to practice in his dojo, but he will either completely neglect them, or with utter dispassionate indifference “praise” them, saying, fine, that’s very good. Carry on.”(Taken from “Koryu Meets the West” Page 172 of Koryu Bujutsu; Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan. Edited by Diane Skoss and published by Koryu Books. ISBN: 1-890536-04-0)

Again, this follows the pattern of avoiding public displays that lead to ill feelings or loss of face. But for someone honestly on the path of excellence, being allowed to wallow in ignorance is the worst off all situations. You go to your teacher to not just be shown new things- you could do that with a video. You rely on your teacher to show you what you need to know, including the points you are weak in. But as Tsuneo said, if you have gone against the will of the teacher, he may only praise you.

If you live for praise, this may not be a bad situation. People must make their own choices. I honestly believe that there are many folks in the Bujinkan who have more interest in praise than they do in acts that may help them improve in budo. I do not write this for them.

The realities of Japanese socialization may seem overwhelming. Sometimes it seems that way to me even after all the time I have spent in Japan, speaking the language and dealing with the people. But in the end an honest outlook and a desire to do the best probably will take you a long way. If you make small mistakes, the Japanese are most likely to forgive it. They know how difficult their language and culture is and even seem to take a perverse pride in it. If you have an honest heart and make a good effort to find out how best to act, I am sure you will probably do well. It is those that do not seem to make efforts, or seem to be aware of the rules but try to exploit them, that seem to have the biggest problems. I hope this piece helps those with good hearts to reexamine what they do and perhaps make their future dealings a little less turbulent. But I know we will make mistakes. Don’t let them get you down and never stop trying to increase your understanding.

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Why I left the boards….

September 24, 2007 by editor.

I have been asked privately why it is that I have left the online boards (i.e., Martial Arts Planet, MartialTalk, and Budoseek) after so many years of participation.

It may sound strange, but I have always viewed my participation in the boards as “service” to the Bujinkan community. By and large, there are very few “informed” participants in the online boards. (Remember: rank has nothing to do with “being informed.”) After listening to people who do not know what they were talking about speaking as if they did, I decided to step in and try to best direct the conversation toward the teachings of Hatsumi-sensei.

From this perspective, even when I was “arguing” with someone about something on the boards, I generally was not directing my commentary toward the individual on the other side of the debate. Instead, I was speaking to a larger audience, many of whom are merely lurking, trying to gain an understanding of where to go next and what to do once they got there.

In short, I have always viewed myself as a “social commentator” of the Bujinkan, which also happens to be one of the largest and most eclectic martial arts organizations in the world. Much like wine critics, movie critics, financial analysts act as an “informed intermediary” between “the masses” and the object of interest (i.e., wine, movies, and firms), I reasoned that I could do a lot more “good” if I withdraw from arguing publicly about “which wine is better” and instead focus on merely providing guidance about “the wines that I feel are best.” People do not have to agree with my assessments, just as I do not have to agree with Roger Ebert’s movie reviews, but at least I know where Mr. Ebert stands on a topic.

As anyone who is online knows, staying involved with the boards takes a *TON* of time. If I had been drawing an hourly wage for all the time I put into my posts in the past, I would be a very wealthy man today. :-) LOL! In an online world, if one takes a few days away, then people can interpret it as anything. As an example, Dale Seago recently had a very intense work schedule that took him away from Martial Arts Planet for about two weeks. When his absence became conspicuous, the rumor-mongers started claiming that Dale had “run away from MAP” or “was avoiding the tough questions.”

Huh?!?

The reality, of course, is that Dale wasn’t even around to see the questions; he wasn’t even sleeping due to work! Still, people who do not necessarily have a “right” to demand immediate answers demanded them anyways, and then started framing Dale’s non-response as something that it was not.

For me, the lack of time to be constantly monitoring conversations and engaging in them with alacrity is a key consideration in my departure. With my blog, I can post when I have time to post…and can address issues that I would like to address on my schedule…not on someone else’s.

A second consideration in my decision is that I honestly have grown bored with the repetition of the same conversations over and over and over again.

In particularly, the last two years online have been dominated by “religious arguments” concerning “traditional Bujinkan methods” and “hybrid methods incorporating so-called ‘alive’ training). Frankly, I am completely uninterested in arguing about whose “religion” is better.

I honestly could care less whether some person (1) who I have never met, (2) who does not train my art, and (3) who has no interest in learning my art *THINKS* that his delivery system is “better” than the Bujinkan delivery system.

I HONESTLY DO NOT CARE!!!

I have zero interest in convincing him that the Bujinkan delivery system is “better” than his system.

It is simply *NOT* a debate that I feel is fruitful.

If people train in Aikido, or Tai Chi Chuan, or Gracie Jiujutsu, or Silat….good for them! Go for it! I love *ALL* martial arts…though some more than others. :-)

My job has never been to convince the skeptical audience start training in the Bujinkan.

The Bujinkan has more than enough people already.

A better use of my time is providing guidance to people who (1) already train in the system, and (2) honestly want to know how best to come to understand that system.

Thus, I have decided to use my blog as a vehicle for communicating advice and commentary…on my time.

I hope that clarifies!

-ben

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Hidden Gems of the Bujinkan

September 18, 2007 by editor.

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of joining Chris Carbonaro, Oliver Martin and Anthony Lucas for the opening of the new Tanuki Dojo in Long Branch, New Jersey. I was *VERY* impressed with what Chris and Oliver have managed to create since returning from Japan. (Note: Both have 3+ years in Japan learning the basics, speaking with Soke and the Shihan in their native tongue, grasping the “feeling”, and building a solid toolbox of Taijutsu.)

The feeling of the dojo was *EXACTLY* the same feeling as being in Japan, and I wondered why more dojo did not feel this way?

The answer is simple: Too few instructors with sufficient exposure to Japan are teaching, and they are unwilling to admit that they don’t know what the hell they are doing.

This explains the various “identity crises” that seem to pop up every five years or so.

In the mid 1980s, a whole bunch of Shidoshi were convinced that Shoto Tanemura was teaching “the true way” and jumped ship from the Bujinkan to the Genbukan.

Then, in the mid 1990s, a whole bunch of Shidoshi were convinced that Fumio Manaka was teaching “the true way” and jumped ship from the Bujinkan to the Jinenkan.

Now, in the mid 2000s, a whole bunch of Shidoshi are convinced that Kacem Zoughari (under Tetsuji Ishizuka) is teaching “the true way.” It is only a matter of time until these two individuals also leave the Bujinkan, I predict….

The cycle will continue, and in the mid-2010s, we shall see same thing happen again. It’s only natural; this is the teaching of Shinden Fudo Ryu….

The reason for these departures (in all cases) is simple: Each of these teachers is telling people that he is teaching “the true way” and not enough people out there understand Hatsumi-sensei’s budo well enough to know that these claims are simply not true.

They look at Hatsumi-sensei’s budo and all they see is “mush.” Then they figure that they can just do mush and things will work out.

They do not see the control and basics that lay at the heart of Soke’s movement.

So when they do mush, and things do not work out, they blame Hatsumi-sensei or “the Bujinkan” rather than blame themselves.

If you train correctly, as Soke instructs, then your budo will not suck!!!
It’s a very simple solution to a generation-old problem.

The fact is that there are tremendously talented people in the Bujinkan who are grounded in the basics of the Bujinkan, but sadly, the people who need guidance the most do not know who these instructors are. As a result, those who need guidance become attracted to anything that glitters. And, to date, everything that had glittered has oxidized when exposed to the world outside of Soke.

As a service to the online Bujinkan community, I have decided to provide a list of the “hidden gems” of the Bujinkan. These individuals are, in general, relatively or completely unknown to the larger Bujinkan community. Some individuals that I thought everyone would know got me blank stares when I mentioned their names in conversations. Thus the list….

Despite their lack of “brand name,” they hold some of the largest pieces of the Bujinkan puzzle within them, in my opinion.

Note: This list *ONLY* contains individuals whose budo I, bencole, *PERSONALLY* have assessed. I shall continue to add names to the list as I come across individuals who bring something special to the table. This list most certainly is incomplete, but it will only include the “best of the best.”

This list will never become “politicized”; it will remain blunt and honest. As evidence, I have even included a few people who I personally do not like. :-) Whether I like them or not does not change the fact that their budo is good, and that they understand Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu as Hatsumi-sensei teaches.

I highly recommend that people seek these individuals out, either by visiting their dojo or by inviting them out for a seminar.

HIDDEN GEMS OF THE BUJINKAN
compiled by Benjamin Cole

UNITED STATES

Michael Asuncion – Michigan – Moves identically to Nagase-sensei. Best timing that I’ve ever seen!

Bill Atkins – Northern California – Frighteningly good!

Chris Carbonaro – New Jersey – Started his training in Japan with Kamioka-sensei, then went on to train with Nagato-sensei and Hatsumi-sensei. Very solid movement.

Bob Frasier – Hawaii – Fantastic movement, especially for a big guy!

Aric Keith – Washington/Oregon border– Solid, solid Budo.

Oliver Martin – Southern California – Moves identically to Nagato-sensei. Uncanny!!! Solid budo.

Luke Molitor – Texas – The only Shidoshi qualified to teach Bujinkan sword in the U.S., in my opinion. Personal student of three Shihan : Nagato-sensei, Nagase-sensei, and Someya-sensei.

Jeff Mueller – Maryland – Hands down, best ukemi in the United States! Wow!

Dale Seago – Northern California – Spooky movement! His job is to keep others alive, not just himself.

Daniel Weidman – Southern California – Solid Budo and a superb athlete!

.

CANADA

Estelle Padeloup – Montreal – She’s got the kukan!

Manolo Serrano - Montreal - Very solid movement.

.

JAPAN-BASED

Bruce Appleby – Japan/UK – Small and light, but very solid Budo. Extensive translation experience at Hombu.

Robin Doenicke – Japan/Australia – Tall, but light. Great footwork/legwork!

Shawn Gray – Japan/Canada – Movement looking more and more like Shiraishi-sensei every day.

Larry Hamilton – Japan/US – Deep knowledge of both Budo and Japanese.

Rod Hodgkins – Japan/Australia – Big as a bear; light as a feather.

Paul Masse – Japan/US – Wow!!! Best foreigner in Japan, imo.

Pete Reynolds – Japan/US – Everyone should train with Pete! Very sophisticated view of Soke’s movement + An ability to teach that view = Great Stuff!

Craig Olson – Japan/Canada – Solid budo. Extensive translation experience at Hombu.

Doug Wilson – Japan/US – Solid budo. Extensive translation experience at Hombu.

.

EUROPE

Andrew Young – U.K. – “If it is frustrating, it is because you are learning something new.” :-) Extensive translation experience at Hombu.

Renan Perpina – Spain – Light as a feather, but packs a big punch!

Sveneric Bogsater – Sweden – Frighteningly good!

Arnaud Cousergue – France – Frighteningly good!

Lubos Pokorny – Czech Republic – Frighteningly good!

.

OCEANIA

Greg Alcorn – Australia – Solid Budo.

Tim Bathurst – Australia – Solid Budo. Extensive translation experience at Hombu.

Ed Lomax – Australia – Solid Budo.

.

You would be wise to train with any of these individuals…and then *PRACTICE* what they teach you, rather than going back to what you do normally.

*THIS* is the single largest problem with the current state of affairs in the Bujinkan, imo: PEOPLE DON’T PRACTICE WHAT THEY ARE TAUGHT!!!

And this has resulted in craptastic movement throughout the world, and waves of insecurity that manifest with a “new messiah” every five years.

If you train correctly, there will be no need for new messiahs….

Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu is an “integrated body system” (much like Systema) and *NOT* a “technique-based art” (like most Koryu).

People are confused by this because, on the surface, the Bujinkan has “techniques” like Koryu schools, so people naturally believe that it is a “technique-based art.”

This is not the case at all.

The techniques exist to teach an integrated body system.

*THIS* is the focus of Hatsumi-sensei’s teachings, so *THIS* is what we need to train to understand.

I would like to wrap up with the following anecdote from training at Nagato Dojo in Japan.

One day during training, Nagato-sensei said to me, “Ben. Your foot is in the wrong place. Move it over there.”

I slid my foot. “Here?” I asked.

“No. There.” Nagato answered.

I moved my foot the place Nagato pointed, then asked, “Why here?”

Nagato answered, “Because that’s where your foot should be.”

I nodded and continued training.

About two months later, Nagato-sensei again told me to move my foot to a different location. I did, and then I (dumbly) asked, “Why?” again.

Nagato-sensei again said, “Because that’s where your foot should be.”

Over time, I came to understand that was where my foot should be, and I didn’t need to ask why. It was evident in the progress of my budo.

My teacher told me what I should do, and I did it. And my budo began to improve as a result.

The Bujinkan would benefit at large from more people doing what “good” instructors tell them to do, rather than nodding their heads during the seminar, and the reverting back to the same poor practices with which they’ve diseased themselves….

With the individuals on this list, there is no longer a reason to have crap Taijutsu anymore.

Any one of them can cure you of your “crap Taijutsu disease,” if you will allow them to treat you as a patient.

-ben

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Other stuff

July 5, 2006 by editor.

This is a post about other stuff.

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Training and stuff

July 5, 2006 by editor.

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Authenticity and the Bujinkan

July 5, 2006 by editor.

When considering the validity of a given ryuha, there are four things that one must consider. First, can the instructor making claims as Soke (or other teaching authority, such as Menkyo Kaiden holder) be tied to the art? Second, is the instructor named as Soke or Menkyo Kaiden holder of that particular art? Third, can the art itself be traced back historically in some sort of verifiable way? And fourth, can the actual documents or other artifacts that the individual possesses be historically verified in some form?

I would like to walk thru each of these four points with respect to Masaaki Hatsumi with the information that I, bencole, have at hand. This information is NOT complete but it CAN BE verified if you actually care enough to locate the sources yourself. The translations of the Japanese are mine (including the titles of books and chapters).

1. Can the instructor making claims as Soke (or other teaching authority, such as Menkyo Kaiden holder) be tied to the art?

This first question is one that most ninjutsu frauds (Frank Dux, Bryce Dallas, Ashida Kim, etc.) cannot answer. They claim to have studied an art but they cannot provide any proof that they even trained in it in the first place. Don Roley has written significantly on this issue and so I will not bore you with my regurgitation of Don’s rants on the subject. Don hangs out at Budoseek and Martial Talk. Do a search of his posts on these various frauds….

As for Hatsumi-sensei, it is very clear from both photographic and filmographic evidence that Hatsumi-sensei did, in fact, train with Toshitsugu Takamatsu. Takamatsu-sensei CLAIMED to be the Soke of several Ryuha, some of which were passed to Hatsumi-sensei. (More later on whether these claims can be verified.)

2. Is the instructor named as Soke or Menkyo Kaiden holder of that particular art?

Anyone who has been to Hatsumi-sensei’s home can easily view several of the Menkyo that bear his name as the designee and Takamatsu’s name as the designator. Photographs of these menkyo are floating around in various publications or in private collections of people who have been astonished with the clutter in Hatsumi’s home.

I don’t think that anyone will dispute these first two questions and answers because they require almost no work to verify personally.

Now, we turn to the third question….

3. Can the art itself be traced back historically in some sort of verifiable way?

When trying to verify something historically, you will run into all of the issues that any historian will encounter. Many times, this requires piecing things together from various sources. Sources can be documents (such as the books I will mention below) or even locations (such as shrines, where members of the Kuki family can be engaged).

All of the following documents can be purchased or found in a Japanese library. Your best bet would be the National Library, because they have just about everything.

Kakutogi no Rekishi (“The History of Fighting Arts”), p.508-517
This section of this book describes a periodical published in 1843 that lists twenty famous Ryuha in particular, including Takenouchi Ryu, Araki Ryu, Youshin Ryu, and others. The book then states, “Even though they are not mentioned in this particular periodical, there are several schools that are well-known for being ‘effective arts’ (jitsuryoku ha).” Among the schools listed in this section are Gyokko Ryu, Gyokushin Ryu, Gikan Ryu, Kukishin Ryu, and Takagi Ryu (see below), and Asayama Ichiden Ryu (which in not part of the Bujinkan’s nine schools but was studied by Hatsumi-sensei via Ueno-sensei).

So this is a good start for a few of the schools. Let’s turn to another tome:

Bugei Ryuha Daijiten (“The Encyclopedia of Martial Schools”).
As one would expect by the name, this is probably the most exhaustive list of martial arts schools in Japan. There were versions published in 1969 and 1978 (at least).

What’s particularly interesting about this book is that it lists the full lineage of an art. So you can turn to the page for Gyokko Ryu and look at the last entry and see who was the recognized Soke at the time of publication. For Gyokko Ryu, we can see “Hatsumi Yoshiaki (Chiba-ken Noda-shi)” listed after Takamatsu Toshitsugu, Toda Shinryuken, and others all the way up to the beginning of the Ryuha.

This book has entries bearing the name of Hatsumi-sensei below Takamatsu-sensei for the following school entries: Gyokko Ryu, Koto Ryu, Shinden Fudo Ryu, Kukishinden Happohiken Jutsu, Kumogakure Ryu, Gikan Ryu and Takagi Yoshin Ryu. (Please note that if you look at the entry for Takagi Yoshin Ryu, you are referenced to the listing for Takagi Ryu (which was also listed in Kakutogi no Rekishi as I described earlier). Hatsumi-sensei is one of six individuals listed below Takamatsu-sensei in this listing (because Takamatsu-sensei split his scrolls among several students, including Akimoto and Hanaoka, among others)).

Please note that there are numerous other Ryuha (not Bujinkan Ryuha) that are mentioned in the Bugei Ryuha Daijiten, whose lineage members prior to Takamatsu-sensei are listed in the history of these other schools. Among those schools, see: Izumo Ryu, Kishu Ryu, and Bokuden Ryu.

So here is the score based on researcher publications:

Gyokko Ryu – KKTNR, BGRDJT
Gikan Ryu – KKTNR, BGRDJT
Kukishin Ryu – KKTNR, BGRDJT
Takagi Yoshin Ryu – KKTNR, BGRDJT
Shinden Fudo Ryu – BGRDJT
Kumogakure Ryu – BGRDJT
Gyokushin Ryu – KKTNR
Koto Ryu – BGRDJT
Togakure Ryu – BGRDJT

So with just two books, we have been able to verify that the Bujinkan Ryuha were at least recognized sufficiently by two independent third-party researchers to include these schools in their books on Japanese martial arts, and that their publishers believed enough in the verity of this information to include the Ryuha as entries in their encyclopedia. While imperfect, it’s certainly not a bad start. And it certainly provides sufficient evidence that differentiates the claims of Hatsumi-sensei FAR, FAR AWAY from the claims made by Bryce Dallas and Ashida Kim.

So at this point, we have Yoshiaki Hatsumi training with his teacher, Toshitsugu Takamatsu. Takamatsu is the recognized authority from such famous schools as Kukishin Ryu (recognized even by the Kuki family themselves) and Gyokko Ryu. Takamatsu teaches Hatsumi various things, and provides certifications that name Hatsumi as the guy in charge of these ryuha, and Hatsumi receives lots of stuff from his teacher.

Even though I believe I have highlighted three other VERY important (and arguably MORE important) facets of establishing “legitimacy,” let’s now move to the fourth question.  The question raises several interdependent sub-questions, in particular: WHAT is being verified, WHY verifying is being done, and WHO is doing the verifying.

4. Can the actual documents that the individual possesses be historically verified in some form?

It is important to note that now we are talking about actual physical ARTIFACTS (i.e. the scrolls), rather than the traditions/history of the Ryuha (which HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED in the previously mentioned materials, as well as several other sources that I will not discuss here because this already has taken me about five hours to write).

It is important to note that now we are talking about actual physical ARTIFACTS (i.e. the scrolls), rather than the traditions/history of the Ryuha (which HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED in the previously mentioned materials, as well as several other sources that I will not discuss here because this already has taken me about five hours to write).Let me first start by saying that, in general, it is not “common” for people to submit their scrolls for scientific dating or examination unless there is a purpose in doing so, such as for joining a particular organization. To do so “just to check,” would be akin to saying, “I think my teacher lied to me,” which conflicts with the teacher-student trust that should be expected between a grandmaster and his named heir. It would be the same as a woman who has her engagement ring checked out, just to see if the guy really loves her. That’s a bit crass for most people.

Given Takamatsu-sensei’s unimpeachable status in two very important Ryuha (Kukishin Ryu and Gyokko Ryu), it actually is UNINTUITIVE to think that Hatsumi-sensei would rush off to get the actual artifacts that Takamatsu-sensei gave him verified.  Call me a bit old fashioned, but is there really a need to do so? In the opinions of some, “Yes, because otherwise, how would you know that your teacher, this Takamatsu guy, didn’t just make up this stuff?”” Fair enough. I guess there is always a chance that Takamatsu-sensei did make up some of the stuff….

Yet an important question to ask would be: If he did construct false schools, complete with documentation and a history of characters, why would he do such a thing?!?

First, Takamatsu was already the undeniable heir to some very famous schools. Why would he risk his reputation (as the Soke of these other arts) by “claiming to be a ninja” when the average Japanese would think he would be as whackie as some guy in the U.S. claiming to be a cowboy from the 1830s? As a Soke, one’s primary job is to protect the integrity of the schools one has been entrusted. If one starts making up fake schools, and trying to pass them off as real schools, then one runs the very real risk of endangering the reputation of the legitimate schools. The incentives point us AWAY from the idea that Takamatsu would make fraudulent schools.

But what about other incentives? People will do just about anything for the right price, right? Well, money and fame do not appear to be valid incentives either. Takamatsu lived a simple life, and ended up an ordained priest. Moreover, when he died, his neighbors were astonished to discover that he was such a renowned martial artist. Does that sound like a money-seeking, publicity-seeking fraud to you?

I personally cannot think of any logical reason to presume that Takamatsu would create false schools.

That being said, the Bujinkan as a whole *HAS* been recognized by the Zen Nippon Todo Renmei (All Japan Sword Federation). Duncan Mitchell was present in Japan during the months that the Bujinkan was under review, which included checks into the background and history of the Ryuha. Duncan commented on this on E-budo a couple of years ago, but I think it was lost with the server crash. Perhaps someone has a copy somewhere. If you are interested, you should look around or contact Duncan.

Does that mean that each and every school was verified by this organization? I dunno. But it does provide SOME evidence (as with everything I have cited earlier) that the schools that were investigated (whichever they were) were NOT illegitimate in nature.
As for historical verification, there are other ways to do this without actually looking at the artifacts themselves. For example, another researcher, Koyama Ryutaro, discovered that Daisuke Nishina (one of the names listed in the lineage of Togakure Ryu) actually EXISTED in history. That’s encouraging! Hatsumi-sensei is given a list of names that could be all made up by his teacher, yet a third-party researcher uncovers the fact that one of the names on that list was actually a REAL HUMAN BEING! That’s pretty cool, and again, provides SOME additional evidence that what Takamatsu-sensei says he was teaching to Hatsumi-sensei was NOT all made up.

Hatsumi-sensei has absolutely no problem in letting researchers view the densho, provided they view them in his presence. He’s not going to let someone he does not know take them home to pore over. I’d have similar limitations if I were in his shoes as well. Certainly, no one wants to see a “Kunii Zen’ya” of Kashima Shin Ryu, who evidently left some of his densho in a taxi cab in 1965 (Source: ISBN: 0-8248-1879-2).

In the past, I have made the offer (to such researchers as Dr. Karl Friday, the author of the Kashima Shin Ryu book mentioned above) to act as intermediary in trying to get access to the scrolls for research purposes. These researchers would examine characteristics of the densho, such as the writing style, to determine whether they appear authentic.  No one has taken me up on the offer because they simply are not interested. As I said before, only people who are interested in assessing a particular thing will actually go through the trouble to do so.

I’d like to wrap up by answering one final question that has been put to me: “Which of the scrolls are original?”

My answer: I dunno.

It is important to remember that not all historical schools necessarily had “official scrolls.” Some arts are transmitted via densho. Other arts are transmitted via oral transmission (a.k.a. Kuden). Applying the litmus test of one to the other is simply inappropriate.

But any Soke is free to re-write or alter the scrolls however he sees fit, including rearranging the techniques, replacing techniques with other “better” techniques, or removing/adding techniques that the Soke feels better captures the essence of the tradition. The Soke is charged with ensuring that the Ryuha survives, and this may entail adding a hand here or there.

Also note that as with any human endeavor, the impact of politics clearly played a role in determining why certain Ryuha survived till today and others did not. Many of the Ryuha that have the oldest densho-based transmission, for example Katori Shinto Ryu, received sponsorship by powerful political or religious leaders in historical Japan. Does that make them any “better” than those who did not curry favor with certain leaders? Nope. Just different.

-ben

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History and stuff

July 5, 2006 by editor.

Experimenting

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Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai & Nihon Kobudo Kyokai

July 5, 2006 by editor.

There is a lot of confusion concerning which organizations in Japan “verify scrolls” and how these organizations function. This post is being compiled from various sources (cited within).

Steve in a post on Martial Arts Planet (as Gunyo Kogusoku) wrote the following:

“There is no koryu federation. There are the Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai (Society for the promotion of Japanese classical martial arts) which is the oldest and there is the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai (Association for Japanese classical martial arts). “The Shinkokai promote koryu budo by holding public demonstrations every few months, at venues like Riverside Sports Centre, Asakusa in April & Meiji Jingu, near Harajuku in November. The Kyokai only hold one major demonstration a year at the Nihon Budokan in Tokyo, every February.

“Membership of a ryuha to one of these associations is rather stringent, however, the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai has the strictest membership guidelines for koryu entering into the association. To become a member, either as a ryu or as an individual, it is necessary to provide documentation of the individual’s lineage, the ryu and, sometimes, a number of other matters. Both groups are governed by a board of directors, comprised of people generally recognized to be “senior” exponents and the membership committee. Usually when documentation is researched, the oldest document is required for carbon 14 dating (Just a sliver of fabric, not the entire document!) to certify it’s authenticity.

“(The usual rumour going about cyberspace is that sometime in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s, Mr. Hatsumi applied and was rejected, since Takamatsu sensei had reproduced most of the densho. Another version is that he didn’t want the densho to be defaced by scientists for the carbon 14 tests, so he withdrew his application. Rumours are rumours though, you can never learn the truth unless you hear it from the horses mouth. That being Mr. Hatsumi himself & the members of the Kyokai who interviewed him.)

“Here’s where it gets complicated - not all “legitimate” ryu have joined one of these organizations, nor do all “legitimate” members of a constituent ryu belong to them. Some don’t want to join or be associated with “old enemies” (Some fuedal rivalries are still apparent with some ryuha), some can’t be bothered with the paperwork, and in other cases it’s just due to the kyokai or shinkokai determining that the person is not suitable for membership yet (e.g. if the applicant has been involved in some unsavoury activities, like organized crime, gambling, or it could be due to just plain old rivalry.)

“A number of rather good quality koryu are not members of either organizations. Most of the time, it’s just down the headmasters’ choice.”

The Bujinkan is NOT a member of either organization. Neither is Takenouchi Ryu Bichuden, for example. Regarding this issue, Chris Moon (in the same thread) added the following:

“It has been explained to me that the Bichu-den higher ups do not feel the need to be represented since the soke and sodenke lines are already well presented in the shinkokai and kyokai. “I can think of another two really good reasons. Paperwork and red tape. Anyone slightly familiar with Ono sensei can tell you those are deal breakers. He is a little too busy with his many interests to deal with it. I am sure he would be happy to talk about his recent art exhibit and lecture in Paris though. As Stephen mentioned some schools just don’t feel the need to make nice nice with past enemies. The line of ***** Araki Ryu to which Ellis Amdur is a member comes to mind.”

As you can see, one cannot consider a school “illegitimate” merely because it does not belong to either of these two organizations.

-ben

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Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai & Nihon Kobudo Kyokai

July 5, 2006 by editor.

There is a lot of confusion concerning which organizations in Japan “verify scrolls” and how these organizations function. This post is being compiled from various sources (cited within).

Steve in a post on Martial Arts Planet (as Gunyo Kogusoku) wrote the following:

“There is no koryu federation. There are the Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai (Society for the promotion of Japanese classical martial arts) which is the oldest and there is the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai (Association for Japanese classical martial arts). “The Shinkokai promote koryu budo by holding public demonstrations every few months, at venues like Riverside Sports Centre, Asakusa in April & Meiji Jingu, near Harajuku in November. The Kyokai only hold one major demonstration a year at the Nihon Budokan in Tokyo, every February.

“Membership of a ryuha to one of these associations is rather stringent, however, the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai has the strictest membership guidelines for koryu entering into the association. To become a member, either as a ryu or as an individual, it is necessary to provide documentation of the individual’s lineage, the ryu and, sometimes, a number of other matters. Both groups are governed by a board of directors, comprised of people generally recognized to be “senior” exponents and the membership committee. Usually when documentation is researched, the oldest document is required for carbon 14 dating (Just a sliver of fabric, not the entire document!) to certify it’s authenticity.

“(The usual rumour going about cyberspace is that sometime in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s, Mr. Hatsumi applied and was rejected, since Takamatsu sensei had reproduced most of the densho. Another version is that he didn’t want the densho to be defaced by scientists for the carbon 14 tests, so he withdrew his application. Rumours are rumours though, you can never learn the truth unless you hear it from the horses mouth. That being Mr. Hatsumi himself & the members of the Kyokai who interviewed him.)

“Here’s where it gets complicated - not all “legitimate” ryu have joined one of these organizations, nor do all “legitimate” members of a constituent ryu belong to them. Some don’t want to join or be associated with “old enemies” (Some fuedal rivalries are still apparent with some ryuha), some can’t be bothered with the paperwork, and in other cases it’s just due to the kyokai or shinkokai determining that the person is not suitable for membership yet (e.g. if the applicant has been involved in some unsavoury activities, like organized crime, gambling, or it could be due to just plain old rivalry.)

“A number of rather good quality koryu are not members of either organizations. Most of the time, it’s just down the headmasters’ choice.”

The Bujinkan is NOT a member of either organization. Neither is Takenouchi Ryu Bichuden, for example. Regarding this issue, Chris Moon (in the same thread) added the following:

“It has been explained to me that the Bichu-den higher ups do not feel the need to be represented since the soke and sodenke lines are already well presented in the shinkokai and kyokai. “I can think of another two really good reasons. Paperwork and red tape. Anyone slightly familiar with Ono sensei can tell you those are deal breakers. He is a little too busy with his many interests to deal with it. I am sure he would be happy to talk about his recent art exhibit and lecture in Paris though. As Stephen mentioned some schools just don’t feel the need to make nice nice with past enemies. The line of ***** Araki Ryu to which Ellis Amdur is a member comes to mind.”

As you can see, one cannot consider a school “illegitimate” merely because it does not belong to either of these two organizations.

-ben

 

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