If you would like to know more about how samurai really behaved, click here www.amazon.com/Book-Bushido-Complete-Samurai-Chivalry/dp/1786786052/ref=sr_1_1?crid=34G72UHALLT2B&keywords=book+of+bushido&qid=1680017712&sprefix=book+of+bushido%2Caps%2C236&sr=8-1
Ya trained with us one wk down budjinkan kokoro dojo dewsbury old instructor dave pawson was doing Togaure ryu think ya was talking about amatsu but what a showed on that day was good
I train in the same system as the Bujinkan. My instructor trained with Hayes and Hatsumi etc in those " harder times", and I beleive all the stuff you mentioned frustrated him to no end and that's why he is not Hayes or Hatsumi affiliated. He tries a more MMA approach to those arts, which we appreciate. I love it! I really do, although I do believe in your work as well and train in real ninjutsu through study, and just martial arts for their intended purposes. He told me that basically he hates seeing students move then find a Bujinkan school and how they either get dissapointed geatly or their training suffers and they don't even know it. It's a shame, there are great schools out there that teach the "9 lineages" but the quality control is depressing man!
I find it strange you got kicked out for this reason. I practiced the Bujinkan under several teachers even though I have never been to Japan myself, but I was told on several occasions stuff like: "If you want to have fun, go to Hatsumi Sensei, but if you want to learn, you need to practice under Sensei X or Y." "Hatsumi isn't teaching us Ninjutsu, only Taijutsu and how to have fun." "If Hatsumi praises you, it's just courtesy, which means you aren't doing well because if he sees potential in what you do, he'll correct your mistakes." "Hatsumi doesn't care about belts if you want a black belt? Just ask him, he'll give you. It's not about the belts." "Hatsumi gave up on teaching years ago; now he's just having fun with his students." So for years, I assumed it's common knowledge among "real practitioners" that Hatsumi's classes are not the best place to improve your martial arts. And maybe it's a biased view since I based it on the opinions of my teachers. Still, it also made it difficult for practitioners like myself to find any structure in all of it. But if there is a proper curriculum in place, the belt system could also be a tool to measure how far you have advanced your training. But hey, I never even made it to Black Belt anyway, so who am I to talk?
The Black Belt system is a "new system" to teach and test the students after the end of EDO era in Japan. This system of teach, the belts, dogi's (kimono's) s was created by Jigoro Kano and Kodokan to teach martial arts like a sport and be accepted at the new society at this time. None samurai, Musha, ninja, Sōhei, Komusō or other Japanese warrior taked belt or training to take this before the end of EDO ERA.
He should share his original video of getting kicked out of the Bujinkan from 2008-2010. He pulled it down. One of rudest things I ever remember watching.
By the time I received my blue belt in BJJ (27 years ago) I was submitting black belts in this style and I was also kicked out of the Genbukahn LOL! Those guys are silly living in a make believe cultish world of martial arts.
Hatsumi never kill his goose that lays the golden eggs and NINJUTSU is the magic word to make the unsuspecting fall into his cult... The same thing other people do putting on ANSHU, SOKE, etc. in their own martial lies.
Thank you, Anthony, for your courage and your observations. What you experience within the Bujinkan probably has been going on since the mid 1990's. Btw, I plan to get one of your books to get a different perspective on Japanese budo history. Fascinating stuff!!!
Thank you Antony! This was great....unfortunately, many of us had similar experiences in our training. Please keep up the excellent work. Expose the lies and hypocracy....no matter what.
Keep up the great work Antony! I started my serious martial studies around 2012 when I stumbled across your CZcams channel. I HAD bought into the whole “bujikan is the secret unbeatable ninja martial” bs then I saw some of your videos explaining how shinobi no jutsu was a set of skills and not a hand-to-hand fighting system. You saved me from going down that delusional rabbit hole of bs. I even bought Steven Hayes dvd “mountains of strength” it just makes me CRINGE watching it now😂
I spent decades within Takamatsu-Den, both in Genbukan and Jinenkan. I was very briefly in Bujinkan, very briefly. Needless to say, all those arts attract a certain level of socially awkward cats...some excellent people in there too, but it is a difficult time to find people who are really serious and capable.
You were absolutely correct. One of the basics of selecting a "style" or "way" is to verify the teacher's lineage and his teacher's methods and history. This somehow validates the method that you are learning to defend yourself or for self-improvement. When in fact you can learn from anyone. Wisdom is the continued study and the ability to discern your own truth from fiction. I am a follower of the Bujinkan since the beginning I have always held a bit of skepticism but enjoyed the journey. I mean purple hair? Still, I listened and studied. I had the privilege of serving this country and learned from the very best the military has to offer in the skills of combat. I used this knowledge to compare everything I had ever learned (starting around age 7 in karate) in the martial arts and to quote Mr. Bruce Lee " Take what is useful and discard the rest". I have used this as the standard. Thank you for your work. I'm sure it was a long journey but the martial arts community is needing more accountability and you have called the story out into the light.
I was involved in the Bujinkan for a little while and I totally got so sick of the Hatsumi worship,I have met some really cool people but the Bujinkan was getting more and more stupid.
Fantastic, Great you are doing this. An old friend, once trained with a Traditional Ryu, (not a 'Dojo') , part and parcel due to getting married to a Japanese Girl. He mentioned very much the same in that his Teacher mentioned, the big problem started back in the Edo period with the Dojofication that happened in the 1600's run by out of work Samurai that needed to earn money. Traditionally, Martial Skills were just taught within the Clans and Families and for a specific few that showed the right aptitude, would get taught Shinobi Skills. In essence, there were no specific Schools for Ninjitsu etc....
From having known teachers and students that trained with both Hatsumi and Tanemura, the consensus is that Hatsumi used to actually teach, then slowly became a McDojo(edit it appears to be the case with both schools now). A young guy joined our class after being in Bujinkan for years yet could not do anything but taijutsu well. Even the basics were taught with no regard. IMHO, there are more people teaching the actual art that are not Japanese and no longer part of any parent organization that are qualified instructors. Most of them were fairly badass, having previous martial arts and military experience. Many of them trained outside, regardless of terrain or weather. If you want to know how effective your art is, try it in the rain on the side of a muddy hill lol
Asking to clean instead of paying like everyone else is not a very polite question. Especially when the teacher does not know you, and you are just a random westerner. It's just obvious. Seems you also misunderstood how the grading works, plus how you actually get feedback. It's really all basic stuff if you know any Japanese culture. The whole idea that you went straight to Sōke without any basic knowledge of the movement and basics, and you assumed (and demanded) that he actually teaches you something? And after that you, as a total beginner gave feedback and your opinion, and showed disrespect. Why? Absurd. They tested you, and you failed :) A sad story, but a good example to everyone what not to do.
Are you ok? it's perfectly normal to ask a question. It has nothing to do with demanding anything, it's just a question and being humble the same time cos you're telling someone you don't got the funds for training. You sound like one of them "woke" folks. Smh.
@@AntonyCummins What matters here is how long had you been trained and what was your rank (plus who was your teacher?) when these events occurred. If rank matters at all.
@@makesenz That question was like being a half-uchi-deshi, but in a rental dōjō..? And cleaning up in your own dōjō after training is just normal courtesy and politeness. It's expected even if you pay. In summary, the question was same as asking "can I train for free?". Quite frankly I have no idea how "woke" has anything to do this.
@@AntonyCummins So you started in 1999 and was already a fourth dan in 2005-2007? That sounds very strange. Usually the absolute minimum for dan grades is at least one year between them, so even with that bare minimum you got your first dan in.. 2-4 years? I assume you have your diploma available where we can see the date and the year of your fourth dan? Was it your teacher who updated your grade to Japan? Can we have a name? Words are just words after all.
When I was young, I did Togakure Ryu. The lineage could be traced back to Hatsumi in the 1980s, but I was never a part of the Bujinkan organization itself. I have heard many stories about the Bujinkan, but I cannot say anything about having experience with the organization myself.
The true is that most of this bujinkan teachers have never get a punch in their face, but they are teaching how to fight, this is very dangerous for the people that are believing in this kind of teachings, and of course i am not talking about SPORT combat, i am talking about the use of the secret knive defense........
Whether it happens and you’re in the “right” or “wrong”, I feel no martial artists path is complete until they’ve been asked to leave or kicked out of at least one school. Myself this has happened no less than three.
I had wondered if "Ninjitsu" the martial art was more like traditional Ju-Jitsu, dressed up as a secret art, just like how British "Traditional Ju-Jitsu" seems to be largely WW2 combatives dressed up as a traditional martial art. Evidently not, then.
In all of the many years that I’ve trained in Bujinkan , I’ve never been told that ninjutsu was hand-to hand combat. I was told from the get-go that the martial arts of the Bujinkan are martial arts, and that some of the martial arts are of samurai origin and some of them originated in Iga and were used by people that we now refer to as ninja. I was also told that ninjutsu was a set of strategies and other teachings that are often woven into the martial arts we do, but also encompass things like spycraft, meteorology, and all kinds of other things. Many different people historically are now referred to as ninja, but specifically the people of Iga are the ones referred to by the Bujinkan as ninja. These people were armigers and waged war. Many of them, waged covert war, utilizing spy, craft, and other things, while some of them hired themselves out as mercenaries. They trained in multiple art forms, including armed and unarmed martial arts. There is a big difference, and it is well known to people who train in the Bujinkan, between ninjutsu and taijutsu. I have never heard Hatsumi claim that martial arts fighting techniques were the same thing as ninjutsu. Ninjutsu philosophy perminates our strategies and tactics, but is wholly different and separate. Even Togakure ryu fighting techniques are referred to as ninpo taijutsu, not ninjutsu. We generally say that we study ninjutsu academically, at least to some extent, and train in Budo taijutsu. In the past, it was often referred to as ninpo taijutsu because much of the taijutsu is of Iga, and therefore “ninja” origin, but much of it also comes directly from samurai origins, so now it’s referred to, more accurately, as Budo taijutsu. I realize it in the early days of the arts expansion to the west, many practitioners, not being fluent in Japanese, and not understanding the difference, often referred to what they did as ninjutsu. They were incorrect. Nowadays, enough, western practitioners, have had the differences explain to them, and most do not refer to their martial arts training by that name. There are a few who still do. I think that most of them know the difference, and continue to call it that because that’s what they’ve always called it, or because it makes for good marketing. In any case, you’re not saying anything that we don’t know.
Yep. right up front this was clarified in books dated from the 80s by Hatsumi and his students stated the same thing. I never read or heard any claim that Ninjutsu was a set of super-secret fighting techniques. Van Donk's video course and associated books all state the most of the Bujinkan system was Kobudo and Jujutsu. 6 of the 9 Ryu are stated to be Jujutsu Ryus and the 3 Ninpo Ryus , including Togakure-ryu deal more with espionage, tactics, esoteric philosophy as with the Mikkyo and so on. Students of the system always told me their impression was that it was like a kind of dirty street fighting. How is this different from Krav Maga (and lets not forget Duran Nevron took some of it back to Israel so we're not surprised) That stated, I have a copy of tenchi Ryaku no Maki here on my desk and the Taijutsu therein doesn't resemble anything I have encountered in any other school save for vague and remote similarities between Kamae and classic Karate stances.. I have never been taught or experienced the movements of the Kamae the way it is taught in any conventional Karate or other tradition. That stated, I am something of a Survivalist. I couldn't give a rats ass if something is provably authentic or not. If it works, I'll use it. This comes with the caveat there is no such thing as a magic bullet. If you want it to work, you have to make it work. These ideas that martial arts techniques are magic pills that work the same way every time on everyone of every body type, size, temperament, etc is a complete fantasy. If you want it to work, ignore the Horseshit about whose style is better and just make it work. That what fighting is in the first place. There is all kinds of stuff in that system that is unique and would confuse the hell out of observers, but who cares? Being part of an authentic historical tradition means you have excepted self-limitation. If it works, use and forget the criticisms of Academics. .
You can take the boy out of Manchester.... Haha! I think more people outside the Bujinkan now have a better understanding of what the Bujinkan does and how they do it. Good or bad, most of that contributes to you. So, i say you spoke at the right time for the right reasons. Respect for that!
I trained in the bujinkan in the late 80s - the 90s, and i watched as the bujinkan changed from something very respectable to me just walking out. I settled on koto ryu it was the only one i found to be useful for me. There were two things that finally made me decide to leave. The first one was around 95-96ish, where he was quoted discouraging training with other martial arts and artists. About a year later, he was quoted as being able to talk to dead people, and that was it, done. I have implemented koto ryu in with the other arts that I've trained in and found it very useful for my training. Ukemi, henka, being creative, etc. I still value my time there, and training with some of the guys i got to train with was a real privilege. But from what I've seen, they have steadily kept moving down hill ever since. Great video! I think it's amazing that someone finally said it. I was never able to go to Japan and felt bad about it for a while, like it was one thing i would have liked to have done, but after hearing so many stories like this im kind of glad i didn't. I do plan on getting your books. Watching a few of your videos has sparked an interest. 👍
Hatsumi took on a spiritual identity in purpose to affiliate the school under a religion. I was told the idea was to avoid the huge death duty tax on individuals so the money has gone into the 'organisation/religion' . It's not uncommon in Japan to find ways around the very high tax so you can't blame him for wanting to retain his wealth with the bujinkan.
You were right to say what you said, the bujinkan needs to fix its self. I love the bujinkan but everything younsaid is true. Should you have written that letter no. Maybe you should have addressed Soke in person. Heart to heart
Edit: 9 months later, i realized I'm pretty sure you're talking about the Yameneko dojo, Jeffrey Prather 7:12 it was something my sensei at the time showed me and remembered seeing in the videos. 1 of the first times i questioned him in my head. But I'm smart enough i could have applied the principles of movement in it, so i assumed at the time this was a lesson of a principle. Wait... so it's a weird mix of ego driven complacency? Well that explains how a dojo fronted cult like the yamaneko dojo in Arizona can happen. Once I set it up my Ryu will be similar to how HEMA does things with manuals and rank is earned in a mock battle with as much realism as I can incorporate safely Burned my own ranks too a year ago
I believe that the enlightened would have taken such a letter as constructive criticism, meditated on it and then gotten back to you with a feasible answer. Period. Whether he should have listened to you and adjusted accordingly isnt even a factor. He should have at least considered the criticism and spoke to you in a private, professional manner. I trained with two of his Dans who had their own schools in the states years ago. It didnt take long for me to chalk them up as complete bullshit. Thank you for all of your hard work. You are the teacher of teachers, as far as the Ninja are concerned.
I practiced Bujinkan in the early 90s and my sensei explained to me the fighting system werent from the ninja schools and learned very little actual ninjutsu since most of it wasnt applicable or we didnt have the environment to practice it. I eventually left like many and went the combat sports way. Ive known back then Hatsumi was a very poor teacher and he had his own way of handling foreigners.
I'm currently a black belt training in the Bujinkan. Unfortunately, there is a lot of variation in schooling still. I'm teaching a 9th kyu who moved and joined this school, he has not been taught the fundamentals and he's only really experienced henka. So in essence, it's still a mess and you're lucky if you find a good instructor who focuses on giving you ground work and building you up from there rather than teaching you from where everyone else is and expecting you to make up the difference.
Yea, Kyu grades should not do henka in my opinion. I think it's selfish of the instructor doing henka with people without any conditioning or fundamental skills. It's sad to watch.
The only thing I would have done different is that after having written the letter to get my thoughts sorted I would have done what I could to get a private audience with him so I could open a dialogue with him. I would have opened with an accusation audit (Chris Voss 2016) then led in with my major concerns. Afterward, I'd apply the Chris Voss negotiation principals to the best of my ability, asking open ended questions and summarizing his points until he knew I understand his perspective on the issue. Then we would move into solutions and next steps. In person is important for tone, as we know from the samurai teachings, writing is always going to sound more harsh than intended. I think your intentions were great and not dancing around it, leaving things unsaid, was important. I think the approach could have been more tactically sound but either way it's much better you tried to persuade him and work to a solution rather than quietly leaving and wondering if he would have listened.
You Are correct Antony. No reason in living a Lie and if one sees falseties and know the truth, you Are responsible to speak out. I really admire and respect your work
Even if it was culturally taboo to do so, I think the letter was well warranted, and it's a shame no one paid attention. I mean, no matter which way you swing it (even with the whole advanced grading to get you to work harder and deserve it thing) the whole ordeal of the Bujinkan is a crumbling sham. I think the notion that Hatsumi wanted to be in TV and movies but could never fully make it, and so he just puts on a show for thousands of dollars per class instead because it's the closest substitute is on the right track. Everyone knows the quality control and organization is just garbage. And if you thought the dojo was dirty, avoid his house at all costs! I can only imagine that the reasons for the good quality teachers and practitioners to stay there is because of either cultural loyalty to your master and the soke, or... y'know, money (props to Ishizuka in the latter case for not teaching at Hombu for the longest time, and having his dojo be more of an invite only sort of place; also amazing how sparse the shihan classes are compared to Hatsumi, given you tend to learn a substantial amount more in the former). But yeah, and then Tanemura is the exact opposite, going overboard with the control and discipline, seemingly out of spite and resentment for the Bujinkan! I suspect an element of jealousy in the money department as well, which is why his practices are the way they are. As such, both Hatsumi and Tanemura seemed to have turned into money grabbing McDojo's in their own way. I have mad respect for Manaka who seems to be the most legit. I really think the Jinenkan is an honest organization both from a business standpoint and quality control standpoint. Historicity of the ryu-ha aside, you're getting the most honest stab at them there from what I can tell and have had experienced.
Manaka sensei was Hatsumi sensei's number 1 black belt back in the 80s and 90s, I believe, and he left do to Hatsumi not teaching real Ninpo to the foreign students. Hatsumi sensei hid the 'real' techniques to his Japanese students. So Manaka sensei left and opened his own dojo.
@@LaoZi2023er... not really. It was more because of the handing out of grades left, right, and center, as well as the changes (or evolution) Hatsumi was making, where as Manaka wanted to continue to teach things as he had originally been taught (i.e. transmitted them more like Koryu). Of course, it has always been possible to do so while remaining within the Bujinkan. Take Ishizuka dojo for instance where they are more old school, and don't hand out grades just for showing up. Duncan Stewart is another great example of being faithful to the received tradition and avoiding the garbage.
Ok, i get your point of view about Bujikan sistem and the way whe they teach but do you can talk about the "9 lineages" or 9 KORYUS/KOBUDO at Bujinkan system and your opinion about that?
After reading a few of your translations, I came to conclude that true historical ninjutsu is not a style in itself but a specialization within a school of fighting and a job taken on by many of those samurai during the ages pre-Meiji. Since then, the CIA, KGB, etc and many military special forces function in the modern day as what the shinobi were in the day of the samurai. I think any martial arts dojo in this day and age that openly teaches "ninjutsu" to any tourist, at best is a good dojo to teach useful fighting skills, but ought to call itself something else if the core of shinobi is to be acknowledged, which is a way of deception and secrecy with life and death consequences.
I went to a Genbukan club locally. Great instructor - high rank etc. But the stance!! The almost-straight leading leg - I was just constantly thinking, "I will either kick your knee so that it inverts, or else you will injure yourself!" I thought my Shotokan club had issues (and it did), but there was too much silliness for me...
i agree with 95% of what you have said in the video. I left the Bujinkan when Hatsumi created 4 more grades. The techniques are not nonsense but they have to be modified to work. The contexts of the attacks are unrealistic and it is very disorganized. Now , concerning the opinion of the techniques not being a specific ninja or better as shiboni Stephen K Hayes has explained it well. I have issues with him also but he has a good response. most samurai ryu in japan were registered under the bafuku and therefore their history can be authenticated. But the Iga and koga families of peasants and ronins were out casts. They all practiced any technique brought in by Ronin from their ryus and Just practice and executed the bokudo of the times. there was no ninja ryu Hatsumi says the techniques came from for example Shinden fudo Gokkuo Koto To name 3 but they cant be authenticated even if he has scrolls and I have heard hatsumi has tried but failed But here is were Hayes explanation makes sense The ryus names were created by someone and were a compilation of whatever they picked up from registered schools The iga and koga clans were outcasts and looked dow on And what they did was secret and not registered so how could there be official ninja or shinobi ryuys? They simply adopted what they could. Takamatsu added many Edo period aikijutsu techniques am sure and some from china. It was the first MMA systen actually So it can be called the Bujinkan system if you will But not a shinobi system per se. Of course thru out the years it has become a shit show I still practice a derivative based on the tasabaki and taijuutsu principles but it looks and feels different I call it Butaijutsu and is my family system. Hatsumi has done a great disservice and fooled many into a cult atmosphere. Is it a ninja specific system? I agree with you it is not It is a conglameration of many system and some are koryu and others Gendai I suppose. The shinobi followed Bruce lee’s words Use what is useful and discard what is not. I suppose you could say it was an MMA system of the time. they could not register their techiniquesvasca system cuz they were outcasts and most likely borrowed from the martial ways of the time Now do you call that a shinobi system? Maybe.. it is all about the perspective. They did what they had to do to survive. for example I include Judo in my training along with what I learned and modified from the bujinkan To make it work because I know judo. Thats my system. It is a shame what Hatsumi did.. back in the late 70s and 80s it was much better although the attacks were ridiculous. Too slow and in. Ways which no one would attack I threw that out like Bruce lee said and kept the good And never. Went back to make hatsumi richer fooling people but I still believe in the techniques because they are Kobudo I have successfully used them in sparring and have taught others to use them in their karate sparring with success but they were Modfied Thats my take on this.
You were on point and as I've heard, not the only one. We wanted it to be good and it could have been. I have learned som stuff from Bujinkan that have been better and more real working than in 80s jujutsu or shotokan, and then we saw the bullshit. If they only had remained hard and presented it as a jujutsu/taijutsu inspired by the way the shinobi could have moved. I remember a mail/paper in the 90s where Massaki said that the B was going in a softer way. About the same time they changed from Ninpo to Budo in the name. I mean we all wanted the more hardcore stuff but when our instructor came back from a tai-kai utterly depressed we got thinking. And an ex blackbelt who left for Quigong said, what you are searching for, the B does not have. Anyhow got some great lessons from the dojo in Gävle. And love to Söderhamn. Oh yeah and I'm running outa books, so get more scrolls translated ya lazy bastard. Love your work. Keep it up.
Ok, doing an obsessive dive into Bujinkan and this is the 5th video so far. I signed up for a free lesson at the closest Bujinkan. What should I ask them when I start? I love the history and culture (almost more than the MA part of it) and love weapons training. Going to keep watching more, but this style seems to have a big pitfall into the goofball, McDojo problem which I’ll probably be able to tell right off the bat, but am still curious your thoughts.
I think it depends on the instructor, I like where I am now because I train at one dojo but the instructor is also at the local MMA club with me on off days training BJJ and Muay thai. He's actually more realistic than other instructors ive had "Don't use this in a fight but you need to learn this to grade".
The "lore" of the Ninja is much more interesting than the actuality. I'm a child of the 80's so I was infatuated with the lore and that led me to the police academy, the fire academy, bodyguarding and various training and martial arts along the way. My friends still jokingly call me a "Ninja." I'm old now but have accumulated much experience through the years that I could pass on and call myself a "grandmaster" if I was so inclined. I'm guessing a lot of guys are just like me.
In the states (US) it is EXTREMELY difficult to find a decent place to study martial arts. As soon as they put on the headset with the boom mic over the loudspeaker -- I'm out. "Ok class, can you give me a Kiai!" Yeah -- with a knife hand right to the throat.
What rank were you in Bujikan? 7-8 kyu? Did you really spend one straight year training under Soke or was it just a few weeks during those years? Were u shocked when u offered to clean the dojo and they refused you for just showing up?
Your videos on fake martial arts is what got me away from my own local club. I slowly started realising that my sensei had basically been improvising, he started doing what other dojos were doing, we stopped warming up and injuries were skyrocketing, because a Vietnamese club he was an honorary member of didn’t warm up, you should be doing that before showing up! It’s just that we had always had warm ups together and nobody was really told we shouldn’t expect warm ups anymore. Sensei also had a stroke and forgot a lot of his martial arts system, which was never documented for some reason, and soon instruction was given over to people with experience in martial arts from other systems, like shaolin or stuff like that, regardless of whether the person had gone through any instruction training or was even any good at said martial art. It went completely bonkers.I had to give up my own progress to train the others and was never given advancement myself, and it tore on my confidence. Lost contact with a lot of friends due to leaving the cult.. I mean, dojo, but I feel much better about being able to study martial arts with a clearer mind.
I want to say you're not wrong, since ninjutsu is hidden in mystery, there is more to trace back history depends how they believe if it's right or wrong. Since I'm a practitioner of kenpo and Filipino martial arts. To me when I read about Bujikan and Genbukan, those two systems are more to throwing shurikens and ninja weapons. Even nowadays ninja is more to pop culture in anime and tv shows. I read "book on the path of the ninja" and it was good.
Since you asked for people’s opinions, I’ll give you mine. Your frustrations are noted. I’ve had them myself over the decades. I think there is a productive way to explore certain arts, and then there is a way to pursue them expecting to find flaws, which all have. I may be wrong, but you seem to take delight in being hyper-critical, so I think your motives may be coloring your ability to objectively assess the Bujinkan accurately. Having said that, I think you are correct in regard to lack of standards. It’s very frustrating. However, there are some very fine exponents of the Ninpo Taijutsu you seem to believe Soke invented out of thin air. Given the lack of standard, you can’t rely on the “mode” in order to value the viability, I think in an art like this you have to look at the outliers in order to get an accurate assessment of its viability.
Had to be said & you put them right to help them strengthen, not that they bothered listening. I was wondering thru the whole story where that snoring was coming from 😂
I mean, the Bujunkan is founded after an old man with training claimed to be a Shinobi “ninja” from a system that was extinct (Asayama Ichiden Ryu- Tai jutsu not to be confused with AIR Koryu Bujutsu) and other systems mixed. No evidence to support it. And according to what documents we know that Shinobi were samurai that were talented in infiltration, espionage etc. tai jutsu, shinken jutsu, taro jutsu…etc, are samurai arts. The black pajamas guys sneaking around with a a thing of fantasy. Shinobi dressed like, merchants, gardeners, samurai, castle workers etc when at work.
He technically mentioned Genbukan in the beginning, because he had also met and trained with Shoto Tanemura too. Akban is the truth though, certified killers!
I saw it as bullshit as soon as it suddenly became popular in the UK during the mid 80's !! I'm a practitioner of Tomiki Aikido which does have competition like Judo... I went on a course where these "ninja's" turned up at a UK self defence seminar organised by the now defunct Martial Arts Commision to regulate martial arts in the UK... They were a weird lot and completely disillusioned to what they could actually do!! Suffice to say they couldn't handle us Tomiki aikido players... But there you go!! People like magic, but thats all illusion to! 😂
I live in Denver, I training at Kusa Dojo sensei Marc Hanson. His teacher is kancho Chadwick Minge. He’s to tansmura what Stephen Hayes is to Hatsumi. Anyway they has issues with Tanamura. They teach Genbukan but it’s called Ten-Chi-Wa Taijutsu. They could be the best I’ve ever seen. I never felt some one so connected to the earth like literally drawing power from ground . You should check them out some how
MATE I HERE YOU! EXUBERENT FEES PAID BY STUDENTS IN EXCHANGE FOR INSTRUCTORS (SOME THAT ACTUALLY TRAVEL EACH YEAR TO JAPAN) TO BUY GOLD STARS ON BADGES, STRIPES ON BELTS. It is marketed as a combative arts or combative martial art. However any Martial Art (and I dont like saying the word "ART" anymore) should stay true to its cause which is self preservation and applicable to society as it evolves taking into account law of the land within current time, circumstance & environment. Lets go back to the roots of all martial ways before it was labelled as an "Art" was taught for self defence and in defending nations. Whats happening with Bujinkan now is that it has now become a performing art like a dance done leisurely and not taking into account the practicality of the techniques. I respect the Ryuha system that taught techiques of feudal times when people fought with armour and on horsebacks and used various weapons. However conveniently running through the drills of deflecting a punch and leaving your hand dangling there for your opponent to grab and manipulate is impractical. Self preservation is life not a leisurely stroll in the park. Thats the mentality in which a lot of techniques are executed. You can see that from the way the uke attacks and positions his body deliberately in a way that leaves him/her vulnerable. This is not suitable in practical applications for any modern combat scenario whether its urban or warfare environment. Also the Kamae's are very wide and longer strides which originate from opponents wearing heavy battle armour to balance weight taking wider stance. These wide stance make yu slow in modern times and not practical needing to be modified. Also true for wide circular blocking patterns done in slow manner, just wont work in urban environment. There are techniques which are practical and actually work provided that it is taught in a realistic way such as Oni kudaki, dfferent Gyaku Waza, kicks and hand striking weaopns. However it is becoming far more un-realistic as years pass. After Soke Hatsumi introduced the child like "Play" mentality into randori etc, its gone worse with a lot of high belt ranked instructors(sensei'/shidoshi/Shihan) making a fool out of themselves especially on media. There are good instructors such as the Isreali gentleman from "AKBAN" who are serious about their skills and their students, teaching realistic scenarios. But they are a few while the rest keep following in the same old patterns in teaching. I also understand that there are some serious injuries that can result from teaching these techniques in a fast pace in an aggessive manner, hence to go slow with your uke. But not excuse for the dance on show up till now. They really need to bring the art into the modern century while keeping some of the aesthetics of cultural values of the old. From consumer point of view, a student gets his shodan and is overly confident in his dance art techniques confronts an aggressive MMA figher on the street or for that matter anyone with a bigger physique will have the false sense of confidence that he will do a technique but will lose.
Hey we're lucky he isn't going the opposite of conning people and becoming the Shredder 😂 I don't see any lies when Hatsumi says he knows ninjutstu. But he clearly doesn't teach it. I think what we're going through is similar to what Musashi experienced when he called other schools flowery.
@@roycehuepers4325 Do you realize the Ninjutsu of not teaching Ninjutsu while calling it Ninjutsu? It's brilliant! It's the gateless gate: Ninjutsuless Ninjutsu 🤣
Good work for calling out his laziness, I only lasted 2.5 years in Bunjinkan and never met Hatsumi. When I first trained in the late 90s, I'm certain maximum was 10th Dan, now I heard muppets are "earning" (buying) 15th Dan?
My opinion about your story: remonstrance and admonishment are a very deep, and often ignored part of Japanese culture coming from China and Confucianism. Sima Qian, one of the most respected and beloved classical authors and historians that the Samurai read (think Game of Thrones as entertainment for Samurai), had his nuts cut off because he remonstrated the Han emperor (I think about a military campaign that wasn't justified but would have to check) So Mr. Cummins, welcome to being part of a long and rich history of remonstrance in East Asian culture. Just so you know, some Samurai who worked for Hideyoshi who had a problem with what he was doing committed Seppuku to protest him (seems like he didn't care either). The most brilliant segments of the Taiheiki are about retainers protesting their lords. For example, in the Taiheiki there is one line that comes to mind, a reference to Chinese history by Fan Li: "A faithful vassal does not obey when his lord's actions are unrighteous." So all of the Samurai who read and loved the Taiheiki were intimately familiar with such lines. Probably the best advice on remonstrance comes not from the East Asian literature (which will get you killed frankly lol) but from Machiavelli's Chapter 23 "How flatterers to be avoided" I suggest reading the chapter and even the book itself in its entirety, but the point here is that if you want to give advice to a prince (someone above you in rank), get their permission first. "A prince, therefore, must always take counsel, but when he wants to, not when others want to; on the contrary, he must discourage anyone from advising him on any matter UNLESS he asks him about it. But he must certainly be a great asker of questions..." Also, you need to have consideration for the saving face culture. If you want to give someone advice, do it in a 1 on 1 in his office, (or 2 to 1 if we include your friend/translator), not in a public setting where multiple people can see what is happening.
"The truth should be like a warm bathrobe to slip in, not like a wet towel slapped into your face" You would like the approach we have in germany with our DaiShihan "collective" :)
You definitely did the right thing in saying how you see it. That was the beginning of your lifeworks in helping Japan revive and restore it’s cultural wisdom & teachings. 🍻
Is that snoring I hear in the background? I thought it was something with my computer but it is only when I'm listening to the video. edit: Never mind, I saw at the end it's Bolt breathing. lol
Amazing video. I still believe Seiko though, I just can’t find anything about Nanban Satto-ryu Kempo. Perhaps it’s been sublimated into Karate. What happened to main island Japan’s hand-to-hand techniques? They can’t have all been in Okinawa. There is potential (that Bujinkan wasted) of a martial art reviving hand-to-hand Satto-ryu.
You won't find any open demos on Nanban Satto ryu, because, as you have deduced, it most certainly got absorbed into the Iwata Manzo lineage of Shito ryu karate and is taught through bunkai. And since we're talking about Fujita Seiko, I'm actually going to go off a limb and outright say that I absolutely believe 100% that he was a legitimate descendant of Koka mono and that his family were shinobi no mono at one point in time. I've just recently seen a listing of some of the Koka mono that served as gunners and guards for Edo Castle, "Fujita" is one of the names. Not to mention that he DID say in Saigo no Ninja that his family were "of doshin (low ranking samurai that served as policemen) rank", the same rank that the Koka mono in Edo were, and I think he also was born in the same district in Tokyo that the Koka doshin were living too. So it's very likely that he actually had a legitimate family connection that peeked his interest in ninja, but he otherwise didn't actually know any authentic ninjutsu. He low-key admits that too in his books. What happened to mainland Japan's hand to hand techniques? They've always had them, you just have to understand that Japanese jujutsu never had a lot of striking to begin with. Matter of fact, same with karate; Karate originally looked just like a form of Japanese jujutsu with striking and throwing, but the mainland Japanese were already training koryu jujutsu and Kodokan judo and didn't see anything special about karate. So Gichin Funakoshi put much more emphasis on the striking, and his son Ginko further refined it by adopting some of the kicks from French savate. Other karate ryuha followed suit, and that's how karate went from a more all encompassing stand up fighting art to a predominantly striking art.
Bujinkan is a laughing stock. I did it in the 80s. I woke up and went to bjj, muy Thai, mma and wrestling. Its a, tool/weapon based art that is the only useful bit.
Hi Anthony , like you i trained with Hatsumi and Tanemura sensei back in the day and i remember there being a story going around about Brian McCarthy writing a similar letter , not sure if you heard anything like that ? Cheers Paul.
I trained under Brian for a while, and have read the letter you mention, unfortunately I don't have the copy I made. Shame, we learned from him, and would train with him every month or so, and train under men that were trained by him personally multiple times a week. What a shame it went the way it did.
Greetings Mr. Cummins I see your point of view, but I respectfully disagree. People can see what Bujinkan is, before they start. It is like a culture, bigger than Martial Arts. There, you develop connections skills. Guys who wants to develop their Tai Jutsu skills harder can do it with the younger Masters. Normally, they were practioners of other Martial Arts and, they would adapt what they had before. I guess the freedom to expand your mind and habilities to war and guerrilha are subliminals. And you can find this treasure and share with other people that cultivates that, inside Bujinkan Dojo too. Best wishes
The Bujinkan has, and always will be a waste of ones time and energy. Hatsumi is WELL known to be a fraud and one of the kings of the "McDojo" Quite frankly, he couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag.
When i grew up (in the 80's) i was totally hype about anything related to ninja. I wanted to practice martial arts cos of the Sho Kosugi movies and what not, so my parents put me in Judo & Kyokushin classes at the age of 7. When i was about 12, there was a "Ninjutsu" seminar at the dojo. i went there and was like: nah, this ain't it. Even though i was infatuated by the ninja culture, i never felt drawn to the whole "ninjutsu" thing, cos i could tell that a decent Judo/Jiu jitsu practioner would fold them up easily. The techniques without the pressure testing showed me that it wasn't worth it. Low and behold, 30 years later, i found your videos and books about the ninja and the translations of the shoninki and bansenshukai etc. Guess i wasn't too far off lol. No wonder they hate you for exposing the whole cult.
@anthonycummins your bang on. I can recommend maybe a dozen of top skilled practitioners in Bujinkan. I have been in Martial Arts for 35 yrs and yes this art and many others have been watered down and rubber stamp certificates a dime a dozen for cash. Seeing the down grade in the art I have gone back to my original style of American 🇺🇸 Kenpo Karate. Ninjutsu I train my students the old way and tell them go only to Japan for traditional visit but will be disappointed with the skill level of many. Sadly. The original Japanese Sensei’s. Still have it but allowed the degradation of the style. Sad. 🙏.
They never wanted it to be standardized. They never wanted it to be for gaijin. It has always been about money and self promotion. What Antony has described here took an amazing amount of courage. The filthy conditions of the Dojo shows how much they care about their students. Hatsumi has no quality control. He never wanted any. What you did that day and the letter you presented were in the spirt of the real nin.
Interesting story Antony. Thank you for sharing. I tried Bujinkan, or "Ninjitsu" as I called it back then in Sweden. I started 2014, I think, and after like 1 or maybe 2 lessons I wasn't impressed, and I thought about quitting. But, then, for some reason, I came across a 'ninja documentary' on youtube. And I learned how ninjas were these super soldiers that could take on 5 guys single-handedly because of their ninjutsu training. "How cool" I thought, and I looked more into these mysterious ninjas. And as my interest grew I went back to training. And I trained, and I trained and my interest just skyrocketed. I earned my first green belt, which is like a beginner belt, but not a noobie noob belt like white is. And I was proud. And as 2015 came I started studying drama and acting in another city. And I moved to that school and after a little while I started taking Bujinkan classes in that city instead. And after a little while again I came across you on youtube. The first videos I saw was videos with titles like "Antony cummins is a martial arts fraud" and stuff like "Antony sucks at ninjutsu" etc. And I thought "Haha, what kind of dork is this Antony fellow?" But I thought "You know what, I'm gonna watch one of this Antony's videos and see what he is about", and I did. And you didn't come across like a dork at all. I got the impression that you were serious and knowledgable and your perspective of real, historical ninjutsu really got stuck on my mind. And so I found out that that you had started a facebook page and I started to follow you. And I, and several others talked with you on this ninjutsu subject. I was very confused about this whole, what is real and isn't real ninjutsu. And as I continued my bujinkan lessons I thought "Damn, have I been practicing wrong, false, bullshit martial arts this whole time?" And I was feeling more and more uneasy after each lesson. And when I got home I wrote on your facebook page "Shall I quit bujinkan because it's fake?" And you wrote an answer, mentioning another person on your page like: "[That person], delete this comment and contact [My name]". And I saw that answer and I was thinking "Oh shit, weren't I supposed to ask that? Did Ido something wrong?" And I deleted it. And I guess I deleted it before this person that you mentioned saw my comment because I was never contacted. Anyhow, I quit Bujinkan either way and only watched your videos on this ninjutsu subject, and I thought that Bujinkan and Hatsumi and everything was bullshit and frauds and whatever. But I wanted to practice something ninja related, because my interest never went away. So I searched and searched for something but never found anything. And I was very frustrated that I couldn't practice anything genuine. But then I started looking into Bujinkan's perspective. I know your perspective and "your side" of the matter. But I had never heard anything from the Bujinkan. Only a little bit from Christa Jacobson. And and was reading EVERYTHING I came across from Bujinkan's point of view of ninjutsu and ninjas. And after a long, long time of learning everyones take on all this, I finally came to my full conclusion; it is possible, and totally legit and rationally honest, to like both Antony and the Bujinkan. According to Antony there isn't any ninja martial arts. Ninjas didn't have a specifik hand to hand combat that they used that were so effective that they became legendary throughout history. That is true. I believe that statement of yours to 100%. But there is a perspective from the Bujinkan's point of view that I learned after a long time after knowing you. And that is that Ninjutsu is not a specifik type of art. Ninjutsu is not infiltration. Ninjutsu is not fire and explosives. Ninjutsu is not information gathering. Ninjutsu can be APPLIED to those actions though. If you were given orders by your Daimyo to go to another village and destroy their ammunition depot, you could march your army into that village and set fire to that house they stored their ammo, and finish the mission. That would not classify as ninjutsu. But if you instead took a single guy, make him infiltrate that village in the night, place fires underneath that ammunition house and then quietly exit again whithout anyone noticing, and thus finishing the mission, that would classify as ninjutsu. Ninjutsu is doing something in stealth. Now, is hand to hand combat ninjutsu? No, it isn't. However, can ninjutsu be APPLIED to hand to hand combat? Sure, why not? And that is the point of Bujinkan. No, ancient ninjas, most likely, did not use the hand to hand techniques taught in the Bujinkan. But a lot of the hand to hand techniques in the Bujinkan are very old from the samurai times. As most modern japanese hand combat schools, judo, aikido, Bujinkan, Kendo etc, have their base in ancient techniques. And those schools have their own version of them. And Bujinkan's thing is to apply ninjutsu principals to those hand to hand techniques. And to the question about if the Bujinkan did the right or the wrong thing in kicking you out. I'm not suprised that Hatsumi did kick you out. Because I think that japanese people are more easily offended by such things. Even if you wrote that letter in a "polite but strongly" way. However, Hatsumi did welcome you back to train with him after that? If I understood you correctly. And that seems like Hatsumi is big hearted enough to not just be a fraudulent douche scamming people of their money. And after listening to your story it looks like that your career is based out of revenge. You thought that their techniques were shite, which they probably were. I've trained with people that I doubt would win in a fight against a squirral with a broken leg. But you thought they were shite, and you wrote that letter and then you got kicked out, and then you started your "real ninjutsu" career. And have many anti-Bujinkan videos, even after you said in a video that you weren't gonna talk about Bujinkan anymore. It seems like you felt very hurt and betrayed by Hatsumi etc and I understand that. But the past is the past and you were welcomed by Hatsumi again. So maybe bury the hatchet and start anew? Now, after that long ass text I just wanna say that I like your work. And I hope you bring more hidden gems of the ninjas to light. And I like the Bujinkan as well for their martial arts. And I hope you have a good time. PS: What if mommy Antony and daddy Bujinkan got along with eachother? Wouldn't that do so much for the historical view of the ninja and the modern martial arts community? Only Hanzo Hattori knows, and he still living in the shadows!
This is off topic, but did you ever see that open letter to Hatsumi from Doron Navon and how he mentioned that Hatsumi's background was theatre and how all his Ninja stuff was basically fake?
Ninpo died mid 90s, Bujinkan was hit and miss in those days, disapline in society isn't at a level of toughness that breeds hard fighters let alone warriors. You are lucky your students have the attention span to comit to their first grading. Student can only be as good as their teacher buy it goes both ways... im too old myself now and im half Hatsumi's age. Bujinkan never stood a chance.. I thought Stephen Hays would save it... it doesn't look that way.
*Youre not the only one who has said this. But remember… Hastumi was getting old. He should’ve had a successor to take over but he probly needed the money and didn’t wanna give it up. A lot of footage I’ve seen of Hastumi on CZcams was great. He was still tearing guys up. Everybody gets old.*
Its sad, im from a small eastern european country, and we used to train pretty hard and serious, and when we went to a seminar by this Bujinkan big shot for the first time, we were very underwhelmed. it seems guys from out Dojo were much better then most people at that seminar and we were pretty new at that point. Later i found it that we actually got better training then guys who trained with the ''Up to date" instructors, because our instructors trained with Brin Morgan from the UK who was pretty old school ex millitary type, and he trained with an older training program that was discontinued in bujinkan in favor for the newer stuff. From what i've learned he's pretty hated in Bujinkan, like yourself, and he is considered as someone who "strayed from the path"
If you would like to know more about how samurai really behaved, click here
www.amazon.com/Book-Bushido-Complete-Samurai-Chivalry/dp/1786786052/ref=sr_1_1?crid=34G72UHALLT2B&keywords=book+of+bushido&qid=1680017712&sprefix=book+of+bushido%2Caps%2C236&sr=8-1
i googled your name and it does seem like some people very pissy about you 😉
Jeez you really did your homework! Incredible book!
Ya trained with us one wk down budjinkan kokoro dojo dewsbury old instructor dave pawson was doing Togaure ryu think ya was talking about amatsu but what a showed on that day was good
If you get banned from an organization for asking questions, then you know you are on the right path.
I train in the same system as the Bujinkan. My instructor trained with Hayes and Hatsumi etc in those " harder times", and I beleive all the stuff you mentioned frustrated him to no end and that's why he is not Hayes or Hatsumi affiliated. He tries a more MMA approach to those arts, which we appreciate. I love it! I really do, although I do believe in your work as well and train in real ninjutsu through study, and just martial arts for their intended purposes. He told me that basically he hates seeing students move then find a Bujinkan school and how they either get dissapointed geatly or their training suffers and they don't even know it. It's a shame, there are great schools out there that teach the "9 lineages" but the quality control is depressing man!
Does your instructor have a website?
@@mldouglasjr Discovery Martial Arts Portland Maine, just Google that and it should come up
Does your instructor have a youtube channel? I'd love to see real ninjutsu techniques.
Following!
Read about the real father of American Ninjitsu.O, sensei Ronald Duncan.
I find it strange you got kicked out for this reason. I practiced the Bujinkan under several teachers even though I have never been to Japan myself, but I was told on several occasions stuff like:
"If you want to have fun, go to Hatsumi Sensei, but if you want to learn, you need to practice under Sensei X or Y."
"Hatsumi isn't teaching us Ninjutsu, only Taijutsu and how to have fun."
"If Hatsumi praises you, it's just courtesy, which means you aren't doing well because if he sees potential in what you do, he'll correct your mistakes."
"Hatsumi doesn't care about belts if you want a black belt? Just ask him, he'll give you. It's not about the belts."
"Hatsumi gave up on teaching years ago; now he's just having fun with his students."
So for years, I assumed it's common knowledge among "real practitioners" that Hatsumi's classes are not the best place to improve your martial arts. And maybe it's a biased view since I based it on the opinions of my teachers. Still, it also made it difficult for practitioners like myself to find any structure in all of it. But if there is a proper curriculum in place, the belt system could also be a tool to measure how far you have advanced your training. But hey, I never even made it to Black Belt anyway, so who am I to talk?
Damn
The Black Belt system is a "new system" to teach and test the students after the end of EDO era in Japan. This system of teach, the belts, dogi's (kimono's) s was created by Jigoro Kano and Kodokan to teach martial arts like a sport and be accepted at the new society at this time.
None samurai, Musha, ninja, Sōhei, Komusō or other Japanese warrior taked belt or training to take this before the end of EDO ERA.
@@GlaucoASAMIYA the dan system actually has its roots in chess an go games
He should share his original video of getting kicked out of the Bujinkan from 2008-2010. He pulled it down.
One of rudest things I ever remember watching.
By the time I received my blue belt in BJJ (27 years ago) I was submitting black belts in this style and I was also kicked out of the Genbukahn LOL! Those guys are silly living in a make believe cultish world of martial arts.
Same here 😂
Hatsumi never kill his goose that lays the golden eggs and NINJUTSU is the magic word to make the unsuspecting fall into his cult... The same thing other people do putting on ANSHU, SOKE, etc. in their own martial lies.
Thank you, Anthony, for your courage and your observations. What you experience within the Bujinkan probably has been going on since the mid 1990's. Btw, I plan to get one of your books to get a different perspective on Japanese budo history. Fascinating stuff!!!
Thank you Antony! This was great....unfortunately, many of us had similar experiences in our training. Please keep up the excellent work. Expose the lies and hypocracy....no matter what.
You did the right thing in my opinion and you should be proud. Big hugs from Portugal!
Keep up the great work Antony!
I started my serious martial studies around 2012 when I stumbled across your CZcams channel. I HAD bought into the whole “bujikan is the secret unbeatable ninja martial” bs then I saw some of your videos explaining how shinobi no jutsu was a set of skills and not a hand-to-hand fighting system.
You saved me from going down that delusional rabbit hole of bs.
I even bought Steven Hayes dvd “mountains of strength” it just makes me CRINGE watching it now😂
I spent decades within Takamatsu-Den, both in Genbukan and Jinenkan. I was very briefly in Bujinkan, very briefly. Needless to say, all those arts attract a certain level of socially awkward cats...some excellent people in there too, but it is a difficult time to find people who are really serious and capable.
This a reality in any martial arts.
@@GlaucoASAMIYAbut even more so in the Bujinkan
I met some high ranked very fat very unfit yet technique proficient
You were absolutely correct. One of the basics of selecting a "style" or "way" is to verify the teacher's lineage and his teacher's methods and history. This somehow validates the method that you are learning to defend yourself or for self-improvement. When in fact you can learn from anyone. Wisdom is the continued study and the ability to discern your own truth from fiction. I am a follower of the Bujinkan since the beginning
I have always held a bit of skepticism but enjoyed the journey. I mean purple hair? Still, I listened and studied.
I had the privilege of serving this country and learned from the very best the military has to offer in the skills of combat. I used this knowledge to
compare everything I had ever learned (starting around age 7 in karate) in the martial arts and to quote Mr. Bruce Lee " Take what is useful and discard the rest". I have used this as the standard. Thank you for your work. I'm sure it was a long journey but the martial arts community is needing more accountability and you have called the story out into the light.
I was involved in the Bujinkan for a little while and I totally got so sick of the Hatsumi worship,I have met some really cool people but the Bujinkan was getting more and more stupid.
Fantastic, Great you are doing this. An old friend, once trained with a Traditional Ryu, (not a 'Dojo') , part and parcel due to getting married to a Japanese Girl. He mentioned very much the same in that his Teacher mentioned, the big problem started back in the Edo period with the Dojofication that happened in the 1600's run by out of work Samurai that needed to earn money. Traditionally, Martial Skills were just taught within the Clans and Families and for a specific few that showed the right aptitude, would get taught Shinobi Skills. In essence, there were no specific Schools for Ninjitsu etc....
From having known teachers and students that trained with both Hatsumi and Tanemura, the consensus is that Hatsumi used to actually teach, then slowly became a McDojo(edit it appears to be the case with both schools now). A young guy joined our class after being in Bujinkan for years yet could not do anything but taijutsu well. Even the basics were taught with no regard. IMHO, there are more people teaching the actual art that are not Japanese and no longer part of any parent organization that are qualified instructors.
Most of them were fairly badass, having previous martial arts and military experience. Many of them trained outside, regardless of terrain or weather. If you want to know how effective your art is, try it in the rain on the side of a muddy hill lol
Asking to clean instead of paying like everyone else is not a very polite question. Especially when the teacher does not know you, and you are just a random westerner. It's just obvious.
Seems you also misunderstood how the grading works, plus how you actually get feedback. It's really all basic stuff if you know any Japanese culture.
The whole idea that you went straight to Sōke without any basic knowledge of the movement and basics, and you assumed (and demanded) that he actually teaches you something? And after that you, as a total beginner gave feedback and your opinion, and showed disrespect. Why? Absurd.
They tested you, and you failed :) A sad story, but a good example to everyone what not to do.
Are you ok? it's perfectly normal to ask a question. It has nothing to do with demanding anything, it's just a question and being humble the same time cos you're telling someone you don't got the funds for training. You sound like one of them "woke" folks. Smh.
I’m actually a fourth dan
@@AntonyCummins What matters here is how long had you been trained and what was your rank (plus who was your teacher?) when these events occurred. If rank matters at all.
@@makesenz That question was like being a half-uchi-deshi, but in a rental dōjō..? And cleaning up in your own dōjō after training is just normal courtesy and politeness. It's expected even if you pay. In summary, the question was same as asking "can I train for free?". Quite frankly I have no idea how "woke" has anything to do this.
@@AntonyCummins So you started in 1999 and was already a fourth dan in 2005-2007? That sounds very strange. Usually the absolute minimum for dan grades is at least one year between them, so even with that bare minimum you got your first dan in.. 2-4 years? I assume you have your diploma available where we can see the date and the year of your fourth dan? Was it your teacher who updated your grade to Japan? Can we have a name? Words are just words after all.
When I was young, I did Togakure Ryu. The lineage could be traced back to Hatsumi in the 1980s, but I was never a part of the Bujinkan organization itself. I have heard many stories about the Bujinkan, but I cannot say anything about having experience with the organization myself.
The true is that most of this bujinkan teachers have never get a punch in their face, but they are teaching how to fight, this is very dangerous for the people that are believing in this kind of teachings, and of course i am not talking about SPORT combat, i am talking about the use of the secret knive defense........
Even in Brazilian JJ how many get a punch to anywhere
Whether it happens and you’re in the “right” or “wrong”, I feel no martial artists path is complete until they’ve been asked to leave or kicked out of at least one school. Myself this has happened no less than three.
Badge of honor to be booted out.
I had wondered if "Ninjitsu" the martial art was more like traditional Ju-Jitsu, dressed up as a secret art, just like how British "Traditional Ju-Jitsu" seems to be largely WW2 combatives dressed up as a traditional martial art. Evidently not, then.
In all of the many years that I’ve trained in Bujinkan , I’ve never been told that ninjutsu was hand-to hand combat. I was told from the get-go that the martial arts of the Bujinkan are martial arts, and that some of the martial arts are of samurai origin and some of them originated in Iga and were used by people that we now refer to as ninja. I was also told that ninjutsu was a set of strategies and other teachings that are often woven into the martial arts we do, but also encompass things like spycraft, meteorology, and all kinds of other things. Many different people historically are now referred to as ninja, but specifically the people of Iga are the ones referred to by the Bujinkan as ninja. These people were armigers and waged war. Many of them, waged covert war, utilizing spy, craft, and other things, while some of them hired themselves out as mercenaries. They trained in multiple art forms, including armed and unarmed martial arts. There is a big difference, and it is well known to people who train in the Bujinkan, between ninjutsu and taijutsu. I have never heard Hatsumi claim that martial arts fighting techniques were the same thing as ninjutsu. Ninjutsu philosophy perminates our strategies and tactics, but is wholly different and separate. Even Togakure ryu fighting techniques are referred to as ninpo taijutsu, not ninjutsu. We generally say that we study ninjutsu academically, at least to some extent, and train in Budo taijutsu. In the past, it was often referred to as ninpo taijutsu because much of the taijutsu is of Iga, and therefore “ninja” origin, but much of it also comes directly from samurai origins, so now it’s referred to, more accurately, as Budo taijutsu. I realize it in the early days of the arts expansion to the west, many practitioners, not being fluent in Japanese, and not understanding the difference, often referred to what they did as ninjutsu. They were incorrect. Nowadays, enough, western practitioners, have had the differences explain to them, and most do not refer to their martial arts training by that name. There are a few who still do. I think that most of them know the difference, and continue to call it that because that’s what they’ve always called it, or because it makes for good marketing. In any case, you’re not saying anything that we don’t know.
They told everyone but you then. I was in it and they told me.
Good comment acutally your martial art as Ninja could also be Karate. The style of martial art isnt what makes someone a NInja.
Yep. right up front this was clarified in books dated from the 80s by Hatsumi and his students stated the same thing. I never read or heard any claim that Ninjutsu was a set of super-secret fighting techniques. Van Donk's video course and associated books all state the most of the Bujinkan system was Kobudo and Jujutsu. 6 of the 9 Ryu are stated to be Jujutsu Ryus and the 3 Ninpo Ryus , including Togakure-ryu deal more with espionage, tactics, esoteric philosophy as with the Mikkyo and so on. Students of the system always told me their impression was that it was like a kind of dirty street fighting. How is this different from Krav Maga (and lets not forget Duran Nevron took some of it back to Israel so we're not surprised) That stated, I have a copy of tenchi Ryaku no Maki here on my desk and the Taijutsu therein doesn't resemble anything I have encountered in any other school save for vague and remote similarities between Kamae and classic Karate stances.. I have never been taught or experienced the movements of the Kamae the way it is taught in any conventional Karate or other tradition. That stated, I am something of a Survivalist. I couldn't give a rats ass if something is provably authentic or not. If it works, I'll use it. This comes with the caveat there is no such thing as a magic bullet. If you want it to work, you have to make it work. These ideas that martial arts techniques are magic pills that work the same way every time on everyone of every body type, size, temperament, etc is a complete fantasy. If you want it to work, ignore the Horseshit about whose style is better and just make it work. That what fighting is in the first place. There is all kinds of stuff in that system that is unique and would confuse the hell out of observers, but who cares? Being part of an authentic historical tradition means you have excepted self-limitation. If it works, use and forget the criticisms of Academics. .
You can take the boy out of Manchester.... Haha! I think more people outside the Bujinkan now have a better understanding of what the Bujinkan does and how they do it. Good or bad, most of that contributes to you. So, i say you spoke at the right time for the right reasons. Respect for that!
Thanks mark
The tray and shuriken bit made me spit out my drink! :D
I trained in the bujinkan in the late 80s - the 90s, and i watched as the bujinkan changed from something very respectable to me just walking out. I settled on koto ryu it was the only one i found to be useful for me. There were two things that finally made me decide to leave. The first one was around 95-96ish, where he was quoted discouraging training with other martial arts and artists. About a year later, he was quoted as being able to talk to dead people, and that was it, done. I have implemented koto ryu in with the other arts that I've trained in and found it very useful for my training. Ukemi, henka, being creative, etc. I still value my time there, and training with some of the guys i got to train with was a real privilege. But from what I've seen, they have steadily kept moving down hill ever since. Great video! I think it's amazing that someone finally said it. I was never able to go to Japan and felt bad about it for a while, like it was one thing i would have liked to have done, but after hearing so many stories like this im kind of glad i didn't. I do plan on getting your books. Watching a few of your videos has sparked an interest. 👍
That sounds great. I also heard many stories of hatsumis skills.
Hatsumi took on a spiritual identity in purpose to affiliate the school under a religion. I was told the idea was to avoid the huge death duty tax on individuals so the money has gone into the 'organisation/religion' . It's not uncommon in Japan to find ways around the very high tax so you can't blame him for wanting to retain his wealth with the bujinkan.
You were right to say what you said, the bujinkan needs to fix its self. I love the bujinkan but everything younsaid is true. Should you have written that letter no. Maybe you should have addressed Soke in person. Heart to heart
Bro, everything you just said about the generation gap applies to most commercial martial arts in this day.
Edit: 9 months later, i realized I'm pretty sure you're talking about the Yameneko dojo, Jeffrey Prather 7:12 it was something my sensei at the time showed me and remembered seeing in the videos. 1 of the first times i questioned him in my head. But I'm smart enough i could have applied the principles of movement in it, so i assumed at the time this was a lesson of a principle.
Wait... so it's a weird mix of ego driven complacency? Well that explains how a dojo fronted cult like the yamaneko dojo in Arizona can happen.
Once I set it up my Ryu will be similar to how HEMA does things with manuals and rank is earned in a mock battle with as much realism as I can incorporate safely
Burned my own ranks too a year ago
A 'year'?
Stop saying that you "trained" here.
You didn't.
Yes I did
You did a great thing to get kicked out
My teacher lefted the bujinkan in the early 80s, the early 70s they were not as sharp as today but they could fight
For what it's worth, your getting kicked out of the Bujinkan made me check out your translation work after being a Bujinkan fanboy 10+ years.
I did not know that
I believe that the enlightened would have taken such a letter as constructive criticism, meditated on it and then gotten back to you with a feasible answer. Period. Whether he should have listened to you and adjusted accordingly isnt even a factor. He should have at least considered the criticism and spoke to you in a private, professional manner.
I trained with two of his Dans who had their own schools in the states years ago. It didnt take long for me to chalk them up as complete bullshit.
Thank you for all of your hard work. You are the teacher of teachers, as far as the Ninja are concerned.
Thank you very much
I practiced Bujinkan in the early 90s and my sensei explained to me the fighting system werent from the ninja schools and learned very little actual ninjutsu since most of it wasnt applicable or we didnt have the environment to practice it. I eventually left like many and went the combat sports way. Ive known back then Hatsumi was a very poor teacher and he had his own way of handling foreigners.
I'm currently a black belt training in the Bujinkan. Unfortunately, there is a lot of variation in schooling still. I'm teaching a 9th kyu who moved and joined this school, he has not been taught the fundamentals and he's only really experienced henka.
So in essence, it's still a mess and you're lucky if you find a good instructor who focuses on giving you ground work and building you up from there rather than teaching you from where everyone else is and expecting you to make up the difference.
Yea, Kyu grades should not do henka in my opinion. I think it's selfish of the instructor doing henka with people without any conditioning or fundamental skills. It's sad to watch.
The only thing I would have done different is that after having written the letter to get my thoughts sorted I would have done what I could to get a private audience with him so I could open a dialogue with him. I would have opened with an accusation audit (Chris Voss 2016) then led in with my major concerns. Afterward, I'd apply the Chris Voss negotiation principals to the best of my ability, asking open ended questions and summarizing his points until he knew I understand his perspective on the issue. Then we would move into solutions and next steps.
In person is important for tone, as we know from the samurai teachings, writing is always going to sound more harsh than intended. I think your intentions were great and not dancing around it, leaving things unsaid, was important. I think the approach could have been more tactically sound but either way it's much better you tried to persuade him and work to a solution rather than quietly leaving and wondering if he would have listened.
yes, i ran into the same thing around 2001, i lost confidence in them and started looking elsewhere.
You Are correct Antony. No reason in living a Lie and if one sees falseties and know the truth, you Are responsible to speak out. I really admire and respect your work
Thank you very much
Even if it was culturally taboo to do so, I think the letter was well warranted, and it's a shame no one paid attention. I mean, no matter which way you swing it (even with the whole advanced grading to get you to work harder and deserve it thing) the whole ordeal of the Bujinkan is a crumbling sham. I think the notion that Hatsumi wanted to be in TV and movies but could never fully make it, and so he just puts on a show for thousands of dollars per class instead because it's the closest substitute is on the right track. Everyone knows the quality control and organization is just garbage. And if you thought the dojo was dirty, avoid his house at all costs! I can only imagine that the reasons for the good quality teachers and practitioners to stay there is because of either cultural loyalty to your master and the soke, or... y'know, money (props to Ishizuka in the latter case for not teaching at Hombu for the longest time, and having his dojo be more of an invite only sort of place; also amazing how sparse the shihan classes are compared to Hatsumi, given you tend to learn a substantial amount more in the former).
But yeah, and then Tanemura is the exact opposite, going overboard with the control and discipline, seemingly out of spite and resentment for the Bujinkan! I suspect an element of jealousy in the money department as well, which is why his practices are the way they are. As such, both Hatsumi and Tanemura seemed to have turned into money grabbing McDojo's in their own way. I have mad respect for Manaka who seems to be the most legit. I really think the Jinenkan is an honest organization both from a business standpoint and quality control standpoint. Historicity of the ryu-ha aside, you're getting the most honest stab at them there from what I can tell and have had experienced.
Manaka sensei was Hatsumi sensei's number 1 black belt back in the 80s and 90s, I believe, and he left do to Hatsumi not teaching real Ninpo to the foreign students. Hatsumi sensei hid the 'real' techniques to his Japanese students. So Manaka sensei left and opened his own dojo.
@@LaoZi2023er... not really. It was more because of the handing out of grades left, right, and center, as well as the changes (or evolution) Hatsumi was making, where as Manaka wanted to continue to teach things as he had originally been taught (i.e. transmitted them more like Koryu). Of course, it has always been possible to do so while remaining within the Bujinkan. Take Ishizuka dojo for instance where they are more old school, and don't hand out grades just for showing up. Duncan Stewart is another great example of being faithful to the received tradition and avoiding the garbage.
Ok, i get your point of view about Bujikan sistem and the way whe they teach but do you can talk about the "9 lineages" or 9 KORYUS/KOBUDO at Bujinkan system and your opinion about that?
The whole system is so mixed in with fantasy it would be hard to disconnect them
@@AntonyCummins I get it, but in what way, none of them never ever existed?
Hastumi was demonstrating the art of "teach without teaching"
He should be answering it with the art of paying your bill without spending money!
After reading a few of your translations, I came to conclude that true historical ninjutsu is not a style in itself but a specialization within a school of fighting and a job taken on by many of those samurai during the ages pre-Meiji. Since then, the CIA, KGB, etc and many military special forces function in the modern day as what the shinobi were in the day of the samurai. I think any martial arts dojo in this day and age that openly teaches "ninjutsu" to any tourist, at best is a good dojo to teach useful fighting skills, but ought to call itself something else if the core of shinobi is to be acknowledged, which is a way of deception and secrecy with life and death consequences.
That is exactly how I feel
Shuriken from the sleeves, eh? Hatsumi watches to many ninja movies, lol.
Yeah, you did the right thing. Also, nice to see Brian get a positive mention from you
I’d like to meet him.
@@AntonyCummins reach out to him, I’m sure he will be happy to chat
thank you very interesting keep it up.👍
AKABAN and folks of his level and time. Forget most of the instructors out there.
I went to a Genbukan club locally. Great instructor - high rank etc. But the stance!! The almost-straight leading leg - I was just constantly thinking, "I will either kick your knee so that it inverts, or else you will injure yourself!" I thought my Shotokan club had issues (and it did), but there was too much silliness for me...
i agree with 95% of what you have said in the video.
I left the Bujinkan when Hatsumi created 4 more grades.
The techniques are not nonsense but they have to be modified to work.
The contexts of the attacks are unrealistic and it is very disorganized.
Now , concerning the opinion of the techniques not being a specific ninja or better as shiboni
Stephen K Hayes has explained it well.
I have issues with him also but he has a good response.
most samurai ryu in japan were registered under the bafuku and therefore their history can be authenticated.
But the Iga and koga families of peasants and ronins were out casts.
They all practiced any technique brought in by Ronin from their ryus and
Just practice and executed the bokudo of the times.
there was no ninja ryu
Hatsumi says the techniques came from for example
Shinden fudo
Gokkuo
Koto
To name 3 but they cant be authenticated even if he has scrolls and I have heard hatsumi has tried but failed
But here is were Hayes explanation makes sense
The ryus names were created by someone and were a compilation of whatever they picked up from registered schools
The iga and koga clans were outcasts and looked dow on
And what they did was secret and not registered so how could there be official ninja or shinobi ryuys?
They simply adopted what they could.
Takamatsu added many Edo period aikijutsu techniques am sure and some from china. It was the first MMA systen actually
So it can be called the Bujinkan system if you will
But not a shinobi system per se.
Of course thru out the years it has become a shit show
I still practice a derivative based on the tasabaki and taijuutsu principles but it looks and feels different
I call it Butaijutsu and is my family system.
Hatsumi has done a great disservice and fooled many into a cult atmosphere.
Is it a ninja specific system?
I agree with you it is not
It is a conglameration of many system and some are koryu and others Gendai I suppose.
The shinobi followed Bruce lee’s words
Use what is useful and discard what is not.
I suppose you could say it was an MMA system of the time.
they could not register their techiniquesvasca system cuz they were outcasts and most likely borrowed from the martial ways of the time
Now do you call that a shinobi system?
Maybe.. it is all about the perspective.
They did what they had to do to survive.
for example I include
Judo in my training along with what I learned and modified from the bujinkan
To make it work because I know judo.
Thats my system.
It is a shame what Hatsumi did.. back in the late 70s and 80s it was much better although the attacks were ridiculous. Too slow and in. Ways which no one would attack
I threw that out like Bruce lee said and kept the good
And never. Went back to make hatsumi richer fooling people but I still believe in the techniques because they are Kobudo
I have successfully used them in sparring and have taught others to use them in their karate sparring with success but they were
Modfied
Thats my take on this.
You were on point and as I've heard, not the only one. We wanted it to be good and it could have been. I have learned som stuff from Bujinkan that have been better and more real working than in 80s jujutsu or shotokan, and then we saw the bullshit. If they only had remained hard and presented it as a jujutsu/taijutsu inspired by the way the shinobi could have moved. I remember a mail/paper in the 90s where Massaki said that the B was going in a softer way. About the same time they changed from Ninpo to Budo in the name. I mean we all wanted the more hardcore stuff but when our instructor came back from a tai-kai utterly depressed we got thinking. And an ex blackbelt who left for Quigong said, what you are searching for, the B does not have. Anyhow got some great lessons from the dojo in Gävle. And love to Söderhamn. Oh yeah and I'm running outa books, so get more scrolls translated ya lazy bastard. Love your work. Keep it up.
Haha my lazy arse translators need feeding the gold
Ok, doing an obsessive dive into Bujinkan and this is the 5th video so far. I signed up for a free lesson at the closest Bujinkan. What should I ask them when I start? I love the history and culture (almost more than the MA part of it) and love weapons training. Going to keep watching more, but this style seems to have a big pitfall into the goofball, McDojo problem which I’ll probably be able to tell right off the bat, but am still curious your thoughts.
I’d join Natori Ryu instead
@@AntonyCummins Well, what if I did that AND still went to an in-person school. THEN what? 😆
I think it depends on the instructor, I like where I am now because I train at one dojo but the instructor is also at the local MMA club with me on off days training BJJ and Muay thai. He's actually more realistic than other instructors ive had "Don't use this in a fight but you need to learn this to grade".
The "lore" of the Ninja is much more interesting than the actuality. I'm a child of the 80's so I was infatuated with the lore and that led me to the police academy, the fire academy, bodyguarding and various training and martial arts along the way. My friends still jokingly call me a "Ninja." I'm old now but have accumulated much experience through the years that I could pass on and call myself a "grandmaster" if I was so inclined. I'm guessing a lot of guys are just like me.
you need Abkan with Yossi Shariif in Israel.
In the states (US) it is EXTREMELY difficult to find a decent place to study martial arts. As soon as they put on the headset with the boom mic over the loudspeaker -- I'm out. "Ok class, can you give me a Kiai!" Yeah -- with a knife hand right to the throat.
What rank were you in Bujikan? 7-8 kyu? Did you really spend one straight year training under Soke or was it just a few weeks during those years? Were u shocked when u offered to clean the dojo and they refused you for just showing up?
I was a fourth fan and I trained as much as I could all year this story was in the last few weeks of my stay after a year
@@AntonyCummins
Fourth fan??
Your videos on fake martial arts is what got me away from my own local club.
I slowly started realising that my sensei had basically been improvising, he started doing what other dojos were doing, we stopped warming up and injuries were skyrocketing, because a Vietnamese club he was an honorary member of didn’t warm up, you should be doing that before showing up! It’s just that we had always had warm ups together and nobody was really told we shouldn’t expect warm ups anymore.
Sensei also had a stroke and forgot a lot of his martial arts system, which was never documented for some reason, and soon instruction was given over to people with experience in martial arts from other systems, like shaolin or stuff like that, regardless of whether the person had gone through any instruction training or was even any good at said martial art.
It went completely bonkers.I had to give up my own progress to train the others and was never given advancement myself, and it tore on my confidence.
Lost contact with a lot of friends due to leaving the cult.. I mean, dojo, but I feel much better about being able to study martial arts with a clearer mind.
I want to say you're not wrong, since ninjutsu is hidden in mystery, there is more to trace back history depends how they believe if it's right or wrong. Since I'm a practitioner of kenpo and Filipino martial arts. To me when I read about Bujikan and Genbukan, those two systems are more to throwing shurikens and ninja weapons. Even nowadays ninja is more to pop culture in anime and tv shows. I read "book on the path of the ninja" and it was good.
I was in a school that became part of the BBD in 1994. Any thoughts on that? Why did McCarthy leave Hatsumi?
I have no idea I have never even heard of a reason why
real human beeing, and a real hero.
Since you asked for people’s opinions, I’ll give you mine.
Your frustrations are noted. I’ve had them myself over the decades.
I think there is a productive way to explore certain arts, and then there is a way to pursue them expecting to find flaws, which all have.
I may be wrong, but you seem to take delight in being hyper-critical, so I think your motives may be coloring your ability to objectively assess the Bujinkan accurately.
Having said that, I think you are correct in regard to lack of standards. It’s very frustrating.
However, there are some very fine exponents of the Ninpo Taijutsu you seem to believe Soke invented out of thin air.
Given the lack of standard, you can’t rely on the “mode” in order to value the viability, I think in an art like this you have to look at the outliers in order to get an accurate assessment of its viability.
Had to be said & you put them right to help them strengthen, not that they bothered listening. I was wondering thru the whole story where that snoring was coming from 😂
The dog lol
I mean, the Bujunkan is founded after an old man with training claimed to be a Shinobi “ninja” from a system that was extinct (Asayama Ichiden Ryu- Tai jutsu not to be confused with AIR Koryu Bujutsu) and other systems mixed. No evidence to support it. And according to what documents we know that Shinobi were samurai that were talented in infiltration, espionage etc. tai jutsu, shinken jutsu, taro jutsu…etc, are samurai arts. The black pajamas guys sneaking around with a a thing of fantasy. Shinobi dressed like, merchants, gardeners, samurai, castle workers etc when at work.
how do you feel about Hayes being kicked out also and why do you think or know why he left?
No idea. I e never had the inside story
What is that snoring sound I keep hearing at the background in the video?
My dog bolt
What if their martial arts was just the same as the samurai just trained to a higher degree
A person who is spying behind enemy lines needs far less ability in martial arts than a front line fighter.
Ey, Antony! What are your thoughts on Akban and Genbukan? Just same crap of Bujinkan or they worth something after all?
He technically mentioned Genbukan in the beginning, because he had also met and trained with Shoto Tanemura too.
Akban is the truth though, certified killers!
The martial system can be good and you get good people at it. It’s just the set up
i like other schools that mix in modern training along with the Tiajutsu. Akban is doing that among others.
I saw it as bullshit as soon as it suddenly became popular in the UK during the mid 80's !! I'm a practitioner of Tomiki Aikido which does have competition like Judo... I went on a course where these "ninja's" turned up at a UK self defence seminar organised by the now defunct Martial Arts Commision to regulate martial arts in the UK... They were a weird lot and completely disillusioned to what they could actually do!! Suffice to say they couldn't handle us Tomiki aikido players... But there you go!! People like magic, but thats all illusion to! 😂
I live in Denver, I training at Kusa Dojo sensei Marc Hanson. His teacher is kancho Chadwick Minge. He’s to tansmura what Stephen Hayes is to Hatsumi. Anyway they has issues with Tanamura. They teach Genbukan but it’s called Ten-Chi-Wa Taijutsu. They could be the best I’ve ever seen. I never felt some one so connected to the earth like literally drawing power from ground . You should check them out some how
Ahhhhh, the return of the snoring dog in video audio.
MATE I HERE YOU! EXUBERENT FEES PAID BY STUDENTS IN EXCHANGE FOR INSTRUCTORS (SOME THAT ACTUALLY TRAVEL EACH YEAR TO JAPAN) TO BUY GOLD STARS ON BADGES, STRIPES ON BELTS.
It is marketed as a combative arts or combative martial art. However any Martial Art (and I dont like saying the word "ART" anymore) should stay true to its cause which is self preservation and applicable to society as it evolves taking into account law of the land within current time, circumstance & environment.
Lets go back to the roots of all martial ways before it was labelled as an "Art" was taught for self defence and in defending nations.
Whats happening with Bujinkan now is that it has now become a performing art like a dance done leisurely and not taking into account the practicality of the techniques.
I respect the Ryuha system that taught techiques of feudal times when people fought with armour and on horsebacks and used various weapons.
However conveniently running through the drills of deflecting a punch and leaving your hand dangling there for your opponent to grab and manipulate is impractical.
Self preservation is life not a leisurely stroll in the park. Thats the mentality in which a lot of techniques are executed. You can see that from the way the uke attacks and positions his body deliberately in a way that leaves him/her vulnerable. This is not suitable in practical applications for any modern combat scenario whether its urban or warfare environment. Also the Kamae's are very wide and longer strides which originate from opponents wearing heavy battle armour to balance weight taking wider stance. These wide stance make yu slow in modern times and not practical needing to be modified. Also true for wide circular blocking patterns done in slow manner, just wont work in urban environment.
There are techniques which are practical and actually work provided that it is taught in a realistic way such as Oni kudaki, dfferent Gyaku Waza, kicks and hand striking weaopns.
However it is becoming far more un-realistic as years pass. After Soke Hatsumi introduced the child like "Play" mentality into randori etc, its gone worse with a lot of high belt ranked instructors(sensei'/shidoshi/Shihan) making a fool out of themselves especially on media.
There are good instructors such as the Isreali gentleman from "AKBAN" who are serious about their skills and their students, teaching realistic scenarios.
But they are a few while the rest keep following in the same old patterns in teaching.
I also understand that there are some serious injuries that can result from teaching these techniques in a fast pace in an aggessive manner, hence to go slow with your uke. But not excuse for the dance on show up till now.
They really need to bring the art into the modern century while keeping some of the aesthetics of cultural values of the old.
From consumer point of view, a student gets his shodan and is overly confident in his dance art techniques confronts an aggressive MMA figher on the street or for that matter anyone with a bigger physique will have the false sense of confidence that he will do a technique but will lose.
Did you just admit that Hatsumi is a Ninjutsu master for being able to convince people to buy "free" calligraphy? 🤣
Hey we're lucky he isn't going the opposite of conning people and becoming the Shredder 😂
I don't see any lies when Hatsumi says he knows ninjutstu. But he clearly doesn't teach it.
I think what we're going through is similar to what Musashi experienced when he called other schools flowery.
@@roycehuepers4325 Do you realize the Ninjutsu of not teaching Ninjutsu while calling it Ninjutsu? It's brilliant!
It's the gateless gate: Ninjutsuless Ninjutsu 🤣
A conman
You don’t pay for that calligraphy. I own 5 or 6 and no a single euro payed.
Different cultures, it's that simple.
Good work for calling out his laziness, I only lasted 2.5 years in Bunjinkan and never met Hatsumi.
When I first trained in the late 90s, I'm certain maximum was 10th Dan, now I heard muppets are "earning" (buying) 15th Dan?
My opinion about your story: remonstrance and admonishment are a very deep, and often ignored part of Japanese culture coming from China and Confucianism. Sima Qian, one of the most respected and beloved classical authors and historians that the Samurai read (think Game of Thrones as entertainment for Samurai), had his nuts cut off because he remonstrated the Han emperor (I think about a military campaign that wasn't justified but would have to check)
So Mr. Cummins, welcome to being part of a long and rich history of remonstrance in East Asian culture. Just so you know, some Samurai who worked for Hideyoshi who had a problem with what he was doing committed Seppuku to protest him (seems like he didn't care either).
The most brilliant segments of the Taiheiki are about retainers protesting their lords. For example, in the Taiheiki there is one line that comes to mind, a reference to Chinese history by Fan Li:
"A faithful vassal does not obey when his lord's actions are unrighteous."
So all of the Samurai who read and loved the Taiheiki were intimately familiar with such lines.
Probably the best advice on remonstrance comes not from the East Asian literature (which will get you killed frankly lol) but from Machiavelli's Chapter 23 "How flatterers to be avoided"
I suggest reading the chapter and even the book itself in its entirety, but the point here is that if you want to give advice to a prince (someone above you in rank), get their permission first.
"A prince, therefore, must always take counsel, but when he wants to, not when others want to; on the contrary, he must discourage anyone from advising him on any matter UNLESS he asks him about it. But he must certainly be a great asker of questions..."
Also, you need to have consideration for the saving face culture. If you want to give someone advice, do it in a 1 on 1 in his office, (or 2 to 1 if we include your friend/translator), not in a public setting where multiple people can see what is happening.
All very true, my man.
I did it in a private letter
@@AntonyCummins How was it a private letter if other people were watching you when you met with Hatsumi?
"The truth should be like a warm bathrobe to slip in, not like a wet towel slapped into your face"
You would like the approach we have in germany with our DaiShihan "collective" :)
You definitely did the right thing in saying how you see it. That was the beginning of your lifeworks in helping Japan revive and restore it’s cultural wisdom & teachings. 🍻
Yeah I was asked to leave for my own safety..😂 wise man doesn't dip wick in the company ink! 😂
Is that snoring I hear in the background? I thought it was something with my computer but it is only when I'm listening to the video. edit: Never mind, I saw at the end it's Bolt breathing. lol
Yep bloody bolt
Yep, I was wondering the same thing! 😂
Amazing video. I still believe Seiko though, I just can’t find anything about Nanban Satto-ryu Kempo. Perhaps it’s been sublimated into Karate. What happened to main island Japan’s hand-to-hand techniques? They can’t have all been in Okinawa. There is potential (that Bujinkan wasted) of a martial art reviving hand-to-hand Satto-ryu.
The Bujinkan wasted so much potential
You won't find any open demos on Nanban Satto ryu, because, as you have deduced, it most certainly got absorbed into the Iwata Manzo lineage of Shito ryu karate and is taught through bunkai. And since we're talking about Fujita Seiko, I'm actually going to go off a limb and outright say that I absolutely believe 100% that he was a legitimate descendant of Koka mono and that his family were shinobi no mono at one point in time. I've just recently seen a listing of some of the Koka mono that served as gunners and guards for Edo Castle, "Fujita" is one of the names. Not to mention that he DID say in Saigo no Ninja that his family were "of doshin (low ranking samurai that served as policemen) rank", the same rank that the Koka mono in Edo were, and I think he also was born in the same district in Tokyo that the Koka doshin were living too. So it's very likely that he actually had a legitimate family connection that peeked his interest in ninja, but he otherwise didn't actually know any authentic ninjutsu. He low-key admits that too in his books.
What happened to mainland Japan's hand to hand techniques? They've always had them, you just have to understand that Japanese jujutsu never had a lot of striking to begin with. Matter of fact, same with karate; Karate originally looked just like a form of Japanese jujutsu with striking and throwing, but the mainland Japanese were already training koryu jujutsu and Kodokan judo and didn't see anything special about karate. So Gichin Funakoshi put much more emphasis on the striking, and his son Ginko further refined it by adopting some of the kicks from French savate. Other karate ryuha followed suit, and that's how karate went from a more all encompassing stand up fighting art to a predominantly striking art.
Bujinkan is a laughing stock. I did it in the 80s. I woke up and went to bjj, muy Thai, mma and wrestling. Its a, tool/weapon based art that is the only useful bit.
Hi Anthony , like you i trained with Hatsumi and Tanemura sensei back in the day and i remember there being a story going around about Brian McCarthy writing a similar letter , not sure if you heard anything like that ? Cheers Paul.
No not heard that one
I trained under Brian for a while, and have read the letter you mention, unfortunately I don't have the copy I made. Shame, we learned from him, and would train with him every month or so, and train under men that were trained by him personally multiple times a week. What a shame it went the way it did.
Greetings Mr. Cummins
I see your point of view, but I respectfully disagree. People can see what Bujinkan is, before they start. It is like a culture, bigger than Martial Arts. There, you develop connections skills. Guys who wants to develop their Tai Jutsu skills harder can do it with the younger Masters. Normally, they were practioners of other Martial Arts and, they would adapt what they had before. I guess the freedom to expand your mind and habilities to war and guerrilha are subliminals. And you can find this treasure and share with other people that cultivates that, inside Bujinkan Dojo too.
Best wishes
The Bujinkan has, and always will be a waste of ones time and energy. Hatsumi is WELL known to be a fraud and one of the kings of the "McDojo"
Quite frankly, he couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag.
When i grew up (in the 80's) i was totally hype about anything related to ninja. I wanted to practice martial arts cos of the Sho Kosugi movies and what not, so my parents put me in Judo & Kyokushin classes at the age of 7. When i was about 12, there was a "Ninjutsu" seminar at the dojo. i went there and was like: nah, this ain't it. Even though i was infatuated by the ninja culture, i never felt drawn to the whole "ninjutsu" thing, cos i could tell that a decent Judo/Jiu jitsu practioner would fold them up easily. The techniques without the pressure testing showed me that it wasn't worth it. Low and behold, 30 years later, i found your videos and books about the ninja and the translations of the shoninki and bansenshukai etc. Guess i wasn't too far off lol. No wonder they hate you for exposing the whole cult.
loved the video, but can I ask who is snoring in the background about 7 mins +. ?
Bolt my dog
@@AntonyCummins Awesome, watching the vid in the early hours with head phone, it gave me a surreal form augmented reality.
oooh that was her who was snorring like that in the background xD xD
You have only repeated in real life what Taimak played in "The Last Dragon".
@anthonycummins your bang on. I can recommend maybe a dozen of top skilled practitioners in Bujinkan. I have been in Martial Arts for 35 yrs and yes this art and many others have been watered down and rubber stamp certificates a dime a dozen for cash. Seeing the down grade in the art I have gone back to my original style of American 🇺🇸 Kenpo Karate. Ninjutsu I train my students the old way and tell them go only to Japan for traditional visit but will be disappointed with the skill level of many. Sadly. The original Japanese Sensei’s. Still have it but allowed the degradation of the style. Sad. 🙏.
You answered yourself. With a scam of 5000$ a lesson there was no way he would have listened
They never wanted it to be standardized. They never wanted it to be for gaijin. It has always been about money and self promotion. What Antony has described here took an amazing amount of courage. The filthy conditions of the Dojo shows how much they care about their students. Hatsumi has no quality control. He never wanted any. What you did that day and the letter you presented were in the spirt of the real nin.
Interesting story Antony. Thank you for sharing. I tried Bujinkan, or "Ninjitsu" as I called it back then in Sweden. I started 2014, I think, and after like 1 or maybe 2 lessons I wasn't impressed, and I thought about quitting. But, then, for some reason, I came across a 'ninja documentary' on youtube. And I learned how ninjas were these super soldiers that could take on 5 guys single-handedly because of their ninjutsu training. "How cool" I thought, and I looked more into these mysterious ninjas. And as my interest grew I went back to training. And I trained, and I trained and my interest just skyrocketed. I earned my first green belt, which is like a beginner belt, but not a noobie noob belt like white is. And I was proud. And as 2015 came I started studying drama and acting in another city. And I moved to that school and after a little while I started taking Bujinkan classes in that city instead. And after a little while again I came across you on youtube. The first videos I saw was videos with titles like "Antony cummins is a martial arts fraud" and stuff like "Antony sucks at ninjutsu" etc. And I thought "Haha, what kind of dork is this Antony fellow?" But I thought "You know what, I'm gonna watch one of this Antony's videos and see what he is about", and I did. And you didn't come across like a dork at all. I got the impression that you were serious and knowledgable and your perspective of real, historical ninjutsu really got stuck on my mind. And so I found out that that you had started a facebook page and I started to follow you. And I, and several others talked with you on this ninjutsu subject. I was very confused about this whole, what is real and isn't real ninjutsu. And as I continued my bujinkan lessons I thought "Damn, have I been practicing wrong, false, bullshit martial arts this whole time?" And I was feeling more and more uneasy after each lesson. And when I got home I wrote on your facebook page "Shall I quit bujinkan because it's fake?" And you wrote an answer, mentioning another person on your page like: "[That person], delete this comment and contact [My name]". And I saw that answer and I was thinking "Oh shit, weren't I supposed to ask that? Did Ido something wrong?" And I deleted it. And I guess I deleted it before this person that you mentioned saw my comment because I was never contacted. Anyhow, I quit Bujinkan either way and only watched your videos on this ninjutsu subject, and I thought that Bujinkan and Hatsumi and everything was bullshit and frauds and whatever. But I wanted to practice something ninja related, because my interest never went away. So I searched and searched for something but never found anything. And I was very frustrated that I couldn't practice anything genuine. But then I started looking into Bujinkan's perspective. I know your perspective and "your side" of the matter. But I had never heard anything from the Bujinkan. Only a little bit from Christa Jacobson. And and was reading EVERYTHING I came across from Bujinkan's point of view of ninjutsu and ninjas. And after a long, long time of learning everyones take on all this, I finally came to my full conclusion; it is possible, and totally legit and rationally honest, to like both Antony and the Bujinkan. According to Antony there isn't any ninja martial arts. Ninjas didn't have a specifik hand to hand combat that they used that were so effective that they became legendary throughout history. That is true. I believe that statement of yours to 100%. But there is a perspective from the Bujinkan's point of view that I learned after a long time after knowing you. And that is that Ninjutsu is not a specifik type of art. Ninjutsu is not infiltration. Ninjutsu is not fire and explosives. Ninjutsu is not information gathering. Ninjutsu can be APPLIED to those actions though. If you were given orders by your Daimyo to go to another village and destroy their ammunition depot, you could march your army into that village and set fire to that house they stored their ammo, and finish the mission. That would not classify as ninjutsu. But if you instead took a single guy, make him infiltrate that village in the night, place fires underneath that ammunition house and then quietly exit again whithout anyone noticing, and thus finishing the mission, that would classify as ninjutsu. Ninjutsu is doing something in stealth. Now, is hand to hand combat ninjutsu? No, it isn't. However, can ninjutsu be APPLIED to hand to hand combat? Sure, why not? And that is the point of Bujinkan. No, ancient ninjas, most likely, did not use the hand to hand techniques taught in the Bujinkan. But a lot of the hand to hand techniques in the Bujinkan are very old from the samurai times. As most modern japanese hand combat schools, judo, aikido, Bujinkan, Kendo etc, have their base in ancient techniques. And those schools have their own version of them. And Bujinkan's thing is to apply ninjutsu principals to those hand to hand techniques.
And to the question about if the Bujinkan did the right or the wrong thing in kicking you out. I'm not suprised that Hatsumi did kick you out. Because I think that japanese people are more easily offended by such things. Even if you wrote that letter in a "polite but strongly" way. However, Hatsumi did welcome you back to train with him after that? If I understood you correctly. And that seems like Hatsumi is big hearted enough to not just be a fraudulent douche scamming people of their money.
And after listening to your story it looks like that your career is based out of revenge. You thought that their techniques were shite, which they probably were. I've trained with people that I doubt would win in a fight against a squirral with a broken leg. But you thought they were shite, and you wrote that letter and then you got kicked out, and then you started your "real ninjutsu" career. And have many anti-Bujinkan videos, even after you said in a video that you weren't gonna talk about Bujinkan anymore. It seems like you felt very hurt and betrayed by Hatsumi etc and I understand that. But the past is the past and you were welcomed by Hatsumi again. So maybe bury the hatchet and start anew?
Now, after that long ass text I just wanna say that I like your work. And I hope you bring more hidden gems of the ninjas to light. And I like the Bujinkan as well for their martial arts. And I hope you have a good time.
PS: What if mommy Antony and daddy Bujinkan got along with eachother? Wouldn't that do so much for the historical view of the ninja and the modern martial arts community? Only Hanzo Hattori knows, and he still living in the shadows!
Thank you for the long reply
Great video! But also next time can you move the dog away from the mic? The breathing.
This is off topic, but did you ever see that open letter to Hatsumi from Doron Navon and how he mentioned that Hatsumi's background was theatre and how all his Ninja stuff was basically fake?
No but send me a copy if you can
I would love to read this
@@AntonyCummins wow, that's must be showed!
@@stratdx I’ve been trying to find it, but it could of been taken down. It was labelled “an open letter to Hatsumi” or something.
Yes on everything you did, I would have done the same thing
People like that I would've just call them out and left
Ninpo died mid 90s, Bujinkan was hit and miss in those days, disapline in society isn't at a level of toughness that breeds hard fighters let alone warriors. You are lucky your students have the attention span to comit to their first grading. Student can only be as good as their teacher buy it goes both ways... im too old myself now and im half Hatsumi's age. Bujinkan never stood a chance.. I thought Stephen Hays would save it... it doesn't look that way.
*Youre not the only one who has said this. But remember… Hastumi was getting old. He should’ve had a successor to take over but he probly needed the money and didn’t wanna give it up. A lot of footage I’ve seen of Hastumi on CZcams was great. He was still tearing guys up. Everybody gets old.*
Its sad, im from a small eastern european country, and we used to train pretty hard and serious, and when we went to a seminar by this Bujinkan big shot for the first time, we were very underwhelmed. it seems guys from out Dojo were much better then most people at that seminar and we were pretty new at that point. Later i found it that we actually got better training then guys who trained with the ''Up to date" instructors, because our instructors trained with Brin Morgan from the UK who was pretty old school ex millitary type, and he trained with an older training program that was discontinued in bujinkan in favor for the newer stuff. From what i've learned he's pretty hated in Bujinkan, like yourself, and he is considered as someone who "strayed from the path"
I met him in the uk, he lived close to my city.
Haha it's true that some instructors (all schools/ 'styles') are not as good as you'd expect for their 'graded' belt.