I keep forgetting there is a seprate section for To-Shin Do. Anybody going to the Discovery seminar this month in Portland, ME. I am trying to get down and I know there is quite a few people from this area going down. Should be a great time this year.

Is that the seminar hosted by John Poliquin? If so, no, I won't be able to make it.

Yeah, I'm really diggin' this split of the To-Shin Do forum from the forums of Japanese arts. Perhaps it will assist in others feeling they must correct how things are done or should be done in To-Shin Do. Hopefully it stays this way.

Is that the seminar hosted by John Poliquin? If so, no, I won't be able to make it.

Yes it is. If you have never trained with John you have to try it. He was my first instructor way back, and I am still amazed at his movement and knowledge. This should be a good seminar, there are going to be 2 Instructors I haven't worked with yet so that should be interesting; Tori Eldridge from California, and Hardy Merret from N.C. The others I have had the priviledge to train with, John Poliquin and Brett Varnum a lot, and Marc Jobin came down last summer with some of his students to my regular training place for a seminar on knife work.

Yeah, I'm really diggin' this split of the To-Shin Do forum from the forums of Japanese arts. Perhaps it will assist in others feeling they must correct how things are done or should be done in To-Shin Do. Hopefully it stays this way.

I agree. There has been a LOT of bitter water under the bridge from both sides of the split and it is best to let it go. I know and like the Bujinkan instructors I have had the priviledge to train with and the same goes for the To-Shin Do Instructors as well. (All kidding aside, ALL the TSD Instructors I have trained with so far even during seminars started in the Bujinkan.) That might change with this seminar but I am not sure.

I've seen Hardy Merrit do his thing before. Great martial artist. His groundwork is definitely something I admire.

I've seen Hardy Merrit do his thing before. Great martial artist. His groundwork is definitely something I admire.

If you like groundwork, you have to see John. Never in any art seen better personally, before anybody asks, yes I have done some Jujitsu and judo. The guy is simply a phenom on the ground. I can't wait to see Hardy Merrit do his thing as well.

I have had the "privilege" of being tapped out by John. It's not a pleasant experience. He was doing some ground work at the TSD Hombu. What was cool was that my training partner for the seminar was Mrs. Hayes and she is the one that sought me out! It was one of the coolest seminars I have EVER participated in. I have trained with Hardy too, however it's been several years ago. At the time we were both black belts, but he has far surpassed my abilities. I am sure the seminar will be awesome.

Tori Eldridge from California.


What a wonderful and apt name..

Wish I could make it! I have trained with all of them and they are great!!!!

Is there anything on the web about it?

Nothing real in depth on his web site, but here is a link anyway. Gives a brief introduction to the guest instructors and the date. I believe it goes from 8 or 9 AM to around 3:30 or 4 PM both Saturday and Sunday the 24th and 25th of this month.

http://www.questmartialarts.com/html/quest_advanced_discovery.html

If you like groundwork, you have to see John. Never in any art seen better personally, before anybody asks, yes I have done some Jujitsu and judo. The guy is simply a phenom on the ground. I can't wait to see Hardy Merrit do his thing as well.

I've never seen John do groundwork but I have heard plenty about him. Yeah, from what I've heard as well, there are far few in any Ninjutsu school or other arts for that matter that could outdo him. Of course, this is only what I've been told.

Yeah, I'm really diggin' this split of the To-Shin Do forum from the forums of Japanese arts. Perhaps it will assist in others feeling they must correct how things are done or should be done in To-Shin Do. Hopefully it stays this way.[/quote]

I'm glad to find this place...just did today...I posted in one of the other threads about the "anyone to shin do" just now
but wanted to comment on that point... i've been wanting to start training in to shin do in the dallas area and looking for a training partner to train with or possibly do the home study course with and anytime I post on another forum I usually get mostly negative comments about it not being this or it is something else or something along those lines so i'm glad to find you guys

j. mcginn

I'm glad to find this place...just did today...I posted in one of the other threads about the "anyone to shin do" just now
but wanted to comment on that point... i've been wanting to start training in to shin do in the dallas area and looking for a training partner to train with or possibly do the home study course with and anytime I post on another forum I usually get mostly negative comments about it not being this or it is something else or something along those lines so i'm glad to find you guys

j. mcginn


Glad you found us as well. I like the split in the forum as well. Saves the whole Bujinkan/To-Shin Do argument a bit. There will always be a difference of opinion and the arts. I still ride the fence of which one to tell the truth, but circumstances and avalibility have made the choice for me, and I am comfortable in it.

Stop on over to the "Meet and Greet" section and formally introduce yourself to the rest of the board. There are loads of great people here and they are willing to share knowledge with those who really want to learn.

anytime I post on another forum I usually get mostly negative comments about it not being this or it is something else or something along those lines..

j. mcginn


To be fair people were just giving you their opinions on the pitfalls against Homestudy and actual time training in the Dojo. I can't see anyone arguing that Homestudy is a replacement for Dojo training in any shape or form.

Did you actually chase up any of the information given?

How did you get on?

Getting close now. Leaving on Friday at noon to head down and have a few cold ones with everybody before the seminar starts on Saturday. I'm looking forward to seeing people I haven't had a chance to talk to in a couple of years, and meeting new people I've just heard of.

Have a great time Scott!

Well it's over foe this year. Those of you who didn't have a chance to make it, get with someone who did. There were some great things shown, and enough new material for years and years of study. I am very thankful for all the different Instructors who shared something with the rest of us there. The Instructors who shared were not only the "headliners" but also a few others who tossed out something extra for the participants and other Instructors to take home and "play" with. These I am very proud to say included my brother who did a couple of techiniques. There were Instructors from as far away as South Africa to as close as our own school owners.

I will probably be sore for the next few days, but it is a good type of soreness. It will take a few days or weeks to mentally sort the information given out, and a lifetime to figure it out.

So how did you enjoy Mr. Merrit's nuggets?

Pretty good :) OK real nice.

Plus he is a nice guy it appears. He is one of the guys who went out with a bunch of us Friday night before the seminar.

His 1 1/2 hour segment was mostly on the ground and I love that anyway so it was a good time. Had an advantage because 2 of the things he covered we had just done in our regular training and it got the bunch of us from up here in the groove first thing.

Looks like John has posted some photos from the seminar on his website. Here is a link if your interested. http://questmartialarts.com/html/quest_gallery_one.html

There are a few with some of our group who went down in the mix. Top right hand photo (look beyond the nice looking girl with the braid) and you'll see me looking over something I didn't get right off, so my training partner was getting his behind kicked so I could "see" what I was missing. Oh; yes it is difficult to train with the girl in the braid every week, but somebody has to you know :). Actually both of them in that picture has drawn blood on me during training (come to think of it, everybody in that photo has), and they both had me squirming during the seminar trying to tap out of a particularly nasty wrist breaking technique they had to try on a bigger guy.