Bruno@MT
02-26-2009, 05:23 PM
I joined the day before yesterday. I joined Genbukan ninpo a couple of weeks ago, and I did some research about the traditional ryu system and ninpo. MT came up a lot, and I read a ton of posts already. I still had some questions left so joined MT. I am new to traditional Japanese Martial Arts. When I was in college I practised modern jiu-jitsu for 3.5 years, but quit when I was in the last year of my masters degree because of lack of time.
After a year or to I started again, but due to work (I was a consultant) it watered down eventually so I quit.
A couple of years ago I tried kendo. I liked the boken kata, but when it was time to don the armor (forgot the name) I chickened out. I had a severe concussion once, and I didn't fancy another one. I tried on one of those helmets, and asked a more experienced member to hit me. I understand that in any martial art, injuries can happen. Even in flower arranging, you can cut your finger.
But the hits were hard enough to have a significant risk of causing me a concussion (research confirmed this) and getting hit on the head is a normal part of practising. My livelihood depends on sitting behind a computer screen 10 to 12 hours per day, and concussions can seriously hinder that. so I left.
A month ago I found a flyer that advertised a traditional ju-jutsu dojo that had just opened up, not 5 minutes from where I live. So i visited their website, emailed the sensei, and then agreed to drop by for a try-out lesson. It was only then that I found out it is actually ninpo they teach atm, and not yet ju-jutsu (genbukan does both).
I really enjoyed the try-out session. So last week I filled in all the paperwork and became a member. There is a lot of discussion, comapring one MA to another. But to me, the most important thing is to enjoy it, and it provides what you want to get out of it.
I have a wife and 2 daughters (4 and 2) and a lot of my free time goes to renovating my house.
As for hobbies, I spend a lot of my time on C++ programming and writing articles about that. But my biggest time sink is being a moderator on a website for people who share an interest in wet shaving and straight razors. www.straightrazorplace.com (http://www.straightrazorplace.com) I also restore damaged antique straight razors.
Oh and I like coffee. A lot.
After a year or to I started again, but due to work (I was a consultant) it watered down eventually so I quit.
A couple of years ago I tried kendo. I liked the boken kata, but when it was time to don the armor (forgot the name) I chickened out. I had a severe concussion once, and I didn't fancy another one. I tried on one of those helmets, and asked a more experienced member to hit me. I understand that in any martial art, injuries can happen. Even in flower arranging, you can cut your finger.
But the hits were hard enough to have a significant risk of causing me a concussion (research confirmed this) and getting hit on the head is a normal part of practising. My livelihood depends on sitting behind a computer screen 10 to 12 hours per day, and concussions can seriously hinder that. so I left.
A month ago I found a flyer that advertised a traditional ju-jutsu dojo that had just opened up, not 5 minutes from where I live. So i visited their website, emailed the sensei, and then agreed to drop by for a try-out lesson. It was only then that I found out it is actually ninpo they teach atm, and not yet ju-jutsu (genbukan does both).
I really enjoyed the try-out session. So last week I filled in all the paperwork and became a member. There is a lot of discussion, comapring one MA to another. But to me, the most important thing is to enjoy it, and it provides what you want to get out of it.
I have a wife and 2 daughters (4 and 2) and a lot of my free time goes to renovating my house.
As for hobbies, I spend a lot of my time on C++ programming and writing articles about that. But my biggest time sink is being a moderator on a website for people who share an interest in wet shaving and straight razors. www.straightrazorplace.com (http://www.straightrazorplace.com) I also restore damaged antique straight razors.
Oh and I like coffee. A lot.