Anybody know who Glen Levy "ninjitsu expert" is?

[Don Roley]

Upon arriving back from the states, we heard how Glen continued to ask production to change the spelling, as it was wrong, and to stop calling him an expert.

Ran across this on his web site

Glen has achieved international recognition as one of the worlds foremost martial artists and teachers.

Kind of hard to convince me that this guy did not want to be called an expert when his own web site builds him up as one.

 

[Don Roley]

I did a web search and something struck me as odd.

If this guy has been studying Togakure ryu for twelve years, how come nobody seems to have talked about him at all? No one in the Bujinkan, Genbukan, Jinenkan or Toshindo seems to have come forward in any of the forums to say they know this guy, nor is there any posts I can find of people talking about meeting him at training.

If you punch in the names of most people that have been involved in the art for 12 years and are teaching, you will get a few hits of people on places like Kutaki talking about meeting and training with them. People talk about having a beer after training and things like that all the time for a lot of people.

But for this guy.... nothing.

 

[Bjorn Olav]

I just seen the show, and one thing that had my wonder abit was his blocks. After he walks on this pedestal things, he shows a couple of blocks. He moves his body, sliding his feet, then he lift his toas of the ground so that just the heel is touching. I checked this pressure point technique as well, where he hit's just below the armpit. Same thing again, has he moves he tilts his foot so that the toes are high above the ground, only heel touching.

Im fare from an expert in the field, but I have been training in Bujinkan for around 7 years or so. Lifting your toes like that would be a no-go in the dojo have been training in, and it made me google his name. Seems he's a poweranger, not a practioner of ninjutsu. Abit sad they could not find some of the real experts in the field, seems they got a good collection of skilled people for various other arts. Why the heck the taikwondo (sp?) guy was using a katana I wonder about aswell, as fare as I know they dont use a katana in that style (not that I have any experience with is what so ever).

 

[Rich Parsons]

Just looked him up on IMDB.com. Yeah, he was involved with XMA on Discovery.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1355683/

So, there are ( uncredited ) and ( unknown episodes ) which makes me think this could be an area for buffing a resume.

 

[Rich Parsons]

I did a web search and something struck me as odd.

If this guy has been studying Togakure ryu for twelve years, how come nobody seems to have talked about him at all? No one in the Bujinkan, Genbukan, Jinenkan or Toshindo seems to have come forward in any of the forums to say they know this guy, nor is there any posts I can find of people talking about meeting him at training.

If you punch in the names of most people that have been involved in the art for 12 years and are teaching, you will get a few hits of people on places like Kutaki talking about meeting and training with them. People talk about having a beer after training and things like that all the time for a lot of people.

But for this guy.... nothing.

Maybe just maybe he was undercover and had a stage name when training with others.


Seriously, one should find someone somewhere who knows someone who has seen him or trained with him.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

There is always a chance that he trained. However what he showed on the TV show was definately not authentic Ninjutsu.

 

[shinobi_ashton]

So is the Glen Levy a fraud or what?

Like Ashida Kim? I heard Ashida Kim has secret jedi powers..........

Is Ashida Kim a 10th KYU?

Did Hatsumi really tell Ashida Kim, "Ashida you have no hope!"

Is anyone reading this or what mannnn?

:shock:

 

[shinobi_ashton]

has anyone seen the post thats sopposed to be from one of his students?
the only masters i trust are hatsumi and his personal students.
p.s. does anyone know why my profile says i am a white belt because i'm not i am a senior student who has been training since 9 years old!!
:soapbox:

 

[exile]

The white belt doesn't refer to any MA rank you hold. It refers to how much you've posted on MartialTalk. Look at the FAQ forum on the MT index page for an explanation of what belt rank corresponds to how many posts.

 

[just_visiting]

hi all

i'm just visiting.. and not planning to hang around (being that i don't actually 'do' martial arts). that said...

i was just googling some people... as you do, and one of them was 'glen levy'. don't ask me how i know him, but i do. it was a few years ago now. i found this thread and couldn't resist 2-cents-ing it.

he was just a beginner stunt-person when i knew him. he has a ridiculous level of self-belief, regardless of whether it is justified. he blagged his way into roles and what-not. even if you think the guy is a tool, he certainly has a knack for getting where he wants to be. self-promotion or not.

he just made up his own art because he felt like it. he is a very bold and out-there person. he was a massive dreamer back then, in many ways, and i suppose he just forced things to happen for himself.

did i think he was as good at everything as he thought he was. hell no. on his website he says something about combining 'his studies in'... all those things. none of those were formal studies, btw. he just had his acupuncture kit and home text books.

pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. he's doing a really good job at tricking the world.

ps. haven't seen him or had anything to do with him for a really long time. i'm as shocked by the imdb thing as everyone else.

 

[LilDaemon]

Well, this has certainly been informative, although it hasn't dampened my interest in Ninjutsu at all. The question is...where can I find good teachers? I've been interested in learning this art for quite some time, but I have a hard time tracking one down. (BTW I"m new to the boards, and I"ll go introduce myself now. )

 

[exile]

Well, this has certainly been informative, although it hasn't dampened my interest in Ninjutsu at all.

It shouldn't!. There's a tremendous world of high-quality Ninjutsu out there—look at all the X-kan threads on the board, for starters—no reason to get qualms just because there's are people of questionable MA qualifications posing in one way or another... that's just a fact of life in the MAs these days in general.

The question is...where can I find good teachers? I've been interested in learning this art for quite some time, but I have a hard time tracking one down.

Right, that's the $64 question... but there are plenty of people on the Ninjutsu threads who are qualified to help answer it.

(BTW I"m new to the boards, and I"ll go introduce myself now. )

Excellent idea!

 

[fish-iod]

check these url
http://www.thatninjaguy.com/ it seems he has made hes own martial art

http://guardianoftherealm.com/actors.html

 

[Gotkenpo]

So Did anyone actually see the national geographics "Fight Science" show last night? It showed a Kung Fu practicioner, a Tae Kwon Do Practitioner, A Karate (unknown style) practioner, a Boxer, a Muy Thai guy, and a Ninjutsu practioner. They talked about the force generated by the punches delivered by each art. The Ninja guy generated over 2115 lbs of force in a hammer fist blow to the chest. Anyway, I was interested in the "Plum Flower poles" they showed. This guy was extremely agile. Are the plum flower poles something you usually use in ninjutsu training?
The show was interesting but the part where they talked about the forces generated by each styles attacks was a bit off in my opinion because the practitioners were of a wide range of sizes. (The kung fu guy was maybe 125lbs were the Boxer was about 225lbs) So I am just curious what you guys thought about that show.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

No plum flower poles are not used in authentic Budo Taijutsu training nor is Glen Levy an authentic practitioner of the Takamatsuden arts.

 

[MsEvil]

I don't know what all your problems are.

I've known Glen Levy personally for years and he is a self-motivated, modest, and enthusiastic martial artist.

Who are any of you to judge him? I don't see any of your names on IMDB or performing on huge networks like National Geographic.

He has worked his way up from a kid in New Zealand into an experienced martial artist in Los Angeles, doing films and shows. He's got a lot of talent. More than I can say any of you in this thread have.

If you knew the man personally, you would see in him what I and many of his colleagues see in him as well. Stop judging because you're jealous.

A mistake in spelling is not in any way his fault and none of you would walk away from an opportunity to share your skills just because of a single mispelling of a word. Get real.

 

[Kacey]

ATTENTION ALL USERS:

Please, keep the conversation polite and respectful.

-Karen Cohn
-MT Senior Moderator-

 

[jks9199]

I don't know what all your problems are.

I've known Glen Levy personally for years and he is a self-motivated, modest, and enthusiastic martial artist.

Who are any of you to judge him? I don't see any of your names on IMDB or performing on huge networks like National Geographic.

He has worked his way up from a kid in New Zealand into an experienced martial artist in Los Angeles, doing films and shows. He's got a lot of talent. More than I can say any of you in this thread have.

If you knew the man personally, you would see in him what I and many of his colleagues see in him as well. Stop judging because you're jealous.

A mistake in spelling is not in any way his fault and none of you would walk away from an opportunity to share your skills just because of a single mispelling of a word. Get real.

I don't think anyone has questioned his athleticism or his performance skills. Yep -- he's on TV and in movies.

But, rather than put forward what he does as his own thing -- which it is -- he allows himself to be put forward as a "ninja master" while he's got at best tenous ties to the few reputable ninjutsu-related organizations. And what he demonstrated on the National Geographic show wasn't recognizable as any form of ninjutsu/budo taijutsu...

 

[Blotan Hunka]

Its not a matter of skill, its a matter of "truth in advertising".

 

[MsEvil]

I understand both of your points, however the point is that Glen Levy himself has no involvement in the matter of advertising what he demonstrated. The fact that they call him a "ninja master" is not a title he requested for himself. If anyone is to blame, it is the writers and narrator of Fight Science. Glen Levy was asked to perform the plum flower poles; he did not choose it himself. Just like any television production, the directors in charge and recruiters called him up and told him this is what he would be doing. If they described it as a form of ninjutsu or anything else that it was not, then that is not his fault. It is the fault of those in charge of the episode.