Hello, Fellow Instructors and Practitioners!

[Chris Parker]

Hi, welcome aboard.

I'm not going to deal with your video (I applaud the ideas, but have some issues on the execution… as well as the content of your "self defence"… for another time, perhaps), but was intrigued by some of your background… most specifically, the Koryu and HEMA portions… as there appears no real aspect of such in any of the video or other material I've seen. Had me wondering why you're focusing on a reconstructed sword system… and what you feel that has to offer your "modern street defence system".

We've both been around a bit...for myself, I started with several years of Tae Kwon Do (got up to Black), did a year of Kung Fu, too. I've dabbled in Ninjutsu, Krav Maga, and Sambo, but spent several years doing Takenouchi Ryu (even went to Kyoto to train with the grandmaster, that was amazing). I did a lot of independent sparring with passionate practitioners. I've also spent the past several years exploring a lot of Western Martial Arts (I am currently a senior student at Academie Duello, arguably the world's biggest centre for Western Swordplay, wrestling, and Western Martial Arts, etc.!). So, I've even been able to have fun branching out into exotic areas of mounted combat and archery. I love hand-to-hand...but like having fun elsewhere, too! So much to do, so much to learn...quite an adventure!

The mention of Takenouchi Ryu in particular caught my eye… especially when combined with some of the other comments around the forums here. To be clear, I'm not suggesting that you're lying… but your understanding is a little off… so I'm not sure how long ago you were with the Ryu. I'm assuming you were training with the Shofukan Dojo in Vancouver under Anna Seabourne, yeah? That explains the mention of Kyoto… however, the line that is found there is not Takenouchi Ryu, it's Takeuchi Ryu Bitchu Den. A small thing, perhaps, but the two other main lines of the Ryu use the pronunciation "Takenouchi Ryu", the Bitchu Den doesn't. Additionally, it's very rare for practitioners of Koryu to refer to the heads of their systems as the "grandmaster"… it's really not a very Japanese way to describe things.

Just to let you know, I've practiced HEMA for over five years, and am a senior student at one of the biggest schools for Western Swordplay in the world. And I trained under a legit Samurai in Kyoto (not a bullshido guy, but 33rd generation grandmaster from an unbroken line originating in the Warring States period), so I'm not a "keyboard warrior" who just wathces Anime and jackie chan movies and thinks himself an authority!

Yeah… Ono Sensei is not the 33rd Generation head of the Ryu… he's the 16th of the Bitchu Den (for the record, the Soke and Bunke/Sodenke lines are in the 13th and 14th Generations respectively), and he is not a "legit samurai", as the samurai were a warrior class, and there aren't any, legit or not anymore.

I remember many years ago when I went to a martial art demo in Kyoto (that I was going to participate in). I'd learned my part, was ready to do my thing, and was looking forward to seeing some cool stuff. Then out of nowhere, it began with some incense being burned, and chanting, and people bowing to some little stone figure. And we all had to do this. I had no idea what on Earth was going on, or why this was being done, or what it meant ("Is this some symbolic activity I just don't get? Is this real-life idolatry, which I've only read about in books? Is it just a tradition and I've been left totally in the dark?").

Really? This surprised you? It was most likely the Shimogamo Jinja… a Shinto shrine… which is one of the most common form of locations for these Embu (martial demonstrations)… and you were surprised that there were Shinto religious elements at what is essentially a Shinto religious location and event?

My point is that, while this is part of your background, you might want to hold what you say about the system… as the initial impression given was that you were making it up, due to the number of factual, philosophical, and cultural errors, combined with the almost entire lack of any resemblance to anything like Koryu methodology in general, or Takeuchi Ryu in particular… but I'm presently chalking that up to you only being involved for a short time a while ago, and your memory being a little cloudy. But again, I'd be cautious about exactly what you're presenting.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Already the three lesson sets we've done have the kind of pacing and content I wished I could have had access to fifteen years ago!

Just a question about pacing...

I was looking through your lesson descriptions and this caught my eye.

Content: Shoot Counters (Body Peel, Close-Quarters Lock), Hip Throw Counters, Kicking Counters (Front, Side, Roundhouse). Counter Throwing, Counter Kicking, Training Tips, and more!

Specific pre-requisite recommendation: Beginner Lessons 1-6, Intermediate Lessons 1, 3-4

Lesson runtime: approximately 6 minutes

That's a lot of unrelated material to cover in 6 minutes. If I was putting together videos on those topics it would probably end up being several hours worth without even going into extreme depth. You can doubtless squeeze in a quick demo of a technique for each topic listed, but how are you fitting any real instruction in that time?

 

[MartialMasters]

Hi, welcome aboard.

I'm not going to deal with your video (I applaud the ideas, but have some issues on the execution… as well as the content of your "self defence"… for another time, perhaps), but was intrigued by some of your background… most specifically, the Koryu and HEMA portions… as there appears no real aspect of such in any of the video or other material I've seen. Had me wondering why you're focusing on a reconstructed sword system… and what you feel that has to offer your "modern street defence system".



The mention of Takenouchi Ryu in particular caught my eye… especially when combined with some of the other comments around the forums here. To be clear, I'm not suggesting that you're lying… but your understanding is a little off… so I'm not sure how long ago you were with the Ryu. I'm assuming you were training with the Shofukan Dojo in Vancouver under Anna Seabourne, yeah? That explains the mention of Kyoto… however, the line that is found there is not Takenouchi Ryu, it's Takeuchi Ryu Bitchu Den. A small thing, perhaps, but the two other main lines of the Ryu use the pronunciation "Takenouchi Ryu", the Bitchu Den doesn't. Additionally, it's very rare for practitioners of Koryu to refer to the heads of their systems as the "grandmaster"… it's really not a very Japanese way to describe things.



Yeah… Ono Sensei is not the 33rd Generation head of the Ryu… he's the 16th of the Bitchu Den (for the record, the Soke and Bunke/Sodenke lines are in the 13th and 14th Generations respectively), and he is not a "legit samurai", as the samurai were a warrior class, and there aren't any, legit or not anymore.



Really? This surprised you? It was most likely the Shimogamo Jinja… a Shinto shrine… which is one of the most common form of locations for these Embu (martial demonstrations)… and you were surprised that there were Shinto religious elements at what is essentially a Shinto religious location and event?

My point is that, while this is part of your background, you might want to hold what you say about the system… as the initial impression given was that you were making it up, due to the number of factual, philosophical, and cultural errors, combined with the almost entire lack of any resemblance to anything like Koryu methodology in general, or Takeuchi Ryu in particular… but I'm presently chalking that up to you only being involved for a short time a while ago, and your memory being a little cloudy. But again, I'd be cautious about exactly what you're presenting.

The Classical Jujutsu was mostly under Alex Kask at UBC, and through Tony Abry that we went to Kyoto. I've heard Takeuchi and Takenouchi used, mainly the former where I was. I was in Japan for only a short time, but spent about five years training it in Canada.

That and the HEMA aspect of my martial background are just part of what I've done...there's no sword in sight for even one clip in our lessons. Cross-training has just helped me be well-rounded. I'd be less than half the martial artist I am now if it wasn't for all I've been able to see and do!

I was long ago in my early twenties when I went to Japan, and I had never travelled much prior to that trip. It was an eye-opener, and I was surprised by lots of things over there!

 

[MartialMasters]

Just a question about pacing...

I was looking through your lesson descriptions and this caught my eye.



That's a lot of unrelated material to cover in 6 minutes. If I was putting together videos on those topics it would probably end up being several hours worth without even going into extreme depth. You can doubtless squeeze in a quick demo of a technique for each topic listed, but how are you fitting any real instruction in that time?

We have videos, voice-overs, and text to optimize how much is presented. It may seem like a bit too much all at once, but it flows well! The beauty of videos is how easy it is to pause, rewind, etc., too! Also, with the long list of prerequisites as we build up to certain aspects, it means we don't have to explain every single small detail, which also saves time. Also, once someone gets to intermediate and advanced...it is expected that students already have some understanding of the art...which means not needing to spoon-feed quite as much. So, certainly as the series progresses, some of the areas in a few videos are given just a short flash, with several concepts, techniques, and ideas presented for inspiration (for more experienced practitioners to get a healthy handful of things to play with). Meanwhile, other core areas are fleshed out more thoroughly.