Weapons & Self Defense

[MJS]

I haven't read the article as of yet, but if anyone says that they are a 15th dan Ninja then I would seriously reconsider the source big time as Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi is a 15th Dan Ninja and that is the farthest that you can go in Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu and as to date he has not given that rank to anyone as of yet.

I believe and trust what Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi says because he is recognized in Japan as being the 34th Grandmaster of Togakure Ryu Ninjustu and whether we like it or not he does have the power within him to either kill or seriously injure any one of us. He also has the power to heal us as well and that is something that was not uncommon in asia.

I don't know about anyone else, but I personally have a lot of respect for Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi as he really does know what he is talking about. For the most part I think that most of the people that are under him with a few exceptions are misguided in their ways of thinking and acting simply because they have not learned enough about the art from Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi.

There is a lot of truth however to the concept of using things that you can find around you as a weapon as that was the specialty of the Ninja in feudal Japan and it is also something that you will find people using out on the street.

People like Bikers and bar brawlers for example aren't really going to give a damn as to what you know. All that they really care about is as to whether they can kick your *** and they will use whatever they can find around them to make that happen.

I'll have to go back and double check that aspect of the 15th Dan thing, but I could have sworn that Hatsumi sensei said that 15th Dan is the highest that you can go in the art and that he is supposed to be 15th Dan.

I do know however that he is looking for someone to take his place, but to the best of my knowledge he hasn't picked anyone as of yet. Stephen Hayes was rumored to have been the guy that Hatsumi sensei was going to pick until Hayes had a falling out with Hatsumi sensei. There is now talk that Richard Van Donk might be the next grandmaster of the art as well, but that is to the best of my knowledge nothing but an unconfirmed rumor at this point in time.

Who he will pick is to the best of my knowledge a complete mystery as I don't think that Hatsumi sensei has really stated as to who will take his place as the next grandmaster in the art.

I'm guessing that it will probably be some Japanese guy who is really close to Hatsumi sensei as the Japanese are not known to give the title of grandmaster of any Japanese martial art to someone who is not Japanese by birth.

Take a look at this. Dale Seago is also a member here, who posts from time to time, so perhaps he'll be kind enough to chime in on this. As for a successor....from what I've read on this forum and others, that is a very touchy subject that many take offense to.

 

[BLACK LION]

Whats kinda funny is that Hatsumi keeps people close to him that have extensive military backgrounds in all the good stuff like intelligence and special warfare... The San Diego bunjinkan association instructor is active duty and in the special operations community. They even contract students of Hatsumis to do protection and security details all over the world.
The stuff he deals with is big business....

 

[rdonovan1]

Whats kinda funny is that Hatsumi keeps people close to him that have extensive military backgrounds in all the good stuff like intelligence and special warfare... The San Diego bunjinkan association instructor is active duty and in the special operations community. They even contract students of Hatsumis to do protection and security details all over the world.
The stuff he deals with is big business....

That's very interesting as I never knew that about him. I have seen some of the training video's that Hatsumi has put out in which he is teaching but they are next to impossible to understand as he is explaining everything in Japanese and unless you happen you know Japanese you are basically SOL when it comes to understanding what he is saying.

Someday I would like to go to Japan and train in the martial arts under a Japanese master as I think that would be so cool to do and that is why I have become very, very interested in the Import/Export business as I tend to see that as a way of me making enough money to actually afford the trips to Japan to study under someone like Hatsumi sensei.

That also tends to raise another question and that is as to whatever happened to Sho Kosugi as I have not seen or heard from him since about the 1980's when the ninja craze was going on back then. That's when he was the most popular. Ever since then things have basically died down with him and from what I understand he is now teaching his own brand of ninjutsu in Japan, but I'm not really sure as to where in Japan. I think he is in Tokyo teaching it, but I can't really be too sure about that anymore as I have not really kept up with it all for a while.

 

[Chris Parker]

To understand Hatsumi Sensei's DVDs (and really any other), you need to have an understanding of the art itself, and that means instruction. Going to Japan is certainly one way, and many here will say it is the best way, but I would recommend finding a school/instructor close by before going overseas. You will get a good basis to work with, and get the introduction which will help when you do go to Japan.

As for Sho, I don't put anystock in his "ninjutsu" training at all. On his bio, it states that he was trained in a form of Karate (legit), but one day met a "mysterious neighbour" named Yamamoto. He called this man Uncle Yamamoto, and "Uncle Yamamoto" began teaching him some aspects of ninjutsu imformally. After 5 years or so, "Uncle Yamamoto" just disappeared. So we have an unsubstantiated story, no art, no verifiable teacher, and an actor known for playing ninja in movies. That to me adds up to an invented backstory to cash in on the typecasting. Not unique, but also not ninjutsu.

As for what he is doing now, he is running a couple of schools in Japan and California teaching Taiko (Japanese drumming) mixed with gymnastics, acting, and martial arts. He is also linked with/appearing in the upcoming movie Ninja Assassin.