Any 'Must See' Ninjutsu Videos Online?

[Bigwill]

I've seen a few 'check this out' threads, but no central location for recommended videos.

Does anyone have any suggestions on online videos (instruction/history/informative/whatever)?

There are obviously tons of videos on YouTube. Any particularly good one's?

Any good promotional videos on various websites?

 

[Chris Parker]

Hi Will,

Honestly it's a lot easier to find bad videos, and take the lessons from them, such as they are!

Secondly, there can be a great amount of personal preference in the videos themselves. For example there is a certain following behind Kacem Zoughari:

Now, Kacem is very clean and precise in his movement, which is what gives him his following, but honestly I'm not really a huge fan of his. I see a lot of issues in his weapon usage, his distancing understanding, and more, as well as some issues with some of the material he is claiming to teach.

Next is that, depending on which organisation you are looking at, the idea of what is good will change as well (from a technical point of view). For example:

The Genbukan, under the instruction of Tanemura Sensei, is focused on the correct transmission of the arts, with a great emphasis on the correct spirit associated. Technical aspects are focused on strong performance of the kata.

The Jinenkan, headed by Manaka Sensei, has it's focus on training the kata from the Ryu exactly as in the Densho, in the correct order. The big focus is on heavy training in the Kihon (basics), then moving on to the Ryu-ha kata themselves.

On the other hand, the Bujinkan of Hatsumi Sensei is more about exploring the principles of martial arts as Hatsumi Sensei has come to understand them through constant variation, using the kata of the various Ryu as a 'jumping off' point. This leads to a great variance in technical ability across the organisation, as well as in knowledge.

Possibly the greatest respected video source for technical exploration comes from Adam Mitchell of the Jinenkan, by subscribing to his Budohall site (www.budohall.com). There are some example videos on you-tube, such as this one:

If you are looking at starting a collection of videos for your own home usage, and you are training in the Bujinkan, I'd probably suggest Hatsumi Sensei's videos, particularly Kobudo no Kihon (http://www.budovideos.com/shop/customer/product.php?productid=16852&cat=&page=1) and What Is Martial Arts? (http://www.budovideos.com/shop/customer/product.php?productid=17083&cat=&page=1), followed by whatever you are most interested in (Bojutsu, sword, a particular Ryu-ha etc).

In terms of documentaries, the two best thought of are "Shinobi: Winds of the 34 Generations" (http://www.budovideos.com/shop/customer/product.php?productid=24925&cat=&page=1)

and "Gift of the Traditional Martial Arts" (http://www.giftoftma.com/), based on the Genbukan.

And, once again, avoid completely anything featuring or connected with Antony Cummins.

 

[Bigwill]

Wow. Thanks, Chris. As always, a wealth of information!

 

[MA-Caver]

Wait a second!! If they were true Ninjas then you wouldn't be able to see them!! C'mon who dey trying to fool?? (just kidding) neat videos!

 

[Dean Whittle]

You may enjoy checking out some of the videos put together by the Akban organisation. It is not affiliated with any of the Japan-based organisations but it does have it's roots based in the Bujinkan. They have a robust and contemporary approach to the study of Ninjutsu.

With respect

 

[ElfTengu]

Hi Will,

Honestly it's a lot easier to find bad videos, and take the lessons from them, such as they are!

Secondly, there can be a great amount of personal preference in the videos themselves. For example there is a certain following behind Kacem Zoughari:

Now, Kacem is very clean and precise in his movement, which is what gives him his following, but honestly I'm not really a huge fan of his. I see a lot of issues in his weapon usage, his distancing understanding, and more, as well as some issues with some of the material he is claiming to teach.

Next is that, depending on which organisation you are looking at, the idea of what is good will change as well (from a technical point of view). For example:

The Genbukan, under the instruction of Tanemura Sensei, is focused on the correct transmission of the arts, with a great emphasis on the correct spirit associated. Technical aspects are focused on strong performance of the kata.

The Jinenkan, headed by Manaka Sensei, has it's focus on training the kata from the Ryu exactly as in the Densho, in the correct order. The big focus is on heavy training in the Kihon (basics), then moving on to the Ryu-ha kata themselves.

On the other hand, the Bujinkan of Hatsumi Sensei is more about exploring the principles of martial arts as Hatsumi Sensei has come to understand them through constant variation, using the kata of the various Ryu as a 'jumping off' point. This leads to a great variance in technical ability across the organisation, as well as in knowledge.

Possibly the greatest respected video source for technical exploration comes from Adam Mitchell of the Jinenkan, by subscribing to his Budohall site (www.budohall.com). There are some example videos on you-tube, such as this one:

If you are looking at starting a collection of videos for your own home usage, and you are training in the Bujinkan, I'd probably suggest Hatsumi Sensei's videos, particularly Kobudo no Kihon (http://www.budovideos.com/shop/customer/product.php?productid=16852&cat=&page=1) and What Is Martial Arts? (http://www.budovideos.com/shop/customer/product.php?productid=17083&cat=&page=1), followed by whatever you are most interested in (Bojutsu, sword, a particular Ryu-ha etc).

In terms of documentaries, the two best thought of are "Shinobi: Winds of the 34 Generations" (http://www.budovideos.com/shop/customer/product.php?productid=24925&cat=&page=1)

and "Gift of the Traditional Martial Arts" (http://www.giftoftma.com/), based on the Genbukan.

And, once again, avoid completely anything featuring or connected with Antony Cummins.

A good selection of tasters Chris, but my goodness, some of the comments are like hearing an archbishop blaspheme!

 

[Chris Parker]

Er, some of my comments, my friend? I was being rather, uh, delicate in a few comments there...

 

[Indagator]

I thought these ones were quite creative:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iNmoVMjqJ0&feature=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJCP9hecZao&feature=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jQOp_vmJvg&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[DuskB4Dawn]

I can post some choson ninja videos if you like. he is defiantly the real deal lol just kidding
[video=youtube_share;sKGbXLsJm9I]http://youtu.be/sKGbXLsJm9I[/video]
here is a favorite of mine about kukishinden ryu ninjutsu
it has old footage of Takamatsu sensei and Hatsumi sensei.

 

[Indagator]

I can post some choson ninja videos if you like. he is defiantly the real deal lol just kidding
[video=youtube_share;sKGbXLsJm9I]http://youtu.be/sKGbXLsJm9I[/video]
here is a favorite of mine about kukishinden ryu ninjutsu
it has old footage of Takamatsu sensei and Hatsumi sensei.

Y
eah I was watching that kukishinden clip just the other day. the song's pretty cool too.

 

[Chris Parker]

I can post some choson ninja videos if you like. he is defiantly the real deal lol just kidding

You do that and you're out of the school....

here is a favorite of mine about kukishinden ryu ninjutsu
it has old footage of Takamatsu sensei and Hatsumi sensei.

While Kukishinden Ryu has some Ninjutsu transmitted within it, it is about as "samurai" as you can get, and is certainly not "Kukishinden Ryu Ninjutsu". Additionally, this clip is really just bits taken from Hatsumi's Kukishinden DVD and the Takamatsu DVD. They're both decent, although the Hatsumi one can be a bit misleading when the kata are taken out of context like that. For instance, all the weapon work isn't actually the weapon work from Kukishinden Ryu, but variations on the unarmed (Dakentaijutsu) kata... and things like the Sojutsu was actually one of the Kihon Gata for Bojutsu performed with a couple of spears referred to as "Ashi Barai". The Takamatsu bits showed some Reiho for Bojutsu, some Bo drills, and some Naginata Kihon, as well as Bo Furi Gata.

 

[Indagator]

erm. not sure how to put the clips I posted on here properly... lol.

 

[Chris Parker]

Ha, here you go...

Decent productions, but not really the best examples, if I'm honest. Still, you asked...

 

[Indagator]

Thanks for that Mr Parker.

Yes, not the best examples but what I liked about them was the creativity that has gone into them. I think they'd be something outsiders would see and probably like also, but I take these clips more on an entertainment value than anything else.
Our dojo have some clips but they're more for our own use and I don't think any are on Youtube.

Do Jyaku Tatsu have any clips online out of interest?

 

[Chris Parker]

Not a problem. No, we don't have anything publicly online.