I just stumbled upon this thread and I have found this hilarious.
We as martial artists should be able to stop fearing what we dont understand and upmost, realize that you cant judge on face value.
I am one of Glen Levys students and have been for many years. I have heard first hand of the stories from the States.
The art we are taught is called Hyoujutsu, which is more a series of concepts than an art.
My teacher studied Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu for 12 years, which makes him more than qualified to speak on the subject. Although, he also told the producers of the Nat Geo show, that what he was demonstrating is more a hybrid of the 13 systems that he has learnt in the last 25 years than it is of Ninjutsu.
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. One of the first lessons Shidoshi Levy told us was to not call him Shidoshi, and that nobody is an expert because there is always someone who is more of an expert than you
and there is always more to learn, and that is how we evolve.
As Americans, surely you know how the film industry blows everything out of proportion in order to make copious amounts of money.
I had been learning martial arts for 12 years before meeting Glen, and despite the fact that he can perform superhuman feats, which rival most Shaolin monks, (No offense) he is the most humble and nicest man I have ever met.
He doesnt want fame or money he just wants to share his love of the martial arts to the world, hence agreeing on the invitation to appear on the show for free. This is what made me choose him as an instructor over the many meat-head instructors that I have met world wide. He doesnt wear uniforms or any of the many belt rankings he has achieved.
Remember Judging at face value on the street will get a man killed not that smart for anyone that has studied Ninjutsu. ie Hensojutsu, Gisojutsu etc
David Chan
