For the record, I agree with much of what Don has said, but I'm going to play devil's advocate in the hope of gaining some clarity. IÂ’m going to try and phrase my questions from the perspective of what someone outside of the Bujinkan might think. I have an investment in the Bujinkan, so IÂ’ll probably fail miserably, but I think itÂ’s worth a try.
Which is why I say to either train in Japan and/or train under someone who does!!!! I already mentioned Luke "Tamayoke" Molitor as an example. Hatsumi has said basically the same thing. Train under people who are still training under him.
How strict should one be with your suggestion? What about these people that train in Japan and return to their homeland to teach? They are a minority within the organization and they certainly don't reside in all territories. For some people it is as difficult to move to another state or province for training as it is to move to another country.
For those of us that are willing to move to train with someone that has a direct and active connection to Japan, does this completely eliminate controversy? What about practitioners that actively go to Japan and train regularly, but are viewed with some level of skepticism by other practitioners?
For one, there was a heck of a lot of mistakes made in the early transmision of the art to America. We are still paying the price overall. Everyone can point to people they know who have bad basics. Guys..... are you so sure your own basics are up to snuff? I thought I knew the basics when I got here and had my nose rubbed in it after I had proven myself a bit. I am still trying to get rid of bad habits built up from years of doing things my old teacher's way instead of what the guys in Japan are teaching.
Is it also possible that what Hatsumi Sensei is teaching is riddled with mistakes if looked at from a certain perspective? We are a much different people, the Japanese included, than the founders of our art. None of this was developed for personal growth, fitness, or fun. It was originally intended for hurting people. We dress it up as a survival art, but if you look closely at what we do, much of it is for causing pain, injury, and death. And yet we practice all of this with a completely different mindset then that of Ancient Japan. Though we may train for survival, we certainly don't need it to survive. How would one of the founders of the various Ryu view our interpretation? Is it not a corruption of a sort?
Has the evolution of the art been entirely for the better? Judging by the videos, Takamatsu Sensei moves differently than Hatsumi Sensei. Is it possible that Hatsumi Sensei has forgotten something or that his interpretation of something is different than that of his teacher?
We need to stop trying to add on new information and start looking at the very, very basics to try to get them down. That really will not happen in a seminar- and especially not from the internet.
Who's basics exactly? Even for those that train in Japan regularly, there seems to be a divergence on this point.
I also think the tie to Japan is important in what it says about the person. Everyone can get better. Who do you get better from? If you claim to teach Hatsumi's art, somewhere in the mix there has to be a current link to Hatsumi. Otherwise you are saying you know more than he about his art. There has to be some way of someone looking at what you do and making corrections. Just piling on more kata is probably pretty worthless if you don't get that type of feedback on even the most basic stuff. That ain't going to happen over the internet.
Are you sure it's happening outside of the internet? There have so far been a number of divergences from the Bujinkan and Hatsumi Sensei by some high level practitioners. Not all of them have left the Bujinkan itself. Currently, as viewed by the community, and with a significant level of caution, there are members ranked as Judan and above that seem to share a philosophy and approach to the Bujinkan that is radically different than the majority's interpretation of Hatsumi sensei's teachings. Despite regular training with Hatsumi, these practitioners are either ignored or indirectly accepted. Sometimes they're scolded, but it is a fleeting thing, and when they return to their homeland they often take on the role that Hatsumi should play.
But there are folks who don't train much with anyone. What the heck are they thinking? But some of them are big on the internet and have large piles of videos.
Aren't there exceptions to the rule? I know of a few practitioners that no longer have a valid link to Japan. Some have produced students solidly grounded in the "basics" and some of these students have gone to Japan with a foundation that is sometimes viewed as greater than that of those that visit Japan once or twice a year.
Oh, and I will be the first to admit that I have seen people show up in Japan merely looking to vailidate what they do and impress their students with their pictures and next rank. Hatsumi gives them what they want and doesn't help them much. They go away and the serious students get to go to smaller, more hands on, classes.
Isn't this equally as damaging as publicly supporting these practitioners?
But if someone is not even willing to train with others or go to Japan, how are they going to get better? They are not. But with the amount of stuff out there they can fool themselves and others by thinking that by expanding the size of their notebooks, they expand their skill.
Are you sure that those that go to Japan are always bettering themselves and improving? Are all of them great practitioners?
This is a wide ranging topic and one that I frequently think about. We have to do our best to get better. If we can't get to Hatsumi, we need to get to someone better than us in his art. We need to cut down to what we know, instead of what we can get off the internet and videos. In short, we need to be good at a few things instead of lousy at a lot.
Who did Takamatsu Sensei learn from in his later years? Many people suggest that mastery is just a label when referring to the Bujinkan, but Takamatsu Sensei and Hatsumi Sensei are both held with high esteem. They are often viewed as masters, though Hatsumi Sensei has stated that he is not. And yet he improved, by his own measure, without the availability of Takamatsu Sensei. How is this kind of self-discovery possible without someone of higher rank and skill? How did Takamatsu Sensei compare to his teachers?
If we go down the pipeline of legacy, what corrections would be made to Hatsumi Sensei's form? What would the ancestors of the art have to say about all of us? Hatsumi Sensei has never tested himself on the battlefield. He's never had to slit someone's throat. He's never faced a trained Samurai with intent to kill and the ability to do it. He walks his dogs for several hours every day and he wows us with his level of skill, but at his prime, would he have survived the ultimate test? How can we possibly answer that?
