practicing ninjutsu
- Thread starter shorinfighter
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shorinfighter
Yellow Belt
I do not know anything about ninjutsu. There are things that i think i know but i am probably wrong.
I wish i could have continued karate. But i moved away and had to quit. I think i might join a TKD school. But there are no karate schools in my area, which saddens me.
Hey, wasn't the whole concept of ninjutsu a martial art started by "practicing at home" in isolated villages of pre-Edo period Japan? And weren't all modern ryu of ninjutsu or otherwise all based off the ideas of a single originator? If you honestly think you can't learn something on your own, where is your individuality? Do what you want shorinfighter, others don't have the right to judge the way you learn anything. That's up to you. Sure, an instructor will help, but the fact that whether you will actually learn anything is up to you; no matter the manner.
Badger1777
Green Belt
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't 'ninjutsu' simply 'the art of invisibility', and not in itself a combat style (although ninja of olden times were trained in combat techniques).
This is an art of hiding really, I guess that's why Hollywood created the 'Shadow Warrior'.
You can of course practice escape and evasion techniques without an instructor, but you still need someome to test if you are really making yourself effectively concealed. Its no good just reading a book that says "scrunch up close to a tree and nobody will see you", and then going to your local park dressed in black and hugging a tree. People will just think you're a hippy
You can make stuff up as you go along, if you don't care who gets hurt.
This is an art of hiding really, I guess that's why Hollywood created the 'Shadow Warrior'.
You can of course practice escape and evasion techniques without an instructor, but you still need someome to test if you are really making yourself effectively concealed. Its no good just reading a book that says "scrunch up close to a tree and nobody will see you", and then going to your local park dressed in black and hugging a tree. People will just think you're a hippy
You can make stuff up as you go along, if you don't care who gets hurt.
Chris Parker
Grandmaster
Uh…
No.
No.
"Learn something"? Sure. Learn a specific thing with no knowledge, no frame of reference, no basis, no guidance, and no ability to perceive where you're doing things incorrectly (which would be in everything being done)? Not a chance.
"Individuality" has nothing to do with this.
No-one was judging. We were giving him the insight of reality.
I'll put it this way… let's say that what he wanted to do was to learn to speak French… but had never learnt any of it. He'd learnt Russian as a kid… but not French. He's never been to France, didn't know anyone who spoke French, and had never seen a French movie. There are no French teachers around him, and he doesn't know anything about how words are pronounced, the grammar, or anything else to do with the language… put simply, he wouldn't be able to learn French. This was the same thing.
Which is what we said. But we also pointed out that, if he wanted to go down that path, not to confuse whatever the hell he'd be doing with actually learning/training in, or having anything to do with "Ninjutsu".
Yeah… that's great… but besides the point. If he wants to learn anything at all, he needs an instructor. There's no way around that.
But I gotta ask… what's your reason for posting this all here? The mistakes in understanding of what was going on is interesting in and of itself, but this conversation was over a year and a half ago… you've joined the forum, and this is your first post? Your profile states no art, no rank… what's the agenda?
No, "ninjutsu" does not mean "the art of invisibility"… and, while it is not a combat style, it gets a lot more complicated than that…
Hmm… kinda, but no?
Yeah… really not much relevance to the context being used here… and there's a difference between training what you think a skill-set is and training in a particular approach to a skill-set.
If you're intending, or wanting, to train/learn a particular system/approach, then making stuff up is really pointless. After all, if you're making it up, then you're not actually doing the genuine thing (by definition), so why would you bother thinking that you are?
No.
No.
"Learn something"? Sure. Learn a specific thing with no knowledge, no frame of reference, no basis, no guidance, and no ability to perceive where you're doing things incorrectly (which would be in everything being done)? Not a chance.
"Individuality" has nothing to do with this.
No-one was judging. We were giving him the insight of reality.
I'll put it this way… let's say that what he wanted to do was to learn to speak French… but had never learnt any of it. He'd learnt Russian as a kid… but not French. He's never been to France, didn't know anyone who spoke French, and had never seen a French movie. There are no French teachers around him, and he doesn't know anything about how words are pronounced, the grammar, or anything else to do with the language… put simply, he wouldn't be able to learn French. This was the same thing.
Which is what we said. But we also pointed out that, if he wanted to go down that path, not to confuse whatever the hell he'd be doing with actually learning/training in, or having anything to do with "Ninjutsu".
Yeah… that's great… but besides the point. If he wants to learn anything at all, he needs an instructor. There's no way around that.
But I gotta ask… what's your reason for posting this all here? The mistakes in understanding of what was going on is interesting in and of itself, but this conversation was over a year and a half ago… you've joined the forum, and this is your first post? Your profile states no art, no rank… what's the agenda?
No, "ninjutsu" does not mean "the art of invisibility"… and, while it is not a combat style, it gets a lot more complicated than that…
Hmm… kinda, but no?
You can of course practice escape and evasion techniques without an instructor, but you still need someome to test if you are really making yourself effectively concealed. Its no good just reading a book that says "scrunch up close to a tree and nobody will see you", and then going to your local park dressed in black and hugging a tree. People will just think you're a hippy
Yeah… really not much relevance to the context being used here… and there's a difference between training what you think a skill-set is and training in a particular approach to a skill-set.
If you're intending, or wanting, to train/learn a particular system/approach, then making stuff up is really pointless. After all, if you're making it up, then you're not actually doing the genuine thing (by definition), so why would you bother thinking that you are?
Can you learn to fight without an instructor? Sure. Get in lots of fights and see what works for you. It's painful, but you will learn something.
You cannot learn any specific martial arts system without an instructor. How can you possibly imagine that you'd somehow come up with exactly the same way of doing not just some, but everything in the system, as those who originated it? For systems that include technique drills (kata, partner drills, etc.) how can you possibly imagine that you could come up with all the same drills as those who developed the system.
I'll take the bait and throw in a reply here since it has been a while since I replied to such a question and I will approach the original poster with the idea that they are sincere.
Ultimately to learn this art (or any Japanese martial art) you are going to need to find an instructor- a real person who has experience and a connection to the art you are interested in. Here is why:
Much of the art is more than a technique- take a wrist lock as an example. You can probably learn the technique online and have something that kind of works by practicing it with some friends, let’s go out on a limb and say that this is possible. If it is, then you only have half of the “technique”- what you can see and practice.
The other half you will be missing- the part of what it feels like to have it done to you, and just how the wrist lock affects your movement, etc. This is a form of transmission that needs to be experienced though your instructor applying the technique to you- in addition to of course correcting your physical mistakes. One needs to experience the art so it can mature inside you, which will guide your movement moving ahead in your training.
So ultimately, you need an instructor for this, which is why many of the first replies are “ask your teacher”. I’m sure many of the posters express this as they have replied to this question dozens of times more eloquently then my response and are quite burnt out from it, and the fact that it could have been answered with a simple search of the forum.
But back to the OP.
You need a teacher- can’t find one right now, then your martial goal should be setting your life situation up so you can study directly under a teacher.
If training is so far away that you can’t make it at least once a week, then what about finding a training place where you can visit once a month? If that is not possible, then what about a seminar every other month or so? Get to a teacher, have them show you some kamae, ukemi, the san shin no kata, and the kihon happo and then drill the heck out of this at home on your own- make what they show you #1.
If you can’t do that right now due to family, work, or school then prepare yourself for it- build up your endurance and flexibility, and work to get to a place where you can visit and train.
Enthusiasm for the art makes us want to have it all right now, to learn it as fast as possible, and when that isn’t possible it can be painful- there is a lesson in that- can you endure to the point where you can find yourself training regularly under a teacher.
Here is one last option which may not apply to the OP, but might have value for future questions vs. searches.
If you are a university or college student and training is not available where you are going to school- start a club! Get some of the school activity fees to bring in an instructor and show you and the group the basics (kihon happo, etc.) and then practice those. Get that instructor in once or twice a semester plus people to work out with each week is a great resource to take advantage of.
Ultimately to learn this art (or any Japanese martial art) you are going to need to find an instructor- a real person who has experience and a connection to the art you are interested in. Here is why:
Much of the art is more than a technique- take a wrist lock as an example. You can probably learn the technique online and have something that kind of works by practicing it with some friends, let’s go out on a limb and say that this is possible. If it is, then you only have half of the “technique”- what you can see and practice.
The other half you will be missing- the part of what it feels like to have it done to you, and just how the wrist lock affects your movement, etc. This is a form of transmission that needs to be experienced though your instructor applying the technique to you- in addition to of course correcting your physical mistakes. One needs to experience the art so it can mature inside you, which will guide your movement moving ahead in your training.
So ultimately, you need an instructor for this, which is why many of the first replies are “ask your teacher”. I’m sure many of the posters express this as they have replied to this question dozens of times more eloquently then my response and are quite burnt out from it, and the fact that it could have been answered with a simple search of the forum.
But back to the OP.
You need a teacher- can’t find one right now, then your martial goal should be setting your life situation up so you can study directly under a teacher.
If training is so far away that you can’t make it at least once a week, then what about finding a training place where you can visit once a month? If that is not possible, then what about a seminar every other month or so? Get to a teacher, have them show you some kamae, ukemi, the san shin no kata, and the kihon happo and then drill the heck out of this at home on your own- make what they show you #1.
If you can’t do that right now due to family, work, or school then prepare yourself for it- build up your endurance and flexibility, and work to get to a place where you can visit and train.
Enthusiasm for the art makes us want to have it all right now, to learn it as fast as possible, and when that isn’t possible it can be painful- there is a lesson in that- can you endure to the point where you can find yourself training regularly under a teacher.
Here is one last option which may not apply to the OP, but might have value for future questions vs. searches.
If you are a university or college student and training is not available where you are going to school- start a club! Get some of the school activity fees to bring in an instructor and show you and the group the basics (kihon happo, etc.) and then practice those. Get that instructor in once or twice a semester plus people to work out with each week is a great resource to take advantage of.
