Questions?
- Thread starter SFC JeffJ
- Start date
I will throw out a few that *I* would *politely* ask...
1. What rank is the instructor?
2. Does he/she have a current shidoshi-kai membership card?
3. How often does he/she travel to Japan and train with Hatsumi Soke and the shihan? If not, who do they train with that does?
4. Who is/was his/her instructor?
The answers to these questions will give you most everything you need to know. Some of the more experienced here will probably be able to give you better questions.
Good luck!
1. What rank is the instructor?
2. Does he/she have a current shidoshi-kai membership card?
3. How often does he/she travel to Japan and train with Hatsumi Soke and the shihan? If not, who do they train with that does?
4. Who is/was his/her instructor?
The answers to these questions will give you most everything you need to know. Some of the more experienced here will probably be able to give you better questions.
Good luck!
OP
OP
Ask him how long before you can throw smoke bombs and become invisible... My instructor loves when I ask him that... I try and throw it out at least after every promotion I get.
But seriously... Bigshadow's questions are good ones, some of which were answered on the website.
But seriously... Bigshadow's questions are good ones, some of which were answered on the website.
Jeff,
One thing you may have noticed, if you've researched Ninjutsu here, is that they key to studying the Bujinkan arts is to find an instructor that is current with what Hatsumi-sensei is teaching. They can talk all they want but what it really comes down to is whether or not their movement has the same "flavor" as Hatsumi-sensei's. If you want to try and develop the eyes to sense that flavor, and if the Bujinkan arts are something you are really interested in trying, purchase the "Kobudo no Kihon" and "Sanshin no Kata" videos.
Whatever you do, don't try to mimic what they're doing. (kidding) Seriously though, watch the videos through a few times and check out the movements. Then, watch them through again without focusing on the techniques but, instead, being attentive to the way Hatsumi-sensei moves. Once you feel like the flavor, not the actual movements or techniques, is in your head, go check out the dojo and see what you think.
If you're interested in the Bujinkan, the investment in the videos should really pay off during your training.
Good luck!
p.s. OK. I forgot to suggest a question..... When you go check out the dojo, at the end of the interview, and with a straight face, ask "Ummm... Well, that's all fine and good but......can I still buy a bunch of those really cool Ninja smoke bombs if I decide not to train here?". You may have to run like hell afterward. Don't say I didn't warn you!!!
One thing you may have noticed, if you've researched Ninjutsu here, is that they key to studying the Bujinkan arts is to find an instructor that is current with what Hatsumi-sensei is teaching. They can talk all they want but what it really comes down to is whether or not their movement has the same "flavor" as Hatsumi-sensei's. If you want to try and develop the eyes to sense that flavor, and if the Bujinkan arts are something you are really interested in trying, purchase the "Kobudo no Kihon" and "Sanshin no Kata" videos.
Whatever you do, don't try to mimic what they're doing. (kidding) Seriously though, watch the videos through a few times and check out the movements. Then, watch them through again without focusing on the techniques but, instead, being attentive to the way Hatsumi-sensei moves. Once you feel like the flavor, not the actual movements or techniques, is in your head, go check out the dojo and see what you think.
If you're interested in the Bujinkan, the investment in the videos should really pay off during your training.
Good luck!
p.s. OK. I forgot to suggest a question..... When you go check out the dojo, at the end of the interview, and with a straight face, ask "Ummm... Well, that's all fine and good but......can I still buy a bunch of those really cool Ninja smoke bombs if I decide not to train here?". You may have to run like hell afterward. Don't say I didn't warn you!!!
Bigshadow said:
I do not recognize the third guy on the list of instructors, but the first two I can answer some of the questions myself. Both Johnson and Hayes are pretty damn high up in the food chain. Both have shidoshikai cards and both travel to Japan enough for me to recognize their faces. Who they trained with first I don't know.
Johnson was featured in a issue of Hiden magazine and I was working out next to him the month it came out. When in a break the article was mentioned I said with a straight face, "until I read the article I never knew you worked your way through college clubbing baby seals." Without missing a beat he said, "that and a scholorship pretty much paid most of my tuition as well as giving me the skills to deal with students."
Great sense of humor.
I don't know anything about them, but after looking over the site, I don't get a bad feel about them. They look like a typical Bujinkan dojo (if ninjas can be typicalJeffJ said:
) I don't see anything that would raise any red flags to me. I watched the few videos on the site and it looks like the same stuff. Of course I believe the videos have been online for quite sometime, I remember seeing them a couple of years ago.My opinion is... you should be good to go if you check them out and most of all... Have fun!
All things considered, it sounds like you are in close proximity to some good training.
Hey Jeff,
It looks like a very good dojo! Go on in and check out the class and hopefully it will be for you.
Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com
It looks like a very good dojo! Go on in and check out the class and hopefully it will be for you.
Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com
