The rant thread

Cryozombie

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I didn't know that its ok to discuss Poker, but not Punk music... I'll keep that in mind next time we are listening to tunes with the instructor after training. While I am not dressing Goth.

Sorry guys, the last bunch of posts in this discussion have gone beyond the realm of ranting about the bujinkan to lets all ridicule other people if they dont look, dress, and think like us.
 
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Don Roley

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Sorry guys, the last bunch of posts in this discussion have gone beyond the realm of ranting about the bujinkan to lets all ridicule other people if they dont look, dress, and think like us.

I have to agree. I dress plain vanilla. I try hard to not attract attention to myself. But I don't see the point in bringing up how people dress unless it has some sort of relevance to the discussion.

Speaking of which.......

When it comes to people's dress in the Bujinkan, isn't it common sense to not draw attention to your martial art background? Why advertise you do Bujinkan or any martial art by wearing a t-shirt that has kanji charecters or words like "ninjutsu" and the like?

Are people expecting others to be impressed that we do martial arts? Are they expecting that muggers will be scared off because of a Bujinkan t-shirt? Is there a chance that someone thinking about doing you harm will merely wait until you turn your back to hit you over the head?

Seriously, why call attention to the fact that we do martial arts at all in any way?
 

wade

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Don, that is a very good point. Uh, I wear a hat that has NRA in big gold letters, does that count as tacky too? Or does it give them fair warning, cause I do carry pretty much all the time. I do know that it freaks the bleeding heart liberals out here in Portland a lot, makes my day!
 

Kreth

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Ya know, the last time I was in Japan, at a class in Ayase, Hatsumi sensei asked me to punch him. I'm a big proponent of real training, so I tried to take his head off. Midway through my punch, he attacked my fingernail. It hurt so bad I bailed on my punch and dropped to my knees.
I had similar results with Shiraishi sensei, Noguchi sensei and Seno sensei.
 

wade

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You wuss! See, that is why you are not a master. Always, and I do mean always, sacrifice some one else to take the punishment so that you can learn. That is why God gave us lower ranking belts, for sacrifice..........
 

Kreth

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You wuss! See, that is why you are not a master. Always, and I do mean always, sacrifice some one else to take the punishment so that you can learn. That is why God gave us lower ranking belts, for sacrifice..........
I couldn't disagree more. You learn so much more by being on the receiving end of techniques.
 
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Don Roley

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Never said anything was ok or not ok to discuss. But some things are clichés because they're true.

Off topic and not relevent to the point you were trying to make. This is not the first time you have snuck in something like this. Have you considered talking with a proffesional mental health worker about your problem with people who wear heavy metal t-shirts? Seriously, something is a little off with you on that matter. Whatever you do, please leave your fashion complaints out of this thread.
 

Bigshadow

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Ya know, the last time I was in Japan, at a class in Ayase, Hatsumi sensei asked me to punch him. I'm a big proponent of real training, so I tried to take his head off. Midway through my punch, he attacked my fingernail. It hurt so bad I bailed on my punch and dropped to my knees.
I had similar results with Shiraishi sensei, Noguchi sensei and Seno sensei.

Funny how that works! :) I haven't trained there (yet), but I have been in similar situations as uke, (Jack and Ed come to mind immediately).
 

Cryozombie

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When it comes to people's dress in the Bujinkan, isn't it common sense to not draw attention to your martial art background? Why advertise you do Bujinkan or any martial art by wearing a t-shirt that has kanji charecters or words like "ninjutsu" and the like?

I know, I rarely wear mine unless I am going to or coming from class.

That said, however... my tattoo gives a lot away, and I was... well, i wouldnt call it chastized, but spoken to about it by Papa-san when he saw it at dinner after a seminar a couple months ago.

The only thing I have going for me, is that when people ask what it is I say "It says Free Tibet"
 

Grey Eyed Bandit

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The thing is, the nature of my job is such that prejudice pays off. More often than not, stereotyping people is a fairly efficient tactic - most people with Slavic names I've arrested (including the one I handed over to the police about three hours ago) are chainsmoking nihilists who smell of vodka and like to grab mp3 players, Roma women hide everything from chainsaws to washing machines to fried chickens and bags full of batteries underneath their skirts, kids that move about in groups of four or five can't leave earphones well enough alone, and most people who wear urban camo pants and have long unkempt hair are winos with a passion for Scotch and silver wristwatches. So, in essence, I have the same problem as Mike Tyson - because my putting all of my negative traits to display leads to monetary rewards and encouragement, I can never truly become a better person. :)
 

Rubber Tanto

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Ya know, the last time I was in Japan, at a class in Ayase, Hatsumi sensei asked me to punch him. I'm a big proponent of real training, so I tried to take his head off. Midway through my punch, he attacked my fingernail. It hurt so bad I bailed on my punch and dropped to my knees.
I had similar results with Shiraishi sensei, Noguchi sensei and Seno sensei.

Have you ever been asked to throw a punch and instead you kicked?
 

bencole

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Have you ever been asked to throw a punch and instead you kicked?

I've seen it happen by accident to Hatsumi-sensei. He still flattened the idiot, then made him get up and do it correctly this time. :)

"Accidents" such as punching with the wrong hand as the kata, kicking by mistake, coming in *WAY* too fast, are good for you--not in the sense of learning the kata, but in the sense of knowing whether your body automatically handles itself. If you have trained properly, things will come together naturally....

This is very different than "sparring" which creates anticipation and instills a sense of being "on guard." My rule is that when these accidents happen, let the body handle it naturally, even if it means that you do not actually do the official technique. So long as you are safe, everything is good. One cannot be captured by the technique.

Then go back to doing what you are supposed to do, and listening to the points that the teacher is emphasizing. A good teacher that is paying attention *MAY* actually build on what just happened to you, and address it. Hatsumi-sensei does this all the time!

In the end, you should go back to thinking about how the technique could be adjusted to reflect that "accidental" dynamic by yourself.

Just some thoughts.

-ben
 

Grey Eyed Bandit

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It really makes me cringe nowadays when I see people in the Bujinkan give people a few quick pats on the hips in order to "control his potential hidden weapons". I imagine I'm not the only one here with experience of patting people down for weapons IRL - to say the least, it takes way more than that to make sure people aren't packing. Especially if he's an HIV-positive junkie with a carpet knife inside his underpants.
 

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