Shorinryu Sensei

I've had the oppportunity to watch ninjutsu classes in the LA, Atlanta, Houston and Seattle areas in the past, and wasn't impressed. Were they legitimate ninja schools? I have no idea at all. All I know is that as I went by them, I stopped, found out when classes were and asked if I would be allowed to watch. I went back later during class time and watched the classes, and in my opinion, it didn't impress me much. But again, I have no idea who they were affiliated with, so they very well could have been phony. I don't believe that an experienced martial artist has to take classes to be able to tell * from legitimate. What I saw being taught was good for Hollywood antics...or basic karate technique. The Okinawan Master that gave me his opinion on ninjutsu was Kuda Yuichi Sensei, head of the system that I practice.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that Fumio Demura Sensei was the stunt double for Pat Moriata (Mr. Miagi) in the Karate Kid movies. One thing though, I would imagine that Fumio Demura Sensei classes would be VERY expensive. Not that he wouldn't be worth it...he's good...VERY good. However, I would doubt that Fumio Demura Sensei teaches the classes himself..or at least, the beginning classes. I'd bet you wouldn't actually work with him until after you got your black belt. But then again...I don't know for sure either...just seems logical to me (donning my Mr. Spock ears).

Although I've never owned a stretching machine, I believe the same rules apply with any stretching. You want to push yourself, but not to the point of injury. In other words, stretch as far as you can, and when it starts to feel "tight", hold it at that point for maybe a 5-10 count, then relax. What I do then is back off for a few seconds, and go again...and keep doing this. Exhaling as you stretch is always good too, as it relaxes the the body and will allow you to go a bit further each time. Do NOT stretch to the point where you could tear a muscle. That's not good, and from personal experience, they can take a long time to heal. Especially if you're like me, and keep reinjuring them because "Oh it doesn't hurt THAT bad!"

Maybe you just dozed off?

11 - 8'x2x4's all at the same time with one technique. Technique used...forklift about 8' high and gravity. (unbalanced load...OOPS!) Rank...Sandan

Can you clarify this please? What is a kumite drill? Do you mean One Step sparring?

Personally, I prefer to see schools in garages and YMCA sort of places, as opposed to the flashy, mirror walled "health club" atmosphere. I've taught in both, and I prefer the "cozy" atmosphere of my converted garage. Wait a second. Since when did lawyers move out of the lowlife status in this country? OK..just kidding (sorta)...but you're right, they should be reputable. The fact he understands and is willing to give you any references is a good thing. Personally, I don't care for ninjutsu systems...period. Why? Because I honestly don't believe what you are learning is truly ninjutsu! I've had this discussion with authentic Okinawan masters in the past, and they will roll their eyes and tell you that they believe that people taking ninjutsu are taking classes from someone that studied karate, and decided to make changes to it to fit the peoples perceptions of what a ninja would be. It's all a money making scam...IMHO. Please..no flaming. It's my opinion, and also the opinion of people that have lived their entire lives over there and know what they are talking about more than we do here on this side of the world. Plus think about it., Ninjas were a very secretive people. They would rather die than to give away their secrets. Knowing the Japanese mindset, why all of a sudden would they just one day decide to teach these closely guarded secrets that their descendents guarded with their lives to Western people? It just sort of "smells" to me...but again, that's my opinion. An analogy would be that if I went to Japan and opened a "Want to be a cowboy" school. How many Japanese know anthing about being a real cowboy, other than what they see in movies? I sell them boots, hats, buckles..the whole outfit (like the ninja suit), teach them how to walk funny, how to saddle a horse, how to chew tobacco and spit, how to act like a butthead and listen to country music and two-step. Does this make them a cowboy? No, but they think they are...and I keep telling them they are, and getting better at it every week! For a fee of course!

You didn't make me angry...but I've had a fair amount of experience with "martial artists" that use their skills poorly by beating up people just for the hell of it. years ago one of these people, a TKD state champion, tried that * with me and ended up on his butt with a bloody nose, and me standing over him telling him "If you get up and swing at me again, I'm REALLY going to hurt you!" He stayed on the floor, and I left. I never had problems with him again. I've also probably kicked a dozen or so people ouit of class for starting fights. I detest bullies in any form, and I'm glad you've straighted out and matured. The martial arts is perceiverd by the general public as a bunch of potential dangerous people just looking to use their skills to beat the crap out of someone. That hurts all of uws. "A few bad apples..."

I'll PM you the last known phone number for him that I have. I don't want to post it on here. Might do a search on Google for shorinryu, Seattle and see if anything comes up also.

Uhhhh...yeah. I said earlier it was the same thing I do...look under my name to the left. <------------

You made two mistakes on this post. The first one is that you wasted good money on "rubber practice sai's". The same goes with practice ANY weapon. Get the real thing and learn to use them properly. You'll find that what you learn with your toy weapons isn't going to work the same with REAL weapons. My best advise is to quit watching so many "ninja" movies. The weapons are NOT designed to be "holstered".

hmmmmmm...it sounds to me like you're a bully and like hurting people. Personally, if you were my student, you'd have been kicked out of my class the first time you started a fight. You are saying basically, that you are what I hate about some people in the arts. Using your skills for other than what they were intended for, and you are giving me, and any other martial artist in the world a bad name. You make people afraid of us, and think we are all like you. Just thugs looking to use out skills on any hapless person. With that said, you stated that this was a couple of years ago. Are you the same way now? I'm hoping not.

Of course everybody will have different ideas on this, but what worked well for me was combining the beginning/advanced kids class for 1.5 hours right after school if possible with your regular job, and adults 2- 2 hour classes/week. I foudn that Mondays and Thursdays are the best nights for teaching, so if you can have all of your classes on those nights, you only tie up two nights/week. Start the kids class at maybe 4:00 if you can, then the adults at 6:00. it all depends on what tiem you get home from your regular job.

I marked training once/week or more if possible. I've been invovled in the arts for 30 years as of this coming January, but due to a non-martial arts related injury to my lower back, my training has been sporatic and depends on how my back is feeling. It affects my kicking and breakfalls mostly, but my hands work just fine. My classes are most often taught by my senior student who is a 2nd Dan and quite capable of running the class.

As I said, I haven't talked to Sensei Knoblett in years so have no idea what his status is, or perhaps any location changes that he's made since then. I know he used to be in the Seattle phone book...did you look it up?

You know, and I tell my students this also, you can "What if....?" a subject to death with different situations and variables. So, I'm not going there. There are two main reasons for not throwing a weapon. 1. Throw your weapon, and you no longer have it to defend yourself with. 2. Throwing your weapon at an opponent and missing, and he can pick it up and use it against you. A good exampel of #2 is a knife. Toss it at an opponent and it doesn't land right and falls to the floor, or doesn't stop him...and now HE has the weapon. As for not carrying a sia around with you...of course you won't. However, because you have trained with a sai, you can pretty easily incorporate the same moves and techniques using a stick, branch, or similar sized piece of wood, metal, etc. The practice of kobudo now days transfers pretty readily to everyday objects. It teaches you to manipulate "things" to use as a weapon....not just the weapon you are training with itself.

James Knoblett in the University District is EXCELLET and teaches the same system (with soem additions I think) that I do. I haven't talked to him in quite a few years, but I know he's a legitimate 6th Dan (maybe 7th?) and a good instructor. Sorry I don't have any more information, but he should be in the phone book. Tell him Sensei Paul Weed in Montana referred you.

What country, or state, allows law enforecement to carry nunchaku?

Question: What is "modernized use of the nunchaku" and "Open style" referring to? As far as I know...there's only two methods. The right way, and the wrong way. Just curious.

As you said, there are hundreds. Look under my "name" to the left. <-------------------- I'd suggest going to https://www.google.com and typing in "martial arts' There are 2, 310,000 websites about martial arts. If you start now, you might finish by ythe time you graduate high school. That all depends on where your interests are, where you live, how much money you have, what sort of build you are, what your temperment is, how lenient your parents are...get the idea? Every person is different and likes different things. What is good for me, may suck for you. Happy surfing!

I'll agree with what has already been said. One thing...you are in SoCal..if you can be more specific (LA, SanD, somewhere else) we can help you find a place close to you and check it out via the net. It's possible there might be members on this forum that live in your area and can recommend someting from personal knowledge. If you don't want a "Drill sargent" attitude, then most likely you won't want a Japanese/Korean school. Generally, they are more "militaristic" in the approach to instruction (but not always). Okinawan systems are often more laid back, less strict, yet offer GREAT instruction. Watch classes...ask questions (do they do kobudo (weapons)? and get a feel for the place. AVOID schools that have young kids running around wearing black belts...or that is my advice anyway. If price is a concern, avoid the shopping mall schools and the trendy places, and those that have a feel of more like a health club. They have high rent/overhead to pay and pass that expense on to their students, just like any other business. A lot of sensei (instructors), like myself, teach out of their homes. It's not as fancy as a nice building, but the instruction is just the same, and usually much lower cost.

Not at all. It's personal preference in what you like. I've had both, and tend to like the reound ones...but I really don't know why other than I like the looks of round better than octagonal. One thing about the sai that you bought. Hold the in your open palm (hand pointing upward) and the tong of the sai resting between yoru thumb and index finger with the sai running down the outside edge of your forearm. How far past your elbow do they go? To be a proper fit, they should extend about 1/2" to 1" past the point of your elbow. Longer than that and the might be to long for you and be clumsy to use. Shorter than your elbow, and they will cause your elbow to get hurt if you block a hard strike with them.

I've seen those before in some catalog somewhere, but don't remember what they cost offhand. If you paid $20 for them, I'd say you got a pretty good deal...probably around 2/3 - 1/2 price over a new set. A new set of sai's...good ones...will probably run you $150-200. The ones you show are made of pot metal, and will break if you start sticking them in the ground (voice of experience here) or tossing them at trees. For a beginner, I'd say stick with what you have. No sense shelling out big bucks for a good set until you see if you're going to like them or not. As for the weight...they're all made out of metal, so their all going to be heavy. A good pair is going to weigh just about the same as a cheap pair.

Well..yeah! Only a fool would take on 5 people alone if they didn't have to. I agree with WW on what he said. You should have left well enough alone at that point. Talking to the one guy alone, and as you said, in a threatening manner, is adding gasoline on top of a smouldering fire. You just set yourself up for more trouble the next time the 5 guys are together and see you again. There's an old saying..."Strength in numbers". Individually, they may not want to mess with you, but the "pack" has strength of numbers and support from each otehr. They will feed off of each other, and the situation will be escalated. As WW said...Sticks and stones...words may sting a bit, but that's better than a butt-whippin'!

A nice dream Matousek, but unrealistic actually. I play the lottery once in a while when it gets over $60 million (figure then it's worth my buck! ) and I've thought about what I'd do if I ever hit it. Martial arts-wise, I'd only teach the students that I currently have, because if you opened a free school, you'd be looking at scam artists joining that are only looking to get hit once in the face, and sue the heck out of you to get at your money. It's a sad fact of life I'm afraid. Also, although teaching for free is admirable also, and I've done it twice since I started teaching classes...nobody would come or stay for long. It's a strange "quirk" of the human mind that if they don't have something invested into it, they won't take it seriously. Other sensei I've talked to have had similar experiences. To give an example, my own sensei decided not to charge any more after 3 years of charging, and within a month our class of 15 students went down to 5...sometimes less. People would rather sit home and watch reruns of Hee-Haw than pack up their gear and go to class, because they don't have anything invested in it. Like I said Matousek...a nice dream, but not realistic in the "real world".