Budo Bujinkan Taijutsu Open House

[Lupin3]

I recently attended an open house for a local BBT dojo here in Atlanta. I have to say, it was quite different than what I had expected.

 

It was set up differently than most schools I have visited, in that I was invited to observe initially, rather than jump in with their regular class. This provided the advantage of being able to observe both the students and the instructor much more closely than if I myself had been participating.

 

Class began with a series of roll exercises as warm up and moved to a drill in unarmed defence against sword attack. The more experienced students were given shinais and made an overhead attack against the younger students, bringing their shinais down on the heads of the immobile and the shoulders of the slightly too slow. I saw a few take a pretty good whack! Nobody was physically hurt, but I suspect that the indignity of being whacked in the head by an upper-classman (or woman) provided a bit more inducement to train that much harder and more seriously. In fact, one of the first things I noticed about the class was that everyone, even those who appeared to have little martial arts background, took their classtime seriously. Not that they weren't having fun, but they were focused.

 

After the students had a few minutes of this drill, sensei began to instruct them in ways to follow up the defence technique (side-stepping really, which I suspect is taught more as a way to remove the otherwise healthy but psychotic and deep-seated fear of someone bringing a sword down on their heads) with counter-attacks. These techniques began with simple deflections, moved to joint locks and then throws, and culminated in a bodily attack where the students threw themselves at the knees of their attackers, pulling them down by the sword hand and throwing them. Performed at full speed, this counter-attack would break the attacker's knees, throw them head first to the ground, and disarm them in one movement! I was actually somewhat concerned for the students being thrown at first, until sensei added (almost as an afterthought) that this drill should be performed slowly with care to avoid injury.

 

Later, sensei gave everyone in the class the opportunity to peform a kata they'd recently learned. These kata ranged from techniques practiced just that day, to involved kenjutsu techniques performed near full speed by the more advanced students. These kata were complicated enough as to approach actual (though somewhat stylized) fencing in one or two cases. I have to admit, by this time the marketing techniques inherent in the demonstration of advanced students to complete neophytes was beginning to work, and I was feeling pretty impressed with the range and (apparent) effectiveness of the techniques presented.

 

The open house culminated in an informal tea ceremony, where several of us enjoyed an absolutely delicious Japanese green tea and ate Japanese desserts. We gabbed for a while, with sensei remembering former classmates and students to an old friend who had stopped by for the morning. Three hours had passed by the time sensei ended (officially, at any rate) the open house. As I was late for a trip out of town with my wife, I had to leave more quickly than I would've liked, but I had been given much to consider.

 

First of all, my fears that the members of BBT were all a bunch of hormonally imbalanced, socially maladjusted and overly aggressive personality types wearing black ninja costumes with masks and moving like some stunt-doubles from a 1970s made for TV Spiderman movie were totally assuaged. All the experienced students wore hakamas, and the newer students wore gis. Everyone was for the most part well behaved and reasonably well adjusted (from what I could tell, anyway) and polite to the quiet guy nobody knew who sat on the floor at the end of the mat watching every little mistake they made.

 

Sensei himself was more relaxed and natural with the students than I had expected. He joked around with the class some and generally talked freely with the students and guests. He had quite a bit to say, actually. This included a short history lesson on ninja culture in Japan's past when I asked him about the three missing ninpo ryu from the list on his website. Ultimately, his point was that these schools are not sufficiently taught outside Japan to be taught at his school. I wasn't sure about that, I know a lot of other BBT dojos seem to take the whole ninja thing to heart. But for me, I'd actually rather stay away from it. I'm more interested in the Samurai ryu within BBT anyway, and I still haven't totally recovered from the 80's "American Ninja" crap anyway. In a more Japanese context it might be okay, but as with so many things pop culture has eviscerated any good qualities in my mind having to do with ninjas here in America.

 

Anyway, to mercifully end this far too long post, I spent a long time considering what I'd seen that Saturday morning all weekend, and comparing it to other schools I'd visited. I'd try to rationalize the differences, enter data into a spreadsheet comparing several schools in many criteria. In the end, they all added up pretty well equally. And yet, my mind kept returning to an image of the fencing students, and a flashing katana. I hear echoes of the close of Miyamato's letter at the forward of the Book of Five Rings, where he signs off personally to me, to me, four hundred years ago. I keep thinking, what would Hatsumi Sensei think of this, or what would Hatsumi Sensei advise me to do about that... Anyone else have this problem? Because I'm seriously starting to worry myself...

 

Anyway, Miyamato Musashi wrote that letter to me (to me I tell you!) four hundred years ago, and it's taken me a bit more than thirty to answer it. I think I'm pretty much sold on the Buj. Now only Jason Lau (with whom I have an interview later this month) can save me from the darkside .

[aefibird]

Good post lupin! Sounds like that is a good school.

 

After reading your post, I'm sold! Go to that MA club! lol

 

Seriously, if what you saw impresses you enough for you to keep thinking it over in your mind, then it's probably the place for you. You could try it for a few sessions, anyway, and see what you think.

 

Hey, maybe even do both arts at once, if the other guy impresses you too!

[Lupin3]

Seriously, if what you saw impresses you enough for you to keep thinking it over in your mind, then it's probably the place for you. You could try it for a few sessions, anyway, and see what you think.

 

Yeah, I think that's it exactly. I kept a pretty detailed spreadsheet of several schools I've been looking at, only to find that for each strength and weakness for one school, another had the opposite. The most interesting looking schools were basically a push, with very little separation in scores. But my mind just kept coming back to what I saw in the Bujinkan...

 

Thanks for the reply, aefibird!

[gheinisch]

I agree, sounds like that might be the one for you. Keep your appointments and check out the other schools just to be sure. But always go with your gut feeling. If it feels right, it probably is. It sounds like you've done some good research, so you should feel confident in your decision.

 

Good Luck!

 

 

Greg

[Lupin3]

What, no more comments? Its as if you guys think this post is too long or something! Geesh!

[Lupin3]

Anyone? Buehler? Buehler? ...

[Rotten Head Fok]

So go all ready, you'll get cracked in the head, do a side step, break someones knee and you'll go home, after you stop rubbing your head you'll deside, because life is happening and you could be missing it. Anyone ? anyone ?

[aefibird]

Lupin, have you been to visit that other school yet, or have you decided on the Budo Bujinkan Taijutsu place?

 

The BBT school sounds great, from your description. I was impressed that they had an open house system, with tea and all! It seems like they're a welcoming dojo and you'd probably be treated well there.