Hello all. I recently moved to Ohio from North Georgia. I am a member of USEWF (Wado Ryu Federation) and have been practicing Wado for the past couple of years. I trained for a couple of months in traditional Okinawan Karate but other than that don't have much knowledge of other systems. My problem is that there are no Wado schools within driving distance of my home (none that I can find anyway) so I'm having to consider a new system. There are a couple Bujinkan dojos in Dayton. I visited one Saturday and met with the sensei there. Nice guy. Their system seems very interesting to me for a couple of reasons. First, they do a lot of joint manipulation and ground fighting which is similar to what we did. Second, the sensei is a law enforcement trainer same as my old sensei was. The school I left trained in Wado and Jujitsu with a lot of law enforcement self defense tactics as supplements to the curriculum. Seems like this might be a good fit for me. Just wondering if any of you train in this system and could shed more light on it for me.

Unless I'm mistaken, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu is part of a larger school based in Japan. Or, at least, shares a lot of similar traits. There's a large focus on proper body movement (hence the taijutsu "science of body movement") and doing things in the most efficient manner possible.

Of course, you know what you're looking for in a school, be it sport or self-defense or somewhere in between.

I know I don't shed a ton of light on the situation, but what I know I've read out of Glenn Morris's books. If the school has stayed with the way he says it was, I think it would be worthwhile.

Found this about Bujinkan it on Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bujinkan

Looks pretty cool to me, if they are legit, and you can only establish that yourself by doing some homework on the club / instructor. Go a long and have a look.

As keiran says, they appear to focus on correct body movement. There is a lot of traditional Jujutsu elements tied into its syllabus and as a wado man you should take to that fairly well.

On the subject of continuing your wado training, have you tried to make contact with Bob Nash's group? They may be able to point you in the right direction.

https://www.uswadokai.com/

Good luck

Thanks, Zanshin. I just sent him an e-mail. Keeping my fingers crossed. As for Budo Taijutsu, it does seem legit. I visited a school and studied up on the Sensei. His resume is very impressive. I haven't actually trained there yet but will probably take advantage of the one free class very soon.

Thanks, Zanshin. I just sent him an e-mail. Keeping my fingers crossed. As for Budo Taijutsu, it does seem legit. I visited a school and studied up on the Sensei. His resume is very impressive. I haven't actually trained there yet but will probably take advantage of the one free class very soon.

Why not? I would!

Good luck and I hope Mr Nash can help you out with your search for a Wado Club.

Sensei Nash just e-mailed me back. He isn't aware of any Wado clubs in this area. He did recommend a traditional karate dojo in Cincy but it's a little too far away to be practical. Looks like I'll be training in a new system. Oh well, I'm only 5th kyu anyway. It's not like I'm preparing for my black belt test or something. Variety's the spice of life, isn't it?

Indeed it is. I wish you all the best with your studies.

Looks like I'll be training in a new system. Oh well, I'm only 5th kyu anyway. It's not like I'm preparing for my black belt test or something.

Not so! From the day you start, you are preparing. Enjoy the journey.

I've researched the Bujinkan very heavily (and have visited a Bijinkan dojo as well as done light sparring with a bujinkan practitioner). Personally, my conclusions lead me to believe that it is not real (as far as lineage and the ninja angle goes). For just an example, Hatsumi claims to be the 34th soke of the art, however the oldest known martial arts systems in japan (such as Katori-Shinto-ryu and Kashima-Shinryu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Koryu_bujutsu) are only on their 20th generation respectively. This (and the claimed origin period for the art) place it well before the warring states period in japan at a time when a special espionage class would not have been needed at all. Add this in with the fact that it has almost zero popularity in its home country (watch the Human weapon episode and you will see that besides the two head instructors everyone else is non Japanese in the main dojo), and I give it little credibility. Having said that, whether it is fabricated or not it is still a martial arts system. There is nothing wrong with trying it out and if you like it then I say go for it. Just keep in mind that you are probably not studying ninjitsu.

Thanks, NightOwl. That's the kind of input I'm looking for.