American Ninjutsu

[campsinger]

Hey, y'all...

I've been doing a little ninpo net surfing lately, something I haven't done in about 8 years. There's a lot of people out there teaching "American Ninjutsu". Could somone out there please explain what this is?

Are they referring to something like Frank Dux and Ashida Kim? Robert Bussey? Ronald Duncan? James Loriega? Or some amalgamated (yes, I'm an educated redneck...) combination of martial arts with the term ninjutsu stuck on the end of it with old bubble gum? Some of them seem to have studied with legitimately licensed teachers (albeit for a limited time), then broke away to form their own dojo and "modified it [ninjutsu] fit modern situations."

If you want to study something authentic, it's very possible. People can argue all they want about Bujinkan, Jinenkan, or Genbukan, but it all boils down to the fact that there is a paper trail that leads through Hatsumi-sensei and Takamatsu-sensei that makes everything legitimate and authentic. Why study with some other self-proclaimed grandmaster/shihan/ninja death lord/etc., when it is possible to study the real thing?

***
Please note that it is not my intent to insult anyone from Genbukan or Jinenkan. Tanemura-san and Manaka-san teach from the same scrolls Hatsumi-sensei does; the difference lies in how they teach, which is their perogative. IMHO they are authentic and legitimate; as the saying goes, there's more than one way to skin a cat.

***
Before somebody gets a knot in their thong, I used the suffix -"san" rather than "-sensei" for the simple reason that I was speaking of them respectfully, yet neither of them are my teacher. To use the suffix "-sensei" would, IMHO, infer that they were my teachers also, and that I had some kind of connection to them. That not only would be a lie, it would be bad manners. Sorry for rambling.

Gambatte...

[Jason Chambers]

I believe American Ninjutsu (Personal Protection Concepts) is an off-shoot of RBWI.

[campsinger]

Thanks Jason...

I wasn't sure Robert Bussey was still around. I heard a rumor that he blew out both of his knees doing all those jump/spin kicks.

I thought maybe "American Ninjutsu" was was a generic term, such as opposed to "Japanese Ninjutsu." Way back in the 80s people were claiming all sorts of weird stuff was ninjutsu, and I was wondering if people were still doing that.

Gambatte...

[Jason Chambers]

Mr. Bussey is "retired" but some of his former students are still carrying the RBWI torch.

[campsinger]

Hey, y'all...

After come comments by Jason and Rob, some of my questions have been answered, at least enough for me to be able to rephrase my question. I had been under the impression that "independent ninjutsu" and "American ninjutsu" were the same critter with different names. Would someone please be kind enough to indulge my ignorance concerning "independent ninjutsu?" What is it, why is it, how is it different, etc.?

Gambatte...

[Oni]

Originally posted by campsinger
Hey, y'all...

After come comments by Jason and Rob, some of my questions have been answered, at least enough for me to be able to rephrase my question. I had been under the impression that "independent ninjutsu" and "American ninjutsu" were the same critter with different names. Would someone please be kind enough to indulge my ignorance concerning "independent ninjutsu?" What is it, why is it, how is it different, etc.?

Gambatte...

Independant ninjutsu comes in several flavors...but basically it generally means groups using the 'ninjutsu' name that are not connected directly with any of the 3 x-kans. Some of these groups had past relations with a kan, but for reasons of their own seperated and formed their own independant group. Still others that are generally considered more dubious have secret 'koga' teachers whos names they won't reveal...or whos lineages are entirely unprovable. They may (or may not) be very effective martial artists, but their link to the term 'ninjutsu' is often based upon very shaky or nonexistant evidence.

I think a majority of folks in the first category claim politics as their reason for mainstream seperation. Some of them still train with folks from the various kans, as well as other independant groups...they just don't have the club card ;)

[Tamdhu]

they just don't have the club card

...and they ain't drinkin' from the firehose, either.

;)

[campsinger]

Thank you, Richard, for the clarification.

I was aware of the paper trail between Tanamura-san and Takamatsu-sensei, and that not all of it went through Hatsumi-sensei. Some folks out there may not have been aware it, and perhaps in the past (or were thinking about doing so currently) had just jumped on the bandwagon to discredit someone's training.

I quit reading the crap they put in magazines and the BS on the internet a lot of years ago because of all the political grandstanding, backstabbing, etc. I have only recently began perusing bulletin boards and so forth, trying to find out what's folks are up to. I just spent my time, as Jack Hoban would say, with "more smackin' and less yackin'." This civilized sharing of information is very refreshing, compared to all that.

Gambatte...