Sekiguchi-ryu

[Daniel Lee]

I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in as an ex-pat Aussie who has been around the koryu and jujutsu traps for a while. I don't personally know Mr Waters, but want to contribute some deductive information for people's consideration. Mr Waters is teaching a modern art called Glen-ryu - all the more power to him there - but claims to have training in Sekiguchi-ryu in the past. Most of the conjecture here is about the claim to Sekiguchi-ryu training.

First: Ben's link indicates Mr Waters has been associated with the "Australian Jujitsu Association" at some point. Much of what I am aware of regarding the background to this association can be found on this e-budo jujutsu thread. Please note that Sekiguchi-ryu is not mentioned here.

Secondly: None of the branches of Sekiguchi-ryu currently in existance in Japan publically list any Australian groups studying under them. Even Sekiguchi-ryu footage can be found on public Internet sites like YouTube these days, allowing prospective students to compare a prospective teacher and the art s/he claims to teach as practiced in Japan.

Thirdly: Whenever someone makes a public claim to teach a traditional martial art, I personally expect several questions to be answered by them -

1. Who was their teacher and what is their lineage?
2. How long did they study, and what rank did they receive?
3. What third-party verifiable evidence can be provided?

The responsiblity is thus on the person making claims to back them up with evidence.

My 2 cents.