Yes, Mark, I was showing some of my own ignorance. I didn't look for Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu on koryu.com until after I posted.Originally posted by MarkF
Hi, Peter,
I don't know anything of significance of Japanese history except from about 1860 or so to today, and that is very limited in itself.
But I believe TSKSR is considered the oldest *extant* ko ryu or at least it is said to be by those of certain organizations concerned with the study of ko ryu within the long history of Japan.
Signed,
Grasshopper
However, the claim that the "[t]he art is an integral part of the history of Japan and the point of origin for all Japanese martial arts." is a little bit of hyperbole. That's what bothered me about the web site - too much of too much.
Well, this has prompted me to learn a little more about historical koryu, so that can't be a bad thing. If more people were willing to investigate and ask questions of their instructors maybe this kind of school couldn't survive.
Still, nobodies responded to what troubled me most about this site. That is:
Would you study with someone claiming Pol Pot and Idi Amin as clients? Is that actually something to put down as a reference?
Peter