The bujinkan. Need help from guys that did it for years. Please help

**kip** · Posted On: 7/21/2011 7:46pm

Ok guys I did commando krav maga. Started to doubt its advanced joke moves. I looked into it and found out it was a joke and moved away.

I dont like boxing, tae kwon do, or the karate that I tried. I am a big guy and dont believe in kicking higher than the knees except for the knee to the groin.

I am a law enforcement officer that enjoys the massive ammount of backup that a city provides. I am applying to state police organizations where that quick backup will not be avaliable. I need martial arts to use off duty, to protect my familly, to teach fellow officers and those who truly need it, and possibly to teach part time in the distant future.

I studied the Army Version of MMA for 2 years. It was ok but lacked the attacking of vital points and caused me to stay on the ground longer than I wanted to. It was an ok system but dont want something that I have to be in tip top shape or will be easily defeated by an young in shape guy when I am 80 or whatever.

I am now in the Bujinkan about a year and a half deep. I train with a very well known instructor and a not so well known. Both have martial abilities that would not cause me to doubt their credentials.

I like the fact that the Bujinkan attacks natural weak points. Eyes, ears, groin, knees, etch. I know swords are not practical but I own a true sword. I was excited and wanted to learn the art of the ancient weapon of war.

I am considering regular true Krav Maga and Russian arts. I am more lost than ever especially since the Bujinkan stresses that competition arts dont hit the most vulnerable points such as locks, breaks, eye rip outs, hard groin hits, ear claps.

Let me ask will claps to the ear actually work and break the ear drum?

I learned that when they throw a knee to your face you can throw your elbow to hit just above their knee tendon. Does this work?

I pretty much love the theory and concepts of Ninujutsu but dont love some of the technique.

Diagonal steping to the outside of hits seems to work.

I love how the Bujinkan says they teach to develop your senses to feel things. I believe that you can to an extent develop your gut instinct. You can also learn to read body languge since that is where 90 percent of communication comes from. I think that combat strategy is important in todays enviornment.

I think training in real world settings outside a Dojo in regular cloths is extremly important. I did a high tae kwon do kick with sneakers on and twisted myself down to the ground. Had a twisted ankle would have been done in a fight. But on the mats in socks it worked.

It seems as if Bujinkan dojos are hard to locate and want you to be sure before you trained. I have trained in three and none of them pushed me to come. They made me feel as if it had to be my decision. Other schools in other arts seem to push you into a contract.

What would you guys that have experiance guide me towards?

I love stick techniques and find walking sticks, pool sticks, mops, canes, brooms, etc to be important to know the effective use. They can be found in many enviornments and my mastery of them is important. I tend to carry a walking stick on hikes and a cane on air plain trips.

The bujinkan really had me excited now I feel lost, confused, and not knowing what to do. The Bujinkan really showed me the weak points of the other arts. I still believe in striking vulnerable points.

I respect arts but in reality I want stuff that will bring me home alive.

**The Juggernoob** · Posted On: 7/21/2011 8:33pm

So you want something you can rely on without backup, but dont want to get hurt training, or really even break a sweat?

Goodnight Officer.

P.S. Dont tell any of the Perps you do Bujinkan, they'll just beat you harder.

**kip** · Posted On: 7/21/2011 8:46pm

I want an art that will give me the best chance of coming out of street situations alive. I am willing to break a sweat but dont want to train in something that doesnt really work.

**wetware** · Posted On: 7/21/2011 8:50pm

The typical lineup of responses you will receive here to the question "What martial art should I study?" are, in alphabetical order:

Boxing, Brazilian Jiujitsu, Judo, Kyokushin, Muay Thai, Sambo

The reason for this is because all these martial arts are relatively common and tend toward good quality control. They're taught to do something rather than ACT like they're doing something.

You'll note that the buj is not among them.

Of course, there are good and bad instructors and good and bad training methods in any martial art. Some bujies could (theoretically) be mega-badasses. I'm sure there's kyokushin karatekas who couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag. But martial artists who can't fight are harder to find in martial arts that spar hard rather than those that pretend to spar.

**The Juggernoob** · Posted On: 7/21/2011 8:53pm

In that case. Disregard Bujinkan, Krav Maga, Anything pressure point related.

Pressure points hurt, nothing more. You want to actually damage and disable your opponent.

In my opinion, you will learn more concerning shutting someone down through something like Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, Sambo etc, than you will through any art that teaches magical pressure points or standing joint locks.

The Issue with a lot of these "deadly" arts is that they work on using pain to prevent your opponent from attacking. That is fantastic on everyday wimpy Joe. But the moment you have a bit of a scrapper or a 200lb crack head to deal with , all of that becomes irrelevant.

**kip** · Posted On: 7/21/2011 9:01pm

Originally Posted by The Juggernoob

In that case. Disregard Bujinkan, Krav Maga, Anything pressure point related.

Pressure points hurt, nothing more. You want to actually damage and disable your opponent.

In my opinion, you will learn more concerning shutting someone down through something like Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, Sambo etc, than you will through any art that teaches magical pressure points or standing joint locks.

The Issue with a lot of these "deadly" arts is that they work on using pain to prevent your opponent from attacking. That is fantastic on everyday wimpy Joe. But the moment you have a bit of a scrapper or a 200lb crack head to deal with , all of that becomes irrelevant.

I agree with that but wouldnt kicking out a knee, ripping out the eyes, or claping the ears work better than roling for an armbar or a punch to the face? The strategy of the Bujinkan is what really has me hooked.

**The Juggernoob** · Posted On: 7/21/2011 9:17pm

Originally Posted by kip

I agree with that but wouldnt kicking out a knee, ripping out the eyes, or claping the ears work better than roling for an armbar or a punch to the face? The strategy of the Bujinkan is what really has me hooked.

No. Trust me when I say, it is incredibly difficult to kick out a knee on a non compliant agressive opponent, Muay Thai, the martial art that undoubtedly produces the hardest kicks, has no magical knee shots. I've been taught to kick above the kneecap with a downwards angle to weaken the knee, but the idea of just taking out a knee in the way your talking of is unrealistic.

Anyone on here can tell you eye gouges dont work, again its a pain move. Aside from that, its damn hard to pull off on someone trying to smash your face in with nice clean effective punches.

Same with clapping the ears, just try it on someone who is trying to hit you, its ridiculous.

The only situation where these moves work is that of the unprovoked agressor. As far as an actual fight is concerned, if by actual fight, you mean light drilling with a compliant partner, then yes, they're all super effective.

**Nefron** · Posted On: 7/21/2011 9:36pm

Originally Posted by kip

I agree with that but wouldnt kicking out a knee, ripping out the eyes, or claping the ears work better than roling for an armbar or a punch to the face? The strategy of the Bujinkan is what really has me hooked.

How many eyes have you gouged out? How many knees have you kicked out?

Now, ask yourself how many times an average boxer punches somebody in the face during training.

**yli** · Posted On: 7/21/2011 9:36pm

Obviously, you should keep training Bujinkan as the techniques are so deadly, that you can never, ever, ever try them out on another human being.

**kip** · Posted On: 7/21/2011 9:50pm

The knee kick is done with the heel and in a reverse manner so that you can do it close at a distance. So your saying sticking your finger in someones eye wont take them out? My problem with competition arts is that they dont use techniques that could kill or seriously hurt the other guy. I have seen MMA fights that stopped when the eyes were accitdentally bumped.