Ninjutsu

[BudoCanuck]

Have you found yoshinkan aikido to be useful as a supplement to other military hand-to-hand training (e.g. useful when sparring etc.)

In short yes. I have always trained with an emphasis on hard style Aikijutsu techniques, so I have found it very useful. I am painfully aware that many Aikidoka don't train for real situations correctly or at all though.

[BudoCanuck]

An example of Goshinkwai

[Hedgehogey]

Haha look at his terrible fashion sense, his not seeing any contradiction between relying on a strategy of hyperagression and having potbelly, and that bamma-ass back clinch.

[slamdunc]

1994 to 2006. Yes I was in Kosovo in 1999.

I was deployed from April (officially June) through November 1999, supporting Operation Joint Forge. I was with the 1st Military Intelligence Battalion (AE) {Guardrail}. We were split-based operations between Naval Support Activity Naples and San Vito Air Base in Brindisi, Italy. I made several forages into Prishtina, but at any rate, while in Brindisi, I trained with members of U.K.(Scots mostly), Italian, Canadian, and German forces (and two badass Romanian officers).

I ran the PT program on our end, and every week we would rotate; sort of a Round-Robin of physical fitness. We all ended up getting together and doing some informal martial arts training. We worked MACP for the most part, but the Canadians and Scots were doing Systema and a bit of Krag Maga. We had friendly (and some not-so friendly) throw-downs, cooked out and had a ball. We pretty much left the egos in the barracks (except for the Romanians), and nobody had anything to prove. It was great training for me.

When you posted before, I was going into memory mode and tried to locate my photos.

[BudoCanuck]

I was deployed from April (officially June) through November 1999, supporting Operation Joint Forge. I was with the 1st Military Intelligence Battalion (AE) {Guardrail}. We were split-based operations between Naval Support Activity Naples and San Vito Air Base in Brindisi, Italy. I made several forages into Prishtina, but at any rate, while in Brindisi, I trained with members of U.K.(Scots mostly), Italian, Canadian, and German forces (and two badass Romanian officers).

I ran the PT program on our end, and every week we would rotate; sort of a Round-Robin of physical fitness. We all ended up getting together and doing some informal martial arts training. We worked MACP for the most part, but the Canadians and Scots were doing Systema and a bit of Krag Maga. We had friendly (and some not-so friendly) throw-downs, cooked out and had a ball. We pretty much left the egos in the barracks (except for the Romanians), and nobody had anything to prove. It was great training for me.

When you posted before, I was going into memory mode and tried to locate my photos.

There is a good chance that we have crossed paths at some point then. I have a Scottish accent thanks to my mainly Scottish family, despite being from Vancouver.

[BudoCanuck]

Haha look at his terrible fashion sense, his not seeing any contradiction between relying on a strategy of hyperagression and having potbelly, and that bamma-ass back clinch.

Hahaha! I can't entirely disagree with that assertion.

[lordbd]

I liked those outfits. And who has a cool circular martial arts room like that? Its like a maskless 80s Zorro training room

[BudoCanuck]

I liked those outfits. And who has a cool circular martial arts room like that? Its like a maskless 80s Zorro training room

Indeed ;)

[Gigatron]

I have so far, only physically trained in Ninjutsu in the Bujinkan Dojo environment, which I had some issues with.

The main instructor, a Sandan, became hostile towards myself and my friend when we asked or openly spoke about commonality and cross training. The Dojo space is part of a multi discipline martial arts school. There were several occasions where we trained with other practitioners before or after sessions and openly discussed technique and training methods.

I found that the club was bottom heavy and that the more experienced martial artists were marginalized rather than utilized by the Bujinkan instructors.

I want to make it clear that I'm not having a go at the Bujinkan school. I am merely sharing my experiences with this Dojo.

I'm very aware of the fact that all modern Ninjutsu is directly linked to Masaaki Hatsumi and therefore Bujinkan, but are there any other schools in the UK or Europe that any of you would recommend? I have extensively Googled and asked for suggestions of other schools, but most in this area are Kung Fu, Muay Thai or BJJ/MMA.

I am just an Aikidoka who has an interest in cross training. I train daily and partake in Randori 2-3 times a week. Finding a good environment in which to progress is a priority for me this summer.

Thanks for reading and any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

The typical Bujinkan Shidoshi is out of shape and terribly scared when you mention Randori or any type of free style sparring. That's why the lunge punching role players give the art a bad name because they just want to show up to class and play dress up.

If you can find a superior core group, the art is well worth dedicating your time to. It works despite what people may think. The negativity surrounding it is mainly due to lazy imbeciles hiding behind the guise of being "2 D34DLY to SP4R W1TH U!"

You'll find with most martial arts, it all comes down to the person practicing them and how hard/intelligently they train.

[slamdunc]

You'll find with most martial arts, it all comes down to the person practicing them and how hard/intelligently they train.

This is only true to a certain degree. This theory has been argued on this board and it usually breaks down to a '**** In / **** Out' thing. Athleticism, dedication, and motivation can take an martial artist a long way, only if he is aimed in the right direction in the first place.