Anyone familiar with Fuga Dojo in Fort Worth?

[DrReddix]

I am a Kenpo Karate practioner looking to cross train and am looking at traditional jujutsu. Is anyone familiar with Fuga Dojo in Fort Worth, Texas and it's teachings of Kokusai Jujutsu Renmei? Any comments would be helpful...

[Tex]

Well.. what I did not like is the fact that it loaded an ad when I clicked on Home Page link.

That said, you should probably just seek out some good ol' Judo.

[lobohall]

Dr Reddix, sorry for the late reply. I don't read forums much and I just happened across this one. My name is Ryan Hall and I am one of the senior students in the Fuga Dojo. Our art is a true combat martial art, and it's headquarters are based out of Japan. Our Grandmaster Shoto Tanemura is of direct Samurai lineage. This is the martial art of the Samurai that was developed on the battlefield. Thousands died to perfect this art. We are having some website trouble so I apologize for that. As Kenpo is a Japanese art they will probably flow well together. This art is much different that judo. If u are interested please e mail me at lobohall@aol.com Thank you for your inquiry.

[Petter]

It should be kept in mind that while

Kokusai Jujutsu Renmei was established for the preservation and transmission of true, authentic Japanese Jujutsu

and it’s perfectly valid to preserve a cultural and historical heritage, this is obviously not the same thing as maintaining an effective martial art. It is also worth keeping in mind that as they advertise,

Jujutsu is NOT a sport; it is a TRUE traditional martial art of the Samurai, known as “the gentle/yielding art”

—and of course, without sportive competition to keep pressure and provide quality control, martial arts tend to stagnate into preservation, the form of once-effective techniques, practiced sometimes in a useful and sometimes in a useless manner; whereas a sport like judo will teach you to actually throw people in spite of their best efforts to prevent you.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that historical battlefield arts, like Japanese jujutsu, Italian abrazare, or German Kampfringen, even if they are practiced in a resistant and realistic manner, are only fully realised in a historical context: Their curricula may contain techniques that work best, and perhaps realistically only work at all, on armed and armoured opponents. (I suspect that the apparently large number of standing joint locks in the aforementioned arts, for instance, are there because they work well against an opponent hampered by armour and trying his best to hold on to a sword; they become far less useful against a more agile, unarmoured foe who isn’t trying to hold on to a sword and can therefore turn more freely.)

But those are only caveats about traditional jujutsu qua traditional jujutsu, of course, not a criticism of the dojo itself. There, all we can really say is that they have a bad website.

[BKR]

Dr Reddix, sorry for the late reply. I don't read forums much and I just happened across this one. My name is Ryan Hall and I am one of the senior students in the Fuga Dojo. Our art is a true combat martial art, and it's headquarters are based out of Japan. Our Grandmaster Shoto Tanemura is of direct Samurai lineage. This is the martial art of the Samurai that was developed on the battlefield. Thousands died to perfect this art. We are having some website trouble so I apologize for that. As Kenpo is a Japanese art they will probably flow well together. This art is much different that judo. If u are interested please e mail me at lobohall@aol.com Thank you for your inquiry.

What is the name of the koryu jujutsu ryu (ha) that Mr. Tanemura is head of?

[Styygens]

What is the name of the koryu jujutsu ryu (ha) that Mr. Tanemura is head of?

Are we really going to start this again?

Dr Reddix, sorry for the late reply. I don't read forums much and I just happened across this one. My name is Ryan Hall and I am one of the senior students in the Fuga Dojo. Our art is a true combat martial art, and it's headquarters are based out of Japan. Our Grandmaster Shoto Tanemura is of direct Samurai lineage. This is the martial art of the Samurai that was developed on the battlefield. Thousands died to perfect this art. We are having some website trouble so I apologize for that. As Kenpo is a Japanese art they will probably flow well together. This art is much different that judo. If u are interested please e mail me at lobohall@aol.com Thank you for your inquiry.

lobohall:
What difference does it make if Tanemura is a direct descendant of a samurai versus coming from a long line of garbagemen?

How is your art a "true combat art?"

"Thousands died" to perfect your art? Is this a recommendation? Wouldn't it be better to give an idea of how many lived?

[Res Judicata]

Kokusai Jujutsu Renmei and Tanamura sensei = Genbukan ninjitsu.

Meh.

edit:
Lol: http://fugadojo.orgfree.com/pg005.html

Ninjitsu is almost invariably shit.

Do Judo or something else that doesn't suck. If you like punchy-kicky Japanese arts, Kyoshikushin karate is nice.

[BKR]

Kokusai Jujutsu Renmei and Tanamura sensei = Genbukan ninjitsu.

Meh.

Well, that answers that question.

My judo teacher in Ft.Worth, TX, was a direct descendent of samurai as well, but he didn't go around LARPING because of it. I would guess there are millions of direct descendents of samurai in Japan, they must all be ju jutsu experts.

[edward ross]

the real deal

I am a Kenpo Karate practioner looking to cross train and am looking at traditional jujutsu. Is anyone familiar with Fuga Dojo in Fort Worth, Texas and it's teachings of Kokusai Jujutsu Renmei? Any comments would be helpful...

I began training with Sensei Weathers in '91 when Fuga Dojo came to be . At that time we trained on the hard ground. I am trained in judo before that so without mats you really know how to fall. The training was authentic and hard. I have on occasion had to use what i have been taught ....not in a cage were two sweaty brazillian juijitsu cross trained muscle men roll around the floor like it's a wrestling match. If your on the ground you have lost already the idea is to be the one standing so you can go home to your family. That is the idea of NINPO doing what needs to be done and moving on. I would like to see some of these guys take the gloves off and learn that NINPO is everything it is said to be. Normally I would not engage on people opinions of one style over another they all have thier merits. I studied Kokusai with the dojo ...yes it is original in form but taught for practical application in this world. You could not ask for a better teacher.

[Sri Hanuman]

This is going to end well.
Really.
I can tell these things.

[Res Judicata]

Not this shit again. Why is training on hard ground better or "more real" than mats again?

We all agree that Hayes is crap. And we're more than happy to laugh at the Booj. But what makes your system better than them?

[Sri Hanuman]

And I'm still not clear, is the school claiming a Koryu art? The wording seemed a bit vague to me.

[Sri Hanuman]

http://fugadojo.orgfree.com/pg001.html

This was the only web site I was able to find on the dojo.
Apparently Tanemura Sensei calls himself "the law of the sword."

The web site does claim that he has at least two Menkyo Kaiden, one in Shiden Fudo Ryu, and one in Kukishin Ryu, before opening a Genbukan school...

[Res Judicata]

They're Genbukan ninjas. Those are a couple of the schools supposedly incorporated into that system.

[Gezere]

Being former Genbukan myself Tanemura is legit in that he has received menkyo kaiden and even appointed soke by very creditable MArtist such as Sato Kinbei. He was also a student of Hatsumi but that is rarely mentioned now. He has an old fashion (often over romantized veiw) on martial veiws. He is very secretive in his teaching, even on things that are common knowledge in other arts. At one Tai Kai in Europe he made everyone who was filming to turn off the cameras while he should some Baguazhang material. There was nothing secret of critical about it and it wasn't bad so it always baffled me why he didn't want it filmed.