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ninpo still is alive

mikecash said:
Up to a point, it is.

Obsession with yakuza, ninja, gratuitous violence and murder, on the other hand, is nothing short of disturbing.

Could you please give it a rest. its boring now.
 
Bounty Hunter said:
Could you please give it a rest. its boring now.

He was most probably talking about it in general... you're not the only one.. but i can see how you'd feel it was directed towards you.
 
I agree.

For me its not better than a white kid being obsessed with self destructive homeboy/gangsta rap south central LA culture.
 
Bounty Hunter said:
Could you please give it a rest. its boring now.

As are posts redolent with words and imagery indicating an unhealthy fascination with violence.
 
Bounty Hunter said:
So when i was my last post anything like what your saying?

The new avatar is an improvement. Unfortunately, it is more than offset by the yakuza image in your sig.
 
>looks at Bounty Hunter's sig<

Well, he must've changed it--'cuz that's a picture of Spawn...
 
Why are you guys ripping on each other? I thought this was supposed to be a place where you could conduct semi-intelligent discussions. This isn't high-school...

Anyways. Ninjas did exist, but it seems that they've been sensationalized quite a bit. Have you guys heard of Bujinkan Toshindo? If I'm not mistaken, it's derived from the martial arts branch of Ninjitsu.
 
skunkworks said:
Why are you guys ripping on each other? I thought this was supposed to be a place where you could conduct semi-intelligent discussions. This isn't high-school...

So after we had been quiet for over 10 days, not ripping each other, you felt some uncontrollable need to rip the scab off the wound and reopen it?
 
ninjutsu is alive and well

ahh, all this "the last ninja" stuff is not true. ninjutsu,ninpo,kenjutsu,taijutsu, are still very much alive in japan. albeit the employment and purpose of these art forms are not needed in their traditional manner, the "art" form itself is still taught, not by just one school either. tugakure ryu ninjutsu, koga ryu ninjutsu, and fuma ryu ninjutsu still have schools in japan.

here is an excerpt from quest, regarding dr. masaaki hatsumi:> 34th soke of togakure ryu ninpo, whitch is still taught at the iga temple grounds today.>
After Takamatsu died, Hatsumi added Oh to his name. He took that word from Takamtsu's name. That made him Byakuryuoh, honorable white dragon. Until today he changed his warrior name a few more times, and is today known by his Bugo Hisamune (eternal seeker). Among other things, he also changed his name from Yoshiaki into Masaaki. That is a usual thing among martial art masters. Right before he died, Takamatsu Sensei passed tradition, way of life and direct inheritance of nine warrior traditions, which he taught, to Hatsumi. Masaaki Hatsumi became: 34th. Soke of Togakure ryu Ninpo 28th. Soke of Gyokko ryu Koshijutsu 28th. Soke of Kukishinden ryu Happo Hiken 26th. Soke of Shinden Fudo ryu Dakentaijutsu 21st. Soke of Gyokushin ryu Ninpo 18th. Soke of Koto ryu Koppojutsu 17th. Soke of Takagi Yoshin ryu Jutaijutsu 15th. Soke of Gikan ryu Koppojutsu 14th. Soke of Kumogakure ryu Ninpo and the only true Ninja of our time. At that time Hatsumi didn't feel capable enough, to show himself as Soke (grandmaster, direct successor) in public. Therefore he remained isolated with his students from inquisitive eyes. Even his neighbors didn't know, that he was successor of so old traditions.

and to beat all, you can still contact him through the bujinkan dojo and sign up classes are available to all nationalities. the bujinkan is international, but is located of course, in japan here is the contact info> Bujinkan Dojo - Soke Masaaki Hatsumi

Stephen K. Hayes, one of masaaki's prodigy students, started studying with hatsumi in the 60's, and now teaches here in the states. he is so reveared, that hatsumi has often made remarks as to whether or not he will pass his title of soke down to hayes himself. making hayes the first western soke of a traditional ninpo style. togakure ryu ninjutsu. stephen k. hayes' school is located in Dayton ohio, usa.

its a funny thing, 400 yrs ago the shogunate and local daimyo were so afraid of "ninja" it was a crime to even say the word "ninja" in japan. this is well documented and was punishable by death. while the daimyo
would never admit to using ninja, they were later born into samurai family's!
so here you have basically some mountain folk tired of being harrased by the local samurai, who were taking their land and raping their women, decided to research a martial strategy. we call it gorilla warfare today. thats pretty much what sun-tzu wrote about, and how the ninja interperated it. these ppl we call "ninja" were mountain sages who took up gorilla warfare to counter samurai incursion, and then, were later "employed" by daimyo and other political figures, when they realised how effective they really were, as opposed to the samurai cast. the comparison is easy to make. the samurai were like colonial americans and old world europe when it came to fighting. line up, and rush the enemy flank, front, whatever. as we all know, that does not make any sense. and is not practical. the ninja were strategists. whatever it took to win, thats the objective insnt it? screw honor, they thought, what does that mean when you no longer have a home or life to repect it with? like buddha would say, i cant speculate on the moralities of their actions, because i simply was not there. but i can say that after being treated the way they were, i feel that they were justified in their actions. this idea that all ninja were assasins is ridiculous. of course there were assasins, and espionage, but the root of their "art" was self preservation, and their way of life. a very spiritual outlook on life. boo-hoo for the samurai who yelled "no fair" at their tactics, they deserved it.

about ninjutsu in the west. my grandfather is a retired colonel from the united states army. during his service he toured every branch of armed services the u.s. has. to this day, ninjutsu is taught to our special forces units,the cia, fbi, and black ops. and to all of our allies special forces units. not the esoterical aspects of ninjutsu's mind conditioning, but mainly taijutsu (unarmed combat), and jutaijutsu along with other related forms. so, if you say that ninjutsu is a "dead" art form, think again, the united states government thinks its important enough to keep around:)

one last thing about masaaki hatsumi. there seems to be a great deal of speculation here on his "credability". not only is he a direct soke of the togakure form...along with 8 others... the japanese government made him a national treasure in the late 70's. they obviously felt that he was credible.
every other year or so, masaaki travels to the states along with his shidoshi, and chosen students, to perform a parade and fair alongside other representatives of major martial styles. i attended one of these fairs in san-diago, in the early 90's, and i must say, i was impressed. i saw things i did not know human beings could do. the kata/gymnastics were amazing, and the level of bodily conditioning rivaled the shoulin, if not surpassing it. the compexity of movements was very advanced even by todays martial standards. seeing masaaki defeat 6 of his shidoshi in an "armed" melee was spactacular. displaying how taijutsu was so effective, not the wizardry everyone likes to emagine, but very real, very dangerous and immaculate form.

here is the kazu-genealogical history of gikan ryu >

* Akimoto, Kanai Moriyoshi

1. Uryu, Hangan Gikanbo Yeiroku era (1558-1570)
2. Uryu, Yoshimitsu Tensho era (1573-1592)
3. Uryu, Yoshimori Kan-ei era (1624-1644)
4. Uryu, Yoshichika Kambun era (1661-1673)
5. Uryu, Yoshitaka Genroku era (1688-1704)
6. Uryu, Yoshihide Horeki era (1751-1764)
7. Uryu, Yoshimori Kansei era (1789-1801)
8. Uryu, Yoshiaki Tenpo era (1830-1844)
9. Uryu, Yoshiyasu Bunkyo era (1861-1864)
10. Uryu, Gikan Keio era (1865-1868)
11. Ishitani, Takeoi Masatsugu ? ( - ) approx death 1905
12. Ishitani, Matsutaro Takekage ? ( - ) approx death 1911
13. Takamatsu, Toshitsugu Uoh Taisho era (1911-1972) (1888.03.01-1972.04.02)
14. Akimoto, Fumio ? (1962) approx death 1962
15. Hatsumi, Masaaki (Yoshiaki) Showa era (1971-) (1931.12.02-)

and some history behind the names >

Akimoto, Kanai Moriyoshi
He was a student of Sougyoko Kan Ritsushi who was the 12th Soke in Gyokko-ryu Kosshijutsu, and the 3rd Soke in Koto-ryu Koppojutsu. He is the one who founded the teachings that would become Gikan Ryu, he is not considered to be the founder for reasons unknown.

Uryu, Hangan Gikanbo
Area: Kawachi no Kuni
Gikan Ryu was founded by Uryu, Giganbo who was the DAIMYO of Kawachi no Kuni (Kawachi castle). This was a family castle known as Uryujo. It is said that his punch was so powerful that he once broke a sword blade in half. He was also a master of Hichojutsu (leaping techniques) and Senban nage (blade throwing). The "bo" in Gikanbo was probably added to his name after his death. It was a custom to add "bo" (dead) to the end of the deceased person's name on people with higher social status. Still today deceased persons with a high social status, often have "Ingo" or "Koji" added to the end of their names on their tombstones.

if you would like detailed information as to the history of the bujinkan, and its nine forms, i suggest you go here > http://www.greenman.dk/simple/bujinkan/ryu.html
 
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