# Shinobi no mono Magazine



## amishman (Aug 11, 2009)

Anyone here subscribe to the Shinobi no mono Magazine?

What do you think of it?  Is it worth the $15 + 6 postage for those in the Bujinkan or just like reading about all the Ninjutsu arts?

http://www.shinobimagazine.com/

tj


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## JadecloudAlchemist (Aug 11, 2009)

Is it Christa Jacobson magazine or something cause there sure is alot of pictures with her.


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## Omar B (Aug 11, 2009)

Color me interested. 

http://cjj2004.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/sexy-trainer1aaa.jpg


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## Cryozombie (Aug 11, 2009)

*Snicker*


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## Omar B (Aug 11, 2009)

I think I'm gonna puke.


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## Bruno@MT (Aug 12, 2009)

Slender women in black gear showing skin, muscular guys in menacing poses brandishing weapons, and of course the picture with the dude in cammo paint holding a kukhri...

Some random clicking brought up a badly lit movie of 'budo ryu ninjutsu dojo' which mentions shinobi-jutsu (showing a straight ninja-to), showing ninja assassins prowling through the enemy camp, killing sentries along the way...

It think this magazine is more about selling fantasies to impressionable young adolescent males than about ninjutsu facts.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Aug 12, 2009)

I would not buy it for many, many reasons.

Instead I would start a collection of books, dvds, etc. featuring Hatsumi Sensei. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 (then you know the material is authentic)


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## Bravissimo (Aug 12, 2009)

JadecloudAlchemist said:


> Is it Christa Jacobson magazine or something cause there sure is alot of pictures with her.


 
Yes that's her magazine.


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## JadecloudAlchemist (Aug 12, 2009)

> Yes that's her magazine.


 
Well that explains alot. I suppose if someone wanted to learn Neo-ninjutsu
then it might be worth it. But for about the same price you can get one of Hatsumi's books in English. You can get Tanemura's Chi-E and Chu-Do and Amatsu Tatara magazine.You can get the Shinden ryu video,Kihon happo video,Sanshin kata all by Hatsumi. So like Brian said money would be better spent on getting Hatsumi work or getting Tanemura's work.


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## Bravissimo (Aug 12, 2009)

JadecloudAlchemist said:


> Well that explains alot. I suppose if someone wanted to learn Neo-ninjutsu
> then it might be worth it. But for about the same price you can get one of Hatsumi's books in English. You can get Tanemura's Chi-E and Chu-Do and Amatsu Tatara magazine.You can get the Shinden ryu video,Kihon happo video,Sanshin kata all by Hatsumi. So like Brian said money would be better spent on getting Hatsumi work or getting Tanemura's work.


 


This is true. I've bought a magazine from her before. Most of the articles in it were actually about history and things like that. Not so much in terms of techniques. Might be different nowadays.

I do not study ninjutsu in any form, neither new nor old. That being said, not everyone wants techniqes that are several hundred years old. There are those inclined to a neo-ninja program which may be viewed as being more practical.

Frankly the attitudes that I've seen toward Ms. Jacobson are fairly disrespectful. There are a number of programs that I have seen out there that I think are unsuitable for me. I've never stooped as to make fun of an instructor for how they look, rather only how they move.

I have looked at a portion of Ms. Jacobson's material, although I have not practiced it. I do not find it to be something that I myself wish to devote any substantial amount of time to working on. I also did not find the Bujinkan curriculum to be of my liking. So since I do not like it, I guess I should accordingly start to snicker at the mention of the of name Hatsumi, since apparently ninjas in present day just giggle when presented with material from instructors they do not salivate over.

I would have thought people in this community would have a little more respect for other. Since practioners of ninjutsu themselves are such a target for ridicule by other martial artists these days. I know many a BJJ student who would be laughing audibly upon meeting a "ninja". Such behavior should not be encourage from either side.  These comments are directed to anyone in particular.  Just a hope that gentlemen would act as such.

(Please forgive my spelling errors, I'm typing this quickly.)


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## amishman (Aug 12, 2009)

JadecloudAlchemist said:


> Well that explains alot. I suppose if someone wanted to learn Neo-ninjutsu
> then it might be worth it. But for about the same price you can get one of Hatsumi's books in English. You can get Tanemura's Chi-E and Chu-Do and Amatsu Tatara magazine.You can get the Shinden ryu video,Kihon happo video,Sanshin kata all by Hatsumi. So like Brian said money would be better spent on getting Hatsumi work or getting Tanemura's work.



Do you have a link to where one can subscribe to the Amatsu Tatara Magazine? Is it still being produced.  I find a link to issue #1 being sold but that was it.  No official web site where one can subscribe.

tj


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## JadecloudAlchemist (Aug 12, 2009)

Link to Amatsu magazine:

http://www.genbukan.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?1315&csProduct_productID=149



> That being said, not everyone wants techniqes that are several hundred years old. There are those inclined to a neo-ninja program which may be viewed as being more practical.


 You can not call it Ninjutsu if it does not stem from a legit transmission which in cases of oral or written transmission is several generations old.




> Frankly the attitudes that I've seen toward Ms. Jacobson are fairly disrespectful.


  Jacobson's Menkyo in Tomo ryu is misspelled as Chrisda Yakosen so Chrisda Yakosen has a Menkyo in Tomo ryu but Christa Jacobson does not according to the reading of the Kanji on the Menkyo. Think of it this way if you get a Doctor degree and it spells your name wrong well who has the degree on the wall you or that guy with the name misspelled? To be fair the Menkyo was either written by someone who is Japanese or someone who has some understanding of Shodo and Kanji the person who wrote it might have misheard the name eh oh well.



> I have looked at a portion of Ms. Jacobson's material, although I have not practiced it. I do not find it to be something that I myself wish to devote any substantial amount of time to working on. I also did not find the Bujinkan curriculum to be of my liking. So since I do not like it, I guess I should accordingly start to snicker at the mention of the of name Hatsumi, since apparently ninjas in present day just giggle when presented with material from instructors they do not salivate over.


 If you like Budo ryu and Jacobson and the Neo-ninja great enjoy. People give flack to people who claim certain things and question its autheticity I mean noone wants to be scammed out of their money right?


> I would have thought people in this community would have a little more respect for other. Since practioners of ninjutsu themselves are such a target for ridicule by other martial artists these days. I know many a BJJ student who would be laughing audibly upon meeting a "ninja". Such behavior should not be encourage from either side. These comments are directed to anyone in particular. Just a hope that gentlemen would act as such.


 I do not respect scam artists and liars but maybe you are right they do deserve respect I will work on it. I think every martial art is laughed at BJJ is laughed at as being Homoerotic eh what can you do. 
If you wish to bring up Hatsumi authenticity we can talk about that by all counts his authenticity is pretty high even Jacobson shows off her degrees in the Bujinkan.


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## Bravissimo (Aug 12, 2009)

> You can not call it Ninjutsu if it does not stem from a legit transmission which in cases of oral or written transmission is several generations old.


 
Where, might I ask, did you pull this authoritative ruling from? I'm familiar with the term Jutsu. And nin, according to the internet here, means secret/stealth/etc. Accordingly the art of sneakiness. Ah, yes. I clearly see now. Sneakiness clearly implies ancient japanese secrets. Not modern japanese secrets, only ancient japanese secrets. I stand corrected. 




> Jacobson's Menkyo in Tomo ryu is misspelled as Chrisda Yakosen so Chrisda Yakosen has a Menkyo in Tomo ryu but Christa Jacobson does not according to the reading of the Kanji on the Menkyo. Think of it this way if you get a Doctor degree and it spells your name wrong well who has the degree on the wall you or that guy with the name misspelled? To be fair the Menkyo was either written by someone who is Japanese or someone who has some understanding of Shodo and Kanji the person who wrote it might have misheard the name eh oh well.


 
Again, you have proven me the fool. Obviously since Christa Jacobson (apparently a very common japanese name) was transliterated into japanese in a less than stellar fashion, then the person who wrote it must be a fraud! This Ichiro Kobayashi character who wrote the certificate must clearly be from Wisconsin and probably speaks with a yooper accent. I bet he's "goin' store" right now.



> People give flack to people who claim certain things and question its autheticity I mean noone wants to be scammed out of their money right?I do not respect scam artists and liars but maybe you are right they do deserve respect I will work on it.


 
I have no problem with questioning people who have shady credentials. I laugh hysterically at the Valadez Kenpo people. Not just because all of the rank he posses is self-made or purchased sans-test, but beacuse on top of that he possess no skill. 

That being said, Jacobson has a legit background (tomo-ryu claims aside). As for the Tomo-Ryu, anything claiming to be from the Koga side is always brought under the microscope to be sure (ashida kim being what you get when it remains unchecked). As for the lineage of the system and its validity, its for the serious historian to determine. And if a student cares more for how pretty the scrolls are and how old the system is than its effectiveness, then shame on them. 

If the scam artist is going to get you hurt then its a problem. Jacobson's curriculum is no more ridiculous than the Bujinkan's. 



> I think every martial art is laughed at BJJ is laughed at as being Homoerotic eh what can you do.
> If you wish to bring up Hatsumi authenticity we can talk about that by all counts his authenticity is pretty high even Jacobson shows off her degrees in the Bujinkan.


 

Grappling is pretty gay. I grappled for several years and the guard is indeed the most homoerotic thing to hit martial arts. We apparently agree on that.

As for Hatsumi, I'm not going to be getting into that conversation with you, because frankly I don't know much about him. I know he has a substantial number of sycophantic followers who worship everything he says and does like a pope in black pajamas. I don't think this is healthy for either the individuals or for the arts. I notice the same kind of nonsense going on with anyone named Gracie. Also, George Dillman. I think its dumb with him too. Actually even more so because I think he is going to eventually cause someone to get hurt. I read one of Hatsumi's books. The Grandmaster's Book of Ninja Training, and I was farily unimpressed. I didn't see anything groundbreaking in terms of philosophy and wisdom that Ed Parker didn't write in the first "Infinite Insights" 6 years earlier. 

I'm sure Hatsumi is good. I'm sure he's legit. I'd never try and diminish him or his works, as he has added a great deal to the martial arts community. I just don't particularly want to train his style.  Jacobson's either for that matter.

The things I see among some of the ninjas are the same things I see in the Silat and FMA community sometimes. My friend Eddie, God rest his soul, was guilty of it too. 

"MINE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT'S REAL!" "NUH-UH, MINE IS! YOUR BLACK PAJAMAS ARE FAKE!"

To say that Pepsi is not Coke does not mean its not cola.


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## Bravissimo (Aug 12, 2009)

Let me make one more point.

Jade, I appreciate your comments.  They are thought out and valid points of contention.  And while I disagree, I can appreciate why you say what you say.

I was more concerned with other things people say about Jacobon.  Things which are frequently mentioned on other forums, and which cause people to ridicule and dismiss her based upon topics that have nothing to do with training/ability/credential/etc.  Predjudices based upon things unrelated to training should not be considered.  And while everyone in the thread at least had the good taste not to bring it up directly, I think I can read between the lines at what was being hinted at.

If that kind of stuff makes somoene dismiss a martial artist, rather than valid reasons then... Ah forget it.  No criticism I could state would be effective.


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## Obi Wan Shinobi (Aug 13, 2009)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> I would not buy it for many, many reasons.
> 
> Instead I would start a collection of books, dvds, etc. featuring Hatsumi Sensei.
> 
> ...


 

Well said Brian, I second that comment...


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## Obi Wan Shinobi (Aug 13, 2009)

Well in America there is no governing standard for authentication of traditional martial arts. So Ms. Jacobson is free to teach and claim whatever it is she claims. I don't agree with what she does claiming Tomo Ryu Ninjutsu Menkyo Kaiden. And I do believe that she is misleading alot of people into believing she is something that she is not. I was told that she actually made Yondan in Bujinkan. So whatever happened after that resulted in her Budo Ryu. And by the looks of it she seems to be doing pretty good in student numbers. The rule of thumb is...make sure you do all your research of a martial art style and the instructor prior to committing your time, effort and money.


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## Bruno@MT (Aug 13, 2009)

Bravissimo said:


> Where, might I ask, did you pull this authoritative ruling from? I'm familiar with the term Jutsu. And nin, according to the internet here, means secret/stealth/etc. Accordingly the art of sneakiness. Ah, yes. I clearly see now. Sneakiness clearly implies ancient japanese secrets. Not modern japanese secrets, only ancient japanese secrets. I stand corrected.


 
Actually, 'nin' in ninjutsu means perseverance / endurance.
The term 'ninjutsu' also has several historical connotation. To be considered ninjutsu, the system should have roots in the iga and koga regions and originate from someone who was a ninja. There are other arts from the iga and koga region that are not ninjutsu.

You could of course make up your own definition of what is legit ninjutsu or not, but historically speaking, ninjutsu is pretty narrowly defined.



Bravissimo said:


> That being said, Jacobson has a legit background (tomo-ryu claims aside). As for the Tomo-Ryu, anything claiming to be from the Koga side is always brought under the microscope to be sure (ashida kim being what you get when it remains unchecked). As for the lineage of the system and its validity, its for the serious historian to determine. And if a student cares more for how pretty the scrolls are and how old the system is than its effectiveness, then shame on them.
> 
> If the scam artist is going to get you hurt then its a problem. Jacobson's curriculum is no more ridiculous than the Bujinkan's.



It's not a matter of effectiveness or how pretty the scrolls are. It's about whether the one teaching the system is a liar or not. I would have no problems with people inventing their own line of ninjutsu. I would think it is stupid to call it that, and done out of greed or insecurity. But I would not really care.

What I do care about is that if someone claims authentic Japanese roots, then that had better be true. If it is not true, then that person is a fraud.


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## Bruno@MT (Aug 13, 2009)

Bravissimo said:


> Predjudices based upon things unrelated to training should not be considered.  And while everyone in the thread at least had the good taste not to bring it up directly, I think I can read between the lines at what was being hinted at.



I can't. I have no clue what is being hinted at. Honestly.



Bravissimo said:


> If that kind of stuff makes somoene dismiss a martial artist, rather than valid reasons then... Ah forget it.  No criticism I could state would be effective.



Having no clue what you referred to earlier, I agree that nothing you say would make a difference because we are talking about 2 different things.

You are talking about training, effectivenes, experience, etc.
I (or we) am talking about historical correctness and the value of her claims to that lineage. Nothing else.


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## JadecloudAlchemist (Aug 13, 2009)

> Where, might I ask, did you pull this authoritative ruling from? I'm familiar with the term Jutsu. And nin, according to the internet here, means secret/stealth/etc. Accordingly the art of sneakiness. Ah, yes. I clearly see now. Sneakiness clearly implies ancient japanese secrets. Not modern japanese secrets, only ancient japanese secrets. I stand corrected.


 A Japanese art be it Koryu or Gendai should have a transmission of some kind be it Kuden(oral) or written certification in the form of a Menkyo. 

The Kanji Nin &#24525;   can be read as endure or stealth. 



> Again, you have proven me the fool. Obviously since Christa Jacobson (apparently a very common japanese name) was transliterated into japanese in a less than stellar fashion, then the person who wrote it must be a fraud! This Ichiro Kobayashi character who wrote the certificate must clearly be from Wisconsin and probably speaks with a yooper accent. I bet he's "goin' store" right now.


 The Kantakana was wrong. For Christa the Ta part does not need 2 dots which makes it read as Da. Here is the comparing: &#12383;=Ta &#12384;-Da. The rest of the name Jacobson and Yakosen have similar results.

I have no idea why it is misspelled he might have not understood the name and might have sounded it out who knows. Point is the Menkyo is misspelled which is kinda of like having a doctor's license misspelled.



> That being said, Jacobson has a legit background (tomo-ryu claims aside). As for the Tomo-Ryu, anything claiming to be from the Koga side is always brought under the microscope to be sure (ashida kim being what you get when it remains unchecked). As for the lineage of the system and its validity, its for the serious historian to determine. And if a student cares more for how pretty the scrolls are and how old the system is than its effectiveness, then shame on them.


 What we have is a misspelled Menkyo by someone who we know nothing about. Where did Kobayashi learn Tomo ryu how did Jacobson meet him what makes his claim to teaching Tomo ryu legit?

If you are going to call yourself a particular art in Japanese origin you need that proof of your claims. 


> If the scam artist is going to get you hurt then its a problem. Jacobson's curriculum is no more ridiculous than the Bujinkan's.


I am sure Jacobson's curriculum is heavily influenced by the Bujinkan I mean 3 of the Bujinkan schools are listed.


> I know he has a substantial number of sycophantic followers who worship everything he says and does like a pope in black pajamas


LOL everyone's got em'. From Ashida Kim to Frank Dux to now Kawakami.

I have stated on this forum how I feel about the Genbukan too which has more legit ties to Ninjutsu then Jacobson so I am not picking favorites I am pointing out oddites and questioning them.


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## JadecloudAlchemist (Aug 13, 2009)

> Jade, I appreciate your comments. They are thought out and valid points of contention. And while I disagree, I can appreciate why you say what you say.


 No problem. I can understand what you are saying. 



> I was more concerned with other things people say about Jacobon. Things which are frequently mentioned on other forums, and which cause people to ridicule and dismiss her based upon topics that have nothing to do with training/ability/credential/etc. Predjudices based upon things unrelated to training should not be considered. And while everyone in the thread at least had the good taste not to bring it up directly, I think I can read between the lines at what was being hinted at.


 I know what you are speaking about. I do not know if such things are true frankly it is none of my business or concern. I want to say I think Jacobson has good martial art skills and the only thing I am questioning is the Tomo ryu claim and pointing out the misspelling. Now If I could see the licenses Hatsumi did for her and it was misspelled I would point it out as well but I could not see it clearly.


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