shirobanryunotora
Yellow Belt
Hi to all and have some news to share-have spoken today with Tim bathurst,Ed lomax and Andrew Macdonald.
Will posts their comments to the appropriate threads etc when able-Ed and Andrew also mentioned that Anthony Netzler is now living in Sydney. Anthony is originally from New Zealand though he and his family are now living in oz. Anthony is one of the few westerners to have lived and trained in japan for a long time. When we first met he had already been in japan since before his 18th birthday-almost 6years. He is quite fluent in the language and was chosen by Soke Hatsumi to be one of the interpreters at the first oz taikai in 1992 in adelaide. His dojo address is unknown at moment though am hoping some enterprising sydneysider will track the dojo down and let the rest of us know the details. Many of you would be aware that Soke has several tv/film credits to his bow so hope you will find the following just as interesting.
A ch6 crew in japan approached hombu dojo asking to facilitate access to a group of foreign students to do a special report type show.Anthony was chosen to be the interviewed guest and hero due to his fluent japanese,boyish grin,physique and all round charm. The foreign support cast was made up of Andrew Macdonald,Ed Lomax,Andrew Jarvis,Craig Turbett and yours truly. A further group of japanese ninjas including several stuntmen training under Soke helped fill all the required roles. A film studio was set up to be the battleground for the desired ninja invasion. The hero would save the day. For most of us,this was our first taste of behind the scenes tv production. The day was long indeed. Many times we had to stop and start again which affected the flow of the techniques we were asked to do.
We perservered til the cameramen were happy and the director yelled cut for the final time. The weapons used were the 6ft stick,spear and sword-those big flashy weapons that look so good on tv's small screen. We were all tired, battered and bruised,except for our hero-he was just tired. The choreography centred around Anthony and we all danced and died on cue to his tune. Craig T. and i were the only ones there with cameras of our own and so became the groups happy snappers. My photo album from that time holds some 2dozen or so snaps from that day. These photos are precious to me, forming a part of my ninpo history(yes that rhymes). Shots of the stuntmen taking incredible falls that made many of us wince. Anthony the hero chatting to the director on the next scenes action. Craig T. and Ed L.practicing their spearwork in between takes. Andrew Mac. and Andrew J. being cut in twain as the hero moved effortlessly through them. A group shot as we milled around whilst the damage to the set from the last take was repaired. Shots of dead ninja-a trail on the floor behind the hero's path. A snap of Craig T. in mid-deep form with hand on sword hilt as reflected studio light produced a glow near his left ear. A final shot of the hero frozen in time caught mid pounce on a ninja attacking from below. The stuff my memories of living and training in japan are made of.
Thanks for sharing them too. So if you are able, take the time to share some time with a fellow student of Soke's. He is a hero of the small screen. He is Anthony Netzler and he is back in oz.
Will posts their comments to the appropriate threads etc when able-Ed and Andrew also mentioned that Anthony Netzler is now living in Sydney. Anthony is originally from New Zealand though he and his family are now living in oz. Anthony is one of the few westerners to have lived and trained in japan for a long time. When we first met he had already been in japan since before his 18th birthday-almost 6years. He is quite fluent in the language and was chosen by Soke Hatsumi to be one of the interpreters at the first oz taikai in 1992 in adelaide. His dojo address is unknown at moment though am hoping some enterprising sydneysider will track the dojo down and let the rest of us know the details. Many of you would be aware that Soke has several tv/film credits to his bow so hope you will find the following just as interesting.
A ch6 crew in japan approached hombu dojo asking to facilitate access to a group of foreign students to do a special report type show.Anthony was chosen to be the interviewed guest and hero due to his fluent japanese,boyish grin,physique and all round charm. The foreign support cast was made up of Andrew Macdonald,Ed Lomax,Andrew Jarvis,Craig Turbett and yours truly. A further group of japanese ninjas including several stuntmen training under Soke helped fill all the required roles. A film studio was set up to be the battleground for the desired ninja invasion. The hero would save the day. For most of us,this was our first taste of behind the scenes tv production. The day was long indeed. Many times we had to stop and start again which affected the flow of the techniques we were asked to do.
We perservered til the cameramen were happy and the director yelled cut for the final time. The weapons used were the 6ft stick,spear and sword-those big flashy weapons that look so good on tv's small screen. We were all tired, battered and bruised,except for our hero-he was just tired. The choreography centred around Anthony and we all danced and died on cue to his tune. Craig T. and i were the only ones there with cameras of our own and so became the groups happy snappers. My photo album from that time holds some 2dozen or so snaps from that day. These photos are precious to me, forming a part of my ninpo history(yes that rhymes). Shots of the stuntmen taking incredible falls that made many of us wince. Anthony the hero chatting to the director on the next scenes action. Craig T. and Ed L.practicing their spearwork in between takes. Andrew Mac. and Andrew J. being cut in twain as the hero moved effortlessly through them. A group shot as we milled around whilst the damage to the set from the last take was repaired. Shots of dead ninja-a trail on the floor behind the hero's path. A snap of Craig T. in mid-deep form with hand on sword hilt as reflected studio light produced a glow near his left ear. A final shot of the hero frozen in time caught mid pounce on a ninja attacking from below. The stuff my memories of living and training in japan are made of.
Thanks for sharing them too. So if you are able, take the time to share some time with a fellow student of Soke's. He is a hero of the small screen. He is Anthony Netzler and he is back in oz.
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