Japan Elitist Confession
- Thread starter Don Roley
- Start date
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One of the creeds of the Japan elitist is that if we say we study something in Japan- we will not cringe from giving the name of the person we say we learned from.
Others that do casually mention learning something in Japan and then avoid questions for more details are people we Japan elitists sneer at. We don't have to pretend to be knowledgeable. We know we are and don't care if you know or not because you don't count. :2xBird2:
Others that do casually mention learning something in Japan and then avoid questions for more details are people we Japan elitists sneer at. We don't have to pretend to be knowledgeable. We know we are and don't care if you know or not because you don't count. :2xBird2:
Grey Eyed Bandit
Master of Arts
At the airport on my way home from Japan this small female customs officer who inspected the iaito I had brought with me asked with small giggle if it was for iaido practice. I said "no, not exactly" and she asked "ok, kendo?"
To which at first I responded "Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu", upon which she looked moderately confused. I then tried "koryu bujutsu" and she looked more clueless than ever. Finally, I tried "the N word" and she looked at me as if she'd been PAID to think I was an idiot.
So if a small Japanese customs lady asks you what you're using a dull nihonto for, just stick with iaido. Or fingernail cleaning.
To which at first I responded "Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu", upon which she looked moderately confused. I then tried "koryu bujutsu" and she looked more clueless than ever. Finally, I tried "the N word" and she looked at me as if she'd been PAID to think I was an idiot.
So if a small Japanese customs lady asks you what you're using a dull nihonto for, just stick with iaido. Or fingernail cleaning.
Kizaru
Purple Belt
Don,Don Roley said:
You must be refering to that guy living over here, we'll call him "Big D" who is claiming to be a part of the Shinkage ryu and how studying Shinkage ryu will make your Kukishin sword skills that much better? Interesting to know that "Big D" has never set foot in a Shinkage ryu dojo, much less joined the ryu ha. "Big D" had a senior non-Japanese Bujinkan member who is also a Shinkage ryu member show him how to hold a sword for 45 minutes one day. Now "Big D" thinks he's an authority on Shinkage ryu....well, it just goes to show, you can live in Japan, but you need to take your brain out of your shoe to be a "Japan Elitist".
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Kizaru said:.well, it just goes to show, you can live in Japan, but you need to take your brain out of your shoe to be a "Japan Elitist".
Yes, Japan elitists must be able to read Japanese to qualify. They must be handsome, sarcastic and actually know the culture to look down their noses at all the peons that don't.
:supcool:
SwedishChef
Orange Belt
:asian: I think that many ninja are posting here...but I can't see their posts.
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Kizaru said:
Whoops!!!!
I think I should mention the fact that I posted what I did after a day with the other teachers from overseas that are employed by my city.
Maybe what I said was aplicable to others, but my real ire tends to come out to people that move to Japan to live and still seem to insisit on acting like they were back in their home country. There are some of those in the Bujinkan as well. But my major dealing with such people come through my job.
I honestly cannot understand how anyone would agree to live in Japan and then not do their best to learn the language. I hear the complaint that they will never reach a level of perfect understanding and never be able to stop practicing, but is that not the same with martial arts?
And just the low level of common sense still makes my jaw drop on occasion. The meeting this week was rather increadible. Let us just say that I work with some people that are obviously the reason why you find lables warning against eating the product on tubes of Preperation H. :flame:
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Kizaru,
I have got to introduce you to one of the people I work with. I don't know whether to laugh at him or kill him for trying to hint that he went off to Iga (except that he pronounced it AIga) for some secret assasin training. I just know that I am going to hear about this idiot setting himself up as a ninjutsu instructor once he gets back to Canada. That is if he survives the next few months.
I have got to introduce you to one of the people I work with. I don't know whether to laugh at him or kill him for trying to hint that he went off to Iga (except that he pronounced it AIga) for some secret assasin training. I just know that I am going to hear about this idiot setting himself up as a ninjutsu instructor once he gets back to Canada. That is if he survives the next few months.
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You know, it is really hard not to be a Japan elitist sometimes.
Just tonight I worked out with a visitor. Nice guy, a hell of a lot nicer than a lot of people I could mention.
But we started off the night working on Renyo. On the first move, he moved straight back. For those of you not in the Bujinkan reading this, that is not just wrong for the kata, it is a wrong for the way things are done period. We train ourselves to move back and off the line of the attack unless there is some really, really special case involved.
The teacher did do some talking about it when he saw it, but I wonder if they guy got it. He was a black belt and in Japan and he was doing that.
Honestly, I get a lot of hate for talking about just how varied the training standards there are outside of Japan. But when I see a black belt moving straight back instead of the basic move of off the line of attack, what the hell am I supposed to think?
Just tonight I worked out with a visitor. Nice guy, a hell of a lot nicer than a lot of people I could mention.
But we started off the night working on Renyo. On the first move, he moved straight back. For those of you not in the Bujinkan reading this, that is not just wrong for the kata, it is a wrong for the way things are done period. We train ourselves to move back and off the line of the attack unless there is some really, really special case involved.
The teacher did do some talking about it when he saw it, but I wonder if they guy got it. He was a black belt and in Japan and he was doing that.
Honestly, I get a lot of hate for talking about just how varied the training standards there are outside of Japan. But when I see a black belt moving straight back instead of the basic move of off the line of attack, what the hell am I supposed to think?
As a brief interlude to the "patting-yourself-on-the-back-for-living-in-Japan-so-you-can-train--fest" ...Don Roley said:
After training around a couple of the guys who lived in and trained Japan - it is hard not to be an American Elitist as well... for similiar reasons... to yours stated above...
Just food for thought...
-Daniel Weidman
Bujinkan TenChiJin Guy...
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Dan,
I have seen idiots live and train in Japan. When Kizaru and I meet he usually tells me the latest story of an idiot we both know.
But they are not Japan Elitists!!!!! Just living in Japan does not qualify you as a Japan Elitist. You need to be a special breed to be qualified to call yourself a Japan elitist! Japanese ability is the first step.
I honestly can't understand some of the idiots that come to live here and do not bother to learn the language. I have seen people who only come to visit speak more Japanese than some guys that have been living here for three or so years.
I have seen idiots live and train in Japan. When Kizaru and I meet he usually tells me the latest story of an idiot we both know.
But they are not Japan Elitists!!!!! Just living in Japan does not qualify you as a Japan Elitist. You need to be a special breed to be qualified to call yourself a Japan elitist! Japanese ability is the first step.
I honestly can't understand some of the idiots that come to live here and do not bother to learn the language. I have seen people who only come to visit speak more Japanese than some guys that have been living here for three or so years.
