Has anyone ever heard of Sho Bushido Ryu Bujutsu
http://www.shobushido.com/. I've read that it was created by Randy Hutchins and is derived from Sho Bu Do Bujitsu - a "lost" Okinawan style. I'd like to know if anyone has experience with this style, the school, its instructor or students. The idea of a real, pragamtic, aiki-jujitsu type JJJ in my own back yard is quite compelling. I cannot find anything that gives insight into the quality of the school. I've got no experience in jj or aikido so I'm not able to evaluate the "goodness" of the school/art.
Thanks
Hi SeaSharp,
Right, before we get into this, bear in mind that I'm initially only going to address the evidence presented in the website you linked in terms of authenticity. Because, bluntly, it doesn't look good.
The very first thing is the name "Sho Bushido Ryu". It's just... odd (to be gentle). In fact, it makes no sense, and demonstrates a number of gaps in their knowledge of a number of aspects of Japanese martial culture (such as what a Ryu is, what Bushido is etc). It is indicitive of a group that wants to have the trappings of a traditional Japanese art, but doesn't really know what they are, or how they work. In other words, a modern creation mimicking an actual Japanese tradition. But that's fine, in a way, as that is exactly what they say they are (although it does lend itself to a range of other issues as we continue).
Next is spelling. Now, let's get something clear (with no debate about it this time...), if you are dealing with a Japanese system, the spelling is 'Jutsu', not 'Jitsu'. They are different words, with different meanings, and different written characters. Confusingly, though, this group uses both, seemingly without noticing that they are swapping between them. They seem to use 'jitsu' for "Jujitsu", and 'jutsu' for "Bujutsu", although there are references to "Bujitsu" and "Jujutsu" every now and then. Again, this shows gaps in understanding and knowledge, which points to no actual Japanese tradition.
The schizoid approach continues through their description of themselves, with the set-up seeming to be very modern, dealing with modern assaults and so on... which goes against the 'traditional Japanese Jujutsu' image they are setting up as well. Add to that the overwhelming "we are the deadliest!" type of language used, which is typically an over-compensation for a percieved lack (in this case in authenticity, if I was to guess at it, especially based on Robert Morton's post on E-Budo) in their system. In their "FAQ" section, they actually describe their system as "reality based". Hmm. No. It's not (that's not me saying it's not effective, just that it's not an RBSD as claimed).
The "History of the Art", "Our Founder", and other pages are also rife with misinterpretations and errors when it comes to such things as well, but the page on the senior students, listing one as "9th Dan Menkyo Kaiden" in a system that doesn't use a Menkyo licensing system (an old ranking method used in Koryu systems) is just bizarre. Oh, and 7th Dan is more commonly Nana-dan, not Shichi-dan, although some do use the "Shichidan" pronunciation.
So to sum up, we have a group using the trappings of Traditional Japanese martial arts, while claiming at the same time to not follow such things, but still misuse the terminology, and have a rather heavy-handed "we're so ultra violent!" message to boot. In other words, not authentic traditional Japanese martial arts in the slightest.
Now, if the question is "are they any good?", that's a different issue. There are scant clips out there of them, but here are a few:
[video]http://www.youtube.com/user/jhoff56?blend=1&ob=5#p/u[/video]
In terms of a critique, this is overkill, the targetting is off, the usage of the weapon is not consistent with Japanese methodology (traditional), the attacker is not really attacking, the weight is too high, and, while cleanly done, is not really all that effective or practical.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/user/jhoff56?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/3/iLBlZZ6Q1Bg[/video]
The attack is very far short of the defender, and the attacks are not consistent with a traditional Japanese attack. The actual blocks and movement is almost non-existant, the throw is okay, but not great, and the pin is pretty ordinary (and slipped out of by the Uke without any real issue).
[video]http://www.youtube.com/user/jhoff56?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/2/4DhDhtMXaSI[/video]
Ah, this is a little better. But this is all trying to look like traditional Japanese Jujutsu, nothing close to RBSD whatsoever. The throw is okay, nice and clean movement here, but nothing special. And the stomp to the head (if they are trying to look at reality based ideas) is a straight ticket to jail.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/user/jhoff56?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/1/IH7fFltp4gk[/video]
Hmm, some good ideas, but nothing great. The throw, this time, isn't good. The grip is weak, and the body mechanics make it far too easy to resist.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/user/jhoff56?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/4/jAjhnJ7M9cI[/video]
The blocks are ineffective against an ineffective attack, the throw is lacking in terms of mechanics, and the pin is poorly executed, going against the way the flow of the movement works (in other words, unnecessarily forced).
My personal advise would be to keep looking.
!
