The "Why Does The Booj Hate Washington" Thing

[Dale Seago]

For those of you in Washington state who are feeling "left out", it so happens that my friend Bill Atkins will be going up to Vancouver WA for a seminar to be held May 21st from 10am till 5pm-ish.

Cost is $45, email Aric Keith ([email protected]) for details

No more complaining about lack of training in Washington, okay? :wink2:

 

[Shogun]

Sorry. that was me. I feel left out because of where I live (5 hours away from vancouver). I have to make pilgramages to bujinkan dojos, and feel like I learn so little when I leave.

 

[althaur]

and feel like I learn so little when I leave.

Trust me, most of us feel this way.

 

[Shogun]

Trust me, most of us feel this way.

Probably. but most of you can go back the next day without having to spend $60 in gas money. up here, gas is at $2.69 a gallon. well, some of you can.

 

[Tenchijin2]

Thanks, Dale.


When I started training, I had to drive to Yakima (200 miles one way). I would train all weekend, then drive home. And the instructor wasn't even a yudansha!!!

Then, there was enough support to bring Bill to Seattle in '93, so I drove the 3 hours to my first seminar. I learned enough that weekend to sustain my training for over 3 years. Literally.

During those three years, I found an instructor who was nearly in my backyard: 60 miles away! I drove there 2-4 times/week for over three years.

That was because this is what I wanted to do, more than almost anything. I decided not to go to college, just to focus on training. So the distances meant nothing to me. Nearly every month there was a seminar within 4-6 hours drive, and I would go. I scrounged my pennies and flew to CA to train a couple times. I went to Japan 3 years into my training.

This is not written to make people feel bad for not doing what I (and countless others) have done. It is just to point out that you need to be honest with your priorities. If Bujinkan training isn't your top priority *that's fine*. In fact, I would make the case that it shouldn't be. I sacrificed a lot to do it at the time.

It's a matter of perspective. The time/money factor is too high for you to come train, according to your priorities. That's a-okay, but to someone else, it might be worth the time/money. And frankly, the more you have to put out to get the training, the more valuable it is to you, and the more quickly you learn.

Take care,

Aric

 

[Shogun]

frankly, the more you have to put out to get the training, the more valuable it is to you, and the more quickly you learn.

Mos Def.

Its not so much I dont want to train, Its more a matter of CANT train. I am only 19 (soon 20), I am a Sheriff explorer, have at least one job (getting a loss prevention job as well), no car, and head a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training group. not only is time limited, but money. I simply cant afford to travel. BJJ is my top MA priority right now partly because of the progress I am making. honestly I love BBT traning just as much, though.

 

[Mc Qoorbs]

damn u travel over 5 hrs to train?gooooooooooooooooootdayumn

 

[Seattletcj]

FYI

We will be hosting Aric in Seattle, Saturday June 4th.

Time- 12:15 to 6:15pm
Location- 7 star women's kung fu (http://www.7starwomenskungfu.org/)

If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me.
[email protected]

Hope to see you there.


**name edited at user's request**

 

[Shogun]

I'll be there.

 

[Shinkengata]

and feel like I learn so little when I leave.

Every time i train i come away confused and a little overwhelmed by what i just had pounded(sometimes literally. hehe) into my skull. Sensei will demonstrate a technique to us a few times...then we'll pair off to practice it, and many times i will forget almost completely what i was just shown, and have to be reminded. Chalk it up to crappy memory if you want, but i have spoken with many students who experience the same "short-term memory loss" when learning new techniques. Here is my take on it.

As i understand it, Takamatsu Sensei took a very interesting approach to training, in that he would jump right into teaching as soon as he arrived...no hellos, how's the wife, etc. He would demonstrate once or twice, let the students have at it a few times, then move onto something else. Now, to me..what it seemed like he was doing, was by bombarding the student with all of this information and not allowing the student to concentrate on any one technique, he was bypassing the conscious mind by overwhelming it, so that the student's unconscious mind would gradually soak up what he was teaching. This way, the student would not become consciously fixated on the technique and be able to move with the same feeling and principle of the technique(s) without having to think about it, hence the student's abilities would gradually grow into movement devoid of thinking. There is an entire paragraph devoted to this concept on page 51 of Ninjutsu:History and Tradition.

So, to make a long story short, i submit that it is better that you are feeling overwhelmed and confused or that you have not learned anything, rather than immediately grasping everything that was taught during that class. It sounds bass-ackwards and illogical at face value, but that is what Soke has toiled long and hard to do; to cut his students free from the ties of conventional trains of thought.

Once again, i ask that anyone with more knowledge on the subject please make any necessary corrections to what i've written. Im offering up my feelings and observations on this, which stem from my extremely limited experience in the art, and i warmly welcome any correction or nudge in the right direction.

 

[Peter Steeves]

Travelling can be a necessary evil - even after I moved to Japan, the first 3 years were spent riding the trains for 4-5 hours each way, on a very regular basis, just to train. (Luckily, I did make some friends here and there with whom I'd stay over until the next training day - and that was a bonus).

As for training with Takamatsu Sensei, let's also remember that Hatsumi Sensei would then return home and train with his dedicated group of students over and over again, until they could all do the techniques as accurately and properly as possible. If you're at a seminar, you should try to get a ton of information, but then go back and train and train at it until you get each piece as good as you can get it at your current training ability level.

And, heck, if you could perfect a technique in the time you do it at a seminar, then you probably don't need to be there.:supcool:

My personal belief is that you can't "let go" of something you don't "have." Please work hard now to "own" the best movements you can, so that they can flow out of you naturally later. But, get them where and when you can get them - if it's a seminar, fine, go for it. Then return and train, train, train.

 

[Shogun]

Now, to me..what it seemed like he was doing, was by bombarding the student with all of this information and not allowing the student to concentrate on any one technique, he was bypassing the conscious mind by overwhelming it, so that the student's unconscious mind would gradually soak up what he was teaching.

Interesting. This is almost the way my BJJ instructor conducts training. he will show what we will be working on, then keep throwing moves at us until we barely know what we started with. then, during sparring or a match or whatever, its almost like it comes to you and you dont even know how you pulled it off. the energy and positioning will be correct, so you do it, but you are unsure of exactly how you did it.