Training Testimonials

I asked students of mine who have previous martial arts experience to write about their personal experiences training at the Bujinkan Raiken Dojo and here is what they wrote:

• I have trained in Tae Kwon Do on and off since 1983. I recognize there are some gaps in TKD in real world self-defense situations. I hoped that Bujinkan system could help me fill in some of the holes in my arsenal.I think that the ability to fall and or roll properly is very important. The ability to break bricks with my hands and feet is of no use if I am knocked to the ground in a surprise attack and I do not have a way to quickly get back on my feet and avoid being stomped. Once knocked to the ground my TKD ability would not help me in a grappling situation. Also, without proper training in falling and rolling I might be hurt from the fall and be left vulnerable. The very first class I attended I was shown some rolling and falling techniques. Here is a very serious shortcoming in my self-defense that I experienced first hand in a street fight. The attacker was very drunk and likely on drugs. I was very easily able to keep him from hurting me by kicking him and knocking him to the ground. Since the attacker was not feeling any pain he kept getting up and charging at me. I kept giving him progressively harder kicks. I was confronted with the possibility of having to use near lethal force to defend myself. I am sure if I would have killed and or seriously maimed the attacker I would have likely been sued and or had to spend some time in jail. Imagine being in court for seriously injuring someone and they introduce the fact to the jury that you are a trained martial artist. I have never been taught any way to control an attacker except through basically beating them until they stop coming. The very first weekend that I attended the Bujinkan Raiken Dojo I was able to experience some controlling pins that completely left me without any ability to fight back. If I would have known how to do this in my street fight I could have controlled the attacker instead of beating him until he could no longer fight. I have only been training for a few months and I already feel like I am learning a lot of things that were missing in my Tae Kwon Do training. I really like the hand to hand moves where you control the attacker and use an appropriate amount of force to protect yourself and prevent them from hurting you. I think a main goal for me as a martial artist is the ability to control a hostile attacker with exactly the degree of force necessary. I look forward to learning more!

• I have been training in the martial arts since I was 6 years old. I first started with Tae Kwon Do because I liked the "Ninja Turtles" so much and wanted to be like them. I trained in this art for several years, and as I matured both physically and in the martial arts, I came to realize the severe limitations to Tae Kwon Do. This sent me searching for other martial arts that could fill in this gap. I found a Shaolin-Do school and started training there, but again found the same flaw- the reliance on "kata" (these kata are different from the kata found in ninjutsu), prepared sets of certain movements. I then found Wing Chun Kung Fu, and since there were only a handful of forms, I thought I had found my answer. However, during my training, I came to realize that this style too had many flaws that could be dangerous in a real-world confrontation. It wasn't until I moved to Georgia to attend college when I found that Atlanta had many ninjutsu dojos. The Bujinkan Raiken Dojo caught my eye, and once I attended my first class, I knew with every part of my being that I had found what I've been searching for. In the Western sense of the word, ninjutsu is complete with ground-"fighting", aerial techniques, joint locks, strikes and weapons. However, ninjutsu goes far deeper than just a compilation of techniques. Taijutsu, the ninja's method for employing their tactics, teaches one to use their whole body, distance, and timing against their attacker, not just an arm of leg, resulting in a unique system of self-defense. You have to experience it to feel how incredily efficient it is.

• I have taken Tae Kwon Do which we used as a basis for our kickboxing classes.  We incorporated the aid of a professional boxing trainer to develop our hands.  I have taken Kenpo when I was younger but only for about 6 months.  I have trained in Aikibujitsu and Aikijujitsu commonly called the same thing but most often confused.  Aiki bujitsu and/or Aikijujitsu are essentially hard style Aikido forms in which the highest ranking Samurai warriors were trained both with swords and open hand combat etc.! Some say that Aiki bujitsu and Aikijujitsu are the same just mispronounced by some English speaking foreigners, regardless it is a hard Aikido style Japanese fighting system that incorporates circular techniques, joint locks, throws, kicks, punches and redirection as its main force of directing or redirecting an opponents energy away from harm.  Taijutsu is similar to Aiki bujitsu and Aikijujitsu but has much more fluid techniques that follow the body’s natural movement.   Unlike Aikido, Aiki bujitsu and Aikijujitsu, Taekwondo and other forms that I have studied, Taijutsu allows the practitioner to move from posture to posture naturally and fluidly without ridged stances and “must do moves”, that can only be used to counter a particular attack.  The natural postures allows the practitioner to both protect, redirect, counter attack, or quickly adjust a move if it is done wrong or timed incorrectly.  It can be used to overcome the enemy and also escape just as easily without harm. Taijutsu is truly a total body martial art that can be used standing up, kneeling and also on the ground - grappling (or pseudo-wrestling). Taijutsu incorporates many old weapons of an era that has long past, but its forms or postures allows the user to incorporate moves with guns, knives, police sticks, ink pens, ropes, a shirt, towel or what ever as a weapon for defense and offense. Basically what I am trying to say is that I was seeking out another martial art to study.  This was due in part to the lack of real life defensive strategies that I felt I learnt from other arts or from the other teachers.  Taijutsu has everything that I was seeking.  There are real life applications that have existed for a thousand years, developed for protection and survival.  Yes there are throws, punches, kicks, etc. but to me, the martial arts system of mere moves and forms is not necessarily as important as is the way it is implemented and its philosophy.