A Message for New, Old and Former Students

A Message for New, Old and Former Students 10-13-2007

Here's a story I hope all of you will enjoy. It's true!

I was competing in a "SCA" (Society for Creative Anachronisms) archery meet. We had to have "period" gear, including wooden arrows with real feathers. I saw some world class archers at this event. My favorite part was how many shafts could be placed on target in one minute. I think the official world record is five in one minute. I competed in the longest distance aimed shot. My first shot was dead center at about sixty five yards. I was SHOCKED. It was just dumb luck, really. My opponent sneered and said "Do that again." I knew there was no way I could, so I told him to beat my shot first. That made him angry, and he missed.

All the archers walked out to the targets to retrieve our arrows. When I arrived, there were hundreds of shafts sticking straight out of the ground. I joked "My, but we have a fine crop of arrows this season!" My opponent growled "What the f*ck are you talking about?" I told him I could explain my jest to him, but since he appeared to have been born without a personality - it likely would not have been worth my time. BTW, I did not even place at this event.

I enjoyed seeing archers that took their art very seriously and most of them even made their own longbows and arrows. The thing about the ninja arts is we have so many weapons to master. If one devotes all of his or her time to learning only one thing, they tend to show great skill at it. I was contacted by some nimrod on myspace that claimed his "Master" could shoot five arrows accurately in three seconds. I still ask my students to pretend to just go through the motions with "invisible" archery gear. No one can do the nocking of the arrow, draw, aim and release even with imaginary bow and arrows in three seconds.

When I asked this person if he had actually seen his "Master" perform this superhuman feat, he told me he had not. He then said that he had never seen Jesus of Nazareth walk on water, either. He went on to say that this was a total FACT, and got really angry with me. So, if you base something you have never seen to prove somthing else you have never seen either, I should think what?

So, because he says Jesus walked on water, then his Master can fire five arrows in three seconds dead center on a target even though he has never seen any such thing. He told me he really hated my bad attitude. My attitude is devotion to learning the truth. I don't care if it makes anyone mad or not. I am an archer.

For those of you that are not archers, if you place five arrows at once on your bow and then release, they don't all go the same direction. I'm lucky to have a pro-shop for archery. Their indoor range has a display of aluminum arrows with other arrows stuck into each other from behind, like in "Robin Hood". The Koreans placed very well at the last Olympics. They use a version of the Mongolian bow, which is far superior to the western longbow. Keep your bodkin sharp!

All The Best, Kendall

A Message for New, Old and Former Students 10-5-2007

Happy Halloween!

This year is all about the theme for Kukishinden Ryu (The Nine Demons School). The popular sword known as the O-Dachi (field sword) is in vogue this year. Here, the lovely Kunoichi, Kelly san wields one with deadly skill.

A Message for New, Old and Former Students 8-22-2007

I recently took up the Japanese art of Sumi-E. This is the art of brush and ink. The most profound thing I've learned so far is that all strokes of the brush are deliberate. This means that you can't take back or correct anything you write down. This is also true of a sword stroke or a shot from a firearm.

There is a saying; "The brush dances and the ink sings".

A Message for New, Old and Former Students 3-11-2007

Silly String! Some of my students serving in Iraq have requested that cases of Silly String be sent to them as a method of detecting tripwires used to detonate boobytraps in buildings. The strings are so lightweight, they do not set off the traps, and the string is very easy to see. I think this is very ingenious! I will post how to arrange to sent these clever devices to our men and women in combat. Hmm, UFC (Ultimate Fighting Competition?)

Our troops are doing the real deal on our behalf so many of us don't have to. They are the ultimate fighters, not some spectacle for profit

A Message for New, Old and Former Students 1-19-2007

Ice is nice! 1-15, 16, 17 2007 we had an ice storm here in central Texas. I really enjoyed it! I helped my neighbors chip their cars out of a popsicle. It was a good excuse to meet my fellow dwellers without seeming like a creepy guy. It is so rare to have natural ice to train on here in the Lone Star state. Some of my neighbors thought I was from their own native areas, notably Wisconsin and New York, because I knew to heat up a key with a flame and thaw the frozen lock tumblers in a car door. I had an ice scraper in my tool box, just waiting to be used.

A Message for New, Old and Former Students 12-11-2006

I am reaching a good conclusion as to why the arts of the Samurai and the Ninja are not better understood by the ordinary person. They have been exposed to a fantasy world created and sold by Hollywood. I don't hate Hollywood.

In the 1940's, 1950's, etc. Native American Indians were portrayed on film as nothing less than savages, that needed to be eradicated for both the common good and as a matter of moral principle. Do any of you reading this agree with this?

Perhaps the Ninja had to suffer the same sort of bad image back in the 16th. Century. We likely still do.

A Message for New, Old and Former Students 11-25-2006

My senior students are getting better and better at getting the best of me when it comes to swordplay and sword sparring.

I am very proud, and most pleased that they have taken the lessons I've learned from my own teachers to heart.

Now, I'll have to use something else to give them a challenge!

A Message for New, Old and Former Students 10-11-2006

I'm finally beginning to understand the downright ridicule of the ninja arts. There are so many people passing themselves off as "Ninja Masters and Grandmasters" that it's really difficult for anyone studying traditional ninjutsu to be taken seriously at all.

I've never heard of anyone claiming to be "Shoalin Monks", or "Tae Kwon Do" experts that could be proven otherwise. It's making for a good chapter in the book I'm writing.

There is a consistent pattern that I've noticed from those who make claims to be "ninja". First, they have really poor spelling skills. They speak about themselves in the most ostentatious fashion, sometimes making claims that are totally ridiculous.

They get really angry if you ask a direct question about where they studied or the name of their teacher(s).

They then start making threats. They then run away and hide, all the time calling you a liar and a psychopath. I've seen that people cannot long hide their true self. Sooner or later the real person comes out, and it's normally much more different than the facade they present to the world. I was a part of "The Ninja Craze" of the 1980s. I noticed that there was not ONE person claiming to be a ninja master before Stephen K. Hayes Sensei began writing books about ninjutsu. Then there were dozens. I especially enjoyed the "art of the ninja boomerang" and "ninja nunchaku". I've been asked why I even bother with these scammers and frauds. I'll tell you. It makes for a good read! It's fascinating to study human behavior.

Some of these scammers have contacted me, and spewed all kinds of ridiculous nonsense. I'd criticize their lack of ability to use a spell-checker. They would then improve the spelling on their websites, and I'd tell them "See- I am your teacher. "You did what I wanted you to do". They would then go crazy, likely sending their blood pressure to a near fatal level.

I am by no means perfect person, but geez I at least respect the truth and logic. I have only a handful of students, but they are the most devoted and creative people I've ever been around. We share all burdens with each other, so that problems are easier to solve. I also don't mind if any of you reading this page could please help me out with your information on any subject relevant to the Budo / Bujutsu? I also don't mind having my spelling / diction / syntax, corrected etc. I used to have an ex-girlfriend as my editor, and was very grateful to her for her help.

I spend more time polishing swords than I do improving my language.

A Message for New Students 09-25-2006

I really enjoyed the Sui Ren seminar last Saturday. We trained in stealth swimming, fighting in both shallow and deep water. We even used a life buoy as a kusari fundo and a fighting tool. Thanks to all that visited and trained with me!

A Message for New Students 09-23-2006

I'm by no means a computer programmer, nor am I a computer technician or even a professional webmaster. I read an article in Popular Mechanics that the CD-R disks lose their data after about 2 or 2 1/2 years. I was squeezing all of my data into each on my CD-R's, no matter how old they were. My website for the most part was lost as I went through my data CD-R's, and saw disk after disk unreadable. I was able to recover some of my data, so for now my site is fragmented. Some of my observations and my opinions are still in my mind, so I'll see to it that I put as many back on my site as soon as I can.

A Message for New Students 02-07-2005

Have any of you ever had someone abuse for no apparent reason, and when you stood your ground and returned the favor they then began accusing you of being mentally unstable, or having some kind of "problem". Have they told you that you were being "defensive" after they brutally attacked you? Don't ever let yourself ever be defined by someone that acts like a bully or someone with a twisted view of reality! The real trap is becoming hateful and angry with them, as this is bread and butter to these kind of people. I refer to them as "earth weasels".

Whoever steals someone else's happiness loses their own. I recommend that you either walk away from these whiners whenever possible, or call a halt to your humiliation on the spot. I often talk about my "owner's manual". Nowhere in my manual does it say I was put on this insane planet expressly to make everyone else happy. It is hard enough to find happiness, even though it is not hidden and easy to discover.

A Message for New Students. Now that my wife and I live in an area of town much less crime-infested, I get to do much more (walking) and outdoor training. I briskly walk our dog about five times a day, and we have some really nice parks only a short distance from our residence. This afternoon, I went to a park to train with one of my Bo (staff).

I had long read articles by Hatsumi Sensei telling of his great teacher, Takamatsu Sensei. Takamatsu Sensei described himself as a ninja trained in nature, far from the jungles of a large metropolitan city. I bought the DVD that featured black and white home movies of Takamatsu Sensei training in a park. Takamatsu Sensei twirled a wooden version of a naginata (halberd), and I was amazed that he chose to do so in a grove of trees. Not once did he strike any of the branches or trunks of the trees. His staff moved quickly around and between every obstacle, and seemingly with no effort on his part.

As I walked through my local park, I tried the same approach. I would from time to time strike something overhead, but I noticed that nature provided many targets, such as a fork in the branches of a tree, to practice tsuki (thrusting) from many angles, distances and heights.  Moving my bo faster and faster as I walked, the various heights of foliage provided me with a challenging workout. I now have a better understanding of training in nature. If you have no-one to train with, nature can be a truly great and awesome teacher and training partner. A staff or walking stick does not attract much concern from passerby.

-Kendall

Message for New Students 02-01-2005

This month has already been a very positive experience for me! I have the pleasure to be around so many uplifting people, it is contagious. Sifu Jeff Webb is nothing but a great guy. My wife and I have visited the various Asian shops and markets, and my small skill at Mandarin, Korean, Nihongo and Vietnamese language has served me well. I will say that if you remain positive, you will attract positive things into your life. We are a social society, and I've been seeing the best of what it has to offer.

-Kendall

Message for New Students 01-13-2005

This month has seen some most distressing times for my friends. Some of my family, students and friends have been recalled to fight in the Irag war. My wife and I are most distressed to have lost a really great person, Cpl. Joseph E. Fite, 23, of Round Rock Texas. Joseph san served as a U.S. Marine reservist, and we knew him as a fellow volunteer at the Bachman Pioneer Farm where I do some blacksmithing. He will be missed, but always remembered.

Some students of a different Bujinkan Instructor here in Austin have contacted me to ask me to intervene on their behalf for their dissatisfaction with what they called his "abusive behavior". This instructor includes a contract permitting him to withdraw funds at his whim to punish his students for being tardy, or missing a class. Some of my new students visited his class before mine, and told me they were treated as an inferior person. Please let me state that everyone that trains with us has great value as a human being. The color of your belt in no way reflects your worth as a person.

I am not the "ninja" police, if you see fit to sign away your personal income to someone not interested in your ability to pay the rent, etc. please don't come to me with your problems. I do not insist on you signing a contract, or allowing me to make money from your lack of "commitment". If you like that kind of attitude, then you get what you deserve. I attract the most worthy kind of students and friends. The ability to pay me has never been a barrier to my students. I am echoing my own Sensei for what they did for me when I was laid off 20 years ago. I have had two Shihan Shidoshi offer me the opportunity to help me with my Godan test. I am looking for one more in control of anger than myself, and I will recommend Dale Seago Sensei and Ed Martin Sensei as but a few really good teachers. My path as a teacher, warrior and husband is a straight line. Why am I not a "Master"? What is important to me is a personal thing, not subject to other people's opinions. The bottom line is what I am capable of in the fight. We had some other dojo bring "dojo arashi (school storming)" to us, and the white belts scared the heck out of them with their ground fighting skills.

-Kendall

A Message for New Students 8-16-2004

Today is the first time in six weeks I have been able to upload via FTP or send replies to e-mail. I have always asked for a phone number from a prospective student, and some grew quite angry with me for being silent and very rude that I didn't respond to their e-mail. I could only read their messages, and they omitted their contact phone number. This made it easier to see what kind of patience they had. It needs to be understood that I am only a computer user, not a tech or programmer. The more time I spend working on my site sitting in front of the computer, the softer and weaker I get. The more time I spend out in the real world and in the dojo, the stronger I get. My machine gets about 200 attacks on my firewall a minute, so I keep no personal data anywhere on my hard drive. To sum up, if you want the training - please keep trying to contact me. If I don't reply, it's for a good reason. If you give me no other way to contact you than on a computer, and it goes out, it will be awhile before I can reply.  I had a freak storm knock out all my power and phone lines. It erased all my telephone messages and my phone lines. It took over a week to repair all the damages.

I am still wrestling with the downed trees and structural damage. My closest friends understood my not returning messages was not normal for me, and that is due to a good reason. Others took it as a personal insult, and returned the favor. I learned a great deal about myself and how to better relate with people after that. On top of all that, I was broken into and robbed of some essential lawn gear I can't afford to replace. As a result, I had to cut 2.5 acres with a sling blade. Very good for developing the sword wielding muscles! Then, my students got together and volunteered to help me out with mowers and time. Again, I am honored to have such great human beings in my life! In conclusion, if you wish to visit, gambatte kudasai! (keep going, please!) Don't give up!

-Kendall

A Message for New Students 6-22-2004

This past six weeks has seen no less than 26 people contacting me to join our group for training. I've returned their e-mail messages promptly, called them at their contact number provided by them, and sent them detailed maps on how to get to our dojo. Not one person has shown up so far.  I always seek advice and council from my students. Lynn san told me that it was really difficult to contact me to arrange resuming of training after dropping off the radar screen for 9 months with no notice. Charles said he felt embarrassed that he didn't visit the first time he planned to due to an unexpected injury.

I wondered if new students that had every intention of visiting couldn't show up at the last minute because their boss gave them a stressful day that exhausted them. I suspected that the baby got a fever and couldn't be left with a sitter.  I was curious if they were put off that my wife and I live paycheck to paycheck, and have to live in an east side dump because we have no money to spare. I guessed that new students felt that they were not providing the level of commitment and self discipline I am looking for,  and perhaps they  were concerned  that I was in some way offended. Well, I'm not at all. My strongest attitude is to treat people as I wish to be treated myself.  I have many responsibilities that take up my time like anyone else.

The Japanese have the courtesy of preventing a guest from "losing face", or being embarrassed. I like this perspective, perhaps from my Southern upbringing. So, let it be understood clearly. You will not be ridiculed or brought to task if you can't make it to class when you want to. If I invite you, you are welcome until I tell you otherwise. You are not welcome if you behave in a rude and disrespectful manner. Some of my students trained with other Bujinkan Sensei that punished them for being late by fining them $100.00 for each "offense".

They also demanded that the new student provide the telephone numbers of their place of business or employment, and their close friends and family's numbers. If the student didn't shown up for class, these friends and family members got annoying phone calls demanding to know why they were not in class. I've trained under Bujinkan Sensei that treated me in this fashion, and I did not tolerate being screamed at after coming home from an unexpected 18 hour shift. I am not a control freak, so if you meet a Bujinkan Instructor that fits this description - please don't think all of us are like that. My teachers are funny and very warm people.

Some hold the same rank as myself, but are WAY more skilled. They just don't care about a belt color or a piece of paper. They are not at all rude nor do they act like tyrants.

I do not indulge in this extremely rude and humiliating practice. I do not want your personal medical records or credit history. I worked in the medical industry for some years, and I respect an individual's privacy. In some cases, it is ILLEGAL to require this personal information here in the great state of Texas. To simplify our attitude, we want people who want to be with us. If you don't want to be with us, that's okay! I'm not going to try and make you. Our group is full of dedicated, friendly, compassionate people. They are fun to be around, and I'm privileged to have them as my students. In short, we are having a party! You are invited. If you can't make it, we're still having a party - hope you can make it next time!

-Kendall