Leaving Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and Starting Shotokan Karate

When I was about 5 years old, I told my mom I wanted to start exercising. I don't remember for what purpose, but it was probably because I wanted to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, who I had just seen in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. My mother didn't quite know what to do to satisfy my desire, so I assume she asked around and found out how a 5 year old child could get exercise outside of the weekly P.E. class.


A lot more after the break.


Pre-Karate


What my mom found was a "Karate" class at the local YMCA, to which I have no idea what we were actually learning to this day. Please note that you will more than likely find the most authentic martial arts experience at a YMCA or cultural center. I don't remember exactly how long I stuck to it, but it was long enough to participate in a single tournament (where I lost) and obtain a yellow belt alongside the entirety of the rest of my class. Sometime afterwards, my elementary school was having "Karate" lessons after school with many of the same instructors at the Y, so I did a few classes there, which mostly involved learning how to punch and kick, typical of martial arts classes taught to 5 year olds.


Budo Taijutsu


4 years later, a friend of mine invited me to join his martial arts school, which was located just a few minutes away from our houses. It was a new school, but featured several transfer students from a dojo in the neighboring city, which is where he started off. This school was a Quest Center, owned and operated by Stephen K. Hayes, the man most well-known for bringing Ninjutsu to the United States in the 1980s. Since then, Hayes, with permission from grandmaster Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi, adjusted Ninjutsu and made it the more Americanized style he called "To-Shin Do," meaning "Sword Spirit Path," but also a kanji pun since the characters for "Sword" and "Spirt" together form the character for "Shinobi," another word for "Ninja." It's also clearly intended to evoke a sense of familiarity since the name closely resembles Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do.


It was awesome. Even after the friend who introduced me stopped going to classes (probably for the same reason i later did), I continued to go, eventually obtaining my shodan (1st degree black belt) when I was 15. I continued training after getting my black belt, but I was forced to quit due to depression caused by the combination of a very nasty break-up and the onset of Graves' Disease, which was only recently diagnosed, as well as a conflict over my tuition.


During my journey to black belt, the Quest Center I attended was bought by a different instructor (who was much better, more experienced, and could promote people to black belt), who found the school was doing very poorly financially. In order for the school to survive, he either needed to raise tuition rates, recruit a lot more students, or move the dojo to somewhere with much lower rent. My new teacher attempted to recruit new students by participating in city events and actively promoting the school, while also introducing a new class that was very similar to Billy Blanks' Tae Bo for people looking for an intense cardio workout without learning martial arts. None of it was enough, as we were forced to move the school to a neighboring city with much cheaper rent in a business park with no windows.


Despite the awful location, the school grew thanks to my teacher's incredible marketing skills as well as the increasing number of black belt students, an obvious draw for outsiders. It was during this time that we learned we were no longer associated with the Quest Centers because of the relocation. The Quest Center would only let us keep the franchise name (and curriculum) if we remained in our high-rent location. Luckily, our teacher had several connections to people in the organization still run by grandmaster Hatsumi, the Bujinkan. Now affiliated with Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, my teacher was now allowed to teach more closely to what he had learned under his old sensei, and not what the Quest Centers required him to teach. Shortly before I obtained my black belt, my school moved yet again, but this time to a prime location.


And then I got sick, both physically and emotionally. I was sick that my school was becoming more commercial and slowly turning into a McDojo as well as sick from the Graves' Disease becoming worse and worse as time passed. After taking a short break from training to focus on school, I returned to a dojo that I almost didn't recognize. It was bad enough to start charging people for an additional program, but making everyone wear black pants with red jackets? When I was a student, this program with red jackets was by invitation only and was only for instructor training. Now, the entire school was littered with these people and finding anyone wearing a standard black gi was rare outside of black belt classes. I left, choosing not to come back unless the school returned to how it used to be.


Now, almost 7 years later, that school continues to be commercial, but to a lesser degree because of losing students due to the economy. I have seen my old instructor on occasion since quitting and he looks well (and successful), which makes me happy. He was always kind and caring to his students, concerned more with their personal success rather than making a cheap buck off them, although he did fall into the trap of over-promoting his school.


So why did I choose to begin Shotokan Karate over going back to my old school? For starters, my old gi and black belt do not fit me anymore, I have gained too much weight. Secondly, Bujinkan is unfortunately on a path to demolition. Hatsumi is old and has run the Bujinkan as an organization with little structure other than himself at the top and everyone else under him. There are no regional directors, there is no rigid unchanging curriculum. Shihan instructors (like mine) are permitted to change kata as they see fit, similar to what Stephen K. Hayes did with To-Shin Do. After Hatsumi dies, there will be an explosion of schools claiming to be Ninjutsu with several different names and then Ninjutsu will more than likely die. Thirdly, I already know how to defend myself in a fight thanks to what I learned in Budo Taijutsu; I was looking for a traditional martial art, even if it was incredibly flawed like Shotokan Karate.


Shotokan Karate-Do


I did my dojo shopping, looking at 3 different schools: 2 Shotokan Karate schools and 1 Gojo-Ryu Karate school. The first school I saw did not seem that appealing due to the lack of students, but I liked the instructor as well as the credentials of being associated with the ISKF (International Shotokan Karate Federation), the largest Shotokan Karate organization in North and South America, headed by 2 direct students of Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate.


The second school I saw was the Gojo-Ryu school, which upon first glance looked incredibly cheesy and operated by a sensei as old as my 73-year-old father. Although his reputation was incredible and is a student under a student of the founder of Gojo-Ryu Karate, It was difficult to overlook his age as a factor. This school was even smaller than the first school, being mostly run by a chief instructor who I fear wants to turn the school into a McDojo once his teacher retires or dies. The cost of tuition was also unappealing, although understandable given the high rent and lack of students.


The third school was located 2 cities away, but was easily the largest school and had been around the longest. What scared me before I even entered was how incredibly commercial the school appeared to be, freely advertising what each and every belt rank needs to know to pass their next belt test. I also admit that I saw one of the associate instructors and thought she was incredibly cute, needing to see her in person. The class was operated very similarly to the 1st school  I went to, but it was almost too strict, requiring a ridiculous amount of bowing during class and exact timing on the opening and closing of class. I met with the instructor after the class and was very displeased at how cold such an experienced karateka could be, as well as the independent nature of the school. The cost was also a factor, costing about the same price as the Shotokan school closer to me.


As of this writing, I've only been to 2 classes, but it's very clear to me that I made the right choice. I'm not training with the elderly, nor am I training in a belt factory disguised as a serious school. No, I'm not learning self-defense, I'm learning an art form. If/when I participate in kumite tournaments, my skills in Budo Taijutsu will shine through and I should be able to pummel the competition that will more than likely only know the rigid curriculum of what they learned in Shotokan Karate. I'm required to learn 2 kata in order to obtain my yellow belt, which shouldn't be too difficult since I already have the motions on one of them down pat. How long will it take me to get a black belt? Based on what the ISKF and fellow students have told me, probably 3 years, maybe faster if my teacher allows me to skip belt ranks or kyus, which although uncommon, is not unheard of.


I will say one thing: Karate seems to have an unusual obsession with the importance of the karatedogi, the uniform worn. In Budo Taijutsu, the gi is just traditional clothing worn, but Hatsumi regularly teaches classes wearing a t-shirt. Maybe if I find myself sticking with Karate, I will purchase a more high-end gi.