The Failure of Martial Arts... Martial Arts Cults

Arbitrary
adjective

1. subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one's discretion:

an arbitrary decision.

 

For a few days I been having fun Ninja Quest a facebook group because the group's "owner" wanted me to sack things up and I'm bored at the moment so I did. One of the things that cause quite a stir was that I do not believe in the Bujinkan's lineage and along other things some lies I told in the past. Of course that's only because without proof of the Bujinkan lineage, they boiled down to person attacks and even outright lies. There used to a video of me admitting to such on a 2010 video on YouTube but, my old buddy Phil Failure had it taken down for copyright infringement. Either way, I once again stated I lied about being a Force Recon Marine and actually explained why. Origonally, to one up some troll giving bad advice in an online forum, then people started demanding proof. What is funny is that no one can support their own claims and expects others to account for everything when they themselves can't. But this comes back to what martial arts are and, what we pretend them to be...

 

From Wikipedia (it'll get the job done in this case): Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practices, which are practiced for a variety of reasons: self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, entertainment, as well as mental, physical, and spiritual development.

 

Notice the word entertainment? Yes, that refers to martial arts schools that are basically baby sitters for children. Many people like to point to Tae Kwon Do, but having leaved in Tongduchon South Korea for 3 years I have a bit better understanding why this is the case in tae kwon do. It is the national sport of South Korea, all young men at 18 are required to serve in the military & they teach them a more combat oriented version of tae kwon do in the military. It is a nation under constant threat of war with its counter-part North Korea.

 

Regardless we often pretend martial arts are more then they are, as belonging to a martial arts organization will make better or special in some way. I love people who study arts claiming to be of the samurai or ninja and claiming to be warriors. Its like saying that if you learn Navy SEAL hand-to-hand combat, you are a  Navy SEAL. What you choose to study and why is completely arbitrary, based on your own choice. I've along ago abandoned any hopes of finding a legitimate ninjutsu school with a proven lineage. Why because no such school exists, what one finds instead is schools claiming to offer you "ninja secrets" but only want to teach you jujutsu/taijutsu instead. Oh and my favorite that ninjutsu is "esoteric." Meaning given only to a rare few or practiced by a select group...

A big problem with those claims and the martial arts in general is that martial arts behave more like a cult, especially when no one else can use the cult's "catch phrase" in the case of the Bujinkan that catch phrase is "ninjutsu."

From Cult Watch: http://www.cultwatch.com/cultic-warning-signs.html

Cultic warning signs     

Here are some example of what Cultwatch believes represents mind control and cult warning signs:

• Single charismatic leader.
• People always seeming constantly happy and enthusiastic. Especially if you discover that they have been told to act that way for the potential new recruits.
• Instant friends.
• If you are told who you can or cannot talk to or associate with.
• They hide what they teach.
• Say they are the only true group, or the best so why go anywhere else.
• Hyped meetings, get you to meetings rather than share with you.
• Experiential rather than logical.
• Asking for money for the next level.
• Some cults travel door to door during times when women are home alone. They, and this is rather sexist, think that women are easier to recruit and once they have the woman then it will be easier to snare the husband or partner.
• Saying that they have to make people pay for it because otherwise they will not appreciate it. This is of course a very silly reason, plenty of people are able to appreciate things which they did not pay for.
• They do not allow their teachings or practices to be questioned. If you question, then automatically the group assumes that something is wrong with you. It can never be the case that anything is wrong with the group’s practices or teachings. Often they will try to shut you down by accusing you of having a “bad attitude”.
• They will push you to obey by using guilt. They will demand complete “submission” to the group, its leaders and its teachings. They will do this by making you feel absolutely rotten about yourself. They will ridicule you and attack any weakness you might have (or invent weaknesses you might have if they can’t find any). Their goal is to break your will by causing you mental anguish.

So if we look at any martial art out there do they claim a single charismatic leader? Certainly, the Bujinkan claims Hatsumi is the one true Soke. How about students or instructors who seem always constantly happy and enthusiastic? Instant friends? Has anyone ever been told been told who they can or can't associate with? "Stay away from Koga Ryu they are all fakes" perhaps...? I know both times I stepped in a Bujinkan Dojo they were pretty much everything sucks but us. Do they hide what they teach? Well if you joined the Bujinkan because they advertised ninjitsu out the ass, only to be told its me esoteric knowledge, that's a yes... Does the Bujinkan claim to be the only source of ninjutsu? You bet they do... Over hyped claims about training and events... I think I will refer to the two videos below.

 

Video 1: Hatsumi Tougher Bujinkan Training Days

Here we see a younger Rchard Van Donk and Hatsumi training in Japan. These are the tougher days look a lot like more modern and, with this being the "tougher training days," relaxed training days. Which prompted this video by a YouTuber named Bujinkult... Is the Bujinkan a scam.

Warriors... effective techniques... secret ninja arts... or just martial arts, good or bad I'll let you decide.

 

Do they claim you need to experience it? Who has ever questioned the Bujinkan and been told to train in it? That's what it means when we get to, experiential rather than logical, on our list. Asking for money for the next level? Ok all martial art do that, so we may be can let that ne slide. Saying that they have to make people pay for it because otherwise they will not appreciate it? Again all martial arts make you pay, what matters is do you get what you paid for. How about, they do not allow their teachings or practices to be questioned? If you question, then automatically the group assumes that something is wrong with you. It can never be the case that anything is wrong with the group’s practices or teachings. Often they will try to shut you down by accusing you of having a “bad attitude”. That ever happen to anyone? You can look at the Ninja Quest RC vs PDF to see just that even going so far as to lie d exaggerate to attack my character. I was quite clever to add some spice (an incomplete listing of my ranks achieved I limited myself to "ninjutsu") to make sure Phil Failmore will spread it around. And last on that list, they will push you to obey by using guilt. They will demand complete “submission” to the group, its leaders and its teachings. They will do this by making you feel absolutely rotten about yourself. They will ridicule you and attack any weakness you might have (or invent weaknesses you might have if they can’t find any). Their goal is to break your will by causing you mental anguish.

 

Rick Ross from the Cult Warning Signs Institute lists those warning signs as;

Ten warning signs regarding people involved in/with a potentially unsafe group/leader.

1. Extreme obsessiveness regarding the group/leader resulting in the exclusion of almost every practical consideration.
2. Individual identity, the group, the leader and/or God as distinct and separate categories of existence become increasingly blurred. Instead, in the follower's mind these identities become substantially and increasingly fused--as that person's involvement with the group/leader continues and deepens.
3. Whenever the group/leader is criticized or questioned it is characterized as "persecution".
4. Uncharacteristically stilted and seemingly programmed conversation and mannerisms, cloning of the group/leader in personal behavior.
5. Dependency upon the group/leader for problem solving, solutions, and definitions without meaningful reflective thought. A seeming inability to think independently or analyze situations without group/leader involvement.
6. Hyperactivity centered on the group/leader agenda, which seems to supercede any personal goals or individual interests.
7. A dramatic loss of spontaneity and sense of humor.
8. Increasing isolation from family and old friends unless they demonstrate an interest in the group/leader.
9. Anything the group/leader does can be justified no matter how harsh or harmful.
10. Former followers are at best-considered negative or worse evil and under bad influences. They can not be trusted and personal contact is avoided.

So with all this addressed don't think my picking on the Bujinkan is just limited to them. I think the Bujinkan is a cult, plain and simple. I do want address what Black Dragon Ninjitsu is however, firstly I use the term ninjitsu rather freely. Black Dragon Ninjitsu is modern system developed by me from the  ninjutsu I learned as part of Omoto Ryu Budo, my US Army infantry training, Jeet Kune Do Concepts, Boxing & a few hard learned lessons in life. I also started modernizing it with some elements researched from Sociology and Psychology. I started calling it Black Dragon Ninjitsu because I was a member of the Black Dragon Fighting Society of Ashida Kim before he other students of John Keehan/Count Dante reformed it into the IFAA/BDFS.

 

I'm not calling it traditional and don't want to get caught LARPing the past. I wanted an effective combat-survival system. I'm not offering "Ninja secrets" or "warrior Bull Shit." What I'm offering is a functional system. I never claimed to be a Force Recon Marine to my actual students and just used it as a dare to one up the "fraud busters" online, no ever got proof and just waited to try to get me to prove it to them. As long as, I never proved anything. I added to it because only an idiot would believe anything from an internet forum or anywhere else without checking their facts. I had fun with it to but it got out hand.

 

You see the failure of martial arts is that they are only ways fight, they offer no secrets of enlightenment, no great understandings of the universe or no lineage that will make you or anyone else special. They can't redefine you or make you more then human or, even a better person and, won't make you special. You are already special if you choose to be you don't need someone else, even if they are claiming to hold the secrets of the universe to tell you so. Its a flaw of human nature to spend so much time trying to look special or unique and not realize how special we already are, if we so choose. 

Martial arts will teach you how to fight and, that is all. Asian martial arts are often associated with Asian religions and philosophies, I am not calling these religions cults. I am saying that many times, more so then people want to martial arts becomes a transmitter for cult personalities that often claim to transmit "secrets." More often then not people simply wish to expand their social circle and repeat the mantra of the martial arts cult & schools of great traditions (those of a koryu nature) do not claim to be the sole source of some great truth, only a specific tradition. Certainly the real martial artists don't run about claiming others frauds and starting online drama... a thing I noticed about criminals is that they will betray others on the spot to pretend to be "legitimate" offering the line "I exposed so & so, so you know I'm not a (enter type of criminal here)." This is especially common among sex offenders, who expose and even assault other sex offenders to claim they aren't sex offenders. Makes you wonder about the state of "legitimate martial artists" online...