When you know you are Winning...

Nothing says success like, the crying of internet trolls... I think I can hear the sobbing now, or maybe its the lack of oxygen from laughing so hard... This will be a short post.

So the administrator of Ron Collins Facts who I believe is Donald James Roley... The "researcher" I showed didn't know as much about Fujita Seiko was me, muchless everyone else on the internet. Sent me these lovely images...

 What did they do, stay up all night watching SNL looking at images of men exposing themselves and/or gay porn to make this... (above) Really who has the time and puts in that much effort..?

Well this one (above) is titled Ron's Sword when downloaded it... At least we know its a "Long Sword" and not a "Short Sword" but I think my cyber-stalkers are sporting "boot knives." Oh and the screenshot of e-mail is below... Cause I don't much care what they say, and even though I said they bored me... This got a good laugh out of.

Though none of this is as funny as Don Roley's tears and threats to bring in the FBI... No seriously, because I said I intended to stump him and prove hie does half-ass research, by stating Fujita Seiko was military intelligence in Ninja's are Bull Shit 1 and then dumbfounded him with the Image of what appears to Fujita Seiko in a Military Uniform with the founder of Soke of Shito Ryu Karate and one of its must well known and respected master Iwata Manzo. I even included a link to Jesse Enkamp's Saigo No Ninja blog about Seiko Fujita (he did two more before this linked in blog here) to prove my point. And Jesse Enkamp is someone who has travelled to Japan and Okinawa to study Karate in both countries and travels the world teaching, training and learning karate, as well as researching karate and those involved such as Seiko Fujita who oddly had a hand in shaping most modern Karate Styles.

In fact, even though Fujita Seiko didn't pass on the Soke title to anyone in his ninjutsu style he did teach a few people including Mabani Kenei according to the Mabuni family. Mabani Kenei Soke has taught a handful of people a Kata (allegedly) developed by Fujita Seiko for his recreation of Koga Ryu Wada-Ha Ninjutsu... Now this makes sense as Fujita found Okinawan Karate & Kobudo in many way superior to Japanese martial arts and had a hue influence on modern Karate. Which in turn no doubt had such a huge influence on him & certainly Fujita Seiko wasn't Xenophobic person some "researchers" have made him out to be...

Now this goes back to the claims of George Sosa, Sr. who claims he was taught this Kata and other elements of Koga Ryu Ninjutsu from Mabani Kenei. Now this is important well... These people have trained in Koga Ryu Ninjutsu (or claim to) in Japan and pictures of themselves in Japan (in the video). Now I don't know these people, nor do I stand by any of this as indisputable facts but, if one is doing "real research" on Fujita Seiko and their concern is with real information, I would the Manbani family would be the best place to start.

Oh and before I forget here is the insane rant of Don Roley claiming he can prove "intent" of what I don't know... Which got a good laugh out of and after the e-mail from Ron Collins Facts, which got a good laugh out of me. You boys are awesome, you are making my day and I took a whole 30 minutes out my day to post this, just to tell you... "Good work and oh Don, as an "ex-mental patient" who "has never touched a girl" (your mom doesn't count, I was drunk and thought she was a man; with that beard thicker then mine and I only shook her hand) who is also a "fraud," the fact that I am claiming to have known about the Fujita Seiko connection to Shito Ryu back in 2010 (ask Johnny Hunter about that one) a whole 6 years before I brought to your attention is irrelevant. The fact that Jesse Enkamp's blog article is from 2010 shows that the information has been online for six years before I proved you know just a little bit less then me and a lot more "then everyone else online" about Fujita Seiko...

That means, you do half ass research that only goes so far as to substantiate your claims and that is why YOU WILL NOT POST THE ORIGINAL JAPANESE TEXT to substantiate what you say the original text claims as facts.

Jack of All Trades and Master of None

We used to say this a lot in the Army when it came to being Infantry because you wouldn't guess how many times you did things outside your paygrade or MOS (Military Occupational Specialty AKA Job to you Civilians). It is a saying I have taken to martial arts as well, the fundamental principle of Mixed Martial Arts competition is in the idea of allowing all possible techniques to be available to a fighter. This has changed much of the make up of modern martial arts as ground work has now gained a great deal of popularity in martial arts. More importantly, the question of which is better, striking or grappling has remained unanswered as at different times strikers or grapplers have dominated in MMA competition. Thus proving that it is never the art or the techniques but the fighter which is of the most value.


As such, a person dealing with self-defense must extend their list of possible techniques to include "illegal strikes" for competition such as knife hand strikes to the neck or throat, eye gouges or groin strikes/grabs. Then you have to train to deal with multiple opponents, weapons defense, weapons usage (after if you can take a gun away from a mugger but don't know how to use it, your screwed). So how is someone to be able to effectively defend themselves?

Now I won't label all traditional martial arts as a problem, in fact the biggest problem in traditional martial arts has come from the realm of competition. The rules of Karate exclude the use of throws, joint-locks and chokes. So many schools which seek to draw in students (remember that dojo is a business) water down their training to focus on winning competitions, which draws in more students. Judo contains Atemi-Waza (striking techniques) which is not allowed in competition, and many judo schools often exclude these methods from their training and focus on competitive skill sets.


This isn't a bad thing, some systems are not competition arts, like Goju Ryu Katate or Hapkido which is a self-defense focused art and more combative in nature they focus on effect and so include a lot more Bunkai (Literally "Disassembly" or "Breakdown" meaning to take Self-Defense Applications called Oyo from Kata forms) then Kata. Goju Ryu being a Okinawan art is more focused on combat application and so many Bunkai techniques are taught to the students, performing kata so that they under the application behind the movement. This is a stark difference to Japanese Shotokan Karate, which save Bunkai for higher belts. Goju Ryu also focuses more on developing the body to withstand punishment and build up the body to deliver powerful strikes & destructive joint-manipulations.

Is Goju Ryu Karate better then Shotokan Karate, in my opinion yes... (and I offer this assessment as an example of the concept I trying to express here) but Goju Techniques & Shotokan techniques are the same techniques. What makes Goju Ryu better then Shotokan is the mindset on training & the goal of effective fighting skills. The techniques and forms are almost the same or very similar in nature. Can Shotokan attopt some of Goju's philosophy to make itself better? You bet... In doing so we come back to MMA were different martial arts are studied and to make up for gaps in the training of these arts.

My old Shotokan school was a bit of belt mill, the instructor did it to make extra cash and really didn't care a great deal for "tradition" in Karate. In fact, he encouraged cross training, so I also studied Judo and Sport Jujitsu. And yes, my Instructor awarded my a black belt as a child but, in his defense its business & those belts don't mean anything...

There is an issue with people over estimating the importance of an award. Things like skill come with hard work and not certificates, lineages & strips of colored cloth. Let me give you something to consider, which is more impressive? The guy with a "Ranger Tab" who earned in Ranger School, or the guy without a "Ranger Tab" but who parachuted into gun fire, chaos and hell on earth in a fire fight as part of a Ranger Battalion as a simple PFC without the advanced training of Ranger School? This is by no means to diminish the honor or the difficulty of earning the "Ranger Tab" this is to say their is a difference between training and doing it for real. No martial arts competition or school will ever put you in the same position as the real thing of fighting for your life.

Self-Defense is not limited by the rules of competition, just as Bunkai is not limited to the confines of Kata. The real thing is always going to throw kinks into your game plan. I have a friend of mine who is a superb grappler and he loves to point out he can submit about 8 out of 10 times. Thing is one day he was touting the superiority of his grappling skills and I by contrast asked him how he could grapple a 30-06 round fired from 200 yards away. His response was funny... "He looked at me and said a gun beats everything."

My reply was "No, it doesn't..." Few people can actually make that kind of shot or have a weapon that has been sighted in for that kind of shot. So its likely thy will either miss you or not kill with the first shot. So lets say the round misses you? What do you do? Unless you've been trained in a react to far ambush battle drill, you have no clue. You can look it up in the FM 7-9 if you like... Basically, you will do the same things kids in the Ghetto do when a drive by occurs, you drop down and crawl for cover or if no cover is available pretend to be shot.

In the real world, the world of the rising threat of terrorism you cannot be so restricted to thinking of self-defense in terms of martial arts techniques or competition fighting. Competition has it place in training and competition with the most techniques available for use is of course the best option. But, in the world of self-defense you have to be a Jack of Trades and Master of None. Learning things with the idea of adding tools to a metaphorical toolbox & not becoming a Master of a particular style or tradition. In this case, I have developed the Black Dragon Ninjitsu Course to develop skill sets at each rank, to move from striking range, to infighting range, to grappling range, to include tactics, strategy, stealth and survival training. To act as a guide to allow you to develop your own "Style" of fighting and act as a generalized platform for self-understand the growth.

The Secrets of Budo: Esoteric Philosophies in Martial Arts

Budo, the warrior's way, often promises to teach one the secrets to the esoteric universe... But, what is it? Many times people mention their martial arts passing on "esoteric secrets" but what does that all mean? First off let say this, I can sum up what Budo is and what it is meant to convey in very plane simple American-English. I will save my take on Budo for the end and you can skip to it if you don't want me to explain the nature of Esoteric Philosophies.

Now the word Esoteric gets thrown around a lot in the martial arts world. Many people don't even know what the word esoteric means. So lets start there, generally speaking the term esoteric is related to religion, specifically speaking the Greek Mystery Religions. Esoteric generally refers to Private or Secret Knowledge belonging only to a select few. Now in the "ninjutsu world" this gets broken down in to two things, 1) strategy and philosophy that address incites into human nature and/or 2) religious mysteries and philosophical incites into human nature.

One good example of such case is the often debated Sakki element of martial arts training. Now Sakki is literally translated as "Air of Murder" and refers to the uneasy feeling one gets when danger is close by. Now there are multiple explanations of this, ranging from "guardian angels" and mystical powers gained through meditation to the subconscious mind and psychic powers. Now guardian angles is a general term for guardian spirits & not specifically limited to Judaeo-christian or Islamic mythology. Sakki can best be summed up in modern terms as a kind of "Spidey Sense" that warns of possible threat.

It is actually interesting that the scientific community has attempted to investigate and examine this phenomenon. On multiple occasions, and science has explained this (at least in part), psychologists and other researchers have found that the subconscious mind seems signs of a threat and relays this information to the conscious mind as "feelings." So what is such a mystery concerning this matter? One study conducted back 2008-2009 produced this result:
The characteristics identified as beneficial to IED detection came as little surprise to JIEDDO’s command sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. Todd Burnett, USA (no relation to Dr. Burnett). Command Sgt. Maj. Burnett has extensive in-theater experience, including performing route clearance missions, and he says he expected the person who would be best at finding the devices would be a little older and have hunting experience because that involves the ability to remain still and take in a 360-degree view of the surroundings.

So is hunting an esoteric practice? In ninjutsu there is a term Haragei which literally means "stomach art" and it is the Japan practice of reading (between the lines) non-verbal ques. It is not specific to martial arts but Japanese culture. You see the Japanese are very polite people and rather risk offending someone with direct response that would be viewed as negative, they give indirect responses that basically conveys the negative response in a less perceived offensive light. So must have a Haragei "gut instinct" for what is meant regardless of what is said. Understanding a true meaning through implication. This also means the Japanese deal more with reading body language and what isn't said as much as what is said... This not secret art form but a common cultural aspect of the Japanese culture.

In martial arts there is also the term Mushin which means no mind, and this has a simple meaning of acting without thought. Mushin is gained by developing one's Kan or intuition. There is a story in Shotokan of how the founder of Shotokan Funakoshi Guchin asked his students to attack him at random to develop his skill in Karate as a form of training. Following modern studies into soldier's Combat Intuition this a simply building said intuition through experience. This is good training and not some "secret" known only to a chosen few. It develops Kan or Intuition.

Now most often the "esoteric" teachings come in the form of quasi-mystical semi-religious thought, what child psychologists call "magical thinking." Now magical thinking is basically counter to any religious belief system, and I don't want to be accused of picking on anyone's religion so I will leave my religious beliefs to be addressed by addressed below. I will state religions are like relationships and so can be toxic, misleading and abusive. I know a great many people who have done more harm to themselves using the religion of Wicca to try to force things to happen or the reading of horoscopes and tarot cards to convince themselves of lies. It is of course not the fault of the Wiccan religion that they used "magical thinking" to deceive themselves.

The five elemental philosophies of Taoist Alchemy and Shinto are a philosophical approach to nature science from a far older time. Thus they approached the elements of nature at basic levels, water, fire, earth, air & nothingness. These elements became expressions of energies, ideologies, personality types (archetypes) and motivations. They are elements of an ancient science and part of cultures and religions. Like the Ten Commandments, they do not have to be linked to religion to have value. You do not have to believe in the Judaeo-Christian God or Jesus to believe lying, stealing and murder are wrong. Nor do you need to worship the gods of Buddhism and Shinto use the ancient science within the religion. You don't have to believe in "Ki" or "Chi" (a manifestation of the void) to believe in Sakki or develop Kan. Often times these practices are used to entrap the weak minded and those who feel powerless by offering a "secret power" or Red Badge of Courage to feel special.

My Take on Budo: Warning you may not like this...
Budo doesn't and shouldn't be seen as a mystical philosophy. Quite the opposite, the Way of the Warrior is very straight forward, although the methods are generally not. The Samurai often wrote poetry and examined or expressed philosophies. Reading the Hagakure: Book of Hidden Leaves we see that certain Shinto religious philosophies are carried over and defined Yamamoto Tsunetomo, a Tokugawa Era Samurai. It has many comparable philosophies to the Go Rin Sho (Musashi Miyamoto's Book of Five Rings). While the standardized Bushido is a more modern construct based on historical philosophies the oldest of which was the Kojiki, dates back to 8th Century and is mostly a collection of old myths and stories, the story of Prince Yamato Takeru provides a basis for early warrior standards based off his live and exploits.The Gunki Monomatari or War Tales puts a particular focus on warrior ethics and calls lists them as Loyalty to one's Lord, Courage in the face a certain death, Alliance to Family and Personal Honor tied to Loyalty. Other, such historical accounts such the Tale of the Heike (Heike Monogatari) focuses on a fantastic and romanticized view of the Genpei War (a 5 year war between the Taira & Minamoto Clan), these same virtues of Duty, Loyalty,  Selflessness, Courage & personal Honor are focused on.

The term Do is the Japanese way of pronouncing Tao. Do is also linked to the Buddhist Sanskrit word Marga meaning Path. This frames the understanding of the meaning of Budo, as opposed to Bujutsu. Bujutsu is quite literally Military Art or War Art and Budo meaning  Military Way/Path or War Way/Path. While art is generally a reference to the methods of war, techniques and strategies used in battle, way or path often speaks of spiritual, religious or philosophical path. So if we leave out the spiritual and religious path we are left with a simple philosophical path. A way of thinking and acting in accordance with a non-religious philosophical values system. This makes the value of Bushido (The Warrior Way/Path) and Budo (The War Way/Path or Way/Path of War) basically the same in concept.

If we apply religion, it is the religious interpretation of the warrior's path. Looking at history and Shinto is especial true in the case where the Imperial bloodline is said to be derived from the Kami. Loyalty to one's lord is essentially loyalty to the Imperial family and to one's divine  beings of religion. Other virtues of the religion would of course also be associated with the virtues of a warrior. Certainly Shinto and Buddhism aren't the only religion to express this, even Christianity has it interpretation of the warrior's path. So what is so secret about the Warrior's Path that it conveys esoteric meaning? Does Honor, Duty, Integrity, Courage & Loyalty has some secret that only a chosen few can understand or is it just the quasi-religious cult following a martial arts cult?

The way of the warrior is straight forward, to charge headlong into adversity, conflict and hardship (combat both physical and mental) and the Way of War is embrace the Warrior mindset and character in mundane life and technical elements of military or paramilitary conditioning (martial arts) to develop the warrior character and teach warrior philosophy. In this way, Budo can be applied to business strategy and other aspects of life like other society interactions, not just a strict adherence to warfare.

Sometimes (more times then we would like to admit in the martial arts culture), Budo is used to teach and encourage Asian religions and other practices. This is often an interesting question when embraced by Atheists, Judaeo-Christian believers, Muslims and others who do not wish to stray from their ancestral or chosen religion. As it is a bit like tricking someone to converting to another religion, and many practices seen in martial arts training, like bowing a picture of the schools founder, then clapping and chanting a mantra are characteristic of said religious practices of Shinto and worshiping the "divinity" of said founder. This the problem with esoterics in martial arts...

The Enlightened Martial Artist...

Yesterday I was talking about some events with the BDFS with a student of mine. I mentioned John Keehan/Count Dante and how he was training and thinking in 1960s. Specifically, how Dante had students drinking and smoking in class to simulate "bar room conditions" which was all part of simulating combat conditions. My student's reply was "That is like how you were training us, in street cloths and stuff..."

You see Dante was an influence on me later on in life (my 20's) and Bruce Lee was an influence during my teens. Both heavily encouraged cross training and as a Black Dragon Fighting Society member I have the benefit of doing exactly that, we aren't a single art organization. If you ever read any of Dante's writings on the martial arts you'll know he didn't want to create a "new art" but, he did want to improve existing one's. Much of Dante's philosophy and ideas mirror those of Jeet Kune Do creator Bruce Lee. Being an influence on me, I've always tried to find better ways of training. I remember getting in trouble when I was nine years old because I had this idea to swing the heavy bag to simulate a moving opponent; my instructor just told us to line up and practice jump kicks against the heavy bag & I found a way to improve to exercise.

Some might find that arrogance but it came from a simple thought I had, as a someone on the receiving end what would be my first reaction? To move out the way. So why not learn to hit a moving target? It all seemed common sense to me. You see to understand my frame of mind you have to understand my childhood, when I three years old my dad, high on PCP tried to kill my mom. I remember bits and pieces of it. Enough to know I wanted to be strong and being a child of the 80's I had a whole mess of martial arts flicks to convince me that learning martial arts would do that for me. Also consider that my mother was a black belt in karate and started teaching my at 2 1/2- 3 years old. A large part of my child was devoted to becoming stronger. Sure I had other influences like Dukes of Hazard, MacGyver and the A-Team that showed anyone with a brain could improvise weapons tools. Which lead me to studying the Anarchist Cookbook as a teenager, which lead me to Uncle Fester (of Chemistry Porn fame). All this shows the elements that came to my understanding of creates an effective system.

You see these elements & ideas stuck with me even though I was learning martial arts, and of course Bruce Lee's philosophy (which I was first exposed to) through his movies. My mom, didn't believe in limiting yourself to one style of martial arts. Most of all, my mom didn't believe in having me to learn from "Paper Tigers" people with rank but little actual application experience. So many of my instructors were not always highly ranked but had a good bit of experience using what they knew.

How you use your art is vastly more important then what your rank is. Allow me explain, I had 2 karate instructors who were both Sandan (3 degree black belts). One was a Vietnam veteran with a habit of mixing hand-to-hand combatives in with his martial arts classes (he taught more then one art) and other an outlaw biker. I don't know if Sensei Smalls even used his art in combat in the military however, he did use it in bar brawls and back alley fights as a younger man. Sensei Massey of course was an outlaw biker & used his art in much the same environment. Their knowledge earned from experience out weighed their rank.

Now do not get me wrong, I am not glorifying violence or criminality but your experiences, even the things you draw inspiration from like TV and music, shapes who you are by influencing your judgement. Think about how you have some people in your life who always tell you how pathetic you are compared to them or your "heroes" suck compared to their "heroes." These are the people who try to influence you to fail so that they can feel superior. There are people who try to make you feel you can do anything. What influences you becomes a part of who you are, because effects your actions and thoughts. Ultimately, you have to use your art and the conditions for which you use it influence how you define you art. Definition alone does not matter...

I come from a family of criminals, I've seen things many people are totally unaware of. The world is not as clear cut, black and white as people want to believe. Some would say that the apple doesn't fall from the tree, well guess what... I've seen apple trees in the woods alone in clearings, things change. That is the one constant in life, events, people, outlooks and understandings are mutable. My mom, before I was born had seen how mobsters taught their kids, how these people not only had kids learning boxing and wrestling, karate and judo but how they were taught about business and philosophy. So my mom having seen this tried to emulate by who she found as my instructors. If I were to be a criminal, I would be a very dangerous and influential one. This is not me bragging or pumping myself up... It is me saying that I know who am because of what I have done.

You see in my experiences, which do extend across the globe to South Korea, Beijing and Japan, people are very much the same... The people who have to pull out their rank of (enter martial art here) don't have a reputation or the experience to back up their hype. Martial arts brings many benefits: enhanced fitness, self-confidence, mental focus and self-discipline. So don't think I'm bashing martial arts, even the less combat effective arts have benefits for children and adults alike. The one thing not all martial arts do is teach you to fight effectively.

Now don't think I am bashing martial arts, I am not. What I am doing to simply laying out the facts, as I see them. I kind of got off track here, but the jist of what I wanted to convey was simply that one's applications and experience defines one's art. An enlightened approach is to know yourself and your art for what it is.

Martial Arts & Children...

A lot of people don't agree with the fact that I was awarded a black belt as a child, at times I'm not sure I do either... then I look at the fights I got into as a kid and realize I don't agree with it. I was almost expelled in the 2nd Grade because I nearly killed a kid with a Rear Naked Choke I refused to let go of. Teaching potentially dangerous techniques to a child is, well... dangerous. Not only because a child could easily hurt another child without an in depth moral understanding of the ramifications of the result but there is a legal responsibility as well. Which takes precedence over any colored strip of cloth and what it means to someone else.

Now I am not against teaching children nor am I saying martial arts for children is a bad thing. In my case, the other boy was bigger then me and had the teachers been more concerned with telling me to let go rather then freaking out and trying to force me to break the hold, I'd have let go. You see my teachers didn't do a good job in maintaining discipline and, discipline is a corner stone for teaching children. Martial arts for children teaches confidence and self-discipline. Self-Discipline has another term Personal Responsibility, being responsible for yourself and your choices. My teachers were many times racist, clannish, and played to their favorites.

Most often the Doctors and Lawyers kids who could freely bully other kids and be excused for doing so while those who defended themselves were often labeled trouble makers. Of course some teachers were known to grab and pull kid's hair, grab & pull their ears and yell at and belittle those same kids. Years after I left that school my younger cousin who attended that same school told me the same teachers where still acting like bullies and tyrants. They didn't inspire trust and didn't maintain discipline, in fact when the teachers let the bullies be bullies, many kids (myself especially) used more force to defend ourselves then required. When parents became involved and the school was looking at being sued, discipline broke down due to the school board becoming involved. Because the draconian tactics used unnecessarily to maintain order, could no longer be used. Perhaps this is a microcosm for our national debate on police brutality, police militarization, race and civil rights... or perhaps that is just over reading into the situation.

Understanding this environment is critical to why I thought choking someone out and actually tightening the hold on the Hadaka-Shime (Rear Naked Choke in Judo and Jujitsu) when my teacher tried to break the hold, I was afraid that once I let go the bully the would be permitted to attack me. So I tightened my hold on a person who was unconscious, I could have killed someone. Many times parents use martial arts or public school as a surrogate for teaching self-discipline. The fact is that martial arts can teach discipline in the Dojo but, parents need to teach discipline at home. Disciplining a child is the foundation to the child learning to discipline themselves, to take personal responsibility for their actions. For a child to study martial arts, and learn discipline for a few hours a week in the Dojo, they are more likely to only learn to fight and to discipline themselves or to learn only "selective discipline."

In fact, my suspension for fighting and having to face the school board for the unbroken RNC resulted with me showing several letters of complaints from other students' parents. This is what caused the school board to become involved, because I wasn't alone in my complaints about the school's staff. However, that doesn't excuse the fact someone could have been seriously hurt or killed. I took responsibility for not breaking the hold & this highlights how teaching dangerous techniques to children can be a danger in itself.

Many martial arts styles are intended to be taught to children, daycare in a gi. Others have a more combative feel, are designed for self-defense and not appropriate for children. Some martial arts are designed for sports only were as others are a mix of all those elements. Some traditional arts try to teach "warriorship" which can be a very dangerous idea for a developing child, it is certainly a dangerous idea for some adults (I'll have to do a whole new blog on "Warriorship" to address this issue). Some schools exist to teach "cultural understanding" which serve to force Eastern Religion and Philosophy onto it's students. Selecting a martial arts school for children is very important and very difficult unless the parent has a good understanding of what the school teaches, why and how.

I consider boxing a martial art and several martial artists I've met and trained with over the years also boxed, this is true of those mainly dedicated striking arts like Karate & Tae Kwon Do or Hapkido. Basic principles and techniques for a cross are the same as for reverse punch, a jab as for a straight punch and the foot work is pretty much the same. Sure all three use open hand strikes and self-defense techniques like kicking, throws and joint-locks that boxing doesn't. Boxing teaches combinations, distance, timing and "slipping the punch" that those arts don't and it transitions well into self-defense and sparring. Boxing has a clear focus as a competition sport, which is excellent for fitness and exercise as well... I recommend boxing as a starter art for younger children. Many, early Self-Defense systems were a blending a Boxing and Judo.

What I suggest is Child Appropriate:
When I say child appropriate I am stating between the ages of 5 and 12 years old...

1. Make sure the school does not teach a philosophy or religious ideas that is counter-productive to beliefs and philosophy you are trying to build in your child or children. I dropped out of an Aikido school after only 2 weeks (free lessons) because the instructor kept trying to force his ideology on me, this was considerably more then just studying Eastern Philosophy or cultural traditions. Discipline begins at home so, don't cause a breakdown in the discipline you're teaching your child by paying someone to teach them opposing philosophies to your own. They get enough of that in public schools already. Be weary of schools talking about anything "spiritual" as part of the training.
2. The amount of physical contact with your child is also important, I know some people who won't enroll their kids in Brazilian Jiujutsu because the guard looks like the missionary position. Both you and your child have to be comfortable with the physical contact used in the class, this includes your child's acceptance of being hit during sparring. I can't tell you what is acceptable for you and your child but this is something you need to observe and discuss with your child. As for the Brazilian Jiujutsu matter, if your child isn't thinking of sexual positions then there shouldn't be an issue and, if they are there is already an issue.
3. Manner & attitude of the instructor. The last thing you want to do is leave your child in the hands someone who is "Toxic." I'm not talking about frauds, criminals and sex offenders but people who bully, insult and are generally a negative influence. Criminals have a record and sex offenders are on a registry but a "toxic personality" is like a bad relationship with a crazy person, everything starts off all good and goes bad from their as the crazy becomes more obvious.
4. Set a goal for your child that is to be achieved through the martial arts. I'm not talking about reaching a belt rank but a goal of learning... This is why I think competition arts like Boxing, Kickboxing, Wrestling, Judo, Karate & Brazilian Jiujutsu are great for younger kids. Set goals like physical exercise/fitness, improved competition and building confidence.

Martial Arts for Teenagers:
When I say teenagers I mean 13 to 17 years old...

1. Here is where a child will start gradually moving out into the world and things like self-defense starts becoming more useful in a child's life. Self-defense systems like World War II era Combatives & Krav Maga, become more appropriate.
2. More so, some of those same martial arts styles like Karate, Hapkido, Jujutsu, Brazilian Jiujutsu, Judo can be treated more combatively depending on the age, physical ability and maturity of the child in question.

Tips of Parents before Enrolling Children in Martial Arts:

1. Talk to the instructor...
2. Observe at Least Five to Ten Classes, to see how & what the instructor teaches...
3. Talk to the students and other parents, particularly away from the school. Remember these are customers at a business, they may feel required to speak well of the instructor or school in front of the instructor. So your best bet for getting accurate information is away from the school... 
4. Do your research but don't believe everything you hear. Martial arts is a business and it is largely unregulated. Many people in the business of selling martial arts training take to slandering others.
5. Follow up with the instructor, address things you found out & made a judgment call on how he or she responds to your questions.
6. Avoid "Hidden Marketing." It is perfectly acceptable to pay a monthly fee, testing fee & buy your uniform. It is "ok" to pay an organizational fee (provided being a member of the organization is an option, usually this is restricted to Black Belts & Instructors) but having to pay this added fee as a low ranking kyu grade is questionable. It is a "No-No" to add requiring a student to buy "Grandmaster So-&-So's" books and require "book reports" for cultural training at each grade. It is even "OK" to have to buy a student handbook, but this is often free with the beginning when you pay for your uniform, etc. Having to buy additional books and materials is a questionable practice. 
7. Remember you are buying what someone else is selling. Don't be surprised or feel insulted if an instructor doesn't want to "sell." I don't teach children, I refuse and I do so for a number of reasons the main one being that what I teach isn't often "age appropriate." Black Dragon Ninjitsu has been defined by an observer as a "Killing Style" and Street Focus Jujitsu is as named Focused on Street-Based Self-Defense. Either style can greatly enhance a person's odds of survival in a self-defense situation or they can be misused to make a very dangerous person. I often turn down teaching adults.

Understanding Kata

The term Kata means Dance, but it is not always used the same way. In Karate for example Kata are forms practiced by an individual such as Shodan no Kata, the first form taught in Classical Shotokan Karate. In Shotokan Waza (meaning technique or method) is drill performed by 2 people such as Ippon Kumite or one step sparring & Sanbon Kumite or three step sparring. The exercise of Ippon Kumite & Sanbon Kumite is to teach waza or technique. To help the reader I point to the video below, where one is perfecting technique such as a high block and counter strike. Sometimes in the term Waza is used to describe exercises such as Sanbon Kumite and Ippon Kumite in the west.

However, in Jujitsu, Aikijutsu, Aikijutsu or Taijitsu (all different terms for basically the same art of unarmed combat) Kata is a training method. Here Kata is executed by applying a series of waza or techniques against a non-resistant opponent. Below is a comparison of Shotokan Karate's Heian Shodan no Kata & a random Jujitsu Kata.
Heian Shodan Kata:

Jujitsu Kata:

The reason for the videos is simple, it makes the differences easy to understand, the term is the same, the kanji is the same and meaning is the same. But, the core principles are very different, as is the reason for the existence of kata in the two forms. In karate, Kata refers to solo practice drills in China and Okinawa these drills wee practiced much like the scene from Enter the Dragon, were each person is amassed and executes the actions in unison. This was an Asian form of Drill & Ceremony for older times, Western armies used marching. Likewise, the kata could be practiced by individuals alone and was a form of moving meditation, physical exercise and a "text book" for martial arts where Bunkai (literally "to disassemble") is used to analyze the form to discover alternative applications and techniques. Here a single form taught lower ranking soldiers might have a totally different meaning to the initiated higher ranking soldiers. Kata Bunkai has three ways of viewing Kata... Omote is literally "surface" so Kata Bunkai  Omote is the first form of initiation, the surface application of the form. At the Omote level what you see is what you get, a punch is a punch, a kick a kick and block a block. Here kata forms the process of exercise and teaching basic fighting techniques.

In our ancient Asian army we would call our "NCOs" (Non-Commissioned Officers) or "Sergeants" (if you are a civilian) would be initiated into the Ura Bunkai, Ura literally means "Behind" and it I what is behind the form. Here techniques are not just techniques, a Juji-uke (cross block) and pivot may be a trap and break or throw. This is the "secret" teaching of the Kata. And finally our last level of initiation is for our "Officers" this is call Honto Bunkai, Honto literally means "true" or "truth" for the largest part because few Karateka wrote down their teachings much of Honto Bunkai has been lost to history, but this is where the intentionally "hidden secrets" in kata are laid bare. 

Many times throughout history in both Okinawa and China this level of initiation was used due to armies having conscripted soldiers. Many of the documents which survived to present day are written in a form of metaphor that served as a code. Understanding these metaphors was part of the Honto Bunkai level of teaching though not directly related to Kata where strategy and tactics could be concealed in the form at the Honto level. One claiming to know the secret codes would have to be initiated at various levels. This of course is like a ancient form of security clearance. That prevented misuse of knowledge by those who would seek to overthrown their leaders.

By comparison, Feudal Japan during the Sengoku period when many schools were formed into codified systems. The primary differences in Jujitsu and Karate Kata, is the about Mid-Tokuagawa era the Bushi became a specific class and "migration" between classes was ended. Prior to the Tokugawa shogunate (bafuku) a merchant could become a warrior or a warrior could become a priest. Many farmers were conscripted to become Ashigaru (literally Light Feet) or Light Infantry, some becoming Warriors (bushi) or more correctly mercenaries. When after Oda Nobunaga the Ashigaru's position became fixed, making the Ashigaru members of the Samurai class, though this was not in all domains. Mainly in rural areas were Ashigaru could be "promoted" to the rank of Ji-Samurai or country samurai under a Kokujin. Such Ashigaru might still be farmers but considered Bushi was well, think of supply line soldiers who be drawn from the rear to fight on the frontlines. Meaning the Ashigaru were considered Samurai class & their primary role was warfare but they still supplied the army with other duties.

Bujitsu (to include jujitsu) became a skill only of professional soldiers (the samurai class) and as such teaching was more direct to produce warriors of skill compared to the conscripted warriors of the preceding era. As such a school could have branches among various classes because members of the same family existed in different classes. Families were locked in the position of being warriors, so techniques and application became more direct in study but also more closely guarded. A technique, waza, was practiced through kata, with the focus less on whipping a conscripted army into shape to follow orders through drill like the Kata of Karate and more on perfecting individual skill at arms. These direct but rote movements lead to an understanding of Ura, the principles of technique that work "outside the technique" and finally the Honto or "true meaning" of a technique.

In Jujitsu the Ura is understood by practicing Kata and testing one's skills in battle. Sometimes, Warriors would engage in duals called Shiai. Shiai is made up of two kanji Shi means literally "Test" or "To Test" and ai means literally "to gather" or "join" and one interpretation is "to test to gather" or perhaps "test each other." As such shiai can mean anything from a game or contest to a bout. Experience leads one to understand the principle behind the techniques, such contests were often limited by few rules meaning injuries were common. Honto was achieved only by understanding the higher meaning of the technique.

 What is this higher meaning you may ask? What is the Truth of Kata? The truth of Kata is found in doing, not reading. I can tell you the secret and you will never know the truth of it without training. You see the Honto, the Truth of Kata is that it is the beginning of wisdom and not the end result. This is the point when one can invent techniques, not by making things up and applying a name to it but by creating it in a moment of need in the Shiai of self-defense or the Randori of sparring match. This level truth is known as Mushin, the no-mind state of being without thought or emotion when one acts without knowing to act.

Mushin exists in Karate as well, in fact I wrote this blog to address the differences in the term Kata, for a friend. Its does not mean different is either good or bad, it means different paths to the same summit.