Who am I?

This is going to be an interesting & extremely honest blog beginning with a simple question of "Who am I?" I will answer that question simply, I am me. I don't go running around saying I am master, guru, shogun, jonin, soke or what have you. Even the infamous "Sensei Ron Collins" label was used by my previous publisher Dojo Press (aka Ashida Kim) who felt just calling myself "Ron Collins" was a bit to low key. I've even told people I am a "White-Trash-Red-Neck-Trailer-Park-Hillbilly" (and I will start marking other on the US census and filling that in the blanks lol). Apparently, I didn't know this but Ashida Kim did, there are several Ron Collins in the World...

Ron Collins the who writes fantasy books... Ron Collins who is football coach (calls himself Coach Collins)... Ron Collins who is a boxer (24 & 5 record, born in 1963 from Texas)... There is a Ron Collins in aviation... and lastly there is even a Drink called a Ron Collins (2 oz. light rum, lime juice, 1 teaspoon powdered sugar, soda water/carbonated water & an optional cherry as a garnish) very similar to his cousin Tom Collins.

So here we are back to "Who am I?" I often have so much trouble defining myself because I "wear so many different hats" and play so many different roles in my life. I am a very emotionally unattached person and without that emotional attachment I am more analytical, I am more Spock then Kirk in another words. Without that emotional string to pull me into believing or acting on feelings, I deal with rationalizing, analyzing and hard logic. More so, the emotions are there but tightly controlled, in those moments I do "lose control" I tend to seem a bit extreme. More so, I make cold and calculated decisions... it is vitally important you understand this, I do nothing without a purpose & many times to achieve multiple purposes with a single action. The "good or bad" of that purpose is debatable but, regardless there is a purpose.

Its vital you understand that I am an analytical person because, I look at things without emotional attachment or with less emotion then others. Many times, especially online people who's opinions are colored by their beliefs, desires and what they choose to believe say am I "acting like a grandmaster and treating them like a bunch of white belts" because I analyze and develop my opinion based on the information presented... Now I don't sugar coat things, I am very direct in my statements.

More so, I find the internet culture of online experts and exponents amusing, especially the emotional attachment of some people to an idea or their idea. You see ideas often illicit emotional responses and if you don't control those emotional responses, you are controlled by those emotional responses. This is the basis of Ashida Kim's "ninja mind control" & psychological manipulation in general. There is a reason for the phrase "Looking through rose colored glasses." Emotions alter the way our perception of the world works and cold hard unemotional (this is ultimately impossible but you can reduce the degree of how much your emotions effect you with unattached logic). Very simply, if you are near sighted and wear corrective glasses, you can now see things at a greater distance in more detail. If you are wearing sun glasses, things appear grayer. Sun glasses with a pink, violet, blue or whatever colored hue will effect how things appear to you. The florescent lights of a store (a very light blue in nature) actually alters the appearance of the colors of clothing, a service industry trick to make things look more appealing. Those same cloths will look different in Sun Light.

Your emotions and what you already believe, have that effect on your perceptions of new information as well... Quite simply, I don't believe anyone has a legitimate claim to a Ninjutsu tradition to date. I believe that everyone in the Ninjutsu world either "made up" or learned from someone who made up their traditions. To someone who holds the belief they are learning from a "legitimate Soke" or "Master" I am wrong. If I start stating cold hard facts, I have an "agenda" or "I am attacking someone" because someone doesn't want to believe as I do, they make it a point to "attack" the sources of these facts or me to discredit those who oppose their beliefs. For no other reason then they are defending what they want to believe. And I find some small amusement in aggravating these people, yes I have troll-ish tendencies...

Without any emotional attachment or desire to agree, disagree or be accepted into the group I watched this video;

Now in the online community (Ninja Quest) myself and others, didn't like what we saw, those who claimed we didn't understand what we were seeing didn't explain it to us. They simply declared we had an agenda or already our minds up. Despite asking them with their claimed insider knowledge to explain what e were seeing. So I took it upon myself to analyze the video and here is what I felt was wrong...

Grabbing the hand right off the get, before it clears the holster is smart I even compliment Hatsumi at the point... Previous in the video he explains he is grabbing the hand and establishing a wristlock. And Hatsumi is controlling the thumb to keep from being shot/allowing the opponent to perform a trigger squeeze.

So he has a wrist-lock, the Uke still is holding the gun. So here the gun is pointed down but the Ukes arm is to the outside, away from his body.

 

The arm is further pulled out and the same elements are still in effect...

Now there is a serious debate on this between me and the pro-Hatsumi crowd, because it seems pretty obvious to me in the video that gun moves parallel (horizontal) to the ground (across Hatsumi's groin/stomach area) and not vertically.

More so, It appears the gun goes back across the groin/stomach area. and from the angle in the still above shows Hatsumi.

Here Hatsumi demonstrates the small-joint manipulation of the Uke's gun hand.

Hatsumi and the thumb still explaining... or if you agree with me still excusing.

And now Hatsumi attempts controlling the gun... I question why he didn't do this sooner.

Here Hatsumi continues the lesson that without a thumb someone can't pull a trigger. Which I disagree with, a smaller pistol (commonly used by criminals because they can easily be concealed) could be gripped with the remaining three fingers and possibly allow the trigger to be squeezed.
I fundamentally don't care what Hatsumi teaches and I don't think my disagreement with him will stop anyone from joining the Bujinkan or learning from him or anyone else in the Bujinkan. In fact, I give myself so little credit in this regard that I've both intentionally and unintentionally ruined my own creditability with others to various degrees. Mostly this has been done for "making fun" of online experts who are committed to "discussing" how great their style and masters are while bashing others.

In fact, if you look at the martial arts world with a bit of honest skepticism you'll find even the "creditable martial artists" are full of lies and exaggerations. In fact, creditable is an empty label because it depends on creditable to who? To those devoted to a particular style, questioning the style is the equivalent of questioning God. Many times, instructors invent answers when questioned on things they don't know. More so, many martial arts instructors make things up on the fly to fill gaps in their training. This is not a bad thing by any means, after all if you find yourself in a self-defense situation and encounter something you aren't accustomed to you have to make it up as you go along.

I once asked Omoto Sensei how to counter a technique he showed me, and his tierce reply was only "How would you counter it?" I was not what you would call friends with Kiyoshi Omoto he looked at our relationship as a duty... it was his job to teach and my job to learn, we were not friends. More so, Omoto Ryu under Kiyoshi Omoto was a job and under Sensei Martin it was not. I was friends with Reginald Martin which is why I learned this style, I even dated his daughter. Under Sensei Martin Omoto Ryu used a simple ranking system that did not have belts, where as Koshi Omoto used belts because Omoto Ryu Jujitsu & Budo was a commercial school... these ranks were simple Deshi (student), Sempai/Sensei (Senior Student/Teacher) and Shihan (Master). A student learns what he is taught, a senior student understands what he is taught and teaches it to those learning and a master understands what he isn't taught and acts without thinking. Omoto Ryu has no Soke in the traditional sense... One becomes a Shihan, as the Shihan who taught him or her no longer teaches them. You may train together but you are no longer "learning" you are "experiencing" this is somewhat like some parents who kick their kids out the house after a certain age. They haven't disowned the child and are there to help and offer advice but the child must face the world as an "adult." This is true of anyone who has to use their art in  real world, whether you are an "operator" on the battlefield or a telephone operator being mugged in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Now isn't that a long winded and pointless way to say "Sometimes in life you have to make it up as you go along?" Sadly, the fantasy of being a martial artist makes it seem like "Master" has to or should have all the answers be filled with stories and anecdotes speaking in riddles instead simple, direct and straight forward. Once you understand this, you have to deal with two facts. 1) Sometimes people make up shit and 2) sometimes others don't have an answer for your questions. Guess what that means, deal with it & go figure it out yourself... I've had to figure things out so much, I don't ask I just observe and analyze, form my opinion and go on. Sometimes I change my opinion and, most times I don't. Do I care what you believe? No... like your sexuality or religion those are things for you to deal with unless your region tells you to kill me or you want to practice your sexuality with me I don't care. Nor should you care what my opinion is, people who seem to care that I don't agree with them or think I "bash their art" forget I don't regard my own opinion very highly. People will believe what they want because they want  believe it... Who am I?

Racism in Martial Arts

Racism has been a hot topic in the news and some have compared todays racial tensions with that of the 1960s. As we do not have another Martin Luther King Jr. I'm going to start this blog off with a quote from the man himself;

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

-Martin Luther King Jr.
We know racism was an everyday occurrence in the past... Even Bruce Lee was a victim of Racism, oh here in the US sure but Lee was 1/8  German. He was stopped from going any further in Wing Chun because was an "impure Chinese" and so Ip Man was pressured into no longer teaching him. This is why Bruce Lee fought William Chow over Lee's refusal to "not teach Blacks kung-fu." Ronald Duncan, the Grandfather of American Ninjutsu was teaching it well before Stephen K. Hayes brought the Bujinkan Dojo's Togakure Ryu Ninpo Taijutsu (what they called it before changing the name to Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu)  to the US.

 

It is sad to say that racism is a part of human nature and that racism is everywhere. I had a friend in the Army who joined the US Army to help get his US citizenship & he did not like black Americans. I don't like the term African-American because as I see it, we are all Americans and our entitled to the same rights and respect regardless of our skin color tones. Unfortunately, racism is as much a part of culture as is anything. My friend Harry was black but being born & raised in Africa, he had a different cultural outlook then Americans and resented Americans claiming a culture they had nothing to do with. He'd get angry and start cursing every time someone used the term "African-American." He was interesting to be around, to say the least... but regardless of where your ancestors come from you have to apart of that culture to understand it.

 

I'm part Cherokee and proud of that fact, almost everyone native to West Virginia is as a matter of fact, this area was first colonized by the Irish and Scotts-Irish so its not uncommon to meet people with Native-American blood in their family tree. I however, actually was taught about Cherokee culture. Before I was born, my mom worked with an older Cherokee woman and they became friends. My mother in her younger days looked like a slightly paler and blue eye Cherokee. This older women taught my mom about Cherokee traditions and my mom taught me. In the Army, I got jumped by three Navajo boys because I was part Cherokee, the Cherokee sided with whites during the colonial era prior to the Trail of Tears. Me being "white" who practiced some of the Cherokee traditions, really upset a couple of them. I guess it reminded them of a conflict they never experienced but was a cultural memory passed down from their parents. What I took pride in knowing about knowing about myself, they saw as a reminder of what they were taught was betrayal.

 

To call myself Cherokee is an insult to Cherokee, I know bits and pieces of traditions, my bushcraft is most certainly based on Cherokee traditions. I burn white sage and I've learned to "speak to the wind" but I am still not Cherokee. I'm part Irish but I'm not Irish, I know less about Celtic & Irish culture then I know about Cherokee. When it comes to my American history,  know that West Virginia before it was a part of Virginia was territory inhabited by Scotts-Irish and Irish who married into Cherokee and other tribes. Neither Cherokee nor "white" these people developed their own unique culture, half-Cherokee and half-European. And as time went on and technology adapted we "Hillbillies" have developed our own culture. With it comes a cultural memory, stories passed down and tales that everyone believes. It doesn't matter if its true or not, doesn't matter if you have first hand knowledge or not... You know it & have accepted it your whole life or part of you life.

 

Its funny really, I had a Platoon Sergeant I really hated and he hated me... He hated me because in Chicago he had been told everyone from West Virginia was in the KKK and there were not black people in the state. So when he found out I was from West Virginia he assumed I was racist and being spoon fed these ideas his whole life, I became a target of what he felt was his "pre-emptive self-defense." So when people filed complaints on him with the Sergeant-Major he went straight for me, assuming it was me. Now at certain point I did file a complaint, my Sergeant-Major had me stand in another room and "guard the desk" while he talked to this sergeant. That's when this Sergeant assumed some kind of kinship with my Sergeant-Major because they both had dark skin, said "You know how those people from West Virginia are they are all in the Klan and he probably never saw nigga till he joined the Army." At which point, my Sergeant called me into the room, and dismissed me. My Sergeant-Major was from West Virginia & he was black, so you can only imagine the conversation they had but I didn't have anymore problems except for those I brought on myself. By this point I was in full on rebellious anyway, so caused myself some added hardship being hardheaded.

 

I address this to address both racism and the cultural memory effect... Much of racism is based on a cultural memory, something learned and passed on. For the Navajo who resented my embracing of Cherokee culture to a racist douche bag NCO who thought I was racist so he had to be racist in turn. How we define were we come from, defines how we see our present. Many white Americans cannot see why their fellow black Americans feel the pains of slavery, segregation and inequality decades and a century after those policies have been removed. Failing to realize it is an aspect of cultural memory... Yes we have people like Al Sharpton who fan the flames but most people don't think about how Martin Luther King day and Black History Month spread these cultural memories. Think about it (I'm not saying drop MLK day), why do we have a special month for famous black people, can't we address their contributions to history and progress along side their white counter-parts? And Martin Luther King should be then a "greeting card" we should study his life work and philosophy on more then just "lip service" for his holiday.

 

And I'm getting off on current American politics more so then addressing martial arts but I want to leave you an example you can understand. Because if you think this is talking about racism, you've never seen Asians or Middle Easterns at work. They have cultures and cultural memories that span centuries. It hard for Americans to understand, but these older cultures (unlike America) often value older things believing they have survived the test of time. Dr. Karl Friday a University of Georgia Professor of History states that most Japanese Ryu-ha (schools) exaggerate their age to show a symbolic worth... (http://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~mckellar/aiki/2001/5.html), more so said cultures tend to define themselves by philosophies of previous years. The Iranians for example, don't think of themselves as being people from Iran an Islamic Republic established in 1979 but as Persians & modern extension of the Persian Empire. Likewise, the Chinese do not think of themselves as a "new nation" established under Mao Zedong 1945 but as the modern branch of the Chinese root reaching back to Xia dynasty of 2100 BCE.

To these cultures, we are merely "children" a young nation of only 239 years, they believe they are superior because they have a longer history. Their cultural memory is filled with a great depth of historical examples. Eastern martial arts, newly favored in Western Nations and the US especially, are seen as superior traditions that are older and more experienced as historical narrative. This explains the reasoning behind Ronald Duncan's story in his interview. More so, cultural pride will never let someone outside the culture be considered to be of greater skill or knowledge of someone from that culture. Meaning whether you are speaking of a Japanese, Chinese or Korean national, they will hold a greater standing then a someone outside the said culture. This was why Bruce Lee could no longer be taught by Ip Man, he was of a greater skill then many who resented him for such skills. Because Lee was 1/8 German, he was not fully part of Chinese culture.

More so, may know the organization of the Kokuryukai, the Japanese Black Dragon Society, was instrumental in spreading the propaganda of Japanese/Asian superiority. The Koyosha & Genyosha were also developed around & colored by the Prophecy of Emperor Jimmu in 660AD (Ashuka Era) called the Hakko Ichiu (All eight corners of the world under one roof) a prophecy that colored the thought of the Japanese Empire that was in place & being developed as a national philosophy/policy since 1868 became a rally cry for a Pan Asian Philosophy. Though at the time of the prophecy the Emperor was speaking only of the Japan, China & Korea what he knew as the world at that time. Judo was a tool used by the Kokuryukai to establish the first spy ring in Russia and to infiltrate Russian military bases as "judo instructors" prior to the Russo-Japanese War 

 

 Even with the defeat of the Japanese Empire during World War 2, the Japanese traded intelligence on their enemies and allies a like to escape war crime charges. Just as an Filipino, Korean or Chinese citizen (Koreans especially) and they hate the Japanese. The Koreans have a cultural memory of abuses during the second world war. Okinawans, though considered "Japanese citizens" see themselves as a wholly distinct culture from the mainland Japanese. A Japanese-American for example being a lesser Japanese to a native Japanese. And what about the Hakko Ichiu prophecy?

 

 From: Infidel Bloggers Allience: http://ibloga.blogspot.com/2009/12/we-also-failed-to-understand-japans.html
Hakko ichiu, translates into English as "all the world under one roof," meaning world dominance by Japan. It was first used as a political slogan in the early 20th century by Japanese nationalist Tanaka Chigaku as his interpretation of a "divine command" issued by Jimmu, Japan's first god-emperor, believed to be a direct descendent of the sun.

The Japanese people believed themselves to be descendants of gods, destined to rule the world and all its people. Their religion of Shinto decreed that all living people must imitate the ways of the gods, in a system as detailed and all-encompassing as that of Islam's Sharia law. And like Islam, Shinto had permeated its culture for many centuries. But since 1870 the state had forced into the practice of Shinto the doctrine of hakko ichiu. The combination was deadly, because to the Japanese it justified any treachery, brutality, rape, and torture used against non-Japanese. In 1940, the Konoe administration proclaimed for Japan "a new order in East Asia aimed at establishment of world peace...". The meaning of hakko ichiu in relation to "peace" was about the same as that of Islam: submission.
And an These on Hakko Ichiu from Teshima, Taeko of the University of Arizona: http://gradworks.umi.com/32/39/3239537.html goes onto explain this philosophy as philosophy of world dominance, even in the post World War 2 Japan.

The simple truth remains there are two elements to the study of Japanese martial arts, one is a cultural aspect of learning about Japanese terms and history devoted you the art and, other is good techniques. However, some Japanese system require an absolute devotion to Japanese culture and historical studies and those that are headed by people devoted to the Hakko Ichiu philosophy believe that Japan will yet conquer the world through the spreading of its culture, philosophy and religion. Yes, there is racism in martial arts and perhaps more so in Japanese martial arts. By contrast if you lo at Brazilian Jiujutsu, students of the art are not required to learn Brazilian language (Portuguese) or culture. Most karate & judo schools do not force the study of Japanese culture or religion upon the student, beyond basic dojo commands and technique names. Yet some schools of Ninjutsu, Aikido & Kendo demand an almost fanatical study & observance of Japanese culture, reigion and history rather teaching cultural aspects along side martial arts, they are teaching martial arts along side cultural aspects. Sometimes these cultural aspects are less about culture and more about cults like the Oom Yung Doe

The Japanese, Chinese and Koreans will never let a non-Asian be considered a master or become Soke of an art, as such many non-Asians establish their own arts & systems. Even Stephen K. Hayes & Robert Bussey had to break way from the Bujinkan and establish their own systems, to become "Soke" of their own traditions, though they never officially used the term. Bruce Lee created Jeet Kune Do as a philosophy that was a counter-cultural movement to the Chinese cultural racism that prevented him from becoming a "master" in Wing Chun. Bruce's words, at 3:38 to 4:39 in the video below, reflect this awareness...

Racism exists, it is a part of the human condition and it is not something to be proud of... It much be accepted however, accepted in the way we much accept cancer or war or, hurricanes. We do all we can to reduce the effect but understand that it is something we can never be rid of. We can educate our fellow man and seek out those who do not share such views. The worst we can do is accept the belief that we are being discriminated against when we are not. Sadly, racism is a large part of martial arts, especially Asian martial arts...

The "Martial Arts Community" & Martial Arts Culture

Martial arts can range from a passion and way of life to simple hobby. Martial arts community is a bunch of people who like talking about martial arts online. Martial arts culture are the people who train daily and fight (here I give credit even to competition martial artists) using their art. The legitimacy of the martial arts community lies in certificates and what someone else did. Because of this they like to call people frauds. Martial arts culture finds it's legitimacy in knowledge, hard work, training and self-discipline.

This train of thought began with me when I watched a video by James Yeager (we have no association) about the "gun community..."

I laughed a bit when I first saw this because much of the same arguments heard from Yeager's friend is much the same "problems" claimed about me and my "dangerous" training methods. Things like sparring full contact in the dojo, sparring multiple opponents, using "war games" to practice infiltration and stealth and of course the combat survival course I use for testing for black belt. In which case

Yeager's video has prompted several other videos about the gun community Vs gun culture, NeverEnuffAmmo from YouTube has a great take on the "gun community" and "gun culture."

Likewise, I share his opinion in regards to the "martial arts community" as being an online community; web forums, YouTube, Facebook groups, etc. where as the Martial Arts Culture is based a set of ideas and values.
Shotokan:

• Strive for perfection of character
• Be faithful
• Endeavor (demonstrate Hard Work)
• Be Respectful of Others
• Avoid Violence

Goju-Ryu:

• Be Humble & Polite
• Train Considering you Physical Strength
• Practice Earnestly with Creativity
• Be Calm & Swift
• Take Care o Your Health
• Live a Plain Life
• Do Not be Too Proud or Too Modest
• Continue Your Training with Patience

Ryu-Te:

• Strive for Good Moral Character
• Keep an Honest & Sincere Way
• Cultivate Perseverance
• Develop a Respectful Attitude
• Restrain Physical Aggression through Spiritual Attainment

Bushido:

• Loyalty to Duty
• Courage
• Valor
• Faithfulness
• Simplicity

US Army Core Values:

• Loyalty
• Duty
• Respect
• Selfless Service
• Honor
• Integrity
• Personal Courage

Budo-Kan:

• Show Courtesy, Respect & Honesty toward others
• Develop Confidence through Knowledge, Honesty & Strength
• Never use Violence for Personal Gain
• Seek Perfection of Character

Martial arts communities are based on so-called online experts interested in claiming legitimacy through up holding the status quo without understanding the context on which it is built. I've already dealt with subject in previous blog: 21 Foot Rule, Tactical/Speed Reloads & other Internet Expert dumb shit... & Self-Defense Awareness Philosophy (to a lesser extent) & (more directly in) The Absurdity of Martial Arts on the Internet. A martial arts culture is built around a certain philosophy of self-discipline, self-improvement & self-responsibility, courage and hard work.

 Webster's defines Culture as; The act of, or any labor or means employed for, training, disciplining, or refining the moral and intellectual nature of man; as, the culture of the mind.
In our specific context this means The act of training, disciplining, or refining the moral and intellectual nature of man.

 Webster's defines Community as; A body of people having common rights, privileges, or interests, or living in the same place under the same laws and regulations; as, a community of monks. Hence a number of animals living in a common home or with some apparent association of interests.
In our specific context this means A body of people having common interests, or with some apparent association of interests. We can't say they live in the same place but are connected due to their online activity.

Ultimately, the individual must decide what is for them the culture (values) or the community (association). They don't have to be mutually exclusive but one must be dominant. What dominates your approach to martial arts, having a community to discuss the martial arts and feed your self-gratification or having a culture of values and self-improvement to make you a better person which is far less glorifying. The martial arts community tries to decide what martial arts culture should be with talk and discussion however, martial arts culture is found in training & defines is culture by doing.

So are you apart of martial arts culture or the martial arts community?