Is Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu an ineffective and c**p martial art?

Question

Are the Bujinkan techniques useless for real fights?

Answer 1

It is a fantasy

Answer 2

*Sigh* I seem to have stumbled under the troll bridge... Oh well...

Speaking from personal experience, no it's not ineffective or useless in the slightest.

As for what's derived from what, here's how it breaks down... Taijutsu is a word in Japanese meaning "Body Skills". Everyone has a unique taijutsu: a baker has baker taijutsu, a merchant has merchant taijutsu, a warrior has warrior taijutsu (budo taijutsu)... It simply refers to those techniques that naturally make doing that particular job easier. Originally, there wasn't such a schism... Budo Taijutsu broke up into different things in Japan after it was brought over from China (In the form of Chinese Boxing [whatever phrase you want to use here: Chin na, Kenpo, Wushu, Kung Fu]) and was specialized as Kenpo, Soujutsu, Naginatajutsu, Jujutsu, Aikijutsu, etc. A number of martial arts lineages passed down in the Toda family lineage to Toda Masamitsu Shinryuken, who pass them on to Takamatsu... Basically, through a few different teachers, Takamatsu Toshitsugu became lineage head (Soke) of a number of traditions which were passed on to Soke Hatsumi, and taught in combination in the Bujinkan as Budo Taijutsu, since it recombines a number of these splintered portions into a cohesive system, and examines how they all flow back together.

What you all see in youtube videos of training is nothing. It's teachers conveying principles: angle, distance, timing, and balance. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. The basic basics. Does standing in a line and punching the air make it a real martial art and therefore effective and non-crappy? I'll never understand why people want to trash the Bujinkan. But then, I don't understand why guys watch the UFC (Just a couple of sweaty guys rolling around in speedos...)

Answer 3

NO! It's a very effective martial art. It's a combat martial art that will train you to survive. I know a police officer who trains and uses nothing but Ninjutsu and he uses it everyday on the streets and he is also my shidoshi. It is definitely not c**p and it can be very lethal.

And to sedative, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu is not Chinese it's Japanese. It was influenced and is made up of nine ryuha of combat Ninjutsu that's over 2000 years old. Handed down from the "last" ninja Takamatsu Sensei to Masaaki Hatsumi Soke.

To NeoEnix, practitioners of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu are technically Ninjas. We call Takamatsu Sensei the last ninja because he was the last one to actually work as a ninja and perform espionage as a ninja for the Japanese government.

To Malcom D, since Bujinkan is made up of nine ryuha of combat Ninjutsu, Masaaki Hatsumi Soke chooses a theme ryuha for the year and that is what we focus on for that year. Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu takes decades to master and a lifetime to perfect.

Answer 4

Any martial art is only as good as the teacher and the student's ability to learn.

Art

Answer 5

no its not a c**p martial art.

Answer 6

Good question...

This martial art probably does have effective techniques, but it markets itself as a form of ninjutsu. It also changes the emphasis of its training on a yearly basis. How much of an art you can learn in one year is highly dubious. I doubt that the art possesses any techniques that a peculiar to Bujinkan. So far as I can tell it borrows most of its unarmed combat curriculum from other established martial arts.

Edit: I have no problem with the Bujinkan, except the nonsensical ninja thing which seems like a marketing gimmick to me. Just look at the history books... even when there were ninja - each one was chosen based on whether his skills were appropriate for the mission, be it assassination, spying, counterintelligence, etc. The shinobi were essentially mercinaries, that is martial artists for hire. Only a few were retainers to certain clans and then subject to the direction of their leaders. Others were simply members of Tongs - secret societies.

There is no real evidence so far as I can tell of any codified ninja art and even if there were I am not sure there is any value to say camoflage techniques or poison making in modern society. I have seen Hatsumis swordsmanship book and it does not seem very "practical" furthermore, the equipment and costume he wears in it seem unconnected to ninja activities.

Answer 7

I definetly don't think it's inneffective, however I think they take themselves way to seriously and try to make it more then it actually is. Take Bujinkan Ninja that answered here, he is the type that will fall for all the mystical stuff that they want to spout. Of cours ehe also believed the instructor that told him the style of TKD he studies is 2000 years old(it's not it was developed in the mid to late 40's, although some of the techniques are older), and that you have to register your hands as lethal weapons when you are a yellow belt in TKD in Florida.

Inneffective no, depending on how it is trained, but I have seen videos of the movements and it is absolutly nothing other styles od not have. They just try and make it grander then it really is.

Answer 8

No Taijutsu  is not c**p!!!!!

As it has its roots in Japanese jiu-jitsu which in turn is a very effective art in self defence.

Best wishes :)***

Answer 9

I really find it funny when people say that hatsumi sensei or his master are the "last ninja". if that were true, then what would you call their students? "the last aprentice ninja" or the "the first poser ninja".  

Answer 10

No martial art is ever c**p.

Chinese martial arts can actually be one of the most effective forms of martial arts on the street. You may not train to fight, but certain styles of Chinese martial arts teach pressure points and the technique in locating nerves of the human body.

I won't get in much more detail, but perhaps you should look into the sources of this style of martial arts you are talking about and seeing what other sources of martial arts influenced it.

Answer 11

Various translations of the word(s) tai jitsu tai jutsu.

body movement

body science

using the body to defeat another

maneuver

body turning (tenkan tai jitsu)

Now can anyone tell me which art or style doesn't use some or all of these .Taijutsu isn't some deep dark ninja secret and any art is a combat art if YOU want it to be not what someone else says .

Answer 12

No, the Bujinkan actually isn't a McDojo or useless style its really depends on how much does the Ninjitsu expert themselves practice to be combat effective in self defense situations and in competitions. The Bujinkan actually had a couple of fighters in the UFC in its Vale Tudo/ bare knuckle days. The first one was Scott Morris he won his first fight in the UFC but lost his second fight to Patrick Smith. The only descent one is Steve Jennum and he was the only UFC alternate in their history to ever win a title in the UFC. He was later defeated by former IFL coach Marco Ruas in a Vale Tudo tournament in Brazil. The only current fighter still using Bujinkan influenced Ninjitsu in competitions is MMA fighter Hardee Merritt and he is a student of Stephen Haye's To Shin Do Ninjitsu Dojo.    

Answer 13

Hi there

No its not but there are quite a lot of bad clubs knocking around that spoil it for the rest. The real problem is that bujin suffers from ninja fans that only want to train in it because of what they think ninjutsu is. The fact is its nothing like that. So what you end up with are crappy clubs here and there. The bottom line bujin is no different from any other koryu jujutsu system or weapons art. If you take it seriously and train correctly then its a very effective art to practice. The simple fact is that you cant train in ninjutsu alone. You have to study bujutsu first before you can make sense of anything to do with ninjutsu. Thats why we have the 9 ryu ha to learn from.

Our sword arts are from kukishin ryu ( a koryu samurai school) and togakure ryu. (ninja biken). Both very different in their use and approach to application. Its not kendo or iaido.

It's all ledgit regardless of the bashers. Hatsumi is very well respected in Japan regardless of what you may read. Ask the right people that know! Not silly web forums like this! Only a select few japanese instructors are allowed to teach at the Tokyo Budokan and Hatsumi is one of them FACT! If its not real then why would he be allowed to teach were only the top instructors train?

So there you have it!

Its good if you train correclty and with the right people.

Bad if you play at it or you are a ninja fanatic that doesnt really train!

Its a martial art just like any other and its far better just to drop the ingrained ninja image and just train in it as if it was a normal martial art! Because thats what it is!

If you have trained in japan with any of the shihans you will know that what they are teaching is ledgit and how nice they all are. True gents!

There really is no point in debating an art over the web or by watching silly shows on youtube or cable. If you want to learn then go train. No one can tell you what works. Only you can discover this for yourself. Were all different!

If you want BJJ go train in it. If you want Aikido then train in that. The choice is yours.

Why would a bujutsu japanese art suddenly become the art of western floor wrestling? Come on people!

Respect other peoples choices!

Best wishes

idai