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TRADITION "Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat. But there is neither East or West, Border or Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth! - Rudyard Kipling
A paper trail will not help you to survive a life or death situation. Just because you are born or bred as part of a lineage does not mean you will succeed either. Although it is an easy excuse for many practitioners of the martial arts, it is time the instructors sent their egos off to play with scrolls and labels. History in the martial arts dictates that there is a tendency to see the East as the primary source of martial traditions, but the East does not have a monopoly on fighting arts – regardless of how much many master instructors would like this kind of control. We could start a tradition today if we simply practiced the concepts tomorrow. The fact remains that many seeds have been brought into the United States only to flourish on American soil. How is it that so many Instructors claim an unbreakable bond to their tradition and history yet still try to pass off this influence in another country claiming that this country or its inhabitants have no right to claim its own tradition? If you read many of our articles you will notice that we attempt to avoid these kind of politics. We teach under the system of Martial Science – which happens to be an American System regardless of any monopolies or influence foreign instructors have on their students or the media. We believe it is "in the doing" and not the "have done" that matters. "Look to the future, Learn from the past, but always and forever – Live in the now." Yes, many instructors seem to think they own the world when it comes to Ninjutsu or other martial traditions. Perhaps what many people don't realize is that it can all be broken down to simply a way of thinking. You cannot own a way of thinking and these Instructors seem to think they should control this area of physical and mental ability. This is ridiculous since we don't live in the 17th century and just because something was invented in another country, doesn't mean it cannot be perfected in the United States. The martial arts or its tradition is not a dictatorship, no one man or system can claim it is the all mighty answer to your martial prayers. Ninjutsu may have started its growth in India, then China and onto Japan only to be fully recognized and developed in America. But many worshiped instructors refuse to let go or offer any kind of honest acknowledgments for our developments here in the US. Just look at the current hype for "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu." You can cry all you want that it isn't REAL Jiu-Jitsu, but you will still end up on the floor in a choke hold. Why, because these guys base their system on the training – it is proved in battle and not on paper. The system has a faint lineage to a Japanese system, but it is purely a Brazilian style. When you think about it, it all breaks down to physical moves and thus is simply a CONCEPT or collection of thoughts brought out through the particular body motions. After events like the UFC we have a huge amount of instructors teaching their own Jiu-Jitsu or grappling systems. There is no history involved; it is simply the basis of reality and modern concepts. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gets respect because instructors were forced to come face to face with reality. Actions speak louder than words. This is how all systems should be based. Yet so many systems are degraded because they don't follow the traditional concepts. The truth of the matter is that the Japanese influence on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is very small when compared to the actual science of the system itself. It was a spark, but it isn't the fire. So many traditionalist and head of particular lineage's claim that everything (except for themselves) is false. Well the truth of the matter is that they are just the spark to an even greater collection of systems. The English created "Cricket" which we turned into "Baseball" and it is now as American as Apple Pie. Dr. James Naismith borrowed elements from lacrosse, rugby, football, and "duck on the rock" a childhood game from his native Canada, to give him the idea for a new sport called "Basketball" (originally "netball"), which has turned in to one of the greatest sports ever, through American influence and foreign birth. Americans learned Soccer, they tinkered and tuned the game, adjusted it here and there, added this and took away that, and lo and behold – invented American Football. Have you heard of Football, Basketball or Baseball? So who is to say that we don't have the ability to develop or enhance any foreign concept? Although Ninjutsu is far more complex, the concept of improving it here in the
States is more than possible - it is actually happening and has happened with the creation of the "Martial Science." However, many organizations don't like this fact
and make claims that everything outside of their own realm is fake. Well just because we decide to throw out all the unrealistic and useless material and maintain
what we consider to be a higher evolution of the art - doesn't mean it is fake. To be honest - we can easily out perform most leaders of these organizations with our
more developed concepts. If it works, we use it. So it seems to me that fear of change is obvious and the failure to admit that others can and will develop a system
based on facts, philosophy, concepts and modern day society only limits these organizations from truly growing. So forth and so on... Think about your training for a second. Would you rather defend your paper trail or yourself? When it comes right down to it, your enemy is not going to care where you came from or whom you trained with. Your skills are what will tell the tale and if it is made of paper – well, you have a big problem. So often we hear instructors brag in print and the media who they trained with. It has been my experience that only the person himself can truly tell the story of his/her life. How is it that so many use their instructors or their martial systems history as an example of their own skill? It is understandable that it helps to communicate to students out there that they are part of a system that you would want to train with. However, this is purely for communication purposes only. As a student of the martial arts, what you really want is to develop your skills. The instructors are usually so focused on their own importance that they rarely take the time to actually train a student and themselves. This problem exists in many martial arts and systems, especially in Ninjutsu. Almost every author on the art, talks about how the Ninja were super athletes and skilled in a variety of areas that improved ones life. The symbol for ninjutsu/ninjitsu is the "NIN" symbol and basically means the "way of endurance." How is it that so many instructors and students don this symbol and have yet to truly endure? The instructors talk about super ninja's yet they themselves demonstrate a poor example for an athlete. Not only are they out of shape and sticking to unrealistic combat scenarios – they are using their history (or the systems history) as an excuse. This isn't true for every instructor. Some of them actually train hard and keep and open mind regarding the martial arts. But you must understand that these are individuals and they alone dictate who and what they teach. This is how it should be. Your history is simply a mental concept that you preach to others as a way of getting some kind of recognition or acceptance. Some of us believe that your skills and ability to teach should be the podium you stand on. Think about it, Michael Jordan was paid to play good basketball – not hide behind a lineage or ridiculous family tree. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from – WHAT CAN YOU DO? People want to play Basketball – not the original or traditional concepts that were developed using an outdated means in a foreign country. The Japanese play baseball just the same as the Americans, the English or the way they would on Mars if it was taken there. The point is that it has been adjusted and turned into something the public wants and deserves. Ninjutsu follows the same pattern with us in the Martial Science. You can either have the traditional outdated concepts that these organizations hold onto or you can have the more up to date versions of a realistic system and life style. My point is not to suggest that Americans do things better, this is obviously not true . We are all equal from my point of view. I simply want to make it clear that others can and have proven to do a good job when it comes to developing ideas. Tradition becomes tradition the day after something is created. The traditional way of training was this, that or the other. But who is telling the truth when it comes to reality based concepts and a system you can trust? These political influences and foreign icons confuse many students. This to me is a disease that spreads throughout the martial arts community and continues to poison the minds of innocent students and practitioners alike. What people fail to understand is that we are talking about concepts and ideas. There is no real location for any art or tradition. It is all floating in the vast space of our consciousness. The idea of rolling on the ground is simply a concept. The thought of training in the outdoors is a mental beginning. Ninjitsu, Ninjutsu or the Martial Science are all just concepts brought to another persons attention. You cannot own these concepts or limit them in any way. They do not belong to any one country or in the mind of any one person. All you can do is limit another persons view by not sharing your own concepts and ideas. So what is the concept you seek as a student of the martial arts? That is the quest and the reality of any system. A piece of paper does not give you ownership of any idea regardless of its title. Thinking that you have the right to be its master is not only selfish – it is racist and limiting to anyone wishing to learn an art or system. The world is not going to change until the overall consciousness of the world opens up the to ideas that are existent for everyone. Who is to say that you can't simply start a new system in your back yard – as long as the concepts are sound and the training is realistic – why couldn't you begin to spread a new tradition? This is exactly how it began thousands of years ago, so what is different with today? Nothing, the only thing limiting you from becoming your best are those people who claim that they are the only link for your salvation. People may be able to monopolize a system of martial arts, but don't let them monopolize your mind. So, as far a tradition goes – it's HISTORY Sensei Tew
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