Greetings everyone. 7th Kyu here, 27 years old, active-duty military and have been training in the Bujinkan since August 2009. Taking my first trip to Japan in October of this year for my mid-tour leave. I'll be visiting for about 2 weeks and looking to experience the land and culture as well as train at the Hombu, I'm sure it will be the experience of a lifetime. I've always wanted to visit Japan since I was about 16, wish I began studying the art earlier but did not discover it until I moved to TN.

Please fire away with any questions, words of advice or anything on your mind. I joined this forum to gain knowledge from other international travelers prior to my trip.

Regards,
Jarod

Well never been to Japan so can't help you there, but I retired from active duty back in April after 22 years.

So thank you for your service and what branch are you in?

As a side note I have been told that if you're going you should get around and train with as many of the shihan as possible. Hope that helps.


~Rob

Hi Jarod, and welcome to Kutaki! There are many good buyu (martial friends) all over Japan who can help you get as much from your experience as possible. In fact, the owner of this site, Shawn, also rents out an apartment to visiting Bujinkan buyu... Soke teaches between the Hombu and at Ayase. But, I encourage you to spend as much time with the Japanese Shihan as you can to pick up more "nuts and bolts" kind of training. As each will have their own unique approach to training, I recommend training with them all.

As far as your own training, focus on kihon and ukemi. This is important in being able to get as much from your Japan experience as possible. Knowing how to strike and kick, how to apply basic kihon happo, and how to roll all directions safely is what I'm referring to. Since you are 7th kyu, I'm assuming you've at least gained a basic exposure to such things already, so you already have a base to practice.

Have a great time and soak up as much as you can, even from the many talented buyu who are over there. You'll likely be training with people who are dan ranked, even over godan, so you'll be surrounded by quality people. Learn from them all.

It would also be great if you shared some of your experiences with us!

Gambatte kudasai!

Hi Jarod, I head a training group in Knoxville, TN and just wanted to say hello. Feel free to come and play with us and share some things sometime if you ever make it over! We also train with Bobby Eaton in Morristown, TN and Craig Carroll in Morristown, TN.

I'm sorry, I just lied to you. Bobby is located in Blountville, TN which is past Bristol; not Morristown. Craig, who IS in Morristown is 45minutes from Knoxville and Blountville is 2hours from Knoxville.

There is some small travel tips on my Blog at my web site hope they help a little. Have Fun.

Dave

http://nzbujin.snappages.com/

I found this site helpfull although it specifically describes the Kashiwa experience.....

http://www.thebeforetime.com/?page_id=3

Marty

Jason's got the visitor's perspective which is invaluable for other visitors to Kashiwa.

I write Chibaraki Life, which may be of interest to locals and visitors alike. I'll update the Food on the Joban Line page and map in the next few weeks.

US Army, 101st Airborne Division. Yes of course, I am looking forward to training with several Shihan during my trip. I had the privilege of training with 2 back in the states before I deployed.

~Jarod

Darren,

Thanks for the warm welcome. You are correct in that I have gained significant experience in ukemi and Kihon Happo since I began training in 2009. Out here in Afghanistan, I found some Aikido practitioners and have been training with them twice a week in order to stay fresh on my ukemi and get some practice with maintaining balance and fluid movement. It has been valuable training since I have not found anyone in the Bujinkan out here that still trains.

I've also been studying the literature of Soke and the notes I took at past seminars and classes mainly on the Tenchijin. I feel prepared to go to the Hombu, and I agree with you that I can learn alot of the basics from the Japanese Shihan. Training under Soke would obviously be an enormous pleasure but I am planning on learning from everyone I meet out there.

I attended 2 seminars with 15th dan in the US; Shihan Pearce and Shihan Asuncion. Both were great experiences for me that I took alot away from. I am a member of the Bujinkan Raku Rai dojo out of Murfreesboro, TN and trained under Sensei Prater (8th dan) usually twice a week.

Can't wait to visit the Land of the Rising Sun, it has been too long that I have been waiting, since 1998! I'll spend a couple days in Tokyo sightseeing and about 10 days training in Noda.

Any more words of advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Jarod