Danny are you REALLY trying to become a ninja, or just ninja martial arts?

Danny, do you have any links for your martial art? I am very interested in finding dojos in America. Or japan. Any websites that could be useful?
 
John Trout said:
Demon Tessu yeah, I was thinking that too - the good ol' Hashishians. They get high on weed and turn into bloodthirsty murderers. If that doesn't sound dubious I don't know what does!
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Interested? Go to Google, advanced search, word "assassin," exact phrase "old man of the mountain" -- see what you find. You may be surprised. :)
 
Gordon R. Dickson wrote a book called "Sleepwalkers' World", in which "the old man of the mountain" (Thebom Shankar/Shaitan) plays a significant part. Pretty good book.
 
DannyinJapan said:
cult of kali ? i have no idea what you are talking about.
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Maybe it should be the Cult of Durga, another wrathful Goddess. A small bit of India Trivia is that Uma is Durga's daughter.

Now I could get into a Cult of Uma (Thurman, that is)

Ahh to Ninja through the night with "Poison Ivy" from Batman. Or whatever her name was in "Dangerous Liasons" with John Malkovitch. That would be a cult worth joining.

Sorry folks, a bit of a babble evening as the wife brings me a few drinks while she is getting Thanksgiving meal ready.

Is this a GREAT WORLD or what?!?!?! ;) :) :D :D :D
 
I am very jealous, Bill.

I will probably get a basket at KFC with Takako for my thanksgiving dinner.
Oh well, I am lucky and I know it, but I still miss my family at the holidays.
 
DannyinJapan said:
I will probably get a basket at KFC with Takako for my thanksgiving dinner.
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That sounds good. Some folks spend Thanksgiving with their family of sock puppets. Therefore, the man with no socks is a sad man indeed.
 
DannyinJapan said:
I am very jealous, Bill.

I will probably get a basket at KFC with Takako for my thanksgiving dinner.
Oh well, I am lucky and I know it, but I still miss my family at the holidays.
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Danny, you unlike, many of us, are following your dreams.
I admired you highly for that.
BTW, what does Bujinkan mean, and where does the meaning of ninjitsu come from? thanks :confused:
 
Bujinkan means "Hall of the Divine Warrior"
(It is a reference to the late Toshitsugu Takamatsu.)

ninjutsu means "techniques of survival"
 
DIJ, here's two questions for you; they're somewhat personal so don't answer them if you don't want to.

I probably spent two months in Japan last year, off and on, during my last deployment. The culture shock was immense. I mean, I'm used to going to other countries, not knowing the language (well, just very little anyway), having only a basic understanding of the culture, and standing out a bit. (Especially in Japan, where I'd often have to put two chairs together side-by-side to sit on at resteraunts and where I had to take an entire seat to myself on the bus with my knees against my chest. :) ) But Japan really hammered it home for me.

I'm assuming that you've gotten over that aspect of it.

My first question is, how well do you fit in to daily life in Japan? (Or rather, how well does Japan fit into your daily life?) The reason I'm curious about it is because of my own experiences (comical, at my expense, as they were...although once I found out what "baka gaijin" meant, no one said it around me anymore) and also because a friend of mine from work spent an entire tour in Japan and is pretty much "Japanized" -- he has a Japanese wife, speaks some Japanese, can actually read a little kanji (which I never could) and will probably be going back when his time in the Navy is over. I'm basically contrasting your experiences with his.

Second question: did you go there for your training, for a job, or for a way of life? That's probably the more personal one and I can't justify it like I did for the above question; I'm just curious about this. Please don't take it the wrong way.

Japan is one of those stops that I never appreciated while I was there but I always (and still do) miss. I can't imagine living there but I certainly love visiting; this may be because the chow there was better than any other single port stop I've ever made. (The local sushi bar here in WA is better than anything I tried there but the udon and gyoza were to die for. I just got hungry typing that.) I also got a kick (and I suppose the residents of Sasebo and Fuchioka got a kick as well) out of the way I stood out; I liked the way the locals gave me this quick, yet intense, glance, rather than a downright stare (like Korea), a flippant "You're a big'un, mate," (Australia), or something else -- "What're you looking at, little man?" (Hawaii). :) I realize that everyplace is different, but Japan was different enough to make me drop my jaw.

I hope to go back there someday. I can't say that I like it...I'm still undecided on that. But I would like to stop by there again.
 
I came here to study with Hatsumi Sensei, that was my only reason. If it wasnt my lifelong dream, I would have gone back home during my first week when my boss introduced himself.

"Hello. My name is Namiki. You are very fat."

f*ck you very much Mr. Namiki. Thank you for that warm welcome.
 
LOL...yup, sounds like a problem with a second language and a society that has a very different perspective on what polite means. They might call you fat, then spend 30 minutes making you a cup of tea.

I agree...Japan was the most severe "culture shock" of any of the countries I've been to. When I went there, I had to stay off base in a Japanese hotel...I wasn't prepared for that. Japanese toilets...yikes! Being the only big white guy in rural settings...yikes! They looked at me like I was Godzilla. "Whisper alleys" everywhere I went were totally foreign to this white boy.

Danny - Which of your first memories of daily life stand out the strongest?
 
The first and the last - it has never gone away.
Grocery spies.

every damn time I go shopping, japanese people always have to see whats in my basket. They look up, see my white face, then they lean their bodies over and stick their heads in my shopping cart. (like one of those glass birds that drinks water)
I have even had them walk past me, stop, leave their shopping carts, and come back to look in my cart!

Ill say "nan deshoka?"
(Can I freaking help you?)

No verbal response usually, just look of shock, terror and fear that I am, in fact, a real, aware person who is sentient and not a walking, talking 3-D comic book character.

I guess the second biggest thing was just the sheer gulf that separates the Japan I expected and the Japan I found.
the Japan from TV and movies just doesnt exist.
All of the old houses and countryside are gone. This place is covered with houses that you would expect to find in a lower middle class neighborood, but these people pay 500,000 $ for them!
Vinyl siding, aluminum balconies, no clothes dryers, no dish washers, no sidewalks.
Video games at the arcade are 1$ a game.
( thats the cheapest price, too)

the girls are all really cute. I look at cute butts all day long. The women dont seem to notice my weight, or at least, its so different from your average skinny japanese man that they like it because it is, in a sense, exotic.
i got asked out by pretty girls here. that was the first time in my life that ever happened. you should have seen me my first month, i was mr ego.

the next thing was the lack of religious belief. japanese people, for the most part, dont really believe in anything. they consider the crucifix to be "fashion" and get married in fake churches with fake preachers and sing songs about Jesus but they dont know what it means and they sure as hell dont mean it.

I could deal with the sacrilege and the blasphemy if they werent so zealous when they assured me that it was a japanese tradition to sing "Jesu, joy of mans desiring" in December and that it had nothing to do with Christianity.

I have found many wonderful things and been tortured by many awful things.
I have also done a lot of growing up here and I will come back to America with a new passion and love for American democracy, freedom and spirit.
Dear God, I never loved America more than I do now.
You can lead a horse to water, but you cant make it drink.
AMEN
 
Danny,
How long have you been away. and have you returned yet?
Do you expect to return to the US and live here, or just visit,
or take an extended vacation away from Japan?
Also, if you let the Cantina know that you're coming,
I'm sure everyone will stop what they're doing,
and plan a Khonvention on the spot. :D
thanks for all the stories.
 
Since he doesn't know what I look like... When he comes back, I could follow him into a supermarket and then stare into his shopping cart. :D ;)
 
BruiseLeee said:
Since he doesn't know what I look like... When he comes back, I could follow him into a supermarket and then stare into his shopping cart. :D ;)
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"Attention, Shoppers: Khukuri Fight on Aisle 5"

AA :p
 
DannyinJapan said:
...This place is covered with houses that you would expect to find in a lower middle class neighborood, but these people pay 500,000 $ for them! ...
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That sounds like California.

...they...sing songs about Jesus but they dont know what it means and they sure as hell dont mean it...
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So does that.
 
Satori said:
...I'm used to going to other countries, not knowing the language..., having only a basic understanding of the culture, and standing out a bit...
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I am in awe of you guys who can travel around the world like that and experience other cultures.
I go into cultural shock when I go to Canada.
I'm too paranoid to go to Mexico.
 
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