differences between genbukan and bujinkan ninjitsu?

[grey-ninja]

hi
i would like to know some info from bujinkan ninjitsu and its differences from genbukan ninjitsu, if htere are any , im under the impression they are very similar, correct me if im wrong and or provide some info
thanks again

[Mr. Arieson]

Hi, I would seriously explore Bujinkan...Read Stephen Hayes' books.

[paradoxbox]

I would recommend taking everything you read in a Hayes book with a big grain of salt.

The differences between Bujinkan and Genbukan at kyuu levels:
Bujinkan instructors are not always competent and there are many bad instructors out there.

Bujinkan offers more henka (variations) of techniques initially, which means you will explore almost limitless variations of basic techniques right from the start. The downside of this is you may not get a good enough foundation, you may not understand the basics before you move on to the more advanced stuff. This sounds like a sweet deal but you will see when you train, if this happens to you, you'll hate it as you will be a poor fighter.

Genbukan is very conistent in instructor quality. The training is usually very thorough, by that I mean training is generally done hundreds of times, repeating over and over again until you have the basics perfected. Genbukan tends to be 'harder' than Bujinkan, dakentaijutsu strikes are done with more force, etc.

I have to say, in my opinion, outside of Japan, genbukan is usually the better choice if you want to really know how to defend yourself, and learn the real martial arts that the people in Japan are teaching.

If you envision yourself training in Japan extensively in the future, either organization will be good. The problem with Bujinkan is not enough people get to Japan to train so a lot of the instructors are teaching techniques they don't really understand properly, they're like 3rd, 4th generation teachers and their own teachers may never have been to Japan. With genbukan there are strict standards so everyone performs roughly the same. In Japan though, the quality is high no matter the organization.

Hope this helps.

[Mr. Arieson]

I Have heard similar information, even in my Dojo...which is Bujinkan...they told me that Genbukan was more stylistically consistent then what we were learning...one of the black belts told me he felt Bujinkan was more modern, more fluid and adaptable..

However, having said that...our sensei goes to Japan regularly, and trains with Hatusumi. He also is always inviting the class to go. They are planning on going again soon, but I can't afford the time nor the expense...and I figure since I am still a novice, I want to wait until I have become a bit more profficient before I go.

Personally, I have checked out the Genbukan website, and the techinques look almost identical....

I also heard from one of the instructors that S. Hayes was indeed more of a writer then a martialist..

But, I don't just read his stuff...I have read a lot of the standard things like "art of war", and "art of peace"....by the Aikido founder, Musashi's 5 rings, and other major works, including a lot of the Zen stuff like the "gateless gate" and the "blue cliff records"...I am interested in both Ninja and Samurai...

I pretty much like my dojo...the guys there are all very cool, and very serious, and most of them have extensive backgrounds in other forms of MA.

The main instructor is an awesome guy, with a great sense of humor, and he is very warm and friendly....although, he could kill most people with a finger!!