Virtue of the Sword

[TTEscrima]

Ok, so he was an officer in the army. Everything else I said is valid. He is selling a fantasy, he does not have a license to teach a classical sword art, his experience as a student of the sword is less than I got in six months, practicing with a sword no more makes you a warrior than taking Scottish Dance lessons, etc.

Actually nothing you said is valid because none of it is true. You obviously know nothing about him yet you expect your opinion to be worth listening to.

I'm still waiting on video of you that's going to put what James does to shame, since you're "licensed" to teach, lets see what you can do.

Talk is cheap, very cheap, we've seen James with a sword, lets see you...or is it against your Ninja training? We will understand if you have to perform your cuts in your Ninja garb to protect your secret Ninja identity...We're all waiting Darth Ninja.

I know at least a dozen people who pay BIG bucks to travel and train with James, show me how much more awesome you are after your 6 months of training and I'll have a list of students in 24 hours ready to pay you what they pay James.

[Darth Roley]

Well thanks for your opinion. BTW you're wrong on nearly everything you said about James. I'm not going to waste hours debating with you, suffice it say James was an officer in the US Army, he was and is HIGHLY respected and sought after for instruction by SF and LEO from around the world...I know many professionals who train with and respect James, I don't know anyone who trains with you.

I've seen James handle a sword, since you seem to feel you're better lets see some of your Tatami cutting.

Ok, so he was an officer in the army. Everything else I said is valid. He is selling a fantasy, he does not have a license to teach a classical sword art, his experience as a student of the sword is less than I got in six months, practicing with a sword no more makes you a warrior than taking Scottish Dance lessons, etc.

[TTEscrima]

I, for one, consider what James Williams wrote to be complete garbage.

He is selling a fantasy.

I speak as someone who has experienced several things James Williams has not.

I served in the military.

I know what sound a rifle bullet makes as it breaks the sound barrier over your head.

I have been in serious violent situations.

I have studied Japanese swords arts on a weekly basis for years.

I have lived in Japan.

I speak and read Japanese and interacted with classical martial artists for over 10 years.

I have permission to teach a classical Japanese martial art.

None of those things James Williams can claim.

If you look at his biography, Williams lists a few arts that he is licensed to teach. Swordsmanship is not one of them. He makes a big deal about training with Kuroda Tetsuzan. But Kuroda lives in Japan and has only done a couple of seminars in America. Williams' would not even be considered a student of Kuroda. And his experience with an American teaching swordsmanship is also pretty slim.

Yet despite this, Williams decided that he was qualified to start his own style of swordsmanship and pretend that it is somehow Japanese with a Japanese name and costumes.

If he wants to talk about dedication and discipline, he fails the first test. The folks I know who teach swordsmanship in Japan put in far more time studying before they start teaching and they wait for someone else to tell them they are qualified instead of taking the quick route to glory and ego Williams did.

I trained in the sword. I have been told I am pretty good at it. As a student of the sword I can say that all of what Williams goes on about is pure romantic nonsense. Picking up a sword and practicing it does not make you a warrior. It does not make you a better person. You could go down to the shooting range and get far better experience in being a positive force for good than picking up a sword.

Nothing Williams talked about being a better person comes from studying a sword or any martial art. It comes from inside. If you have an ugly soul, picking up a sword will not help you. If you want to polish your soul, practicing Scottish Dance will help you just about as much as learning to use a sword.

Learning to do violence does not make you a better person. Maybe learning to do violence might help you as you stand up to a mugger. But learning a sword is not going to help you as much as learning to shoot a pistol in that case.

There are people I know who are forces for good in the world. They do not use the term warrior to describe themselves. They have served in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places and they have saved innocent lives- sometimes by ending the lives of the not so innocent. At the other end of the scale are the hucksters that are out after other people's cash. They are the ones that tend to use the term warrior as part of the advertising. Williams if far closer to the hucksters than the guys who put themselves in harms way to protect others.

What Williams wrote is a piece of fantasy for people looking for more meaning in their lives. He wishes to attract students so that he does not have to get a real job. He charges 200 dollars per person at one of his seminars and fills them with people who want to consider themselves warriors.

Well, you do not become a force for good by learning the sword. I say that as someone who has put in a lot more time learning the sword in a dojo than Williams has. You become a better person by living your life without glory, but always doing your best. You raise your kids like a real father and go over their homework with them. You volunteer in the community to help old people. You pay your taxes and inform yourself as best you can about the issues before you step into the voting booth.

That kind of stuff is hard work with little chance for glory or the ability to stand out. Williams is selling a fantasy where by just getting in a fancy set of pajamas and playing samurai you get to think you are some sort of warrior.

Be the best you can be and do the best you can do for society. But don't think that picking up a piece of steel is going to do any of that.

Well thanks for your opinion. BTW you're wrong on nearly everything you said about James. I'm not going to waste hours debating with you, suffice it say James was an officer in the US Army, he was and is HIGHLY respected and sought after for instruction by SF and LEO from around the world...I know many professionals who train with and respect James, I don't know anyone who trains with you.

I've seen James handle a sword, since you seem to feel you're better lets see some of your Tatami cutting.

Here's a short bio on James.

He is recognized as having studied Yanagi ryu of the Yoshida han under Don Angier Sensei and the martial traditions of the Kuroda han as taught by Kuroda Tetsuzan Sensei. James also studied Daito ryu Roppokai with Okamoto Seigo sensei.


Instructional Experience
• Coached wrestling - Jr. High and High School Level
• Taekwondo
• Tang Soo Do
• Coached Boxing and Kick Boxing
• Currently teaching
Kenjutsu
Iaijutsu
Aikijujutsu
Systema
Military combatives and knife defense
Police Arrest and Control and knife defense
• Teaching seminars and giving demonstrations throughout the United States &
Canada
• SureFire Institute Low Light and Combatives Instructor

Specialized Experience
• Employed as personal bodyguard
• State of California Concealed Weapons Course
• Current CPR qualified.
• Designer of the Hisstasu, a CQB/Anti-Terrorist knife being produced by
CRKT (Columbia River Knife and Tool).
Military Experience
• U.S. Army Infantry
• Military Police
• 6th Army Competitive Pistol Team
• Officer Candidate School Graduate
• California Post Certified Firearms Instructor
• Advanced Hostage Rescue Course graduate • SFI Low Light Instructor

Agencies and Personnel Taught: List incomplete
• Naval Special Warfare Combatives Instructors
• Law Enforcement SWAT agencies nation wide
• USAF Air Mobility Warfare Center
• State of California Correctional Facility Emergency Response Teams
• Singapore Police STAR Unit
• Brazilian National Police
• Trinidad Police
• ALERT Academy
• COPEX (Covert Operations Exposition)
• US Army Special Operations
• US Navy Special Warfare
• US Marine Force Recon
• US Air Force Special Operations
• Edged weapons and combatives instructor for the Surefire Institute
• Government Security Agencies
• Special Operations Units from Allied countries
• Agencies and members of State, County, and City Law Enforcement nationwide

YouTube - Bugei Tameshigiri - James Williams

[Darth Roley]

I, for one, consider what James Williams wrote to be complete garbage.

He is selling a fantasy.

I speak as someone who has experienced several things James Williams has not.

I served in the military.

I know what sound a rifle bullet makes as it breaks the sound barrier over your head.

I have been in serious violent situations.

I have studied Japanese swords arts on a weekly basis for years.

I have lived in Japan.

I speak and read Japanese and interacted with classical martial artists for over 10 years.

I have permission to teach a classical Japanese martial art.

None of those things James Williams can claim.

If you look at his biography, Williams lists a few arts that he is licensed to teach. Swordsmanship is not one of them. He makes a big deal about training with Kuroda Tetsuzan. But Kuroda lives in Japan and has only done a couple of seminars in America. Williams' would not even be considered a student of Kuroda. And his experience with an American teaching swordsmanship is also pretty slim.

Yet despite this, Williams decided that he was qualified to start his own style of swordsmanship and pretend that it is somehow Japanese with a Japanese name and costumes.

If he wants to talk about dedication and discipline, he fails the first test. The folks I know who teach swordsmanship in Japan put in far more time studying before they start teaching and they wait for someone else to tell them they are qualified instead of taking the quick route to glory and ego Williams did.

I trained in the sword. I have been told I am pretty good at it. As a student of the sword I can say that all of what Williams goes on about is pure romantic nonsense. Picking up a sword and practicing it does not make you a warrior. It does not make you a better person. You could go down to the shooting range and get far better experience in being a positive force for good than picking up a sword.

Nothing Williams talked about being a better person comes from studying a sword or any martial art. It comes from inside. If you have an ugly soul, picking up a sword will not help you. If you want to polish your soul, practicing Scottish Dance will help you just about as much as learning to use a sword.

Learning to do violence does not make you a better person. Maybe learning to do violence might help you as you stand up to a mugger. But learning a sword is not going to help you as much as learning to shoot a pistol in that case.

There are people I know who are forces for good in the world. They do not use the term warrior to describe themselves. They have served in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places and they have saved innocent lives- sometimes by ending the lives of the not so innocent. At the other end of the scale are the hucksters that are out after other people's cash. They are the ones that tend to use the term warrior as part of the advertising. Williams if far closer to the hucksters than the guys who put themselves in harms way to protect others.

What Williams wrote is a piece of fantasy for people looking for more meaning in their lives. He wishes to attract students so that he does not have to get a real job. He charges 200 dollars per person at one of his seminars and fills them with people who want to consider themselves warriors.

Well, you do not become a force for good by learning the sword. I say that as someone who has put in a lot more time learning the sword in a dojo than Williams has. You become a better person by living your life without glory, but always doing your best. You raise your kids like a real father and go over their homework with them. You volunteer in the community to help old people. You pay your taxes and inform yourself as best you can about the issues before you step into the voting booth.

That kind of stuff is hard work with little chance for glory or the ability to stand out. Williams is selling a fantasy where by just getting in a fancy set of pajamas and playing samurai you get to think you are some sort of warrior.

Be the best you can be and do the best you can do for society. But don't think that picking up a piece of steel is going to do any of that.

[kingoftheforest]

Meanwhile back at the Ranch.......................

The articles do bring up the point of martial virtue and the desire for men to be protectors. I agree - that this desire is often lost in modern times. Martial virtue isn't really taught in alot of modern MA schools. Too bad.

Unfortunately, teaching how to loose the ego is not taught much either.

A lot of people who fancy themselves Martial Artist loose big to pride.


Finding joy in accomplishment, and helping those who don't find it comes as easily to them as it does to you, is also a big part of martial virtue.

[jubaji]

Kid and Excrement are the two sides of the coin of stupidity.

[Tokyo Kid]

Meanwhile the true warrior arts are taught in small places that aren't in the yellow pages or splashed on the screen in between ads for 1-800- ask- Larry and Chia Obama.

This part actually made me throw up in my mouth.

Did you learn from an old Chinese man in the back of a laundry mat? Did he simply go by the name Chong? Was there a montage with a song about "Warrior Spirit"?

Dude you are so corny I think I love you.

[kingoftheforest]

For the record, I train in martial arts for fun, Escrima included. I don't expect to ever get in a sword fight. I have guns for that. Which I shoot on occasion, for fun.

The concept of martial arts training for war in an age of military technology is far removed from reality. All due respect for the men and women who defend our country overseas, and the training they endure. The rest of us are LARPing, plain and simple.

Real warriors don't need to tell you they are warriors.

I hope you shoot better than you read, cause you completely missed the point.

[Tokyo Kid]

For the record, I train in martial arts for fun, Escrima included. I don't expect to ever get in a sword fight. I have guns for that. Which I shoot on occasion, for fun.

The concept of martial arts training for war in an age of military technology is far removed from reality. All due respect for the men and women who defend our country overseas, and the training they endure. The rest of us are LARPing, plain and simple.

Real warriors don't need to tell you they are warriors.

[jubaji]

Wooooolveriiiiiiiiineeeeeessss.....!!!!!!!!!!!

agreed tom, its about the fact the martial arts are about war, not belts and sporting events or hanging with your friends having fun.

Training can be fun, but martial arts are about war, not the latest sport the beer companies support.

The true warrior arts are taught in small places that aren't in the yellow pages or splashed on the screen in between ads for 1-800- ask- larry and chia obama.

lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TTEscrima]

The articles do bring up the point of martial virtue and the desire for men to be protectors. I agree - that this desire is often lost in modern times. Martial virtue isn't really taught in alot of modern MA schools. Too bad.

Agreed Tom, its about the fact the Martial arts are about war, not belts and sporting events or hanging with your friends having fun.

Training can be fun, but martial arts are about war, not the latest sport the beer companies support.

Dreager broke the arts down into the ones that followed the Warrior arts and those that did not many years ago. The way arts removed the martial essence and the lessons of virtue and warriorship as well as the aspects of the arts that made them functional as combat arts.

Those "way" arts are the ones responsible for 95% of what's taught as combatives and self defense now.

Meanwhile the true warrior arts are taught in small places that aren't in the yellow pages or splashed on the screen in between ads for 1-800- ask- Larry and Chia Obama.

It's no wonder the general public is more familiar with Rampage Jackson or Frank Dux than Floro Villabrille and thus most would prefer to be trained by Dux or Jackson.

You can go to class for a total of 2 hours a week and get a belt from Dux or the corner Dojo, but you wont even get in the door of a warrior based curriculum school with that work ethic...in fact since they usually rely on word of mouth to keep the quality high, most people never know they even exist.

When you take those things into consideration its easy to see why you have so many people who "only take martial arts for fun" or start threads like the one telling people to stop training for SD.

They seem to fail to realize that without the masters and systems from the past they mock, they'd have no hobby on Tue and Thur nights to brag about while drinking with their buddies on Friday night.

[jubaji]

I'm amazed that you're surprised by the contributions made by several of the members.

I told you up front that each would contribute to the best of their abilities.

It's clear they read the material and used all their knowledge and experience to contribute afterward.

After 10,000 posts you should all be aware of the potential they have to contribute anything useful to the forum.

Hey, it's not just anyone who can copy and paste someone else's words. Gotta use two fingers and everything...

[Tom Yum]

The articles do bring up the point of martial virtue and the desire for men to be protectors. I agree - that this desire is often lost in modern times. Martial virtue isn't really taught in alot of modern MA schools. Too bad.

[TTEscrima]

I'm amazed that you're surprised by the contributions made by several of the members.

I told you up front that each would contribute to the best of their abilities.

It's clear they read the material and used all their knowledge and experience to contribute afterward.

After 10,000 posts you should all be aware of the potential they have to contribute anything useful to the forum.

[mellow]

I love it that the guy that guy that lies constantly has the gall to post about "virtue". Irony for the win.

Lies about what?