On Oct 18, 2019, Slim King wrote:
I have James Bonds book... He's a bird watcher.
https://www.amazon.com/Black-White-Birds......4&sr=8-1

On Oct 18, 2019, S2000magician wrote:
Years ago I stumbled across some television segment comparing various martial arts.

They had a contraption comprising, if I recall correctly, five platforms (each a circular disk about 1 foot in diameter), each atop a relatively thin, metal post; the posts were flexible (so that if you weren't balanced over the center of the platform, it would sway and tip), and graduated from about one foot high to about five feet high.

They had practitioners of the different martial arts try to climb this thing: standing on the lowest platform, gaining their balance, then moving to the next, and so on. Most handled the shortest with ease, struggled with the second, and fell off when they tried the third. Karate, tae kwon do, judo, muay thai, whatever.

Then came the ninjutsu artist. Not only did he make it to the highest platform, he was bounding from one platform to the next and back like an ibex. It was mesmerizing to watch.

On Oct 18, 2019, Dannydoyle wrote:
I think he is the single reason for the popularity of the style in the 90's in America. He himself was a gifted athlete. Whether the style worked as well for anyone else was always the question.

He is a great instructor and salesman.

Because of the nature if Ninjutsu and the way it started, and the 74 or so different families having a defined style wad difficult to begin with. Often they used broken Samurai swords. The tradition is shrouded in mystery and myth for a reason.

All to say I agree critter!

On Oct 19, 2019, critter wrote:

Quote:

On Oct 18, 2019, S2000magician wrote:
Years ago I stumbled across some television segment comparing various martial arts.

They had a contraption comprising, if I recall correctly, five platforms (each a circular disk about 1 foot in diameter), each atop a relatively thin, metal post; the posts were flexible (so that if you weren't balanced over the center of the platform, it would sway and tip), and graduated from about one foot high to about five feet high.

They had practitioners of the different martial arts try to climb this thing: standing on the lowest platform, gaining their balance, then moving to the next, and so on. Most handled the shortest with ease, struggled with the second, and fell off when they tried the third. Karate, tae kwon do, judo, muay thai, whatever.

Then came the ninjutsu artist. Not only did he make it to the highest platform, he was bounding from one platform to the next and back like an ibex. It was mesmerizing to watch.

It's interesting how things come full circle. I was extremely impressed watching the founder of Parkour, David Belle, run up a climbing wall that people had died trying to climb. Just ran right up with it seeming like his feet barely touched the handholds.
Then his former training partner, Sebastien Foucan, who helped create parkour and later split to form freerunning, was the freerunner in Daniel Craig's first Bond movie.

On Oct 19, 2019, critter wrote:
Https://youtu.be/lnu1KyYOZiU