Response to Anthony Cummins' Challenge

[@canadafree2087]

Very good video. I have recently watched a lot of his videos but the lack of any real training has always been an issue with him. We have taken out some techniques from our Jujutsu because they were the ones that were common to injuries even among trained people. Even in Judo, the wrist locks, ankle locks, etc. were taken out prior to 1900. A lot of old Jujutsu was drop them on their head, don't let them breakfall, and in general break the arms and legs. He is opening himself up to injury should he invite someone in with an ego to win at all costs rather than "friendly sparring". PS: I got hit in the head without a helmet by accident in Kendo, it hurts, lol.

[@AGermanFencer]

Sensible commentary. Knows how to hande historical methodology. Had me there :D The hema and living history comment earned you the sub. Also; a mandarin linguist and teacher? Reminds me of another, big, historical youtuber and a personal friend :D Nice stuff.

[@NathanaelTheAussie]

My personal thanks for your lovely words and support, mate 🙏

[@NathanaelTheAussie]

Just out of curiosity, I just realised I hadn’t included this in my initial reply 🤦‍♂️, is this Raphaello (Metatron) you are speaking of? If so, love his work! 🙏 would love to get the chance to work with him.

[@AGermanFencer]

@@NathanaelTheAussie yeah, him :)

[@AntonyCummins]

Hi Nate. I have watched the video. It is nice that you were polite. That’s a change and a welcome one. I have to say I found zero of these points correct. You are missing some information I think from my channel and background and you have missed the main point of what I am saying, or have just said my point does not mater simply because..it does not matter. Which is not a good way to approach points of contest. I’m busy at the mo but will consider a response. Also, you are very much wrong about the reverse draw. That comes from a real samurai from a real manual and was even shown to me by a Japanese man who is the grandmaster of a different Ryu. So you are saying that these Koryu grandmasters are wrong if you think I am wrong and that real samurai were wrong. This is my whole issue with koryu. They are so stuck in ways that are not original but are now seen as correct they miss the whole point of my research.

[@NathanaelTheAussie]

Firstly, I appreciate you taking time to watch and reply to my video. As someone who is busy, as I can also relate, I very much understand it is not easy to find the time to do this. So, once again, thank you 🙏 katajikenai My response is based purely on your comment here, so if you further clarify some points, I apologise if I have missed something. I feel I, also, must clarify. Not once did I say in the video you are wrong because “you are wrong”. From what I can see in your response, you seem to be using that approach by saying I am “incorrect” without providing any evidence or reason other than the ‘left handed draw’. I made a specific disagreement with your claim on sparring, but that is a different matter. My main point in this video is that sparring without any sword training before hand is dangerous, even with protective gear. I say this from my own and other’s experience in martial arts which, no offence intended of course, I believe I have more in than you. Please don’t think I am trying to puff myself up above you, because that is not at all my intention. My main point, again, is based on safety. Additionally, it is very hard for one to develop an informed opinion on something when they have very little background in that something. Even if they receive information on that specific something, without a background in it, one’s interpretation will be only partly correct at best. If you disagree with my martial arts points on safety I make in the video, that is completely fine. However, you would need to also back the up with experience if you are going to make sure that your disagreement is an informed one. In connection to this there is a great quote from Plato that I believe holds relevance here: “Opinion is really the lowest form of knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world. It requires profound purpose larger than the self kind of understanding.” While I cannot comment on the sensei who taught you that left handed draw, I also have other experienced weapons martial artists, including sensei, who have said that is very dangerous. It goes both ways. Also, understanding how Classical Japanese is translated is very important. While I am not saying that what the sensei told you is wrong, I don’t think it is as clear cut as you think. Could you let me know how to get my hands on a copy of that document that told you that movement? Lastly, while I understand you have an issue with koryu, I personally don’t understand why you are so focused on fighting in that very same system (while also admitting you have no background in it). I am sure we would all agree that I am not qualified to perform a surgery on a patient, no matter how passionate I am and how many times I have spoken to surgeons and gotten tips from them. Be against koryu, or support koryu, either way I can understand. What I don’t understand, and I may be wrong here, is the tendency I believe I am seeing from you to go both ways. You speak very highly of a koryu grandmaster, but then right after say “this is the issue I have with Koryu”. From my experience in koryu, which I believe is deeper than yours, and also various other martial arts, I have learned to try see them as pieces of a puzzle rather than “useful and useless”, with ‘no-touch chi knockouts’ being an exception 😂 I currently run an Azuchi-Momoyama living history group and we run into the same issues you run into; we, also, do similar work on martial arts research. If you like, I would be more than happy to have a video chat with you over a cup of tea, as I know you and I can say much more that way than just by typing. Up to you, of course.

[@baldeagleclaw]

You still need conditioning to do some techniques. For example in kung fu you need to condition fingers arms legs and so on to actually be able to do those techniques without hurting yourself. It requires hard training on a bag or with heavy weights, wooden dummy and healing (chinese medicine) to make the body stronger and conditioned enough for basic techniques. I think thats what he meant. A person needs to be trained and conditioned to do certain techniques. There is no use in knowing how to strike with the fingers, when the fingers just break on impact. You simply cant do it then. I dont think much sparring is needed but hard training and conditioning is needed for many techniques. So instead of swinging a training sword through the air, swinging it(wooden sword) against a bag or tree for example is better. Because it also trains your bones, nerves and muscles. This kind of training required meditation too.

[@kaz5150619]

Antony come to Perth meet my sensei Noah and fight em