The new Quest before me

Well, at long last I have discovered the Arizona Quest Center. What is a "Quest Center"? It is the institution set up by Stephen Hayes about a decade or so ago that teaches Toshin-Do -- a variant of Bujunkan Taijutsu (aka Ninjutsu). Stephen Hayes was the first American to be taught authentic Ninjutsu by soke Hatsumi in the 60's, and is one of the Dali Lama's personal bodyguards. The other well known bodyguard being Steven Segal. Say what you want about his acting, but his Aikido is legit...even Japanese people make a pilgrimage to learn from him.

Anyway, I digress. The school I initially learned Ninjutsu (and subsequently coached) from in Maryland had a strict curriculum. For "X" rank, one had to satisfactorily perform "X" techniques. In fact, it was right in line with a school in Ohio run by one Shawn Havens - my instructor's instructor. Shawn Havens was a personal student of Stephen Hayes. The school I was in was well on its way to becoming a future Quest Center, but some political fallout caused Shawn Havens to leave the Bujinkan altogether. From what I understand, most of his students followed in suit. Including my instructor, Scott Teague. They "defected" to the Jinenkan, a separate "house" of Ninjutsu founded by Manaka Shihan, who was a prominent master of Bujinkan in Japan. The Jinenkan is a much more practical style, especially for beginners.

The Quest Center is the same way. Similar to Muay Thai, Hayes' system requires about 3 months or so of solid training for one to be very compenent in a defensive situation. Though not completely separated from Hatsumi and the Bujinkan, the violence in America is more prominent, and very much different from what they see in Japan, so the curriculum is arranged thusly. I am excited to know that there is a school locally who teaches in the fashion I was originally taught. The other local Ninjutsu alternative was a bit chaotic with every person of every rank and experience level doing exactly the same thing. Many of them I (and Mike might attest to this himself) was not ready for.

There is only one issue I can see with the Quest Center: money. These schools are not known to be cheap. But, Arizona is a different kind of place. I may be wrong. I don't mind paying for it, but I do have my limits. I am just hoping it isn't the high price the Dayton, Ohio school charges. Of course, the price is probably higher because that is the school at which Stephen Hayes teaches.

I am going to train tonight and get a feel for it. I owe at least that much to myself. I am out of shape, inflexible, and I have a gut I would like to minimize. All of these being things that back in my training days were problems not even on the radar as far as I was concerned.