Responding to Ninjutsu Comments on My "Fake Sword Defense" Video 

I love the idea that someone chopping wood in the forest would choose a log as a self defense weapon instead of their axe.

Damn, my man wrote an entire essay just to defend the ball grabbing dude

"bujikan is all about getting out of your opponents line of sight and slipping in hidden strikes they aren't expecting" *Ninja with a wood log on his back slips into the darkness*

This can basically be summed up as "Offended weebs talking out their ass, to which Skal responds far too politely."

Clearly, Skall cannot comprehend the fact that ninja master Ball Grab Log-sensei tapped into the Speed Force, in order to slow his students and beat them at 80 times the speed of sound.

"The log is taken out of context." Okay, please explain the context that allows someone to move half a telephone pole faster than a person who's mid attack with a sword. The only possible context was "I'm demonstrating a joke."

This guy would be good at chess. He can move 3 times as often as his students.

You never know when you're going to be attacked, imagine you're taking your pet log for a walk and someone with a katana shows up, you gotta practice that stuff

“Way to look up the goofiest videos from a dojo.” Maybe just dont do goofy things in your dojo as the principle instructor 🤷‍♂️

“Having lived in Japan briefly” probably means they come here on vacation, visited some anime shops and now think they are experts about Japan. People like that get made fun of around here.

"You're not understanding the context of the ancient mystical wisdom of Japan!" [This art was invented in 1970]

"Just because we produced a video for the public, doesnt mean this is how we operate. We wanted to show our techniques in the worst way possible so that people know how good it actually is" -Jeff guy

You are being too kind with this character. His dojo is the perfect example of what is known in the martial arts community as bullshido. Period.

"The log was taken out of context". Yes, it should have been filmed in the forest.

The guy who wrote the essay is just mad that he spent 100k becoming a black belt of the Creed Bratton Dojo

The "It could be for disabling an old disabled man" argument made me crack up. Practice vs the situations that are, kinda hard to do without practice. I'm pretty sure I can win in a fist fight with a 3 year old, and I can't imagine practicing it.

That man who write essay : "You're basically mocking the very Japanese form of training method here" My Japanese friend who watched their video : "They are clearly mocking us right there, they think our combat is exactly like in the anime or movie"

What Skall failed to realize is that alchemy was used to enhance all of his stats.

People who comment on "using the axe instead of the log when you're chopping wood in the forest" are all just hypocrites who are too confident in their interpretation of the scenario so they decide to act smart and comment on it based on the way they thought the situation was. Obviously the guy didn't have an axe and was karate chopping the wood bare handedly. His obviously high physical ability allows him to wield such a heavy weapon as is the log, at terminal velocity. Hence he chose the log

"Here's a novel about why a guy hitting another guy with a FREAKING LOG is perfectly acceptable combat skills."

A real ninja would be too stealthy to leave their comment where others could read it.

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 ball grabs once, but I fear the man who has practiced one ball grab 10,000 times.”

The responses reminds me of how the chinese goverment treats that MMA guy who goes around challenging the 'kung fu fakers' to real matches, wipes the floor with them and yet the officials call it a 'tie'

I'm sad that I missed the posting of this video when you first released it, Skallagrim. These two videos are the first two that I've seen of yours, and the only reason that I stumbled on the first of the two is because I recognized the man, the myth, the legend Jeffrey Prather. That being said, I gotta say I'm impressed with the quality of the content that you put out. I was a student of the Bujinkan dojo from age 13 - 17, and let me tell you it was an interesting experience. I wasn't directly a student of Prather-shihan (as we called him), but he was the sensei of my sensei as it were. The best way I can describe "Jeffrey" as you call him (which I love, btw) is that he is a Very Big Deal in the Bujinkan dojo. He is the epitome of what every single one of those black belts in the video want to become. Jeff Prather is one of the original students of the Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi who then went back to America to spread the word of Bujinkan. The way that he is spoken of in the Bujinkan dojo is equivalent to speaking of the avatar of a deity that has graced us with his presence. In this metaphor, of course, Hatsumi is the deity. Because of this legendary status that Prather has, his students all want to BE him. They want to do everything to please him. And if they do *anything* to upset his demonstrations (e.g. swinging a sword *at* him instead of where he was standing at the beginning of the demonstration), they will get scolded and abused for "ruining the demonstration", and then told to sit down and be replaced by another "Uke". The feeling is that if you play the good boy and do receive the technique in a way that makes Sensei look good, you might get noticed and get your next belt. If you're not part of the "in" crowd, you get nothing and go nowhere in the dojo. It breeds a culture of compliance and submission, which, ironically, is exactly the opposite of what they're shooting for.

"Bujinkan is about evasion, slipping in hidden attacks that your opponent doesn't expect" Well fuck me that sounds awesome. Way more awesome than what those videos showed.

"A ninja who is disguised as a gardener and has to subvert (?) an old man that is onto him." My sides are in fucking orbit. While you were partying I studied the art of subverting old men that are onto me in the garden.

I'd expect the log was used as an assassination weapon.. "I'm just a peasant carrying my firewood.. *wham*"

Time to call Xu Xiaodong to make a demonstration fight with the dojo

Skall: Here's a video criticising the technique, not the person Commenter: wHy ArE yOu CrItIcIsInG mY dOjO

"What if I need to fight an old man?" Yes, that definitely requires a specialized technique...

Him disabling the guy by kicking his staff aside reminds me of those movies in which the lead woman is disabled by the villain grabbing her hand.

"That technique is for when a ninja may be disguised as a gardener and has to subdue an old man!" Just a suggestion: why not train for how to subdue younger and more able bodied men at all times, and simply use the infirmity of the old man as a circumstantial bonus? 🤔 I'm pretty sure that any technique that works for taking down a younger man will most definitely work on an older man too.

Skall you are not allowed to insult Ball-Grabbu Sensei before watching every episode of Naruto twice.

I can't believe there are people dumb enough to defend that joke, these are the same people that fly twenty feet when a kung-fu master pokes them with a finger.

Did you just say Master Ken isn't a proper matrial arts channel? He taught me how to defend against someone who's sitting down, do not dare question his authority.

"Bujinkan is about evasion, slipping in hidden attacks that your opponent doesn't expect" I mean, not to be a buzzkill but isn't every martial art all about evading a blow and countering with your own ? Just saying.

Skall: ok everyone just criticizing this one guy and not attacking his school or anything. Commenter: wow this guy thinks he can disrespect my school and get away with it. Time to write a rage fueled essay and waste my entire day. Humans:*facepalm

_"You're wrong Skallagrim!! Those ninja techniques works PERFECTLY!! Cant you see how they apply them on those martial npc puppets!!"_

Gotta say while the videos you covered were amusing his video on responding to an active shooter is pretty scary. He apparently teaches you such great anti-shooter moves as "throwing your shoe at them", "throwing a book at them", "putting a sheet of paper in front of their gun", and "grabbing their handgun by the slide while you twist to the side avoiding the bullet". I... I just don't even.

As a Bujinkan and karate practitioner, I think your points are very valid. I have a problem with people mocking other arts, but if you freak out when someone criticizes anything being done by anyone in your art, you’re just not being truthful to your own art.

Actually took a look at Prathers channel. The dude has a cult following that will go after you if you criticize him in the slightest. Typical brainwashed followers

What Skall fails to realize is everyone in this dojo has unlocked the chakra in their balls which allows them to slow their opponents to a snails pace

"If it looks nothing like that, why would you practice it like that?" This reminds me of a saying: "Practice makes permanent." If you do something wrong repeatedly, that's what you're going to default to; it's only through actively working through your mistakes and practicing it correctly many times that it becomes permanent. Aand a couple moments later, you say exactly that. Awesome!

Man, even baki the grappler has more realistic techniques than that dojo does.

I feel this is the equivalent of defending yourself from having said that "nerf toy guns are not effective weapons"

Skall is such a respectful dude. The commenter basic wrote a book stating "this is a leet Japanese fighting style, you gaiji just don't understand" yet Skall's so respectful through his rebuttal.

When I was practising Aikido, our Instructor literally said: "Hit, like you want to actually hurt him. You should only stop/slow down directly before contact. But you should end with your hand on the target.", If we weren't resisting enough, he would change the technique, send us flying and then start the technique again, after reprimanding us for not reacting. (If we would resist too much, putting our full weight in the defense for example, we would also end with a short trip to the mat, followed by a "very funny, but let's show the others this technique first") But Aikido is more about structually prohibiting the Partner from reaching you, so it is easier than in Hema or the techniques shown here. The worst part with the staff is, that he effectively puts an effective weapon outside of his own reach and into the reach of the opponent. So now he has zero, while the enemy can grab either

Also, if you are "disguised as a gardener" and someone is onto you...why would you drop your rake...

When I was a kid, we all practiced the ancient Japanese art of kicking our shoes off at each other. The ancestral spirits surely smiled upon us

Man wrote a whole essay about how skall is wrong and how you can do any anime move.

I'm a student of traditional Ninjutsu, your criticisms are all incredibly valid and that guy's essay is entirely wrong. I agree with your video. My sensei would have beaten me in the head. We never move slowly when practicing, the only way to learn properly is to get hit in your exposed places until you learn how to fix it.

"You are basically mocking the Japanese form of training method here..." Correct. That instructor is a mockery to any form of martial arts training, be it Western or Eastern. Hell, that instructor offends me and I am not even anywhere close to that video or practising any traditional martial arts. Hats off to you for taking the time to comment back on that but, in all fairness, you are giving them too much credit.

Can you imagine making a video countering a katana strike by dodging and loading a black powder musket all while your opponent is in slow motion on the same strike, and then calling it a special defense technique

There's a reason nobody mocks Master Ken, he has the ability to punch you through your phone materializing in the pixels and using the pixel matrix to absolutely devastate the back of your face

Your open-mindedness on this, reasonable opinions, and general down to earth vibe of this def earned a sub from me lol I've had weird experiences trying to get into martial arts ranging from ego to just non-practical training and I've been hesitant to get back into it because of this, but the fact that there are people like you involved with it make me hope that I've only dealt with the "bad" side of it

I love watching bullshitto 'Techniques' Reminds me of my old wrestling coach "Basics win matches, practice the basics tens of thousands of times. Learn a couple fancy moves for that hail mary moment"

Skall: I'll only go after the argument and not the person. Butthurt mcdojo guy: seems sus, you must have something personal against him. I know because I can read minds as well doing anime moves.

"This is a technique Ninja uses when disguised as a gardener and needs to disarm an old man quickly" Did I fucking hear that right? Lmao

Dude, you nailed it. I started my martial arts journey around 1992, okinawan & japanese, brazillian and asian unarmed & armed styles, have “dipped my toes” in HEMA & some european styles, and i agree with your previous video comments. I’ve had friends over the years from 4-5 different offshoots of Hatsumi Sensei. All have comminalities- the fear of sparring “because we only learn killing techniques” and a lack of distance and timing. A ducking strike to the pelvis- the 2nd hardest bone in the body wont be effected by some of the smallest bones in the body wrapped in meat. Maybe a straight strike to the illiac crest from down there could upset their centreline, but if the opponent buckles while you’re down there, you’ve lost the mobility to get away- which someone said was the purpose of their taijutsu...🤷🏼‍♂️ A while ago i respectfully commented on a karate video, commenting that their distance for striking was out & they were practicing to strike short. So the strikes were useless & the blocks werent effective. As with any respectable martial arts group, they reviewed my comments, agreed with my observations & thanked me for noticing it. Sometimes a new pair of eyes can help to see old habits & flaws. You werent disparaging of individuals or styles, and noted some common occurrences in martial arts videos. Just the people with guilty consciences took offence. Keep doing what you’re doing!

I gotta say, Skall can remain amazingly calm under so much fire from people who definitely do not extend to him the same courtesy of being polite. Yes, not everything is worth getting angry about, but if you received several dozen (hundred?) comments that are attacking you, then even a mild-mannered person can crack under that. All of which is meant to say, respect to Skall for remaining so polite.

A lot of people took this video very personally as if Skall was insulting them or their art form. It’s sad to see people missing the point when Skall’s being as careful and conscientious as possible with his language.

I love this quote from Wikipedia on training only being against compliant opponents : "Bujinkan as a means of self defence is a purely theoretical concept"

*Man kicks his staff onto opponent's staff* "Ha HA! The weight of your weapon has doubled, now you shall tire twice as quick!" *Man gets beaten by guy with two staves*

Skallagrim's comments about context reminded me of why I subscribed to him in the first place. So many hobbies and interests have these steep learning curves of jargon and terminology. I think the first Skallagrim video I saw was the one about carrying swords on your back versus your hip: the context was just "Hey! You've seen movies, right?" I have, so I was hooked, and boom, here I am!

The staff sliding technique is to disable unaware old men with canes, that's why they can't pick up their staff back.

Those particular techniques were cringy and laugh worthy. You did them justice in your video. These people who are feeling hurt by it have been watching too much Naruto for their own good. Edit: I watched Naruto too, people. Not criticising Naruto. Just saying the people feeling hurt by the video are too into ninja stuff.

"what if im disguised as a gardener and a suspicious old man come along?" well have you tried a good ol' haymaker? just knock the old fart out cold, man. its really not that hard!

I think perhaps the biggest problem with poking fun at any style of martial art, or "martial art", or even a specific technique, is that people who've invested a lot of money, time, etc. into learning something tend to jump to its defense, even if it is - in reality - indefensibly silly, illogical, stupid, dangerous, or was just a complete scam some fake instructor pulled to get cash (as has happened many times, especially with "dojos" for kids). It's just like when I - a photographer - point out flaws/poor design choices in cameras, and people who own those cameras flip out; they might get a tad annoyed if I'm wrong, but they get way more angry if I'm right.

They are just angery that pommel throwing defense is better

Shit, you got told-off by a legendary level grand master of Kibordu, the ancient art of the keyboard warriors who draw their power from traditional poofed cheese crunches, diabetes-inducing potions of energy, and a sense of self-righteousness.

Dude, I'm amazed by how you can be serious and pull off solid and well-articulated arguments in an unbiased and (mostly) non-ironical way, even when you don't even remotely need to do so. But I like it!

Skall basicaly giving a lesson on how to respond with class and respect.

" it isn't a battlefield smash way of fighting" now watch me club a man with a sword with a giant log

Skall is steadily yet respectfully picking apart comments, and yet all I'm thinking is "Love the shirt dude, epic band!"

Said it before I will say it again, Skall and Sensei Seth need to do a co op video about BS marital arts. This is brilliant.

the amount of explaining that needs to be done to justify what happened kind of speaks to itself. there's a reason a lot of dojos are considered McDojos and it seems this would be one of them tbh.

"Hema practice uses alot of protective equipment" AAAAND? So does Kendo! Get the guy a Kendo Suit!

You really hit it when talking (repeatedly) about how some of the excuses in the comments are so specific and so outlandish that you would need to practice millions of things to accommodate them. My favorite is at 21:12 - If your shoe is already loose enough to kick off into someone's face, *you have made a critical error*. If a person is so worried that they might be ambushed that they need to practice kicking a shoe off, they would be better-served by simply tying their shoes properly and learning how to quickly pivot and jump into a sprint from a dead stop. Being able to break into a sprint from a full stop is vastly more useful than kicking off a shoe, especially since losing your shoe means you're going to be at a huge disadvantage as soon as the person attacking you recovers from the unexpected shoe.

this is basically Skall saying "sounds good, doesn't work" for 22 minutes

Skall: Destroys a fake martial arts channel Fake master: Calls BS on Skall calling BS Skall: "Time to take out the big swords"

It would be interesting to see his techniques performed by Monty Pythons.

I love how humble you are bro; and how open to conversation you are. that's why I watch you other than that other sword or weapon who thinks hes a knight who bashes on nunchucks and doesnt take ideas of why they arnt as effective as a stick apparently -.-.....he was using the wrong kind and the wrong way of using it saying they are usless. his testing didnt take into account the ability to go around other weapons and points you go for rather than trying to nock someone down -.-.... the temples on each side of the head being a very nice example of targets lol. it's not easy to block nunchucks at full speed specially when they are weighted .

Funniest part about the "context" that you might be out chopping wood and have a log handy: You would also have an axe handy - So it's still ridiculous...

“You’re missing context for the log!” Did we miss the part where he fought off seven ninjas while he chopped the log down?

Regardless of how out of context the log thing was, as Skall said, if you just vertically drop the log, 99% of the times it's going to miss against a competent attacker, REGARDLESS OF THE CONTEXT! Well that's not true, if "the context" is that the attacker is suffering from cerebral palsy or is trapped in a time vortex and his time flows 10 times slower than the defender's xD

Citation needed: I remember researching blind sword men a few years ago and found the story of a Samurai. In his youth, this Samurai was a master swords man with dozen of kills under his belt. However, as he got older, he went blind. He was still challenged to duels and being a Samurai he accepted them despite being unable to see. He won said fights by showing up early, finding the biggest stick or log in the area (laying on the ground) and when the opponent showed up he chased them around with the branch or log. His strategy was wild, wide attacks with a lot of power that his opponents could not defend against. Just a fun little story I found that might explain the log techniques(?)

McDojo Bullshito options: _"Always demonstrate in training your technique on your trusted martial NPC puppet. You can lower their stats, such as strenght, speed, reaction, intelligence, defense, poise, etc so can prove any shit ass crazy techniques at your pleasure."_

My basketball coach: "you play like you practice." Even when we practice with no defenders, we still act like the they exist and know when a turnover happens. And we try to move as fast as possible.

Skall i just wanted to say... Lookin goood my dude. Keep up the work, you came a long way since your older videos and your body really is changing to be healthier and more fit with every day!

This speaks to something we used to do in my Ju Jutsu class (back when those were still possible). We'd practice a technique like 5 times with a compliant opponent in slow motion, then the opponent would point out, where they could counter. Once we were more advanced in one certain technique, we'd do it faster, again, with the opponent pointing out opportunities for counters or resistence along the way. And also we did sparring and defense against free attacks (meaning the attacker throws whatever they want at you)

"But what if you're disguised as a gardener and an old man with a stick who is getting suspicious comes along?" That was hilarious. Stellar defense of this goofball xD

LOL he deleted just about all of the videos. "Good, gooooood, let the humiliation flow through you."

I commend your patience and kindness Skall in responding to that posted essay (I mean) comment :). Even if getting into that kind of attack situation (in another universe) was highly possible, I still wouldn't do it that way :).

Great points, thanks for being respectful. I don't know what this guy is teaching, it's really far out. But you definitely addressed some important issues in the Bujinkan. However these are being addressed in most dojos, and the art is constantly evolving.

“The log is taken out of context”. That’s just to good 😂.

Also Skall still missed the fact the instructor stabbed himself with opponents sword

We all love your content Skall! Thanks!

Your generosity to this is incredible.

Beware skall, they could send the world slowest marcial artists to your house. What would you do then if you didn't study the art of fighting against 4 slow and drunk oponents at the same time?

Practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect, it makes permanent.