Texan Samurai

[Driftraven]

I live near the Lufkin-Huntsville-conroe area of Texas and I would really like to start learning kenjutsu, iaiujutsu or ninjutsu and I would really appereciate any help on finding a sutable dojo in my area. :bow: And if anybody had any other info on decent quality swords and where icould get one that would be nice :t2:

[Jay Bell]

Not sure how close these are to you:

Texas

Ganseki Dojo
GWNBF/KJJR
John Lindsey
Houston, TX
Tel: 281-316-9543
Email: ebudo@houston.rr.com

Kusakage Dojo
GWNBF/KJJR
George Kohler
1167 County Road 278
Melissa, TX 75454
Tel: 214-544-0274
Email: gkohler9@earthlink.net

Gekka Dojo
GWNBF/KJJR
Greg Caplinger
18909 Preston Rd. #814 Dallas, Tx 75252
Tel: 972-407-0594
Email: onmitsu@prodigy.net

Tsubaki Dojo
GWNBF/KJJR
Diane Reeve
909 W. Spring Creek Pkwy. STE 370
Plano, TX 75023
Tel: 972-527-8141
E-mail: DianeReeve@worldblackbelt.com

Also...please use your full name when posting, per forum rules.

[Driftraven]

Little bit too far away but thanks for the help :cool: Something a little closer to Livingston would more helpful :bow: Any sword or other related wepon websites that you may suggest?

[kodanjaclay]

Drift,

As per forum rules, you must sign each post with your real name.

[Driftraven]

Oops! Sorry about that. Any info?
:confused:

[Harutomo]

a good starting sword is the Paul Chen practical katana. about $180-$200 anything made by Paul Chen/Hanwei/Bugei is good, but the more traditional ones are more like $700-$1200 these are still mass produced, though. nothing beats the care and focus that an individual smith puts into his works IMO, but that would be about $4000

a good site for the Paul Chen practical and others is www.mantisswords.com

[Driftraven]

$4ooo is just a little out of my price range. $300 or so is about the highest I could go.

[Gunyo Kogusoku]

a good starting sword is the Paul Chen practical katana. about $180-$200 anything made by Paul Chen/Hanwei/Bugei is good, but the more traditional ones are more like $700-$1200 these are still mass produced, though. nothing beats the care and focus that an individual smith puts into his works IMO, but that would be about $4000

a good site for the Paul Chen practical and others is www.mantisswords.com

$4000 ? Ha! Try $6000-8000 USD and then we'll be talking a realistic price for an order forged sword. Most of the smiths in Japan start at about $5000 USD minimum.

[Ralutin]

$4ooo is just a little out of my price range. $300 or so is about the highest I could go.

Hi Brandon,

I would hold off buying a sword until you have found a reputable sword school and then ask for your sensei's advice. Depending on the school and sensei, you may have to wait at least a year or two before being able to use sharp sword.

[Charles Mahan]

This is also probably out of range for you, but I'll mention it anyway. There is a Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu dojo in Clearlake on the south side of Houston led by Emily Egan.

http://www.clear-lake-iaido.com

[Daniel-san]

Is this Lake Livingston that you're near? Great lake if it is. No help for you here, sorry. Have you tried fishing? I caught one of the wierdest looking catfish in that lake.
In regards to your question, I got some very strange hits when I googled variations of-Livingston Texas Japanese swords. This thread came up every single time on the first page. In Livingston proper you might be sol, unless there is a backyard dojo thing going on somewhere. Great location for one.

[Spartacus5201]

I'm young, 16, with some experience, 4 years, in several Martial Arts styles: Karate, Judo, Tae Kwon Do; a little bit of a lot of styles. While I am still studying the weaponless forms of Martial Arts, I am quite interested in the armed, more combat focused styles. I have been browsing for a while now for a style that suits me and an accessible dojo to attend, but I am having some trouble.

If someone with a greater deal of experience than I could direct me to an appropriate style and dojo to attend in the Dallas/Plano, TX area, I would be much obliged.
__________________________________
-Josh Jacob
Adv. Brown
Freestyle Martial Arts School

[Charles Mahan]

Well Depends on how far your're willing to drive I suppose. There's a nandan kyoshi of MJER Iaido(main line) in Denton, Tx. That will work out well if you intend to attend UNT or TWU when you graduate. Check out his web page at http://www.dentondojo.com

It's a bit of a drive for you, but we've got 3 students that make that drive already, and several that come from farther. The turnpike makes the drive a lot easier.

Ray-sensei is the most senior MJER practitioner in the US within the main line of the style, but don't take my word for it. Ask around in this forum and over at http://www.swordforum.com Normally I would also send you to e-budo, but it's been down for about a month now.

You might also be interested to know that he has been doing Uechi Ryu Karate for more than 30 years.

[Spartacus5201]

Thanks for the quick response. I will be sure to look at their site and check to see if the distance is reasonable. If I have any more questions, I'll be sure to check back with you or that other forum you listed.

-Josh Jacob
Adv. Brown
Freestyle Martial Arts

-Peace is nothing but a result of war

[Spartacus5201]

Well, I checked out the Denton Dojo and found out that it is about forty miles from my home. I would still be interested in looking at it unless someone could point me out a Iaido dojo more in the Plano area.

Any information would be greatly appreciated, as I have a great interest in the sword arts.
_____________
Josh Jacob
Adv. Brown
Freestyle Martial Arts

-Death is a gift given at birth

[Genkinhito]

I am a student of the Buke Ryu dojo under Shihan Steven Hunter in the Woodlands, Tx. Recently, I have heard of former students posting on this site and learning from Shihan Carl Mcclafferty that Hunter never really earned a rank in ken-jutsu and because of that several students have left the dojo. I have seen him react violently to when confronted about this. He gave us a 10 minute lecture about his credentials, however he indirectly admitted to never being certified in the art. I was wondering if anyone could help shed some light on this subject. If anyone can (partically shihan mcclafferty please) I would greatly appreciate it and look forward to hearing about this soon. Thanks for you time
-Tyler Cashman

[Charles Mahan]

You might also check http://www.e-budo.com and http://www.swordforum.com. Search the archives, because it seems like I recall McClafferty-sensei writing something about this at some point.

[Erik]

I'm sorry, I cannot help but visualize someone in a dark gi with a hakama and a sword or two tucked into the cloth belt, and wearing a big, broad 10 gallon cowboy hat and pointy boots poking out from under the hakama.

Maybe the guy who made those magnificent kendo pictures (see other thread) could make an image of this one?

[splice]

A quick search on e-budo gets us:

http://www.e-budo.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3805&highlight=steve+AND+hunter+mcclafferty
http://www.e-budo.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9092&highlight=steve+AND+hunter+mcclafferty

The first link is about bad budo in general, but then goes on to talk about Mr. Hunter, and Mr. McClafferty replies. The second thread (really, really long one) discusses Goshin-jutsu, which Hunter seems to be tied into. I haven't read everything, I can't provide an opinion either way, but there's lots of info for you in those two threads.

[Charles Mahan]

You should be able to contact Carl McClafferty at the email addy listed for him at e-budo. I'd suggest you do that to make inquiries about Hunter-sensei. I met the man once. Seemed like a nice enough guy.

[David Carvosso]

Driftravan,

I found a site that might help in your choice.

www.katsujin.org/komeijuku.htm

Katsujin Budokai
5411 Aberdeen
Lubbock, TX 79414
(806) 792-6520


David Carvosso

[Charles Mahan]

Well. Should he happen to check the thread after nearly a year, I suspect Driftraven will appreciate the thought, but not find it especially helpful. Lubbock is 530 miles from Lufkin. It's nearly a 10 hour drive.

From Texline in the northeastern corner of the panhandle to Brownsville in the south, it's about 1000 miles. From El Paso in the West to Texarkana in the East is 813 miles. Texas is big.

[kodanjaclay]

I beg to differ. Texas is not big. Not when you compare the Texan subcontinent to the Indian subcontinent. :)

I drove through on I-10. Never ever do that again.

[Gene Williams]

This Texas State Trooper stopped a car with a Michigan tag for speeding. He walked up to the window and asked, "You a Texas boy?" The yankee replied, "Why sure!" The Trooper said, "Spell rat." The driver said,"R-A-T." The Trooper replied, "Naw, I mean like, "rat now." :D

[carl mcclafferty]

Sorry, I just saw this post. There are numerous people I would direct you to, to train with a sword, Steve Hunter would not be one of them. Let me know if you're serious or trolling.

Carl McClafferty

[David Craik]

Good to see you on, Mr. McClafferty!

[carl mcclafferty]

Hello David:

Wondered were you went on line. Good to see they got you as a moderator.

A swordsman would be happy if he went to John Ray's Dojo in Denton or to Paul Smith's dojo in Plano. Both are good instructors. John's a friend and Paul's a friend who also teaches Sekiguchi Ryu Batto Jutsu. Both are in it for the right reasons and its not based on how much money.

Once someone does base it on dojo income, they've become a McDojo regardless of what they know or style they teach. Every Japanese instructor I met that were great teachers, gained their income from outside their dojo. Their hearts were pure.

I've had several prior students tell me just before I hamon'd them (when I took them to task for teaching something for big bucks, they had no authorization or rank to teach) "it doesn't matter if I'm authorized or not, feeding my family comes first". They've all went on to invent their own styles, with BS stories to con the innocent. Now all students whom own dojo(s) in our Kobukai have to have outside jobs to support their families.

I also don't believe in affliated dojo(s) paying monthly dues or large yearly dues. The yearly dues in the MHK are $20.00, Nakamura Ryu Batto Do dues ($30.00 yearly) all go to the Kokusai Batto Do Renmei in Japan, Shin Shin Sekiguchi ryu dues are ($30.00 yearly) all of it goes to the Honbu in Takayama. Most styles in Japan and legitimate organizations in the US are like that.

Carl McClafferty

[David Craik]

Mr. (?) Valez, you appear to have joined here with the express purpose of flaming Carl McClafferty in every thread to which has he posted, violating rules 4, 5, 6, and possibly 9. Consequently your posts will be deleted.

In addition, unless "I" is your first name, you are not in compliance with the "full, real name" rule as posted here:

http://www.budoseek.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=8976

Thus your account is suspended, and you may contact the Webmaster to have it reinstated when you include your full name in your profile. Hopefully at that time you will have something a bit more constructive to contribute to the forum.

I see you've been busy over at e-budo with the anti-McClafferty flames as well, and not surprisingly not posting your name there either. Alas, it ain't happening on my forum.

- EDIT 05/05/27 - sekiguchiboy's IP matches that of Jim McCoy..big surprise. So Jim goes from 'suspended' to 'banned'.

[carl mcclafferty]

David

I apologize for the little "knat's" ravings on Budoseek. I'm contemplating reporting him as stalker to the Feebeeies, since I'm in the senior executive service in DHS. he might reach that level under legal definition. Again I apologize for the disruption.
Carl McClafferty

[David Craik]

No reason to apologize, Mr. McClafferty. Certainly not your fault. Funny how some people love to hurl accusations and insults as long as it's under a fake name.

[Fyrfinder]

Might I be privy to knowing what caused the bad blood between Mr. McClafferty & Mr. McCoy? This subject (McCoy) has turned up on the local Yumasun.com discussion board and he seems quite persistent in discrediting him (McClafferty).

Our boards are not moderated at this time so the subject is quite free to express his discontent.

[Brian Lim]

Do not even think about getting a sword which is not Japanese made, not even for an Iaito. This is a big mistake. For example, the Paul Chen's sword has a very long handle, and usually, the tang of the blade goes 3/4 way to the handle and after a lot of suburi (cutting practise), the handle might break and the blade will slide off the handle, and imagine it breaks while you do your cut. Ideally, the length of the handle, is suppose to be the length of your 2 hands including your 2 fingers. Let's say the size of both your hands add up to about 20 cm and your 2 fingers add up to about 3 cm, then you should get a handle which is 23 cm long.

Every Japanese sword handle (tsuka) must be a little bit curved, and if you try to hold the handle in a straight line, the blade will curve away from that straight line. But for a Paul Chen, the handle and 3/4 of the blade will be in that straight line while only the tip goes a little bit off. This is one of the reason that contitutes to poor balancing of the blade.

An analogy to this is like buying a German-named-gun but it's Made in China. I'm telling you this because I don't want you to get ripped off. No matter how expensive a Japanese made Japanese sword is, in the end, it's worth it. It can last for over a thousand years, or 2.

[DanKeup]

Might I be privy to knowing what caused the bad blood between Mr. McClafferty & Mr. McCoy? This subject (McCoy) has turned up on the local Yumasun.com discussion board and he seems quite persistent in discrediting him (McClafferty).

Our boards are not moderated at this time so the subject is quite free to express his discontent.
Feel free to contact me. I would be happy to fill you in. My email addy is danielkeupp@allstate.com

[scruffysmileyface]

Every Japanese sword handle (tsuka) must be a little bit curved, and if you try to hold the handle in a straight line, the blade will curve away from that straight line. But for a Paul Chen, the handle and 3/4 of the blade will be in that straight line while only the tip goes a little bit off. This is one of the reason that contitutes to poor balancing of the blade.



Hmmmm...I would have to differ, sir. I would agree that, on some Hanwei models, the curvature of the blade appears approximately at center. This is called torii sori, and can give the appearance of the condition you described above. The Golden Oriole is an excellent example. However, the Golden Oriole is by no means poorly balanced, in my opinion. A katana whose balance lies nearer to the kissaki can be more forgiving of errant technique during tameshigiri, but one whose balance lies nearer to the tsuka may be easier for a beginner to properly control.

By comparison, what you describe as the way a sword "must" be constructed is called koshi sori, where the deepest part of the curvature appears nearer to the tsuka. This gives the sword a nice, evenly-curved appearance (Hanwei's Musashi is a good example, though not an extreme case), but is not by any means the only correct method by which to make a Japanese sword.

Also, not all Japanese nakago are curved. In fact, there are different styles of nakago, and in my references I see only three that are curved, whereas I find at least five that are not. I'm seeing a lot of examples of original Japanese katana with a straight tang.

[Brian Lim]

Hi Jerry Thurston,

I agree with everything you say, but if you try to compare the Han Wei's Swords with real Japanese made sword, I can assure you that you will notice lots of differences.

I have problems with describing things. How about you take the sword and look at it from the kashira, so that the kashira is pointing to the bridge of your nose, while the kissaki will be pointing towards your front. Have the sharp edge of the blade (ha) facing your right while the back edge (mune) facing your left. You would want to hold the tsuka pointing straight out and you'll see that a Japanese-made sword will curve a lot to the left, while for the Han Wei's sword, it will curve only a little bit to the left.

As for the blade, most Han Wei blades' grain (hada) can be seen obviously with the naked eye. Whereas by fact, you are not suppose to be able to see clearly the grains (hada) with the naked eye.

If your intention is to do tameshigiri, then a Han Wei's sword is the best for tameshigiri, because a Japanese made blade is so valuable that you might not want to cut anything hard with it. However, it's always your choice.

I really appreciate your comments and teaching me more Japanese words on sword parts. Thank you

[scruffysmileyface]

Brian,

I don't know if we just got our wires crossed or what. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding your point. But I'm looking up various Japanese tangs and I'm seeing some that aren't curved. Just so I understand: You're saying that all Japanese tangs have to be curved in order to be correct? If I have a sword and the tang has no curvature, because the blade begins its curve beyond the mune-machi notch, then what I have is not really a Japanese sword? If I bought an iaito from Japan and the tang is not curved, it's not really Japanese?

Doesn't sound right to me, but don't take my word for it. Check out the book Iai: The Art of Drawing the Sword by Darrell Craig, a Kendo and Mugai Ryu Iaido instructor here in Houston, published by Tuttle Martial Arts. Fig. 2 at the bottom of page 6 shows eight examples of tangs (nakago). Examples of curved tangs shown are Furisode, Funasoko, and Futsu. Examples of tangs with no curve at all are Shirihari, Goheigata-Shinto, Tanago (extreme) and Kijimata. There is one that is drawn in such a way that I can't tell if it should have a curve or not. This is Tanago.

Again, this isn't something that I know on my own, it's something I'm looking up. My sources may be wrong, but it doesn't look that way to me at this time.

However, I should point out that I agree that Paul Chen swords do appear to have a little less sori than some Japanese-made blades, but I don't think this is a blanket trait of all Paul Chen swords, and not all Japanese swords have all that deep of a curve. Many that I've seen show less than one centimeter at their deepest point. Plus, different Paul Chen swords have different sori: The Practical Katana, for example, has a much straighter blade than the Musashi.

This conversation is really way off-topic for this thread, but you've piqued my curiosity about the subject of curvature (thanks for that, by the way). Let me do some more research and I'll post a separate thread sometime in the next few days if you'd like to discuss it further.