Dale Seago on Mythbusters

[Chirs]

"High Five"

You rock!

[Dale Seago]

Just rewatched this... it looked like you made Adam a little nervous with that senban.

That one was a recap of something I'd just done to him, where I had the shuriken in my hand the whole time but did everything to him without actually letting him see or feel it was there. He'd asked me, "What if I attacked you and you had a weapon? How would you use it?". I just told him, "Well, come on and see!" and palmed the shuriken which had been in my gi the whole time. As I helped him up off the floor with my left hand, I opened my right and showed it to him. The expression on his face was, as they say, priceless.

"Seago" is being pronounced the way I thought. . .

But unfortunately they couldn't get "Bujinkan" right. Each syllable is pretty much equally stressed, it being a Japanese thang and all.

Oh, one thing about Adam's first attack: He had specifically asked how "a ninja" would deal with an attack, so I switched gears from what we'd been working on when he came in. We were doing some stuff from Kukishin ryu, a battlefield art with a lot of "heavy weapons" and armored combat methods but with ninjutsu intelligence-gathering elements as well, as Kukishin ryu was the Bujinkan's worldwide training theme for that year (2007). Since he asked about ninjers, though, I switched over to Togakure ryu ninjutsu.

As he attacks, you can see the potential development of what Ryan (who trains in these arts himself) would recognize as a possible ganseki nage or perhaps a muso dori. However, instead of taking it all the way into a throw or lock. . .on someone who's not a trained martial artist and doesn't know how to receive it without getting broken. . .I just get him to the point of depending on me for his balance and then suddenly "vanish" and escape. And suddenly finding himself unsupported, he simply falls down.

On another note, just for grins, regarding armored-combat stuff: The pic linked below (public link) is from two weeks ago tomorrow. Was doing a half-day training on armored spear-fighting. Couple of my black belts are fabricating actual Japanese-style armor (using old historic patterns) for everyone in my dojo who wants it, as it teaches you all kinds of unexpected things about effective movement when you're wearing 45-50 pounds of steel, and these things transfer over to unarmored combat as well. (They also transfer VERY well to use of modern body armor by military and law enforcement personnel.) It also allows you to do certain kinds of "pressure testing" of your skills that you couldn't do otherwise. I only armored up for a little bit at the beginning, to make some points about certain characteristics of armored movement; then let everyone else play with the stuff as we currently only have two sets and the do or torso armor has to be precisely fitted to the individual:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...4&l=fd0bc992a8

[Ryan Ross]

That one was a recap of something I'd just done to him, where I had the shuriken in my hand the whole time but did everything to him without actually letting him see or feel it was there. He'd asked me, "What if I attacked you and you had a weapon? How would you use it?". I just told him, "Well, come on and see!" and palmed the shuriken which had been in my gi the whole time. As I helped him up off the floor with my left hand, I opened my right and showed it to him. The expression on his face was, as they say, priceless.

You're the Man, sir!

But unfortunately they couldn't get "Bujinkan" right. Each syllable is pretty much equally stressed, it being a Japanese thang and all.

Oh, one thing about Adam's first attack: He had specifically asked how "a ninja" would deal with an attack, so I switched gears from what we'd been working on when he came in. We were doing some stuff from Kukishin ryu, a battlefield art with a lot of "heavy weapons" and armored combat methods but with ninjutsu intelligence-gathering elements as well, as Kukishin ryu was the Bujinkan's worldwide training theme for that year (2007). Since he asked about ninjers, though, I switched over to Togakure ryu ninjutsu.

As he attacks, you can see the potential development of what Ryan (who trains in these arts himself) would recognize as a possible ganseki nage or perhaps a muso dori. However, instead of taking it all the way into a throw or lock. . .on someone who's not a trained martial artist and doesn't know how to receive it without getting broken. . .I just get him to the point of depending on me for his balance and then suddenly "vanish" and escape. And suddenly finding himself unsupported, he simply falls down.

On another note, just for grins, regarding armored-combat stuff: The pic linked below (public link) is from two weeks ago tomorrow. Was doing a half-day training on armored spear-fighting. Couple of my black belts are fabricating actual Japanese-style armor (using old historic patterns) for everyone in my dojo who wants it, as it teaches you all kinds of unexpected things about effective movement when you're wearing 45-50 pounds of steel, and these things transfer over to unarmored combat as well. (They also transfer VERY well to use of modern body armor by military and law enforcement personnel.) It also allows you to do certain kinds of "pressure testing" of your skills that you couldn't do otherwise. I only armored up for a little bit at the beginning, to make some points about certain characteristics of armored movement; then let everyone else play with the stuff as we currently only have two sets and the do or torso armor has to be precisely fitted to the individual:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...4&l=fd0bc992a8

You did Bujinkan very proud, Seago Sensei.

My favorite part was "Just do... whatever."

EDIT: And I'm drooling over that yoroi! You have some talented folks around your dojo! Makes me want to move to San Fran!

[Mickey]

That's awesome Dale! I saw that episode sometime back but wasn't entirely paying attention so didn't make the connection. You gots some game sir! Looks like you had a lot of fun being with those guys too.

Ryan, never saw your video before now either. That was great!

[Ryan Ross]

Ryan, never saw your video before now either. That was great!

LOL Yeah, that was back in my "Fat Ryan" days. I think my film maker friend liked me better back then, as he said I was "better for comedic roles with more weight".

[Bugbear]

But unfortunately they couldn't get "Bujinkan" right. Each syllable is pretty much equally stressed, it being a Japanese thang and all.

Ya, I sometimes make a mess of the handful of Japanese tree words with which I have to be familiar... OK, usually make a mess of them...

[Mickey]

LOL Yeah, that was back in my "Fat Ryan" days. I think my film maker friend liked me better back then, as he said I was "better for comedic roles with more weight".

Well... I think he's right. I wouldn't have been the same seeing you as you are now, pulling candy out of the sporran. LOL.

But I did notice in there, a spot where you have a blade and gave the famous "Look". Is that when it started?

Anybody else notice that?

[Dale Seago]

EDIT: And I'm drooling over that yoroi! You have some talented folks around your dojo!

Several folks in the Bay Area (my dojo, the one down in Cupertino, and one in Sacramento) are trying out what they're learning "under pressure" at SCA-combat events and finding it works very well indeed. The one in the pic, Rajinder Singh, is our dojo armorer. He's a literal Sikh warrior: Trained in Gatka in India, as well as a number of other arts, and has seen/survived stuff in religious-persecution violence back home that you don't want to even think about. I'm talking about riots, people being "necklaced" with petrol-filled burning tires, gang-rapes of his people's women, etc., etc. The very concept of "one-on-one combat" is almost incomprehensible to him because it's so alien to his own life experience. Oh, and they DO still use swords in attacks over there.

Another of my students is a SWAT sergeant with a local law enforcement agency, formerly the public affairs officer/spokesperson for his department. And we've had military veterans with experience in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. People like these bring perspectives to the dojo that are of inestimable value in ensuring I transmit Hatsumi sensei's art well and -- while ensuring that everyone has a heck of a fun time -- helping to ensure that what I teach has real-world currency and applicability.

And I'm SO glad I don't do this for a living and have a real-world "day job" as a security director. It might remain as valuable for my students, but I'm afraid that teaching "commercially" would take most of the fun out of it for me.

BTW, the armor set that Raj is making for me is based on this stylized "Tengu" armor:





Yes, including the nipple rings. That part's not really "me", but it's sort of a San Francisco thing. . .

The idea is to put together a "Bujinkan armored contingent" to go and kick **** at SCA events. As the valued general and senior strategist, I'd of course also have my own bodyguard contingent in the encampment. I'm still waiting to hear what arrangements might be in the works for the wimmins and other perks of the position. . .

[Cygnus]

Having very little experience with them, I can't speak to the martial arts, but the armor from the facebook photo is great - a very well-made 16th-Century guzoku (modified with a face grille for modern training and safety) - I certainly hope they didn't use urushi lacquer, though, as powder coating or even just spray painting leads to fewer horrible rashes.

The armor you've chosen is quite lovely as well, though it appears to be Edo period (judging from the solid sode, the large plates on the haidate, the number of decorative knots, and the "nipple rings" that you mentioned). I'm with Sakakibara Kozan when it comes to armor and feel that, while it improved by leaps and bounds aesthetically, it really suffered quite a lot functionally after the beginning of the "Pax Tokugawa". I am glad, however, to see that it has a nodowa, as I think they do a lot to add to the overall appearance of the armor (and do a fair job of protecting the lower throat and upper part of the chest).

Still, it is a work of art. I'd love to take a crack at making my own - you are a lucky and very talented man. Thank you for sharing!

[Dale Seago]

. . .a very well-made 16th-Century guzoku (modified with a face grille for modern training and safety) - I certainly hope they didn't use urushi lacquer, though, as powder coating or even just spray painting leads to fewer horrible rashes.

Right you are -- it's powder coated.

The armor you've chosen is quite lovely as well, though it appears to be Edo period (judging from the solid sode, the large plates on the haidate, the number of decorative knots, and the "nipple rings" that you mentioned).

Right again, Edo era, not much for the battlefield by then but looking cool as all get-out.

Unlike the rest of the yoroi Raj is making, mine is intended to be more "ceremonial" than battlefield functional. The idea is that I would be the valued and protected clan strategist, kickin' back in the camp and sippin' sake and enjoying the aforementioned wimmins (got to get that part in writing somehow, as well as some provision for some decent single malt). The only time I might get directly involved in some altercation would be if there were a raid on our camp by some group or other, in which case I would basically arise in monumental wrath and smite everyone in sight.