Exclusive Interview with Sensei Keith Porter - Ninjutsu

Phil: Pure luck? Can you explain?

Keith said: "I was part of a charity team on a pub run, drinking half a pint of beer in every pub in Whitstable to raise cash for worthy causes. My brother Graham, who was part of my team, broke his foot a couple of days before the event.

"This guy from Ramsgate stepped in for him. I said he could stop at my place until the next day. After the pub crawl we went back to my place and he saw a Samurai sword hanging on my wall. He asked if I did martial arts and told me that he did Ninjutsu (Tai-jutsu). I didn't believe him and asked him to show me some of his techniques. He then proceeded to throw me all over my front room using locks, takedowns and throws!"

Phil: Yeah! I know that feeling from training with you Keith! One minute you're standing vertical and the next your lying horizontal in a daze!

Keith said: "Looking back now it was only basic stuff but it blew me away. I told him that I wanted to have ago. I started training at the same club as him in Ramsgate. It was Allan Collins' club. He was a Shodan at the time."

Phil: What was the training like in those early days?

Keith said: "The training was hard and full on. The wrist locks and punches were full power.

"This tradition has stayed with me ever since - you must understand the effect a technique has and how it really works.

"You used to come away from training full of bruises - in fact it wasn't a good night's training if you didn't! It would be disappointing! Sadly Alan died in the mid-1990s of cancer. He was a great guy and sadly missed by all those who knew him. He inspired me and was a big influence on my life. I got my Shodan black belt in Ninjutsu under him."

Phil: Your Shodan grading came as a complete surprise for you, didn't it?

Keith said: "You could say that! Alan put me up for the grading while we were attending a seminar without telling me before hand! I was a bit shocked when he announced I would be fighting ten men in front of a panel of 14 Dan grades! But I was up for it and it went very well - at least for me it did! I broke one of my opponent's feet."

Phil: How did you manage that?

Keith said: "I was demonstrating the Hanbo - the three foot staff - and doing a lot of different techniques without time to think about it. He came flying in so I hit him on the foot and smacked him on top of the head. I broke his foot on the first blow.

"The grading panel thought this highly amusing! I think that they thought I definitely had the spirit and so I passed the grade!

"They got me drunk that evening to celebrate and I paid for it the next day when Sven Borgsater gave me a hiding! I was the new black belt so I got the honour of being demonstrated on by him.

"He had me all over the place. It was like being something a pit bull terrier had got a hold of - I thought I was being mauled to death! At that time I thought having a black belt was it. But I quickly realised that it was only the beginning - thanks to Sven."

Phil: When did you start training with the Grandmaster, Maasaki Hatsumi?

Keith said: "I carried on training for only a short while in the UK then decided to go to Japan to train with Grandmaster Hatsumi. This really opened up my eyes.

"We were still doing basic techniques in the UK at the time and when I saw Hatsumi's techniques they were mind blowing.

"It was only then that I fully realised that Ninjitsu was the only art for me. It was the depth of the knowledge. He had a reply for everything no matter what anyone threw at him. It was awesome and amazing at the same time. He was so fluid and flowing. He didn't seem to be doing much at first glance. But the guys attacking him were in total pain."

Phil: Where in Japan was this?

Keith said: "This was at Isuzuki Dojo in Noda Shi city, 1991. I was there for just over two weeks but I was completely blown away by the experience. The training was hard. I don't just mean the pain from the techniques. The places you trained in were hard.

"The whole experience was a culture shock. When I first went out to Japan I was stupidly told that I would just come out of the airport and the dojo would be just outside! But it was an hour and half by car and couple by train!

"However, I was helped by lots of kindly Japanese on my way and I fell in love with the country, customs and people. Everyone was very polite and respectful to each other - which appeals to me. I have been back in Japan so many times now that I couldn't put a figure on it!"

Phil: How did training in Japan influence you?

Keith said: "I teach pretty much the way they train in Japan. A lot of people in the West are training softer now. I think that this is because western people cannot take as much as they could, or maybes because they are expecting something else from their training.

"I prefer to know a technique works and have a bit of contact than simply dance around. I tell my students they will feel a bit of pain while training and they will have to get up and do it again. This reinforces the technique in the students. They understand how and why it works.

"If you only do shadow boxing in Boxing and light sparring in Karate, for example, when you get hit hard in a real fight you could easily fail because of the shock. Even highly trained martial arts instructors can freeze.

"It's the same with Ninjutsu, you need to train hard. If you feel a bit of pain before hand and train hard then a real confrontation is not such a shock to the system. The training just kicks in because it's not that different from what you do every week - it's about preparing people for combat."

Phil: You prefer teaching small numbers of people compared to large numbers. Why?

Keith said: "My dojo isn't big to be honest. I'm not interested in having 50 or 60 people because I couldn't get around them all and teach them. If you have too many students you end up with many of them training in the wrong technique.

"Hatsumi says that for every time you do a wrong technique you have to do ten extra correct techniques to get it right. This is why I believe in breaking down techniques down into components. Students can then understand each part of the movement and its place in the final technique, such as balance, timing and distance, and angling."

Phil: Many techniques in Ninjutsu are unusual, especially the guard positions which have more than one purpose. Can you explain?

Keith said: "Yes. Hoko Kamae, for example, has both hands up next to the head as if surrendering. However, Hoko means angry bear and it's a very good offensive position as well as a defensive one. Yet it can also be an appeasement gesture.

"It is unusual as you don't find these positions within other martial arts. Yet they can be utilised against weapons as well as open hand techniques. They are very flexible Kamae because they cover all the distances, including long range right up to grappling."

Phil: You believe that learning the principles of how techniques work is much more important than learning the technique itself. What do you mean?

Keith said: "Principles are more important than individual techniques because every situation is different. It's no good just learning techniques parrot fashion and believing if the opponent does A I'll do B. In street fights it simply doesn't work like that. He isn't going to attack you the way you expect or have trained for.

"But if you know the principles you will just react to what he throws at you. You will know that if you attack his balance and take him one way you can also take him another. The position of opponent's body dictates on the principle that you would use. The idea is to get them to use as much of their body while you don't use as much of yours. It's not a set technique it's the principle that is at work. Fight easy and let them fight hard!

"Another important principle is surprise. Ninjutsu is the stealthy art - this is inherent is the techniques themselves as there is lots of hidden stuff within the techniques that look as if you're doing very little but are in fact subtle movements that make all of the difference.

"This is another reason why I love Ninjutsu. It's very free in its applications - you're not rigidly tied to a set of certain techniques."

Phil: One of the most important principles that you emphasis in training is the concept of attacking the balance. Can you explain for the readers?

Keith said: "Attacking some one's balance is essential. If your opponent is left busy trying to regain his balance this buys you time to get them into position that is advantageous to you. Once you have broken their balance you can control them and take them one way and then another, always keeping them unbalanced.

"This works on a psychological level as well as physical. You are also attacking their mind because if they have to divert their attention on regaining their balance and staying upright then they lose their intention to attack. It's taken from the forefront of their mind.

"Another important mind-concept is about alerting people to your intentions. I teach people not to grab wrists when some one grabs you. If you grab their gripping limb then they automatically try and pull it away. Instead I teach my students to lay their hand on the gripping limb until they move into their technique. The opponent knows you hand is on their arm, but it doesn't register as a threat in his mind until its too late and you've moved into your technique and have firm hold of them."

Phil: There are many different schools within Ninjutsu. What's your favourite part of the art?

Keith said: "My favourite part of Ninjutsu is all of it. You never stop learning as the art covers all the distances, weapons and every type of attack that you can imagine. It one of the most complete martial arts there is.

"Ninjutsu is a thousand years old and has a lot of great history. There are nine schools within it so it's not like training in one art. For example, you have schools for muscle and nerve damage, Koppo Jutsu - bone breaking, Kossha Jutsu - nerve attacks; Dakentai Jutsu - striking vulnerable parts of the body, Jutai Jutsu - grappling. Then there are the weapons such as the sword, hanbo, shuko hand claws and so on."

Phil: You are now a 15th Dan. Is this your most memorable grading?

Keith said: "Hatsumi awarded me this grade a couple of years year. It's really still only a 10th Dan because the award is a bestowed honour and a title like being called a doctor of science but it is widely recognised as a 15th Dan.

"My most memorable grade was my 5th Dan - which is the big one in Ninjutsu. I had to kneel down with Hatsumi behind me holding a bokken. I had my eyes closed and had to move when he cut down with the bokken to my head. You have to use your awareness to pick up on his killing intent and move out of the way.

"It's not the technique that's on show - it's your own spirit and courage in the face of potential death."

Phil: Were you nervous?

Keith said: "When I walked out to kneel before Hatsumi I was extremely nervous! But once I knelt down I suddenly accepted the situation and grew very calm. It was an unusual calmness that I have very difficulty explaining.

"Once you have kneeled with your back to him, Hatsumi taps you on the shoulder and says start. But you don't know when he is going to strike. It could be ten seconds or ten minutes, you just don't know. I was just sitting there and suddenly I had this urge to move and did. He missed."

Phil: Do people fail this test?

Keith said: "Lots of people go for the grade and end up in almighty smashes! I can tell just by the way they kneel whether they're going to pass.

"You can tell whether they have accepted life or death or not. If they haven't accepted this they will either move too soon before Hatsumi has or too late and end up getting a whack!

"After this grade I experienced every emotion flowing through me. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry or do both. It was great that I passed the grading but I didn't expect the emotions afterwards."

Phil: What's the future hold for you?

Keith said: "This year I will be running a number of courses and this takes a bit of my time up. I love doing seminars and courses because I get a buzz out of seeing people having their eyes opened up to what's possible.

"I have been training for more than 20-odd years and I still get surprises every time I go to Japan to train. I'm still learning. In fact in Ninjutsu you never stop learning because there is so much to it. I love martial arts and will be training right up to the day I die."

Keith is coming to the Advanced Fighting Centre, Newcastle, on Saturday, Nov 15th. For more info call Sensei John Aitkens on 07876 043480.

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