Rick Tew

[swrdply400mrela]

Freqninja: I think you have missed the point again. We're more against Rick Tew himself because we do not believe he is teaching any martial art. Take the sword sparring video for example; it is a complete joke compared to Kendo/Kumdo. Have you seen Kendo/Kumdo in action? I suggest you find a local dojo/dojang, enroll for a few months, and then you will understand why we don't think too highly of him. It's not that because we're studying a tradional martial art, and we're against his "modern" style martial art. Well we are against his sword technique, but not because it's "modern", but because frankly, it wouldn't work. Enroll in Kendo for a good 6 months, you'll see what I mean.

[Nishi]

If you would like to know what Rick Tew says about tradition read .....

Ive read it a few times now, but cant see the sense...when he refers to brazilian juijutsu as a great example of modern martial arts, he fails to mention the ties Helio Gracie had with japanese juijutsu....was Mr.Tew exposed to Japanese Ninjutsu like Mr Gracie was to Japanese Juijutsu...and Gracie juijutsu has lineage, bloodline, tradition both japanese and brazilian....there is no comparison here...especially after seeing the grappling videos...

Please read and consider these articals if you want to figure out why many martial artists are turning to modern styles as opposed to traditional.

Please visit a dojo and consider why many more martial artists are continuing to train in a traditional enviroment. Long after Mr Tew has passed, and if his legacy manages to continue, what do suppose it will become? At some point, they where all modern, yet the ones that still exist today have 1000 years refinment behind them.

Mr.Tew tries to break away from the ninjutsu tradition to the point of actually changing the name of the system from "tew ryu martial science" to "rick tews martial science" which sounds less like a traditional system. However their style has it's roots in ninjutsu and resembles ninjutsu so that is what they call it. To avoid the ninja stereo typing he prefers the term "Martial Science." He is also not hiding behind a lineage, bloodline, or tradition.

This is probably because he was uneligable. It is not uncommon for a student to become discouraged by the demands and years of training required to develop technique, and if your so inclined "respect" at the sensei level....what i see here looks like yet another person looking for the short cut to glory.

I want you to know that I believe there is more to the arts than combat like acrobatics, weapons, meditation, mental skill, flexabillity, blance, endurance, strategy, response abillity, respect, chi, breaking, forms, sparring, and I could go on forever. You should train mind, body and spirit equally.

You forgot honesty, when you are humble enough and accept the fact that 3-18 months of this programme will not bring you any closer to being a martial artist or scientist...you will be one step closer to being honest with yourself.

Finally i apoligize for ranting, Mr Gendzwill's post really should have been the last one on this thread....but he's right, e-budo is a better discussion group for this topic, you may even find people that have been to Mr Tews place.

"KI" in japanese, chi is the chinese pronunciation.

Good luck in the future.

[PhilMcLaughlin]

I always liked this article from Furyu journal

http://www.furyu.com/archives/issue8/zanshin8.html

Id suggest read it and think about it then make your own minds up

One thing id say to any beginner (& i mean leass that 2 years training in x where you can substitute x for what you like) - is how on earth are you qualified to judge what you have yet to learn ?

Even when youre experienced, you are only expereinced to point Y and there will be a whole lot more to your study that you will learn about

so, OK - you guys have dabbled for what 3, to 5 years in a variety of forms - fair enough

BUT - are you really qualifiued to judge Mr Tew and his accolytes ? I use the word carefully because Tew sounds like a cult leader to me and that would be disturbing

My first teacher, who was absolutely sincere and well meaning - came to believe he was the second messiah - I left the dojo (as does everyone else who studies with him eventually.

I would suggest that the tradition transcends the individual - thats why people study Kendo or Aikido rather than Ecky Thump (which would be the Uk equivalent of tew ryu but with more style).

as other have pointed out - what happens when you mr tew dies ? - where do his students go ?

freqninja is showing some degree of paranoia about having his fave teacher dissed - that in itself is the worrying bit

Andrew seems a bit more level headed

My opinion is that you ought to try it out if you want to BUT be bloody careful about what you are letting yourselves in for - Nishi is absolutely right (and hes a good kendoka too).

good luck to you both

cheers

[Hongsermeier]

frequninja....you speak highly of "all out sparring". From your comments I gather you have never been to a kendo dojo. We wear armor(spelling?) in kendo to allow us to do all out sparring. On occasion I have seen people nearly knocked out and MANY bruises/bumps from missed shots. I have even been the unfortunate one to end up on the floor needing assistance to stand up again. I suggest you at least go to a kendo dojo and see what all out sparring is before assuming only Mr. Tews school does it.

[L. johnson]

Andrew seems a bit more level headed>>

This is his mom again. I will humbly accept that as a compliment. He has been raised to stand up for himself and expect respect from all age groups. He does like a good philosophical discussion. More than anything, it is just his personality.

As an update, just wanted you all to know how much I appreciated your comments. Andrew and his friend, freqninja, have decided to try some of the local schools. They will use different schools and then compare notes to find the one that best meets their needs.
Andrew last night visited a bujinkan. He talked w/ the instructor and sat in on a class. Seemed pleased with what he saw. Still focusing a bit on the street fight part. Don't know where he got that idea. You are right - we live in the burbs/farm country. Pretty low crime rate, and for the boys, homeschooling has meant little exposure to school crime.

Although I can't speak for his friend, I want you to know that neither set of parents was too fond of what Tew was selling.

Thank you again for helping Andrew

[Ben F.]

Andrew seems a bit more level headed>>

This is his mom again. I will humbly accept that as a compliment. He has been raised to stand up for himself and expect respect from all age groups. He does like a good philosophical discussion. More than anything, it is just his personality.

As an update, just wanted you all to know how much I appreciated your comments. Andrew and his friend, freqninja, have decided to try some of the local schools. They will use different schools and then compare notes to find the one that best meets their needs.
Andrew last night visited a bujinkan. He talked w/ the instructor and sat in on a class. Seemed pleased with what he saw. Still focusing a bit on the street fight part. Don't know where he got that idea. You are right - we live in the burbs/farm country. Pretty low crime rate, and for the boys, homeschooling has meant little exposure to school crime.

Although I can't speak for his friend, I want you to know that neither set of parents was too fond of what Tew was selling.

Thank you again for helping Andrew

Ms Johnson,

I am glad to see that you are taking such an active role in your son's decision. Some parents would be strictly hands off with this type of thing but considering the charlatans that are out there, it is nice to see a parent that is willing to take the time and energy to do the needed research to make sure they and their kids are not being taken.

If you look back through this thread, you will see another post from myself regarding an aikido school in the Toledo area. May I once again respectfully suggest you check it out. I have been a part of this organization for 8 years and my head instructor for 25+. I think it is something both Andrew and his friend could benefit greatly from.

Good luck!

[L. johnson]

If you look back through this thread, you will see another post from myself regarding an aikido school in the Toledo area.>>

I did see that and it was of interest to Andrew. It is actually very close to us. Ann Arbor is also only about 45 min. and his uncle lives up there. I am encouraging the boy to try many schools. He will soon have his driver's license and be more mobile. Yep, almost 18 and we made his do 50 hours of driving w/parents before he got his own license.
Thank you again.

[Nishi]

I would second the motion for Aikido (changed my life), I trained in both Honbu and Shin Shin Toitsu, and only left due to coming to Britian and having no immidiate access to further tuition- enter kendo! But I think all Aikido is excellent, it is an amazing form of budo and Ben F. obviously has a great amount of positive experience with Aikido in that area...definatley worth a look!

I have heard of the Bujinkan a few years ago, pretty interesting stuff! Still ninjutsu, but a whole lot more reputable than the former prospected dojos. Recently there has been an international expansion of Bujinkan dojos, ...i'd love to hear how it went Andrew, mabye you could e-mail me with your experiences in the different dojo's your visiting?

Phil put up a good post, and this article he included is worth a read, i enjoyed it, although the integrity of Mr McLaughlin's post went down the tubes when he lied claiming i was good at kendo
http://www.furyu.com/archives/issue8/zanshin8.html

[PhilMcLaughlin]

although the integrity of Mr McLaughlin's post went down the tubes when he lied claiming i was good at kendo
http://www.furyu.com/archives/issue8/zanshin8.html

Dave - I said you were a good kendoka - i.e. person wot does kendo

I didnt say ANYTHING about the quality of your kendo ;-)



Andrews Mum

This policy of trying out different dojos and disciplines is exactly the right thing to do. When he finds the right one it will be fairly clear (but not you know who :-)

cheers

[BewareOfCMS]

[FONT=Times New Roman] Do not have your son join CMS; it is nothing but a scam. Rick Tew's website is misleading. CMS is nothing as Rick Tew depicts on his website. CMS is a tightly knit organization for scamming young people like myself. I don't want future people to have to go through what I went through. Email me at BewareOfCMS@hotmail.com for the inside information that only a past student like myself can provide.

[LNGUYEN]

BewareofCMS

Can you please spell out your experience with CMS so everyone know what to be awared of.

Many thanks

[BewareOfCMS]

Hello,

I am a practicioner of Ninjutsu. I also enjoy learning a little Kung-Fu, Kenjutsu, Combat Sambo, Dim-mak, Aikido, and Krav Maga.

I am a former student of Rick Tew and I have one thing to say:

CMS is nothing but a scam for young people's money like myself. Rick Tew is manipulative, cunning, and slippery as an eel. Watch out for him.

His program is designed to run people through for a phase and ONLY a phase. He then during the phase exploits their weaknesses, breaks them down, and discourages them with his subtle mind games. They do not come back the next phase. He then has more people sign up the next phase and he does the same thing over and over and over again with them as he did with the previous phase. Makes a load of money doing it!

I got scammed. I am disappointed. I don't want future ambitious young people like myself to get scammed too.

I will never give up the martial arts though. I won't let Rick Tew discourage me.

A Friend