Gary Simpson, Hanshi, Kudan, holding a Naginata.
The naginata is an ancient weapon originally used by foot soldiers to bring down mounted samurai. Today naginata-jutsu is practiced mainly by Japanese women as a sport. Although we do not practice anything with this particular weapon, it makes a fine display atop the author’s weapon rack. This particular piece has been in the author’s collection for more than 40 years.
I don’t normally show these off because I believe that a teacher is always scrutinised and evaluated by his or her students. As such, if the teaching is not up to standard then the students will drift off or go elsewhere. However, to show my credentials, here are some of them:
Starting with my 6th Dan Rokudan certificate from December 2000:
And here are some others that I have collected along my martial arts journey:
I have more but I think this is already a bit of overkill.
In the end, you are only as qualified as those who are prepared to follow your lead.
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