IN MEMORY OF O'SENSEI RONALD DUNCAN

There has been a great void left in ninjutsu with the passing of Professor Ronald Duncan, a void which will never be filled. The likes of Prof. Duncan will never come around again. I considered him a mentor and looked for his guidance many times in the formulation of this blog.

This picture is one of my favorite pictures of Prof. Duncan. My father named me Barron which means “Noble Warrior”. I have tried to live up to that name and its meaning.  But Prof. Duncan embodied a “Noble Warrior” a Marine, a martial artist and a gentleman, he had a look and an air of nobility not just physically but in his character as well.

 His very distinctive voice set him aside from others. There was no mistaking his voice for someone elses. When he called me on the phone and said hello I knew immediately who it was he never had to say his name his unique voice always gave him away. I think he could have been a radio personality with that distinctively, unmistakable great voice of his.

I cannot help be feel great sorrow that I will never hear his wonderful strong voice again but it will resonate thru my heart and mind for the rest of my days as I am sure it will for many others as well. He often would counsel me on different situations. His insights that he shared will continue to guide me. His voice speaks even more strongly to me now than ever before. It echoes, it resonates with the things he shared and said.       

I have refelcted on how I can pay tribute to and remember Prof. Duncan and what he has done. He has
accomplished so much not just as a martial artist but as a human being.  I choose to remember how he lived, taught and shared. 

-Barron Shepherd

O'SENSEI RONALD DUNCAN 

WAY OF THE WINDS 

Born in Panama, Professor Ronald Duncan began training in boxing at the age of seven. Since Professor Ronald Duncan grew up in an area where many of the elite military forces of that country were training in jungle warfare, he learned at an early age to read the signs of nature for directions in and out of the jungle. It was the beginning of a long and very involved career in many aspects of the martial arts.

Ronald Duncan went on to serve in the United States Marine Corp where he was a member of the USMC Judo team and earned one of his earliest black belt rankings. Professor Duncan went on to earn a black belt in several other disciplines such as Hakko Ryu Jujitsu, Dai-nippon Jujitsu Ryu, Sosuishi Ryu, Kin Dai Gakko Ryu, Aikido, Aiki-Jujitsu, Kempo, Kobujitsu (weaponry), and Shinobino-jitsu (popularly known as Ninjitsu). His teachers were all legendary men; Charlie Neal, Ernie Cates, Naraki Hara, Tatsuo Uzaki, and Don Draeger.

Evolving into such a versatile practitioner of the martial arts, it is highly and widely known he was the first to practice and teach Ninjutsu in the states in the 60’s and 70’s before the ninja craze hit America in the 80's and 90's. Students from his school had great success on the tournament circuits of those days and he had already had series of articles published in the martial art magazines of the day. Professor Ronald Duncan became the first non-oriental to be publically recognized in "Official Karate" magazine as a master of martial arts weaponry.

For many years to come, Professor Duncan would thrill audiences around the world with spectacular demonstrations that would include vast assortments of traditional and non traditional weapons. Ronald Duncan was also the first to be shown catching live arrows with his bare hands on nationally televised programs such as "Thrill Seekers" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72tbio78jAQ, and ABC’s "Wide World of Sports" where he was acknowledged as the “Father of American Ninjutsu”.

Ronald Duncan has taught Special Troops, Navy S.E.A.L. Teams, law enforcement agencies, and various government agenc ies in foreign countries. Professor Duncan has not neglected modern weaponry. He is also a certified expert in firearms, and competition shooting with over 200 competition shooting awards. Having such knowledge in firearms, Professor Duncan is quite proficient in combative and gun disarming tactics.

Professor Duncan has a 6 volume Aikijujutsu instructional series and a single volume dvd on koga ryu ninjutsu available on dvd. http://espytv.com/aiki.htm

Since the establishment of his Way of the Winds™ System http://www.wayofthewinds.com/ , schools internationally are affiliated with him. He has taught in Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Panama, England and South Africa. He has also been involved with the blind, physically handicapped, and homeless inner-city youth.

Ronald Duncan is a recipient of numerous Hall of Fame awards and honors including the Professional Karate Federation in 1977, Turtull Hall of Fame in 1981, Marine Martial Arts Federation, Hall of Fame Charter Life Member in 1997, Martial Arts Masters, Pioneers & Legends Hall of Fame 1997, Tribute to the Greatest Masters of the Twentieth Century Hall of Fame (sponsored by Wesley Snipes) in 1998, and The World Head of Family Sokeship Council Hall of Fame 1999, and AFMA Hall of Fame 2000.

On Sunday, Januaury 20th,2007 at 7pm before a capacity crowd a Tribute to Grand Master Ronald Duncan was held. The Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame inductions New York City N. Y. hosted by Grand Master Aaron Banks the creator of The Oriental World of Self Defense shows and World Professional Martial Arts Organization, honored Grand Master Ronald Duncan for introducing Ninjitsu and other Martial Arts to the Western World thru this venue in 1969. The event was attended by some of the world's leading exponents of Martial and fight sciences including world boxing champions honoring Grand Master Ronald Duncan.

On June 13th, 2007 in Brooklyn N.Y. Grand Master Ronald Duncan received a Pioneering award for 50 years teaching the legendary practices of Ninjitsu and various martial arts in America. In November of 2007, Prof. Duncan was inducted to the International Association of Martial Artists Hall of Fame 2007.

Prof. Duncan was the first to practice and teach Ninjutsu in the states beginning in the 60’s before the ninja craze hit America in the 80's and 90's. Today, Professor Ronald Duncan is often acknowleged as the ”Father of American Ninjutsu” . There was a time when Ninjutsu was not being practiced publicly in this country but Ronald Duncan was one of a few individuals who dared to seek out and study the arts of the ninja. Since then, other ninjutsu practitioners and schools have emerged.

In Black belt Magazine, January 2011 issue, backed up the fact that O’Sensei Duncan was indeed the first to teach Ninjutsu in the U.S. Black belt commemorated their 50 years of publication in a 5 part series of articles in which they list the highlights from the martial arts world during Black Belt's first half century.

 Part 1  started off with a look back to the sixties  listed as one of the milestones of martial arts in the sixties Black Belt gave mention to  Prof. Ronald Duncan, and specifically stating that in 1964 "Ronald Duncan  was teaching ninjutsu in New York"

 

REMEMBERING A MARTIAL ARTS PIONEER AND A NOBLE WARRIOR

"Ron Duncan was and is a quiet, humble, polite, and extremely hard working martial artist of great ability. He cross- trained constantly. He took advice from everyone and I never heard him criticize anyone. I’m proud of the fact that I was influential in his learning process”.

“Sensei Ron Duncan studied judo, jujitsu and knife with me for 2 years. 1957-1959. He was an excellent martial arts student. He was in the same group of students at my dojo in Jacksonville, NC as Don Nagle, Jim Giles, Don Bohan, Rick Nemura, Bryan "Chick" Burk, Howard George-1960 Greco Roman Wrestling Olympic Champion. Pat Barris (who I taught from age 8-10 when he moved to the West Coast, Barris was twice Pan Am Judo Champion. All became famous in martial arts history. Ron Duncan is a pioneer in ninja history weaponry and tactics. "

- Ernie Cates

“He is a nidan in the American Ka­rate Federation, a shodan in the Ameri­can Judo and Ju-Jitsu Federation, a Shomokoroku in the Nippon Sosuishiryu Ju-Jitsukai, a godan in the Hakkoryu Ju-Jutsu Federation, and, although he doesn't call himself a Master of Ninjit­su, he's about the only one. Ronald Duncan is a man of many titles, but all deservedly earned and backed up by a multitude of talents; almost as many as the amount of weapons he is master of.”

-Official Karate Magazine August, 1971

"Ninjutsu is the art of Japans ninja warriors. It grew during the nations feudal period (13th to 17th century), when missions of espionage and assassination were often carried out against warlords. In the 1970s and 80s, ninjutsu was popularized in the West by Ronald Duncan, Stephen K. Hayes and Masaaki Hatsumi."

-Black belt magazine.com

"A marine veteran Professor Duncan was one of the First Marines back from oversea’s in the early 1950’s and returned with his skills (Nin-jitsu/Martial Arts) to Camp Lejeune, NC where Don Nagle (Isshinryu Karate), and Ernie Cates (Judo) also had based at the same time. For his great Accomplishments Duncan is inducted to the IAMA Hall of Fame 2007."

-Grand Master Gary Alexander

"He has 50 years experience and I want to have a picture of how he started his career in the racially charged years of the 1950s. Master Duncan has been a consistent, persistent presence on the martial arts scene. His knowledge of weapons and ninja practices are legend and he remains active as an instructor. I interviewed Master Ronald Duncan while I was out there. For me that was highlight of the trip. He was someone I had always wanted to meet."

-Floyd Webb “The Search for Count Dante” a documentary film

O'SENSEI RONALD DUNCAN: A LEGEND PASSES

 It is with heavy heart and great sadness that I pass along news that one of America's finest martial artist has passed away. I cannot express my sorrow upon hearing the news. My heart felt condolences go out to his family and students and those who knew him. It is a sad day and indeed a very great loss of one of the best men I know.

O'Sensei Ronald Duncan was a driving force of this blog. He repeatedly shared his insights and expressed his delight of the historical articles on my blog over the years.

O'Sensei, thank you so much for your friendship over the years and sharing your insight with me. I will dearly miss our conversations. I am so thankful to have known you even if it was for a short time. You leave a legacy and an inspiration that was imprinted on so many, especially me. God bless you and your family.

                              O'SENSEI RONALD DUNCAN
                                       6/4/1937 - 11/19/2012

TOM KELLY AMERICAN KENPO KARATE

ELVIS AND TOM KELLY 1974

THOMAS E. KELLY 9th DEGREE BLACK BELT "MASTER Of THE ART" in AMERICAN KENPO KARATE

Instructor for: Pricilla Presley, John Ritter and Peter Cetera (Chicago). Taught the children of : Buddy Hackett, Anthony Quinn, Kirk Douglas, Doris Day, Bill Cosby, Robert Gulp and Robert Mitchum. Provided Security for: Elvis Presley, Freddy Hart, Sonny James, Robert Culp and Bill Cosby.

1971-72-73 HEAVYWEIGHT "ALL-AMERICAN KARATE" CHAMPION. The first 7th Degree Black Belt promoted in the "Ed Parker System" by Mr. Parker. (1970)


The second Kenpo Black Belt to win the Heavyweight Division at the "Internationals".
Greg Baines (1969), (1972 fought 7 matches and
then Joe Lewis)

The second Kenpo Black Belt to win their weight division (same year) at the "Internationals" and the California State Championships. (1972)
(Steve Saunders was the first)

ED PARKER, ELVIS AND TOM KELLY

A member of the original "Undefeated" I.K.K.A. Black Belt Team. (1975)
(Steve Saunders - Lou Oliva - Chris Armstrong - John Henderson - Tom Kelly)


The first Kenpoist to fight on an "Open Black Belt Team" (Undefeated) in Europe.
(England and Belgium : 1975)
(John Nativada - Ron Marchini - Darrnel Garcia - Benny "The Jet" Uriqudez - Tom Kelly)

The Team Fights were made into a Movie "The New Gladiators" a documentary movie by Elvis Presley and Ed Parker centered on the fights of the United States Karate team in London, England and Brussels, Belgium. It was filmed between 1973 and 1974 but finally remastered and later released in 2002. The movie was financed by Elvis Presley. On August 16, 2009 Elvis Presley Enterprises released a new version of the film with extra footage of Presley in Karate training sessions.

 

SENSEI DOUGLAS DWYER

As of late due mostly to Floyd Webb’s documentary concerning the early days of martial arts in Chicago, there have been some individuals on various sites over the internet who have exaggerated and manipulated facts surrounding Sensei Douglas Dwyer one of the early karateka in the Chicago area.

A 10th degree black belt (Judan) Doug Dwyer's involvement in Karate has spanned more than fifty-eight years, in his early 70’s now, he is still training and teaching to this day. He is a very sharp martial artist and individual who is a fondly remembered Sensei by many of his students.  In remarkable shape from his many years in Karate, he is the embodiment of what a true black belt instructor is.

When we met a few years ago he had managed to capture my respect and admiration with his ability, training ethic and charisma. He was straight forward, honest and openly shared a lot of stories and training from the early days.

From our first meeting the bond between us was immediate and has strengthened over the years, not as student and teacher but as close friends, kindred spirits. I would venture to say it is more like father and son.  Dare I say, a wayward son, walking his own path much like Doug did.  It is in this spirit that I have chosen to write this article to address certain individuals on the internet who are misusing sensei Dwyer’s name. Enough is enough.  Mr. Dwyer is speaking out in his own words.

 In his words......

Silence is golden? Apparently not!"

"The time has come for this Sensei to set the record straight.  Over the past couple of years I've read countless articles and pdf's on the net about me and my life's story which have been infused with deliberately misleading falsehoods and outright lies!  I must admit, sometimes I hardly recognize myself.  It continues to elude me as to why, certain people have gone on record "quoting me" (with statements I've never made).  Some drop my name to give credence to fictional stories and still others, I've never met, claim to have been my students.  Then, let's not forget those who barely got past a beginners session before they left and certainly never got any rank from me but continue to write volumes embellishing time spent in my dojo.... Really?

Let me be clear, a couple of months of Karate 101 or a few hours spent in a seminar situation does not translate to being someone's Sensei.  That takes years!  A teacher simply instructs the many "pupils" who pass through as he waits for the "true students" to appear.  Further, I categorily state I am neither a founder nor am I a member, retired or otherwise, of any present-day organization.  No matter what is being inferred.  I sit on no boards or advisory counsels and I promote only my own students of long standing after a thorough review by me.  I believe honorary ranks and organizational ranks are exactly what the words imply and nothing more.

  The Martial arts have always given me discpline, direction and focus. Being a blue-collar Sensei from Chicago for me it has never been about celebrity, posturing and posing, or lining my pockets.  What it has always been about is teaching those who entrusted their personal well-being to me and making sure my training served them well through life.  I take this responsibility very seriously and while some choose to make a mockery of my "old school" approach I continue to travel a righteous path not deterred by those who falsely attempt to attach themselves to my personal history and abuse my open and trusting nature.

I remain ever hopeful that the truly Authentic and Dedicated practitioners of the arts never give voice to those who consider sincerity, truth, and honor to be signs of weakness and traits to be exploited by those seeking personal gain.  It's a sad day when the computer is used by some as a modern-day weapon for the sole purpose of convincing the masses that carefully contrived fiction is truth and the actual truth is merely optional and inconvenient.

My back-story is mine alone and I would caution anyone reading the currently posted drivel to CONSIDER THE SOURCE.  It's not coming from me;  the man who actually lived it! 

Here's the reality of truth.  It's factually correct, traceable, provable, and widely documented.  It does not change and cannot be re-written.  I accept the sum total of my choices through life and strive to be a better man every day.  The fact remains, my story is mine alone;  posers need not apply!"

Douglas Dwyer

Amen Sensei, amen. I have often thought, should I let such fictional stories about Doug continue on the web unchallenged.  From this point forward my response to that is a resounding "NO". If someone whose actual involvement with Doug was sporadic, fleeting and slight can proclaim themselves an authority , then why can I

not speak out publicly about a person who I indeed have a repoire and kindredship with.  A quote keeps running thru my head, “All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing.” I propose to no longer stand by and do nothing to ensure that these individuals think twice before they hijack Doug's individual experiences and pilfer his stories.  

FIRST NATION KENPO: NATIVE AMERICAN WARRIORS; The real American Ninjas

OYATE TOKAHEYA WOKICIZE WAKAGAPI

FIRST NATIONS FIGHTING ARTS

Article by Barron Shepherd  

The following article is written with my Sensei Samuel Lonewolf's input and blessing. Sensei Lonewolf is an 8th degree black belt and practices Native American weaponry such as the knife and tomahawk.  

 According to Andrew Adams in his book Ninja Invisible Assassins, “ In many ways the ninja bore a remarkable resemblance to the American Indian. They were stoical by nature and Spartan in their habits, both breeds developed great strength and endurance. They both learned to walk noiselessly and cover long distances in an amazingly short span of time. They could also detect the sound of approaching danger by putting one ear to the ground. Both were not only excellent horseman, but were also skilled with a knife as well as bow and arrow.

The American Indian used flaming arrows to set enemy camps on fire and communicated with smoke signals by day, animal and bird calls by night. They dug sand pits in the desert that were disguised and lay in wait for hours. They submerged themselves in swamp water and rivers and breathed thru hollow cane and reeds. They scaled vertical mountains to hide from the enemy. They prided themselves on their personal courage, preferring death to surrender or capture. The Eastern Ninja did many of the same as well. You could drop the American Indian and Eastern Ninja any place in the world and they would no doubt adapt and survive.”

Adding to the legend of their fierce combat skills, was the writings of Karl May.  In Germany, American Indians were popularized in his fictional writings.  This may have backfired a bit; The American Indian were so revered as invincible warriors in Karl May’s books that German troops were spooked by the notion they might be in the American ranks for 2 World Wars. There are stories about how during WW I and WWII,  the Germans were utterly TERRIFIED of the possibility about coming up against American Indians in battle. Adolf Hitler himself is said to have had a very distinct fear of Native American soldiers.

To begin to understand the American Indian way of fighting, one must realize that there was no army for the Indians. Warriors would band together as a tribe, but forming ranks and armies was alien to them. Warriors would work together loosely, but battle lines were not a tactic. Fighting was an intensely personal experience, and aside from the immediate protection of family and friends, the idea of fighting as a nation was not a conception that the American Indian could grasp. Each warrior ultimately answered to himself. Each warrior would look out for their own best interest and also for any opportunity to kill or "count coup" on an enemy.

There was an emphasis on the individual warrior and his exploits rather than the group as a whole. If a warrior could charge headlong into a group of enemies, then escape back to his comrades, he was considered twice as brave and honored much more. By exposing himself to danger and escaping while making the enemy look foolish, he had achieved the highest form of bravery in the American Indian culture.

The Native American tactics for battle were carefully planned by the leaders, and when faithfully carried out often resulted in success.  The tactics were those of stealth, surprise, and maneuver. If the enemy was alerted, they withdraw and tried another time.  Their hit-and-run techniques proved the most successful way to inflict damage without exposing and reducing their numbers to the bloody consequences of a direct engagement.

By being stealthy and attacking quickly with great force, and then withdrawing, it was possible to stun and confuse the enemy, giving Indians a greater advantage. This “guerrilla warfare” style of combat of engaging an enemy briefly and dissolving into the forests like ghosts, was highly effective and not to mention frustrating and unnerving to their enemies.  A French missionary wrote of them at war: "They approach like foxes, fight like lions, and disappear like birds."

Native American warriors were not just highly effective in combat, they were warriors in the truest since who had many responsibilities and duties. They were not only responsible for the protection of their people but also had the responsibility for providing the basic material needs of their people such as food.  This was an ongoing responsibility and one which fell directly on the shoulders of the warrior. If the warrior did not or could not provide these needs, his family, his people, did without.

Sam Lonewolf 8th degree black Belt Kajukenbo Kenpo Karate

According to Sensei Lonewolf, "The warrior stood in the fire for his people regardless of the type of hardship or task they endured.  His many tasks and responsibilities included taking care of the elderly, the defenseless; those who could not provide for themselves, and above all, the children, quite simply the children were the future.  He had an intense and absorbing respect for life, enriching faith in a Supreme Power, and principles of truth, honesty, generosity, equity, and brotherhood as a guide to mundane relations.  This was all a part of Native American warriorship."

Barron Shepherd is a 7th degree black belt in Kajukenbo Kenpo Karate under Sam Lonewolf, 8th Dan Oyate Tokaheya Wokicize Wakagapi First Nations Fighting Arts (Kajukenbo).