Location

The Sho-In Dojo is located in Crystal Lake, IL near the intersection of Randall & Alexandra roads.

Contact the instructor for the specific location. This information is not posted for privacy concerns.

Schedule

Sunday: 10:30am - 12:00pm
Thursday: 8:00pm - 9:30pm

**Other training days/times can be made available depending on student interest**

Instructor

Sam Hersee

Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu - YonDan (4th degree black belt)

Sam began learning martial arts when he was 8 yrs old, learning TangSooDo and Hapkido. Although stopping for many years, it instilled the desire to pursue the martial arts. Later, in college at Purdue University, he studied Judo for a few years. In 2002, his Judo training brought him into contact with the school's Bujinkan club, where he finally found the path to martial arts he unwittingly searched for all along.

After college, Sam joined the Shorisha Dojo in 2005, studying under his instructor Vic Siedleski (7th dan Bujinkan Shidoshi) whom he continues to actively train with.

Sam travels to Japan when possible to receive advanced instruction from Hatsumi Soke and the various Japanese Shihan, including Nagato, Seno, Shiraishi, Noguchi, and Someya

Cross Training:

Judo, Brazilian Jujitsu, Boxing, various Karate styles, Tae Kwon Do, and Western Fencing

Misc:

CPR & Defibrulator certified
Performer in the Triton Troupers Circus (tumbling, acrobatics, & trampoline)
Industrial Designer in the point-of-purchase marketing field

What Kind of Skills are Taught?

Strikes, kicks, joint locks, throws, chokes, pins
Weapon usage and disarms (knife / staff / sword / rope / handguns & improvised weapons)
Pressure-point / pain-compliance
Safe rolling & falling skills to prevent injury in training and in daily life
Basic acrobatic tumbling skills - cartwheels, round-offs, front/back handsprings, etc (by request only)
defense from multiple assailants
working with teammates to neutralize assailants

What To Expect In Training

Rolling and falling skills are taught to prevent injury in the dojo and out in life, and are practiced at every class!

Combat techniques are taught in a hands-on fashion, including contact with your training partners. To prevent injury, techniques are initially trained in a slow & controlled fashion, with speed & intensity increasing as appropriate with the student's skill level.

There is no sparring, although there is occassional "testing" of skills using "Randori", a free response exercise against unknown attacks. Randori is first practiced slow, with light contact. As the student becomes more skilled, this progresses to full-speed and contact, commensurate with experience.

Curriculum

Training follows a flexible curriculum that covers the entire gambit of self defense and combat application.

Students learn at their own rate and are encouraged to take personal stock in what they are learning. Students may break out of their curriculum to address specific topics they feel they need for them as an individual.

Ranking

The Kyu/Dan ranking system is used, which incorporates 10 kyu ranks leading up to black belt, followed by 15 degrees of black belt. The Bujinkan is not strict on ranking structure prior to black belt, so different dojos may utilize different belts. In this dojo, the ranks are organized as follows:

	10th kyu	Basic training & safe training methods
	9th - 5th kyu	Intermediate trianing - movement and application
	4th - 1st kyu	Advanced training - conceptual understanding
	1st-4th dan	Specialized training, development of personal style, and application

The test for Godan (5th Dan) must be taken in Japan under direct supervision from Hatsumi Soke.

Rank progresses up to 10th dan, with 5 levels of 10th dan (commonly referred to as 11th-15th dan).