JLP Blacksmith Teaching Center.

[Frosty]

It should be fine if you mount the motor solidly.

Frosty The Lucky.

[jlpservicesinc]

The new mount location really solidified the structure and now I've moved onto making the cover for the gears. 

I forged and forge welded the bolt hole plate..  Next will be to bend and weld the gear cover pieces. 

I had to pull all the studs to get a flat surface.  I used cardboard starting off for the template, but that was no good. 

I then went and retreived the paper I have in the shop for this.. Turns out I had no painter take so ended up using contact cement directly on the flange..    It worked but not the way I like to do it.  

I put down painters tape, then spray it with contact cement, then put the paper on it. this way it takes an accurate and sturdy template. 

The forge weld came out sweet.   I had to keep walking back and forth 100ft from the trailer to the blower to measure and such after the 50th trip I was at the close enough phase of the relationship. 

One can see in the last photo that I did not bother to fix that dip in the flange..  I'll do that tomorrow. 

Was dark by the time I finished up..  Can't wait to have this weather button up so I can move onto other things. 

[Frosty]

Why didn't you move a portable forge out by the project?

I always cut precise gaskets with a ball pein on the part I'm making it for. It's easier if you cut the inside first, the gasket on the outside makes a good handle. After the first tap you have more than enough to index to for the rest. It's WAY more accurate than making templates, marking and cutting with a knife. Even a gasket knife.

Frosty The Lucky.

[jlpservicesinc]

Frosty, I don't have any portable forges. LOL..   Portable trailers yes.. But the trailer is all setup and in it's wintering spot. 

Yes, I also use a ball peen to form gaskets.  For tight spaces I also use a long handled screw driver and hit near the part to be cut on the side and this does the same job as the ball peen but in tight spaces. 

I like the gaskets to be locked in place for cutting especially if it's also being used as a template.  Besides it frees up both hands so I can do a better job. 

photo 5 has the ball pein sitting right there..   

[Frosty]

Construction paper is a little thin and if I wasn't using gasket material I like poster paper for a close cut gasket template. I'd never use something like corrugated cardboard it can't help but deform as the hammer collapsed it until it's sheared against the case.

Another good method is to smoke the case and using a scribe or pin to fit a bolt hole simply press the material against the case. If you're not steady enough use two ball point pens to depress the material into two bolt holes across the case from each other, smoke and press home using the pens as tapered pins.

I spent a lot of time cutting gaskets from several materials working in service stations in the early to mid 70s.

There are lots better things to use for a template than corrugated cardboard.

Frosty The Lucky.

[jlpservicesinc]

there sure is.. the carboard was handy and needed a rough template.  There isn't much clearance on the inside so used this template to make the rough shape then switched over to the better paper. 

I use what is handy..  Often times now it takes longer to find stuff since the shop has been organized (having help is well helpful)..  So just grab what ever will work until I'm passing by the betterer stuff. . 

I've used indigo blue, chalk, diekum, to help with transfer.   I just used what was handy.. 

Heres the run down of steps..   seemed to work out.  Perfect.. No..  It will work my lifetime and probably end up in scrap in the future.. 

Posterboard is excellent..  Didn't have any handy..   I used to love using cereal boxes..  

[Frosty]

No pizza boxes?  

Measure the gears diameter and distance center to center and mark circles on the chosen material and cut them out. This gives you clearance to make a direct transfer with whatever marking die you like. Or just bolt the cover on trim the excess and fill it with oil. 

It's almost always faster and easier to just use the right materials and not try inventing new methods. Adding unnecessary steps just prolongs a job. Unless of course, the real goal is tinkering rather than just getting it done. There's not a thing wrong with that, it's the definition of a hobby.

Frosty The Lucky.

[jlpservicesinc]

Thanks for keeping it Frosty.. 

[Frosty]

Aw pshaw (shuffle shuffle) Sometimes I forget how good you are at figuring this stuff out and I've always been a yakky guy.

Frosty The Lucky.

[jlpservicesinc]

You certainly have had a very interesting life..  You have been shown so many ways which you have grasped and expanded upon..  You are an impressive individual and the reason I ask you about things I know nothing about. 

I'm not a huge fan of reinventing the wheel.  

Thanks  

 

[Frosty]

You're welcome. It's not all me, Mother taught me how and why to read with a liberal application of flash cards after I did my homework, that she checked. I was reading at a high school level second semester of the 3rd grade. and I've never stopped. The secret to teaching kids to read is, Find something they like and supply it. Reading and wanting to understand what's being said improves reading comprehension. The flash cards and Mother's merciless application taught me the multiplication tables. I remember asking her when she was going to teach me the division tables and she told me not to be lazy they are the same thing. 

Dad was a near mathematical genius, he could do trig and calculus in his head but the Depression meant he had to stop school in the 8th grade and go to work. He was in his 60s when he got his GED to keep his job as foreman of a pretty decent sized machine shop and metal spinning operation. He taught me to draw and read blue prints by time I was 10-11 besides working in his shop a LOT. Years of that and I can look at a drawing and visualize the Thing, house, tool, part, machine, etc. Or look at a thing and break it down into "drawings" in my mind and understand the workings better.

It's all learned, nothing special. Sure I have the basic intelligence and knack but the ability is learned. 

I laid my hammer down a few years ago and almost never do any kind of fab anymore so I keep my hand in by passing what I've learned along.

I'm certainly not always right and I LOVE it when someone points out a mistake and shows me a better way. Not being ashamed of being wrong is a valuable tool I have Mother to thank for too. I use an adage I learned from her in other words. "We learn from our mistakes and some people never make mistakes."

Sorry for the ramble but I attribute my abilities to having chosen good parents.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[Bull Sigh]

It took me a while, but I read this entire thread.  It's been kind of a dizzying experience - so much to take in...  This is the kind of info I came to this forum for, but I didn't really expect to find this kind of epic adventure.  The typical forum thread on building something just sort of dissolves into a dead end, but the commitment here is amazing.  Great photos, great commentary and community involvement. My own goals are to build some tiny fraction of your teaching center and leave it for my son to push forward.  Great work, thank you.

[jlpservicesinc]

Frosty,  what you describe is a family group effort..  Both contribute to your abilities and aptitude.   Sounds like they were very dialed in and able to educate. Both sound pretty smart to boot.   

I love what you said about flash cards and such..  Flash cards are excellent teaching aids.. 

We came from very different environments..     My life as a child was more wild west..  

I had no mechanical ability when I was a child and   I was told over my early years I was aloof, withdrawn, hyper active, 

Reason why I say it this way is I literally lived in a fantasy world...  Adventures, love stories, the unicorn in the field.  I love stories about kindness and goodness..  I was a round peg in a square hole person and when I was told it was wrong I'd ask why?    I have always been a "why" person..    Just because used to be 99% of the people I knew answers.. In all my life there was only 1 teacher that I had, that when I asked why, would take the time to explain why..  She was amazing..   She impacted me in ways it only became clearer in later years..   

It wasn't until I discovered blacksmithing that I put down all the fiction and only read technical manuals.. 

I agree there is a component to learning and your parents found yours and brought it in early..  Also your desire aka hunger, even dormant in the background, seems to have drawn you towards the common denominator. 

Thanks for rambling.. I love hearing stories of where people come from and how they ended up where they are.. Your story is much appreciated and your generosity in kind to boot. 

[jlpservicesinc]

3 hours ago, Bull Sigh said:

It took me a while, but I read this entire thread.  It's been kind of a dizzying experience - so much to take in...  This is the kind of info I came to this forum for, but I didn't really expect to find this kind of epic adventure.  The typical forum thread on building something just sort of dissolves into a dead end, but the commitment here is amazing.  Great photos, great commentary and community involvement. My own goals are to build some tiny fraction of your teaching center and leave it for my son to push forward.  Great work, thank you.

Wow, You must have stopped for snacks, bathroom break and a few deep breaths.. Hope you grabbed some popcorn.. 

You are welcome.. 

Epic is probably the correct word..   I never dreamt it would turn into the juggernaut it has become. 

  Glenn, Our founder of IFI used to contact me off forum and we would chat about the threads I was involved in..  He was an amazing cheerleader and it's in his memory I keep coming back. 

I can hear him saying..  Keep going..  Don't get discouraged by a lack of responses or by people interjecting irrelevant information.  He'd then say " look at the numbers"..    LOL..   He is a great guy..   

I find the same things on forums.. The threads just die.. It's like what happened, the person die..  LOL..   Or they ask for help and never post whether it worked or not.. 

Knowing what I know now:      I would have bought an existing building..     The amount of work (site, building, heating, electrical, etc) if I rummage around in my head over the things that still need to be done can become overwhelming. 

I could have bought a building with everything fully in place for less than half what this building has cost and would have been able to open within a year.  This I think, is what separates practicality from dreams.. 

I am closer than ever to opening, but with this said, it's harder and harder to find the time to make everything just so. 

My fingers are crossed for your own shop endeavors, and hope you have many years with your son in discussions and implementations.   That is wonderful. 

I figure this thread will continue until I have figured out everything and classes have started.. Maybe 3-5 classes in. 

Then will post updates..  

Thanks for posting..   



 

[Frosty]

Thank you. Yes, my parents were extraordinary and I've used Mother's trick to teach kids many times. Find out what they like and hand them a magazine, book, etc. and stand back.

I've always lived in my own world, we all do actually but mine is more fun than most. Mine is filled with adventure, spacecraft, new planets, aliens, dangerous organisms, etc. And living in and around extinct animals, I was big on dinosaurs and still love new finds. Played lots of army as a kid and read lots of military fiction which transitioned into military Sci Fi in the mid 60s. My main sci fi love is "hard sci fi" Universes and Stories based on good science that hold to the rules even if the author had to invent one, so long as they stick to the rules they established it's good. When I read I'm THERE and live it in my mind. 

Don't get me started on the EDU system, I grew up in S. Cal where teaching subjects isn't the goal, socializing and maximizing the number who complete courses is. Funding is determined by how many complete a course so there is zero incentive to do anything but get kids to the next semester.

Glenn and I used to talk on the phone often too. We'd both get yakking and Deb would just go to bed because Glenn and I would be at it till his wife made him stop.

Oh come ON, if you bought a building and got the school going right away you wouldn't have gotten to build exactly what you wanted. It's like all the time and effort you're putting into the melter, you're doing what you love. 

You aren't the same person you were when you first joined the forum, you aren't as defensive and quick to anger. I believe that is because you've learned to the bone that you CAN do things you don't know how to do. All that's necessary is learn how.

It's an honor to call you friend.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Bull Sigh]

13 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said:

(many snips)

Wow, You must have stopped for snacks, bathroom break and a few deep breaths.. Hope you grabbed some popcorn.. 

My fingers are crossed for your own shop endeavors, and hope you have many years with your son in discussions and implementations.   That is wonderful.  

Thanks for posting..   

I did, in fact, pop some corn, LOL.

My son was the catalyst for our dream forge.  I got him and his brother hands-on with tools when they were barely able to walk.  I got them little cordless drills, hammers, etc.  My dad was a talented carpenter and enlisted me at a young age to help cut plywood on the table saw and stuff like that, so I learned to value how projects take shape - that 3-D form thing when walls go up, then roofs and all that.

Dad was a problem solver because he did so much work alone or with limited help.  I was reminded of that mind set many times in reading your thread.  Difficult problems require thought up front, and often reiteration to reach the correct solution.  That cycle is what motivates me, because I'm not naturally creative and only get there from a situational push.

Back to my sons...  I got them pocket knives when they were 3 or 4 years old and used it as a way to instill proper tool use, safety, first aid, etc.  Our friends told me what a mistake it was to put them in the path of danger but I saw the 180 view of starting kids young by showing trust and educating away most of the risk.  My younger son latched on to the history of knives, swords, axes, etc., and he was about 10 years old when I got him a book about bladesmithing.  He asked then if we could get a forge.  It's taken too long to finally get there.

I was educated as a chemist, but spent much of my career in materials science, including composites, ceramics, cermets, etc., and visited manufacturers that made components for the DOD (now DOW), so I saw production level casting of steel and alloys, drop forging, etc.  Only in the last few years did I start to understand what is possible on the blacksmithing end for a small shop.  It's pretty exciting, even if the learning required is pretty extensive.  Learning keeps us going forward.

Thank you for your reply.  Once your school is up and running, I'll look into what classes you have available.

[Frosty]

I see you know how to study, pop corn and a beverage is a must for keeping the blood sugar levels up where a person can concentrate. 

You sparked another Mother and Dad memory. I can kind of narrow the time down, we were living on Napa street in the Van Nuys Airport's landing pattern in the day the Airforce still used it as a training strip. Sub division buildup got jet trainers for the noise. The one that crashed almost directly across the street from our house is another story. Maybe for another time if anybody's interested.

We moved in around 1959 and I started school in 60. Neighbors watched each other's kids and even gave a paddling to other folks kids if they got too far out of line. The bus stop was at the corner of Napa and Havenhurst and one of the corner neighbors used to watch the kids waiting for the bus so we always had an escort crossing Havenhurst.

I can distinctly remember Mother having words with more than one of the neighbor mothers about me not being bundled up enough, I might get cold!!! Mother's response was simple, "If he gets cold he'll come home and put more on, it will toughen him up."  After a while Mother started commiserating with the most vocal mothers about Her son being at least that smart. 

It even got brought up at a PTA meeting and Mother started getting angry. Ever hear the term, NEVER mess with the momma? She actually took the podium having to quote PTA rules to get the "officers" to recognize ANY parent's right to address a meeting. She actually addressed the governing council when she asked THEM if they'd bothered to check the absentee records. "I'll WAIT!" She stood there tapping her toe.

Turned out I was absent less than 1/10 as often as the over bundled, come in from the cold, rain, wind, falling leaves, no you can't climb a tree,  etc. kids. What's a kid to do if he can't go outside if the wind is blowing? We lived in the San Fernando Valley where the Santa Ana winds frequently hit 40mph with gusts that blow trucks off the road and roofs off.

I heard the story from my playmates and their Dads, Moms were NOT happy with Mother. 

Sorry, got to rambling again but I'm in full agreement with you Bull, sure you gotta keep kids safe but the best way to do that is by teaching them HOW do handle and do dangerous things starting when they're young. I was 8yro when Dad bought my first rifle and we'd been shooting quite a while already.

The way to build self confidence is to learn or teach them how to DO, not yammer psychobabble at them.

Of course that's just my opinion I COULD be wrong.

Frosty The Lucky.

[jlpservicesinc]

Bull, Frosty I'll respond tomorrow.. 

Today passed quickly and off to the shower.. Here are some updates on the blower gear cover. 

I bent the 2 sides in the roll bender..  I then fine-tuned them in a Hossfield #2. 

The tack welds will be removed after the inside is tig welded.   

I have an oil seal coming for a 1" shaft size.. the shaft has some damage so might have to fit one of those repair sleeves. 

It's amazing what I can do in the school pretty easily.. 

There is no oil drain fitting in the blowers main case.. You can see the fill plug but there is no drain plug.  The gap in the bottom was to put in thicker stock and add a drain plug, but there is a lip inside the case that is about 3/4" deeper than the cover. 

I'm thinking now about drilling a hole in the very bottom for 1/8" NPT for a drain plug. 

[jlpservicesinc]

So here it is welded on the inside. 

I tig welded it so it should be sealed. 

Tomorrow I'll make the front sheet and the oil seal seat.

 

[jlpservicesinc]

On 11/26/2025 at 8:56 AM, Bull Sigh said:

I did, in fact, pop some corn, LOL.

My son was the catalyst for our dream forge.  I got him and his brother hands-on with tools when they were barely able to walk.  I got them little cordless drills, hammers, etc.  My dad was a talented carpenter and enlisted me at a young age to help cut plywood on the table saw and stuff like that, so I learned to value how projects take shape - that 3-D form thing when walls go up, then roofs and all that.

Dad was a problem solver because he did so much work alone or with limited help.  I was reminded of that mind set many times in reading your thread.  Difficult problems require thought up front, and often reiteration to reach the correct solution.  That cycle is what motivates me, because I'm not naturally creative and only get there from a situational push.

Back to my sons...  I got them pocket knives when they were 3 or 4 years old and used it as a way to instill proper tool use, safety, first aid, etc.  Our friends told me what a mistake it was to put them in the path of danger but I saw the 180 view of starting kids young by showing trust and educating away most of the risk.  My younger son latched on to the history of knives, swords, axes, etc., and he was about 10 years old when I got him a book about bladesmithing.  He asked then if we could get a forge.  It's taken too long to finally get there.

I was educated as a chemist, but spent much of my career in materials science, including composites, ceramics, cermets, etc., and visited manufacturers that made components for the DOD (now DOW), so I saw production level casting of steel and alloys, drop forging, etc.  Only in the last few years did I start to understand what is possible on the blacksmithing end for a small shop.  It's pretty exciting, even if the learning required is pretty extensive.  Learning keeps us going forward.

Thank you for your reply.  Once your school is up and running, I'll look into what classes you have available.

Bull, a chemist huh...  that is cool..  I always wanted to be a chemist..  Chemistry is where it's at..  If I had it to do over again.  Thats what I would do.. 

Getting your boys to be involved in the great outdoors is what brought me into the fold..   I started martial arts when I was 7.5 and saw my first blacksmithing at 8..   We were a hunting/fishing family though not so much hunting.   I lost my taste for taking things lives early on and just would target shoot.. I still love to go shooting.  

I am planning on making a carbon fiber composite high speed gyrocopter..    So maybe when the time comes I can pluck your brain some??? 

The school I'm hoping will be done this spring.  I keep saying that as I'm getting older and have so many other "have to's" ..   I'm at the point now of organizing and this brings about putting items in their general location..   Up till a few months ago I was just sticking stuff where it would fit.. 

I'll be having a tool sell off sale once I get it organized and see the extras that won't be used. 

I have 22 anvils.  and just ordered 3 brian brazeal style striking anvils with Keyed anvils on top.   So each work station will be blessed with that type of anvil assembly.   I'll keep 6 or 8 traditional anvils and sell the rest.. 

The school will primarily be for traditional blacksmithing including tools used from 1700-1950's.. 

With this the bladesmithing aspect will include modern 2x72 as well as 3x132 and 4x89.   There are 2 many tools to list. Lets just say it's going to be amazing if I can pull it off the way I imagined. 

You are welcome.  My pleasure.. 

On 11/26/2025 at 1:16 PM, Frosty said:

member Mother having words with more than one of the neighbor mothers about me not being bundled up enough, I might get cold!!! Mother's response was simple, "If he gets cold he'll come home and put more on, it will toughen him up."  After a while Mother started commiserating with the most vocal mothers about Her son being at least that smart. 

It even got brought up at a PTA meeting and Mother started getting angry. Ever hear the term, NEVER mess with the momma? She actually took the podium having to quote PTA rules to get the "officers" to recognize ANY parent's right to address a meeting. She actually addressed the governing council when she asked THEM if they'd bothered to check the absentee records. "I'll WAIT!" She stood there tapping her toe.

Turned out I was absent less than 1/10 as often as the over bundled, come in from the cold, rain, wind, falling leaves, no you can't climb a tree,  etc. kids. What's a kid to do if he can't go outside if the wind is blowing? We lived in the San Fernando Valley where the Santa Ana winds frequently hit 40mph with gusts that blow trucks off the road and roofs off.

I heard the story from my playmates and their Dads, Moms were NOT happy with Mother. 

Sorry, got to rambling again but I'm in full agreement with you Bull, sure you gotta keep kids safe but the best way to do that is by teaching them HOW do handle and do dangerous things starting when they're young. I was 8yro when Dad bought my first rifle and we'd been shooting quite a while already.

The way to build self confidence is to learn or teach them how to DO, not yammer psychobabble at them.

Of course that's just my opinion I COULD be wrong.

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty,  was a different world back then vs now..   Same thing where I grew up..   By the time we got home, my mom all already knew what we were up to. 

You were fortunate to have such supporters..   

Just heard a radio person talking about toddlers and how, when they go around punching everyone, it's ok.   The lady then said that at some point, they will work out of it.    

I said, yeah, when they go to school and punch someone, and they punch them back...  That will stop the behavior. 

Sounds like you had nearly the Leave it to beaver type go about..   Thats awesome..   

Wonderful indeed.. 

No work was done on the furnace blower today..  I did horses this morning then I had to get things ready for tomorrow. 

One of my buddies is coming over and we are going to take down some trees near the school building.  He's going to run the Lull and I'll go up in the Grove Manlift with saw and cut the tree while he brings the chunks down. 

I did dig out the plate to go over the top..  Ill cut the metal that will hold the seal on the metal lathe and then tig weld it onto the cover.. 

[Bull Sigh]

On 11/28/2025 at 7:45 PM, jlpservicesinc said:

Bull, a chemist huh...  that is cool..  I always wanted to be a chemist..  Chemistry is where it's at..  If I had it to do over again.  Thats what I would do.. 

Getting your boys to be involved in the great outdoors is what brought me into the fold..   I started martial arts when I was 7.5 and saw my first blacksmithing at 8..   We were a hunting/fishing family though not so much hunting.   I lost my taste for taking things lives early on and just would target shoot.. I still love to go shooting.  

I am planning on making a carbon fiber composite high speed gyrocopter..    So maybe when the time comes I can pluck your brain some??? 

Better living through chemistry...

Smithing at 8 is amazing!

I'll do what I can to assist on your gyrocopter.  I have not looked at material availability lately.  For years, the military took nearly all of it.  A mechanical engineer is good to know on the design side.  Having a Forged In Fire test-it-till-it-breaks approach is worthwhile to find the failure mode versus design aspect.

[Bull Sigh]

On 11/26/2025 at 11:16 AM, Frosty said:

Sorry, got to rambling again but I'm in full agreement with you Bull, sure you gotta keep kids safe but the best way to do that is by teaching them HOW do handle and do dangerous things starting when they're young. I was 8yro when Dad bought my first rifle and we'd been shooting quite a while already.

The way to build self confidence is to learn or teach them how to DO, not yammer psychobabble at them.

A parent can try endlessly to teach, but ultimately, kids learn from their own experiences.  It's not easy to see your kids learn the hard way, but trust is a 2 way street.

I bought a Winchester 22 rifle at Montgomery Wards at 8.  My Dad was not worried at all, nor was Mom.  Rather than bringing home rabbit or squirrel, they would rather it be a few bass or bluegill.

[jlpservicesinc]

As with all things right " it depends" 

x action gives x results. 

Ive taught many ninjutsu over the years  ages 8 and up. 

I always find it amazing how kids start to form their own opinions and beliefs earlier and earlier and by the time they have reached 8 to 10yrs old now they have thoughts already entrenched. 

I had opinions at that age, but it was more about day dreams vs anything else. 

My 3 yr old cousin asked me a few years ago what my take and feelings were with the war between Russia and Ukraine..  

 

She was completely dialed in and it was like talking to a professor. 

[Frosty]

My father wouldn't let me have a .22 until I bought my own. At the time you had to be 16 to buy a fire arm. He said a .22 is too easy to treat like a toy and we lived in a suburb, large lots but still. A .22 CAN kill at up to a mile and a kid just doesn't have the judgement you can trust.

Might have been different if we lived in the country and Mother would touch game BUT . . . My folks grew up during the depression when game was often the only meat available. My paternal Grandmother was the Chief of housekeeping for logging camps and mills for the area, "head Bullcook" in the parlance but in reality upper management. Soooo, they ate a LOT of leftovers from the mills and camps. 

Dad loved venison or most any game meat, anything BUT leftovers.

My Maternal Grandfather was a federal superior court circuit judge, traveled a lot but he and Mom, were more secure than most during the depression. Still meat was hard to come buy, but Pappy and the brothers were avid fishermen so there was always trout.

Mother hated fish bearing in mind Tuna wasn't "fish" it came out of a can, my little Sister maintains the same deliberate fiction. I did convince both to try tuna in water rather that in oil as I grew up with. I could hardly eat the random tuna-like fishy stuff floating in mystery oil in a can as soon as I tried chunk white albacore in water.

There are a number of things I had to eat as a kid I want nothing to do with. Lots of depression penny pinching specials like Mother's version of spaghetti, a can of tomato sauce, plenty of salt and a good dose of cinnamon over noodles. My little Sister saved and gave me some of Mothers cookbooks from the day and there it was, her "spaghetti stuff recipe in black and white with a book mark so old it was part of the page.

So was her Tuna noodle recipe, noodles, tuna and mayo. Mmmmmm, my favorite version!

It's funny how almost anything about us can be "trained" by long term exposure. It makes it easier to accept that people around the world not only eat but relish the icky stuff they do.

We must've hit submit at almost the same time Jenifer but I re-read your response and gave it some thought before setting fingers to key.

Are you telling me Ninjitsu is NOT a martial art? Did I NOT qualify my statement about you learned a martial art from instruction OR self taught? 

I understand you not believing I could tell you are a martial artist by your speech patterns and "philosophy" of learning. We've been talking more than long enough for me not to have to rely on reading comprehension or between the lines to give my statement a high probability of being correct. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[jlpservicesinc]

Frosty explaining Ninjutsu to most is difficult.  

Not self taught. But self explored. 

In the early days nearly all of it was take this home and study it. 

Then we will meet up at X and go over what you learned.

True Ninjutsu has not been taught for years as it was considered to barbaric for current times. I came on the scene when the old taijutsu was still being taught and it was one of physical endurance and no tapping on the day. A lot like special forces training. As long as you never quit.

This changed into the Bujinkan dojo which brought  9 schools together with hundreds of subsets. 

The main concept is to survive. There is no such thing as self defense in Ninjutsu.

Again learning the old school way and then coming into the modern take has been interesting. 

Like all things there is a huge difference between mastery, understanding and physical ability to show it. 

One only needs to be able to dispatch someone else only so many times with a finger.  Or do they

It would take days of useless typing. 

There are 3 keys,   endurance, heart, sword.

You can juggle them into what ever makes sense to you.