Jeff Christian

I first started studying martial arts in 1974, when my parents signed me up for judo to toughen me up (they were right -- I needed it). I did that for about 3 years. After that it was Shito-ryu karate for less than a year before the dojo closed down.

It was in 1983 when I began studying in the Bujinkan at the Dayton Dojo, and I've been a devoted student of the Bujinkan ever since then. Over the years I've also studied a few other things -- aikido, wrestling, boxing -- to fulfill my own curiosities about how other martial arts approached combat, but I've never felt the urge to leave the Bujinkan.

So this is what my life is devoted to: Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and, by extension, the general idea of budo. While I have a dojo in NYC, my bills are paid via my work as a personal trainer, which I've done here since 1994. In fact, my decision to become a personal trainer was driven by my study of budo: by better learning how the body works, I would become a better practitioner (and the personal training has been an immense help in my martial arts).