Shidoshi Melvin Williams started his training in the Bujinkan over a decade ago. He has been involved in the martial arts since he was a kid and officially started training in a Kung Fu class at 13 years old. It was then he realized that the art was too ritualized to survive in the real world with its unnatural and unrealistic movements.

It was a few years later he searched for the ninja art, but he couldn’t find it. Everywhere he went they told him: ninja (Ninjutsu) “was a bad art” “it’s for assassins and thieves” “it’s the black art”… The ninja had a worse reputation than the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) which even to this day; the ninja is frowned upon in Japan. It’s amazing how those people were wrong about the ninja and had superficial knowledge and misconceptions perpetuated by Hollywood. Melvin was fortunate to later find a authentic teacher who taught budo taijutsu and since then, he has never stopped!

In 2013 he was administrated the sakki test by Dai shihan Noguchi sensei and passing his test on the first attempt. He was awarded his Godan (5th degree black belt) given him the title of “Shidoshi” which is a full licensed certified instructor from the grandmaster Massaaki Hatsumi of the Bujinkan.

Even-though I am proud of my achievement, I don’t hide behind my title. I will forever be a student…
Web: bujinkanchicago.com