BL, AK is NOT legit. He may be able to fight, and he may know good techniques, but what he does is NOT ninjitsu (or ninjutsu or however you want to spell it).
That being said, all his "techniques" come from like Army field manuals and stuff.
Not only does AK claim to be Koga ryu, but the Koga ryu doesn't exist any more. The last master and his top student died in a car crash in the 50's or something.
AK cannot prove ANY lineage whatsoever to Koga or any other ninjutsu ryu.
Whereas Japan recognizes Masaaki Hatsumi as the Grandmaster of Togakure-ryu ninjutsu, and Hatsumi has all the scrolls that have been passed to him, Japan does not recognize AK as the grandmaster of anything, NOR does AK have any scrolls from any ninjutsu ryu.
AK claims his teacher was "Shendai," but he won't say anything else. Claiming mystic people as your teacher who are "so secret you can't tell their real name" is a sure sign of BS.
Ashida Kim is really Chris Hunter.
He is caucasion.
Ashida is a Japanese name.
Kim is a Korean name.
A white guy with a Japanese first name and Korean last name? I don't think so. Can you say "marketing ploy to sell books?"
On his board in the past, he has claimed that "Chris Hunter is his friend." The site used to be registered to Christopher Hunter, but I don't know if it still is. His pic has appeared in his books, and Christopher Hunter's pics have appeared in his book, and guess what, they're the same person.
AK also has a "$10,000 challenge" where you have to pay $10,000 to fight him, but with all his rules and conditions it ends up being more like $50,000. Of course, people have made challenges before, but he always comes up with excuses.
You say you've read his material. That alone should be enough to convince you that it's crap if you're even decently familiar with the martial arts in general. If you're familiar with ninjutsu then you should KNOW that it's crap.
He uses Chinese terms in his books for crying out loud. Ninjutsu is not now, nor was it ever, a Chinese art. There would never be Chinese terms in Ninjutsu.
More crap from AK's books:
In one book (Iron Body Ninja, perhaps?) he claims that "Thai boxers cut nerve endings in their shins so they can kick without pain." That's such a load of crap. Thai boxers don't cut nerve endings. What a *******.
In another book (or maybe it's the same one, I forget) he puts the Highlander (tv show) theme song at the end like it's some poem that he wrote. What a *******. I hope they sue him for copyright violation.
Do you need more proof that he's full of crap? Please let's keep this discussion going.
"If Ashida wished you to know his real name, I am sure he would write to you and tell you himself." --Danny Sainty
"So, you supposed martial artists, what are you trining for? Who are you training to fight? Apparently no one. Because even in a hypothetical situation, you puss out, Ha! Ha!" --Ashida Kim