Alfred Galea Shidoshi (Master Teacher) 8th Dan Bujinkan Ninpo Taijutsu Malta owes its existence and success to the efforts and perseverance of Alfred Galea. He is currently qualified and registered with the worldwide Bujinkan organization as a Master Teacher (Shidoshi). With his 8th Dan in Ninjutsu, he is the highest ranking member of the Bujinkan on the island. Born in 1971, his training in the martial arts started at the tender age of 5, when he started learning Judo under a local instructor. As he grew up he was eager to try various forms of martial arts and he trained under the tutelage of local instructors in various styles, including Kung Fu, Karate and Jujutsu.   In 1984 Alfred discovered that there was a local group training ninjutsu, and being a fan of the ninja movies very popular at that time, he decided to try it out. He was immediately fascinated by the art and he continued to train under the local instructor until 1992, when due to unfortunate circumstances the latter had to stop training. Alfred took it upon himself to continue the efforts of his instructor and sought to make contacts abroad. He discovered that although they had been training the basics of Ninjutsu, the group had not been affiliated with any international organization. Enzo Rossi and Alfred Galea back in 1998   Thus, he contacted Mr. Brian Mc Carthy, the founder of BBD (Bujinkan Brian Dojo) in the UK. After training with Mc Carthy in Ireland, Alfred was authorized to open officially a BBD branch in Malta, under the supervision of Mr. Brian Whitaker who started to visit the island regularly to impart more knowledge and assess the progress of the Maltese group. The group thrived well with this arrangement until Alfred attended his first Taikai in 1998 in Italy. The Taikai is an annual gathering of the Bujinkan which is led by Soke Masaaki Hatsumi himself. Alfred got to know there that the BBD was not directly affiliated with Soke Hatsumi's Bujinkan. He also realised that that the Bujinkan system was much vaster than what he was learning in the BBD, and was backed by a whole philosophy that he had so far been unaware of. Alfred wanted to share all that he saw there with his own students back in Malta. He requested to be made part of the Bujinkan system, and Soke Hatsumi acknowledged his demand. He put him under the tutelage af Mr. Enzo Rossi (presently 15th Dan Shihan), who was also in charge of Bujinkan Italy. Alfred continued training under the guidance of Enzo and travelled regularly to attend the yearly Taikai. He has trained in Holland, Spain, Italy and England numerous times. He was graded a black belt in Ninjutsu in Croyden in the 1999 Taikai. He has trained with several other well known Bujinkan Shihan like Norman Smithers, Bryan Morgan and Natasha Morgan. His friendship with Norman Smithers Norman Smithers (presently 15th Dan) in particular dates back to when he was still training with the BBD, and they have kept in contact throughout the years. Norman has kept up his support and assistance in Alfred’s training up to the present day, and is often invited to Malta to conduct seminars for the Bujinkan Malta. In May 2003 Alfred took his first trip to Japan, where he trained at the Bujinkan Hombu Dojo (main Bujinkan Dojo) with Soke Hatsumi and other Japanese Shihans, namely Noguchi Sensei, Nagato Sensei and Someya Sensei. He successfully passed his Saki test there, thus obtaining his 5th Dan grade and the title of Shidoshi, which means teacher. He now holds the grade of 8th Dan which was awarded to him in 2005.   Norman Smithers and Alfred Galea back in 2007 Alfred Galea is currently working as a Port Senior Security and security consultant. Alfred, as in the rest of the Bujinkan, leads the Maltese Dojo in an informal manner. He insists on being called by name, not titles. He believes that respect is earned by the way he teaches not by how imposing he makes himself. He also believes in unity in the group and encourages and organizes social events for the students, not just training activities. At the Bujinkan Malta Dojo, Alfred is assisted by other black belts in the running and teaching of the group. These are Marvin Zammit (4th Dan) and Alex Grech (1st Dan) who have been training with Alfred in the Bujinkan for several years.