In most people’s minds black belt is the end game for martial arts training. This is the product of many social and economic influences. Somehow the uninitiated have the idea that black belt means you’re Spiderman. My sense is that the best way to put this in perspective is through an analogy. Black belt in […]

Students have been asking me what I am doing to keep myself sane during these crazy times. Many of them have told me that they are too stressed out to meditate. When they try to sit and do a simple shamatha meditation, placing all awareness on a single point of focus (usually sensation of air […]

“I’m no Einstein,” I said, “but I do know it’s all relative.” Someone had just asked me what my views on karma are. “Well, what does that mean?”, they replied. “Can you elaborate?” First we have to acknowledge that there are two views of so-called reality, I said. OK, now you’re starting to blow my […]

Recently I have had a number of students ask me how we apply our martial art outside the dojo to everyday life. Well, that is a huge question that could be answered by way of a book. This is, in fact, a life art. The training, given time and proper guidance, will work its way […]

In this third article on verbal taijutsu I will focus on the energy of the fire element. First let’s start with energy itself. The fire element is about connection, but also energy. An intense level of positive energy is always contagious. Enthusiasm is inspiring. This is what a lot of motivational speakers survive on. By […]

Recently I have had a number of students ask me how we apply our martial art outside the dojo to everyday life. Well, that is a huge question that could be answered by way of a book. This is, in fact, a life art. The training, given time and proper guidance, will work its way […]

“Holy mackerel,” I said, “where are you planning on going?” A student had just asked me what to do if you were surrounded by a number of attackers. Now students who train with me know that my usual answer to a self-defense question is “it depends.” That is not a cop out or a blow […]

Like many of you I am a fan of the magnificence of the Olympics. The athleticism and single-pointed dedication never cease to inspire me. As I watched ski champion Lindsey Vonn do her final Olympic ski run I was moved almost to tears as she spoke about this pivotal moment in her life. She was […]

Here is a little acronym that a friend of mine shared with me recently to remind us of essential components for managing our day-to-day life. P – Be present. Do your best to avoid being caught up in the past, worrying or obsessively anticipating the future. You have heard me refer to these habits as […]

Why is it that far too often life leaves us feeling beat up? Well, stuff happens. In the tenets of Buddhist philosophy this is the fist of the four noble truths. No matter what we do things will happen that cause unhappiness. The key is to minimize the frequency and intensity of these experiences. To […]

Through our work with the NinjaSelfDefense.com online training courses we have made learning the art of To-Shin Do available to everyone. Back in the early 80’s it was a very different world. I won’t bore you with stories of how I had to walk uphill barefoot in the snow both ways to and from class […]

How often do we find ourselves griping about necessary tasks in our lives that should or must be done? If you are like most people, the answer is – far more often than you would like. Or, worse yet, you continue to procrastinate and avoid getting things done. Of course, some part of your mind […]

In recent years many professional athletes and teams have discovered the power of visualization training. This is a tool I used quite a bit myself when my career at the time had me travelling to an average of two to three cities a week. Needless to say, my time in the dojo was very limited. […]

As many of you know, it is standard procedure in our training halls to do a short meditation at the end of class. If you are training on your own or with a small group we recommend that you do this as well. There are endless ways to turn these quick meditations into valuable exercises. […]

This year at my annual two day training camp I devoted the first day entirely to developing more effective communication skills. Clearly we will all fight many more verbal battles throughout our lives than physical ones. The key measure of our skills as communicators is our ability to effectively employ our ability to communicate to […]

Thirty-four years ago I wandered in to a boy scout camp in Hamilton Ohio with my belongings on my back in an old backpack, and a sense of adventure in my heart. I could not wait to train again with the man who had totally blown my mind at our first meeting a couple of […]

I was doing an interview on a local television show. I was asked what was so unique about our marital art. I found myself struggling to indentify and communicate the specifics. As I began outlining the key elements, for example, using gravity rather than fighting against it, understanding unified body movement, perfecting balance breaking skills, […]

As we continue to move forward with the development of To-Shin Do as the best self-defense martial art available anywhere, I couldn’t agree more with An-shu’s directive that we must focus on what is practical, relevant, and reliably effective. I have long held that when we are practicing defenses against various forms of strikes we […]

In my many decades as an instructor one of the most difficult essential To-Shin Do concepts to get students to assimilate is the idea of moving with your opponent. For many students this is incredibly difficult to grasp. This is the principal of fluid connectedness. This is the understanding that once the conflict has begun […]

It was a Monday morning. My knee was more painful than usual. I had spent most of the previous day working in my yard in the humid Florida heat. It was definitely one of those “really don’t feel like doing this” days. I had successfully followed through on my base line self-discipline rule, which is; […]

We were winding up a seminar training session. I was taking questions. A long distance student asked a very common question. “What is the most important thing for me to work on at my stage of training?” There are always many things; improvement is continuous. Given that this student was a Black Belt my response […]

On the day I was promoted to eighth degree black belt I stood before friends, family and students – seekers all – awash in a complex mixture of emotions. As I accepted this great honor I referred to my guide, teacher, and martial friend, An Shu Stephen K. Hayes as a most essential “On Jin”(own […]

Cultivating good uke (oo-kay) skills is a critical component to good To-shin Do training and developing reliably effective technique. This is a rather expansive topic and far too complex for one short writing such as this. That said, here is one of the most frustrating things you can slip into that will foul up your […]