Do your best to pay attention to how your footwork and body positioning are keeping you safe and placing you in a position of advantage.
Archive | Teacher Insights
Get Angry to Get Focused
Do not get mad at conditions in your life. That is pointless. What a waste of time and energy. Get mad about your reluctance to do something about those conditions. If you are not just a little bit angry about your condition — the shape you are in, the way you look, how you fit […]
Strength and Compassion
Back in the 1990s a timid, thin, young math teacher walked into the Boston Martial Arts Center and began training with us. Many doubted he would last but he not only lasted he earned a black belt from my teacher Mark Davis. His transformation from fear to confindence and capability was one of greatest changes […]
What’s the rush?
Festival 2018 is coming (very excited) and everyone is getting ready for testing. I had a number of conversations recently about testing and I have to ask: What is the rush? At this point I had planned to discuss some of the issues about the differences between when you started training and how much actual […]
Fire Preemptive Attack
In a third possibility, Hi no Kata fire element dynamics are the energy of committed intensity and focus. You learn to recognize a problem as it builds. You intercept at just the right moment. Theme – Clinging becomes desire which leads to energy The fire influence shows up as the magnetic power of energy, artistry, […]
Are You Serious?
What does it mean to be serious about your training? Does it mean you are always straight faced at the dojo? Does it mean you are very formal? Does it mean you are very regimented and organized? For me, it means something else. This past weekend I got to teach at a wonderful training camp […]
Mistakes as Teachers
“Really screwed that up,” said my student as he rubbed his jaw. “I hate it when I make mistakes,” he continued. I said, “yeah, don’t we all. Do it again,” I said. His partner attacked and he angled perfectly and avoided getting hit. “That’s it,” I exclaimed, “perfect.” “Now, let me ask you a question. […]
Water Tactical Positioning
Let’s continue our review the five elements that form the base for To-Shin Do training from the inside out. In this issue of Ninja Now, we”ll look at the water element. Theme – Knowledge leads to power Sui no Kata water element dynamics are the tactics of power and knowledge, self-discovery, strategy, and individuality. This […]
An-shu Rumiko
At the beginning of this month we had the honor of hosting An-shu Rumiko Hayes for her first ever, solo seminar. Sixty people from around the country and Canada traveled to New Hampshire to take part in this historic event. None left disappointed, the seminar was amazing. An-shu Rumiko covered many topics and ideas on […]
Earth Ground Holding
Let’s review the five elements that form the base for To-Shin Do training from the inside out. In this issue of Ninja Now, we’ll look at the earth element. The ground-holding power-exertion of the earth element shows up as the opposite of the free-moving evasive wind element, which will be described later From the earth […]
Surrounded
“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 […]
A Master’s Tale
Several years ago, Rumiko and I were invited as special guests to a showcase of Japanese karate instructors. These were the men who brought karate to the USA in the 1960s when I was just dreaming about studying the martial arts. All were in their late 60s and 70s. The senior master instructors performed their […]
Finding Your Way Back
A friend of mine recently told me he was thinking about resuming his training after taking some time off. He asked me if I had any advice. That was easy – “do it,” I said. After giving it further thought, I realized that this could apply to quite a few people. Life can get in […]
In Gravity
At this past Black Belt Training in Dayton I was asked to teach a short session. My goal was to show people how to get into fighting focus, what athletes call the zone. This is done with a particular breathing pattern, spinal alignment, hand alignments and…getting into gravity. The combination of these things help move […]
Ninja Evolution
I have a curriculum all my friends use in their To-Shin Do dojos, from white belt through 6th Degree. 7th and 8th Degree are somewhat special, worked out between each individual student and me. My current major project is a rework of 4th and 5th Degree. The old curriculum was designed in the late 1980s. […]
