Archive | Teacher Insights

Dear Friends of To-Shin Do, If I may, I would like to take a moment and speak to you about manners. Many people today believe manners are dying away. There is quite a bit of evidence to back this online and in the news. Just recently I was solicited by a number of people asking […]

Martial arts masters who share the gift of inspiration with us radiate something we feel in their presence: We pick up a quality in them that resonates within ourselves. They are what we want to be. We recognize their high spiritual energy, which we long to have active in our life. When we meet a […]

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 […]

The following comes from a 1981 issue of Kick Illustrated magazine. I had some pretty bold and controversial opinions 37 years ago. How does this read today? I think I am still saying the same thing! Another area that Hayes feels is sadly neglected in current martial arts training is contemporary weapons. He stresses that […]

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 […]

With the year coming to a close, many people (myself included) will create a list of goals to be accomplished for the next year. Among the goals I have for this next year are some To-Shin Do training goals, of course. (Hopefully you have a few of those as well!) And one of my To-Shin […]

With the new year many people are making resolutions and setting goals for 2018. This thought reminded me of a conversation I overheard at festival this year right before the fire ceremony. Someone was asked if they were going to put a stick in the fire and their response was no because they had done […]

Get out of the dojo and into nature now and then. No healthier way to discharge pent-up energies. The mind-body throws off its excess energies spontaneously when you remove yourself from the artificial confines of your everyday world. Find a green open space, an expansive view of sky and clouds, a lungful of pure air. […]

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 […]

If you’ve been training for awhile in To-Shin Do, you already know that each and every kata example we practice, whether modern or historical, has layers of lessons built in. If you’ve trained with An-shu Hayes even once or twice, you’ve probably already noticed that his teachings are layered in lessons and never merely a […]

I’ve noticed an increase in Women’s Self Defense classes being offered recently. There is a need for them, however I wish to caution those of you offering them. There is a distinct difference between Women’s Self Defense, teaching structural and strategic ideas to a smaller person being attacked by a stranger, and dealing with intimate […]

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 […]