It might sound self-evident to say we’re training because we want to get better at what we’re doing. That idea applies to not only martial arts, but to most everything else in life we practice as a skill. However, wanting to get better at something, and actively working in each and every class or practice […]
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Perception Part Two
Goals As it says on the back of the book, “DON’T PANIC”. I’m not talking about the things motivational people say like “Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement”. When I talk about goals I mean your perception of purpose in our training, from a very broad sense in the meaning of ‘Bu’ […]
Ki-Ai 気合 Spirit
Giving a fierce yell while kicking or punching is one of the most well-known, and most imitated, parts of the martial arts. You can’t have a low budget martial arts film without a high pitched scream accompanying each technique. There are, of course, a lot of good reasons to be making noise in a fight […]
Perception Part One
Feeling Gravity The Ninja are famous for looking at situations from a different perspective then their contemporary warrior counterparts. Where the conventional warrior may boldly charge in, the Ninja uses subterfuge and observation to accomplish their goal. This different perspective or the ability to perceive more is to me the goal of our training. This […]
Brain Involved in Fear
A common mistake regarding the purpose of studying the five elements is to believe that we somehow “choose” a particular element in the middle of a fight. Such a rational decision-making process would be totally impossible for the vast majority of people. Under the effects of cortisol and adrenaline stress chemicals that flood the bloodstream […]
“I Have a Problem – I Think I Suck”
That is what one of my advanced students said to me recently. It wasn’t an offhand comment. It was a heartfelt cry for help. It wasn’t the first time I have dealt with this issue, and most certainly won’t be the last. However, I am frequently surprised by the individual who admits to contending with […]
Ma-ai 間合 Gap
The concept for this month is gap, specifically the gap between you and your attacker, but the idea is more complicated than that small word makes it seem. Ma-ai is both timing and distancing combined together. In English it seems as if these are two separate concepts, but if you think about it, especially in […]
Who Are You Teaching For?
I happened on to a martial arts gathering in our area recently, one of the ones where they bring together different martial arts to share with each other. So I went in to watch for a while. There were some martial arts students speaking about an instructor on stage. The comments ranged from how amazing […]
Buckle Up!
NinjaSelfDefense.com is about to undergo three significant improvements, and we couldn’t be more excited. The first will make the site much faster. The second will significantly upgrade our look and feel. And the third will introduce some amazing new features to help you track your progress as you learn. We’ll make more formal announcements at […]
A or F?
What does it take to honorably pass a test and earn a new belt in the martial arts? My view is that there are: Things to know (we are informed – “I know something new!”), and often… Things to be able to perform (“I can do something new!”) And then on the other hand, there […]
Ukemi 受身 Break-Fall Skills
One of the most important self-defense skills in our martial art is the ability to get to the ground safely. Set aside the idea of a fight for a moment, and just think day to day life. Slips and falls are one of the leading causes of visits to the emergency room. Injury often happens […]
Why Classical Weapons?
One of our newer students asked if our focus is self-defense why we still train with classical weapons like the katana. They felt it was very unlikely that they would run into anyone with a Japanese sword. I can understand a new person’s perspective believing they may not see these particular weapons in a fight […]
Kofuku no Shiori
“The way to experience happiness is to let go of all worries and regrets. Being happy is the most satisfying of life’s feelings. Reflect back on all the progress in your life and allow the positive, creative, joyous thoughts to outshine and overwhelm any sorrow or grief that may be lingering there in the recesses […]
Kuzushi 崩 Balance Control
The idea of balance control is closely tied together with last month’s topic of kamae. We want to be aware of, and ultimately have control over, both our own balance and the balance of our attacker. To describe it in another way, we want to break our attacker’s kamae or base, without sacrificing our own, […]
Whose Thoughts Are You Thinking?
One of the side effects of teaching our ninja martial art is that you get into the habit of observing people, how they move and what they say, not just while training but in every day situations too. I was listening to a number of people talking about politics. One person in particular kept making […]
