Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Flexibility...
...is vital. So many focus on strength and ignore the vital importance of flexibility. Out 33rd Soke of the Togakure Ryu, Toshitsugu Takamatsu, had extremely powerful legs, and was the last living combat ninja. He viewed flexibility of the legs being most important. How are you splits coming along? ;)
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Be a Good Student
No matter what style of martial art you decide to go after, be a good student. Part of being a good student is finding a good teacher. If you can't find a good teacher in the style you want to learn, you need to ask yourself if it is really worth training in that style. There was a great blog post written about this by Michael Glen, of Bujinkan Santa Monica. I suggest reading his blog post: Click Here
Monday, July 10, 2017
Art Showing
I wanted to let everyone know about a free Japanese art showing I am holding this week at our dojo. I have a collection of art from Japan painted by Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi Soke, the head of our martial art and the last living grandmaster of the Togakure Ryu Ninja. He is also the head of samurai schools including branches of Kukishin Ryu and Takagiyoshin Ryu.
We are hosting the free exhibit at my dojo to display 12 art prints that were originally on display at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Tokyo and several original works of art (Shodo and Sumi-e) on Kakajiku and other mediums. The dojo is located in Meridian, Idaho.
I will be showcasing the art prints and some original works of art I own by the same artist, on Saturday July 15, from 6 to 8 pm. Please feel free to emai
Dr. Hatsumi is the head of the Bujinkan organization, through which 9 koyru budo schools are taught. He is the inheritor of these nine koryu traditions from his teacher, Toshitsugu Takamatsu. All are welcome to visit and view the art.
The location of the art show will be at the Living-Warrior Dojo
200 North Baltic Place #104
Meridian, ID 83642
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Koryu Arts
In Koryu arts, any ancient martial art from Japan that pre-dates the Meiji restoration in Japan in 1868, the training is done a bit differently than in the Gendai systems, or modern schools of marital art and sport fighting. Don Roley wrote a great blog post about this and goes into detail about the purpose of this type of training. I'll post the link at the end for further reading.
Essentially, the training is broken down into a methodical, systematic way of training combative techniques without actually hurting or killing our training partner in the dojo. Essentially, as Don says in his blog post, if you are doing combative training and someone doesn't die, then it is simulated combat. We start out training very slow, giving students a chance to feel out a technique and to ensure it is being done properly. Then, later in a student's training and development, we speed things up and give the feeling and intention more indicative of real conflict. Various training tools are used at different stages of training for both unarmed and weapons training. If you come to a class, you will likely be training slow and controlled. As is often said by my own Sensei: "If you can't do it slow, you can't do it at all." There is also a mantra in martial arts that goes something like this: "Slow is controlled, controlled is smooth, smooth is fast."
Read Don's Blog here for his view point on this and further insights from his experiences living and training in Japan for over a decade: http://www.coloradospringsninjutsu.com/Ranting_and_Ravings_2016/Entries/2017/5/23_Understanding_Koryu_training.html
Essentially, the training is broken down into a methodical, systematic way of training combative techniques without actually hurting or killing our training partner in the dojo. Essentially, as Don says in his blog post, if you are doing combative training and someone doesn't die, then it is simulated combat. We start out training very slow, giving students a chance to feel out a technique and to ensure it is being done properly. Then, later in a student's training and development, we speed things up and give the feeling and intention more indicative of real conflict. Various training tools are used at different stages of training for both unarmed and weapons training. If you come to a class, you will likely be training slow and controlled. As is often said by my own Sensei: "If you can't do it slow, you can't do it at all." There is also a mantra in martial arts that goes something like this: "Slow is controlled, controlled is smooth, smooth is fast."
Read Don's Blog here for his view point on this and further insights from his experiences living and training in Japan for over a decade: http://www.coloradospringsninjutsu.com/Ranting_and_Ravings_2016/Entries/2017/5/23_Understanding_Koryu_training.html
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Whoever fights monsters...
There is a famous quote, "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become amonster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." -Friedrich Nietzsche
One of Hatsumi Soke's well known quotes is: "I'm not teaching you to fight, I'm teaching you to control evil. - Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi
This is one of the many things that sets the Bujinkan apart from many other styles of martial arts. The way we learn this art from Soke is a transmission of lessons and a heritage through history. Instead of merely learning to punch and kick and to cause harm to people, part of our training incorporates understanding the warrior ways of living a peaceful life and only using our warrior art when it is unavoidable.
One of Hatsumi Soke's well known quotes is: "I'm not teaching you to fight, I'm teaching you to control evil. - Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi
This is one of the many things that sets the Bujinkan apart from many other styles of martial arts. The way we learn this art from Soke is a transmission of lessons and a heritage through history. Instead of merely learning to punch and kick and to cause harm to people, part of our training incorporates understanding the warrior ways of living a peaceful life and only using our warrior art when it is unavoidable.