Going on 72, at this stage of my life and career, I am happy to say I am accomplishing what was most motivating and stirring to me as a child. I was driven by two quests. One – I wanted to know how to handle cruel, brutal, and dangerous bullies and victimizers in order to […]
Some friends at my dojo began a “challenge” of writing notes about what they are grateful for. I like that kind of thinking in this world that I experience as increasingly fractured, polarized, and coarse each day. I am grateful that I get to go to my dojo and find a few hundred good decent […]
Students have asked how to get one of those beautiful metallic gold-striped Shihan black belts worn by Mark Sentoshi Russo, James Kentoshi Norris, and Dennis Fuutoshi Mahoney. I always reply with the same 3-part answer: First, train for decades to develop incredibly refined martial arts skills. Next, perfect the art of looking at a student’s […]
Developing real martial arts skill is not a quick-stick tack-on, but rather a deep-seep accumulation. You have to learn good lessons and then repeat those over and over to make a part of you the new insights and ways of being. Make a point of sharing with everyone who enrolls alongside you in your martial […]
In my non-stop travels the first half of this year, I was teaching a private lesson to a To-Shin Do green belt student. We were talking about the pace of progress towards brown and then black belt. My friend commented, “It’s frustrating to look at my progress and think how much faster I would be […]
Early 1990s in Chicago. I was coordinating Illinois police with Tibetan security agents of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for the Tibetan leader’s visit. I noticed a quiet young guy who appeared to be a homeless person in faded car wash hoodie with a badly shaved head who somehow infiltrated the Dalai Lama’s entourage. He […]
九 字 の 棒 第 二 法 Kuji No Bo Dai Ni Ho (“2nd Method”) Most of our classical ninja martial arts weapon training takes place in our special seminar series classes on Thursday evening. Here is a description of a fight training exercise from the Advanced Long Saff set. For coaching and personal instruction […]
My habit is never to meet a knowledgeable teacher without having a good question in mind, just in case I am given the opportunity to ask. Rumiko and I traveled to the city of Tajimi municipal dojo for a demonstration of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu sword by Mouri Keisuke and his small group of students on […]
One reality I see over and over at martial arts business conventions is crowds of young proficient martial artists in on the latest martial fad and hoping to earn a living providing good training for their communities, but lacking in a crucial double-edged necessity. They lack a seasoned mature presence, and they lack an inspiring […]
An-shu Stephen and An-shu Rumiko visited the Boulder Quest Center for an exciting, power-building seminar in August 2011. The weekend experience encouraged participants to break through limitations to new potentials through a combination of mind and martial exercises. The seminar started with a Friday night Dragon Body Ninja Yoga session with An-shu Rumiko. Dragon Body, […]