Archive for September, 2013

My Favorite 5 Free Training Lessons

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013

Hello Rabid Ninja Fans!

Recently I was asked what are the 5 favorite posts/lessons you have done on the NTO website. Well, I had to think long and hard and came up with the following 5 posts that I felt were great resources to add to a practitioners training regime.

 

http://ninjutsutrainingonline.com/ninja-covert-communications/

http://ninjutsutrainingonline.com/cultivating-ninja-observational-skills/

http://ninjutsutrainingonline.com/5-tips-for-anonymous-living/

http://ninjutsutrainingonline.com/ninja-sensory-enhancement/

http://ninjutsutrainingonline.com/tenmon-skill-development/

Please feel free to comment on what posts are your favorite on this site!

Bufu Ikkan

Evading Tracking Dogs

Sunday, September 22nd, 2013

bllodhound Alright Ninja Warriors, here I am bringing more knowledge to your training, so be ready there may be a quiz coming in the near future.  Have you ever watched a person throw a ball out into the grass past where a dog could see it, yet he rustles around a bit and back he comes with it! Well, it isn’t vision that finds that ball it is scent! A typical dog’s world is ruled by their sense of smell, now imagine a breed that has been developed to track you by scent. Yes, the bloodhound and several other breeds are famous for their ability to locate an individual by scent, but what if you didn’t want them to? What would you or could you do to evade a tracking dog or team? Here are a few tips for you to practice, and a tip on something in my EDC items.

1)      Scent! Dogs are tracking you by your scent so, weave your trail, walk through the water(or swim) , make your scent trail hard to follow!!(lots will be covered in the upcoming Ninjutsu training manual)

2)      Leave a trail leading into: a garbage pile, or one of my favorites pepper trap! Carry hot or black pepper and spread it along your trail and watch what happens when the dog takes a nice sniff of the pepper.

3)      Change clothes, shower using different soaps or scent bearing materials.

4)      Get a ride! If you can hitch a ride with someone or enter a vehicle your scent is effectively gone from the area.

So, whether you are escaping from prison(LOL) or evading a search team, understanding a few Ninja tactics to help you evade a tracking dow will serve you well.

 

Bufu Ikkan

Its in the eyes!

Tuesday, September 17th, 2013

Ninja EyesRecently I was researching body language and eye movements as it correlates to reactions in a conversation or aggressiveness. Here are two tips that relate to possibly seeing some insight into someones eye movement:

Shifty eyes

 Ask a person a question and see if their eyes go up as they conjure up an answer. Some training experts say if they look up and to  the right they’re probably lying; if they look up and to the left they’re telling the truth. It’s not quite that simple, says Navarro. “A lot of  myths exist about lying and eye direction. We look in certain directions according to how we process the information, which varies from person to person.” Some people look down when they’re dealing with emotions, but it’s not universal. Looking up and around doesn’t necessarily mean that person is lying, it simply shows they are processing information, says Navarro.

Blink rate

Can you catch someone lying in “the blink of an eye”? Quite possibly. We blink less in some situations (e.g. reading, daydreaming and working at the computer) and more when we’re under stress — and when lying. Most people normally blink between eight and 21 blinks per minute at rest. Watch someone like Lance Armstrong being interviewed and you may see him blink much more when responding to the tough questions, says Navarro. “But you can’t call everyone a liar just because their blink rate goes up, however.  Bill Clinton blinked over 92 times per minute during his deposition, which was a reflection of the stress he was under.” Factors such as dry air and pollen can also increase blink rate.

 Very interesting, not to put it into practice tomorrow!!

 

Bufu Ikkan

Soke Hatsumi interview

Tuesday, September 10th, 2013

Hatsumi_Sensei_Toshitsugu_Takamatsu_300px_96ppiHello Ninja Fans,

Today I was going through some old notes and came across this Q&A session with Soke Hatsumi!

Q: In films, we see ninja using shuriken. Where did they get them ?

A: They made them themselves.

Q: You mean blacksmiths ?
A: Yes. Every ninja was adept at many “trade” skills. People normally think of metal throwing stars, but just about anything can be used as shuriken. Like these. (Draws out his business card.) It seems flimsy, but it flies. Go on try it. (Throws a few at the audience.) And the corners can take out an eye. I was once arguing with my wife and got upset. I picked up a card and threw it at her. She ran around a corner to escape, but it followed her. It hit her in the eye. And my wife has bad eyes. I felt bad and decided that I would never take out my anger on her physically again….Anything with four corners will fly. Attach some needles to the corners of your business card and dip the tips in poison. It becomes a very effective weapon.

So what did you learn from this short piece? Here are a few things I took away:

1) A ninja was adept at many skills and very self reliant by doing so

2) Weapons can be made from the simpliest items

3) A ninja thinks outside the box

4) Don’t act out of anger with your skills

5) Many things can be utilized as a shuriken

So, now what did you learn from this short piece?? Comment back my friends.

 

Bufu Ikkan

Ninja Body Conditioning and Hardening for Combat

Thursday, September 5th, 2013

ninja2Within many hard style Karate, Kung fu, Silat, MMA, Muay Thai schools(this is not just limited to this list), there exists many exercises to “toughen” the body, through striking objects, being struck by objects or others and many interesting paired drills that help a student  develop strong and solid areas with which to attack or defend with. I can remember Muay Thai drills where we kicked at each other’s thighs, Kyokushinkai and Goju ryu karate drills where we blocked others punches and kicks, wooden man drills, Silat Cimande forearm drills and so many more! The bruises on my body, the skin left on the frozen outdoor Makiwara, led me to develop strong striking abilities, as well a good resistance/endurance to pain!

So to ninjutsu, look at photos of Soke Takamatsu’s nails, and Soke Hatsumi’s grip when he applies kyusho, these talents were developed by the same process that other arts have as well, and will serve you well to implement in your training. Here is a short list of a few tools to add to your training:

1)      Heavy bag

2)      Makiwara

3)      Wooden man

4)      Partner drills

5)      Striking trees or rocks

6)      Hanging from limbs

7)      Thai and focus pads (striking and being struck)

8)      Pushups on your knuckles

9)      Sandbag striking, tossing, catching

10)   Sand striking

I add several different variations of these ideas in to my training, I hope you do as well! Post any ideas you may be using in your training!

 

More to come…

Bufu Ikkan

Words of Wisdom

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013

takamatsu_02    “Man’s life is not guaranteed.  One never knows if he lives to see tomorrow.  But you should never be startled at any time – the constant changes of universe, the invasion of enemies, or the time of natural disaster.” Soke Takamatsu

      If you never know if you were going to be alive tomorrow, how would you spend your time? Carefully, I would guess on only the most important things. This quote is meant to wake you up a bit, all around us, each day things are happening, some good, some bad, some very very bad. But do you know this? Are you spending your time on what is essential to your survival, or that of your family and friends? Have you been gleaning the information resources I have shared with you? Have you made your life a bit more random so you are a difficult target or opponent? Are you confident in your training to get you through a violent encounter alive? Have you prepared for a natural disaster? 72 hours or longer without electricity, communications, finances etc. Are you modern protection skills up to snuff yet? Firearms training, first aid etc. etc. I think you may be getting my point now.

    As Soke Takamatsu writes from the past his words are oh so relevant today! A Ninja should never be startled at any time, I hope this holds true for you my friends as well.

     Time to go and do some training!

Bufu Ikkan

Airyu

            PS: This site is ~30 pages deep with free lessons and information to help assist you in your training, so implement as much as you can in your training.

Choho -The Lowly Janitor

Sunday, September 1st, 2013

janitor2-29544-20110215-5How many times have you ever thought about the lowly janitor cleaning up the office, taking out the trash, and saying goodnight to you as you pass him on the way out? What was his name again? Do you remember if it was someone new? Most of us, sadly do not look upon him and think “what if this person was capable of stealing information?”

What, the Janitor? Yes, ninjutsu practitioners the janitor. In my career I have been a janitor and have used it to my advantage, gleaning the gossip from one room to another as I chit chatted and took out the trash. Many people will share a lot of information with you, if they feel it will go nowhere, but to the janitor.

As you are called to gather competitive intelligence on a rival business, enemy of your family etc., how do you go about this? Well now I think I have given you a pretty easy clue here! Meet the janitor, see if you can coax him into bringing out the trash to you, or if not follow him to the dumpster and take it. Do you realize how much information is in a persons or business’s trash? If you are not careful with your operational security(Ops Sec) you may be giving away sensitive information about your family, friends, and business identities. It does not take much information to form a profile about where money is spent, whom you associate with, what bank you use, stores you shop at, just think about it from the gathering of intelligence side and reverse it to help protect your sensitive information. Next time you see the janitor think about what secrets he is privy to, and what he might be gleaning from your trash!

Cultivating your network of operatives is sometimes easier than you would think, so get to know your Janitor, trash pick-up team, even that homeless guy picking through the trash for cans or bottles. I bet you they know more than you would like them to know about you and probably about your target as well.

Alright, now you have a new lesson in front of you, what are you going to do with it?

Bufu Ikkan

Ps: September is here and I am going to be rocking this site with ton’s of information!! Stay tuned post comments and ask questions.

Airyu