Ninjutsu Training Online

Ok, Ninjutsu fans here is the deal, it is day 310 for 2013, and only 55 days left before we start 2014. My question to you is how did you do on learning 13 skills? (Add link to post) If you haven’t been on this journey, what are you going to do with the last 55 days of this year toward achieving new progress towards your training and life goals? 55 days doesn’t seem like that much time to me but it can be a huge amount of time if you apply yourself to take action each day!

Fudoshin – Immovable spirit, the indomitable will and perseverance to take action each day for the next 55 day is not an easy challenge to accept, and I am publically challenging each of you readers to accept this challenge! I know your next question to me is, “What are you going to do for the next 55 days?”  Guess what, I am accepting my own challenge, and I will be doing the following: Increased material/information released to Ninjutsu Training Online and NTO Facebook, 1 new Podcast, new Ninja Warrior Conditioning training reports(my training as well as items for you to use), never mind awesome training for myself and current students!  And if I am not living up to what I have stated here, YOU ALL get to give me a rash of CRAP!

So are you willing to accept my challenge? What are you afraid of? Do it now and let me know what I can help you with as well what can I harass you for!

Bufu Ikkan

“Sleep is for the weak, you can catch up on your sleep when you are dirt napping!”

Just over a week ago, I celebrated another new year in my warrior’s journey. Many people that I know lament that they are getting older each year, you know this person, the one who is complaining about his aching back, or lack of drive, strength , eyesight …whatever. Those are the people you are not going to want to be around for long and neither should you.

Each year I look forward to learning more, chipping away at my weaknesses, become as fit as I can be no matter what the numbers my age show, and for those who know me personally, you know that I am in shape and each day I challenge myself to grow and expand my knowledge and teaching skills. I was lucky way back when I started the martial arts at the tender age of 10 years old. I look back and laugh at what I did, the lessons I learned (mostly the hard way), the friends along the path that I have been honored to meet and train with, and lastly what I have been passing along the way to those who meet and train with me.  Recently, I came upon this quote from Soke Hatsumi, “ In Shinken gata, learning new things is always important.” I truly believe this! Now a bit of Ninja advice, we all have the exact same amount of time each day, what you do with it is what makes you great or makes you less than you can become. Each day you need to evolve! Evolution is change and change is life, your arts and life are intertwined, each day live passionately about evolution in your daily practice and life.

Bufu Ikkan

A ninja is alway in the peak of their physical performance level. This not an easy thing to acheive and or maintain. Too many indindividuals over or under train and rarely if ever functional train and condition themselves. Here are a few tips on Ninja Warrior Training!

1) Train Outdoors when ever possible.

2) Cardiovascular endurance: Trail run, swim, power walk  etc! are a must!

3) Strength training with body weight and or outside weight exercises

4) Obstacle courses and targets to work off of are a great way to FUNCTIONALLY train!

5) Mobility/Flexibilty, do not neglect remaining flexible and agile!

6) Push your limits often, see what you can endure!

7) Hydrate

8) Nutrition

9) Crosstrain in other sports

10) Recovery and recuperation!

Alright, 10 quick tips to help you acheive the Ninja Warrior Lifestyle.

More to come and have an excellent day.

Bufu Ikkan

A Ninja is and always must be aware and in tune with their surroundings. We train ourselves to be in constant “yellow condition” of mental alertness (if you are not familiar with this term it is from Jeff Cooper’s Combat Mindset), relaxed but alert, knowing you may have to defend yourself this day. Always scanning the crowd and your surroundings for a potential threat, not to be paranoid but to be aware and prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect oneself or loved ones.

Yet, with the onslaught of distractions today, phones, ipads, Kindles, ipods, sounds, lights etc it is easy to miss what is going on around you. How many times have you witnessed someone texting as they are walking down the street, while people around them are trying to avoid them as they are in their own world. Just do a quick search on you tube or google for various videos of individuals falling into an open manhole, or falling into a fountain all while they were texting on a phone. I love watching people as they pull up to a stop light and pick up the phone and start texting, as if calling isn’t bad enough as a distraction, lets text to!

So why am I, on such a rant about awareness and distractions, well read the following article from the Associated Press:

“SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man drew the gun several times on the crowded San Francisco commuter train, with surveillance video showing him pointing it across the aisle without anyone noticing and then putting it back against his side, according to authorities.

The other passengers were so absorbed in their phones and tablets they didn’t notice the gunman until he randomly shot and killed a university student, authorities said.

Before that moment, footage showed the man pull out the .45-caliber pistol and once wipe his nose with the hand holding the weapon, authorities told the San Francisco Chronicle in a story on Monday.

“These weren’t concealed movements – the gun is very clear,” District Attorney George Gascon said. “These people are in very close proximity with him, and nobody sees this. They’re just so engrossed, texting and reading and whatnot. They’re completely oblivious of their surroundings.”

So what does this say my friends? To me it is just another sad occurrence that demonstrates who oblivious people are or can be. I have seen a lot in my times, drug raids, muggings, DUI or OUI, accidents etc, but in almost every case I was aware that something was wrong or at the least not right and took actions to prevent myself or others from being another victim, living Zanshin(relaxed alertness). In the ancient days of the Samurai and Ninja, this was a means of survival, but in the modern day it seems to be almost non-existent. 

Cultivate Awareness, Live in Zanshin

Bufu Ikkan

Within ninjutsu’s information gathering skills is the art of Hensojutsu, the art of disguise. To make oneself invisible to the enemy is the highest skill a ninjutsu practitioner can achieve, being able to blend in with his surroundings wherever he may be at he at this point has become the Grey Man!

But what is the Grey man? A Grey Man is that person or person’s whom you may see when you scan a crowd but they blend into the crowd so well, your perception of them becomes that they just belong there, and your eyes just pass them by. This Grey man-ness is difficult to cultivate and you need to work at first being able to SEE the Grey Man around you, and then to mimic them. Just the other night I was watching World War Z with the family and the key for the Zombies to pass you over was to become Grey, or invisible to their senses, not unlike the topic we are covering here. In order to learn more about this subject you should read the following links to previous posts:

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

http://ninjutsutrainingonline.com/anonymous-living-tips-2/

http://ninjutsutrainingonline.com/anonymous-living-breaking-your-habits-ninja-style/

Alright now that you have gained a bit of knowledge on the Grey Man concept, your first lesson for the Month of October is multifaceted so pay attention

1)      Read the above links

2)      Observe the crowd drill: find a crowded area ( I like a mall or food court), watch people as they enter your visual sense and see who stands out to you, who tends to blend into the background, but most importantly why do they(either stand out or blend in)

3)      Blending in drill: Find a partner or class mates that will work with you on this one, once you have gained knowledge as to what makes a person stand out or blend in, try it out by letting your training partners know you are going to be somewhere and see how long it actually takes them to locate you as you put your skill in real world practice. I have done this several times, even so much as exchanging articles of clothing to appear to be someone completely different as I passed through their zone several times.

Part two to the Observation drill:

                If you have attempted the observation practice drill, go back and now focus on these topics: Size of the person, dress (what are they wearing), mannerisms(what do they say by what they do), gait or route of the individual, hair or head covering, color schemes, pace or rout or gait, any abnormality that catches your eye. Now that you have gone through the basic observation drill and a glorified Hide and Seek now you have a better feel for how to become a Grey Man.

                Some people may call you crazy but  a ninja in the ancient times did not stick out like a nail waiting to be hammered down. Instead he blended into his environment both in a rural or urban manner. Becoming a grey Man in the modern world is becoming more difficult each day, but stay tuned here for additional information on how to continue to develop your Grey Man skills!

Bufu Ikkan

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

 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

Recently 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

Hello 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