Do you feel that you are prepared, not just for a physical attack, but prepared for a mass shooting, disaster, medical emergency or even a financial one? I’ll bet you dollars to donuts, you can’t say yes to all of these items.

Jeff Cooper penned the Condition Color code system that is still relevant in today’s crazy ass society. On a day to day basis, my family and I are in condition yellow, calm alertness, scanning and being aware of potential threats.

The other day another mass shooting, what would you do if you were there? How about tomorrow your business closes it’s doors, are you ready for three months to live without a paycheck? Is your ninjutsu training teaching you the skills necessary to survive during either of those two events? Well, I haven’t been in a shooting (but oh yes, I practice my firearm skills regularly so that if I need to use a weapon I can) but several years ago I was hit in a layoff. Now it did shock my world, but I was also somewhat prepared financially to live a few months without a steady check, and I was able to work some light construction to stretch out my savings until I was ready and found a job that I wanted to take. Now I don’t say this lightly, you need to be prepared to do many things, and a ninja of old had no one to rely on, other than himself and family. They knew how to do basic medical treatments and first aid, they farmed or knew what they could forage on a mission, they could be financially prepared , communication skills, etc. All skills that have fallen off our training and life as we become so much more beholden to technology. I am not trying to be a doomsayer or a technophobe, I love technology and use it for all it’s worth, but I also have a few back up plans incase my tech goes down. I teach my scouts basic orienteering skills and one of them said to me “I will just use my GPS and find my way out” well on a recent trip there was no GPS signal and yes we relied on a map and compass!

But back to condition yellow, are you aware of what is going on around you on a daily basis and are you making plans to be prepared for whatever is coming your way? If not take a moment to work on the following skills:

1. Financial – 3 months cash put away in case you need it quick have some of it out of the bank and in your home.
2. Medical skills – Take a CPR/First aid class. I cannot tell you how many times I have helped or administered first aid to someone.
3. Weapon skills – Augment your training with your EDC weapons whenever possible. Take a firearms handling class so you are more prepared and trained than your opponent
4. Basic survival skills – firebuilding, shelter building, water purification. Know these three things and you will be a lot better off than 80% of the population
5. Become self reliant! (more posts coming on this one)

Alright, I have left you with a lot to get going on, but do not forget the primary lesson here is Condition Yellow mindset in all things. You will thank me for this reminder someday when something goes to hell in your day and you were able to deal with it effectively!

Bufu Ikkan

How many of us actually take to the time to reflect on our performance? Most of us push forward everyday trying to improve, but a secret to mastery is the ability to take the time to perform a self assessment.

Here a few questions to start asking yourself:

Physical:

1. How is your overall flexibility?
2. Leg and hip flexibility?
3. Body mobility?
4. Explosive power?
5. Cardio vascular conditioning level?
6. Strength levels?
7. Grip strength?

Mental:

1. Ability to focus?
2. Meditation?
3. Motivation level?
4. Discipline?
5. Ability to enter flow state?

Technique:

1. Weapon usage?
2. Rolling, falling?
3. Kicking skills?
4. Striking hands, arms knees etc.?
5. Variations known?
6. Ability to improvise?
7. Sparring level?
8. Multiple opponent skills?
9. Cross training in other arts?

Alright so that is just a few questions to start your first self assessment off with, but again this is just the beginning, I could ask 100 or more questions, but in order to start the process focus on a key few and be brutally honest with yourself regarding your level of skill or performance!

Alright go beat yourself up!

Bufu Ikkan!

Hello Ninjutsu Fans!

Well it has been too long since I have posted to the webpage and yes I hear you and read your emails pestering me to start posting again, so here I am!!

First a little story, a few weeks ago I was reviewing my finances, setting up on line payments etc, which I do in the beginning of each month, when I noticed a charge to my credit card from another state for a Lyft ride. Well the warning bells went off and I immediately filed against the charge to the credit card company. Well, yes my CC number was somehow cracked and used for the illegal ride, but what it told me was that it was a good time to do some basic digital housekeeping, to protect from further intrusions.

Now on a 90 day basis I rotate and update my passwords, security codes and questions to help prevent someone for gaining access from one account to all of my accounts through a shared password etc. Now my question to you is when is the last time you updated any of your passwords and security questions? Think about the risk to your finances, personal data, medical data etc!

Identity theft happens everyday, be ready and prepared to stop it in  it’s tracks. Today take the time to update all of your digital passwords, and please don’t be stupid and use something like QWERTY, 123456, PASSWORD…or all the other easily cracked ones that way too many people fall into the trap of using.

Alright Short post, to the point but the first in many new things coming your way. Don’t forget to stay in touch on our facebook page as well!

Bufu Ikkan

Within the Shinden Fudo Ryu tradition there is a principle of nature, or training in nature. This seems so simplistic by its shortness, but it actual encompasses so much more when you peel back the layers.

First, we all should be practicing in nature, outside of the confines of the dojo. Yes, this can mean training in a field or nice safe area, but what I mean here is to train in all-natural environments in order to test and develop your fighting and survival abilities.

So, let’s do a little exploration here!

Training in urban environments:

Take your training out into the urban world. This would include, practicing falling, leaping and fighting in areas you may need to utilize these skills. Additional examples, a parking lot, fighting from your car, stairwells, dressed in cold weather or warm weather clothing, use a mall for counter surveillance drills, practice intonjutsu skills by entering your home unconventionally, how do you deploy or conceal weapons with street clothes on? Now these are just a few suggestions but clearly not limiting a host of other ideas (and yes I will have a more detailed list and scenarios for you soon!)

Training in rural environments:

I am blessed that I am in a rural area but this does pose unique situations for training and preparedness. These would include, medical management (being away from a local hospital you may need to treat a person prior to transport), physical training – trail running, natural training such as log carries, rock lifting etc., as with urban training – weapons management, deployment, use of off road vehicles and animal handling, wilderness survival and land navigation skills, and these are just to name a few!

Blended Environments (Travel):

I travel a lot so how do I apply and train for travel? Well, non descript concealed weapon usage, intelligence gathering on my travel location, terrain familiarization and escape route preparation (how do I get to a secure location), educational research, language familiarization, etc. There are always opportunities for learning, no matter where you are.

As this is just a brief overview, you can possibly see you can spend a great deal of time on breaking down your training and pushing yourself and students into areas that will challenge and excite them to continue to grow. Ninjutsu is not a dead art, the principles contained within it’s multifaceted ancient arts translate into modern applications, but this is totally dependent on the teacher and or the student who wants to realize and utilize them in this fashion. My belief is that if you are not evolving you will be dead. Your opponents are not just hanging around doing nothing, they are sharpening their skills so why wouldn’t you?

Now get out there and train!

Bufu Ikkan