Ninjutsu Training Online

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

Within 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

    “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.

How 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

Ninja Warrior Conditioning: Principle of Nature

Within the core curriculum of the Shinden Fudo Ryu tradition, is the “Principle of Nature”. In a discussion with Soke Hatsumi back in 2002, he related to me that “to train in as natural a manner and environment as possible.” Let’s reminisce a bit here, do you remember back when the Star Wars franchise release the Empire Strikes Back? Do you also remember the scene when Luke is running through the swamp on Dagoba with Yoda on his back, jumping, tumbling etc. all using the principle of nature? Well, this emphasis on training in nature is not only good for the Young Jedi, but for us the Ninjutsu practitioner as well!

For those of you following the Ninja Warrior Conditioning posts on the Facebook page, you will note that there is quite a bit of training that is done outside, and one conditioning/endurance method I have been using is Trail running. Trail running is a new beast to many a beginner runners or ninjutsu practitioners, and it will challenge you physically and mentally!

Let me start with some basics first:

1)      Get good trail running equipment(shoes, clothes, lights etc)

2)      Start on a gentle trail with moderate slopes and terrain

3)      Train regularly

4)      Be in the moment! (more on this coming)

I fell that I am blessed living in a rural area, with a small mountain behind me (and in front of me as well), so I have easy access to a great trail, well if you consider a deer trail a good trail (LOL)! Now if you are a beginner at trail running remember shorten your stride and watch the placement of your feet carefully! This is what I was driving at when I listed “Be in the moment”, one miss step and a twisted ankle or fall will be heading your way. So you want a challenge? Well start on more aggressive trails or poorly defined ones where you have to dodge, duck and avoid branches, rocks and an occasional wild animal or two! (Can’t tell you how many times I have run right up on deer).

Now I have a busy schedule so I throw in a trail run about 2 times per week and usually around 5 – 5:30 am, so guess what it is dark! Even with a headlamp on, I have to have constant awareness about the trail, obstacles and or foot placement, and your mind can also play tricks on you, ..is that a bear! AHHHH! Don’t limit yourself to just the running,  during my runs I engage in body toughening by striking trees I pass, balancing on various logs along the trail for speed, and even throw in some rolling(yes on purpose!) even projectile(shuriken), or weapons carrying.

Alright, I highly encourage you to take up the Ninja trail running challenge! You will take your conditioning and physical skills to new levels.

Bufu Ikkan and See you on the trail!

Hello Ninjutsu Fans

About 2 weeks ago, I decided to ramp up my conditioning training to a new level. This meant that I would need to increase and enhance my physical and mental training, so I embarked on a 30 day journey to challenge myself. 30 days may not seem like much but it is the start of a whole new phase in my hardcore approach to living and training. You can follow the journey at  https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Ninjutsu-Training/132382973477757 , I hope it inspire’s you to take a on a new challenge in your training, and feel free to post about your journey!

Bufu Ikkan

Many people have heard that when “one sense is taken away the others compensate”. Well, this is somewhat true, especially with hearing. Too many people arbitrarily injure the hearing(ear buds cranked to the top!!) when they are young(or old) without thinking of the future consequence.  Alright enough of my soap box, let’s give you a training exercise that I use to help enhance my sense of smell and hearing.

I often go out after dark, or early in the morning when there is no or little light. The first thing that starts to happen is that my visual acuity drops, but my sense of hearing and smell tend to begin to compensate. What I do is purposefully attempt to utilize these senses to help me navigate the woodland trails or through my home(see the lesson on navigating your home in the dark). So what do you do?? Well here is the first step, stop and relax, take several deep breaths and let the air in and out through your nose and mouth. Now, breathe in and consciously think about what smells you are bringing in. Is there smoke, dampness (are you close to water), can you smell the type of forest or environment you are in, what about the plants or flowers around you? Maybe, you are not in a rural or suburban area, well how about t but not he smells surrounding you in the city, cars, trash, people, perfume, aftershave, dogs, water, etc. Take in these smells and register them in your brain. Walk around your home and determine what it smells like, what is normal and what isn’t . We have all walked into a home that had an unusual “smell”, that seems off, not wrong it may have been unsettling for you. The sense of smell is incredibly powerful, think about some powerful memories that are brought on by certain smells, turkey roasting, cookies baking, you spouse, a nice wine!

Well now I have given you a very interesting lesson, take it, modify it and use it in many fashions to improve your training. As I sit here on my deck smelling the aroma’s of the grill, and the late summer smells of the plants surrounding me, all is well, and good here.

Bufu Ikkan

Ps: Now go out there and practice…more to come!

Discipline, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary, is “Training expected to produce a specific type of pattern or behavior, esp. training that produces moral or mental improvement.” So in most cases we look to an outside source for training that will improve what we are trying to learn. In the Martial arts we learn that “Discipline” is a by product of our training. This usually takes place by someone pushing us or prodding us to do better, or just one more repetition, or even correcting and improving a particular aspect of a form, drill or training method. But, the drive and will to do better than we have is truly not something one can just get through training, it is self- discipline. The internal drive to push yourself to improve, to do just one more repetition, to search for knowledge to improve one’s self, to always be pushing yourself the extra mile, even when no one else is looking or telling you to so, that is self discipline.                                                                How does one practice or improve self discipline? There is no easy way to do this. It is only through the choices, or decisions you make each and every day, can you enhance your self discipline. Look at the choices that face us every day, the easy and quick stop at MacDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, or a healthy well thought out meal that you make at home. How about our own training? There is a T.V. show I really wanted to watch tonight or should I go to class and do 1000 repetitions of drill? Are you pushing yourself to read more, train smarter, improve how you do things, willing to accept others criticisms in order to improve a skill, if you are not, can you honestly tell yourself why? Do we really want to hear the answer?

 How do we start on the path to being better “Self- Disciplined”,

Well start small, look at yourself and honestly evaluate where you are right now and where you want to be in the future (Always sounds easier than it really is),

Choose to do better in some aspect and write down a particular goal (Dealing with said aspect) with a date in which you would like to achieve it.

Consistently act towards improvement towards your goal. Haphazard attempts don’t count. You do, you don’t talk about it or think about it, you just do it! (Don’t procrastinate)

Be realistic, and don’t expect miracles, make them happen for yourself.

Well that is my soap box. So what are you doing right now towards improving your self discipline?

Bufu Ikkan

After my first post on traditional medical treatments I had a slew of email requests for more information! Now, if you have been following this site for a while this year you should remember the 13 for 2013 article , one of my goals has been to improve my knowledge of edible wild herbs and plants along with the potential medicinal properties of the various items that grow in and around my area of the North east. So here are two more common plants that grow “Like Weeds” around my property! The first is one of my favorite berries:

Blackberries

Did you know blackberries (also known as bramble fruit) have useful healing properties? Of course they’re loaded in antioxidants and vitamins, but the leaves and roots have value, too. Native Americans have long used the stems and leaves for healing, while enjoying the young shoots peeled as a vegetable of sorts and the berries, either raw or in jams. The leaves and root can be used as an effective treatment against dysentery and diarrhea as well as serving usefulness as an anti-inflammatory and astringent, ideal for treating cuts and inflammation in the mouth.

Burdock Herb

Burdock or cocklebur, is a prickly, thistle-like plant that grows commonly in many parts of the world(I hate when I get these things on me!!). It can get fairly big and its leaves resemble the elephant ear plant. Though the burs often get caught in pets’ and livestock’s fur, don’t think of it only as an annoying plant. It is a highly effective treatment against poison ivy and poison oak.

Till Next time

Bufu Ikkan

Hey Ninjutsu Fans,

Don’t forget to stop over at our facebook page and check out the posts that go on there as well!

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Ninjutsu-Training

Bufu Ikkan