Ninjutsu Training Online

Thanks for all the email replies my fellow Ninja practitioners. I am always amazed at the amount of feedback this site generates, but that is thanks to all of you NIT’s (Ninja In Training).

Let’s start off with a little training work to help develop Aerobic conditioning. Aerobic conditioning is the process in which one trains the heart and lungs to pump blood more efficiently, thereby allowing more oxygen to travel to the muscles and associated organs. This type of conditioning really is highlighted once you start to pass the 800meter mark on a track, or trail.

So how do you go about improving your capacity? Well let’s take two classic exercises running and swimming! Oh yeah you will need to run, but let’s see if we can mix it up a bit, instead of getting out in the street and pounding pavement, how about you tray Trail Running instead. Head out to a rural location, hiking trail, or public park area and start running! You will immediately see the difference in running off road vs on the street. In the Shinden Fudo ryu, there is an emphasis to train in nature and to be natural, and what better way to highlight this ryuha’s strategy but to get out there and hit the trails.(check out www.trails.com for trails in your area)

Moving on to swimming, another of my favorites, normally I combine the both into 1 workout. I will run a 5K then complete it with laps in my pool. Finally I work on breath capacity, and underwater stealth activities either in the pool or my pond (yes, I own a fairly large pond…). Swimming is a great way to first cool off but adds a different dimension to your Aerobic conditioning, but hitting and utilizing different muscle groups but still pumping up the heart and lungs! Try various strokes, butterfly, overhand, backhand, Australian crawl, and side stroke. Hey, this is an easy way to get the family involved in training, head for the pool, lake, pond or sea and have some fun!

Bufu Ikkan

Sensei Steve

Endurance (also called, Wind, Stamina, Resilience)

Endurance is the athletic attribute of an individual to exert him/herself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to wounds, or fatigue. Normally this breaks down into either aerobic or anaerobic conditioning.

An Ninja from the past had a reputation of being able to go to extreme lengths of endurance and or stamina to accomplish their missions. Traveling long distances in short amounts of time, holding positions while their enemy searched in vain for them, even holding their breath while submerged or hidden under a layer of earth. The Ninja knew that their training had to push the limits in order to develop these skills.

So let me start you with a question, “How do you train to develop endurance?” my next post will give you some tips and training ideas that I incorporate into my daily training as well as that of my students.

Send me or post here your tips!!

Bufu Ikkan

Sensei Lefebvre