Category: Ninjutsu
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Losing for the win
Last night at the Boston Martial Arts Center I had an interesting experience while coaching one of the green belt students on some avoidance techniques. The drill was simple: I swung at the student with a foam-padded bopper and after avoiding a relatively slow swing, they had to hit a padded target. It’s a drill…
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9 amusing travel hacks
As someone who travels more often than I’d like, I do occasionally pick up useful little tips and tricks for making life on the road more tolerable. Here are a random assortment. 1. Hotel coffee. Treat it like a teabag. Read this post for the full details! 2. Forgot toothpaste? Or, if you’re cheap like…
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There are no advanced conferences (and never will be)
I’ll play devil’s advocate on CC Chapman’s excellent post recently asking where the advanced conferences are. There aren’t any. And I mean that in all seriousness. The more advanced you become in any field, the less general information is going to help you, because you’ve learned it. The more advanced you become in any field,…
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The ninja mind control method
In class last night, one of the white belt students asked me about whether the ninja mind control stories he’s heard were real or not, what the secrets to ninja mind control were. I laughed a bit and explained that the ninja mind control method is fairly straightforward: gain control over your own mind and…
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International Day of the Ninja: How the ninja worked
December 5th, of course, is International Day of the Ninja. Aside from the usual frivolous fun of wrapping a t-shirt around your head, here’s a fun opportunity to watch how the ninja might have operated, featuring both a SEAL team using lethal force, and senior master teacher Stephen K. Hayes, completely unarmed. Watch and enjoy:…
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Hensojutsu on Halloween
Giving financial aid guidance at College Goal Sunday Halloween is the one holiday of the year that has interesting practical applications for the ninja art of hensojutsu, the art of disguise. As you get ready to celebrate the day, consider dipping a toe into the water of actual disguise and impersonation. In old Japan, hensojutsu,…
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Simple Ideas Before A Storm
A few simple reminders before the storm… 1. Write down important phone numbers before you need them, on paper, so that they’re not stored in a mobile phone’s address book. Oh, and find your old landline phone and plug it back in. 2. Pour drinkable water in ziptop bags and stash them in your freezer.…
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What you find at the end of the path
Over the weekend, I had the privilege to attend the 15th and final New England Warrior Camp, a previously-annual event held by Ken Savage of the Winchendon Martial Arts Center and one of the finest martial arts training opportunities ever to be held. I’ve managed to attend 14 out of the 15 years and it’s…
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The inherent flaw in recipes and notes
Last night at the dojo (the Boston Martial Arts Center), one of the junior students asked me if they could have a copy of my class notes. I declined as usual, and when asked why, I explained. My class notes, the stuff that I take notes on, is more than anything a compendium of wrong…
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Throw away your assumptions to improve your marketing
Last night at the Boston Martial Arts dojo, I was discussing an interesting aspect of training as I watched the students in the green belt class working on their ground-hitting skills. One of the greatest traps we fall into as both martial artists and marketers is the belief that we need something new. A new…
