| Bujinkan Jissen Dojo - Wellington,
New Zealand
†
The Warrior Creed by Dr. Robert
L. Humphrey
The Warrior Creed
Wherever I go,
everyone is a little bit safer because I am there.
Wherever I am,
anyone in need has a friend.
Whenever I return home,
everyone is happy I am there.
Dr Robert L. Humphrey
(Iwo Jima Marine &
Bujinkan 10th Dan)
[ Latest Update
]
June 2006
Introduction
Having been going to Bujinkan Dojo for a few months
now, beginning back in May, thought it was defiantly time to find
a place here on THS for my experiences. Or thought I am no new face
to martial arts in general, and I had prior knowledge of the Bujinkan.
This came most specifically through one Ryu Ha of the Bujinkan,
Togakure Ryu Ninpo, and the fundamental techniques of Taijutsu which
are the body techniques used throughout. Still, it took me the better
part of 20 years to be in a position to begin any sort of formal
training. And now that I am, its a great feeling and the experience
has been far beyond my expectations. This from a person who envisioned
training again "at some stage" but years kept passing
by and, in the traditions of Bujinkan - it all kind of snuck up
on me :)
My most significant formal training
before this had been in Okinawa Goju Ryu, a form, indeed the first
form of Japanese Karate. Ironically though, it came about through
the invasion of the island nation by the Japanese, who happened
to outlaw the use of weapons at the time. I spent the better part
of three years, training twice a week. Additionally, I have been
trained in bo, that being staff, Japanese style, learnt a little
of western broadsword techniques, and quickly understood the strengths
of a point sword opponent. Archery I've been doing off and on since
I was wee digger, and I've picked up bits and pieces of everything
from boxing, Aikido, Judo, and some military hand to hand. Its all
been good and worthwhile experience and has helped to make me who
I am today.
Though many martial arts (and thusly named) have
entered the domain of sports, their historical significance and
context should not be dismissed. We must always hope that our skills
are not required to be used in self defence, much less on a battlefield.
While some arts do that lineage directly from the battlefield, some,
such as Judo, do not. Thus "the gentle way", but the gentle
form of... Jujitsu which is a core element of modern military hand
to hand combat, does come from times of war.
That being said, there are so many
things gained from any number of martial arts, and Western styles
should not be forgotten. They once were with the fascination with
those arts from the East. Things are a little more balanced these
days.
Wrestling, boxing, archery, fencing
and so on are all examples of martial skills which produce the same
sorts of benefits, given the right instruction.
Okay, so I know that my all time favourite
martial art happens to be shotgunjutsu but, there are times when
one is not armed thusly, and alternatives must be found. But do
not despair, for even when one runs out of ammunition - a fine club
do you have.
I am sure I have already said this,
but... I did feel there was something missing from my life, for
near on twenty years. It is a nice feeling to have found it again.
Train well my friends.
Top ^
Some
Reflections
What follows comes mostly due to a
email I recently received from a friend. It is based on my response.
What is this thing I am doing eh? Well,
nope, it isn't Karate. Far from it, but in the general gist of things,
it is often construed as such. Or more likely - as a Karateka asked
of me the other week, "are you here for the Jujitusu?"
I just said, yip, because I knew what she was getting at. Its often
just the perception, and with the views Taijutsu has got in past
years its often not a bad thing. Just misunderstandings. Essentially
we are talking about a school of several Japanese warrior arts which
date back several hundred years, with regards Bujinkan.
I am about to write something up on
it generally and my time in Karate. So that will be up shortly.
Bujinkan is the term given to organisation
which encompasses 9 different styles, of which the most well known
is Togakure Ryu Ninpo.
The oldest of the schools go back 1000
years, rather than a hundred or so which is common with most other
styles today; Karate, Judo etc. Its the old ways of training. You'll
note my mention of pressure points, breakfalling, throws and techniques
like that. Its really much like military hand to hand in so many
ways. Karate has your offensive stuff, kicks and punches but doesn't
teach these other techniques. That being said, in my years in Karate
I did learn a few techniques outside the normal scope. A wee bit
of Aikido :) Weapons are also an integral part, rather than something
additional. Most sessions involve staff (bo or handbo), knife (tanto)
or sword (katana, ninja-to) techniques using the wooden or bamboo
equivalents.
This allows you to deal with universal
issues of self protection, as it is on the battlefield. Many things
have not changed much regardless of technology, and one of those
things is hand to hand combat. I have found that Bujinkan is a lot
less hard on the body, as Karate is, with intense impact etc. In
addition, being that a common form of attack (or aggravation to
a physical confrontation) occurs when someone grabs you (like Aikido),
if someone punches or kicks you, someone pushes you, taking a fall
properly (like Judo - but different). Pressure points and holds,
locks (like Aikido or Jujutsu), all these different potential issues
are dealt with in an all-encompassing self protection system.
You don't use rigid stances and hard
blocking techniques... its more like Aikido in that sense. Eg: someone
has a concealed knife, you stuff up a block and you end up in a
world of hurt. BUT that being said, any training is good, so long
as its under good instruction. Discipline, fitness, coordination,
self defence, confidence, awareness. With Bujinkan, you just realise
how much you need to "unlearn". But for me I am glad to
say, there is much I have learnt which applies and is either a)
coming back, or I find thankfully b) is still there. And that makes
me smile.
Once I learned different ways of dealing
with situations, (though it was still physically good, good for
self discipline, training, my brain etc) the Karate approach soon
went to the wayside. So, nothing is ever wasted. Nothing. As a result
though, I have never used it. Well, for example, I've never punched
anyone before in my life :) which some people might find hard to
believe... unless they know me properly. Pressure points and locks
tend to get the message across with much less stress. In those few
times things have got physical, it has usually resulted in me using
these approaches. Plus, the other fellas can always kick harder,
punch harder, and take the knocks better than you can give them.
And of course, the older you get, the more likely this is indeed
the case. You have to be smarter. Yes, I have to work at that too
;)
Recent training has reminded me of
a few old tricks and also just how I shouldn't be punishing my body
like I used to! Hearing the Karate guys and girls going hard out
just before we start our training reminds me very well of those
good old days.
We discussed the issues of school yard
bullies. In recent months such things have been in the news rather
more than we would like. Still, it has been going on for longer
than most can remember and I for one was subjected to it in no light
way.
The ironic thing is - for the hardest
time of my life, going through High School, when I was training,
best part of 3 years in Okinawa
Goju Ryu - it was what prevented me from getting physical. That
is old school and todays Dojos are often (though of course not all)
quite different. Attitudes are different. You so often seem to be
able to get a black belt in five minutes. Classes are not taken
in Japanese and so on. This of course is all part of the discipline.
And respect for the culture which is being imparted and becoming
part of your life. As it very much did with me. The more you learn
of the warrior arts, the less likely you are to need to use those
physical skills have you have learned.
I went on to recommend Okinawa Goju
Ryu, but not just because I did it, but also because it has the
oldest tradition, coming about when the Japanese in the 1600s, decided
to invade Okinawa and outlaw weapons. Thus the nunchaka came about,
Sai, etc. Using farm implements as weapons. Nunchucka is a flail.
Jump kicks were only ever used to take Samurai off their horses.
It is a very defensive system. And, if you've ever seen Karate Kid,
that is in fact what style is being taught but not said as such.
Never learned the crane :(
And there is always a effective defence
- getting out of the way.
And of discipline, issues of determination
and self control, we all need it. The world is no more a safe place
than it ever was. Ensuring that all things are focused upon; mind,
body and spirit, we better serve ourselves and those we love and
care about in the best possible way.
Top ^
31 May 2009
Old Entries... and departure.
While I have stepped aside for several reasons I
take the Bujinkan with me. It is a gift, and one received gratefully.
The physical aspects of it quite aptly manifest themselves in emotional
aspects of your life. Timing, judgement, distance and understanding
of your environment. If any of these things are out of whack, then
other aspects will be also. Anything worthy of time and commitment
like the Bujinkan will never be far from my thoughts. This is an
encouragement as much as I have been encouraged by those I have
trained with.
Having said I would reintroduce past entries, I
do so here for the benefit of the reader, fellow students, prospective
students. This in mind, I would like to encourage you all in this
field of study. While my attention is currently on the academic
front the Bujinkan is never far from my mind, and in the short time
I have been part of it a lot has been learned, and even more appreciated.
In due time, hopefully I will be able to return.
Thank you, and my sincerest gratitude to the Wellington
Bujinkan Jissen Dojo.
If you want to read these historical entries, you
can do so on the Dojo page, which is embedded at the Dojo's
website - under the Links, and A Student's Perspective.
Top ^
07 April 2009
Being
Unmotivated, Being Direct, Straight Backs ...and fundamentals as
core.
For some reason I was unmotivated today, through
school, and had to force myself to the Dojo this week. But, in truth,
this is when you need it the most. My mind was clouded with other
things, and I was thinking too much in general. There is nothing
quite like a training session to make this, ironically, clear to
you. You can be told something a minute before and struggling to
make it happen. So the objective is to make the body and the mind
work as one. Some days there is more effort required to focus properly
on what is going on, what is being taught, and getting things in
order.
Only when you learn something does it become common
sense. After that, you have to make it happen. And most definitely,
old (bad) habits often die hard.
There is much to be said about straight lines, of
being direct. There are several reasons why this is important in
self protection. Asides from being the most direct route between
two points, it draws you out of harm's way, takes your vitals, as
I've mentioned many times before, out of line from your attacker
so as they have a much more difficult time doing real damage. In
the Bujinkan this is the notion of being in profile. Being direct
is also about physical economy. When your hand comes up to check
it must come straight up to the offending arm, so there is no suggestion
of your intention, so there is no exposure, for example, to your
floating ribs. Your slightest touch, the sense of a snow flake falling,
must arrive immediately.
So, again, everything is direct. When you come
forward in the attack, your body comes directly, as does the arm,
not, as I have been prone to doing, in a around about way. Leave
no openings, no opportunities, even for the less skilled of opposition.
Central to all of this, a foundation to the necessary
correct posture (keep your back straight, young man!) is of course,
breathing. Don't forget to breathe. Something I am having difficulty
with, which is all the more frustrating because the importance of
this is far from new for me.
Now, another thing that has come up several times
before... I admit to some confusion when you are focusing on certain
aspects of a technique, then putting in efforts in areas I shouldn't
be at a given time. Concentration. Awareness. That is to say, I
should not need to look down at my feet to know where they are.
If they are not positioned correctly, I should feel that fact and
move them accordingly. One does not need to look down to ensure
they are attached to one's legs. Learn to appreciate to know your
legs aren't properly placed, your back isn't straight or your head
is not turned properly and do something about it.
Japanese terms: have to say it is annoying that
for the terms and words I learned over twenty years ago during time
with Okinawa
Goju Ryu, they are still with me to this day, yet these days,
my aging memory banks can't seem to retain the new terms. Perhaps
I need to purchase a book or something...
Tonight, it has been particularly useful and rewarding
to get back to the fundamentals. If you can treat the core as the
answer to the physical dimension of the Bujinkan, I believe you'll
always go a long way. Again, walking before you can run... or in
my case, perhaps crawling before I can walk :)
Thanks M, for your closing word on writing as I
left tonight. Sure will continue. Have to. It is my lifeblood.
Top ^
24 March 2009
Journies,
Positive Reinforcement, Musashi... and a need to learn one thing
well.
One funny thing is, each week, after training, I
wonder what to write, and even when I think at first there will
be little of interest, something always comes flooding forward.
This week it seems to be of the notion that everyone
learns from everyone. No matter your level of experience in a particular
institution everyone brings something, martial or otherwise, into
the mix. This is a lesson in not assuming anything. After all, we
each have diverse backgrounds, many and varied aims, but we have
all decided to embark on the common journey that is the Bujinkan.
As individual as people are, unique teaching styles
and ways of conveyance are present. This is a good thing because
we are all more or less perceptive to different ways of teaching
- in as much as I commented recently on leadership. From these qualities
and variations of discipline and wisdom is forthcoming, if we can
recognise it.
Something asides from this idea that has been in
mind lately is that having some skill and knowledge is better than
having none at all. While in comparison to this I feel that having
a greater skill base, moulded to ignorance or arrogance is not good.
Only one bruise this week, after the half dozen
from last week. Yes, the blue ring from my elbow had gone in a day
or so, but the purple remained for a few more. Don't even know how
I got it - probably breakfalling. Finding it a bit difficult just
getting the basics of it right. Still, as I allude above, I know
that I can now take a fall far better than before first entering
the Dojo.
Speaking of that, positive reinforcement and the
instilling of confidence is all part of training. Tonight this was
shown after a bad start in practicing ukemi on our own, and I drifted
off into pairs - thereafter my actual takedowns (cheers T) were
progressively improving. As was getting my knee in on those counter
attack routines (cheers J). Which, as it happens, although about
getting the distance right, we decided might have something to do
the US Marines getting some secret sticky stuff embedded in the
fabric of the new digital MARPAT trousers I happen to be wearing
:)
Musashi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyamoto_Musashi
Before we started tonight there was some discussion
on the idea of learning one thing and learning it well. Having a
huge collection of techniques can be somewhat confusing. I've talked
about the fundamentals here and elsewhere, recently and historically.
In fact it is one of the few things I can say I learned from my
father (though I doubt he realised the lesson was even being taught),
but also from a handful of others, who passed on very valuable teachings
along the way.
Though I am no advocate of Wikipedia, the
link above gives some background on the man I had raised in the
conversation. Sure, different people in history can come up with
the same ideas or methods independently over time, but sometimes
key figures are associated with certain things. I happened to raise
Musashi as an example - I recalled something of quick draw - to
draw the sword and strike in the same motion, but in fact, Musashi
is more renowned for his talents wielding two shorts long (Katana)
and short (wakizashi ). He was renowned for learning many skills
to facilitate action with and against many different weapon types,
but here I was wanting to emphasise the idea of repetitive practice
of a single thing to attain perfection. This includes variation
on a theme, as is demonstrated by Musashi's development of nitoichi,
kenjutsu (swordsmanship) where the two swords are used at one time.
When we speak of ancient times there is much myth,
legend and conjecture. Still, even lore, taken at face value alone
has something to say.
As hard as training was tonight, thanks G for a
good night, and a good conversation.
Survival counts on immediate action, not reaction.
to act, not to react is key. Don't hesitate. This has been reinforced
with the checking technique over recent weeks, to check an opponent's
grab immediately is important, as it is the first step in whatever
methods you might follow up on. From there on the break down of
moves in class is important to learn the process properly.
Though uneasy, it is necessary. Going back to the
fundamentals (like I mentioned with the ukemi) is an essential part
of training life. Yet, ironically when applied practically it becomes
easier. Your head has taken in that process and functions automatically
as it must. Tonight it was shown with ukemi and my dreadful start,
moving to pairing up. It can be frustrating but is also a thoughtful
reinforcement of reality when you can be at least reasonably confident.
The balance is, while you are happy about some
things, other parts will always need work.
I'm not sure why I am commenting on this incident
from a wee while back, if only to reinforce the very last statement
I found myself saying the other day as I reflected on recent time
in training.
A few months ago, before returning to the Dojo,
an ex-Army mate and I were practicing some hand to hand. Another
friend comes along (ironically an old golden gloves boxer) and goes
- "Ah, forget that, that's what guns are for!" - he too
spent some time in the military. And Sure enough, I agree with the
sentiment, bow, rifle, even a pistol... but when the weapon goes
down, or you get the dead-man's click, or worse yet, some fellow
decides to aquire your weapon and use it upon you - you want adequate
ways and means to protect yourself and your mates. Learn what you
learn well, and be thankful that others are there that you might
practice that thing which hopefully you will never be called upon
to use in anger.
In real life, there is no silver medal - and there
are more important things than gunning for gold.
Top ^
17 March 2009
Training
to Win, Steps to Success, the Journey... and confidence as the key
to victory.
If you are going to grab someone, do it like you
mean it. By the arm or the scruff of the neck, it is a control mechanism.
Mean to do it so that your training partner feels it, and must do
things in the correct fashion to effect an escape. Get to feel the
restraint, the hold, in order that you become better aware, both
of an opponent's intentions when on the receiving end, and also
how much pressure you require when you're applying a technique.
It all helps both you and your mate understand the conditions you
may find yourself under for real one day. The old adage will never
become redundant but for those who don't intent to win - train as
you mean to fight.
The primary technical lesson for tonight was, learn
slow. Don't try and think of the take-down, the final action. If
you don't get the rest right, you won't get there anyway. Steps
are the way to success. Natural flow comes in time, not today, not
tomorrow, but eventually, with the discipline of patience, the wisdom
of understanding coming from knowledge of the process.
It is about the journey, not the destination, as
someone once said. You can count off the steps, as happened for
me a couple of times as our instructor took us through the steps
of particular techniques. It is not complicated, though the body
may not do what you want it too, more likely it is that you are
not giving it the correct instructions. There is no victory gained
in being like a bull at a gate, you just end up with a sore head.
Part of the discipline is to teach yourself properly, in baby steps,
so it remains with you. Otherwise it will not be there when you
really need it. A case in point occurred tonight.
We were shown an arm lock, one I remembered from
my initial foray into the Bujinkan. These techniques are highly
effective, if difficult to get right straight away. It can get a
bit confusing, but once you get it, you're really there and feel
really rewarded with the effort put in to get there. After quite
a bit of initial confusion with my training partner I got it...
then, found out I was doing the wrong lock... The one I was doing
was quite similar but I had remembered it from some months ago when
the alternative one was taught.
So, half way through this exercise it came to me
and I was able to demonstrate it to my fellow student. There is
some relief in knowing you can actually do something and once it
is in there, it does rise to the surface.
And this is relevant when I was asked by a new comer
if I'd ever had to use my training in real life. Yes, but not strictly
the Bijinkan, but other things I had picked up along the way. But
in saying that, it could be said that what I have been called to
use is the contemporary alternative. There was no place for fancy
maneuvers, only that which works.
Here, tonight, was a gentle reminder to have faith
in the mind and its memory banks if you will. Because, I can tell
you, while you may struggle in the discipline of doing a thing,
take confidence in the fact it will come to you when you need it.
There are many ways to approach a problem, as many as there are
people delving into it, and although the fundamentals are difficult
to grasp, they will, rest assured, set you up for life, both in
the realms of self-protection, and in living daily. For as a friend
recently said to me, it is about attitude. I have learned in many
martial forms and activities that this is a primary attribute for
getting the most out of their study.
So, in returning to the real world application of
these skills learned, in my experience, the real achievement is
in being able to say that nine times out of ten confidence and assertiveness
wins over and no physical confrontation needs to have occurred at
all. And in that I once found myself completely surrounded by half
a dozen people who wished to do a friend very serious harm. There
is no substitute for calm words and a reality check. The situation
was dispelled through confidence and training that I had gained
through several institutions and by way of quality instruction.
I am forever grateful for that, and for the training that I continue
to receive. It is because of that no one needed to suffer that day.
As Sun Tsu once said, the war which is won without
bloodshed is the greatest victory... or something like that. Consider
Moltke and the Prussian victory over France in Sedan.
Hello J and S. Nice to meet you both. Welcome to
the Bujinkan and enjoy your stay.
Top ^
10 March 2009
Kenjutsu,
Kata, Leadership ...and learning to walk again.
In many ways, my Bujinkan page here is a reminder,
another way to reinforce those things I am meant to have learned.
This year the training focus is upon Ken, the sword and this evening
I was skewered at least eight times this evening. So, with that
in mind I hereby attempt to reconstruct the errors of my ways as
a means to avoid it in the future.
We transposed basic Kata (form) from unarmed technique
into application with the sword, and you soon know you are not paying
proper attention when it needs to be pointed out you have the blunt
side of the blade about to do the business. It is vital to remember
also that the idea is to drive your opponent away with the blade,
not slice and cut in a way which would bring them towards you, which
can be fatal.
Like everything the basic technique is about staying
in line with your opponent, remaining in profile, presenting the
least target to them as possible, and the most potential force on
the correct path, in the most direct fashion. Unarmed, ken, handbo
(short staff), tanto (knife) or whatever else, the basic principles
remain the same, with only minor, if any alterations required to
maximise efficiency.
Mess up and you pay. Mess about and think too much
and your training partner soon points out that you would have got
sliced up. So, the lesson is, make things happen, learn what you
learn but adapt slightly as you need to. The nine schools of the
Bujinkan are about the fundamentals of taijutsu, with flexibility
and adaptability as a source of strength. That is to say, ridged
structure beyond the basics is not how the real world works. A student
gains an appreciation of this pretty quickly.
In all this is the constant reminder that one must
clear one's head, get the correct way of doing things in your mind
and replicate it in the physical. It is important to practice like
this. Remain focused and listen. Don't make things complicated because
they are not.
You know you're not doing it right when your mate
tells you you're using muscle. It is about the correct technique.
Simply put, muscle might work today, but tomorrow your opponent
may be far cleverer than this strength alone will permit, or themselves
have more strength, more force, more brutality than you yourself
could ever muster. Worse still, you may be tired, injured, or be
facing multiple and / or armed opponents. Technique - learn it,
practice it until it becomes second nature. Don't allow the brain
to think it can get there by strength alone. It is a bad habit,
worse still, it is a deadly habit.
To clarify the point, for someone who once could
put five arrows into a target at twenty metres in thirty seconds,
and shoot the wings off a fly at 400 metres, while my talents as
a crawler in paintball was well regarded. Yet, in regards the Bujinkan,
it is very much like walking again. While other skills and experiences
I am able to bring forth to help me understand what I now undertake,
so too I must ensure they do not cloud my mind in doing the same.
More on that in a moment...
Leadership
In the Army, during Basic we had three sections
in our platoon, and three cadre NCOs training us. One was an older
guy, he could have been my grandfather perhaps, was softly spoken
and was like a wise old mentor who gently reminded you to close
the ejection port cover of your rifle after going through the motions
of a field strip. Another guy who was much younger but still had
at least a decade and a half on me at the time would ball you out
hard, shake the very ground your young feet stood upon, and never
seemed to smile, unless he sneaked one in on the sly at the witnessing
of a young recruit's misfortunate. A third corporal was somewhere
in the middle of the emotive scale of these two men...
What is required of instruction, at all levels,
which expects the best out of you is effort and perseverance over
time, nothing less. Of its physical manifestation, perhaps a little
less extreme in civilian life, but nonetheless serious if you are
training in the combat arts, is some sort of balance reflected in
those three men I referred to above.
In my experience here, at the dojo I have received
that. To balance that up, as hard as it can be, there is acknowledgment,
as a training partner said when I said it is like learning to walk
again... "It's okay, we've all been there."
Top ^
03 March 2009
Back Amongst Friends
It's always good to be back amongst old friends.
Maybe being away for a time helps you to appreciate things more
too. There is an importance in that. People, after all, are one
of the most important things in life. Personality and the sharing
of knowledge and a collective experience. So it was tonight getting
back to training, a new location for the dojo... and a wooden floor.
No mats now. Perhaps a toughening up process for the twenty-first
century I told myself :)
Old faces, and a few new ones. T - where'd the hair
go, bro? Thanks for the session. It suited my long absence well.
The basics, and ukemi. Thanks G for pointing out the foot must engage
the floor on the way over before one's head. The harder the surface,
the better the point is reinforced. Also was reminded how important
it is to get the body in close to your opponent to best make use
of their centre of gravity, to make it work in the take down. Too
far away and you might as well try and put them over your shoulder
like a sac of spuds.
M - "Ah, that was a bit Karate" - yes
indeed. One only needs a deflection, a means of protection, to channel
the strike away out of harm's way. There is no need for the full
circle motions, and diverting the attack too far away only opens
you up to a counter attack. After more than twenty years, many of
the Japanese terms, and the techniques are still in there. Crazy
eh, but that's how the brain works. It is often harder to break
old habits, than simply start from a place of no knowledge at all.
Still, the effort is worth every minute.
Again the old lessons, the same lessons come forth,
and this time it was all about distance. Getting that right is so
vital. Sometimes no worries, other times one stands there feeling
rather silly. Eventually there is a confidence that more often than
not, one gets it right. That time for me, I fear, is a while away.
Thanks for the little "spar" session G.
Funny how things are these days, years on. You train in the Army,
in the Infantry at least that aggression, in combat is paramount.
Charge in, take the fight to the enemy all that. Deeming the historical
roots of the Bujinkan, and discounting obvious alternative methods
of approach such as reconnaissance and so forth, I'm not sure why
I continued to back off - a passive outlook from a warrior... Ummm.
Something in that but I'm not sure what yet. Yet we both know very
well how it works in the real world and with anyone who wants to
do real harm. Always good lessons to be learned and thoughts to
be had. You won that round mate :) hope I didn't bend your finger
too much. Always a pleasure.
I have realised over time that, while my experiences
are many and varied, and I have no issue with being in a life threatening
situation, the Bujinkan has taught me that there is a time in one's
life were you must take on the more challenging journey of linking
the brain with the physical stuff. You need to learn to work through
complexities to ensure things work in unison.
Despite it being a frequently frustrating undertaking
it is one which must be persevered upon.
By the end of the night I felt a few sore spots. Getting home it
was confirmed. A few bruises. Now, as you may know, there are those
which have an intense pain, it subsides, no external signs for some
time. Rather than that, these one's were the standard issue type,
a little sore, the outward signs somewhat immediate. There is nothing
like a hardwood floor to tell you you're doing something wrong.
But hey, modern living is about concrete... and the battlefield
is about the hard ground wherever it may be. So, there are no complaints,
just not so gentle reminders...
Remember - it is all easy, straightforward stuff
:) Its just getting everything working together that can be a problem.
Thanks guys, very much.
Top ^
Links
Bujinkan
Jissen Dojo - Wellington, New Zealand based dojo
Guidelines
for Participation - written by Soke Masaaki Hatsumi
Kiwi
Dojos - Auckland, New Zealand based dojo
Aikido
New Zealand
Fencing
New Zealand
Krav
Maga - hand to hand of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF)
Military
Training Program American Combatives
Okinawa
Goju Ryu - Karate
Renzo
Kujiujitsu - Forsvar |
