A cryptic teaching of the Togakure Ryu, the Zan-To Tonko no Kata, or So-To Tonko no Kata, makes use of techniques for escaping capture.
Courses by Stephen K. Hayes
Sword Kihon
9 Kamae and several basic cuts and defenses for each kyu class ranking in Sword Kihon.
Kuji Remote Learning Workshops
A series of workshops delivered remotely to live audiences in 2020.
Bojutsu Kihon
Bojutsu Kihon is a 9-kyu course introducing the bo long staff fundamentals taught by To-Shin Do. Completion of the course might take a year-and-a-half to two years. 9 kyu diplomas are issued, followed by a Bojutsu Kihon diploma, comparable to receiving a Black Belt in bojutsu.
Hombu June and December Curriculum
This is the material that the Hombu dojo teaches in June and December every year.
Hombu March and September Curriculum
This is what the Hombu is teaching during the months of March and September.
Hombu February and August Curriculum
This is what the Hombu is teaching during the months of February and August.
Hombu January and July Curriculum
Here are the To-Shin Do foundational kata for the month of July, as taught in the Hombu Dojo in Dayton, Ohio.
Four Foundations of Movement
An-shu Stephen K. Hayes teaches his approach to the four elements as four specific physio-emotional responses to an attack. Earth holding ground, water tactically repositioning, fire intercepting, and wind evading are the four key ways of movement to explore in your beginning study of To-Shin Do.
Hombu May and November Curriculum
Here are the To-Shin Do foundational kata for the months of May and November, as taught in the Hombu Dojo in Dayton, Ohio.
Elements of the Mandala from a Martial Art Perspective
Join An-shu as he delivers a one-hour virtual seminar on the elements of the mandala, from a martial art perspective.
Austin Texas Seminar in 1993
Teleport back to 1993 with this seminar from An-shu Stephen K. Hayes in Austin, Texas.
Hombu April and October Curriculum
The Hombu dojo in Dayton, Ohio teaches these techniques and lessons in April and October of every year.
Techniques From Kata Yaburi No Kamae
In this course, An-shu Stephen K. Hayes takes students through several examples of how to successfully break the form in order to win. Unarmed taijutsu, knife combat, and hanbo cane fighting are offered as examples of the concept of how to employ the special mind set of kata yaburi.
Da Shin
This is an extremely advanced application of principles from the Gyokko Ryu Chu-Ryaku no Maki “Middle Scroll” of training methods. An-shu Stephen K. Hayes shows how to capture a knifer’s attack. Once captured, he then stays with it long enough to sense where the attacker is going, and he accommodates the attacker in a way […]
April 2016 Black Belt Seminar
April 2016 Black Belt Seminar
April 2016 Black Belt Seminar
April 2016 Black Belt Seminar
Hombu-Registered Trainer
The course is required for those who would like to become a Hombu-Registered Trainer or Instructor.
Dan-Shu
An-shu details 弾 手 Dan-Shu (“Blink-of-an-eye hand hit” or “Bullet hand”) from Gyokko Ryu Kosshijutsu Joryaku
Ro-To
An-shu Hayes demonstrates Ro-To and Fu-Do katas at his annual Ninja Festival.
Classical Spear
An-shu Hayes demonstrates fundamentals with the classical spear weapon.
Chi no Maki
An-shu Hayes demonstrates Earth concepts from Shinden Fudo Ryu.
Ganseki Variations
An-shu Hayes demonstrates various Ganseki Nage interpretations at his annual Ninja Festival.
Kai-Soku Kata
An-shu Hayes demonstrates Kai Soku kata.
Kou-Ryaku Kata
An-shu Hayes demonstrates Gyokko Ryu Kosshijutsu Kou-Ryaku kata.
Ketsu Myaku
An-shu Hayes describes the Ketsu Myaku choke and defense.
Ko-Yoku Kata
An-shu Hayes details the Ko-Yoku kata from the To-Shin Do curriculum.
Kasumi Otoshi
An-shu Hayes demonstrates Kasumi Otoshi at Mountain Quest in North Carolina.
Instructing Earth: Grabbing Attacks
This course covers grabbing attacks and limb restraints from the side and rear, as well as tackle takedowns. An-Shu Hayes and his instructors cover in depth technique details, drills, and target work, designed to give instructors tools to create dynamic earth level classes!
Instructing Earth: Front Attacks
This course covers front striking attacks and limb restraints from the earth element. An-Shu Hayes and his instructors cover in depth technique details, drills, and target work, designed to give instructors tools to create dynamic earth level classes!
Instructing Water: Grabbing Defenses
Learn grabbing attacks and defenses from the water element. This course covers in depth technique details, drills, and target work, designed to give instructors tools to take water level classes to the next level!
Instructing Water: Striking Defenses
Explore striking attacks and defenses from the water element. This course covers in depth technique details, drills, and target work, designed to give instructors tools to take water level classes to the next level!
Magical Escapes
Explore some of the key 6th Degree To-Shin Do Black Belt principles and techniques with An-shu Stephen K. Hayes.
Kuji Kiri
An-shu gives a from-the-heart explanation and interpretation of training in spiritual protection power projection for martial artists. This is the ninja legendary Kuji Kiri, showing Initiation into Kuji Kiri Grid of 9 Syllable Slashes.
Gyaku Nage Kata
The Kuki Shinden Ryu taijutsu exercise Gyaku Nage was most likely originally taught as a way to learn to fight an adversary in Japanese samurai armor. That is how my teacher first taught it to me in Japan in the 1970s.
Sword Mastery Series – Happo Giri Kata
The principle of ‘cutting the cut’ looks like a simple way to win when your adversary underestimates you, but you need bravery, precision, and well-practiced skill to make it work. We show you the secrets for Happo Giri as part of our dojo’s program for earning 4th Degree Black Belt.
Path to Mastery
Techniques to understand the wind element will bring you closer to your To-Shin Do Black Belt. Body positioning, kamae, and timing are the keys to success.
Lineage Study
Lessons from the scrolls of Gyokko Ryu, Koto Ryu, Takagi Yoshin Ryu, Shinden Fudo Ryu, Kukishinden Ryu and Togakure Ryu for advanced understanding of the roots of To-Shin Do.
Advanced Self Protection
Explore Water and Fire elemental taijutsu and add alignment and timing principles to your self defense training.
Foundations of Self Protection
Learn how to defend against the most common assaults on the street with An-shu’s Foundations of Self Protection course. This is a great place to begin training in To-Shin Do.
Posts by Stephen K. Hayes
Building Brand Identity
Some students have expressed concern over the relative lack of recognition of the identity of To-Shin Do. After being around for almost 30 years, people still have a hard time recognizing our martial art by name. But can you blame them? Next time you are suited up to train, look down at your left chest […]
Dealing With Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Violence
The purpose and methodology preserved in our To-Shin Do kata were not created to address mutually consented fighting, where we agree to fight another martial artist until one of us quits. Our practice methods address handling non-consensual violence. That means self-protection, or stoping harm when attacked with criminal violence. The purpose determines the strategies used […]
To-Shin Take Charge of Your Thoughts
We all have bad days. Here’s another truth. Our To-Shin Do training teaches us that no one is in charge of your mood but you. No one can hurt your feelings. No one can make you mad. I know. This conflicts with the currently popular view where everyone believes they are a victim. But an […]
Clarifying My New Position
In my mid-70s, I now call myself retired. That just means I no longer run a dojo, I drastically cut back on my traveling seminars, and I have assigned rank-awarding duties to the To-Shin Do seniors. I am however still working with a select few dedicated students. In the past, I devoted my entire life […]
The True Awakening Behind the Kuji Mudras and Mantras
There are so many variations on the ninja’s kuji-kiri and kuji-in, huh? I believe people are hoping to find the “one and only authentic kuji system”, and they are confused by the differing deities and states assigned to the various mudra and cuts depending on where and from whom one learns the kuji. This makes […]
The Tragedy of the “Wave Person”
There is an American interpretation of a Japanese concept that is totally backwards. Some martial artists love to brag that they are “ronin”, a lone masterless samurai. They even name their (usually small) training halls “Ronin Dojo”. Maybe this comes from a misguided sense of the American pioneer spirit, going it alone to forge a […]
The Tragedy of the “Wave Person”
There is an American interpretation of a Japanese concept that is totally backwards. Some martial artists love to brag that they are “ronin”, a lone masterless samurai. They even name their (usually small) training halls “Ronin Dojo”. Maybe this comes from a misguided sense of the American pioneer spirit, going it alone to forge a […]
Secret of Focus – Danshari
An-shu Rumiko and I have been exploring the Japanese concept of Danshari for several years now. Dan-sha-ri could be defined as Dan for “Cut (select, refuse)”, Sha is “Discard, let go”, and Ri is “Liberate, lift up.” “Discern, select, liberate”. Danshari is the process of arranging our homes, workspaces, dojos, cars, and relationships to where […]
Proving the Effectiveness of Our Art
Back in the 1980s, I had very few actual students studying the ninja martial arts with me. Instead of running a dojo, I ran seminars around the world. Into the 1990s, I had 13 actual challenges come up at these seminars. Guys figured that if I was on the cover of Black Belt Magazine, and […]
November’s To-Shin Do Curriculum
This month To-Shin Do explores several key principles and techniques. For our Level 1 students, you’ll explore how to exploit the gift of your attacker’s momentum and how to skillfully applied proper alignment overpowers bigger bodies. Level 2 is in Fire mode this month, exploring vectors, intercepting, angles, using gravity to accelerate in unexpected ways […]
The Many Facets of Ninja Taijutsu
Last year at Festival 41, we emphasized training in a very advanced ninja style combat called Santo Tonko no Kata, or “Method of the escaping rat”. This was a unique form of combat especially suitable for intelligence gatherers. If a spy had his cover blown and had to make an escape, he might have been […]
How to Qualify to Run a To-Shin Do Training Group
Licensed Instructors, as you know, we have very few requirements governing your participation as head of a To-Shin Do club or school. You pay us nothing to have a school or club. We charge you minimal amounts for certain services (namely diplomas and logo-use). The following are not new points. Most people have been observing […]
Secret Winning Power Within
I was talking with a student recently who expressed some pretty conventional negative thoughts about how her life had gone from childhood. Somewhat unhappy relationship with parents. Managed to graduate high school. OK but not super marriage. Picked up a little weight that will not come off easily. It was a sad but normal take […]
Who is Your Teacher?
Best advice ever given to me as a martial artist? “Know yourself and exactly why you are training in the martial arts, and then carefully select the best role model teacher who directly addresses your motivating passion.” For me, that meant looking all across America for a teacher who inspired me with his skill, ability […]
The Worst Advice I Ever Got
Worst advice I ever got? “Shut up and train. Don’t bother me with silly questions about people or techniques. Just do what I say. Practice the martial arts in their unchanging classical form and you can easily adapt them to modern 21st century self protection; it will be simple.” Wrong on all points. I studied […]
Same Conclusion, Different Endeavor
I read this recently, from an interview with Olympic fencer Daryl Homer by Clay Skipper, July 13, 2021, and it absolutely paralleled what we do in advanced To-Shin Do combat. He puts it precisely on the nose! “…with our sport, we really have to understand the opponent’s psychology. Like, you might be a really strong […]
Kyo-Jitsu Ten-Kan Ho
It is said that the ninja uses the juxtaposition of falsehood and truth (kyo-jitsu ten-kan ho) as one of his options for winning. Ostensibly this is translated as presenting truth as falsehood and falsehood as truth. This seems obvious as a ninjutsu tactic. If you are strong, appear weak to trick an adversary into underestimating […]
Force of the Killer
I used to teach this a long time ago. But then I sensed that people could not really understand or grasp it. Anyway, here it is again, the three variations to applying sak-ki “force of the killer” as taught to me in the ninja dojo back in the 1970s: Sak-ki – Experiencing and projecting a […]
Codes in Martial Arts Training?
A friend wrote critically of codes and creeds in martial arts schools. He feels people just want fitness and self-defense and do not sign up for what he calls “Boy Scouts or Sunday School”. He has a valid point. But what of people who want more than fitness and fighting from their martial arts study? […]
COVID Meditation for Restored Health
Let’s look at one action we can all take to diminish the effects of another wave of Covid in the world. Sit comfortably, either on the floor or in a chair. Keep your spine straight. Close your eyes. Place your hands in your lap, palms up, right hand on the left. Enjoy a few relaxing […]
Simple Keys to Guide Everyday Living
(A take on some thoughts from Dave Kovar) How would you breathe if you were totally calm and confident? Breathe like that. How would you walk if you were amazingly vibrant and healthy? Walk that way. What would your posture look like if you extremely alert and awake? Stand like that. What would you eat […]
Secrets to Transforming Fear
What is the biggest enemy we face? It may be fear. Fear that you will not know the right thing to do in an emergency. Fear that an enemy might have more fierceness, more determination, more techniques, more toughness, and more experience than you. Fear that you will not live up to your own expectations […]
Five Minds in the Middle of Conflict
Traditional martial arts training, back when martial arts prepared the practitioner for living accurately and safely, offers us a series of five states of mind to explore while training and moving about in the world. 初 心 Sho-shin, the “beginners mind”,a state of awareness that remains fully prepared to enjoy things for the first time. […]
Historical Ninja and their Secret Fighting Art
Some scholars have in the past ten years translated into English some of the ancient classic books of ninja reference. An-shu Rumiko and I never considered doing such translation work. One, I did not think there was a big enough book buying audience to justify the enormous amount of work it would have taken. Two, […]
3 Levels, 3 Tips
After 50+ years of teaching martial arts, some things stand out. Let’s take a look at 12 bare-bones gotta-do-it To-Shin Do skills as minimal requirements. In To-Shin Do Level 1 classes (White and Yellow Belts) as you practice the 12 fight scenarios and basic striking and ground-hitting skills, you have to constantly remember 3 things: […]
To-Shin Do Schools – Vision, Mission, and Values
I was asked how I define our work, and specifically, what makes the Quest Center To-Shin Do schools stand out. Here is what I ended up replying: Vision: Life mastery through martial arts Mission: To encourage peace, happiness, friendship, and fulfillment through the practice of modern and classical protection, health and fitness, life organization, and […]
Consistent Tiny Steps Win the Day
“An ant on the move is more powerful than a dozing ox.” – Lao Tzu Even though we start from humble beginnings, we can rise to lead a extraordinary life. If little practices are repeated consistently over time, we can improve ourselves and advance in capabilities. We come to the dojo two or three times […]
Concepts, Principles, and Techniques
Something I will be emphasizing in seminars this year is the differentiation between concepts, principles, and technique instructions. If our students know the concept of good taijutsu and know the principle being taught, it may help them do their techniques more correctly. A CONCEPT is an overarching description that applies to everything we do. “Rely […]
Why the 3-Part Student Creed?
When people come into our schools as white belts, they learn a three-part Student Code, or student creed, and promise to abide by it. We tell them right up front: “These are the three things you must remember whenever you’re doing anything dangerous, whether it’s a surf board, or a bungee jump, or martial arts […]
Take Advantage of our Teaching Programs!
Growth of To-Shin Do in clubs and dojos is always a good thing. More people have more of an opportunity to study our martial art in person in their own city. Here’s something that should be mentioned as we grow. You need to be sure that your teaching staff is up to date and teaching […]
Order and Chaos
What if martial arts training is really an interactive experience of order and chaos? When there is an imbalance, there is less than effective training. You need to have order — the discipline, respect, and intelligently paced learning. You also need the chaos — free testing, the “try it outs”, and “what ifs”. When you […]
Exploring Kuji No Ho
A few advanced black belts are taking private Skype lessons with me, studying aspects of kuji no ho “nine syllables of aspects of power”. I warned them that we can explore kuji, but it will feel different from studying taijutsu together. With taijutsu instruction, I tell you what to change, you do it, and you […]
Above the Fray
I am 70, and have seen so many cultural fads come and go over the decades. WWII vets got parades; Viet Nam vets got spat on; Iraq vets got applauded in airports. Black and white were segregated in the 1930s; black and white were integrated in the 1970s; blacks demanded black-only spaces on college campuses […]
A Strange and Surprising Opportunity to Learn and Grow
On our final Saturday of our Vajrakilaya retreat at Pema Ts’al Monastery in the Nepalese Himalayas, Eric Gadol, Lauren Garst, and Geoff Garst went with Rigzin Wangdu and me into Pokhara city to do a guest teaching for my friend Fatta Gurung. Fatta is a karate teacher who teaches Nepalese police officers hand-to-hand survival, so […]
Get Angry to Get Focused
Do not get mad at conditions in your life. That is pointless. What a waste of time and energy. Get mad about your reluctance to do something about those conditions. If you are not just a little bit angry about your condition — the shape you are in, the way you look, how you fit […]
Fire Preemptive Attack
In a third possibility, Hi no Kata fire element dynamics are the energy of committed intensity and focus. You learn to recognize a problem as it builds. You intercept at just the right moment. Theme – Clinging becomes desire which leads to energy The fire influence shows up as the magnetic power of energy, artistry, […]
Water Tactical Positioning
Let’s continue our review the five elements that form the base for To-Shin Do training from the inside out. In this issue of Ninja Now, we”ll look at the water element. Theme – Knowledge leads to power Sui no Kata water element dynamics are the tactics of power and knowledge, self-discovery, strategy, and individuality. This […]
Earth Ground Holding
Let’s review the five elements that form the base for To-Shin Do training from the inside out. In this issue of Ninja Now, we’ll look at the earth element. The ground-holding power-exertion of the earth element shows up as the opposite of the free-moving evasive wind element, which will be described later From the earth […]
A Master’s Tale
Several years ago, Rumiko and I were invited as special guests to a showcase of Japanese karate instructors. These were the men who brought karate to the USA in the 1960s when I was just dreaming about studying the martial arts. All were in their late 60s and 70s. The senior master instructors performed their […]
Ninja Evolution
I have a curriculum all my friends use in their To-Shin Do dojos, from white belt through 6th Degree. 7th and 8th Degree are somewhat special, worked out between each individual student and me. My current major project is a rework of 4th and 5th Degree. The old curriculum was designed in the late 1980s. […]
Radiating Inspiration
Martial arts masters who share the gift of inspiration with us radiate something we feel in their presence: We pick up a quality in them that resonates within ourselves. They are what we want to be. We recognize their high spiritual energy, which we long to have active in our life. When we meet a […]
1981 Interview with An-shu – 37 Years Later, Still Valid?
The following comes from a 1981 issue of Kick Illustrated magazine. I had some pretty bold and controversial opinions 37 years ago. How does this read today? I think I am still saying the same thing! Another area that Hayes feels is sadly neglected in current martial arts training is contemporary weapons. He stresses that […]
Secret to Earning Your Third Degree Black Belt
To successfully pass a Third Degree Black Belt test in To-Shin Do, you want to be sure that you know and can perform the Third Degree training exercises. I am not being funny or cute here. I am being painfully direct. It seems that some teachers have their students test for Third Degree apparently without […]
A Secret Tip from our Ancestors
Get out of the dojo and into nature now and then. No healthier way to discharge pent-up energies. The mind-body throws off its excess energies spontaneously when you remove yourself from the artificial confines of your everyday world. Find a green open space, an expansive view of sky and clouds, a lungful of pure air. […]
REPRINT: To-Shin Do Club and School Requirements
In case you missed this important information from last month it is being reprinted again. Licensed Instructors, we have very few requirements governing your participation as head of a To-Shin Do club or school. The following are not new points. Most people have been observing these for years. But it might be good to state […]
Dual Approach to a Common Value
To-Shin Do was developed with two purposes in mind. First, it is a modern adaptation of ancient ninja combat art philosophies. The techniques have been matched to the most common pressing threats of the 21st Century. For that reason, many are not the same as those methods for battling aggressors in 15th Century Japan. We […]
37th Annual Festival – A Special Opportunity
“Visceral Training” is the theme of our 37th annual Festival coming up this October 6-8, 2017. This year you have a chance to focus on honest realistic feeling – inside and out – in your To-Shin Do martial arts. Kata teach us the mechanics of how to do the techniques and how to approach embodying […]
Cross Training; Yes or No?
People who do not practice To-Shin Do cannot figure out why there is so little cross training done by our students. Here are three thoughts as to why we find so little cross-training: Our base martial art is so old, that we predate the Meiji separation of martial disciplines into striking, throwing, sword, etc. specialties. […]
Clever for the Win
A relatively small raccoon can kill a much larger hunting dog with a surprising tactic. The raccoon can run up the front of the dog’s chest under the dog’s jaws and reach around the dog’s muzzle to scratch out the dog’s eyes. This is not specially taught behavior or a “raccoon martial arts secret”. It […]
Shito Ryu Approach to the Five Elements
A friend of mine who studies Shito Ryu karate relates how their founder developed a set of approaches to combat. Though he does not know about our 5 elements, he explains that the Shito Ryu approaches cover 5 different responses to fighting. It is debatable how many Shito Ryu students are aware of this. What […]
Advice for Younger To-Shin Do Students
I was asked what advice I have for younger martial artists. I’d have to reply: Take it easy on yourself! Be smart. In my 20s there was a kind of prestige implied in what we called “hard training”. We actually damaged nerve plexuses and joint tissues by hitting and twisting body targets too many times […]
Why Do We Not Use San-Shin and Kihon Happo?
I am occasionally asked this question. The truth is I do not consider those exercises very important at all for new students looking for realistic self-defense fighting capability. The San-Shin kata were never intended for real fighting; not now or not never. No Japanese warrior ever fought using a kata from that set. They were […]
How Your Beliefs Affect The Outcome Of Your Life
We all believe in something. We’d like to think our beliefs are based on “rational thought.” But truth is we more often act out what we believe instead of what we know. Some of our beliefs are so iron-clad they turn into inflexible conclusions about life. This is especially true if they were unconsciously imprinted […]
Too Slow? Look Again
I talked with a person who commented that our To-Shin Do looked too slow to him. He felt that for a real fight, we should be practicing with “realistic speed”. I understand how he could feel that way. Once upon a time a long time ago, I too studied a less mature form of martial […]
Let It Go
For the past year, An-shu Rumiko has enjoyed a connection to the Japanese concept of Danshari – willfully and deliberately letting go of things that no longer serve you. We are enjoying our progressively “zenified” home and dojo. Want to bring abundance into your life? First let go of no-longer-needed stuff. Get rid of the […]
You Are Changing as a Human Being
Have you noticed how negative and nasty Facebook can be? Sure, some people put up inspiring or hopeful material. But look at how many are there solely to express their anger at life or other people, relate negative experiences in their days, or criticize and pick apart otherwise happy people. Hard to remain positive, isn’t […]
Figuring Out Festival Feedback
We just finished Festival 36. 36! That’s a lot of years. There is time for 2 generations of people to become involved, 3 if you include me as the founder back in the 1970s. Reviewing feedback from Festival 36, I was a bit puzzled at first. “What did you like most about Festival 36? What […]
Commitment to the Future – Part 3
At this summer’s private seminar for 15 friends at my personal house dojo, I explored 3 specific open-ended topics the high rankers in To-Shin Do will focus on this year. As a first consideration, we are challenged to translate a late 1500s Japanese martial art into relevance in 2016. I wrote about this challenge two […]
Commitment to the Future – Part 2
At last month’s private seminar for 15 friends at my personal house dojo, I explored 3 specific open-ended topics the high rankers in To-Shin Do will focus on this year. First, we are challenged to translate a late 1500s Japanese martial art into relevance in 2016 in America and Europe. I wrote about this challenge […]
Commitment To The Future
At a recent private seminar for 15 special friends at my personal house dojo, I explored 3 specific open-ended topics that the high rankers in To-Shin Do will focus on this year. First, we are challenged to translate a late 1500s Japanese martial art into relevance in 2016 in America and Europe. This is a […]
Float Like a Butterfly…
With the recent death of Muhammad Ali, I have been seeing clips of his historical fights on social media. Something caught my attention. As Ali matured and gained experience in fighting formidable foes, he developed an increasing reliance on what we call “water strategic placement”. Watch and see if you do not agree. No, he […]
Three Questions for An-shu
An-shu, what first got you interested in the martial arts? SKH: I wanted to be able to make there be peace when others chose violence and cruelty. As a small child in the 1950s, I remember seeing other children bullied and abused by bigger, meaner children. I was not comfortable with the thought of being […]
A Proposal for the Future
To-Shin Do takes the timeless principles of ninpo taijutsu and brings them into the 21st Century. Have you ever seen a proud YouTube video of a poorly trained Bujinkan practitioner attacking slowly with a non-accelerating lunge right foot and right arm, and leaving the right hand out there so that the defender can make his […]
Secret Study Now Revealed
Ever wonder what happened to me after I stopped writing the ninja book series in the early 1990s? Where I went once I slowed down my Japan trips and replaced them with trips to India, Nepal, and Tibet? An amazing series of events brought me in contact with the Dalai Lama. I started traveling with […]
Last Month’s Article
Well, I got a lot of response to my last month’s article. Mostly agreeing, but some disagreeing. In last month’s opinion, I urged you to cut out online arguing. Don’t get into political battles that eliminate half of your potential training partners. Don’t “rant” and expose focusing on what is not working in your life. […]
Modern “No Name, No Art”
Back in the Warring States era of Japanese history five hundred years ago, the ninja secret agents of the time developed a way of living guaranteed to keep their identity a secret. MU MEI MU GEI translates as “No name, no art” and sums up the attitude of the Warring States invisible warriors. If an […]
Advancing Age, Advancing Skill
As a child, I wanted to be a force against brutality and cruelty. Once I started martial arts training, my entire focus was on practical defense. How do I handle the worst possible thugs and brawlers? I was never attracted to training as “art” or sport. But after a few decades of training, I came […]
Hombu-Registered Instructors and Trainers
Our mission for NinjaSelfDefense.com is to provide every student with easy access to the best possible training material so they can understand and advance. This plays a key role in our vision to make life mastery and inner peace attainable to anyone in the world through To-Shin Do training. One step towards the realization of […]
Master, Mirror, Mentor
The Warrior Path is an amazing journey. Can you remember that moment when you knew you were in for keeps, intensely committed to the path for whatever number of years it would take? You saw the martial arts as a part of who you are. Your motivations for training were far deeper and more intensely […]
The Ultimate Secret
To-Shin Do taijutsu is ultimately about principles as opposed to techniques. Oh, sure, we start students out memorizing things, as opposed to considering things. But that is just an expedient to match their beginner expectations. Normal people expect they will be taught how to move faster, be stronger, and to know something that others do […]
To-Shin Do Training Center Mission Statement
Interested in running your own affiliate school? Are you emotionally attached to teaching your hobby – what you like to do as a martial artist? Or are you running a business, earning a dignified living teaching effective martial arts for the most benefit to the largest number of your community members? What is the purpose […]
Subtle Signs of Attack
Since To-Shin Do is a realistic approach to street and field violence, we have to take into consideration a lot more than sport martial artists do. In a competitive ring, you know why the other guy is there. He and you have agreed to a contest of fighting skills. All you need to do is […]
MAIA Lifetime Achievement Award
When I first left for Japan in search of the ninja 40 years ago, it was by no means a happy or triumphant thing. I had a small karate school, and I was not happy with where American karate was headed. It was the early 1970s, and big hair, gold chains, monstrous egos, and cocaine […]
Boundary Setting
Winning a fighting contest is such a different result than returning home healthy and happy each day. And yet many martial artists confuse this reality, talking on one hand about self-defense, but then on the other hand being drawn into a contest when someone makes a challenge. Our training works on a “continuum” model — […]
Brain Involved in Fear
A common mistake regarding the purpose of studying the five elements is to believe that we somehow “choose” a particular element in the middle of a fight. Such a rational decision-making process would be totally impossible for the vast majority of people. Under the effects of cortisol and adrenaline stress chemicals that flood the bloodstream […]
A or F?
What does it take to honorably pass a test and earn a new belt in the martial arts? My view is that there are: Things to know (we are informed – “I know something new!”), and often… Things to be able to perform (“I can do something new!”) And then on the other hand, there […]
Kofuku no Shiori
“The way to experience happiness is to let go of all worries and regrets. Being happy is the most satisfying of life’s feelings. Reflect back on all the progress in your life and allow the positive, creative, joyous thoughts to outshine and overwhelm any sorrow or grief that may be lingering there in the recesses […]
Do You Guys Spar?
A difficult question to answer. Difficult because I know the answer will be misused by people not sympathetic to our training methods. Fast answer is there was very little “sparring” in the dojo back in the 1970s. The classics, when done the way they were practiced in the 1970s, were applied as a flow of […]
The Art of Winning
I remember a conversation I had with my ninja martial arts teacher way back in the 1970s. I was in my twenties and had just moved to Japan to become a student in the grandmaster’s home dojo. I asked my teacher what was the most important thing to remember about martial arts training. “Why do […]
Success, Power, and Freedom
(With thanks to Mark Morgan Ford) Many of us got into martial arts training with the goal of becoming successful, powerful, and free ( as opposed to living at-risk, being weak, and feeling dominated by others). Would you agree? The first step towards the goal of success, power, and freedom is learning how to think […]
35 Years of Uncompromising Spirit
Hosting our first Ninja Festival back in 1981 was one of the biggest gambles of my life. My ninja taijutsu was a totally new phenomenon on the martial arts scene 35 years ago. Yes, a few folks claimed to be “ninjas”, but only I could present evidence of actually living in Japan as a disciple […]
Three Stages of Developing Expertise
What if the point of martial arts training was to become invincible, as opposed to impressing others with visually entertaining technique? What if we trained to attune natural movements to a wide variety of possible assaults, rather than developing complex techniques for one-upping other competitors in a contest? Accomplishing great things with the appearance of […]
Mu-shin: Mind and “No-Mind”
A student once asked me, “Japanese martial arts books sometimes describe a state called mu-shin, or ‘no-mind’. If I were thinking of nothing, how could I handle an attacker who was thinking very hard about beating or killing me? I mean, with nothing in mind, wouldn’t I just be an easy target?” I told him […]
The Science of “Not-Teaching”
I stood at the edge of the training area with one of the brown belt Trainers. She and I were watching a group of new students as they practiced punching into padded targets. “Look good, don’t they? Bodies moving with the arm extension. Hitting the targets well. Getting good results. Having fun.” She nodded silently […]