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 […]
Archive | Teacher Insights
Mindfulness Practice
The term mindfulness has become a bit of a buzzword lately. There is a lot of confusion around the concept and the practice. While mindfulness essentially means paying attention, or being aware, the concept is quite expansive and can be applied in a number of ways. For starters, being aware or paying attention is far […]
Why Don’t We Spar?
I have been asked this question a number of times over the years. To this day I remain a bit mystified by how difficult it is for most people to grasp the fundamental and critical difference between sport and athletic performance oriented martial arts and martial arts that focus exclusively on realistic self-defense. As I […]
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 […]
Life Changers: What is an “On Jin”?
On the day I was promoted to eighth degree black belt I stood before friends, family and students – seekers all – awash in a complex mixture of emotions. As I accepted this great honor I referred to my guide, teacher, and martial friend, An Shu Stephen K. Hayes as a most essential “On Jin”(own […]
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 […]
Don’t Change the Problem
Cultivating good uke (oo-kay) skills is a critical component to good To-shin Do training and developing reliably effective technique. This is a rather expansive topic and far too complex for one short writing such as this. That said, here is one of the most frustrating things you can slip into that will foul up your […]
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 — […]
On Opinions
The following is an excerpt from chapter five of my book Clearing Away the Crap in my Cap. The work is a rhyming book that explores the complexities and challenges of the human condition. The focus is on issues we all struggle with at times and common traps we may fall in to. I hope […]
Got Balance Breaking?
“This stuff is amazing,” he said. “Okay, you got my attention, what stuff,” I replied. “To-shin Do, To-shin Do is amazing,” he said. “I couldn’t agree more,” I said. “What’s the story,” I asked, because I knew there had to be one. Geo is a black belt student of mine. With great enthusiasm he proceeded […]