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 […]
Archive | Warrior Philosophy
The Unopened Gift
By Dennis Fuutoshi Mahoney on December 23, 2022 in Teacher Insights, Uncategorized, Warrior Philosophy
There are people who like to keep things in their original package and never open them. I have friends who do this with toys. They have kept them for years unopened as part of their collection. I’m more a Toy Story type of person, I want to play with the toy. If I could I […]
Beyond Curriculum
In most people’s minds black belt is the end game for martial arts training. This is the product of many social and economic influences. Somehow the uninitiated have the idea that black belt means you’re Spiderman. My sense is that the best way to put this in perspective is through an analogy. Black belt in […]
The Shinobi Science Formula
A Science Haiku of Ninpo Taijutsu Within each moment control space to break their shape balance and focus. Using gravity to change and move your shape throughout time and space.
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 […]
The Most Important Thing to Have in a Fight
Imagine the ear-splitting snap of automatic fire cracking overhead. Incoming rounds skip off the small dirt mound you’re blessed to have nearby as cover—a piece of micro terrain just big enough to lay down behind, but not wide enough to maneuver side to side. Every time you try to peek up and over the mound, […]
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 […]
Questions Are The Answer
By Dennis Fuutoshi Mahoney on December 23, 2020 in Teacher Insights, Uncategorized, Warrior Philosophy
Part 1: “Abby…someone. Abby Normal” I’ve been reading over the holiday break which, as my students know, means I have new ideas of how to explain what we’re doing in Shinobi Science. What’s new in neuroscience has been the focus this time and it is not normal. Most people have heard of the concept of […]
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, […]
Escaping for Balance
Students have been asking me what I am doing to keep myself sane during these crazy times. Many of them have told me that they are too stressed out to meditate. When they try to sit and do a simple shamatha meditation, placing all awareness on a single point of focus (usually sensation of air […]
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: […]
Relative Reality
“I’m no Einstein,” I said, “but I do know it’s all relative.” Someone had just asked me what my views on karma are. “Well, what does that mean?”, they replied. “Can you elaborate?” First we have to acknowledge that there are two views of so-called reality, I said. OK, now you’re starting to blow my […]
