I was planning to title this post, “Breathing for Dummies” after the famous how-to guides, but I realized most dummies aren’t interested in bettering their health, fitness, and extending longevity in their sports, martial arts, or activities.  Plus, I dislike the subtle insult of refering to my readers as “dummies”.  Nor would I want dummies for readers anyway.  So instead today we will go over Breathing 101.  These are what I consider to be the most effective ways to integrate breathing exercises into your daily training, and use them to …

As a teacher and student of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, I often hear the same question over and over again - how can I improve my skill?  What should I practice to get better?  Since I remember myself asking that question several times (probably several hundred times if you ask some people!) to my teacher and seniors in the art, I always take time to give a thoughtful and honest answer.  And, my answer to these sincere seekers is always the same  – practice the basics. 
Basic Does NOT Equal Simple 
I think maybe the term “basic” …

As promised in my previous post, So Ya Wanna Be a Ninja, here is an example strength endurance workout to start you on the way to building ninja-like endurance.  We will work the upper body, core, and lower body for a complete, whole body workout.  The goal of this type of training is to improve the body’s general endurance capacity so as to increase our overall resistance to fatigue.  This will enable you to train longer, harder, and more frequently, as well as improving your ability to recover between training sessions …

Looking for a quick and easy meal that’s healthy too? Try this delicious recipe for a shake full of protein, healthy fats, and antioxidants!

Masaaki Hatsumi, Grandmaster of the Bujinkan Dojo, once stated, “endurance is of primary importance for the ninja.”  One definition of endurance is the ability to resist fatigue.  Looking at the kanji (Chinese character) for Nin, there is the ideogram for “sword” over the ideogram for “heart” giving Nin a meaning of, “even though you hold a sword over my heart, I will endure.” 
How many of us training in the Bujinkan, or any other martial art, can truthfully claim that ability?  How long can you train?  How far can you push yourself?  In …

If you have been keeping up with the latest trends in conditioning research then you probably already know that interval training is the most efficient way to train.  Interval training alternates periods of high intensity exercise with periods of rest to produce gains in both aerobic and anaerobic systems.  Forget about those long slow distance runs to improve aerobic fitness!
The Body’s 3 Energy Systems
To briefly summarize, the body has three energy systems, 2 anaerobic, or non-oxidative, and 1 aerobic, that serve to create ATP (adenosine triphosphate).  ATP is utilized by every cell in …

Jon will be teaching a Bujinkan martial arts seminar at Redemption Kettlebell Gym in East Windsor, NJ on Saturday, April 24, 2010.  Please click on the flyer here for more details: Bujinkan Seminar Flyer
The seminar is $50 at the door, or to pay in advance, please click here:

In part one of this series, here, we discussed why it makes sense for Bujinkan practitioners, and indeed all martial artists, to include a fitness regimen as part of their training.  We also reviewed the basics of General Physical Preparedness (GPP), and why it is necessary.  Today, I’d like to talk about some specific examples of GPP type exercises and how to incorporate them into an overall training plan for both martial arts and fitness.  If you are attending classes and training on your own outside of class (highly recommended …

As a 20 plus year veteran of Bujinkan martial arts training, as well as being the owner/founder of Warrior Fitness, one of the things I pride myself on is my ability to access the fitness needs of my fellow martial artists, particularly those who train in the Bujinkan.  A common misconception that you’ll hear bandied about from dojo to dojo all across the world is that strength, and by association overall, general fitness, is not required.  I think this has to do with a fundamental misunderstanding of how we train.  In …

In today’s hectic world it seems we are all continually struggling to fit more and more into less and less time.  Whether it’s squeezing more work into a 9 to 5 day, cramming more activities into a 2-day weekend, or condensing a week’s worth of email posts into a digestible digest version, it seems we are all trying to become more dense.  In that spirit, I’d like to offer the option of Density Training.  This is by no means the only way to train, nor is it recommended to use it as your sole form …