Philosophers and sages throughout the ages have consistently extolled the virtues of facing adversity for the purposes of becoming a better, stronger person.  No matter what form this adversity takes, wisdom dictates that it must be faced head-on, weathered through, and successfully beaten by coming out the other side, maybe scarred, but assuredly battle-hardened and spiritually tougher.   Oftentimes, adversity comes to us unbidden simply due to the path we choose to follow, or even for no fathomable reason at all.  It tends to be one of those things life throws at us unexpectedly to “help” us prove our mettle and forge our character.

It has been said that “God comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable”.  If this is so, perhaps creating your own adversity isn’t a bad thing at all. 

The goal in creating your own adversity is to design a challenge that will push the limits of your physical strength, mental toughness, and spiritual fortitude in order to propel you forward to the next level in your training.  For the warrior, this process is known as Shugyo.  Shugyo (修行) may be defined as “conducting oneself in a way that inspires mastery”.  These periods of severe training were usually undertaken by warriors to achieve a type of enlightening experience which opened their minds by destroying their concept of previously perceived limits.  It is the same for us today.

Ueshiba Morihei, the founder of Aikido, was well known for taking his students up into the mountains for periods of Shugyo.

 “Once a year, Morihei took several of his best disciples to train with him on Mount Kurama, located near Kyoto. The small group lived on rice, pickles, miso soup, and wild herbs. Morihei would rise at five AM to pray. After morning prayers and misogi, they would swing heavy swords five hundred times and then practice footwork. From ten AM to noon they trained in body techniques. Afternoon training ran from three to five PM; the disciples took turns acting as Morihei’s partner as he ran through series after series of techniques. In the evenings the disciples would review the day’s training. Every three days, Morihei would announce at midnight ‘time for night training’…”
Excerpt from “Invincible Warrior”, by John Stevens pg. 125

Now, do you have to seclude yourself in the mountains for several days in order to practice Shugyo?  No.  For most of us, that’s not realistic or practical, but that doesn’t mean we can’t create the same type of experience for ourselves.  So, how do we do it?

Create Your Own Adversity!

Caution:This type of training is not for everyone.  Before you begin, there are a few common sense type precautions you should take.  First, prepare adequately.  For example, you would not go out to run the NY Marathon tomorrow if you’ve never run more than 5 miles.  Second, if you decide to conduct your Shugyo outdoors, let someone know where you’re going, what you’re doing, and how long you’ll be gone, or better yet, take them with you!  Third and most importantly, think before you do and plan accordingly.

1.  Pick a time or day that has personal significance to you – it can be your birthday, New Years Day, or the anniversary of something important in your life.  Is this absolutely necessary?  No.  You can pick next Tuesday if you’d like, but I think tying your Shugyo to a significant day makes it more special.

2.  Decide what form your Shugyo will take.  This must be unique to your goals and capabilities.  Choose something that is currently beyond your reach, but not so far as to make it completely unattainable.  You want to focus and hone your physical, mental, and spiritual abilities, not your imagination.  Some examples are:

• Run a marathon
• Climb a mountain
• 1000 cuts with a heavy bokken (wooden sword)
• 1000 Kettlebell snatches
• 1000 reps of any basic techniques or combination of techniques
• Sparring 20 opponents in a row, nonstop
• 1000 Push-ups/Squats/Sit-ups

While any of the above would more than qualify as Shugyo, my personal preference is to plan an entire day where the whole becomes greater than the sum of the individual parts.  Some recommendations for the parts are:Junan Taiso warm-up, run (distance TBD by you), practice the basic strikes, kicks, and footwork of your particular martial art, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu for me (high reps to push your limits, of course!), weapons practice (sword cuts, spear thrusts, bo swinging, etc.), high repetition bodyweight exercise(s) or workout with weights (dumbbells, kettlebells, clubbells, sandbags), end with an extra long yoga session to wring out all the tension accumulated throughout the day followed by meditation and rest.

3.  Create a training program to get you there.  Let’s face it, most of the above examples are not something most people can decide to do in a day, they take time, preparation, and work to bring the goal within reach.  Remember the “6 P’s”: Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance!

4.  Get to work!!

Creating your own adversity through Shugyo has the effect of focusing not just your mind, but your entire being for the purposes of expanding your potential.  Push yourself harder than you ever thought possible and blow through your preconceived limitations – remember, the only limits that truly exist are those set up in your own mind – there are no limits! 

“God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them.”  ~John Aughey

Related posts:

1. So Ya Wanna Be a Ninja?
2. A Day in the Life…
3. A Case for Mini Workouts

Related posts:

1. Goals for 2010

Masaaki Hatsumi

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 martial art, endurance, or the ability to “keep going” is defined in years, not minutes, hours, or days.  How can we create an effective training program that will instill in us the ability to continue, to endure?

Physical Endurance

Let’s begin by examining the concept of physical endurance.  There are 3 basic types of physical endurance:

1. Aerobic endurance
2. Anaerobic endurance
3. Strength endurance

We discussed the body’s 3 energy systems and how using the Tabata Protocol can effectively improve both the aerobic and anaerobic systems here.  Strength endurance is defined as the ability to effectively maintain muscular functioning under work conditions of long duration.  There are two basic ways to increase the ability of your body to do more physical work.  One is the continuous adding of weights, sets, reps, and time to push the body to create an adaptation to allow it to perform more work for a longer duration.  As we discussed previously in the article on GPP, the body’s capacity is expanded.  Progress is incremental and continuous for as long as one is able to keep increasing driving forces in the body.  The next one, however, is often overlooked in our “just add more volume” culture.  More is always better, right?  If one vitamin is good for you, take 4, that’s even better (please dont’!).  But, there is another way to allow the body to continue training in addition (no pun intended) to adding more work.  By removing restrictions in your body, like unnecessary tension or extra body weight or lack of flexibility/mobility in a particular area, you then free up resources in your body that were spent holding that tension that you weren’t even aware of on a conscious level.  These restrictions, once removed, allow even greater leaps in performance than simply adding more work.  When the 2 are combined, it’s a powerful combination!

How Do We Program It?

By programming our workouts so that we effectively build in both the removal of restrictive forces, while also increasing driving forces, we can maximize our progress.  This idea is present in traditional methods of Hatha Yoga in the form of balancing strength and surrender.  Contrary to popular opinion, yogi’s do not simply work to become more flexible.  They actively work to increase both strength and flexibility as complimentary opposites in order to achieve a state of balance.  Now, I’m not asking you to become a yogi here, merely pointing out that this is not a new concept at all, but has been used by traditional arts for thousands of years.  Our program for developing ninja-like endurance will utilize both joint mobility exercises and yoga asana (poses), as well as breathing exercises, to aid in the removal of restrictive forces binding your training and slowing your progress.  Next week I will be putting out an article on breathing exercises that can be used for relaxation, stress management, removing residual tension, and also for increasing energy – keep your eyes out!

For an example of some easy yoga postures that can start helping you right now, head over to my good friend Josh Sager’s excellent blog, Fretterverse, and check out my article on Yoga for Guitarists.   A free sample joint mobility training program can be obtained simply by signing up for the Warrior Fitness Mailing List at the top right of the page.  Sign up now and begin working on removing restrictive forces today! 

And, don’t forget to check out Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Artists for more exercises, options, explanations, and program design!

Stay tuned for a sample Strength Endurance Workout coming soon!

Related posts:

1. How to Train for the Endurance of a Ninja
2. Fitness Requirements for Bujinkan Martial Arts Training
3. Complete Warrior Fitness Training Program for Bujinkan

What is The Enemy?

The enemy comes in many forms and assumes many guises.  It may tell you that it’s alright to sit down on the sofa and watch Lifetime Television with your wife after dinner; you can get to that workout later.  It may convince you that just one brownie bite is okay, after all, they’re just “bites”.  You may feel tired from a busy day at the office, and rightly so – the enemy will whisper in your ear that you can begin your fitness regimen tomorrow and that will be good enough.  What exactly is this enemy who kills our motivation and procrastinates our calling (sometimes indefinitely)?  Steven Pressfield identifies the enemy as “Resistance” in his excellent book, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles.

“Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work.  It will perjure, fabricate, falsify; seduce, bully, cajole… If you take Resistance at its word, you deserve everything you get.  Resistance is always lying and always full of shit.”

Sometimes the most insidious form the enemy can take is the form of knowledge.  We fall into the trap of, I know what I need to do, I just need to do it.  Knowledge comforts us.  It allows us to rationalize that since we are in possession of it, we can carry out the action at any time.  We don’t need to do it now.  Tomorrow is fine.  Next week is OK to start.  So, why worry?  One of my favorite quotes (just ask my daughter, she’s heard it often enough!) on this subject is:

How Do I Defeat The Enemy?

In his book, Awakening Spirits (Religion and Spirituality), famed wilderness survival guru, Tom Brown Jr., gives the enemy a different name, calling it the “Demon of Distraction”.  No matter what you call it, if you call it anything at all, it’s the very same impersonal, unrelenting force pushing us away from our calling, deferring our goals to a “better time”, or for when “conditions are just right”.  Here’s a hint – conditions are never perfect.  There is no better time than right now.  How do you defeat this omnipresent enemy?  By doing your work.  By starting right now.  Don’t delay.  Don’t defer.  Begin.  Do the work(out).  Trade  the 3 o’clock junk food snack for an apple.  Skip McDonald’s on the way home from work and prepare a healthy meal.  Don’t allow yourself the luxury of excuses.  Be firm.  Be strong.  Get it done.  Be resolute and committed to your health and fitness goals.

Related posts:

1. Goals for 2010
2. Motivation
3. Not a Warrior? Not a Problem.

You do not have to be Catholic to benefit from Father Corapi’s thoughts on fitness.  In fact, his words transcend religion and get to the heart of being human.  As he says, if you know there’s action you can take to improve your health, such as diet and exercise, you must do it. 

Stay healthy and strong!

Want to know more?  Check out Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts!

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1. Warrior Fitness for Kids!

How do you get and stay motivated?  Discuss!

Related posts:

1. Do You Know the Enemy?
2. Goals for 2010

The problem is that things will never be different unless you actively do something to make them different. You want to lose weight? Start now. You want to be in better shape? Start now. You want to improve your athletic performance or martial art skill? Start now. Don’t wait. Don’t let those excuses become so entrenched in your psyche that you actually start believing them. Start now.

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1. Do You Know the Enemy?
2. Top 5 Mistakes When Starting an Exercise Program
3. Goals for 2010

Happy New Year!

Welcome to Warrior Fitness in 2010. This year, like every year, is full of potential. It’s a new beginning, another opportunity to change, to reinvent yourself for the better. To make improvements by forging your body physically, challenging yourself mentally, and growing spiritually. There is a sense of excitement at all the possibilities that lay before us.

How will you change yourself this year? What goals have you set? What do you want to accomplish in your training and in your life? Whether the goal is to improve your fitness levels for martial arts training, to enhance your performance in those martial arts, to lose weight, to gain muscle, to improve mobility and increase flexibility, or just to be a healthier, more fit you, Warrior Fitness can help you achieve all these goals and more.

January is the busiest time of the year for gyms and health clubs, but guess what? In February, those places are ghost towns. How do all those well meaning goals become unsustainable for so many, so quickly? How can you assure yourself that your motivation won’t quit, that your will won’t weaken? One way to do this is to have someone else hold you accountable for your goal setting, progress, and accomplishment. Motivation is a funny thing. When we think no one is watching, it becomes much easier to slack off or make an excuse to ourselves as to why we can’t workout today, or why those cookies are better for us than that salad. When you must hold yourself accountable to a third party, it’s much harder to stray from the goals you have set.

Warrior Fitness offers personal training services, both in person and online, to help you hold yourself accountable. Together, we will set goals, create a step-by-step plan to meet them, and work toward achieving them. If you would like more information, or want to get started now, please email me here. and reinvent yourself this year!

Related posts:

1. Do You Know the Enemy?
2. Motivation
3. Not a Warrior? Not a Problem.