Kata (Alone) Will Never Build Internal Power
Trying to develop Internal Power by training kata (alone) in martial art is problematic. On one hand, you may inadvertently have minor success in creating some internal connection over the course of 20-30 years of training, but you will most likely have no idea how you did it, no idea why it worked (minimally at…
Gyokko Ryu’s Internal Power Training
There is no doubt in my mind that Hatsumi Sensei possesses unusual power in his budo. Anyone who has trained with him can tell you that! But what is it and where does it come from? More importantly, how can YOU develop it as well? Soke’s martial movement displays many of the characteristics associated with Internal…
This Simple Practice RESETS Your Body
Let’s face it. Some days we just need to hit the RESET button. Whether due to stress, an accumulation of injuries, fatigue, or illness we need to find a way to RESET the body in order to allow its own natural healing function to take over. Luckily, there is a very simple process whereby we…
Top 9 Posts From 2014
It’s that time of the year again. Time for the Top 10, er… 9, best blog posts of 2014! This year saw 2 distinct themes emerge: a critical examination of what internal power really is and its relationship to martial arts training, specifically, but not limited to, Bujinkan Martial Arts training, and the importance of…
A Glimpse Into Internal Power Training – The Push Test
The push test is a very practical way of testing the quality of one’s solo training for internal power. As explained in Weakest Direction Theory is BS, the body, when properly trained, acts as an omni-directional structure. This allows the practitioner of internal power to neutralize any incoming force by diffusing it throughout the structure…
Martial Software or Martial Hardware?
Remember in The Matrix when Morpheus downloaded those dozens of different martial arts programs (software) into Neo’s brain and he instantly could perform all the techniques from those arts? That is a perfect example of a software upgrade. Techniques instantly available at your fingertips – literally!
Weakest Direction Theory is BS – Part 2
Make sure you read the highly controversial Part 1,Weakest Direction Theory is BS, before moving on to part 2 below… Preface I love martial arts. I love everything about it. I love training martial arts, practicing martial arts, teaching martial arts. I love reading martial arts history, philosophy, even martial arts fiction. I love talking…
Weakest Direction Theory is BS
Warning: The following post is going to conflict with the most basic, fundamental principle you “know” to be true in martial arts. Chances are you learned this principle on your first day of martial arts class. Since that day you have repeated it almost every class. You have taught it as truth to every new…
My Morning Routine
For the past several weeks there has been a running theme interwoven throughout my blog posts. That theme has been practice, Daily Personal Practice (DPP), to be precise. I’ve gotten several questions about the details of my own DPP since I refer to it several times in my writing. So I figured I would pull…
Principles, Techniques, and Internal Power
For some reason people seem to use the terms principles,techniques, and internal power interchangeably within the context of martial arts practice. Because of this mistake, they then tend to get confused between them. While they are all obviously related, each term is separate and distinct and should not be interchangeable with one another.
Lost Empire Herbs
