***

Bujinkan Shidoshi, Josh Sager – 10th dan, and Jon Haas – 9th dan, team up once again to bring you a unique and extraordinary presentation of weapons retention and deployment using the knife and pistol!

You will learn:

 Tactical use of weapons retention & deployment

 Proper methods for pistol draw and aim

 Movement with weapons in the tactical space

 Protecting others

When?

Saturday June 23, 2012

What Time?

1 PM to 5 PM

Where?

Warrior Fitness Gym * Hainesport Business Complex * 4004 Sylon Blvd. * Hainesport, NJ 08036

 How Much?

$50 per person payable at the door or in advance through paypal link below.

For more information or to register, please email jon@warriorfitness.org or call (609) 556-8712

Related posts:

1. Ninja Weapons Seminar
2. Combat Conditioning Seminar
3. Women’s Self Defense Workshop

Knife and Pistol Seminar is an original post on the Warrior Fitness blog. If you are not reading this on WF, please visit today to support the content's creator.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

***

Bujinkan Shidoshi, Josh Sager – 10th dan, and Jon Haas – 9th dan, team up to bring you a unique and extraordinary presentation of small and hidden weapons used by Japan’s legendary Ninja Warriors!

You will learn strategies, tactical movement, and techniques utilizing:

•  Ninja Sword
•  Shuriken
•  Kunai
•  Edda Koppo
•  Shuko
•  Nawajutsu
•  Kyoketsu Shoge
•  And More…

When?

Saturday March 24, 2012

What Time?

1 PM to 5 PM

Where?

How Much?

$50 payable online (click paypal link below) or at the door.

For more information or to register, please email jon@warriorfitness.org or call (609) 556-8712

Related posts:

1. Knife and Pistol Seminar
2. Preparing Ninja for a Mission
3. Combat Conditioning Seminar

Ninja Weapons Seminar is an original post on the Warrior Fitness blog. If you are not reading this on WF, please visit today to support the content's creator.

In the past I was one of the top operatives for my clan successfully completing dozens of missions all over Japan.  I went by many names, played many roles, and brought great favor to our clan.  My exploits are “legen- wait for it -dary” among ninja warriors.  Today have retired from active duty and assumed a position where I am in charge of the physical preparation training of our up and coming ninja recruits.

Based on my background and experience, one of my goals as an operative turned trainer is to completely revamp our ninja fitness training program.  My main concern is – What Does a Ninja Need?.  What I’ve done is put together a sample training program for you to get a glimpse into my world and see how I am training the new recruits.  Remember, this is just a snippet of the complete training package, based on my decades of operation and training experience that I have put together for the ninja in training.  There is much, much more….

So, how does one prepare ninja physically for a mission?

• Pulling and grip strength are an absolute must for scaling castle fortifications,
• Anaerobic and aerobic endurance,
• Burst-recover-burst ability for escape and evasion,
• Not to mention power-  a unique blend of strength and speed to enhance technical ability and fighting prowess should a ninja come face to face with a samurai intent on doing him harm.
• Jumping ability
• Agility
• Core strength/activation since power is generated from core out to the extremeties

If you decide to attempt this sample workout, make sure you begin with a good warm-up.

I’ll tell you about the super-secret dynamic warm-up that we do here in a future installment.  Keep an eye out for it!

Ninja Warrior Physical Prep Workout

5 Towel pull-ups

10 Rock-up Deck Squat and Leap

10 Fingertip Pushups

10 Hanging Leg Raises

Repeat as many times as possible (AMTAP) in 20 minutes (rest as needed).

Finisher – Heavy DB farmer walk or heavy sandbag carry x 3

There you go, an officaly ninja warrior workout direct from the 16th century!  How well do you stack up?

Related posts:

1. What Does a Ninja Need?
2. Ninja Endurance – Part II
3. Ninja Stars and Strength Training

Preparing Ninja for a Mission is an original post on the Warrior Fitness blog. If you are not reading this on WF, please visit today to support the content's creator.

Ninja fitness needs were much more multi-faceted than most physical pursuits.  They had to be as they were at once a combination of Olympic decathlete, Navy Seal, and martial arts master rolled into one.  Let’s examine this a little more closely though, what kind of qualities did they possess and what did they need to be able to do?

Ninja Must Possess …

• Strength
• Agility
• Coordination
• Excellent balance
• Flexibility / Mobility
• Whole body power
• Endurance

Ninja Must Be Able to….

• Move silently
• Run fast
• Walk far
• Leap high
• Climb trees, walls, castles fortifications, etc.
• Wield weapons
• Fight unarmed – striking, kicking, grappling, locking, choking, etc.
• Roll / fall / dodge / avoid
• Crawl
• And more…

As you can see from the 2 lists above, the ninja had a wide range of skills and abilities that had to be supported by a comprehensive fitness program keeping him at the top of his game.  Remember that for a ninja, fitness wasn’t just a nice to have; it was an absolute necessity to accomplishing his mission and getting him home safely.  And the kicker is, they did it all with little to no fitness equipment.  Certainly a 16^th century ninja did not possess a Gold’s Gym membership.  Nor did he own an Olympic weight set or have a stair master at his disposal.  And, while kettlebells and dumbbells would have been great, he most likely had never laid eyes on either one.  So here we have one of the most highly trained and fit agents the world has ever seen created without the use of modern training equipment or modern training methods.  What might some of this training looked like?  I’m glad you asked.  One of my favorite scenes in Hatsumi Sensei’s early Bujinkan training videos (DVDs now for you younger folks!) comes from Shinden Fudo Ryu.  Here’s a short clip I found on Youtube.  This stuff is seriously old school!

 “One trains using the things of nature to make the body strong” – Hatsumi Sensei

What if we were to take the spirit of historical ninja fitness training and combine it with a little modern sports science and know how?   Modern methods allow us to take advantage of periodization, or programing and organizing training, to create a comprehensive fitness plan which will apply logical sequences to get the most out of each session.  Protocols like HIIT, high intensity interval training, will be utilized to maximize both aerobic and anaerobic endurance in the same short, high intensity session.  Advances in recovery work from such sessions will allow us to recover faster thus making gains greater, and increasing our overall general physical preparation (GPP) will allow us to push higher into more sophisticated training.  Effectiveness and efficiency will be combined in order to allow for shorter training sessions which maximize the use of one’s time.  As the ancient ninja did, we will create a strong, supple, highly conditioned warrior and accomplish this with little to no fitness equipment.  We will, as Hatsumi Sensei says in the video clip above, use the things of nature to make the body strong.

If I were able to point to just one resource for the warrior that combines old school training with modern sports science, I’d look here at the book, Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts.

However, keep your eye on Warrior Fitness because what we have coming out in the next few months will blow your mind!

Related posts:

1. Preparing Ninja for a Mission
2. Ninja Endurance – Part II
3. Ninja Walking

What Does a Ninja Need? is an original post on the Warrior Fitness blog. If you are not reading this on WF, please visit today to support the content's creator.

by Jonathan Haas, founder of Warrior Fitness Training Systems

• Specific Physical Preparedness for ALL striking arts from old school Traditional Martial Arts to modern MMA!
• Learn how to build a powerful structure to stabilize punches, kicks, and martial movement!
• Discover how to use low-tech, high yield tools to strengthen strikes throughout a range of motion!
• Sledge Hammer for force production, rotational strength, grip strength, and old school conditioning!
• Medicine Ball for explosive strength and rotational strength!
• Resistance Bands for force production, rotational strength, increased stabilization!
• Bodyweight Exercise and Isometrics for structure and stabilization!
• Discover how to use Intelligent Tension rather than general tension to power strikes!
• Learn Breathing and vibration exercises for recovery and restoration!
• Over 50 pages of pure, 100% actionable content – no fluff, no BS, no filler!

• Sample Workouts!

Buy Now for only $15 USD!!

Warrior Fitness Guide to Striking Power is a downloadable e-book. No physical products will be shipped. After you order, you will get INSTANT ACCESS to download the e-book and all the bonus reports onto your computer. The e-book format is adobe acrobat PDF, which can be viewed on Mac or PC.

Related posts:

1. 8 Reasons Why YOU Need Striking Power
2. Sample Exercise from Warrior Fitness Guide to Striking Power
3. Ukemi Flow Conditioning Workout

The Warrior Fitness Guide to Striking Power is Here! is an original post on the Warrior Fitness blog. If you are not reading this on WF, please visit today to support the content's creator.

What is Endurance?

Endurance is defined as being able to keep going without fatigue setting in, or being able to push oneself through fatigue.  Essentially, it is the ability to resist or bear fatigue.  What is fatigue?  Fatigue is weariness or exhaustion from exertion, or the temporary loss of power to respond.  An equally critical corollary to the definition of endurance, especially for the warrior,  is that your level of endurance also determines how quickly you are able to recover between bouts of activity.  Combat, like life, does not happen at one constant rate of speed.  It is multi-faceted in nature.  There will be periods of brutally intense activity followed by lulls in the action, again followed by another flurry of activity.  Being able to use those lulls in action to recover is a critical ability for the warrior.

Steady state cardio, Long Slow Distance (LSD) training simply will not cut it.  Running on a treadmill may be appropriate for a hamster in a cage, but human beings require more.  Long distance running can be beneficial for mental toughness and/or active recovery, but it should not be the primary focus of a warrior’s endurance training.  So then how should we train to maximize our ability to endure?

Warriors Need to HIIT!

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is one of the best ways to train for endurance.  It will enhance all 3 energy systems in the body (2 anaerobic and 1 aerobic – see here for an overview), as well as prime the nervous system to recover automatically during lulls in activity.  Simply put, HIIT alternates periods of high intensity exercise with periods of rest and recovery.  It can be performed with almost any exercise and can be utilized both with and without equipment.  The variety and adaptability of this style of training is second to none in results.

How else does improving your endurance through this type of conditioning aid your martial arts training?  I’m glad you asked!  If the benefits discussed above weren’t enough, consider that having a high level of conditioning also aids in learning new skills.  How’s that possible?  To put it simply, when the central nervous system (CNS) is fatigued, the body cannot effectively process new skills, especially technically advanced skills.  So, in essence your lack of a general level of fitness and conditioning will actually impede your learning process as you will tire more readily and not have the ability to recover quickly enough during training.  Want to train more, at a higher level, for a longer period of time?  Want to get more out of your training time both at home and in the dojo?  Want to build new skills and enhance your technical arsenal?  Get yourself in shape!

There are several sample conditioning workouts here on the Warrior Fitness site.  Here are a few examples:

Workout of the Week #1

Workout of the Week #5

Stay tuned for more Warrior Fitness style conditioing workouts to help you get and stay in fighting shape!

Related posts:

1. How to Train for the Endurance of a Ninja
2. What Does a Ninja Need?
3. Preparing Ninja for a Mission

Ninja Endurance – Part II is an original post on the Warrior Fitness blog. If you are not reading this on WF, please visit today to support the content's creator.

Is Your Cup Already Full?

Another way we limit ourselves is by equating knowing with being able to do.  For example, when your teacher demonstrates a fundamental principle of movement for the hundredth, or maybe hundred thousandth time, do you smile smugly to yourself and think, “I know that already”?  Maybe you have.  I know I have.  I admit it.  But this type of attitude makes us lazy.  It lowers our skill level because it allows us to hold fast to the superficial without the hard work of plumbing the depths.  It lets us check those basic movement(s) or principles of movement off our mental list and move on to something more advanced; more worthy of our time (we may think)… big mistake.  If we were truly honest with ourselves, we’d be asking a different question.  The better, more appropriate question to be asking ourselves is -”how well can I do that?” or “How well do I truly understand those movement(s) bodily, not intellectually?”   This is hard though because most often the most authentic answer we can give ourselves is, not well enough.   Watch your teacher closely.  Look deeper.  Pay attention because there’s always more.  Be careful.  Practice.  Practice.  Practice!

Related posts:

1. Ninja Endurance – Part II
2. Unlocking Flow in Your Taijutsu Practice
3. Your Sanshin No Kata Under a Microscope

Knowing is Not Enough! is an original post on the Warrior Fitness blog. If you are not reading this on WF, please visit today to support the content's creator.

Today, one of the best ways to practice these kata is still in front of a full-length mirror. This way, you will be able to notice all the little “hitches” and inconsistencies in your movement. Use the mirror as a training device to evaluate your posture and movement. For each kamae, and especially including the transitory movements between kamae, make sure that:

• back is straight (crown lifted up),
• shoulders are down,
• head is not transposed forward over the neck,
• chest is relaxed,
• butt not sticking out,
• hips are open,
• knees are over the toes,
• weight evenly distributed (50/50)
• no leaning forward or backward

These are the very obvious, glaring errors that will be easily noticed as you start this practice. Chronic tension and tightness when in transition between kamae will be abated with continued practice – the key to eliminating the excess tension in your movement is first being aware of it! With consistency and patience, you will gradually shape your body to conform to the characteristics of good taijutsu. This is not an easy process and can be painstakingly difficult due to the constant attention to detail working to chip away at all the unnecessary, inefficient movement built up over years of chronic tension and unnatural movement. You may also notice a particular lack of flow between movements because you are concentrating so much. Build efficiency in steps. First, work on the static kamae. Next begin to add the steps and strikes. Finally, work the entire kata in a flow with no pauses or breaks in the movement. This process will gradually streamline your movement and eliminate the unwanted tension and imbalances. It takes a lot of practice, dedication, and hard work to move with ease!

Chi No Kata as an Example

Let’s take a look at the first kata, Chi no Kata, as an example.

To begin, start in Boubi No Kamae, left hand straight out in front with a natural bend in the elbow, pointed at the opponent’s heart, right hand held in a fist in the crook of your right hip. Move with exaggerated slowness as if practicing a Tai Chi version of the kata.

Drop the weight from your hips, shift over the front knee, and let your rear elbow straighten, dropping the hand in front of the hip to create a slight tension in the spine. This point here about creating torque or stored elastic energy (SEE) in the spine is essential in being able to move powerfully without winding up or telegraphing the movement. If you are having trouble feeling it, try to exaggerate the movement. Make it much larger than necessary to study the feeling. It should feel like a tension in the lower back near the bottom of the spine.

When this tension (torque) is relaxed (released), the movement happens. See if you can figure out where the energy is stored and how it’s released in the rest of the San Shin no Kata!

Be very careful when transferring your weight that you do not bob up and down; move smoothly through the same plane by shifting your weight laterally. Another point to be mindful of during the weight transfer is that you should be in balance (kamae) at all times. If you were to stop the movement at any point in the transition, you should not lose your balance.

Try it.  Practice it.  Create a strong foundation upon which to build, expand, and grow so that all the infomation and knowledge being handed down to you today takes root.

Related posts:

1. Unlocking Flow in Your Taijutsu Practice
2. The Sanshin of Warrior Fitness
3. Ukemi Flow Conditioning Workout

Your Sanshin No Kata Under a Microscope is an original post on the Warrior Fitness blog. If you are not reading this on WF, please visit today to support the content's creator.

 The following set of exercises is specifically designed to increase flow (nagare) in your taijutsu. However, before we get into the exercises themselves we should address the question, what is flow? Flow is efficiency and continuity in movement. Flow is smoothness of movement that is unencumbered by mechanical, jerky actions. Moving at a faster pace and working harder, does not necessarily mean that the movement is flowing. In fact, if you are working harder, I can almost guarantee the movement is not flowing. Flow is not something you do; it is something you get out of the way of! What types of internal distractions, tensions, hitches in movement are preventing you from getting out of your own way? These flow exercises are culled from basic exercises of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, but can be utilized by anyone to expand your movement potential and increase flow. When training these exercises, the idea is, of course, continuous movement. Begin with a slow and smooth protocol, working on keeping a good technique level and efficient transition between the movements. One discovers the key to developing flow by examining the in between stages of movement. Often, we see the kamae (structure) and then we see the roll, but what we miss is the essence of flow – the small, transitory movements between them. Do not attempt to “accomplish” this exercise; that is not the point. Use it as a vehicle to unlock the flow in your movement. Try to keep moving. Don’t pause to think in the middle. Increase the speed as you begin to feel comfortable, but if the technique begins to get sloppy or the movements begin to look mechanical, drop down the intensity level until you are once again performing the flows with good technique. Remember, there is zero training value in simply trying to do the exercises for a “cardio” workout. Go buy a treadmill!

 1. Step back from a natural posture into left leg forward Ichimonji No Kamae. Do Chi No Kata. From the end point of the kata, continue lowering your center of gravity and extend the right arm to effectively blend the transition from Chi No Kata into a front roll. Allow the momentum of the front roll to carry you to your feet, lifting up from the crown of your head and using your spine, into right Ichimonji No Kamae and, without stopping in the kamae, leap forward landing again in right Ichimonji No Kamae. Continue the movement by reaching forward with the left hand with a feeling of the body being pulled by the hand into left Ichimonji No Kamae. Repeat on the other side.

 2. Step back from a natural posture into left Ichimonji No Kamae. Do Sui No Kata. From the omote shutou strike at the end of the kata, continue lowering the body with the weight on the front leg, simultaneously stepping through with the back leg to transition from the strike into a back roll. Allow the momentum of the back roll to carry you to your feet, lifting up from the crown of your head and using your spine, into right Ichimonji No Kamae and, without stopping in the kamae, leap backward landing again in right Ichimonji No Kamae. Repeat on the other side.

 3. Step back from a natural posture into left Ichimonji No Kamae. Do Ka No Kata. From the ura shutou strike at the end of the kata, bring your left foot forward next to the right foot a little more than shoulder width apart to transition into Hira No Kamae. Without stopping in the kamae, lower your center of gravity and flow into a side roll to the right. Roll right back into Hira No Kamae and leap sideways to the right, landing again in Hira No Kamae. Repeat on the other side.

 4. Step back from a natural posture into left Ichimonji No Kamae. Do Fu No Kata. Immediately transition to Hoko No Kamae and flow into a cartwheel. Land back in Hoko No Kamae and leap down into a kneeling Ichimonji No Kamae. Repeat on the other side.

 5. Step back from a natural posture into left Ichimonji No Kamae. Do Ku No Kata. Immediately transition to a forward breakfall followed by a forward roll into Jumonji No Kamae. Leap directly upwards. Repeat on the other side.

Enjoy!

Related posts:

1. Ukemi Flow Conditioning Workout
2. Your Sanshin No Kata Under a Microscope
3. The Sanshin of Warrior Fitness

Unlocking Flow in Your Taijutsu Practice is an original post on the Warrior Fitness blog. If you are not reading this on WF, please visit today to support the content's creator.

Ukemi Flow

1. Begin in Shizen No Kamae (natural stance), squat down to ball of foot squat
2. Zenpo Kaiten (front roll) over the right shoulder
3. Ushiro Kaiten (back roll)
4. Stand up into Shizen No Kamae (natural stance), squat down to ball of foot squat
5. Zenpo Kaiten (front roll) over the left shoulder
6. Ushiro Kaiten (back roll)
7. Stand up into Shizen No Kamae (natural stance)
8. Yoko Nagare (side roll) with the leg crossing in front to the right
9. Yoko Nagare (side roll) with the leg crossing in front to the left
10. Stand up into Shizen No Kamae (natural stance)
11. Zempo Ukemi (forward break fall)
12. Stand up into Shizen No Kamae (natural stance)
13. Yoko Nagare (side roll) with the leg crossing behind to the right
14. Yoko Nagare (side roll) with the leg crossing behind to the left
15. Stand up into Shizen No Kamae (natural stance) – repeat!

Start out with 4 rounds of 3 minutes each with a 1 minute break between rounds.  Use the minute break to get your breathing back under control and shake out the tension.  When this becomes easier, decrease the rest period to 30 seconds between rounds. Finally, try to perform the Ukemi Flow continuously for 12 minutes.  You can also adjust the difficulty level of the flow by adding directional leaps at the end of each roll.  Or, it can be made easier by performing it from kneeling in Seiza no Kamae instead of standing.

Notes: Make sure you warm-up with brief joint mobility session prior to the workout.

Got your own version of an ukemi-specific workout?  Please share with us in the comments section below!

Related posts:

1. Unlocking Flow in Your Taijutsu Practice
2. Conditioning for Striking
3. Ninja Walking

Ukemi Flow Conditioning Workout is an original post on the Warrior Fitness blog. If you are not reading this on WF, please visit today to support the content's creator.