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. Continue reading
Tired of store bought protein bars with too much sugar, sodium, and other assorted unpronounceable ingredients? Try my easy, no-bake Warrior Bars! Continue reading
Daily training is absolutely essential for the warrior. It must be firmly ingrained into your routine until doing your practice becomes as natural as brushing your teeth or taking a shower. No thought or debate is required, you simply just do it every day, sometimes twice a day. It must become habitual. Continue reading
Four weeks ago I injured my ankle. The diagnosis? Peroneal tendonitis. Walking was painful. Squating was painful. Lunging was out of the question. Heck, even balancing on my injured foot hurt. Continue reading
Training outside in the elements has always been one of my favorite ways to practice martial arts and the art of strength, or Warrior Fitness. There’s something special about the fresh air, sunshine, and changing terrain that gives life to the training and makes it hugely satisfying for me. In fact, my weekly Bujinkan Martial Arts class trains outside all year round in all sorts of weather from the bitterly cold and snowy winters to the blisteringly hot and humid summers. This type training not only helps increase our physical resilience, but our mental fortitude as well by helping us to become comfortable being uncomfortable. Continue reading
I’m here in Long Beach Island, NJ for a week of fun and sun with the family. Today, however, was cloudy and cool so instead of heading to the beach we decided to stay at the house in the morning to relax a little bit and then take in an early afternoon movie. So with my parents and 2 kids in tow, we went to see “How to Train Your Dragon 2“. Continue reading
I was never what you would call a natural athlete growing up. In fact, I pretty much sucked at every sport I tried – baseball, basketball, soccer, kickball, tennis… you name it, I sucked at it. To make things worse I was also ridiculously shy and introverted as a kid, so that combination, on top of having little to no athletic skill, made things even worse! Continue reading
For as long as I can remember, I have always believed that the body is meant to be used as a fully actualized, integrated unit – nothing can (or should!) exist in isolation. By this I mean that muscle, tendon, ligament, and bone are all equally important and must all be unified in producing amazing degrees of strength and skill for fitness, martial arts, sports, or life. And, in most cases this is completely true. Continue reading
What if you never had to take ukemi again?
Not because you stopped training or avoided it or anything negative like that, but simply because no one who came in contact with you was able to throw you.
Interesting idea, eh?
Although for the sake of paired training and being a good training partner, perhaps a better model would be this – what if you only took ukemi from someone when you wanted to, and not when you had to?
What if you had the skill to naturally reflect incoming force so that an attacker was not able to throw you, joint lock you, take you down, or even off balance you? Continue reading
I love push-ups. All kinds. Most of clients can attest to the fact that I come up with some of the craziest (and difficult!) variations of push-ups that they’ve ever seen. But every once in a while, I like to take the simple, basic push-up and, without changing the form at all, make it one of the hardest push-ups ever. How do I do it? Glad you asked! Continue reading