Your Keys to Progress

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How many people do you know who rarely, if ever, get the results they are seeking from their exercise regimen?  You may be one of them!  The question is, why don’t you (they) get results?  These people may be “exercise nuts” or “gym rats” or even “exer-holics”, or they could just be fascinated with the idea of exercise, but never actually doing any.  The four points below summarize what I feel to be the most important keys to progress when it comes to getting results and achieving your health and fitness goals, whatever they may be.

1.  Joint mobility on a daily basis. 

Daily joint mobility is a requirement to keep your progress moving forward.  Not only does it provide nutrition and lubrication for every joint in your body, but it also aids in removing waste products and deposits that tend to form over time causing pain.  The mobility increases our range of motion and acts as a prehab for enabling us to avoid injuries.  Additionally, it is an excellent way to warm-up the body prior to exercise or to get ready for the day first thing in the morning by increasing local blood flow to muscles.

2.  Yoga asana as compensatory movement for post-exercise cool down work. 

Since every action we do, as in exercise, or don’t do, as in couch sitting, causes an adaptation in our body, movements need to be specifically unloaded to bring us back into balance.  Compensatory movements remove tension caused by exercise and leaving us with the beneficial effects.  These movements are generally used as a cool down right after exercise or as a low impact recovery workout in and of themselves.  The selection of yoga asana (postures) has to be paired with each exercise performed as the complementary functional opposite of the movement to have the maximum desired effect.  By effectively integrating compensatory movements into your program, you can accelerate your progress, avoid injury, and keep moving forward.

3.  An incremental approach. 

Incremental progression is what keeps us from doing too much too soon and causing an injury.  Often we find that our bravado outweighs our brain when it comes to exercises, especially in the beginning.  We tend to want to jump right into the deep end in order to “get results faster”, but often end up injured, exhausted, or both with this approach and are unable to sustain the effort.  Health is about the long haul, not the short term effort.  If your program is unsustainable then it really has no value nor will it aid you in achieving your goals. 

4.  A plan sewing together all of the above. 

Having a plan is what brings all the prior elements together in cohesive, useable manner.  There is a tendency among some people out there to avoid having a program and to simply do the type of exercise they feel like on a particular day.  They also change the selection constantly in order to avoid boredom or so they can be “ready for anything”.  On the surface, this seems logical, but in reality unpredictable exercise selection simply leads to unpredictable results.  That’s no way to make progress.

Unlocking Flow in Your Taijutsu Practice

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Here’s another one for all my Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu friends out there.

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.

 

Get Out the Way – Move!

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?

The following 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” the 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!

Chi No Kata

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.

Sui No Kata

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.

Ka No Kata

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.

Fu No Kata

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.

Ku No Kata

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

Enjoy!

Flow drills from the book, Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts

WFBookcover3d

Ukemi Flow Conditioning Workout

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This one is for all the martial artists out there –  I created the following ukemi conditioning workout for myself a few years ago to specifically target the transitions between my rolls and begin to unlock flow.  Additionally, it has the effect of really getting your heart pumping and makes a great workout!  Start out slowly and smoothly by practicing for the first few rounds.  Groove the movement and then begin to increase the speed.  Remember, you do yourself and your training a disservice if you rush through the movements simply to say you accomplished the workout.  Flow is not something you do, it’s something you allow – you have to be able to get out of your own way!  That being said, give this a try and let me know how it works for you.

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!

Create Your Own Adversity!

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“Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, for wise men say it is the wisest course.”  ~William Shakespeare

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
  • Run a Spartan Race or Tough Mudder
  • Climb a mountain
  • 1000 cuts with a heavy bokken (wooden sword)
  • 1000 Kettlebell snatches
  • 1000 Kettlebell Swings
  • 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

A Day in the Life…

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At the suggestion of my good friend, and West Coast Buyu, Dave Furukawa, I am presenting a look at one of my daily workouts.  Please see Dave’s comments on my previous post here for reference.

This is a record of my activity from yesterday, Memorial Day 2010:

Morning

Life begins early here, even on long holiday weekends, since our 19 month old, Juliana, doesn’t distinguish weekends from weekdays yet!  So at 6 am I was up making coffee and searching through her Elmo DVDs to find the particular episode she wanted that morning.  As the coffee was brewing I began working through my joint mobility routine in the kitchen.  Each joint from neck down to ankles and toes is rotated through its entire range of motion to flush the joints with synovial fluid and increase blood flow to the surrounding muscles.  This has the effect of lubricating the joints and removing the “rust”, as well as awakening the entire body.

As interest in her Elmo episode waned and Juliana wandered off to “read” her books and play with toys, I began working through San Shin no Kata, the Bujinkan basic movement exercises.  Each movement was practiced stationary, then walking forward and backward with emphasis on using the spine to generate power for the movements.

Mid-Afternoon

In the afternoon I took the kids to the playground.  My older daughter, Caitlin, rode her bike while I pushed the baby along in her little buggy.  As I walked each step was coordinated with breathing to work on breath capacity.  For example, inhale for 5-steps, hold on the inhale for 5-steps, exhale for 5-steps, then hold on the exhale for 5-steps.  This can be done continuously with the same pattern or you can alter the number of steps for each breath cycle up or down to make it easier or more challenging.  See my post entitled Breathing 101 for more breathing related exercises.  At the playground, in between pushing the kids on the swings and taking the little one down the slide, I used the monkey bars for random amounts of pull-ups and chin-ups.

Evening

Finally got the kids to bed around 8:30 and went down to the basement gym for my workout proper.  My current program is geared towards developing unarmed striking power and basic weapons work. 

  • Brief joint mobility warm-up
  • Suburi with Yari (spear) – 3 rounds of 10 thrusts from Seigan no Kamae, 10 thrusts from Jodan no Kamae, each side
  • Suburi with heavy bokken – 3 rounds of 10 cuts from Jodan no Kamae, advancing and retreating
  • Swipes with 15 lb clubbell – 3 sets of 10
  • Mills with 15 lb clubbell (think omote shuto type movement) – 3 sets of 10
  • Reverse Mills with 15 lb clubbell (think ura shuto type movement) – 3 sets of 10
  • Clean to Order with 25 lb clubbell – 3 sets of 5 each arm
  • Clean to Order with 45 lb clubbell – 1 set of 5 each arm
  • 5 minutes of various yoga asana to cool-down

This is just a quick glimpse into a much larger program that I am testing on myself for eventual release.  For more information on my previous programs, please check out my ebook, Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts.

Morning Wake Up Routine

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Ever have one of those mornings when you have to be up early for work or school, but simply can’t summon the energy to start your day?  This is a routine I have been using successfully for years to shake out the cobwebs and get me moving on the mornings when just a cup of coffee isn’t going to do it.  It’s not your fault, and bear that in mind – some people just aren’t morning people.
Back when I was travelling for weeks on end and putting in long hours every day for consulting work this routine was my morning staple in the hotel room before meeting my colleagues for breakfast.  I find it most effective on the mornings when I am most tired.  Just as an aside, it doesn’t have to be used in the mornings, it has benefits any time of the day when you need a little pick me up.  One caution, and although this should be obvious I’ll say it anyway, don’t do it before going to bed – you won’t sleep!

The Routine

Joint Mobility

This has the effect of increasing synovial fluid to lubricate the joints while at the same time increasing blood flow to the surrounding muscles.  For the quick version we will concentrate on the neck, shoulders, hips, and spine.

Neck:

  1. Up/Down – lift up from crown of head; slide down along plane of jaw for 3 to 6 repetitions.
  2. Left/Right – turn head as far left as possible without pain, turn as far right as possible for 3 to 6 repetitions.
  3. Full circles in both directions.

Shoulders:

  1. Roll both shoulders – lift shoulders up towards ears, roll backward fully articulating the range of motion (ROM), drop them down as far as comfortable for 3 repetitions, then repeat by rolling forward for 3 reps.
  2. Alternate shoulder rolls – roll left shoulder back as described above while pushing right shoulder forward then switch.  Perform 3 times each.
  3. Swing both arms as fast as possible windmilling them forward for 20 seconds then backward for 20 seconds.

Hips:

  1. Circle hips clockwise and counter-clockwise 10 times in each direction.

Spine:

  1. Keep the spine straight and fold forward at the hips, then rotate around to the left and back to center, then forward and around to the right.
  2. Keep the spine straight and fold backward at the hips, then rotate around to the left and back to center, then forward and around to the right.

Energizing Breath

In this breathing exercise we will utilize a protocol founded by yoga and improved upon by Russian sport science and martial art.  Here the breath is divided into 3 levels: clavicular (upper level), intercostal (mid level), and diaphragmatic (lower level).  This exercise will focus only on the clavicular, or upper level.  For more information on breathing exercises, please see Evolve Your Breathing.

  1. Exhale through the mouth in a short, quick burst by compressing the upper chest.
  2. Do not actively inhale.  Allow the inhale to happen by relaxing the muscles in the chest.
  3. Repeat rapidly 20 to 40 times.
  4. Build up to where you can perform continuously for 60 seconds.
  5. If you become dizzy, stop and sit down!

Slap Yourself Silly!

This is actually an ancient Qigong exercise designed to improve circulation and disperse stagnant energy.  The execution is pretty simple.  You may want to avoid practicing this in public though!

  1. Gently, but vigorously, slap your shoulders, upper back, and lower back with the palms of the hands.
  2. Then slap down the inside of one arm and up the outside.  Switch arms.
  3. Slap down the outside of both legs – you can slap a little harder here – and up the inside.

Enjoy and Wake Up!

A Case for Mini Workouts

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These days everyone is short on time.  Most are content to allow the daily grind and family time to fill their days while lamenting about the fact that they have no time for working out.  The complaints are common and heard often.  But somehow these same people are able to find time to watch an hour or more of TV every night before going to bed.

Now, I’m not going to ask you to forego your Sunday night Walking Dead episode (I certainly won’t!) in favor of hitting the gym for an hour, so don’t worry – just using the ability to watch TV as an example of “finding time”.

While it may be a stretch for many people to find 45 minutes to an hour each day for exercise or martial arts training, how about just finding 5 minutes?  Surely everyone can find a spare 5 minutes even a few times a day, right???

Recently, as my own daily grind has become busier and busier, I have been finding just how effective mini workouts can be to fill in the gaps in one’s training.  These types of workouts are often overlooked because of their brevity.

After all, how can one possibly get a complete workout in 5 minutes?!  Well, you can’t.  But that’s not the point.  The effects of mini workouts are cumulative.  In other words, they add up over time (that’s what cumulative means… :).

They are not meant to completely replace your regular training, but are meant to enhance it and compliment it.

They are an effective way to keep yourself on track and focused when short on time, or if you have already completed a full workout and still want to get in some extra training – nothing wrong with that either!  Remember, the goal of the mini workout is not to be too complicated or over-involved.  Make them short, sweet, and to the point!

Examples of Mini Workouts

Here are just a few ideas I’ve found that make ideal mini workouts:

  • 10 push-ups + 10 v-ups + 10 squats (repeat 3-5 x’s)
  • Finger tip push-ups (see how many you can do)
  • Tabata exercises (pick one and go)
  • 5 Kettlebell Snatches (each side) + 5 Kettlebell Swings (each side) + 10 Hindu Push-ups (Perform AMRAP for 5 or 10 minutes)
  • Isometrics
  • Breathing exercises combined with bodyweight training
  • Joint mobility work
  • Pull-ups (5-4-3-2-1 rep scheme)
  • Burpees or Sprawls for 50 to 100 reps

Mini Workouts for Martial Arts

The mini workout should be an essential aspect of any martial artist’s training.  It is said that great martial artists are training all the time.  Well known and respected masters from Musashi to Tesshu to Ueshiba to Hatsumi Soke have constantly extolled the importance of solo-training and dedicated practice.

While mini workouts do not form a complete picture of solo- training, they do play an important role.  In the future, I’ll be sharing a more extensive look at solo-training for martial arts, particularly for Bujinkan practitioners.  But for now, here’s a short list to get you started:

  • Ukemi practice – mix up rolls, change directions freely, roll over obstacles
  • San Shin no Kata
  • Solo flow drill – move continuously for 5 minutes. Flow from strikes to kicks to leaps to rolls, from kamae to kamae – be creative!
  • Kamae work in a mirror
  • Striking practice
  • Junan taiso (see above!)

Make sure to make time for mini workouts!

Everyone Needs a Coach!

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The other day, I was working out with my good friend Eric Chasko at his studio, Redemption Kettlebell Gym in East Windsor, NJ.  After our training session, we were discussing the mechanics of a basic kettlebell swing and Eric had me demo a few swings.  As I began demonstrating the basic kettlebell swing that I had been taught almost 10 years ago, he noticed a hitch in my movement during the back swing.  Instead of keeping my back flat, I was raising it slightly as the bell moved into back position.  This was something I had never noticed previously.  Initially, it would not cause a problem, but over time, and with some serious volume, it would begin to stress my low back and contribute to pain in that area if not addressed. 

Eric picked up another kettlebell and showed me the difference between what I was doing on my back swing and how it should be done correctly.  We then worked on keeping my back flat while bringing the bell back and then driving with the hips to swing the bell upwards.  After a practicing for a couple repetitions, I got it.  As Eric is fond of saying, “Kettlebell swings are not bad for your back.  The way YOU are doing them is bad for your back!”   Unless you ask questions and talk to a knowledgeable professional, you never know what you don’t know!

So, although I have done kettlebell swings for years, I still had something to learn from a coach.  Never assume you already know how to do something, even something as basic as a kettlebell swing!

Kettlebell Swing #1 - Approach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kettlebell Swing #2 - Back Swing

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Kettlebell Swing #3 – Hip Drive!

 

The “Incomplete” Kihon Happo DVD Review

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Chuuto Hanpa Kihon Happo or, The “Incomplete” Kihon Happo, is a new DVD by Bujinkan instructor, Rob Renner.  Rob has been training in the Bujinkan since 1986 and living in Japan since 2005.  He trains with Hatsumi Soke and the Shihan, senior instructors, typically 5 to 6 days a week.

This DVD is, as Rob points out, not the “official” version of the foundational techniques of the Bujinkan, but rather a synthesis of each Japanese Shihans’ take on the techniques as studied and interpreted by Rob.

The DVD begins with Rob’s expanation of Hanmi, or “half-body” kamae.  This incomplete Ichimoni no Kamae has the hips at a 45 degree angle forward to facilitate structure, stability, and mobility instead of the traditionally taught kamae with the hips completely sideways while the head looks forward.  Not only is Rob teaching 1/2 kamae, but as each technique is analyzed, he shows how to utilize 1/2 the distance, and 1/2 the time as well to create more efficient, and effective, technique.

Each technique of the Kihon Happo is then presented, first as they are usually performed in Bujinkan Dojos worldwide, followed by a discussion of common problems and mistakes when done as shown.  Make sure to pay attention here as you may recognize some of your own mistakes.  This discussion alone is worth the price of the DVD! 

Rob then moves on to demonstrating and explaining how to use the principles of Bujinkan Taijutsu to effectively do the techniques.  Each section begins with a quick bulleted list of principles that will be taught for each technique.  This is an effective way to prepare the audience for the material to be reviewed in the section and also serves as an effective reminder as the same principles are presented, and added to, each time.  Throughout the principle-based discussions, Rob constantly stresses the importance of correct kamae by using hips, knees, feet, and shoulders in alignment to be able to control distance and move in any direction. 

In the Torite Goho section of Kihon Happo, Rob makes a very important distinction between translating kuzushi as “breaking balance” versus “breaking structure”.  When you break an opponent’s structure, he is still very much on balance, but simply can’t generate force in any meaningful way.  And, since his balance is not compromised, he still believes in his mind that he is okay.  Hmm… sounds like kyojitsu to me.  However, when breaking an opponent’s balance, his body will automatically endeavor to correct it and suddenly you’re in a fight.

Kihon Happo Techniques Taught on the DVD

Koshi Sanpo:

  • Ichimonji no Kata
  • Jumonji no Kata
  • Hicho no Kata

Torite Goho:

  • Omote Gyaku
  • Mushadori
  • Onikudaki
  • Ura Gyaku
  • Ganseki Nage / Musodori

In the final section of the DVD, Rob uses the Torite Goho to show examples of Hatsumi Sensei’s movement as it is today.  This is done by following all the principles espoused in the earlier parts of the DVD and through manipulation of the kukan and kyojitsu.  It’s a great way to wrap up, pull everything together, and show a progression of the material all at the same time.  This is a very well done DVD with tons of detailed instruction.  Highly recommended!

For more information, and to purchase the DVD, please see Rob Renner’s website, Bujinkan Zeropoint Dojo.