Tag Archives: bujinkan

Powerful Morning Ritual To Start Your Day

Posted on by
Reply


Here is a great way to set yourself up for success on a daily basis.

Spend the first hour of each day working on your own personal development. Discipline yourself to get up earlier and work on yourself each morning – This powerful practice will literally transform your life!

 

The Hour of Power

Step 1 – 5 minutes is dedicated to gratitude

Practice being grateful for all the people in your life and everything you have. When you start from a place of gratitude each morning, it’s much more powerful to begin each day from a place of abundance, realizing just how many things are going right in your life, rather than coming from a place of lack.

Step 2 – 5 minutes for writing your goals

Take a fresh sheet of paper and write out all your goals on a daily basis – health goals, financial goals, personal development goals, relationship goals, career goals, etc. When you write your goals make sure to write them in the first person and as if they are already accomplished.

For example, if you have a goal to earn one million dollars in your business, you would write – “I earn $1,000,000 in my business.”

Step 3 – 10 minutes of meditation or visualization (prayer fits in here too)

Visualize your goals as if you had already achieved them.

Every morning I sit down on the floor, close my eyes and focus on my breathing.

After each exhale I retain the breath because this is when your body is most quiet – after an exhale, before the next inhale – and silently say to myself, “Every day in every way I am getting stronger and stronger. Every day in every way I am getting better and better.”

I say it several times while holding the breath on the exhale, each time more intently.

When I open my eyes, I am clear, focused, charged up, and ready to start my day!

Here’s a short video I made describing the process…

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you!

Step 4 – 20 minutes of exercise – begin with mobility and deep breathing with bodyweight exercises.

Do you jump out of bed every morning brimming with energy, ready to take on the day?  Yeh, me neither. 🙂

What I have found is that doing 3 simple exercises as soon as I get out of bed in the morning helps to rev up my energy levels and kick start my day.

Tomorrow morning, and every morning after that, I want you to perform the following 3 exercises.  You will be amazed at the powerful effect they have on stimulating your metabolism and getting you ready to kick butt for the day!!

What are the 3 exercises?

  • Breathing Push-ups x 10
  • Breathing Squats x 10
  • Breathing Leg Raises x 10

For each exercise, exhale fully and deeply (diaphragmaticly) while lowering down, and inhale fully and deeply by expanding the belly when raising the body.  Make sure to fully actualize the breath in every movement.

That’s all.  Just one set of 10 for each of those 3 exercises to kick start your day.

Step 5 – 20 minutes dedicated to reading

Great warriors train all the time. Reading is a form of training that must be practiced by the warrior on a daily basis. Feeding and training the mind is just as important as feeding and training the body. Remember – knowledge is power!

Fill your mind with creative, positive and motivational ideas, concepts, and philosiphies – reading is the key to success. Learn something new every day!

Here are 10 books that are a must in every warrior’s library. Expand your mind and pick up these books!

(PS – don’t have a full hour in the morning? change the amount of time spent in each area to fit your schedule)

You will find this powerful practice a great way to start your day and propel you towards success in every area of your life. Make sure that you implement it tomorrow morning!

Looking for more powerful practices to enhance your health, strength, and life?

Check out my new Warrior Lifestyle Coaching Program <<==

 

 

 

Why Body Skills are Critical to Martial Arts

Posted on by
Reply

Body skills are the foundation of ALL martial and athletic movement.

In fact, in my mind, they are the foundation of all good, powerful, pain-free human movement!

What are body skills?

They are the qualities that connect, support, mobilize, and strengthen the body from the inside out. They create a highly resilient, dynamically stable body that underpins all other skill acquisition. In short, you want to get better at the specific skill sets within your martial art, quickly – train the body!

Learn how to develop high level body skills for martial art 

The Trinity of Training for Health and Strength

The ancients who created yoga, qigong, and various systems of martial arts knew a thing or 2 about training the body as a whole, integrated unit and not a series of disparate parts.

In fact the word yoga means “to yolk” or to unite together.

Each separate system that came down to us from the ancient world had one thing in common no matter where they originated…

They all utilized breath, posture, and movement to create a balanced healthy body, energetic, and free from pain.

When you combine exercises using all 3 modalities you get a powerful synergistic effect on health and strength that modern methods lack.

Learn exactly how to unite all 3 here =>

Shadow Strength utilizes a proprietary set of exercises drawn from traditional martial arts and trained in a unique combination to skyrocket your internal strength, power, and resistance to injury.

Using breath, posture, and martial mobility, Shadow Strength breaks down the barriers to superhuman strength and an unbreakable body.

Learn more here =>> http://warriorfitness.org/shadow/

21 Day Wuji Standing Meditation Challenge

Posted on by
2

21 Day Wuji Standing Meditation Challenge

Why Wuji?

The health preserving and sustaining effects of Wuji Standing have been documented in hospitals and medical clinics across China. 
The reason this practice has such a profound impact on health and recovery from exercise is that the standing meditation acts like a system-wide reboot for the whole body.

It stimulates the nervous system, increases circulation, and raises energy levels, while providing deep relaxation for both mind and body.

Aches, pains, old injuries, muscular tensions, and imbalances are highlighted and brought to the forefront by this method and then slowly dissolved over time and completely released.

The practice provides a way of completely relaxing and letting go of the muscular tensions in the body, while the correct alignment of the bones delivers support, creating a profound neutral and relaxed, almost buoyant state.

As the whole body and mind are exercised, both relax and stimulate the nervous system, increasing circulation, opening the joints, and raising energy levels for a feeling of overall well-being.

This exercise looks easy from the outside. After all, you’re just standing there and not moving. However, there is a lot going on inside: the breath and qi (energy) are moving.

This exercise is a challenging, sometimes frustrating, yet highly beneficial and rewarding practice. The only way to truly appreciate it is to experience it for yourself.

Wuji Standing Challenge Instructions

Learn More…

Shadow Strength utilizes a proprietary set of exercises drawn from traditional martial arts and trained in a unique combination to skyrocket your internal strength, power, and resistance to injury.

Using breath, posture, and martial mobility, Shadow Strength breaks down the barriers to superhuman strength and an unbreakable body.

 

Musashi on Posture in Strategy

Posted on by
Reply

In his classic work on the art of strategy, Go Rin No Sho, Musashi gives the following instructions on Posture in his art.

“Keep your neck straight, putting some force in the hollow of the nape; lower your shoulders, with the sensation that the torso from the shoulders down forms a unity; keep the back straight, do not stick out your buttocks, push your force downward from your knees to the tips of your toes, Advance the belly slightly forward so that the pelvis does not lose its stability…

It is necessary for you to have as your posture in strategy just the ordinary one, and it is essential that the posture of strategy be the ordinary one for you. This must be examined well.”


Notice how adamant he is that your stance for combat and your everyday stance be the same…

Isn’t it interesting that Musashi’s instructions for how to stand in his system of strategy sound remarkably similar to zhan zhuang (standing meditation) and shizen no kamae (natural posture).

Coincidence? I think not…

For comparison here is a video I made on how to stand in Shizen no Kamae (natural posture).

 

Now let’s take a deeper look into the standing practice as the world’s oldest and most effective form of Qigong.

 

Tachi Geiko (Standing Training) or Ritsu Zen (Standing Zen)

Zhan zhuang, or standing meditation exercise, has been used as a method of relaxation and health cultivation for thousands of years. The earliest known reference to standing appears inThe Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Chinese Medicine. Martial arts master Wang Xiangzhai wrote the following in his book on zhan zhuang:

“It is said that already 2000 years ago there existed the book Internal Canon, the gem of Chinese medicine, which even today is a guide for medical practice. The chapter Simple questions concentrates on cultivating health. For example we can read there: “In ancient times great masters stood on earth, supporting heaven, controlling yin and yang, breathing with essence of qi, standing alone, guarding spirit, with body being as one.”… Before the eastern Han dynasty many scholars and warriors knew the methods of “tranquil cultivating.” The exercises could be done walking, standing, sitting, lying. It was popular form of cultivating health. Later, during reign of Liang dynasty’s emperor Wu, Damo came to China to teach. He transmitted methods of “washing marrow” and “changing tendons.”

 

The health preserving and sustaining effects of zhan zhuang have been documented in hospitals and medical clinics across China. The reason this practice has such a profound impact on health and recovery from exercise is that the standing meditation acts like a system-wide reboot for the whole body. It stimulates the nervous system, increases circulation, and raises energy levels, while providing deep relaxation for both mind and body.

Aches, pains, old injuries, muscular tensions, and imbalances are highlighted and brought to the forefront by this method and then slowly dissolved over time and completely released. The practice provides a way of completely relaxing and letting go of the muscular tensions in the body, while the correct alignment of the bones delivers support, creating a profound neutral and relaxed, almost buoyant state. As the whole body and mind are exercised, both relax and stimulate the nervous system, increase circulation, open the joints, and raise energy level for a feeling of overall well-being.

This exercise looks easy from the outside. After all, you’re just standing there and not moving. However, inside, there is a lot going on – the breath and the qi (energy) are moving. This exercise is a challenging, sometimes frustrating, yet highly beneficial and rewarding practice. The only way to truly appreciate it is to experience it for yourself.

 

How Do We Stand?

In practical terms, how should we stand?  Let’s start with the head and work our way down.

  • Begin by standing in a natural stance. Feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent.
  • Lift upward slightly with the crown of the head, as if being pulled up by a string, allowing the chin to lower. This straightens the vertebrae at the back of the neck.
  • Shoulders are back and down sitting on the spine.
  • The back should be flat. Do not tuck the pelvis. The spine should be suspended from above like a skeleton hanging in a science classroom.
  • Hold the arms in front of the body, level with the solar plexus, as if hugging a tree. There should be a golf-ball sized space under the armpits.
  • The bottom of the spine pulls straight down from the tailbone, as if there is a weight attached to the sacrum. You should feel like you are sitting on a high stool yet trying to stand up at the same time.
  • Allow the knees to bend slightly. Feet should be shoulder width apart and pointed straight forward as if on railroad tracks.
  • Legs should feel like they are squeezing a beach ball. Remember, though, the ball puts outward pressure on the legs as they squeeze in, so there is pressure both directions, not just one.
  • The weight is carried in the hollow behind the balls of the feet. In Chinese medicine, this is known as the yongquan or bubbling well point.

 

All of the above points must be maintained to have a truly “natural” standing posture.

 

Maintaining a relaxed posture is key to beginning your standing meditation.

 

Supercharge Your Standing Practice

Now that you have the external mechanics down, let’s talk about how to supercharge your relaxation process.

  1. Mentally scan the body for areas of tension. The usual suspects will be the neck, shoulders, low back, and quads.

 

  1. Begin to actively release each area of tension one by one with your mind. For example, think of the tightness in your shoulders and relax it by telling yourself, “The tightness in my shoulders is letting go and relaxing.” Then proceed to the next area until you have systematically gone through them all.

 

  1. If one particular area is giving you trouble, then work on breathing into it. Inhale into the area, hold for a few seconds, and then exhale from the area to release it. Use this process over and over again until all the tension has let go.

 

  1. Once you have removed all the residual tension in the body, continue to stand holding that relaxed feeling. Think of your body as a drop of ink dissolving in the ocean, spreading out in all directions.

 

  1. Start with ten minutes of zhan zhuang standing. Work up to thirty minutes. In Chinese medicine, it is said that it takes approximately 28 minutes for the blood to complete one full cycle though the body, thus the recommendation to stand for thirty minutes. This can be increased to sixty minutes over time to allow for two full cycles of blood to be completed.

 

 

A New Way to Recover

In teaching this method to both my fitness clients and martial arts students I find that in addition to our usual compliment of recovery drills (consisting of mobility exercises, yoga asana, and compensatory movement), the addition of this simple practice of standing meditation has consistently accelerated our recovery process, allowed us to reach new levels of relaxation, and strengthened the mind-body connection beyond any other work we have done. Additionally, it has managed to increase energy levels while fortifying our bodies against the daily rigors of life, work, and family stresses.

While this method is elegantly simple to practice, requires little space and no special equipment, and can be done at virtually any time of day, it also is startlingly deep.

Go Deeper – Take the 100 Day Challenge!

Traditionally it is said that a minimum period of 100 days is necessary for the body to acclimatize and adapt to a practice. As our goal is to completely rewire the nervous system in order to change the body, 100 days seems like the perfect length of time.

How to Do It

  1. Work your way up to standing for 30 minutes a day for 100 days – think you can do it?
  2. Take the Integrated Strength Program challenge for 100 days and seriously upgrade your strength, health, and martial power!

5.5 Principles for More Effective Striking in ANY Martial Art

Posted on by
Reply

Part 1 of this series, Conditioning the Fists for Striking can be found HERE.

Being able to strike with power and precision involves a lot more than merely knowing the technique. Practice must include these principles of effective striking techniques for all martial arts…

1. Whole Body Power 

All movement in real life happens in three dimensions, so why train exercises that only incorporate one or two? Training muscles in isolation, unless it is used to rehab a specific injury, range of motion, or strengthen a particular muscle to add to the whole, does not work in martial art.

Our strike conditioning exercises must train movements in three dimensions utilizing diagonal, rotary, and angular strength, as well as prime moving muscles.

2. Stored Elastic Energy (SEE) 

Stored Elastic Energy is basically the potential energy stored in tendons and connective tissue as a way to power movement.

An easy exercise to begin to feel stored elastic energy is to stand in a natural stance with feet shoulder width apart.  Bend your right arm and raise it up to shoulder height as if you were about to throw the most telegraphed punch in history (don’t worry, it’s just an exercise).  Now, lead from the elbow and pull your fist back.  Allow your torso to rotate, but keep the feet planted and the hips facing forward.  When you reach the end of your range of motion, hang out there for a second and feel the tension (torque) on the spine.  Now simply relax and release that torque to throw the punch.  Don’t add any driving forces with muscle.  You can’t propel it any faster; you’ll just slow it down.

Feel it?

Try it again.

Do it with the other arm.  Remember the feeling.  This is stored elastic energy (SEE).

The 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.

3. Structure / Kamae 

Many people tend to use the terms alignment and structure almost interchangeably but in actuality, alignment is a component of structure.

For example, looking at a natural standing posture, good alignment would be:

  • Crown up
  • Chin down
  • Shoulders packed down
  • Spine lifting up (through crown)
  • Spine pulling down (through the sacrum)
  • Hips under shoulders
  • Knees under hips
  • Mid-foot balance
  • Chest is relaxed
  • Butt not sticking out nor is pelvis tucked under
  • Knees are over the toes
  • Weight evenly distributed (50/50)
  • No leaning forward or backwardThis puts the whole body into proper alignment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Structure also includes (in my lexicon) the balance of tensions within the body’s soft tissues. The bones act as compressive struts pushing outward from the center while the soft tissues (fascia) act as the stays pulling inward towards the center keeping the tensional balance in the body.

4. Breathing 

How often do you think about breathing as it relates to striking?

Yet it is absolutely essential to maintain proper breathing when in combat or simply hitting a heavy bag, mitt, or an opponent. Lack of breath control affects the rest of your body and hinders your overall performance.

5. The S.A.I.D Principle 

Why are all the above ideas important to understand in relation to striking and martial movement?

The SAID Principle – Specific Adaptation to Implied Demand says every activity that we repeat consistently causes an adaptation in the body.

The critical thing to note here is that it does not matter at all how we value this adaptation.  It can be something that we want like how healthy exercise increases lean muscle mass and burns excess fat, or it can be something we do not want like how eating junk food to an extreme causes our body to adapt by putting on weight.

Both of these are examples of activities that cause adaptations in the body.   Our goal is to train adaptations we value highly like the enhanced neural connections in our nervous system that increase our skill level. Keep this in mind when training.  We do not want to train bad habits!

5.5 Elements of Efficiency 

Efficiency is defined as the amount of useful work divided by the amount of total work.  In other words, how much effect are you producing for the amount of effort you are expending?

  • Ever see a batter “swing for the fences” only to completely miss the pitch?
  • Ever see someone try to pick something up that is really light, but they believe is heavy?
  • How about watching someone using the general whole-body tension we discussed above trying to hit a heavy bag?

How much effect, i.e. force from the strike embedded into the target, is gained from the huge effort expended?

You must train to have your strikes be both effective (devestatingly powerful) and efficient (uses the least amount of force or energy to accomplish the movement). Only then can you be said to have mastered the art of striking!

 

Learn exactly how to upgrade your striking skills in ANY martial art with these resources from Warrior Fitness Training Systems…

Conditioning the Fists for Striking

Posted on by
Reply
One of the most underdeveloped aspects of the martial artist’s arsenal is the conditioning of his fists for striking.
The tendon strength, wrist strength and flexibility, and the overall structure of the strike is an exploitable weakness that needs to be addressed.

In this article we will examine several different push-up variations and isometric exercises to fortify the structure of our strikes.

This type of training will work to enhance the power generation of all manner of striking.

Do these push-ups slowly and purposefully with full attention to the movement.  These are not meant to pump up your beach muscles, rather they will strengthen the connective tissue in your hands, wrists, forearms, and shoulders to build structure and encourage the correct alignment for all your strikes.

Fudo-ken (fist) Push-ups 

Place the weight of the body on the fists.  Make sure the wrists do not bend. After performing several repetitions (or as a separate exercise) simply hold the body in the Fudo-ken push-up position. Relax as much as possible and allow the correct structure to support the body on the fists. Try this in the upper position, lower position, and halfway point of the push-up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do the same isometric holds with each exercise.

 

Shuto (sword hand) Push-ups 

Hold the hands in the form of a shuto strike.  They should close to a 45 degree angle with the thumbs supporting the fingers.  The weight is on the meaty, inside portion of the hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fingertip Push-ups 

Place the pads of the fingers on the ground like you are clawing it.  Try to squeeze the ground as you press up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wrist Push-ups

Place the wrists on the ground. These will be very difficult at first if you have not done them before.  Take them slowly.  If necessary, perform them on your knees to build strength.

 

 

Train these basic exercises thoroughly. Study this well!

Be sure to check out part 2 of this article, 5.5 Principles for More Effective Strking in ANY Martial Art.

Learn exactly how to upgrade your striking skills in ANY martial art with these resources from Warrior Fitness Training Systems…

 

 

 

The Strength of Structure (and How to Train It)

Posted on by
Reply

As we discussed in the previous post (see here), all martial movement must be based on a platform of both mobility and stability. Today we will discuss stability.

Kamae is much more than just a stance or ready position. It is the platform from which all movements are made and from which all techniques are delivered. Your kamae is quite literally the foundation upon which your entire martial art practice rests.

A weak, or structurally flawed, kamae will limit the amount of power delivered and reduce the effectiveness of every technique employed. Conversely, a strong kamae is the key to the effective execution of all your techniques. A strong kamae carries the support of the ground and efficiently conducts that power through the user with minimal noise creating, in effect, a transparent power.

“You can’t shoot a cannon out of a canoe.”

Water provides a very poor base of support to maximally fire a cannon ball thus it will not travel very far. This is exactly what happens with a poorly constructed kamae. So much power bleeds off in different directions that the mean effect of the movement is extremely reduced and more energy is required in order to compensate for the inefficiency.

How Do We Build a Strong Kamae?

There are many different forms of strength training but only a few, very specific, methods of strengthening the structure (kamae). The key to strengthening structure, as you will see, is training the connective tissue – fascia, tendons, and ligaments, and strengthening the bones, rather than working on muscle. The benefits of this type of training are enormous; not only does having a stronger structure increase the effectiveness of martial movement and techniques, but also acts as a natural form of injury prevention by improving the strength and elasticity of the tissues and increasing the body’s overall resilience.

We will examine 4 main ones here from the EARTH section of Warrior Fitness working on strength, structure, and stability.

Loaded Carries – These provide a unique challenge to the body as they are a type of moving isometric exercise. Kettlebells or dumbbells are a great place to start, but loaded carries can be done with just about anything.

There are 3 basic loaded carries we will discuss here:

  • Farmer Walk – Hold 2 kettlebells at the sides and go for a walk. Try to maintain a neutral balance and move from center.
  • Rack Walk – Hold 2 kettlebells in the rack position and go for a walk. Try to maintain a neutral balance and move from center.
  • Overhead Carry – Hold 2 kettlebells overhead and go for a walk. Try to maintain a neutral balance and move from center.

Static Holds – Unlike lifting or carrying, static holds can be done anywhere with zero equipment. They also place a great emphasis on strengthening connective tissue for supporting the body.

  • Static Kamae Hold: Pick a kamae and hold it for time. The goal here is to relax in position and allow the connective tissue to do the work, not the muscle.
  • Static Push-up: Hold the top, middle, or bottom portion of a push-up for time. The goal here is to relax in position and allow the connective tissue to do the work, not the muscle.
  • Partial Lifts – Partials allow you to develop the connective tissues and bones in a way that full range of movement lifting cannot. By doing partials you are supporting more weight than you would be able to in a full range lift.

  • Push Testing – The push test is a very practical way of testing the quality of one’s solo training for internal power. The body, when properly trained, acts as an omni-directional structure.  This allows the practitioner to neutralize any incoming force by diffusing it throughout the structure rather than having to surrender to it or resist against it.

 

I cannot over emphasize how critical this type of training is to your development as a powerful martial artist. Not only does this type of training condition the connective tissues, bones, and muscles, but it forms the body into a cohesive unit that is both resilient and powerful.

Study this well, my friends!

Check out my bestselling Integrated Strength Program for more complete trainiing information…

 

 

 

Be Dangerous to be Kind

Posted on by
Reply

Inside the heart of every man lives a warrior waiting to be unleashed. Unfortunately, this fierceness, for the majority of men, lies dormant and untested. But, I assure you, it is there.

As boys we pretended to be superheroes, Jedi knights, or ninja warriors.  I know I did all 3 with matching costumes, capes, and weapons to boot. In fact, I distinctly remember when I was 6 or 7 leaping off the back deck of my parent’s house in New Hampshire fully garbed in Superman Underoos (on the outside of my clothes, of course!) and cape fully expecting to fly.

We ran wild, climbed trees, built forts, engaged in mock sword battles, and real fist fights as boys – not to test our mettle, but really just as an open and honest expression of our warrior nature.

As we grew up though, things changed. We grew tame (lame?). The wildness was repressed and replaced under the well meaning familial and societal pressure of becoming a responsible adult. We went to school, got a job working for the man, and become domesticated.

We shed our capes in favor of business suits.

We took off our Lone Ranger masks and put on listless, polite faces.

We put down our pretend weapons and picked up pocket protectors.

We suppressed the wildness and ferocity of the warrior in our hearts and tried to follow the expected path – college, corporate job, marriage, family, retirement, death.  One more masculine casualty – a would be warrior turned tame and toothless, a tiger no more, really just an aging house cat.

But is that really all there is?

Doesn’t the wildness remain?

Yes. I assure you it most certainly does. For as I stated earlier, inside the heart of a man – every man, no matter who you are – lies a warrior.

Being a warrior is not confined to myths and legends or historical anachronisms. Nor is it merely the province of those in uniform who stand on the front lines and protect us with their own (though they truly embody the warrior spirit).

No, warriorship, at its essence is the birthright of every man. For all of us are made with a warrior’s heart, strong and dangerous.

Yes, dangerous.  The most dangerous men I have ever met have also been among the kindest and friendliest. Is this a contradiction? No, not at all. Only the truly powerful can choose to be truly gentle. Those who lack strength and courage have no choice.

A warrior must have the strength, skill, and ability to wield violence. Notice that I did not say, “be a violent man”. There is a vast difference. The warrior’s capacity for violence is tempered by discipline, a sense of justice, and a strong moral code.

Moreover, the warrior’s role in society is that of a protector and defender of life. His strength must never be used to intimidate, but only to motivate, to inspire, and to protect.

MĂ©thode Naturelle creator Georges HĂ©bert wrote at the beginning of the 20th century, “ĂŠtre fort pour ĂŞtre utile” – Be strong to be useful

Those of us who walk this path of strength have a duty to use our strength to help others and to defend and protect those who are not as strong.

As Spiderman once said – “With great power come great responsibility.” 🙂

Strength must have a higher purpose.

The Warrior’s Creed

This might be my own personal bias, but I believe a warrior has a greater responsibility, one of both self and others.  My perception has been colored, for the better, I think, by my teacher, Jack Hoban, author of The Ethical Warrior: Values, Morals and Ethics – For Life, Work and Service, and his mentor, Dr. Robert L. Humphrey.

These 2 men are both true warriors whom I admire greatly.  Jack served as a U.S. Marine Corps officer and is a master level instructor in the Bujinkan martial arts.  Dr. Humphrey was a boxer and Marine Corps officer who survived the battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

There is much, much more to both of their stories, but for now, we can sum up the essence of what it means to be a warrior like so:

 

 

“The Warrior Creed”

Wherever I go,
Everyone is a little bit safer because I am there.
Wherever I am,
Anyone in need has a friend.
When I return home,
Everyone is happy I am there.
It’s a better life! 

-Dr. Robert L. Humphrey

 

Everyone who calls themselves a warrior believes that they should possess greater strength, greater power, and greater skill; should they not also possess greater compassion for others and a greater sense of responsibility for helping others as well?

 

For those who have the strength and the skill, but no accountability, they cannot be called warriors – they are merely thugs.

 

Ready to Upgrade Your Power? Click HERE now.

10 Books Every Warrior Should Read

Posted on by
3

I am what you would call an avid reader. Some would even say my reading habit borders on a reading obsession since at any one time I can be found to have at least three, sometimes four books going simultaneously. I have several on my nightstand next to my bed, a couple on the coffee table downstairs, one or two on the kitchen counter and, of course, my bathroom book.

Usually I am reading one book on fitness or health, one book on business, and one fiction.  I also continuously have audio books playing in my car anytime I drive, creating a mobile library.

Great warriors train all the time. Reading is a form of training that must be practiced by the warrior on a daily basis. Feeding and training the mind is just as important as feeding and training the body. Remember – knowledge is power!

Here are 10 books that are a must in every warrior’s library. Expand your mind and pick up these books!

Also, if you have any recommendations, be sure to let me know in the Comments section below – I am always on the look out for new books to add to my collection.

 

1) The Warrior Ethos by Steven Pressfield

WARS CHANGE, WARRIORS DON’T We are all warriors. Each of us struggles every day to define and defend our sense of purpose and integrity, to justify our existence on the planet and to understand, if only within our own hearts, who we are and what we believe in. Do we fight by a code? If so, what is it? What is the Warrior Ethos? Where did it come from? What form does it take today? How do we (and how can we) use it and be true to it in our internal and external lives?

2) The Ethical Warrior: Values, Morals and Ethics – For Life, Work and Service by Jack Hoban

Jack Hoban was shaped by service in the U.S. Marine Corps, a life-changing epiphany at a Cold War bar, and mentorship under two masters: The 34th generation grandmaster of the shadowy art of the Ninja and a sage of the Natural Law who may just have deciphered the meaning of life. He now delivers a revolutionary view of moral values for our time epitomized by the Ethical Warrior – protector of self and others as equal human beings. Hoban’s methodology reaches from the Greek ancients to the counterinsurgency efforts of today’s Marines to provide ethical clarity and confidence in our moral actions.

Having been exposed to both Dr. Humphrey’s and Jack’s teaching on this since I began studying Bujinkan martial arts back in 1989, I cannot recommend this book enough!!

3) The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi

Composed in 1643 by the famed duelist and undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings analyzes the process of struggle and mastery over conflict that underlies every level of human interaction. For Musashi, the way of the martial arts was a mastery of the mind rather than simply technical prowess—and it is this path to mastery that is the core teaching in The Book of Five Rings. This brilliant manifesto is written not only for martial artists but for anyone who wants to apply the timeless principles of this text to their life.

The classic book on strategy by Japan’s most famous swordsman. This book is one I read over again every few years and constantly find more nuance and deeper understanding as my training and years of experience grow.

4) Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Lutrell

This is the story of the only survivor of Operation Redwing, SEAL fire team leader Marcus Luttrell, and the extraordinary firefight that led to the largest loss of life in American Navy SEAL history. His squadmates fought valiantly beside him until he was the only one left alive, blasted by an RPG into a place where his pursuers could not find him. Over the next four days, terribly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell crawled for miles through the mountains and was taken in by sympathetic villagers who risked their lives to keep him safe from surrounding Taliban warriors.

5) The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Modern Library Paperbacks) by Edmund Morris

This book tells the story of TR’s irresistible rise to power. (He himself compared his trajectory to that of a rocket.) It is, in effect, the biography of seven men—a naturalist, a writer, a lover, a hunter, a ranchman, a soldier, and a politician—who merged at age forty-two to become the youngest President in our history. Rarely has any public figure exercised such a charismatic hold on the popular imagination. Edith Wharton likened TR’s vitality to radium. H. G. Wells said that he was  “a very symbol of the creative will in man.” Walter Lippmann characterized him simply as our only “lovable” chief executive.

6) Eric Greitens: Resilience : Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life (Hardcover); 2015 Edition by Eric Greitens

Eric’s letters—drawing on both his own experience and wisdom from ancient and modern thinkers—are now gathered and edited into this timeless guidebook. Greitens shows how we can build purpose, confront pain, practice compassion, develop a vocation, find a mentor, create happiness, and much more. Resilience is an inspiring meditation for the warrior in each of us.

7) Meditations (Penguin Classics) by Marcus Aurelius (1995) Mass Market Paperback by Marcus Aurelius

One of the world’s most celebrated and persuasive books, Meditations, by the Roman ruler Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 121– 180), fuses the stoic statutes he used to adapt to his life as a warrior and manager of a domain. Rising to the royal position of authority in A.D. 161, Aurelius discovered his rule assailed by catastrophic events and war. In the wake of these difficulties, he set down a progression of private reflections, plotting a logic of sense of duty regarding prudence above joy and peacefulness above joy. Mirroring the sovereign’s own particular honorable and generous set of accepted rules, this persuasive and moving work draws and advances the convention of Stoicism, which focused on the look for internal peace and moral sureness in a clearly confused world.

8) Unbeatable Mind: Forge Resiliency and Mental Toughness to Succeed at an Elite Level (Third Edition) by Mark Divine

You are capable of twenty times more than what you believe. Are you living in your 20X factor?  Or have you settled for a lesser productivity taught by society, your upbringing, or the things you believe about yourself?  I want to wake up the authentic, connected warrior within you.

But waking up to a bigger reality is only the first step.  The next step is learning to win in your mind before you ever enter the battlefield of life.  Unbeatable Mind will teach you to starve your fear, overcome negativity and connect with a deeper and heightened sensitivity to what’s going on around you.  You’ll clear emotional blocks, step into the shoes of self-mastery, and become the leader of others you know you were made to be.

9) Spiritual Journey of Joseph L. Greenstein: The Mighty Atom by Ed Spielman (1-Mar-1998) Paperback by Ed Spielman

The Spiritual Journey of Joseph L. Greenstein, World’s Strongest Man is a fully-documented and illustrated biography that also details the methods Greenstein used to train himself for the “impossible”. As a vaudeville star, he bit through iron bars, crushed steel spikes in his hands, and held back airplanes tied to his hair. These feats were all the more amazing because he stood only five feet four inches and weighed in at just 145 pounds. But The Mighty Atom had developed his own technique for tapping into the “life-force; ” a technique that encompassed Asian methods of concentration, Jewish mystical writings, and a then-unheard-of vegetarian natural diet. He unlearned the subconscious mechanism that forces us to stop when we think we have reached our physical limits. Each time he broke an iron chain, he revealed the enormous potential of the life-force. That potential exists inside every one of us and, as The Mighty Atom showed, it is within our grasp.

This is literally one of my all-time favorite books!

10) The Unfettered Mind: Writings from a Zen Master to a Master Swordsman by Takuan Soho

Here’s the classic samurai-era text that fused Japanese swordsmanship with Zen, and influenced the direction that the art has taken ever since. Written by the 17th-century Zen master Takuan Soho (1573–1645), The Unfettered Mind is a book of advice on swordsmanship and the cultivation of right mind and intention. It was written as a guide for the samurai Yagyu Munenori, who was a great swordsman and rival to the legendary Miyamoto Musashi.

Pick up a free copy of my book, Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts HERE

 

MEN – Pick up a free copy of my book, Dad Strength HERE 

The Process of Becoming Masterful

Posted on by
Reply

“Remember that mastery is not attained once after a lifetime of practice, but earned every day.”

– Jon Haas

Usually when we think of someone who is a master, be it a master martial artist or the master of some other craft, we think of them as attaining mastery at the end of a long lifetime of practice.
But mastery is NOT something that’s attained once after years or decades of training – mastery is something that is EARNED every day!!
You can be masterful in one moment and then a fumbling fool in the next (ask me how I know!).
The goal of becoming masterful isn’t to wait until some distant future when every move you make is perfect and every word that comes out of your mouth is sage advice, it’s to consciously create those moments of mastery every day until you have more of them rather than less of them.

Daily practice is the key.

Do you ever think about what it would be like to be a master martial artist?

Not just to be awarded the title “master” but to really and truly embody all of the sublime skill of martial mastery at the highest level of human achievement…

What would it feel like to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you could easily control and subdue the most violent opponent with the most minimal effort, like a lion playing with a cub?

What if I told you that mastery is NOT something automatically attained after a lifetime of practice, but is instead conferred only upon those rare few individuals who, through their own efforts, take consistent, specific daily actions to achieve it?

Then mastery would not be just a far away, imagined future state, but instead a real and attainable goal built by taking action every day, right here and right now.

 

Remember This

Remember this – it is critical to your success – EVERY single legendary martial master: Musashi, Ueshiba, Bruce Lee, Kano, Takeda, Takamatsu, Gracie, Hatsumi, etc…

ALL of them began as unskilled, know nothing novices, white belts without a clue.

Their consistent daily training formed them, forged them, into the revered and feared masters that we know today.

“What one man can do, another can do.”

You can choose to follow in their footsteps. You can choose to be masterful, to be legendary.

However, as you follow them, do NOT seek to become them – instead, seek what they sought, the process of mastery.

Find the process of daily mastery <<==

Finally… There is a Researched, Tested, and PROVEN Method for Developing Internal Power and Unusual Strength from Martial Arts…