25 Life Lessons from Martial Arts Practice

At 41 years old, I have now been training in the martial arts for over 30 years.  It does not seem like it’s been that long!  Some days I look at the huge expanse of knowledge and history that is real budo and feel dwarfed by its enormity.  Other days I feel like I have a really solid grasp on it.  But that’s the nature of the training.  As Hatsumi Soke has said on many occasions, “If you think you have it, you don’t…”  This is one of the many lessons learned through martial arts training. Continue reading

Never Take Ukemi Again

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