Martial artists is quite an eclectic group of people. There are specialties that each one of us fall into. Some are fighters. Some are about forms. Some are about the training. Some are about the science of body mechanics. Some are healers. Some are philosophers. Some can teach kids. Some [Read More]
In the Book of Water – perception and awareness are emphasized The brain takes in information from the senses, sound, light, taste, touch, and smell, and arranges it into something we can use. A red bouncy ball in our front yard means the kids were playing with the ball in [Read More]
The Book of Water – Timing and Rhythm The book of Water – Timing and Rhythm. Overheard at a karate tournament. Instructor to his student moments before his fight. “I watched this guy’s earlier match; he bounced up and down. When he is in the air, he can’t move. Time [Read More]
The Book of Water and Spirit When Musashi is speaking from the Book of Water and Spirit, he is talking about your demeanor. Musashi makes a point to say that you should take the middle road. To avoid a reckless spirit or having too much tension in the body. This [Read More]
The Water Book – Two Swords Author and martial artist Kris, although owning a few swords and some shinai, knows little about swordplay. Lawrence Kane, also a martial artist and frequent co-author, has over a decade of European broadsword experience. To present us as experts in Musashi’s two-handed fighting system [Read More]
The Ground – Interconnection The Ground Book – interconnection, it builds a mosaic of ideas. Sometimes the lines blur, and other times they are reiterated. Additionally, we suggest that if you see redundancy, pay attention to the redundancy. The redundancy is not an accident. Moreover, the repetition of an idea [Read More]
The Ground – Simplicity and Directness Ground—Simplicity and Directness, the following elements do not have hard, fast lines; there are gray areas or soft areas of bleed-over. Simplicity has a Clear Goal: there are no extraneous trappings. As my old college roommate said, “Get a degree, get a job, get [Read More]
The Ground – Seeing Musashi speaks to the necessity of observation. He addresses the surroundings and the opponent. Before the Battle Imagine Musashi standing on a small rising hill overlooking the soon-to-be battlefield. It is late spring, the field is green with new grasses. As his eyes narrow, he sees [Read More]
The Ground – Warrior Mind The Mind of a Warrior, Musashi addresses the idea of the warrior mindset in The Book of the Ground. I must admit I am uncomfortable talking about warriors. You may see it this way, the same way. I have had more than a few confrontations. [Read More]
The Ground – Two Swords The Ground – Two Swords. Musashi uses stances and positioning as metaphors, representations of your internal disposition. Physicals are generally easier to access and understand than internal, emotional ideas. A funny example from sports is the phrase, “He needs a helmet adjustment.” This means the [Read More]
Five Rings – At Which You Excel More from the first book, The Book of the Ground. This section is titled “At Which You Excel.” You will not find it listed in The Book of Five Rings as “At Which You Excel.” “At Which You Excel” is a broad title [Read More]
The Book of The Ground – Discipline and Focus Discipline, training, and focus are addressed in Miyamoto Musashi’s Book of Five Rings. He introduces these ideas in the first of the five books, The Book of The Ground. In Book of the Ground, Musashi points to mastery of oneself is [Read More]
The Book of The Ground Opening – The Book of The Ground. Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵, c. 1584 – June 13, 1645) was a legendary Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer. He is often called a “sword saint“ because of his skill in swordsmanship. He wrote, “The Book of Five Rings. [Read More]
Musashi and Bruce Lee Agree Almost 400 years apart Musashi and Bruce Lee agreed. Miyamoto Musashi was the greatest samurai and sword strategist that ever lived. And he has advice for you. Born in 1584 in Japan, he lived a life of strategy and tactics as well as life and [Read More]
Let us dive into some of the details of hitting and getting hit while training. What importance do they have? Is there good and bad contact? Can it be an important factor in your training? Getting Hit I understand this is not going to be most people’s favorite part of [Read More]
Before entering the training area, our virtues begin before the physical training without even knowing it. Depending on style, it’s the training uniform, the belt, bowing, the fist/palm salute…. Then our physical training starts with the basics: stances, punches, and kicks. The physical training transforms into the internal virtues that [Read More]
Breakdown What are A, B and C Students? Every activity will have participants that fall into an A, B or C category. These categories carry across many platforms from school, to sports, to dance and even martial arts. We are going to break down what each of those are and [Read More]
Training on that Non-perfect day If you ever have done the following: procrastinated to practice, had practice interrupted by life, practiced chaos, or missed the practice expectations, then this article is for you … read on. You are not the only one who faces obstacles on days we have [Read More]
Ever since the samurai’s were first established in 1185 as japans leading military force, they have been known for there effective style of dismantling there opponents in a brutal but simplistic fashion. So did those tried and true methods of combat that worked in warfare just simply disappear? Along with [Read More]
A lot can be said about mma. In particular the most renowned fighting organization’s slogan is very telling. UFC: as real as it gets. This implies that it’s the most realistic sport fighting there is compared to actual street fighting. It also implies that sport fighting is not as realistic [Read More]
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