Everyday Ninja

Invisibility is often linked to mystic powers, technology that can bend light , or a ring placed on a finger of a hobbit that can transport the holder into another dimension making them invisible to those around.

Lets say that you didn’t have a magic cloak etc, there are still Practical ways to remove yourself from the view of predators or prey. Theses skills are really easy to practice and even easier to apply. For time sake we will break down invisibility down into three parts , Perception,  camouflage , Distraction

Perception

The mind  sees what it wants to believe or better said rationalize as familiar. For example you see a smaller person in statue dressed older clothing wrapped in a  shaw pushing a baby cart across the street would be just that. Only to look closer and find a small man dressed as an old lady pushing a cart full of money. If your  enemy cant perceive you ,you can consider yourself  invisible.

Camouflage

The military defines camouflage as paint or materials used to hide the body , personnel or equipment from detection. Material like paint or branches attached to helmets rifles etc  are used to dull, shape of the soldier, and or reflective surfaces from the soldiers weapon i.e rifle or equipment. Radio. Paint and brushes are a drastic measure used by the soldiers that protect our county on the battle field, However you will be surprised how far a WIG left over from Halloween or a False nose can go to through someone who is familiar to your normal make up goes. Even as far as hat pulled down over the eyes while you hunch your shoulders can make you look like a different person .

Distraction

Even though we are mentioning different methods of invisibility , it all comes down to the perception of the person you are trying to hide from, if the person perceives that your camouflage is out of place then his perception isn’t fooled and no type of guise will work. Distraction is used to pull the attention away from what is intended to be invisible. Rain , fire an explosion, a loud siren a sudden shout can take a pursuers eyes off of the target just long enough to aid in a simple disappearing act. Of course the distraction has to be used right before the escape or attempt at hiding.

The mind is the secret of Invisibility

Popularity: 22% [?]

Practice like your life depends on it because it does; the way a person trains is exactly the way that they are going to perform when the fight is real.  So it’s very important that your partner attacks you with vigor and a level of intensity that simulates reality.  So here are some principles that you can follow in your Dojo/Dojang.

1. Practice Safety at all times, when you and your training partners know and trust each other with faster movements then you can actually get the feel of certain real takedowns. Confidence and competence goes up when there is a trust of hard training without injury.

2. Punch or kick all the way through your partner, meaning when practicing make sure that you or your uke punches straight towards you with the intent of impact. That way insures that you can practice using the momentum of the blow as you spin past the attack. Your partner isn’t helping you by throwing jabs or stationary attacks being that someone who is trying to kill you isn’t going to throw a sport jab.

3. Change the tempo its ok to break the pattern of attack for your partner as in reality attacks are unpredictable, mix it up a bit not to the point that the drill turns into a sloppy slap boxing session but teaches your partner to think on their feet and react to changing situations to get the drop on your attack

4. Resist, once again not to the point of injury or messing up the vibe of the drill just enough to let your partner know that you are there and they are in a struggle.

Its easy to feel like superman in a sterile environment with mats and gi’s etc so its important to make sure that you are pushing your training to a level of reality that serves the needs of your training core. If your training is centered on the aspects of fluid movement with the attitude that is open to the change of the dynamic the ninja shouldn’t have much of a problem surving depending oh how well the practice is set up. Make your partner take you down don’t just give in to complacent falling to pass the time make sure he/she know that they can really make the move work. Your doing them a great disservice by being a bad partner and building false confidence, which will get them in a bad situation that they thought, they were prepared for

Popularity: 24% [?]

Its been said many times before that the eyes are the window to the soul, Well maybe but for sure the eyes are the windows to intent yours and your attacker. One of my old aiki ju jitsu teachers told me that you can see when a person has murder in their eyes” he spoke of this man that was attacking him and his eyes where so cold and focused that he would never forget the incident. I thought well this is the Bronx, then one day after working a late night security shifts years later i was attacked and the one thing i remembered before this man made a lunging attack at me was his eyes. He was so focused that it seemed that he was looking through me into my soul, hmmm maybe my teacher was right is there a tell tale in the eyes of the attacker before he or she is ready to strike. I know for a fact that most inexperienced fighters when then are about to launch an attack look directly at where they are about to hit. I also know that when in a group a person is about to swing their eyes roam around trying to find courage and make sure that thier friends are there to bail them out if they get into something that they didn’t expect in the attack. Still is there a correlation between the change of the eyes and and an intention to attack ? Who knows i do know that the eyes give away the subconscious thought in everyday life so why not during an attack?

For everyday ninjas the eyes are just one of the things that can give away your attackers thoughts. So are nervous hand movements giving away their nervous energy. Some people without knowing it show their teeth, like an animal showing their intention to devour their prey. There are a couple of things that one can look at for info on their opponent but here is some tips about the eyes.

Defense

1) first off use their eyes as a focal point and then draw an imaginary triangle starting for their head down to the solar plexus, that way you gan see what they are looking at while at the same time be able to watch their arms and legs with your peripherals

2) glance at what they look at but don’t stare. If you get caught up in their looking you off then they can guide you where they want and then bam they land a punch out of no where, glance and quickly look back at your focal point.

3) don’t get intimidated by their stare look beyond them and focus on everything at once .

Offense

1) look them off , if your gonna hit them in the face look down at their feet and then bam , they will direct their defenses low and Bam you’ve  landed a game changer.

2) look behind them once , this draws their eyes towards your look when they look back and they will … got em (don’t hold your look to long because they could swing at you also, it helps if you say something like here comes the police)

3) watch with a wide perspective see their whole being , that way you can catch them reaching for a weapon or looking for accomplices .

remember the true way of the ninja is to live a life that your enemies never even knows exists, that way they  can t appear in front of you to attack , when you get careless in your awareness , that’s when your physical self defense kicks in never before that. (The crazy man that attacked me that night after work was so focused on his lunge that i was easily able to sidestep leaving a piece of my leg out to trip him, He falls into the street and i ran ran off in the dark.) laughing of course.

EDN

Popularity: 41% [?]

a ninjas most valuable weapon is not his sword or gun or fighting ability , a ninjas most valuable weapon is ….his mind. As i stated before when i use the term ninja i am referring the the everyday warrior confronted with opposition and danger around the corner of everyday life. What do you spend most of you time thinking about ? The Key to the ninja mind is to have a sense of vigilance, when you walk into a room look up and then to the left. Pay attention to the details that are in the room. Are things out of place ? Is the room quieter than normal, different temperatures meaning there could be a window or door ajar. Make a habit of counting the exits of any venue that you might frequent , how easy is it for you to get to those exits if need be? What i am getting at is being aware of your surroundings and developing a skill set of observation that will give you the edge on your adversaries. When walking down the street think about what you are doing, put your phone down , turn off your ipod and keep your eyes open. Think as if someone is after you, not living in fear off course  but live with a sense of urgency! Think what if something broke out in the stadium , nightclub convenient store etc the ninja mind is sharper than his sword more swift than any shuriken and more deadly than any martial moves .

Popularity: 31% [?]

from the beginning of my martial arts journey the question would always come up from me or other people around me that practice, what style is the best? After 30 years i can finally say my style is the best. Now before i get hate mail and challenges to a duel to the death finish reading the whole article.

My style is the best for me , aha, so then you ask why is that ? first off im going to break down what i think a complete system is and then let you decide for your self.

A good style should have a foundation for spiritual growth and awareness training of oneself, most people  jump into a martial arts class because they want to learn how to fight someone but they miss one of the most important parts of training which is , learning how to fight themselves. How to think positive and stay away from the things that will harm them in the long run. The style should teach respect, not only for themselves but for others in the world , elders , children , authority etc. There should be training in how to breath, which is a major life function which is taken for granted but once mastered can be life changing in its self. Then the art should show them how to relax and concentrate. If a person cant learn how to control their mind then they will become a victim to anger , fear aggression and a whole other list of things that can cripple the mind when it comes down to performing self defense. All this before we even throw a punch . Next the basic knowledge of the anatomy of the body , before one strikes you should know what you are aiming for and what functions that will serve or disable , I mean what if you kill a person because you didn’t know how much pressure would close up the throat in a strike oops. Next movement not only movement for hitting but most importantly movement for not getting hit , avoidance how and when to run , i am  a 6th degree master instructor in a very rare type of Korean martial art and if i was pitted against Broc lesner guess what my first skill set is gonna be ….you got it ninja running my ass off , or putting something between  myself and him pick up a weapon etc. The brawls are for the movies and ufc when you have to physically fight then your self defense has already failed.

Next all the ranges should be covered.

striking,

kicking

tumbling/rolling

grappling /standing and on the ground

joint manipulation

pressure point attacking

weapons

escape

stealth

strategy

if your art is lacking anyone of these then you as an artist are lacking and are more than likely running to the person or situation that is going to exploit that weakness. When it comes down to it you are the best style and the sooner you equipyourself with the above mention the better you are prepared to face the unknown

Popularity: 20% [?]