First Ninjutsu Class

I took my first Ninjutsu class last night. It is always challenging learning how to do the basic punches again in a new way after developing such a powerful technique in a previous approch. You just need to let go of what you know and empty the vessel within you and allow new knowledge to pour in.

Nick
White belt

Ninjutsu

A couple of nights ago I took the leap and joined a new martial art school, training in Ninjutsu. The location is in Providence RI, training under Mr Brian Giannini. My main point of frustration with my kung fu training was its lack of focus on practical application. This is what Ninjutsu is all about, devastatingly efficient and practical movements. Mr Giannini also introduced me to the idea of stealth in a traditional ninja approach and in the modern day setting. Having the knowledge that noone is aware, but everyone in the room is safer as a result of you being there. That really tapped into the very essence of who I am and what I want to achieve through my martial arts training and so seduced - I signed up for my first month. It will be great to just try it for a few weeks and then decide if I want to continue with this or start with the teacher training in kung fu. The atmosphere is very different from the traditional chinese training room. There was more of a family feeling in my kung fu school and in the ninjutsu school it appeared to be a collection of 30-somethings, just like myself, that have trained for many years in other martial arts and have been drawn to the basic effectiveness of this style.

So I return to wrapping a white belt around my waist again and opening myself up to new experiences and training.

Nick
White belt

The Warrior Stage

I have reached a cross roads in my martial arts journey. I have been experiencing some frustrations in my training in recent weeks. I am feel like I am not achieving my full potential and that I am being held back by the school. The people I train with are not at my level and consequently there is no challenge from them. This semester we I am not learning a new form - it is new to my peers but it is just review for me. I find the training just not realistic or practical enough for me and it will be years (black sash) until I will be able to start receiving this training. My contract with the school approaches and I have decided to look for alternative styles in the area that might meet my needs more.

I was going to arrange a meeting with my Sifu to explain this and before I had the chance this weekend he asked to talk to me. I was invited to join the instructor training program at the school and join the 'Masters' group where the training level will be stepped up. It was interesting timing. I explained my feelings of frustration to Sifu maury and rather than being disappointed with me he seemed almost pleased. At my level of training students often go through a 'warrior stage' where they feel a level of frustration with the training and they either see it through, find another style or quit altogether at that point. It demonstrates that the student is ready for the next level of training.

I have decided to find out more information about an alternative style and also the advanced training at the kung fu school. My style of choice is one that I have been very interested in exploring for many years now - Ninjutsu. There is a Ninjutsu school only 20 minutes from me in Providence that I will look into this week. It seems to be exactly what I am looking for and so it will be interesting to meet the instructor and observe some classes.

It will be time to decide which road to head down on my journey soon.

Nick
Green Sash

Living in the Moment

This weekend during an internal class Sifu talked a little about the importance of living life in the present and how critical it is to reaching the higher levels of our training. People spend their lives either in the past or the future, thinking about what that have done or what they need to do. Kung fu training, tai chi and meditation are essential tools to help us exist in the moment. Masters are often described as having a supernatural ability to know that an attack is going to be thrown before the initiation of the movement. Masters report that time slows down for them in combat and they feel like the attacks are coming in at slow motion (Illustrated in the first of the recent spiderman movies when Peter Parker first discovers his powers...). At a higher level of training the intention of the move is detected rather than the move itself, giving plenty of time to move and react.

Nick
Green Sash

Sticky Tai Chi

In my last tai chi class Sifu Maury explained the purpose of the movement that we have been practicing for the last few weeks. It is a pulling followed by a pushing movement, shifting weight from one side of the body to the other and back again. The idea is that you are grabbing and pulling on an attacker as the attacker is moving towards you and as the attacker pulls away from you your direction is shifting to move towards them as they withdraw. I have talked about "sticky hands" techniques in the past in this blog and this tai chi exercise is a perfect example of that idea performed in a way that makes it easier to visualize the movement and purpose. The attack comes in and rather than meeting the energy with force you are trying to control and adjust the direction slightly past you. As the energy is reversed while the attacker is pulling back, you then shift your weight forward and direct your energy towards them. When you encounter hardness you react with softness and you react to the softness with your own hardness.

The big challenge is to incorporate this into the fast pace of sparring practice. I will try my best to see what if I can adapt to this idea; I hope I have patient sparring partners! The initial idea to grasp is careful observation of your opponent, being not only able to see their movement but be aware of the energy they are using. It is only a this point can you hope to react with the correct response, waiting for the point of softness when your strikes would be most effective.

Nick
Green sash