Teisatsu

Final Post

2010-12-24T08:16:00.001-08:00

It seems that this two year project is at its end. I will be shutting down the blog - as no one seems to read it anymore. Thanks for your interest, hope to see you all at training soon.

Book discussion

2010-11-13T11:25:00.001-08:00

I don't know how many people are still reading the blog, but I thought it might be a way to discuss some of the books on the reading list. Anyone interested?

Workout of the Month

2010-11-13T11:24:00.001-08:00

Here's an easy one, and just before it gets too cold or snowy outside.

Run 5k. Post time & age.

Mine - 39 year old male, time: 29:30. Hey - it was cold.

Work Out of the Month - Oct

2010-10-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

Try this work out - let me know your times:
3 Rounds - 21 / 15 /9 :

Deadlift (185 lbs) - scale down if necessary.
Burpees
Suicide Run of 5/10/15/20/15

Round One -
21 Deadlifts (whatever weight you use) -- heavy lifts, probably can't do all 21 at a time. I did three sets of 7 myself. Then switch to Burpees - these sucked, all 21. Then the Suicide Run -- reminds me of football practice - it sucked even more.

Round Two-
15 Deadlifts - pretty tired at this point, did three quick sets of 5. Then onto 15 Burpees - which sucked again. Suicide Run - this second one nearly killed me.

Round Three -
9 Deadlifts - three rounds of three, not much left in the gas tank. 9 Burpees in a row - that put me on empty. Last Suicide Run was basically a jog.

Time: 13:35 --- and I was pretty darn happy at that.

Fall Fit Test

2010-09-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again... so be ready -- the Fall Fit Test is incoming.

Work Out of the Month - Sept 2010

2010-09-05T12:46:00.002-07:00

1 mile run
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 air squats
1 mile run

I hope to finish in under an hour.
I'll post my results when done.

On a side note - four of us from my office are doing this workout together (a little team building race) - and we are all "old" - with me being the second youngest at 39.

2010-09-05T12:46:00.001-07:00

Why Crossfit???

2010-08-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

"CrossFit is a core strength and conditioning program. We have designed our program to elicit as broad an adaptational response as possible. CrossFit is not a specialized fitness program but a deliberate attempt to optimize physical competence in each of ten recognized fitness domains. They are Cardiovascular and Respiratory endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Power, Speed, Coordination, Agility, Balance, and Accuracy.

The CrossFit Program was developed to enhance an individual’s competency at all physical tasks. Our athletes are trained to perform successfully at multiple, diverse, and randomized physical challenges. This fitness is demanded of military and police personnel, firefighters, and many sports requiring total or complete physical prowess. CrossFit has proven effective in these arenas.

Aside from the breadth or totality of fitness the CrossFit Program seeks, our program is distinctive, if not unique, in its focus on maximizing neuroendocrine response, developing power, cross-training with multiple training modalities, constant training and practice with functional movements, and the development of successful diet strategies.

Our athletes are trained to bike, run, swim, and row at short, middle, and long distances guaranteeing exposure and competency in each of the three main metabolic pathways.

We train our athletes in gymnastics from rudimentary to advanced movements garnering great capacity at controlling the body both dynamically and statically while maximizing strength to weight ratio and flexibility. We also place a heavy emphasis on Olympic Weightlifting having seen this sport’s unique ability to develop an athletes’ explosive power, control of external objects, and mastery of critical motor recruitment patterns. And finally we encourage and assist our athletes to explore a variety of sports as a vehicle to express and apply their fitness."

It will make you a better martial artist.

Karl Koch Seminar

2010-08-05T15:30:00.000-07:00

There will be a Karl Koch seminar on October 16th, 2010. I am planning on it starting at 9 AM - 4 PM with dinner to follow at 5:30 PM, and a fire side talk about Japan after dinner.

Concerning the seminar - if you have weapons, bring them all. You all should have a uniform and belt, make sure you have them. If you are 5th kyu or better you really should have tabi. The cost of the seminar will be collected that day.

Work Out of the Month - August, 2010

2010-07-29T13:14:00.000-07:00

I am going to start posting a work out of the month. I challenge you to do the work out, and post your times. They will be pretty tough, and the point is not to be better than anyone else. It gives you a time to beat next year when we get back around to the work out.

"Angie" will be our first work out for August:
100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Air Squats

For time - complete all reps of each exercise before moving to the next.
Feel free to post your times (or just write them down for yourself), but post that you completed the work out.

For fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsTbas5NgF0
and part II:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruSy5wwnImk

The Learning Curve

2010-07-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's easy to give up on new things before giving them proper chance. People don't like feeling uncomfortable, out of their element, unsure, vulnerable or weak. No one likes the feeling you get when you are standing there and everyone is watching you, waiting, because you can't seem to grasp what they can so easily do. No one likes the feeling you get when what you're doing goes against everything you've ever known, how you've been programmed, so much so that you cannot figure out how to adapt to it, how to change, how to just let it wash over you as you go with it.

I'll let you in on what it's taken me a lifetime to learn, and what I still struggle with daily; it's not alway about trying or forcing. Sometimes it's about allowing. You have to allow yourself that time to learn. You have to allow yourself the opportunity to make mistakes and the opportunity to work through them. You have to allow yourself to be patient. You have to allow yourself the chance to adapt. You have to allow yourself to be open. You have to allow yourself to be free.

On that first day, when you watch someone else demonstrating, it looks easy enough. But then when you try yourself? Not easy. It's our fear that makes us hesitate. Nothing else. It's not that hard, per se. It's just new. It's not about being an expert at one thing. It's not about being able to run the fatest, lift the most, kick the hardest, punch the fastest, or stretch the deepest. It's about being a jack of all trades, and attempting to master a few of them. It's about being able to perform well at all tasks, not expertly at one. It's about learning to respond and react to everything that can be present to us. It's not just about working out, it's about being fit. It's not about martial arts classes, it's about being a martial artist.

Seminars

2010-07-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

What is the importance of going to a seminar? Why pay the cost of a month's tuition to someone for a single afternoon of training? What can this person teach me that my instructor can not? Is my instructor deficient in some skill? Why go to a seminar? Is it even fair to ask me to attend?

These types of questions are often asked by new students in a martial arts program. Sometime a martial arts instructor will not even suggest going to any seminars, or seeing other instructors. I find that teachers who refuse to even suggest to their students to go see other instructors might have something to hide, not the least of which might be their ego.

Unless you know everything there is to know about a particular martial art; then there is always something new you could learn. Unless your instructor knows everything there is to know about their martial art, then there is a gap in your learning sphere of total knowledge concerning your chosen martial art.

There is always someone who knows more than you do, and a seminar allows you a chance to pick up the skills that they can teach. Seminars cost more money for a number of reasons: the cost to get an instructor to a location, per diem costs, the time the instructor spends away from his family is worth something, and finally the skills they have to teach. There needs to be an exchange, and so the cost of a seminar often equals what you pay for a month's worth of instruction.

It does not mean that your chosen instructor doesn't have things to teach you, or that there is some huge skill gap. It means that everyone can learn, even your instructor. In some dojos there is an actual number of seminars per year that the instructors want their students to attend. Now lets take the abstract and make it personal for the teisatsu dojo.

By the time you are a fifth kyu you should strive to attend at least one seminar a year, by the time you are a first kyu perhaps two or three seminars a year, and by the time you reach your black belt and beyond the number should grow to as many as you possibly can, depending on your life circumstances. Once you stop attending and learning from others your skill set will slowly start to cave in on itself, becoming only those things that you like to practice. It is also the sign of an ego that's starting to get out of control when you think that you no longer need to study with other instructors because they have nothing left to teach you.

The martial arts are not for everyone, but everyone could learn them if they so choose. There is a cost for the transformation from the masses into a martial artist. If the cost of seminars are too much remember that the monthly costs here are as low as they are anywhere in this city, so perhaps putting extra money aside would the be the proper thing to do. Is it too much to expect students to attend a seminar? I really don't think so, and if I didn't think it would be worthwhile I would not suggest them. I try to bring in people that have something useful to teach.

When a visiting instructor comes to your dojo and less than half the 'normal attending students' don't show up, it's kind of rude to that instructor. I understand that life happens, trust me - I understand. It's just food for thought.

Soke's Rules

2010-06-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

If you have not read Soke's rules in a while, please do so. They are pretty clear. There are only a few things he asks of us to be part of the Bujinkan. If you can not follow those rules, then I suggest you find another martial art to spend your time with. You can find them on his web page, which I have link to off our dojo web page.

Ninja Endurance

2010-05-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

Ninja can be translated in many different ways, but one common translation is 'man of endurance.' Nothing breaks a person out of the rut of mediocrity like pushing themselves beyond their preconcieved limitations. Adversity means suffering, enduring, discomfort, and insecurity. How can a Ninja truly be a person of endurance, if they have never truly endured?

Keep Going

Holidays

2010-05-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

If class were to fall on a Major Holiday, it is unlike that we would have class that evening. If I would fail to mention something about an upcoming class, and you saw that it was to land on a holiday; then please mention it in class before the date in question. That way we can try and be clear. It doesn't happen often, but just in case.

t-shirts are in

2010-05-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

The dojo t-shirts are in. Hope you all like them. They are pre-shrunk t-shirts.

Bujinkan
Teisatsu
Dojo

Black t-shirts with White Lettering on the back. Enjoy.

Monday Night News

2010-05-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

5/17/10 - Monday Night News at 10:00 PM on NBC (Madison) - there will be a presentation on my work, if anyone's interested in seeing what we do on a daily basis.

Summer's Here

2010-05-13T10:35:00.001-07:00

Summer 2010 is upon us. We should all refocus on physical fitness this summer. Lets each make individual goals for this summer. There - that's my p.t. push. It's up to you now.

Another cheese Ninja movie

2010-04-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

I saw a new Ninja movie this weekend - it's just out on DVD. We rented "NINJA" - and it's the first real karate Ninja movie I've seen. The dojo is a karate dojo that happens to teach ninja on the side. Sensei is getting old and its down to the last two contenders for the job, but then one goes bad. He goes out and becomes the world's greastest assassin. The magic box is in danger, so it gets moved and the other guy has to protect it. Comes down to the last true ninja against the ninja assassin. Interesting gear, ok to watch (especially if you like a karate kicking and punching ninja).

Dinosaurs

2010-03-05T05:44:00.001-08:00

It's official - an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100304/sc_nm/us_dinosaurs_asteroid

Cross Fit

2010-03-04T14:10:00.000-08:00

Everyone in the dojo should go to www.crossfit.com and look at the message board and forumns.

Everyone should down load the free articles:
What is Fitness?
Foundations.

If you learn anything from those two articles, I would recommend continuing with:
A Beginners Guide to Crossfit
A Crossfit Startup Guide: Part 1
The Garage Gym

There are other free articles, so continue on if you like.
I would not recommend paying for the articles - look at the forumn boards for many answes.
The video sections is AWESOME.

If you want to take your fitness to the next level - start Crossfit. I dare you.
I double dog dare you to stick with it for six months.

If you do crossfit your martial arts skills will improve. Like anything in life, you get out of it what you put in.

Ground Fighting

2010-02-26T06:23:00.000-08:00

As we near the end of the "ground fighting" video we have been going through, does anyone have any comments? I plan to go through another ground fighting video with all of you before going back into more traditional taijutsu.

Again I would never want to voluntarily go to the ground in a fight, but stuff happens. If you find yourself on the ground and in a fight, it is best if you have some ground fighting skills which is why we have spent the last few weeks (and the next few weeks) looking at ground fighting. To just say "I would never go there," or "I'll fight dirty," or "My awareness is so great that I could never possibly land in that situation" - well I hope that all works out for you. For those of us that are mere mortals, it is possible that Murphy's Law lands us on the ground as we begin the fight for our lives.

We look at different r anges of combat because we may end up fighting someone who has been trained in a specific range of combat. To not examine those skills which an opponent may try to use against is (forgive me for the blasphemy) not ninja like. The ninja studied the samurai in order to defeat them, and so we study other common martial arts commonly found in our society in order to defeat them.

Core

2010-02-17T06:31:00.000-08:00

How does everyone like doing "core/abs" work for 15 minutes every class? It will only last for a month or so, but I figure we could all use the extra work.

State of the Union

2010-01-27T19:44:00.001-08:00

Thoughts on the "State of the Union" Address this evening?

Sleep

2010-01-17T16:29:00.000-08:00

You take it for granted until you stop getting what you need. Sleep up :)

To Stand On A Stone

2010-01-07T11:31:00.001-08:00

Thoughts, comments, etc... on the topic?

Karl's Upcoming Seminar

2009-12-21T13:00:00.000-08:00

It looks like Karl Koch's seminar in Purdue will be Feb 6th. That means driving down on Friday the 5th after work, training all day Saturday, eating out with the group Saturday night, and then leaving Sunday morning for Wisconsin. I hope to be able to lead the caravan; however, there is a chance that a late addition to my family unit could hold me back in Wisconsin that weekend. Only time will tell.

About a month out we'll get a head count, and then sempai can make arrangements.

Snow Day

2009-12-09T11:57:00.000-08:00

Over a foot of snow -yikes. They closed pretty much every government building in Madison today, so it was a "snow day" for me. I can't really remember the last one of these I had - maybe 12th grade. What a nightmare though clearing the driveway.

Politics

2009-12-01T13:46:00.000-08:00

In 2010 I will TRY to send out less "political" emails.

For those which I have offended, it was not my intent.

I feel strongly about my country, for that I will never say "sorry."

If you do not, well then don't complain when things 'happen.'

Ninja Assassin Movie

2009-11-28T17:39:00.000-08:00

Thoughts?

Class Requirements

2009-11-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

Should the dojo have class requirements?

In a past post I mentioned "physical fitness" - and the response surprised me a little.

Should I require anything of my students? To make it to class twice a week? To make it at least six times a month? Anything else? Nothing?

If it were a business and I wanted to make money, then I would require nothing. In fact, I wouldn't even ask. By even asking the question I might be eliminating future students, or even current students? Is that a good/bad thing? Hmmm. Thoughts?

Modern Ninja

2009-10-25T15:21:00.000-07:00

Who are the modern Ninja?

Who were the historical Ninja? Perhaps this is a better place to start. The question then becomes which era in history, and what exact location. There we go again - time and space - need to be accounted for before the explanation goes forward.

Lets talk in generalities, the ninja were spies. The got in, and got out, and no one was supposed to know they had been there. The movies do a terrible job of portraying the true ninja. They were spies about 90% of the time, and less then 10% of the time did they act like assassins. They were like the "James Bond" characters of their day.

So who are the modern Ninja? Spies, the CIA, NSA, etc...? Green Berets, Navy Seals, other high speed special force groups? What about the average student in the Bujinkan? Are they the modern Ninja? What is our legacy?

Japan Trip

2009-10-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

Back from Japan. Once again, Everything Changes, yet everything remains the same. Anyone attending class this past week has seen their set of "basics" radically altered, and yet - they look nearly the same to the outside eye. Enjoy.

Email by 6 PM Please

2009-09-24T16:09:00.001-07:00

If you are not going to make class on a given night, please email by 6 PM if possible. That's about as close to class that I will check my email. If you email after 6 PM, then I probably will not see it until after class. That would still be better than not emailing at all. I ask for the emails as a courtesy, so I know who to expect. Now if you are a person who only comes one night a week, then I don't expect emails on those nights that you would not normally show up. Perhaps the opposite, if you are going to show up a night that you usually don't then an email would be in order. Thank you all for your help with this matter.

Black Belt

2009-09-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to get your Black Belt? What does it mean to earn your first dan rank? In the "old" days it meant you were a serious student, so what would that look like? Did it look different 20 years ago then it does today, and if so, why? What's it mean in context of class? Any other thoughts on the topic? Just trying to get people's current point of view's on the topic.

CQC

2009-08-31T16:58:00.000-07:00

Close Quarters Combat - CQC - good course? If you have been through it before, what did you learn? Would you go through it again? Why/why not? I am considering running one, and wanted to generate some discussion. Feel free to start anywhere, or with any particular part of the course.

Physical Fitness During Class

2009-08-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

Thoughts on Physical Fitness training during class? I know many martial arts that spend time on physical conditioning, flexibility, etc... during their class time? I have always said that I feel physical conditioning should, as a rule, be something left up to the student to do on their own away from class. I've been playing with the idea of some 'non-traditional' fitness activities. Thoughts?

Movies

2009-08-17T16:32:00.001-07:00

After seeing the new GI Joe Movie this past weekend it got me thinking - your votes for Best & Worst action movies.

MMA and the Reality of Combat

2009-08-04T15:39:00.000-07:00

Does MMA (mixed martial arts) fighting in the ring represent real fighting? Perhaps to a point. Is it useful to the person that is interested in real fighting? Again, perhaps to a point. What can MMA do for me? Get you in great shape, good strength, endurance, flexibility, etc... and most importantly it can start introduce you to taking a punch and the will to win. What's the down side to MMA? You are training for a fight in a ring, and life doesn't happen in a ring. No weapons in the ring? Some rules in the ring. On the streets there are always weapons, and never rules. Thoughts? Agree or disagree? Want to expand this line of thinking further?

The Good, The Bad, & the Ugly

2009-07-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

The Good - Brett Farve in a Green Bay uniform

The Bad - Brett Farve in a New York uniform

The Ugly - Brett Farve in a Minnesota uniform

So sad, so very sad . . .

You can do whatever you want

2009-07-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

You can do whatever you want, as long as you can make it right. That quote is actually very profound. It is the whole "as long as you can make it right" part that makes it a tough one to follow. Thoughts?

Population Control

2009-07-09T05:43:00.000-07:00

Good idea or not? If it is a good idea, how should we begin? Who would be with us, and who would be against us? Should we deal with those that are against us? How do we deal with those that would stand against us? Why - to all of the above questions...

July 4th Weekend

2009-07-03T07:11:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the July 4th Weekend. All you internet hunters should "google" it once, and see what it stands for - if you don't know. Why is it a National Holiday. I know, I know - history 101, but you might be surprised to find out the number of people "on the street" that have no idea. Sad, sad state of affairs. So have a beer, and give a silent thank you to all those that have given us our freedoms, and never forget what it costs to be free.

Ishmael

2009-06-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading the book: Ishmael. An adventure of mind and spirit. Good book. Basically the human race is killing itself. Look at the world - hunger, starvation, famine, war, and the list goes on and on. Without a major adjustment to how we live we are unlikely to live as a species for more then another few hundred years. The world simply will not support us. If you have the time I would recommend it. I don't agree with everything it suggests, but over all - a good message.

Hunting Next Week

2009-06-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

If you happen to be a fugitive in the state of Wisconsin, I suggest that you leave at once. Next week could be kind of rough on you - I mean, seven teams with nothing to do but hunt bad guys all week long - how cool is that?! With luck we'll get an additional 70+ bad guys off the street in one week. That's two arrests per team, per day -- not unattainable, and not push-over arrests - all felonies, all people on the run. So I may be busy next week, and not post here until the following week - we'll see. Last year for this thing we started at like 5 am and were done by 2 pm. Be safe, and be ready to teach in case I'm passed out sleeping or something.

Class Control

2009-06-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

No - not the government controlling the middle class - and while that could be fun to talk about, it's not the point of the post. I mean control of the martial arts class. Is it too lax? Has the instructor let the students take over? Are the inmates running the institution? Thoughts? More importantly - how to reestablish control. How to reign in the crazyness. Thoughts?

Money Talks

2009-06-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

Money, Religion, & Politics - all discussions that could be fun. I like a spirited debate sometimes. Lets start with money.

As we all know the governement is so far in the hole we may never get out, and it would be a shame to let spending be the thing that destroys a country after 200+ years. Of course - like the Roman Empire - most countries dissolve from within.

How did we get so far in debt? Well lets think about this from a "presidential" point of view. Since the 60's we have been going in the hole, but it was not until the huge military build up under Regan & Bush I, that it went crazy. Now the left blames the right, and says the problem really started there. The right says, but it took the build up to defeat Russia. Points scored on both sides.

Next we have Clinton who enjoyed good economic times. On the left - it was his economic policies that did it, and on the right - it was Reganomics that lead to it. Who cares it's all in the past. All I'll say is that Clinton benefited from the Dot.Com company explosion - the booming 90's. Under Clinton we finally managed a balanced budget, with extra to spare. But instead of taking the extra and paying off the debt (don't think we were out of debt under Clinton - far from it) - but no, both sides guilty... lets spend the extra. How does a government keep operating in the red?

Next comes Bush II, or GWB - and does anyone think he would have ran if he could have known about 911? Really? The terrorist attacks on 911 changed everything, and have lead to another huge military build up. Afganistan & Iraq - two wars - two huge drains of money. The economy has gone way south, gas hit $4.00 a gallon, the housing market crashed (thanks Nancy & Congress), and bankruptcy became routine for America, along with the closing of buisnesses.

Now - Obama, who is winding down the Iraq situation, while ramping up the Afganistan one. Hey dude - the entire Russian Army had no lasting success there and pulled out - it was their Vietnam. Please don't give us another taste of Vietnam - the first one kind of sucked.

So in my view - that's our money problems - blame on both sides. Let's not even bring Congress and Nancy (I'm a dictator) Pelosi into it. Or...lets...and point out that it was congress that forced the banks to give unsound loans. Want to know why we 'bailed them out' with out any oversite, but now we own Government Motors, err I mean General Motors? The government is really at fault for the housing crunch, and everything that stems from it. Crazy. Just crazy.

Questions

2009-06-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Questions about the Teisatsu blog...

Why? As some of you know I am not the most tech guy on the face of the globe, so I thought I would work on it by creating a blog.

What to discuss? Money, Religion, & Politics... wait, culture says we shouldn't talk about those things, so lets talk.

Rights & Responsibilities... With great power comes great responsibility. I reserve the right to add/subtract/modify pretty much anything that gets out of hand. That goes without saying on a blog, so I'm just making the implicit, explicit. Also - I can't spell to save my life, so if not for a word processing program I would never have graduated college.

It's your move.

Teisatsu

2009-06-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Teisatsu Blog.
Miracles will never cease to amaze me.
There is always Amazing Grace.
When all else fades away, these three things will remain: Hope, Faith, & Love.
To those that much is given, much will be required.
Every story has a beginning, and this post is the blog's start.
From the begining to the end, and back to the begining.