Introduction Among the legendary weapons of Chinese martial arts, none holds as much reverence, symbolism, or practicality as the staff. Known in Chinese as the “gun” (棍), this seemingly humble length of wood is one of the oldest weapons in the martial arts arsenal and the foundation upon which many [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]
Breathing is something we do automatically, yet ancient traditions have developed sophisticated methods to harness its power for bodily energy, emotional fortitude, mental clarity, overall health of the being, and spiritual growth. Two major approaches stand out in their widespread use and effectiveness: the Dàoist method of inhaling through the [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]
In this article I am not interviewing the head of an international Karate organization, or a world-renowned Sensei. I’m not talk about my own Sensei (Hanshi Don Owens who is a warrior in his own right) and sharing his vast and time-proven Karate knowledge. These are all worthy individuals that [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]
Introduction I thoroughly enjoy writing reviews of martial arts films. I have watched these films since I was a child and have no plan to stop. I watch martial arts films by myself and, when I can convince them, with my family. I particularly love the over the top drama [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]
Alright, husbands and partners, this is for you. Let me tell you something: being a husband is not easy. And guess what? You’re not perfect. None of us are. But what if I told you that martial arts—the very thing we do to build strength, confidence, and discipline- can teach [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]
Introduction The Accountant is a 2016 film starring Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick. This sentence alone may cause some readers looking for a martial arts film to lose interest, but that reaction is premature. Bill Dubuque, who also wrote the popular TV series Ozark and the sequel to this film, [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]
In addition to teaching martial arts, I’ve been a classroom teacher for two decades. While the content I teach in a high school English classroom differs from the dojo, the process of helping students acquire skills is fundamentally the same. Where to Begin Of course, you can’t teach what you [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]
The techniques we learn in martial arts carry over into our daily lives. In life, when we face challenges, our natural reactions are to fight, flee, or freeze. As martial artists, we learn to shift and pivot—first on the dojo floor, then through the issues we encounter each day. I [Read More]
It’s a common misconception that martial arts have always been a sport that promotes good exercise and lets people fight. Martial arts were not created by farmers or carpenters. It was not developed so that the average person could feel better about themselves. Rather, it is the product of [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 point of this little article is that there may be no real point in writing it… but I did anyway. That is to say, there will always be Dojos with inexperienced or unqualified instructors, as well as those that promise high standards but deliver low. There will always be [Read More]
How to Self-Regulate(since no one ever teaches us this) Hey there! Ever wonder why no one teaches us how to handle our emotions? Let’s talk about self-regulation – something we all need but rarely learn about…much less practice to the point of mastery. Introduction In a world that [Read More]
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