Here is a description of the 3 kata I taught (well, I taught a To-Shin Do “modern variation” of these historical kata) at Mountain Quest seminar July 2022 KOTO RYU KOPPO-JUTSU SHODEN (Initial) KATA 虎 倒 流 骨 法 術 初伝型 片巻 KATA-MAKI “Single wrap” Defense against punch barrage – Strike limbs and lock shoulder […]
In looking at how we promote To-Shin Do, have we identified a problem that we solve? What is the problem that calls out for To-Shin Do study to solve? Maybe the problem is combat sports that do not really reflect street reality? They are either stylized art forms not really suited to self defense, or […]
Going on 72, at this stage of my life and career, I am happy to say I am accomplishing what was most motivating and stirring to me as a child. I was driven by two quests. One – I wanted to know how to handle cruel, brutal, and dangerous bullies and victimizers in order to […]
The martial art of To-Shin Do is an up-dating of the ancient art of Japan’s ninja. 1500s Japan had its own distinct culture, legal system, social formation, ways of moving, and codes of morality – all quite different from those of 2020s America. I took the practice forms and guiding principles of historical ninja taijutsu […]
People have asked about the meaning of the An-shu title that Rumiko and I use. Though the world knows our school as SKH Quest Center for Martial Arts in Dayton, the original Japanese name for our dojo is Kasumi-An. I have used that name since the 1980s to describe my dojo and the training method […]
Here are some notes from what was taught at Mountain Quest 2016 in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. We took 2 days to cover the material in detail. You cannot “get it” from these notes, but if you were there, these notes will help. GYOKKO RYU KOSSHI-JUTSU CHU-RYAKU NO MAKI “Middle Scroll Collection of Essential Principles” […]
体術の極意は平和の基礎と知れ (Taijutsu no gokui wa heiwa no kiso to shire) “Know that the secret of Taijutsu is the foundation of peace. 學べば不動心の道にありける (manabeba fudōshin no michi ni arikeru) Learn this, and you can walk the path of the immovable heart.” 戸田真龍軒正光 Toda Shinryūken Masamitsu 32nd Headmaster Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu
Some friends at my dojo began a “challenge” of writing notes about what they are grateful for. I like that kind of thinking in this world that I experience as increasingly fractured, polarized, and coarse each day. I am grateful that I get to go to my dojo and find a few hundred good decent […]
Students have asked how to get one of those beautiful metallic gold-striped Shihan black belts worn by Mark Sentoshi Russo, James Kentoshi Norris, and Dennis Fuutoshi Mahoney. I always reply with the same 3-part answer: First, train for decades to develop incredibly refined martial arts skills. Next, perfect the art of looking at a student’s […]
Developing real martial arts skill is not a quick-stick tack-on, but rather a deep-seep accumulation. You have to learn good lessons and then repeat those over and over to make a part of you the new insights and ways of being. Make a point of sharing with everyone who enrolls alongside you in your martial […]