KUDEN! Martial Arts, Self-Defense & Survival

Other than identifying one kata or technique from another, is there anything special about their names? Can a kata’s name help you in mastering the technique or not? I mean, what’s in a name, right? We’re going to be exploring several perspectives on this, and more, during this week’s episode of KUDEN! Radio, the podcast […]

We’ve all experience not just the feeling of anger, frustration & even rage; but also suffered from the consequences of our thoughts, words, and actions spawned by that same emotion. During this episode of KUDEN! Radio, we’ll be taking a look at what our philosophical teachings say about the root causes behind anger, but also […]

I actually came at the Enlightenment teachings in a backwards sort of way though my martial arts training in Ninjutsu. Through exploration of conflict, the handling of violence, and the need to protect even my mind from aggression, the art of the invisible warrior actually made it easier for me to see the benefit of […]

It’s been said that when a fool sees or learns something new, he laughs at it; when an arrogant man see or learns it, he explains all the reasons why it’s wrong or it won’t work; but, when a wise person sees or learns it, they seek to understand it in order to understand how […]

Have you set goals, started the process, but keep getting stuck at the same or different points along the way? Do you feel stuck or unable to gain traction in making the kind of changes, progress, or success you’re looking for but see others enjoying? Well, you’re not alone as this is a common problem […]

During this episode, we’re going to taking a historical look at the fortitude, understanding, and consequences of failure when a Ninja acted; the morality behind the “why” of a Ninja’s actions; and the idea of fully committing to the accomplishment of the “mission” or goal. On top of that, what if one of the figures […]

Most of us, at some time or another in our training careers, will encounter those who will dismiss what we’re trying to do in one way or another. Some will roll their eyes, showing their true feelings; others will outright laugh; and still others will actually try to stop you. During this episode, we’ll be […]

Continuing with our exploration of a popular Japanese phrase, including within the martial arts, and what they point to as keys to progress in the mental realm. During this week’s episode, we’ll be looking at the 2nd half of the phrase: Mizu no Kokoro (“mind like water”), what it points to as a goal, and […]

While most students and practitioners focus almost exclusively on physical technique – the “what” what to do – the mental and philosophical aspects point to much more. In the realm of the Master Warrior there are more skills, perspectives, and guiding principles allowing him or her to produce more results in any given situation than […]

What does it mean to be Ninja? Did you know that there is more than one kind – more than the cloaked, long, black-clad warrior we see so often in the movies? Here’s a better question, especially if you’ve set your sights on being one: “What kind of Ninja do you want to be?” “What […]

Do you know you need to take action – to do what needs to be done to move closer to your goals? I understand, because we’ve all had moments where life gets in the way and we end up feeling “stuck”. One of the most common things I hear from those feeling stuck in their […]

Have you ever though about a goal, about being a high level black belt, or spoke a truth and…had to hide the visceral effect…the feeling that you were lying to yourself or others. This feeling holds the key to something deep within us that must be uncovered if we’re to break free of the limitations […]

Do you ever ask yourself, “Why do I think this way?” Not just, why do you DO certain things, but why do you think – why do you believe what you do. During this episode of KUDEN! Radio, we’ll be examining some lessons I was given from teachers who wanted me to not just think […]

An important part of the journey of personal development and life mastery is taking the time to review what we’ve done to this point in the process. By taking stock of both the vision, dream, or goals we’ve put in place – purposefully or just through our imaginings – AND the progress we’ve made form […]

As we progress in our training, and move through the skill sets and techniques we’re learning, we can often hit a proverbial “wall”. It’s during these times that we can feel like we’re stuck, where frustration, and even anger kicks – and we can lose motivation, stray from the Path, or even quit for any […]

It’s become unfashionable in today’s world to stand one’s ground – to stand for “thing”, rather than to be accepting of all – no matter what. The more spiritually oriented like to point out that that’s the goal, but conveniently miss the references in the ancient teachings where a spiritual teacher uses a “rough” lesson […]

Assuming that you choose your mentors because they are where you want to be, and not just because they are a little better than you with their skills, what questions should you be asking them? The truth is that most students, at least here in the West, think they just have to show up and […]

Have you ever been asked by someone, why you “want” to be violent? After all, you are studying methods and learning skills designed to break a human body quickly and efficiently, and even kill if necessary. This dilemma has been covered by master martial artists throughout time, and in this episode, we’ll take a look […]

One of the earliest lessons I was exposed to was a part of the opening and closing ceremonies for our martial arts classes. And, while this phrase can be translated in many different ways, one of the perspectives comes from our Mikkyo ‘secret knowledge’ and points to a significant key to growth and mastery. During […]

During this episode of KUDEN! Radio, listen in as chat with my long time friend and fellow Ninjutsu Master instructor, Will Maier. We’ll be discussing, not just “the good old days” of Ninjutsu & catching up on things; but also what we think is important for students of the art in today’s world of the […]

eep within the Ninja’s Mikkyo mind-science are several related teachings, all directed towards uncovering the reasons for both failure and success in, not just our training but, every area or endeavor within our lives we strive to be successful in. During this episode we’ll be looking at one of these study areas, a major part […]

Here’s your chance to decide the topic(s), flow, and focus of this week’s episode! That means that I’ll be answering the questions that come in, both leading up to as well as during, this episode. So, if you haven’t done already done so…get those questions in so we have something to discuss…otherwise, this will be […]

One of the things that I had to understand on my journey from ‘poor’ student to where I am now, is in mastering the problem-solving process. In this episode we’ll be looking at this with an eye on solving one of the major problems for a lot of students and those who want to be […]

During my time with various teachers along the way, there has often arisen what seemed like major contradictions in thinking – things that inspire the question: “How can BOTH be True?!” But, after working through these things, I found that what made others confused and even leave their training, were the very things that, after […]

This week’s episode will be another Q & A session where I answer questions from listeners about the art, self-protection, and any sticking points getting the way of your progress in your self-protection and personal development mastery. Join in, throw your questions in the mix. I’ll answer as many as I can in the time […]

Having historical validity behind what we’re doing is important. But, we can agree that few if any attackers are carrying swords, spears, or wearing traditional hakama in today’s world. In this episode I’ll look a what it takes to bring the original core training areas of the Ninja into the modern, Western world of the […]

If you’ve read Grandmaster Hatsumi’s first book in English, “Ninjutsu: History & Tradition”, then you know about the 3 Aspects. We’ll be looking at these from the perspective he outlines in the omote side of training, as well as what the training looks like on the URA (hidden)side to take our progress full circle. This […]

In the core teachings at the root of our Ninpo-Mikkyo ‘mind-science’ training lies lessons regarding the ‘Truth of Suffering’, the ‘Truth of the Cause of Suffering’ and of course, the ‘Truth of the Liberation from Suffering’. And, while this lesson, as well as others, seems to point to eliminating all of the negative from our lives, […]

One of the most important lessons I learned from my teachers when actual “self-protection” was the goal of training; and not just collecting techniques or religiously adhering to an “official stylized way of doing things (while believing we were focused on self defense); was to not limit my focus only to, literally, the LAST place […]

Rather than continue to pull topics out of my proverbial Ninja “hat”, I posed a question at the end of a recent episode… “What questions do YOU have about the art, certain techniques, or your training?” During this episode I’ll be answering a few of those that came in. Rather than continue to pull topics […]

Had it not been for lessons about more than just weapons, techniques, and cool tricks that I received from my teachers; this podcast wouldn’t even exist. Why? Because I’d be just another in a long line of teachers showing you the same “moves”, but nothing for the challenges of living the life you dream about. […]

When it comes to your Ninjutsu Training whether for self-protection of life mastery – are routines and habits a good thing, or a bad thing? Personal development gurus would tell you they’re a necessary part of your progress and help to increase your chances of success. But…are they? That’s the topic for this episode of […]

Of all the things students expect their teachers to do for them, motivation is near the top of the list. But, it’s the one thing that no one can do for, or to, anyone else. During this episode of KUDEN! Radio, we’ll be diving into this critical aspect of success, both in our martial arts […]

One of the greatest fallacies circulating in Ninjutsu is that you can’t learn this art without going to a dojo. This, in spite of the fact that I and a HUGE percentage of the older teachers in this art have always been…solo, distance training students…INCLUDING SOKE HATSUMI HIMSELF! During this episode I’m going to show […]

Grandmaster Hatsumi often spoke of the trap of confusing how many techniques one knows with their ability to actually survive a real-world attack. This was due in part to the number of variables outside of kata that are a part of the problem we’ll face inside the bubble. During this episode of KUDEN! We’ll be […]

One of the greatest allures of the Ninja’s self-protection and personal development system is the promise of increasing your personal power in not just a self-defense and survival situation, but in every area of your life. So, the focus of this episode will focus on 5 core practices designed to ramp up our ability to […]

One of the biggest problems that most people face, especially students of Ninjutsu and it’s promise of self-protection and personal development Mastery is… Most of us were never taught HOW to learn. We were taught “what” to learn, and rewarded for passing tests designed to gauge how well we could remember facts, but most of […]

During this episode we’ll be looking at the connection between goal attainment and frustration- two things that seem to be at odds with each other, right? After all, if you achieve your goals, how can there be frustration? Connected to this is also the difference between how the super successful and the wanna-be relate to […]

When you think of martial arts of self-defense, one of the first things (if not ‘the first’) that comes to mind is…fighting. But the world of conflict resolution, warriorship, and combat…especially within the Ninja’s realm…involves MUCH more than just meeting an opponent head-on physically – as if the winner of this match somehow decided many […]

Over my years on the Path, I have been exposed to many lessons within the Kuden and Shinden realms of training. Many of these lessons came from the Dragon’s Realm, rather than the Tiger’s Realm of raw, violent battlefield survival tactics for winning. During today’s episode, we’ll be diving deep into some of these lessons […]

One of the most common concepts and lessons that I heard in the earliest days of this art, both from my personal teacher AND the Grandmaster, was about “returning to zero”, being a ‘no-limits person’, and becoming a Tatsujin – ‘a fully actualized human being’. Unfortunately, this, among many lessons, is not discussed very much […]

The world of Ninjutsu training has been all but reduced to a small aspect of the original self-protection and personal development I was introduced to in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Having been a part of the early introduction and teachings that went WAY beyond “budo-taijutsu”, I was driven to succeed by descriptions and […]

No matter what you do, say, or achieve; you will always encounter haters and those people who will attack you and try to undermine your efforts. During this episode we’ll be looking at examples from not only my own life, but also moments in the lives of Hatsumi-Sensei and his teacher, Soke Toshitsugu Takamatsu, where […]

There used to be a debate as to whether what Bujinkan students are doing is BUDO or NINPO taijutsu. I don’t hear that much anymore, but…I should! During this special episode of KUDEN! we’ll be taking a look at how these two terms (& practices) are connected, and how they’re different. I’ll also be answering […]

Are you having trouble overcoming an enormous challenge in your training, or in another area of your life? If so, I get it. And I want to help you cut through the confusion and get the results and success you want. During this episode we’ll take a look at a simple process that can be […]

During this episode we’ll be taking a look at the subject of goal setting and attainment – one of the topics covered during our recent Spring Ninja Training Camp. Specifically, we’re going to look at 3 ways goal setting is approached (if it’s done at all), and why those who use them see mediocre results […]

This episode is based on a question I received from a student about something he saw online and wanted my take and help in understanding it. At the root of this is something that, if we don’t get right, let’s just say that the “rabbit hole” we’ll be going down won’t lead us to the […]

During this week’s episode I’ll be explaining why I chose the teachers that I did – the criteria I used, and why I think it’s important for a student to choose their teacher(s) with more care than they usually do. I’ll also be giving some suggestions for avoiding common mistakes, as well as how to […]