Do you ever use wakizashi or other shoto in your study of Ikkyo? I sometimes like to study Ikkyo by comparing sitting, standing, empty-hand, and wakizashi.

Using Wakizashi is super interesting and helps keep you from pushing on your partner.

Here's a video with a couple clips from a recent clas...

Have you ever had a teacher who always told you what NOT to do and what you were doing WRONG, but never seemed to acknowledge the things you were doing right?

And have you ever had a teacher who actually did acknowledge the things you were doing right?

I would be willing to bet that you learned...

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Is there any technique with more variations than Irimi nage? I don’t think so. Diff...

Do you ever experience lower back pain after training? Or knee or ankle pain? Or you don’t feel stable and grounded when you’re executing certain techniques?

Of course there are many possible reasons for this but one possible reason could be how you’re turning.

For example when you pivot in pla...

Have you ever had trouble throwing your partner because you weren’t able to draw them in enough?

 Of course you don’t want to be overtaken by your partner, but in order for you to have some influence on their position, you need to bring them into your center to some degree.

In this video I sha...

Have you ever had a really tough day, you’re totally fried, frankly, you don’t feel like going to the dojo (and you’re the instructor), but you go to the dojo, you jump over hurdles, and no one shows up.

First of all, please know that you’re not alone. This happens to lots of instructors.

Secon...

Do you sometimes feel unstable when you're executing a technique and you don't know why?

Or maybe you have chronic pain and training seems to exacerbate it?

Of course, there are many possible reasons for this. But one possible reason could be that you're not maintaining The 3 Lines of Equilibri...

Because of the COVID lockdowns and rebuild, this was my first in-person seminar in nearly 3 years! We weren't really sure what to expect, what with people just beginning to train together in person once again. Turns out, we had a great turnout. Vince Sensei, Arlene Sensei, and I had a blast and it s...

Every year I travel to Japan to train and give a demonstration when Doshu or Dojo-Cho visit our Dojo in Kamakura, Japan.

I usually take some students with me. In this video, you'll see a white belt as one of my uke. He was 16 years old at the time and it was his first trip to Japan. It was no do...