Ninjutsu Uncovered

The year started off the same as any other year, apart from the large amounts of snow we endured during the latter end of 2010; everyone is paying back Christmas but have an eye on training hard and finding what they could fit into their budget. The scrap pack fight team came into the year a little on the chubby side (lol) and it took the best part of January and February to get them into fighting shape! When you have some time off at Christmas you should ease into the year carefully so you do not over train or injure yourself just because you or your partner are over keen to get back into full on sparring! Work on techniques and progressive drills, then, when your fitness, timing and technique is better, then you can spar (unlike the unscheduled bouts you may have see or been involved in at the bigg market over the season of ‘good will’). Our first major event of the year was Sean Bollinger from 10 th planet Riverside (lets go) seminar in the gym.  Sean and his assistant, Jeremy, exp

Mal Trotter, Alex Garcia, John Atkin Friday the 28 th of October: Started in the Atkin household much like any other day, getting Molly and Erin, the little sleepy heads out of bed while my lovely wife and partner worked like a finely tune machine making breakfasts and packed lunches in the Atkin Diner Experience . She then made the beds and got the kids in the car like an expert bodyguard team. After the formal de-bus at school with waves and kisses all-round, Kerry and I got home, made our own breakfast and sat down to watch the Ultimate Fighter from the previous evening. Later, Kerry popped to the shops with her Mum and I drove to work, singing along to Rock Star on my CD. I parked up at Manors Car park (as it is so expensive to park in Newcastle, I park there and walk into the City Centre) and as I walked over the central motorway I got a phone call: a man said he had a lad in his taxi who is ‘into this MMA stuff’ but as I was talking the phone went dead, I tried to ring back but

This is a hot topic for debate; people are up in arms at the sight of two young boys, free grappling in a cage at a show! Why is it that the press jumps on the band wagon to stir up trouble again for the people that enjoy doing, watching and teaching MMA? Why don’t they stick to phone tapping and building people up just to cut them down when they fall from grace (I love the press can you not tell). Watching the two lads grappling you could see the time and effort and great amount of skill in their movements; what does that suggest to you? To me it shows they have trained and learnt the movements, displaying great discipline and dedication, and can show them to other people without hurting each other; how is that a bad thing from the youth of today! Back in the early 80’s when I started to train I would set up my bag outside, between the house and the shed so that is swung freely but if the bag swung at the same time as my roundhouse came in, if I was not careful, I would kick the edge

You see this plastered over every glossy magazine and the internet (not those sites!) Everyone is obsessed with being fit and staying in shape or looking good, but what if you have been training in the Martial Arts for the past 20-30 years taking the knocks and bruises, bumps and breaks that usually go with hard Martial arts training? When you are younger you pride yourself on the state of your legs from shin kicks, dropping your pants at every opportunity to show people your jet black inner thigh war wound and swelling with pride (no pun intended) at the shiner you received from sparring. But this and the many more badges of honour you accumulate over the years take their toll on your body. I am in my 40’s now but in my head I am between 4 and 24. Depending on the situation, I can be childish or just plain stupid when it comes to looking after my body! A few years ago I badly injured my back and have had problems with it ever since. As I have stated sometimes my head writes cheques my

When you are younger you are more willing to try new things , one week it is skateboarding the next it is football and the list goes on but it’s a brave kid that does not follow the crowd into the next ‘new thing’. Since I was young (yes I was) I have always followed my own path, in training and in life. I was proud of the lime green socks I wore for high school or that I was friends with everyone not just the popular kids. I recently went to my years 25 th Re-Union; there was  great cross section of people there but it still ended up like being the next day at school; the cool kids talked to the cool kids and the fringe elements talked to the fringe elements. In my eyes nothing much had changed apart from the vast majority seemed that they were in their lives but not living them. The shock on some of their faces when I told them I run a Martial Arts Gym and shocker of all shockers still trained! (I think they watch too many movies of the Sensei shouting commands and strutting around

Everyone was to be a Black belt and everyone wants to be at the head of the class, but what about the people at the front of the class; what got them there and what do they take on when they get there..? I remember training when I was much younger (no laughing) as a white belt thinking any grade above me was the best place to be not thinking as you go through the grades you have more to learn not less. But at that time break falls and strikes was about my max to worry about, don’t land on your head and relax hand until impact!! I was teaching at the tender age of 18 due to the lack of instructors in Ninjutsu. We started training groups where we would be taught by the senior kyu grade in that area due to black belts being few and far between. This made me grow up and take on responsibilities way beyond my age for the sake of the training to continue in my area. I love the art of Ninjutsu, I would train anywhere to help me learn the Art, many a time I would take the overnight crippler bu

Over  the years I have been called many names (no not those names) about being involved with Martial Arts and Ninjutsu most times I have taken a lighthearted view of this but sometimes it can really P*** you off! There have been many a time that people have passed on regards to "Ninja John", thinking that it does not bother me, NEWS FLASH  IT DOES! If I took something that you love to do and be part of for most of your life and threw it back in your face with an off the cuff remark how would you feel? Yes that's right not happy would be an understatement. In recent months Ninjutsu has been getting it fair share of bad press, but now the bad press is coming from Ninjutsu people themselves claiming this and that and bring my art that I hold so dear down to the level of a comic book hero or freak show!!! Ninjutsu to me has always been a form of self-protection within an historical budo art, meaning I would like my art to work when I need it and not at the local re-enactment

Watching the MMA scene develop over the last few years I have seen an ugly side of the martial arts that has come from the MMA  world! That sounds like a bad statement to make as I love the world of martial arts and the world of MMA  but please hear me out!! I have talked about the rise of the MMA  scene and the rise of the MMA fighter...the by-product of this is the cage fighter! The cage fighter is a strange beast usually spotted in Tesco’s with big carpet carrying stance with cage fighter or a Tapout top strutting like a peacock in the lager aisle telling everyone in earshot how he is training to destroy someone in his next interclub fight. Many years ago the same thing happened with boxing, boxers started to believe their own hype and an arrogant attitude started to develop. I am not saying all boxers had this but because they could finish a fight with one well placed punch some thought they were better than everyone else (just ask James "tapped out" Toney) I for one love

5K run, 1000 throws, 1000 sword cuts or a sponsored sparring marathon. When you think of Martial Arts for charity that’s what you think of but not...WAXING.  We wanted to find something   "fun " to do to raise money for a very special school that helps so many children in a very positive way.  Rob Rebair who has been a very close friend for a long time and one of the A.F.C. longest training black belts (4 th   Dan) works at the school   as a teaching assistant and brought are attention to the needs of the school. My lovely wife Kerry and niece Amy that front our  admin at the gym, Kerry is the real boss (I' m the manual labour )   and Amy is the gyms resident princess she has the lads wrapped around her little finger, Amy came up with the plan to make grown men cry (and they did). They harassed and press ganged people to partake and even took money off people so they didn't have to do it. The waxing took place in front of about 30 gym and family   members; girls