Ninjutsu Uncovered

When do we lose our full range of motion? Watch a baby/toddler move, see how natural their movements are, they crawl, turnover, squat and are generally bendy little things. I love studying how they move, balance, and strengthen themselves via movement. As a child we take movement for granted when we run around skip and climb on things, we don’t notice that we start stiffing up and become less agile, we lose our range of motion. As an example, I can go through a stretch routine with my kickboxing class and I can hear them stretch, with lots of grunts, puffing and panting that go along with the movements like a commentary of stretching. I love it when people start encouraging themselves to stretch and talk themselves through the movement “Come on Julie you can do it!” it is like your inner coach coming out and spurring you on while you stretch. This inner coach gets annoyed at you if you can’t “What you can’t touch your toes?” then starts to guide you to the task in hand “Just a little ...

“My shoulder hurts, they hit hard, my fingers hurt, they hit me” all these statements and many more is what I hear as I walk around teaching martial arts. Pad work is a skill that a lot of people overlook they think of it as being put in goal when you were a kid when the two pots and in rule was applied. Meaning when you scored two goals you went into goal until someone scored two goals past you; funny how bad you get as a goal keeper when it is your turn in the nets. Then you are back out pretending to be Keegan or Shearer. Most people want to do the punching side of pad work but as you progress in your martial arts you will somehow end up holding pads. Pad work is used in many arts to develop technique, power, timing, rhythm and focus, sometimes pads are even referred to as focus mitts as that is what you must do, focus. The role as pad man is to make the puncher get better, smoother, and more accurate with their striking so that they can strike better when sparring and fighting. Th...

Bob Sykes and Paul Barnett of M.A.I magazine have run the Martial Arts show for the past 3 years, but this year was going to be the best ever, and I wanted to be there. Bill Wallace, Benny the Jet Urquidez and Brian Jacks were all going to be there along with a host of amazing martial artists at the Doncaster Dome. I was gearing up and getting myself excited, like a kid going to Disney world when disaster struck; my knee locked out. I have had a reoccurring injury where my knee sprains and locks out, so I can’t bend it, walk well and definitely not train well. I had tried to ignore the pain for a little while doing all my stretches and even put my knee brace on to try and keep my knee from locking, but one week before the show my knee locked out at the end of my Saturday classes to the point that I could not remove my brace. Sunday was no fun at all I had rest it, ice it, and then have a hot water bottle on it overnight along with pain killers, and anti-inflammatory tablets which I pr...

Standing in the gym was as surreal moment that was shattered by the 15/16 years old I was just about to teach boxing to! I had stood in that very same spot not knowing the path my life would take until I returned to this place, this school, and this gym. When I was 15 I had already begun my martial arts journey, travelling to Darlington every Thursday to train for 3 hours and then practice what I learned in this gym of St Anselms RC high school (now St. Thomas More) at the youth club every Monday and Wednesday evening. Myself and my friend Peter would get the mats out, roll, do wristlocks or try to remember Kamae No Kata and run around like real ninjas. My life was already planned, I was going in the Junior leader, I had passed the tests and was due to go in a week after finishing school. I did this, but during a particular hard assault course I tore my pectoral muscles; After being in hospital in Aldershot I was medically discharged due to my age but would be allowed to return at a l...

In the back of every comic book I read as a kid they had this slogan with a set of pictures showing a bully kicking sand in the face of a scrawny lad. Then the next picture he found the miracle chest expander and in no time at all he was a muscular hunk with two girls on his arm, with the bully gobsmacked in the background; as a teenager I fell for this completely. Few people know I was born six weeks premature and had to be fed every two hours (somethings never change), and I was always skinny as a rake, this was mainly due to me running everywhere playing football and riding my bike (for the younger readers please google these activities). As I got into my teens I was still very thin but wanted to put on muscle, even at school I used the multi gym that much that my teacher Mr Dowson asked to set up a new one. I had a pack run I would do every Sunday, once I got my pack on I would run about 3 -4 miles, and then have a bag work out, with every song on my cassette player going along wi...

Newcastle has just had its first Film Festival, which was great for city, the arts and film making. When reading the films that were being shown I came across my friend Geoff Thompson’s short film Romans 12:20 and that they were doing a Q & A about it afterwards. I waited with anticipation for the release date for the tickets and paid it straight away, I wanted to go on my own because people always say put me down or they would definitely go but let you down at the last minute; so, I went with me, myself and I. What I have learned over the years is that if you are wanting to do something do it don’t wait for others just go for it yourself. Kerry dropped me off at The Biscuit Factory, on the outskirts of Newcastle, a place I drive past every day for work but had never been in. I was ushered down the back of the building to the Biscuit Rooms and went into a very contemporary building with ironically no biscuits on offer, but they did serve Guinness that was not bad in my opinion. F...

Normally little Nev, our King Charles Cavalier gets three walks per day. I normally take him for his morning walk as lying on my legs or he jumps off the bed and sits staring at me until I give in and get up! I shove my old joggers on, that Nev has chewed my pocket away since he was a puppy and off we go. During the walk I stretch my body with my mind and try to work out what is sore today, then I mentally and physically soften it to make it easier to go on with my day! Kerry normally does the mid-day walk but sometimes I go to work a little later and get to take Nev out. But when I do, I seem to clock watch and seem too pre-occupied with the timings and not the walk or Nev. Having worked unusual hours for years in factories, pubs and at the gym you would think I would have gotten used to waiting to do something but sometimes it plays on your mind. Waiting to go to a fight show knowing it is going to be stressful, you sit around waiting to go for hours before not resting, you don’t ...