KUDEN! Radio — Ninja Strategy, Warrior Mindset, and the Path of the Modern Protector

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 at this apparent contradiction, as well-as what you can say the next time this to...

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 you want to be in the attack paradigm! This, and how to fix this pr...

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 ultimate truths or the finality of the situation. Durin...

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 […]