Nature's Influence

[Genin Andrew]

In modern society the natural world and its produce are sadly taken for granted,not by all but by the majority.But for ninjutsu practitioners and the like it is commonly believed that one can never really begin to understand his art until he takes it outside of the four walls of the dojo,where you can connect your art to something more than just techniques.

Obviously ninpo has deep roots in the worship and appreciation of our natural environment,but how many people today still hold that ancient appreciation and respect for the most simple things around us?How many of us train often in the outdoors?

I apologize in advance if someone is offended by this next comment but i dont mean like in the Tew-Ryu videos where they do flips off mountains and splits over rivers and things.I mean more just sitting in a local forest or whatever you have access to and meditating/appreciating whats around you.Conducting exercizes to see how you can use your environment and apply techniques and so on.

I personally view this to be of vital importance in martial arts training and development,how important do others see this aspect to martial arts and for those instructers out there,how often do you hold "outdoor" classes and what kind of exersizes do you do?

much respect
-andrew

 

[Elizium]

In modern society the natural world and its produce are sadly taken for granted,not by all but by the majority.But for ninjutsu practitioners and the like it is commonly believed that one can never really begin to understand his art until he takes it outside of the four walls of the dojo,where you can connect your art to something more than just techniques.

Obviously ninpo has deep roots in the worship and appreciation of our natural environment,but how many people today still hold that ancient appreciation and respect for the most simple things around us?How many of us train often in the outdoors?

I apologize in advance if someone is offended by this next comment but i dont mean like in the Tew-Ryu videos where they do flips off mountains and splits over rivers and things.I mean more just sitting in a local forest or whatever you have access to and meditating/appreciating whats around you.Conducting exercizes to see how you can use your environment and apply techniques and so on.

I personally view this to be of vital importance in martial arts training and development,how important do others see this aspect to martial arts and for those instructers out there,how often do you hold "outdoor" classes and what kind of exersizes do you do?

much respect
-andrew

If I could train outdoors then I would. Even though I do not, I still do some training for the outdoors. Things like weather watching when out walking, trying not to disturb nature when outside and away from towns, trying to be quiet and using walking methods when outside like yoko aruki [sp] or trying to get a sense of what is around me (feel of the wind, smells ETC).

 

[Enson]

i live on 9 acres at 3500 feet elevation. i do that as often as i can. but unfortunatly i have to work full time too and that takes alot of time away from nature watching. i train outside regularly but i don't do much running around in the mountains in my gi. :uhyeah: i don't know why but i'm not really focused on training in the forest when its the concrete jungles that are more dangerous nowadays.(imo) don't get me wrong i do love the mountains and thats why i live here but i'm more scared of what can happen down in the city than up here.

peace

 

[Elizium]

i live on 9 acres at 3500 feet elevation. i do that as often as i can. but unfortunatly i have to work full time too and that takes alot of time away from nature watching. i train outside regularly but i don't do much running around in the mountains in my gi. :uhyeah: i don't know why but i'm not really focused on training in the forest when its the concrete jungles that are more dangerous nowadays.(imo) don't get me wrong i do love the mountains and thats why i live here but i'm more scared of what can happen down in the city than up here.

peace

Be scared of both, or at least respect those environments.

 

[heretic888]

Obviously ninpo has deep roots in the worship and appreciation of our natural environment,but how many people today still hold that ancient appreciation and respect for the most simple things around us?How many of us train often in the outdoors?

I think you'll generally find that "nature" means something different than the context you had in mind here.