Went to my first Ninjutsu class today (free), and really enjoyed it. Did a lot of cardio for the first half hour (nearly killed me - I'm really, really unfit), but got cooled down for a while afterwards when we got into doing the techniques. I didn't get taught any basics, so I had to work some of it out myself and ask around quite a bit, but I got settled in pretty well. The techniques they teach look good and effective, and it's pretty cheap compared with most schools I've seen. Also, everyone was really friendly, which helps a hell of a lot. So, I'll definitely be going again
What kind of cardio stuff were you doing? The reason I ask is because the only thing we really do for warm-ups is ukemi(rolls and such) and stretching.
same here, but think if your really really unfit then thats a lot of cardio ! half an hour of ukemi can be hard if your not used to it!
I am used to cardio, I do cross country running. We usually only do 15 minutes of ukemi and we stretch before the yoga class gets done and while we are setting things up.
Glad you enjoyed it but that's a heck of a lot of cardio. Nice that your class mates seem friendly enough. Be interesting to hear how the rest of your classes go. Good luck and keep us posted.
Yeesh! Sounds like a pretty good class. Actually, we were doing tons of "cardio" stuff the other week. GREAT mushadori, onikudaki, and throwing drills, that were simply extensions of omote/ura gyaku drills. End up on the ground, rise up on those burnin' thighs and get to work! The legs got a REAL workout, indeed. Perfect for those of us who live a normally sedentary life of driving everywhere. However, with gasoline approaching $4.00 a gallon, I seem to be using the 'ol legs a lot. The punch drills my friends and I do sometimes are very physical, especially when you're being driven backwards and have to leap to maintain distance. It's not done for a cardio workout, but it often ends up that way. --Snake
Well it's good to see someone enjoy a class and not ask about stealth assassins. We've done a lot of cardio lately too. We did some crazy elbows throws and inbetween changing partners we'd have to do pushups or sit ups or lunges.
It was probably less than half an hour to be honest (I wasn't keeping track of time) but it felt like a lot. We were doing a lot of running backwards and forwards and then stopping to punch/knee/elbow the hell out of our partner's strike-pad. One of the exercises we had to do was lie on the ground in front of our partner (after running a few lengths of the dojo) and do a sit-up to reach the pad and punch it twice, and do that 12 times. My partner was pretty harsh, he made me do another 5 after the 12 we were supposed to be doing o.0. All the working out made me feel really good afterwards once my heart had stopped racing. I'd been doing quite a bit of heavy lifting before I went, too, I was experimenting with adding weights to me while I did chin-ups. I was doing chin-ups with an extra 35Kg on my legs (and I'm only about 55-60Kg) which probably didn't help.
Seems like a good idea to me. We rarely do much more than rolling etc. to warm up, probably why we all look like Pillsbury Dough Boys/Michellin Men. Sounds like a typical Ninjutsu Dojo to me, freindly, informal, not a lot in the big ego department. I'd feel comfortable to go to a Ninjutsu Dojo anywhere and get thesame comfortable freindly atmosphere. I'm not even being sarcastic, I love you guys. :love: Bruce
But our secret calorie stores will mean that we'll be the last ones to starve to death - HA, that's survival training mate. Right, where's my pie?
Got back from the second one a few hours ago, enjoyed it just as much again (though it was a different sensei), though I was half an hour late so I missed the cardio workout this time (got my times muddled up). I signed up for a month for £30, 3 lessons a week and some informal training on top of that if you go in the evenings. Seems like a good price. The only slightly frustrating thing is that I often feel like I'm imposing on the more advanced students because I'm a bit too green (or white, I guess) to get to grips with some of the techniques quickly, and when I have to ask what stance I'm supposed to be in, and when I do things completely wrong. Most of the people are really helpful there though, and I've already learned a lot just from two sessions. I'm quite a perfectionist though, so I ask a lot of questions about whether what I'm doing is right, which is actually a good thing when it comes to learning the stuff correctly. What I like most about the style so far, is that it's very loose, based more around concept rather than rote techniques , which gives you free reign to do whatever you feel comfortable with, as long as you follow the general guidelines to make it work. It's a stark contrast to the karate I did a few years ago, where the emphasis was on solid static stances, and stiff powerful movements, ninjutsu seems to be the opposite - very loose and relaxed, with much more emphasis on footwork and body movement than on the actual techniques. It seems to work extremely well. I also like that because of the nature of the style, whatever your physique is, you can adapt it to suit you depending on which parts of the style work for you best. All in all the training feels very practical (and quite demanding), my best friend and flatmate also started training today, so being able to work techniques with him when we're not in the dojo will prove extremely useful. It looks like I'm going to be enjoying this for a good few years yet
Come on be honest, you did that on purpose It appears that the lads from Nam (Chelt Nam) are suffering with their glands, however their neighbours in Gloucester are as fit & slim as racing snakes. I have even heard it said the instructor is looking very young & athletic these days.
Well, that's rumours for you! I'm just worried about his ever evolving hair styles, varying lengths of stubble and where he buys the stuff to put the grey highlights in.
I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it. My first ever class is Monday. I wonder if i'll be doing intense cardio like you did. I think I went overboard and pushed myself a little too hard with my workout this week. My body feels stiff and sore right now and I don't wanna start training in that kind of condition so I think i'm just gonna take it easy until Monday.
