OlyTac-kle Workout Team

09/29/2025

09/21/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/16zZ9MR1ed/

09/16/2025

On kamae (or, being ready to die)

One time after class, I asked Sensei about kamae and how to be ready in a fight. I asked if different poses from kata were ready positions. He said the kata only has a few actual kamae in the sense of a ready posture. He said pretty much everything in kata is “Already happen” so you didn’t wait or have a chance to “make ready”. He said the first move of kata (the yoi position) was really the only ready posture. Once again, he said that in Shorin ryu you attack as soon as you know there’s going to be an attack and you don’t wait for it. He said when he was young you had to always be ready because there were a lot of fights and especially if you went out at nighttime. He said most fights weren’t challenges but rather sneak attacks. So how you enter a room, sit, how your drink, turn a corner, carry objects; all was done bearing risk in mind. (One time we were at Panera’s for lunch and he asked me how many exits there were. I looked around and said “two”. “No,” he replied, “Three. The kitchen always has a door. You need to know.”)

I then asked about free sparring and he said that’s very different because you’re not trying to really hurt the other person or kill them and they are not trying to kill you. He said that is a different mindset because you don’t need to be ready to die. And he said this in all seriousness. He then went on to say that the way you look is different in each situation. In free sparring he says you can look anywhere you want and maybe even smile and joke. But in real fighting he said it’s serious because you might die and he gave a very solemn and grave expression on his face with a deep intensity in his eyes. He said sometimes if you just have a strong look, a person won’t fight you. He said they know that you’re okay to die and they don’t want to do that so they back off. He then told a story of Matsumura having done this to avoid a fight and said “it’s good self defense”.

There is also the time Gusukuma Shinpan was attacked by a mob and he lured them onto a path between the paddies. He said, “I know I can’t fight you all and you will kill me, but whoever attacks first I will certainly kill.” At that, the crowd dispersed.

07/13/2025

US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Norman Hathcock II. Recipient of the Silver Star and Navy Commendation Medal Purple Heart:

May 20, 1942–February 22, 1999 (56 years)
Snipers are first and foremost about precision, secondly about skill and experience. Carlos Hathcock had all that and then some; his service was so legendary that a rifle was named after him: the M25 White Feather.

The world is made up of two kinds of men: the ones who spend time deciding who they want to be in the world and the ones who were born knowing. Carlos Hathcock II knew from a very early age what he wanted to become. He wanted to be a soldier; he dreamed of fighting for his country.

In 1966 Hathcock was deployed to Vietnam and worked as a military policeman, but destiny had a different job in mind for him. Capt. Edward James Land had convinced the Marines to employ snipers for every platoon, then began recruiting Marines who had set records in sharpshooting. Impressed with Hathcock’s achievements, he quickly asked him to join.

Hathcock completed his training with more ease than most and was immediately sent on assignment. He very quickly became enemy number one for the NVA. He ran up a kill count so high that eventually a $30,000 bounty was placed on his head. To put this in perspective, the usual reward for US snipers was between $2,000 and $8,000.

Hathcock was different; he and his rifle proved so destructive that the NVA believed it crucial to kill him for the sake of its own troops. He was in a league of his own; every single marksman who made an attempt on his life ended up a co**se.

To read this full story please check out the book: Giant Killers, War Heroes and Special Forces Legends.
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/gEVjBez

02/12/2025

🇬🇧 “The most vital techniques in Budo are those which preserve life”.
- Masaaki Hatsumi

🇮🇹 “Le tecniche più importanti nel Budo sono quelle che preservano la vita”.
- Masaaki Hatsumi

🇪🇸 "Las técnicas más importantes en el Budo son las que preservan la vida."
- Masaaki Hatsumi

12/23/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1YCzMkCd41/

07/08/2024

The future is heat. Incorporate the needed techniques into our daily training.

01/22/2024

Practice breakfalls

https://www.facebook.com/100000750139032/posts/7512627022105561/?mibextid=UyTHkb

🇬🇧 In Japan there is a saying that says, "If you fall 7 times, 8 times you will have to get up" (Nanakorobi Yaoki 七転び八起き), but I will want to fall and get up 8 times 9 times, this is the spirit of Kukishin Ryu, who says: - every time you fall nine demons will rise you again, Hatten Kyoku 八転 九起鬼 - in training as in life, we survive thanks to our Ukemi 受身, and no matter how many times we fall, it is important to get up every time".
- Masaaki Hatsumi

🇮🇹 In Giappone c’è un detto che dice, "Se cadi 7 volte, 8 volte dovrai rialzarti” (Nanakorobi Yaoki 七転び八起き); ma voglio cadere 8 volte e rialzarmi 9 volte, questo è lo spirito della Kukishin Ryu, il quale dice: - Ogni volta che cadi nove demoni ti rialzeranno, Hatten Kyoku 八転 九起鬼 – negli allenamenti come nella vita, noi sopravviviamo grazie al nostro Ukemi 受身, e non importa quante volte cadiamo, l’importante è rialzarsi ogni volta".
- Masaaki Hatsumi

🇪🇸 En Japón hay un dicho que dice, "Si te caes 7 veces, 8 veces tendrás que levantarte" (Nanakorobi Yaoki 七転び八起き); pero quiero caer 8 veces y levantarme 9 veces, este es el espíritu de la escuela Kukishin Ryu, el cual dice: - cada vez que te caes nueve demonios te rialzeranno, Hatten Kyoku 八転 九起鬼 - en los entrenamientos como en la vida, nosotros sobrevivimos gracias a nuestro Ukemi 受身, y no importa cuántas veces caemos, lo importante es levantarse cada vez".
- Masaaki Hatsumi

01/11/2024

Goal: Establish a school in the greater Northwest and beyond which will enable students to learn our tradition of physical protection and life skills

01/11/2024

https://fb.watch/pvm4_5O2cT/?mibextid=Nif5oz

01/11/2024

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=355133990613933&id=100083520044312&post_id=100083520044312_355133990613933&mibextid=UyTHkb

12/26/2023

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=918551943167108&id=100050369324991&post_id=100050369324991_918551943167108&mibextid=UyTHkb

Tada sensei just turned 94 years old and is still practicing every day on the mat.
What was your excuse again for not training today? :)