Author Archives: shapeshi

Bodyweight exercise has been used by martial artists for centuries to build attributes like strength and endurance. All traditional martial arts include specific conditioning methods, and in many cases these methods are considered so valuable that they are highly guarded secrets of the lineage. My own background of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu included the study of […]

Let’s face it – no one likes repetitive exercise, and boredom a big reason why people fall off the fitness wagon. They simply get tired of doing the same old pushups and sit ups over and over and over again. If you’ve been hanging around this site for a while, you know we like to […]

Coordination and agility are hallmarks of movement mastery. Success in the dynamic sphere of sport is often determined by your ability to turn the off-season strength, endurance, and speed gains you’ve built into complex, improvised movements on the field of play. That requires a different approach to training, one that focuses on channeling these attributes […]

Do you spend a lot of time at a desk? Does your work trap you indoors? Have you got that “office worker hunch”? You know the one. Picture a guy, slightly overweight and sporting a pale fluorescent indoor tan. He walks with a slow shuffle, his pelvis tipped forward as though in a chair, his […]

Okay folks, it’s time to get back to office life, where we’re busy kicking holy hell outta overcompensations. You’ve had a couple weeks to work with the Shin Box Switch — if you missed it, first of all, shame on you. Second, pop over to the link, read the article, and get to work. You […]

If you slave away at an office all day, this one’s for you… We covered lower back and hip movements in an earlier blog and video. Check that out if your job is making you chair shaped. And we looked at the upper back and shoulders in the second installment. You should look that up […]

What’s a guy or gal to do when they’ve already GOT 6-pack abs? What if the thought of another set of sit ups, crunches and leg raises has you searching for a high cliff to throw yourself over? Can you really have fun with this stuff? The trick to keeping your ab training interesting is […]

Okay, let’s build the next step in your cool multi-dimensional core sequence… In the first instalment — the Arching Leg Thread — we worked on your ability to recruit your core in a twisting motion. That’s pretty complex, and it’s a lot more challenging than the ole “sit up and lie back down” routine most […]

My ninjutsu days are long behind me. But their influence resonates down to the present and permeates every aspect of my life. I still approach my training from that mindset. I think like a ninja, observe the street like a ninja, and I still strive towards mastery every day, in every action. You’ve gotta keep […]

You’ve made it this far. It’s time to attempt the final stage in our three part multi-dimensional core series… You mastered the lower body component of this movement in the first installment — the Arching Leg Thread — where we worked on your ability to recruit your core in a twisting motion while threading the […]