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       1980s outdoor seminars gave the author a chance to test his martial arts.

      After only a short time, it became clear to me that this was not a training hall where clear and paced instruction was the usual approach. More often than not, I had to “steal” the technique being practiced. The seniors would try out various movements without explanation. Techniques would be performed differently from man to man. I had to pay close attention to discrimination. I had to find my own way in the middle of all the variations I saw. I had to find my own movements.

      Techniques were presented in literal form from the many books handed down from Takamatsu Sensei. I began to sense that not all things practiced in the dojo were fully understood by the practitioners. Years became decades. I came to focus on bridging the gap between source and destination realities. What was the hidden meaning behind why that technique was preserved? What was the abstract principle being transmitted in the concrete movements of the kata? What was the key?

      I discovered I had a knack for diving into an ancient foreign culture and extracting principles that I would translate to fit my own culture back home. That involved knowing very well the foreign culture as well as my own. I went to the East and brought back unheard of information to the West. I traversed the time span from ancient hidden conceptions to modern broad-based applications.

      While I shared what I discovered with all who would listen, it has been an admittedly intimately personal career. I have sought out experiences and contacts with the purpose of positively advancing my own physical, intellectual, and spiritual being. I still explore to a significant degree every day. I am a product of all I have faced. I continue to refine.

      Because of my intensely transformative involvement in my subject matter, it has been impossible to even pretend to be capable of a classical scholar’s aloofness from that which he studies. I am that which I study. I have always internalized all experiences gathered in the pursuit of knowledge. Some of those experiences were taken to heart and formed internally held concepts. Other experiences were rejected as not relevant to my needs. Nonetheless, all knowledge encountered was happily (and sometimes not so happily) experienced from the inside looking out.

      I became well known for my pioneering work as the first American to become a dedicated disciple of the 34 generation old Togakure Ryu ninja tradition in Japan. What I encountered in 1975 when I first entered the Japanese dojo seemed revolutionary. So many mind-expanding ideas were a dizzying delight. I described my eye-opening adventures with the ninja in my very first book, The Ninja and Their Secret Fighting Art, published in 1981 and now available in a newly revised edition from Tuttle.

      As the years went by, it became increasingly obvious that the Japanese teachers were practicing an antiquated fighting art. They seemed loyally dedicated to preserving Eastern ways of the past. They were not particularly interested in exploring modern Western ways of attacking and handling aggressors.

       Unconventional techniques are standard fare in To-Shin Do.

      In the mid 1990s, 20 years after I had entered the ninja dojo, I was compelled to create a modern Western art based on timeless ninja principles aimed at solving contemporary challenges. We needed an updated method of ninja protector combat for today. I described the basics of my modern self-defense program in The Ninja Defense, published by Tuttle in 2012.

      It would be awkward to use an established historical name like ninjutsu to describe my contemporary personal protection system. I needed a term to differentiate between the classical ninja martial arts I had been taught and the modern form I built. To label my modern version of ancient ninjutsu, I came up with the new name To-Shin Do. The new name is based on the form of the old name. I separated the single letter character for nin 忍 of ninja and their secret art of ninjutsu into two parts (minus a small dash). To 刀 for “sword” carries the meaning of our technology—how we practice survival fighting. Shin 心 for “heart” communicates our intention—how we evaluate the moment to moment decisions as to what to do and when. Do 道 translates as “road” for the pathway to mastery—a lifetime of exploration if necessary.

       An-shu Rumiko gives pointers at a training convention.

      This is not something I just made up or pulled together. From roots deep in the principles of classic Japanese ninja martial arts, To-Shin Do training is a thorough system of personal preparation for facing the kinds of conflict and opposition that can surprise us in the course of daily living. Our training program leads to the ability to live life fully, fearlessly, and freely.

      The lessons in our training method are based on ancient well-tested warrior disciplines handed down through historical martial traditions I studied with the ninja grandmaster in Japan. I also include the spiritual and ethical lessons I learned traveling with Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, as his personal security escort in the 1990s. At the same time, To-Shin Do training is built around a very modern approach to handling successfully the kind of threats and confrontations most likely in our own contemporary culture, and for seeking answers to the deepest questions of life. In what ways do your martial discoveries parallel the conflicts you face in the workplace, at home, in school, or out in the marketplace?

      When I put this book together, I was admittedly conflicted as to what I intended to include. The ego part of me wanted to include outrageous advanced material, things that would impress seasoned martial artists. But this book is not designed for martial artists with oh-so-many years of training. It is to be used along with The Ninja Defense. This book specifically targets intermediate students looking to learn valuable survival techniques and advance their skills and knowledge about dangerous confrontation. The attacks come more from YouTube clips than UFC footage or the ancient scrolls of Japan. “What would a street hostile throw at us,” was more the consideration than what professional competitors or warriors of another age might do. What about those assaults that surprise us, catch us off-guard, cause us to take a moment of doubt to recognize what is happening? That is what I wanted to address in this book.

      To-Shin Do was developed from an ancient Japanese ninja model. Intelligence agents needed a fighting system to cover their escape from a compromised mission. The assumption was that fighting is way down on the list of possible ways of restoring peace. How do you handle a potentially murderous situation with unknown numbers of assailants? This is very different from a fighting system designed to go as many rounds as needed to defeat another person who has agreed to a contest of skills.

      To-Shin Do is a realistic martial arts training system that includes instruction in techniques and strategies for dealing with:

      • grappling, throwing, choking, and joint-locking

      • striking, kicking, and punching

      • stick, blade, cord, and projectile weapons

      • handling multiple assailants and surprise attacks

      • overcoming psychological intimidation or bullying

      The hanbo cane is one of the traditional ninja weapons.

      Through exposure to the physical, intellectual, and spiritual challenges posed in the many facets of our training program, you will gain first-hand experience in identifying and enhancing those aspects of your life that facilitate growth, confidence, peace of mind, and the joy that accompanies living well and powerfully. You will change and grow and advance as a human being. You will be bigger, broader, with more resources to draw from.

      To-Shin Do martial arts training is as well founded on a very strong and bluntly stated code of mindful action — how to live a worthy noble life. You cannot learn how to become a winner by spending time with losers. Ally yourself with proven role models who have

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