Class Structure
Classes run 1 hour each and are structured in such a way that students of all ranks can train together. This allows senior students to mentor newer students and newer students to gain a glimpse of the material to come.
The main portion of class is used to examine techniques and practice them with training partners. Focus in class is on the details and refining skills. It is a chance for the teacher to assess the student’s progress and for students to try things out with training partners. Repetition is left for the student to focus on at home as part of their personal practice.
Classes are taught in a contact manner. While training equipment such as pads and gloves are used the student is expected to learn to protect themselves mainly by use of rolls, break-falls and escapes rather than relying on equipment. This approach requires students to be vigilant and focused and is cultivated by instructors. This method helps students learn in both a realistic yet safe environment.
Homework is part of our training philosophy and students should expect to spend at least 30 minutes a day on their own 5-6 days a week to become proficient. Drills and specific exercises are frequently assigned for students to work on their own time. Part of the homework also consists of reading assignments. The mind of a warrior needs to be sharp and knowledge is the stone on which it becomes so. The student is expected to read the assigned texts and will be tested on their contents as part of their promotions.
Classes also include discussions on topics related to the current training. Psychological and emotional training is an important focus during class time. Exercises to develop the mind and control emotional responses are a big part of the training.
Training Cycle
Each month the student will go through a similar training cycle:
Week 1: New material is presented along with the months theme and principles. Training focuses on becoming familiar with the techniques.
Week 2: Material is refined and advanced.
Week 3: Variations and “what-if” scenarios are explored to make the material more adaptable in real life application.
Week 4: Review and evaluations are made for the student. Questions and exploration is encouraged. In the event that a student is ready to test it will be conducted at this time.
Each quarter the student will go through 3 unique monthly sets of curriculum. At the end of that quarter they will be assessed for testing and promotion. Each month’s material will build on the previous month. By dividing the material this way we ensure that if a student needs to take a month off or misses too many days they will have another opportunity to see the material in a later cycle. This offers some versatility for life’s events without losing progress.
Belts & Promotions
Toshindo is arranged into traditional martial arts belt ranks and students familiar with this system won’t find it dissimilar to other ranking methods. Each belt color has 3 sub-ranks within the progression. These are symbolized by white and black stripes running the length of the students belt. These stripes indicate which of the part of the cycle the student is in. A student should strive to move through a given color of belt about every 9 months while testing every 3 months. This will of course vary based on the student’s natural proclivity and effort…students will likely find one belt color easier to grasp and advance quicker for a period. Likewise it is likely they will find another more challenging and advance slower. As a whole this will tend to balance out in the end and a consistent student can expect to achieve black-belt in about 4 years.
White-Belt: Focus here is on the basics: striking, blocking, footwork and learning dojo terms and rules. This rank is unique as it does not have multiple striped sub-ranks.
Yellow Belts: Deal with techniques designed to hold ground and defend space. These skills are best described as “grounded” techniques.
Blue Belts: These deal with techniques designed around fluid motions of advancing and retreating. These skills can best be described as “reactive” techniques.
Red Belts: These deal with techniques involving the taking of space. These skills can be best described as “proactive” techniques.
Green Belts: These deal with techniques built around giving up space. The can best be described as “evasive” techniques.
Brown Belts: These deal with the concepts of putting the other techniques and skills together in effective combinations and moving between them as needed. This level also focuses on refining those skills in preparation for Black-Belt.
Black Belts: Training at this point becomes more individualistic and focus shifts more to the student’s personal strengths and weaknesses. Consideration is given to special topics and more advanced applications of existing techniques. Black-Belt is a new beginning and indicates a level of confidence in the material that enables more in depth lessons for the student disciplined enough to attain them.
The Long View
Our training philosophy takes a life-long view of progress. The tools we provide our students are designed to be applied to all aspects of life and not limited to physical altercations. As such we try to tailor our instruction to the needs of our students. Our success is their success. As such we offer many additional training options in the form of Seminars, Festivals, Conferences, Workshops and Private Lessons based on the interest of our students. These include but are not limited too:
• Unarmed Combat - Strikes, Locks, Joint Manipulation, Nerve Manipulation, Tissue Manipulation, Bone Breaking
• Weapons Training – Knives, Swords, Bo, Hanbo, Jo, Kusarifundo (Manriki-Kusari), Kyouketsu-Shoge, Kusarigama, Shuriken
• Women’s Self-Defense
• Juvenile & Senior Self-Defense
• Academic Lessons - History, Philosophy, Mythology
• Ukemi – Rolls, Break-Falls, Escapes
• Ground Fighting
• Improvised Weapons
• Firearms Training
• Anti-Bully Tactics
• Tracking
• Outdoor Survival
• Japanese Language Lessons – Speaking, Reading, Writing
• Financial Self Defense
• Legal Self Defense
• Fieldcraft
• Protecting Others – Bodyguard Training, Protecting Children, Protecting Your Spouse
• First Aid & Emergency Response
• Nutrition & Diet
• Meditation & Breathing
• Body Language & Non-Verbal Signals
• Situational Awareness & Proxemics
• Orienteering & Natural Navigation