Hey Everybody!

I am very excited to offer this week-long Warriorship workshop. I would first like to personally thank Tom Brown, Jr. for approaching me and suggesting that I might run my own Tracker School endorsed class.

It came as quite a pleasant surprise and after much thought and consideration, I accepted. I am quite determined to bring you all something inspiring, challenging and fun. Though I have taught the Lance Fighting aspects at the Scout Classes for many years next to the great martial arts team of Paul Bonner and George Larson and Vanessa Herbst at the Tracker School, I want to recommend their Scout Protector Course to all.

Some of you may know me in different ways and for different reasons. A Tracker student may know me as the former Senior Instructor. The instructor who was always saying something about Natural Law, variables, forms in nature and about Grandfather’s life value based roles and duties of the Hunter/Gatherer - Provider, the Warrior Defender of Life - Protector, the Healer - Preserver and the Information Gathering, Problem Solving Scout the Perceiver. Some of you may know me from training in Soke Dr. Hatsumi’s Bujinkan martial arts www.Bujinkan.com under Jack Hoban www.LivingValues.com Some of you may just know me as Joe Lau.

I have kind of dropped out of sight these past two years (except for surfacing at the Tracker School Scout Classes to teach a little bit of Lance Fighting and the Physical-Moral Lifestyle) to go back to school to get a Registered Nursing degree. As some of you might know, I now work with my wife, Raquel, in managing the Tracker School Office www.TrackerSchool.com

However, I still get to Japan on a regular yearly basis to teach the Tracker skills with my friend Taku Kawaguchi and his Wild and Native Workshops

TAKU KAWAGUCHI'S
WILD & NATIVE
www.WildAndNative.com

and talk with Hiromi Saitou (who is the translator of three of Tom Brown, Jr’s books and runs her Back to Nature and Survival school called Achillea www.Achillea.org, continue training in the Bujinkan lineage, practice my terrible Japanese and see some of the best friends anyone could ever have.

I am thankful for this opportunity to be able to share with all of you my 19 years of experience at Tracker School and the Bujinkan Dojo This class is not just for Tracker students, anyone who is compelled to protect and defend life is welcome to attend as long as you are 16 years or older. Any or no martial arts background experience is necessary.

Look forward to visits from my sensei, Jack Hoban. Look forward to also learning from my BUYU (Warrior Friends) Jon Haas and Josh Sager who have their own training group down in the Princeton area.

JON HAAS & JOSH SAGER'S
BUJINKAN BUYU PRINCETON DOJO
www.Shinobi.org
www.JoshSager.com

And, some of you may know Marc Geestman, of Natural Journey

MARC GEESTMAN'S
NATURAL JOURNEY
www.NaturalJourney.ca

will also be assisting.

Look forward to really good meals to be created by my friends.

Here is a list of some of the themes that we will be training, discussing and exploring -

The Physical-Moral Lifestyle

Injury Prevention (Ukemi)

Economy of Energy

NOT needing to use Strength or Speed

Storing and Releasing Natural Energy

Looking past Styles and Looking FOR Universal Principles

The Body’s Weapons

Foundation Movements and Techniques (Kihon)

Distancing Angling, Timing and Space

Illusionary Movement (Kyojitsu)

De-Escalating Violence (instead of Escalating It)

Invisible Striking

Maintaining and Disrupting Balance (Kamae)

Dr. Humphrey’s Natural Law Based Life/Living Value Theories

Technique Variations (Henka)

Defending Others (including the attacker)

Immobilizations

Training with Insight

Overcoming Conflict Stress and Increasing Awareness (STRIKE)

And, Weapons Training

Spear-Lance (Yari)

Halberd (Naginata)

6 and 3ft. Staves (Bo and Hanbo)

Knives

Flexibles (Ropes, Cords and Chains)

Throwing Blades (Shuriken)

Long and Short Swords

And, More.

DEFINING WARRIORSHIP

I have always had a harder time describing Warriorship to non-martial artists. The same thing happens when I say I work for a survival school (which I no longer say, I say I work for a native skills school.) I sometimes forget I have a slightly different take on the definition of Warriorship. To myself, I feel that Warriorship is a higher calling beyond that of mere fighting alone.

Lately, one of the things on my mind has been the thought that although martial arts themselves may be able to stand alone and on their own and for their own sake (obviously, because the Ultimate Fighting Championships, Pryde Fighting, Boxing, and other sport martial arts do exist without question,) Warriorship, (which may or may not contain the skills of martial arts) may not just be able to exist on its own without the vital element of the Life/Living Value Theories -

DR. ROBERT L. HUMPHREY'S
www.LifeValues.com

researched by Dr. Robert L. Humphrey. Warriorship may not merely be fighting, it may also not merely be about being tougher, stronger, faster but may be instead about protecting and defending life...maybe all life...maybe even the enemy’s. I feel Warriorship may represent one of the four Natural Duty roles that exemplify the greatness of human existence.

I feel this saying may sum up a lot about the importance of life experience and how our perspectives change, grow and evolve along with all of those uncomfortable times if we are strong enough to endure those hardships. On such a foundation may have been the birth of the Bujinkan a millennium ago. Tom Brown is also fond of saying that Ninjutsu (the Bujinkan) is the closest he’s seen to the Scout lifestyle. Both having been born from enduring the greatest of all hardships, the losses of the lives of loved ones. Are there any greater lessons in the human condition?

In conclusion, at Jack Hoban’s

CAPT. JACK HOBAN'S
www.LivingValues.com
www.Winjutsu.com
www.JackHoban.com

Year In Review Seminar in November of 2002, Jack had quickly mentioned a fascinating metaphor for Warriorship that I would like to paraphrase and share with you.

What is the source of the characteristics that are facts of our human existence? Like Motherhood? Where does that essential human characteristic that nurtures children come from? Who knows? But it seems to be a fundamental of the human condition. And, if we should find a mother that doesn’t have that characteristic, it seems twice as bad. To kill a child is horrible, but what if it’s a mother that kills a child? Something about that is much worse; our feeling about it is much worse because the human race relies on certain human characteristics for its existence. Motherhood is one of them.

I believe that WARRIORSHIP is another. Warriorship: the art of protecting and defending life. Where does it come from? Who knows? But it’s required. There are always these times in human events when Warriors are needed. For example I always say there’s 10 different kinds of people. When there is trouble, gunfire or whatever, one person runs away, eight people stand around in shock, and one knucklehead runs straight for it. Can’t help himself! Is this a good thing?! Not for him! But, God bless him. Thank God there is one. But why does he do it? Because he has to, that’s why.

Some people just have that Warrior characteristic. And let me tell you, it’s not that great of a thing. As we all train here, on our weekend off, “normal people” right now are home watching football. Why are we here? From New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina? Why? What’s wrong with us?

When you talk to people who want to do martial arts, they usually say its because it’s going to make them tough or strong or they want to get over some kind of weakness or they want to be powerful or something like that.…

That is not the purpose of the martial arts. The purpose of the martial arts, in my opinion, is to gain the skills necessary to complement your warrior characteristics.

I say, if you’re unlucky enough to be the person, that when gunfire erupts and you can’t help yourself, but you run toward it, then you might as well learn some martial arts (Laughter), you know, just for your own good!

My goals with this workshop are to challenge and inspire and have fun.

If it sounds like Warriorship is a calling that you may feel too then I am more than happy to share what I know with you. Hope to see you there. As Hatsumi Sensei would say, "Keep Going!"

MAY EVERYONE AROUND YOU FEEL AND BE SAFER
BECAUSE YOU ARE THERE.

Joe Lau