Chán School of Nunchaku

26/04/2026

Yesterday, I was reminded of the importance of looking at training from different angles.

I work with a stroke survivor (thriver), an incredibly inspirational guy who has gone from strength to strength since his stroke seven years ago.

He was struggling to coordinate his arms and legs for a move that he could have done easily had it not been for the stroke. Many people take their strength, balance, and mobility for granted, but these things rely on a very complex infrastructure of nerves, muscles and grey matter. A brain injury can change everything in the blink of an eye.

My student understood the move in principle, but when he tried to execute it, his body would do something else.

An idea came to me.

The stroke had affected his dominant side, his left side. We were training with the jian, the double-edged sword, so the manoeuvre involved the right side of his body.

What if I get him to try this with his left side, I wondered. It is weaker and now incapable of fine motor control, but for the large sweeping movements of swordplay, perhaps his muscle memory from before his stroke will come to the fore.

The plan worked. He was able to do the move with his left side, even though that took the most damage from the stroke.

Every time he executed the move with his left side, he increased the likelihood of his right side being able to do the same. And that is exactly what happened. He was able to do it with his right side.

Forget whether it's been done before.

Forget what others say is or isn't possible.

Someone has to go further.

Someone has to explore new avenues.

Someone has to be innovative.

Why should it be someone else?

If you want to excel as a martial artist (or in any other avenue in life), consider what kind of training will take you further.

06/02/2026

An essential part of the martial path is learning to operate from a place beyond ego.

The fundamental error many make when handling nunchaku (or any object or person) is thinking they can control anything but themselves.

Nunchaku will do what they do, regardless of what you want them to do. It is you who must change.

When being flexible isn’t enough

04/02/2026

This morning, I got to spend time with my sensei, studying this kata in the great outdoors.

My sensei was a private student of Master Tatsuo Suzuki for 25 years, and he has stayed true to the teaching he received.

I enjoy the attention to detail, and while I am not opposed to the evolution of kata, I value the historical significance of focusing on a single moment in time. When I train with my teacher, I feel as though I am with Suzuki and connected to his lineage.

So, I expect no more from my students than I give to my teachers. This morning, I trained outdoors, on gravel, and the temperature was 2.5 degrees. It was glorious.

My students train with me in the local park.

Chinto is a demanding kata. I enjoyed this morning's session immensely.

11/01/2026

It was great to enjoy a cup of green tea with my old friend and student, Phil Stevens, yesterday.

Sadly, however, he is a very bad man, and he bought a packet of chocolate chip cookies and some other biscuits especially for my arrival. Since it was the first time we had seen each other this year, I accepted his generosity and ate half the packet!

Thanks for the treats, Phil.

I was especially pleased to hear how some of the training we have done had come in useful with the other arts that Phil studies - proof that many of the skills we develop in one art will bring about improvement in other areas of training.

03/01/2026

In most cases, what works martially with one weapon - or empty-handed - should work with any other weapon.

I won't go so far as to say it is an acid test, as there are exceptions.

Many of the combative combinations I train for nunchaku work with tonfa, sword, short sticks, and, in some cases, classical boxing.

When practising or discovering a combination, ask yourself how that movement would work for another weapon or empty-handed. Likewise, look at the other weapons that you know and see which movements translate into nunchaku combinations.

02/01/2026

Life as Training - Training as Life

As I got on with my routine this morning - preparing the coffee percolator, feeding the cat, putting bread in the toaster, taking hummus out of the fridge (my new go-to spread), and booting up my laptop - something dawned on me.

I didn't feel particularly great when I woke up or enthusiastic about getting out of my warm bed. If I could have downed a triple espresso before attempting the mission, I would have done. But the routine is there for a reason. I get to sup the coffee once everything else is done.

So, I just got on with it, robot style. Those chores don't give a damn about me, my mood, or my wider mission. And I have to do them regardless of my feelings.

Focusing on the task instead of my feelings about life, the universe, and everything was not only cleansing. It also put me in a kind of one-foot-in-front-of-the-other flow state.

By focusing on performing the task as quickly, effectively and efficiently as possible, it became a meditation. It was almost like practising kata.

It's not the first time I have slipped into this zone state to get through mundane tasks, but I don't usually reflect on the significance of that approach.

Life is a series of decisions and activities, many of which are routine, challenging, or even unpleasant. The more you try to escape this, the harder it gets to face. It's like toothache. The more you try to ignore it, the louder it gets.

Peace can be found by surrendering to the inevitable. The problem isn't the task. It isn't even how you feel about it or your mood in general. The problem is how you respond to those feelings and that mood.

Feelings, moods, and thoughts are a fact of life just as much as those mundane chores are. So carry on regardless. Focus on the task at hand. That is mindful living.

29/12/2025

Ed practising the Yang Cheng Fu Tai Chi form.

I stopped him momentarily for this shot. Here, he is demonstrating 'single whip'.

It was around three degrees in the park that day. Very chilly.

28/12/2025

My student had just learnt this combo, so there are minor errors.
However, he demonstrates that we can move more fluidly, with more power, when we work in harmony with the forces presented by the nunchaku.
Light, foam nunchaku are forgiving when you try to go against the flow of the weapon. We are only using foam because we are in a public place, and I didn't want to get in trouble with the police.
Ed is only going slowly here, but this method works well at full speed with heavy, solid wooden nunchaku.

24/12/2025

Festive greetings to everyone.

Happy holidays.

17/12/2025

My student Ed, working on the Sansetsukon Dai Ichi form for the three-sectioned staff.

I presented him with his own rattan set today. Until now, he has been learning the form with a solid oak set. If you know the form, you will know that one of the moves involves bouncing one of the sections off the upper back, not pleasant at all with a solid oak set!

He was flying with the rattan, although when I started using mine at the same time, we had a few close scrapes.

Is learning weapons on your radar for 2026? If you can get to Normanton, West Yorkshire, I can train you privately. Virtual training is also available.