Author Archives: donnaauckland

There is a takeaway van that has started operating from the Redhills Road carpark, the door on this side will remain closed until further notice as the smell is quite strong, The Don Buck Road side will be open.

I’ve probably mentioned this before but self awareness and situational awareness should be something that is a constant in our lives. I’m not talking about that heightened state where you expect something bad to happen, but that lower level where you are aware of what’s happening around you, and hopefully, you are less likely toContinue reading “25th January 2023, Sitting on the dock of the bay…”

While we are closed for the break ( my work is also closed for 3 weeks) I’ve been using the time to practise writing myself an exercise program. Now this may seem odd, but i dislike gyms. Yes i know considering I’m doing a PT diploma that makes for a weird statement. But there isContinue reading “2nd January 2023, Trying not to be super lazy”

Carrying on with the previous weeks Te Hodoki and Tai Hodoki, we played around with these again,seeing what worked and some escapes were definitely better than others. Then it was off to mess about with Keri Kudaki, Ken Kudaki and Henka Kudaki. By seeing what the body and memory gravitated to, we ended up randomlyContinue reading “6th December 2022, when random things click (not just the knee joints)”

During a conversation at the dojo tonight the statement “I’d rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6” came up. Now, I have issues with this statement. Apart from the fact that it’s only got 2 outcomes, court case or dead, this thought process can get people into a big pile of legal quicksandContinue reading “15th November. The 12/6 rule”

A fun night! Just 2 of us but managed to make 90 minutes disappear in half that time with wrist locks (omote, ura and taki ori), arm locks (muso and musha), rear chokes, bear hugs and knife strikes. I’ll freely admit that i died multiple times with the knife. I am a big believer inContinue reading “8th November 2022, stabby stabby, ouchie ouchie!”

(This is an article I wrote as part of an assignment, I thought maybe you would find it interesting, enjoy!) I know people have asked this before; I first saw it in Ninja magazine around 1989 when Batman appeared in the movie theatres. This was roughly the same time I joined the Bujinkan and startedContinue reading “Is Batman a Ninja?”

https://youtu.be/NvCxDeNg9n8 As part of my Sports and Recreation diploma, I’m doing a digital skills course. A lot of the guys I’m studying with will become personal trainers, so need to build the skills needed to create their own branding. So, here is my contribution 🙂

Working on two of the lapel grabs, Omote Gyaku and Ura Gyaku, tonight. When you first start learning anything, it’s static, slow and semi-uncoordinated while you figure out the mechanics, which is why you learn from an actual grab, not an attempted grab. After a while, you get smoother and then you can take itContinue reading “18th October 2022, Omote and Ura Gyaku”

To keep my own skill levels sharp, I’ve started heading up to Whangarei weekly on a Thursday. (Not the next 2 weeks, though). There is nothing better than spending time with guys that outrank you to make you lift your game, but it’s hard on the ego when you see that you’ve got a longContinue reading “16th August 2022, traveling time.”