TRX Suspension Trainer and Rip Trainer Discount!
Because Define Defense is an affiliate of TRX, we received a temporary discount code for their Suspension Trainers and Rip Trainers.
This promotion code is valid until 10/28/12 and you can use by clicking on the banner below, select what you would like and use the code TRXAFFIL15 when you check out.
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Why you don't want your kid to grow up top be a ninja...
When growing up, few things fascinated me more than ninjas. Their skills, mysteries, weapons and 'awesomeness' were amazing to me. Many kids, especially boys, admire them through comic books, media, movies and other sources. However, the facts are that ninjas were spies and mercenaries. Period! Ninjas are horrible role models and once you realize what kind of people they were, you don't want your child to have anything to do with them. That is why nobody in their right mind should be promoting ninjas and definitely not teaching (or claiming to) how to be a 'ninja'. That is, if a person knows what the real ninjas were like. We realize ninjas are a huge attraction but every serious martial artist should know better.
Some urban myths claim that the ninja descended from a half human, half demon. The more rational background is that ninjas came from samurai that betrayed their masters and worked for whoever paid them most. Ninjas practiced ninjutsu, which came from Ju Jutsu (the art of the Samurai), combined with other Chinese arts.
Ninjutsu was a kind of guerrilla warfare back then and did not put loyalty and honor central, as samurai did. Ninjas used seduction, poison, sneak attacks from behind etc. while samurai went head to head with their opponents in a more fair situation.
Ninjas came from different backgrounds, some may have been farmers, nobels or disgraced samurai. Daisuke Togakure for example, who fled instead of committing seppuku (ritual suicide).
This does not mean sneaky attacks from behind don't work or you should commit seppuku when you're asked to. But it does show you what kind of people ninjas were in a society in which honor, respect and loyalty were utterly important.
If you put it in a modern situation, you could say samurai were the honest working people and a ninja would be Bernie Maddoff...
However, all of this does not mean you cannot enjoy the use of ninjas in our culture nowadays. Take a look at the movie 'Ninja Assassin', a nice action movie, in which they actually portray the actual nature of the ninja. A good movie for the fan nonetheless!
Just be more cautious when using the term 'ninja' and please... Don't let your child grow up to be a ninja. There are much better and more practical martial arts out there.
By Sander Vanacker, Define Defense’s certified personal trainer and head martial arts instructor, based in Boulder, Colorado. Take a look at www.DefineDefense.com, www.TrainerVanacker.com or check out our videos on YouTube.com/DefineDefense !
Some urban myths claim that the ninja descended from a half human, half demon. The more rational background is that ninjas came from samurai that betrayed their masters and worked for whoever paid them most. Ninjas practiced ninjutsu, which came from Ju Jutsu (the art of the Samurai), combined with other Chinese arts.
Ninjutsu was a kind of guerrilla warfare back then and did not put loyalty and honor central, as samurai did. Ninjas used seduction, poison, sneak attacks from behind etc. while samurai went head to head with their opponents in a more fair situation.
Ninjas came from different backgrounds, some may have been farmers, nobels or disgraced samurai. Daisuke Togakure for example, who fled instead of committing seppuku (ritual suicide).
This does not mean sneaky attacks from behind don't work or you should commit seppuku when you're asked to. But it does show you what kind of people ninjas were in a society in which honor, respect and loyalty were utterly important.
If you put it in a modern situation, you could say samurai were the honest working people and a ninja would be Bernie Maddoff...
However, all of this does not mean you cannot enjoy the use of ninjas in our culture nowadays. Take a look at the movie 'Ninja Assassin', a nice action movie, in which they actually portray the actual nature of the ninja. A good movie for the fan nonetheless!
Just be more cautious when using the term 'ninja' and please... Don't let your child grow up to be a ninja. There are much better and more practical martial arts out there.
By Sander Vanacker, Define Defense’s certified personal trainer and head martial arts instructor, based in Boulder, Colorado. Take a look at www.DefineDefense.com, www.TrainerVanacker.com or check out our videos on YouTube.com/DefineDefense !
Martial Arts & Fighting
19/09/11 16:32 Filed in: Other | Martial Arts | MMA | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu | Self Defense | Strength & Conditioning
Often, martial arts is stigmatized with negative actions or behaviors. This is caused by media, the film industry, certain professional or amateur fighters etc. However, in this blog article, I would like to prove that this should not be generalized and it does not have to be this way.
Originally, martial arts was developed to increase the chance of survival. Later on, it started to be used as a sport, in competition, as an art form and more. Mostly, the code of honor and respect was central and utterly important for the practitioners. Of course, there are always bad apples and all human advancements are always used for good and bad causes (think about samurais who valued honor vs. ninjas who were spies and mercenaries).
Some of these traditional martial arts styles are still widely practiced but unfortunately are also very outdated. This will be a ongoing discussion but someone practicing Tai Chi, Karate, traditional Judo etc. will learn many techniques that are simply not functional in a real life situation. This does not mean however, they are less worthy as an art form or for personal development. For self defense, these and many more styles are very overrated and sometimes even useless.
On the other side, martial arts has also evolved over the last decades. Think about Mixed Martial Arts. This is the ultimate competition martial arts form and has proven itself over and over again. For self defense reasons, it may also not be 100% effective though (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will not work with multiple attackers, an MMA fighter will not know how to defend against a knife or gun attack…)
The issue with this progress is that the self defense aspect is often overlooked and the honor and respect are mostly forgotten. The ratings have gotten so important that most fighters talk badly about each other and have very little respect left. There are exceptions, think about Georges St. Pierre, who has very strong values and is also one of the best martial artists and fighters in the world.
Martial arts and fighting overlap each other, no doubt about it. For me, it is your personal attitude that shows which one you are. You do not have to be mean or disrespectful to be a good martial artist AND fighter. Talking badly and insulting others only shows a bad attitude (and fear?) Honor and respect are extremely important in our facility. We respect our friends, instructors and teammates. We push each other and ourselves and test each other during training to become the best we can be. But there are no egos, disrespect, insults or anything else.
Our clients have different goals. Some want to become a martial artist to defend themselves, other want to get in shape and others want to compete. But we only train martial artists… that are really proficient in what they do, whether it is being prepared for protecting themselves/other or testing themselves in competition. Many martial artists can become fighters but not every fighter can become a martial artist. You will gain a huge amount of knowledge and skills to reach your goal and at the same time, you will gain friends and have fun.
Define Defense focusses on being the best studio in Boulder and offers a modern approach to martial arts, which consist of the most effective and realistic ways in martial arts. But we have also not forgotten about honor and respect. These are values that should never be forgotten. We don't practice traditional martial arts by any means but these values are timeless. We train individuals to better themselves and learn martial arts so they can feel safer, better about themselves or compete. We respect everyone's goals and do everything we can for you to meet those.
Originally, martial arts was developed to increase the chance of survival. Later on, it started to be used as a sport, in competition, as an art form and more. Mostly, the code of honor and respect was central and utterly important for the practitioners. Of course, there are always bad apples and all human advancements are always used for good and bad causes (think about samurais who valued honor vs. ninjas who were spies and mercenaries).
Some of these traditional martial arts styles are still widely practiced but unfortunately are also very outdated. This will be a ongoing discussion but someone practicing Tai Chi, Karate, traditional Judo etc. will learn many techniques that are simply not functional in a real life situation. This does not mean however, they are less worthy as an art form or for personal development. For self defense, these and many more styles are very overrated and sometimes even useless.
On the other side, martial arts has also evolved over the last decades. Think about Mixed Martial Arts. This is the ultimate competition martial arts form and has proven itself over and over again. For self defense reasons, it may also not be 100% effective though (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will not work with multiple attackers, an MMA fighter will not know how to defend against a knife or gun attack…)
The issue with this progress is that the self defense aspect is often overlooked and the honor and respect are mostly forgotten. The ratings have gotten so important that most fighters talk badly about each other and have very little respect left. There are exceptions, think about Georges St. Pierre, who has very strong values and is also one of the best martial artists and fighters in the world.
Martial arts and fighting overlap each other, no doubt about it. For me, it is your personal attitude that shows which one you are. You do not have to be mean or disrespectful to be a good martial artist AND fighter. Talking badly and insulting others only shows a bad attitude (and fear?) Honor and respect are extremely important in our facility. We respect our friends, instructors and teammates. We push each other and ourselves and test each other during training to become the best we can be. But there are no egos, disrespect, insults or anything else.
Our clients have different goals. Some want to become a martial artist to defend themselves, other want to get in shape and others want to compete. But we only train martial artists… that are really proficient in what they do, whether it is being prepared for protecting themselves/other or testing themselves in competition. Many martial artists can become fighters but not every fighter can become a martial artist. You will gain a huge amount of knowledge and skills to reach your goal and at the same time, you will gain friends and have fun.
Define Defense focusses on being the best studio in Boulder and offers a modern approach to martial arts, which consist of the most effective and realistic ways in martial arts. But we have also not forgotten about honor and respect. These are values that should never be forgotten. We don't practice traditional martial arts by any means but these values are timeless. We train individuals to better themselves and learn martial arts so they can feel safer, better about themselves or compete. We respect everyone's goals and do everything we can for you to meet those.
New Year Resolution Deals!
22/12/12 14:29
If you want to work on your New Year Resolutions, you can take advantage of the following deals during January:
All memberships: 50% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH
All punch cards: 20% additional free classes for the same price!
Before 1/1/13, you can still take advantage of the following deals:
Mixed Martial Arts:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free T shirt or tank top
Self Defense:
Four self defense classes, a Mace 10% Pepper Gel and a Define Defense T shirt or tank top for only $99
TRX / Cross Training:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free T shirt or tank top
Kettle Bell Program:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free T shirt or tank top
Personal Training:
First session is free!
Youth Martial Arts:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free Gi
Discount on TRX gear
TRXTraining Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals!
Black Friday Deal - 20% Off All Trainers (Rip, HOME, PRO & Force) + Free Shipping
Use Code: TRXFRI
(valid 11/23/12 only)
Cyber Monday Deal - 20% Off All Trainers (Rip, HOME, PRO & Force) + Free Shipping
(valid 11/26/12 only)