Musha Shugyo: A Warrior's Journey: Recent Episodes
Dean Suter
My fascination in the mindset of warriors both past and present has led me here, to creating this podcast. It is my hope that I will be able to explore many facets of martial culture through book reviews, my own musings and interviews of people I can learn from, with the ultimate purpose of sharing this all with you.
Every country has their tomb to the unknown warrior, those overlooked soldiers could well be female. What role did women play in combat prior to the twentieth century? Sarah Percy's book, Forgotten Warriors: A history of women on the front line, looks to answer this question.
Forgotten Warriors
Arguably, one of Akira Kurosawa's most influential films, Seven Samurai is an epic adventure classic with a interesting story, memorable characters, and stunning action sequences that has been remade in various forms ever since. But what does Kurosawa say about the mentality of his warrior protagonists? I invite Matthew Krueger, host of the Walking with the Tengu podcast, to discuss this with me.
Walking with the Tengu
Lou Fisk is someone who has an eclectic mix of movement practice and knowledge. She is a martial artist, stunt performer and horse archer. Currently, she is teaching traditional archery in Canada. Discover what she has to say on women warriors and warrior mindset.
You can learn about traditional archery here.
Contact Lou Fisk on her Instagram.
What goes through a warrior's head in the moment of killing? That is what this episode is going to explore.
The human mind hasn't really changed all that much for thousands of years, so could a Roman legionary suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?
The Reddit thread referenced in this episode can be found here.
How does discipline help with a warrior mindset? What is it and how does it interact with other facets of warrior psychology?
With 39 years of regular, reserve and Guard military service and over 20 years of federal law enforcement and national intelligence service, Todd K. Hulsey is someone who knows a thing or two about warriorship. In this episode I review his book, On Warriorship: A Guide for your Warrior Path.
You can find Todd Hulsey aka The Colonel here.
The final episode in my short series on the tenets of a warrior mindset. What is honour and why is it important to a warrior?
What can Japanese martial traditions teach us about preparing the warrior's mind for entering and surviving combat mentally intact?
The Japanese term for etiquette is "reigi". It is found in most Japanese martial art dojo but are manners important to the warrior mindset?
Continuing with my short series on aspects of a warrior mindset. What does it mean to be selfless?
Joe Saunders is a leading expert in workplace violence and verbal de-escalation, as well as a lifelong martial artist. He has hosted the Managing Violence Podcast for close to five years and joins me to talk about managing risk, situational awareness and the role of martial arts in today's world.
You can learn more about Joe Saunders here:
Youtube channel
Instagram
What is the point of training in an archaic fighting system that comes from Japan? Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of such a practice.
What is violence? Who is more likely to experience violence in their life time and what can we do about it?
What values did Native American warrior cultures hold dear and what lessons can we learn for today's warrior mindset.
Before Europeans colonised New Zealand, the people, known as Māori, thrived here with their own warrior culture. So what was this society like?
What happens to people who must often face death? What if these deaths are sometimes due to their own actions? Let's take a dive into dealing with death.
What is courage? I return to one of the five tenets of a warrior's mindset. Can you train courage - let's find out.
Corporal Apiata, VC, was the first ever recipient of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand. The highest decoration for valour in the Commonwealth. His story is told in the book "Willie Apiata - VC - The Reluctant Hero.
Meet The Colonel, Todd K. Hulsey, a retired military man and FBI agent of 21 years. What are his thoughts on warrior mindset and martial arts?
Find out more at the Dirt Wasp Podcast.
Al and J are making a documentary. They are exploring the obscure subculture of American craftsmen who create Japanese-style swords.
You can find out more at The Sun's Shadow.
What do martial artists and combat veterans have in common? Take a dive into a fascinating article written by retired U.S. Marine, Lieutenant Colonel George H. Bristol.
This is the story of Nancy Wake, nicknamed 'the white mouse' for her ability to evade capture. As the Gestapo's most wanted person, and one of the most highly decorated servicewomen of World War 2, she epitomises what it is to be a warrior.
A conversation on the meaning of warriors and warriorship. This episode is part of a series of podcast talks by different hosts and their thoughts on the matter. Matthew Krueger, host of Walking with the Tengu joins me in this discussion.
Find Matthew's podcast here.
Troy Knight is a retired Australian Air Force special forces operator. His role as a Combat Controller meant that he was responsible for calling in air support for groups on the ground such as the Australian Commandos and the SASR. Join me was we discuss war stories, mental health and warrior mindset.
Find Troy at https://www.instagram.com/troy_knight06/
or https://www.instagram.com/havoczerosix/
Continuing with my short series on aspects of a warrior mindset. What is determination and how can we train ourselves to never give up?
Neville Johnson and I continue our book review of The Warrior Ethos, written by Steven Pressfield.
You can find Neville at https://www.instagram.com/nevillejohnson01/
Neville Johnson, war veteran and poet helps me review the book, The Warrior Ethos by Steven Pressfield.
I return to one of the five aspects of a warrior's mindset. Composure. What does it take to remain calm under pressure?
What does a Japanese ritual of purification have in common with army recruits going through Boot Camp? Group cohesion, apparently.
David Lynch started the first Aikido Dojo in New Zealand in 1965. He was in Japan in 1962-64 and 1973-88, while there he trained under great names in the Aikido world such as Gozo Shioda and Koichi Tohei. David has an interesting view on Aikido practice and mindset.
Matthew Krueger, the host of Walking with the Tengu podcast returns to the show to discuss an old Chinese proverb.
For more on Matthew's musings go to his webpage:
https://walkingtengu.wixsite.com/tengu
Douglas Tong sensei is invited back to the podcast to have a Q & A session about his earlier talk in episodes 9 and 10 concerning the Heiho Kadensho and Yagyu Shinkage Ryu.
To learn more about Tong Sensei, check out the Tokumeikan website.
We continue our talk with Japanese sword instructor, Douglas Tong Sensei, as he explains the relationship between ethics and the new mindset needed at the dawn of the Edo Period.
You can learn more about Tong Sensei at http://www.tokumeikan.org/
In this episode, we explore the Heiho Kadensho, ("Book of the Family Transmission of Swordsmanship") with Douglas Tong Sensei. With his more than 30 years of study and apprenticeship in Japan under legendary sword masters, Tong Sensei helps us to understand how this ancient text from 1632 A.D. applies today as much as it did 400 years ago.
Find out more about Tong Sensei at http://www.tokumeikan.org/
Morihei Ueshiba founded the Japanese martial art of Aikido. What was his purpose in creating this art? Are modern practitioners of Aikido following the founder's ideals now?
I look at how the mindset of practitioners can change from past to present through an Aikido lens.
Matthew Krueger is the host of a podcast called Walking with the Tengu. His podcast explores classic writings for the modern martial artist. Matthew joins me to discuss what happens to individuals of a warrior culture when there are no wars to fight. For more on Matthew's musings go to his webpage:https://walkingtengu.wixsite.com/tengu
Join me as I spend time talking to Nelville Johnson; a British Army veteran, a dad and a published poet.
Find him at https://www.instagram.com/nevillejohnson01/
At what level are martial artists really training in violence? I take a brief look at Rory Miller's book, "Meditations on Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence."
This episode introduces my first guest of the show, Daimin Sammons. Daimin works for St. John as a paramedic. We discuss what it takes to be a paramedic in New Zealand and how Daimin deals with the pressures of a high stakes job. What he calls going into "Job Mode."
In this episode I look at five factors which I believe contribute to a warrior mindset.
In this episode I define the concept of a warrior further and investigate what you can do to be that person in moments of crisis.
An introduction to what this podcast is all about. What does musha shugyo mean? How do we define a warrior in this day and age? In this episode I quote passages from a book called Dueling with O-sensei: Grappling with the Myth of the Warrior Sage. Written by Ellis Amdur.