I recently read an article written by a Ninpo practitioner attempting to provide explanation as to why Taijutsu is inapplicable to Mixed Martial Arts competitions such as the UFC, Pride, and so forth. While there were many illogical points the author brought up trying to justify this, what the article really seemed to boil down to was that Ninjutsu practitioners can’t handle Mixed Martial Artists. That should never be the case for anyone properly training in Taijutsu, and a multi-page article filled with excuses is quite frankly rather embarrassing to the art. The real reason why many Ninpo practitioners are overwhelmed when up against a Mixed Martial Artist is really quite simple: most Ninpo practitioners don’t spar. In this article I intend to give an overview of Randori, or sparring, and explain why it is an absolute necessity for effective Taijutsu training. I also hope it will prompt you to examine your own training.

Randori Defined

First off, let’s be clear about what Randori actually is. Randori is the practice of facing off against another person in a controlled setting in which both participants are actively trying to strike or secure a technique on the other. There are no Tori (defenders) or Uke (attackers), as the participants are both offensive and defensive as appropriate. Randori is commonly confused with Tai Sabaki, or free response, in which there is a designated Tori and Uke. While Tai Sabaki is an important aspect of training as well, there are certain benefits that can only come from Randori. In my organization, Bansenshukai Ninjutsu, both Randori and Tai Sabaki are integral parts of training.

Common Objections

Probably the most common objection I hear for not doing Randori is “Our techniques are just too dangerous.” There are severe problems with this thought process. First of all, there is no technique used in Taijutsu that is not found in some other martial art. A stomp kick in Taijutsu is mechanically the same as a stomp kick in Taekwondo. While intents and uses may differ, most Taijutsu techniques are indeed used in sparring in other martial arts. Strangely, I can’t remember the last time I heard about a serious or life-threatening injury as a result of this sparring. Secondly, if you believe the techniques you regularly train on are really that dangerous, and you are training to defend yourself in a peaceful society, you are wasting your time at a dojo and might as well go buy a gun. I say this because the situations which require you to defend your life in a civilized modern society are very few. However, situations where someone may just simply want to hurt you, either by punching you out or roughing you up, are far more common. So how do you deal with such situations if all you have are lethal techniques at your disposal? You’ll be sued or go to jail if you use your training, which renders your art useless. My point here is that it’s clearly faulty logic to say that you train to defend yourself for modern society, yet you cannot spar due to the lethality of your techniques. The fact is that the majority of Taijutsu techniques are not necessarily as lethal as they’re hyped up to be; and anyone who says the techniques are too dangerous is merely giving an excuse, and not a real reason, for a lack of Randori training.

Another common objection I hear for a lack of Randori training is “I don’t go to a dojo to get injured.” That’s good, because I don’t think most normal people do, and safety is extremely important. However, it’s also important to realize that this is martial arts training, not golf. We are training to defend ourselves, be it from a drunk at the bar or a home invader, and training correctly for these things is definitely physical. Fortunately, here in the 21 st century, we are blessed to have the technology and equipment to minimize sparring injuries. Face cage headgear, gloves of varying weights, and padding for most every part of the body can be ordered online or found in sporting goods stores. Injury will always be a possibility in martial arts training, but no more so than any other contact sport such as football, rugby, or hockey. I’ve been sparring in martial arts for 18 years now, and I have never had any serious or life-altering injuries. If you should choose not to spar for fear of injury, make sure you realize that you are sacrificing the realism of a fight for safety.

Finally, the last objection I often hear is “Randori isn’t needed to be effective.” This is huge misstatement, to say the very least. Slow and smooth training can only take you so far. Who honestly believes that a successful cage fighter has only trained on that arm-bar slowly and smoothly a thousand times? If slow and smooth are all that he needed for success, why would he spend time doing Randori? The reason is simple; you fight how you train, and perform how you practice. This is a time-proven fact. Many teachers falsely claim to students that if they capture the “feeling” of doing a technique slowly and smoothly enough, that the speed and power will be there when the time comes to use it. Wrong. I think we all know that a batter who only practices his swing slowly and smoothly will never develop the timing or power to effectively hit the ball. He’ll have nice form, but that’s about it. Logic and experience tell us that to be effective, your training must mimic what you are training for as much as possible. Police train full-speed against a moving and shooting target. SWAT teams practice full-speed entries. The military plays war games at real-time speed. The examples and analogies are truly endless, but they all have one important thing in common: they all do Randori in principle. So ask yourself, how effective would the previous examples be without that Randori-type training? Still think there’s no need for it in Taijutsu?

Benefits of Randori

Randori has many benefits that are not easily achieved through any other means, and one of the most crucial benefits is timing development. Having a plethora of techniques is great, but without the reflexes to apply them they are virtually useless. You would actually fare much better to have fewer techniques with excellent timing. Boxers only have a few punches to work with, and they can efficiently knock someone out. Now imagine having all of your techniques honed as well as a boxer’s punch. This is best achieved through Randori. It will build up your timing and allow you to recognize those miniscule windows of opportunity to slip your techniques onto your opponent. If you are not used to the speed of a real conflict, those windows will open and close and you will never even notice. This is why Randori is essential for timing development.

Speaking of techniques, Randori will weed out any theoretical or “fantasy” techniques you might have in your repertoire. Lots of things work great in theory, but when actually attempted can end up failing miserably. This brings to mind the old black-and-white footage of those early aspiring aviators trying to achieve flight for the first time. Some of their inventions looked promising, but upon take-off (or lack thereof) they quickly found out the reality of their theories. The same goes for Taijutsu. It won’t take long for you learn that getting to someone’s back is easier said than done, and that your opponent is a little more resilient to certain strikes than you probably expected. Catching punches will also become history. If you don’t believe me, have someone who doesn’t train in Taijutsu put on gloves and really try to punch you. All you have to do is get Onikudaki (a shoulder lock). Don’t forget your mouthpiece.

Another benefit from a technique stand-point is learning to get a technique on a resisting opponent. It’s been said that if someone resists your technique that “there is no technique.” While there is some truth to that, there is another truth that must be taken into account: people always resist. If you are training for self-defense reasons, and haven’t trained on applying your techniques to a resisting opponent, your training will only be effective at a minimal level. People resist anything and everything the second they feel it, especially if they suspect you are trying to put a technique on them. Unless you catch your opponent in that rare perfect technique, plan on putting some force into it. Randori allows you to develop your offense and truly feel what it’s like to apply techniques to a resisting opponent, and you’ll realize just how rare perfect techniques actually are. There are no freebies in Randori, so if your techniques are weak, you’ll definitely know it. Remember, a self-defense situation must be ended as quickly as possible, and you need to be able to make that happen. If you are waiting around for a resistance-free technique opportunity, plan on being there a while.

Arguably the most important benefit of Randori is the way it teaches you to handle the stress of a physical conflict. Dealing with the physical, mental, and emotional stress of a self-defense situation is paramount to succeeding, and Randori is the closest way to simulate that. In all areas of training, law-enforcement and military instructors induce stressors in each and every exercise to desensitize their personnel as much as possible to these adrenalized environments. As Ninjutsu practitioners we should be doing the same. You need to be able to physically and psychologically handle the stress of not only eating a punch, but delivering a punch as well, and then simulate that to the best of your ability. Let’s call a spade a spade here and say it’s clear no one gets stressed out from performing a Kata. So if all you do are Kata, where then does your stress-management training come from? If you have never trained for someone charging you in a wild rage with fists flying at a hundred different angles, you may very well freeze up, as it’s completely foreign and rather shocking. If you’re not used to reacting quickly and enduring such attacks, you have a huge hole in your training. Don’t worry though, because you can vastly reduce that hole through Randori. It’s one of the best ways to induce that stressful feeling of the unknown, and get you used to facing potentially harmful, imminent attacks. Over time you will begin to condition yourself to handle this stress, and in the end you will handle physical conflict with greater confidence than ever before.

Conclusion

For the honest reader, I think the evidence stands that Randori is an integral and necessary part of training. Regardless of any limitations, the benefits cannot be ignored. When should one begin Randori? If you have a good foundation of basic, mechanically sound techniques, then it’s time to start doing some Randori. Keep in mind, however, that Randori is for refining techniques, not learning them, and balance in training is of the utmost importance. Developing solid technique, drilling the basics, fitness, and the other Ninjutsu skills are as equally important as Randori. Of course, there will always be those out there who disagree and say Randori is unnecessary, but for those misled individuals it ultimately all comes down one thing: fear. Fear that their techniques don’t work. Fear that they might not be as good as they thought. Fear of getting hit by a punch. Fear is certainly an excuse, but you must ask yourself which is more terrifying; finding out your limitations in the dojo, or finding out on the street? I would rather find out in the dojo. Don’t let fear prevent you from becoming a better practitioner. Isn’t fear what we are all training to overcome? Is this not Ninjutsu?