This is Me, Matt Keiser, A Long Time Bujinkan Student Who Has Discovered Many Interesting Things About Martial Arts (Ninjutsu) And How It Applies to Life and Business.

Hello Steemiams,

My name is Matt Keiser and I’m a businessman, father and a long time practitioner of ninjutsu also known as Bujinkan (Budo Taijutsu, Ninpo or simply taijutsu). I would like the opportunity to share some of my insights on the connection of Martial Arts to business and to living an enjoyable life.

On the course of my path I’ve discovered many new things about myself, one of the more notable coming from the arts, or sort of artisan feeling, and that's woodworking. I will share some of my thoughts and creations in future posts, so please feel free to join me for some exciting ideas.

I started my overseas adventures when I was 23 years old and in the military in 1996. It was my first overseas assignment, Incirlik, Turkey. This is where I was first able to study Bujinkan Ninjutsu in a formal dojo-like setting. My first teacher was a Japanese American (Hawaiian) named Gordon Hada.

In 1998 I finally returned back home to the Seattle area eager to continue my Bujinkan studies. However, there weren't many options for people to study with. I eventually found an Army Ranger (Harvey Sensei) on Ft. Lewis that was able to teach me. We began training in his front yard when we had the chance, and at the Ft. Lewis gym when it was available. Later, after Harvey Sensei was transferred I opened my own little training group. Actually, I started teaching what I knew to a man named Philip Gigler. We trained outside in parks for a while, but I needed more, so I decided to diversify and we both joined an Aikido school in Redmond, Wa. There we trained for roughly a year under a man named David Morris. Sensei Morris was teaching Nihon Goshin Aikido, a sort of offshoot of mainstream Aikikai Aikido. In the summer of 1999 I spoke with an ex Special Forces captain named Alex Mordine about coming to Japan and he agreed to take me to meet Soke Hatsumi.

My first trip to Japan - You can read about this in my next blog post!