Concepts for the Mind

While throwing shuriken may seem like it is solely a physical skill, a great portion of success actually comes from the mental thought process. “Eventually, your blades will naturally go where you want them to go and stick. During training, however, you need to put your awareness into the shuriken itself. Focus on the orientation of the blade throughout the through and even as it flies through the air. It takes a considerable degree of concentration to teach the body how to throw a shuriken with precisely controlled rotation” (Fletcher 115). Shuriken throwing isn’t about the strength behind the throw, in fact, a throw with clumsy aim and too much force behind it may result in ricochet and the injury of the thrower or a bystander. I realized this quickly after noticing that my gentler throws had a better chance of hitting the middle of the target while my stronger throws tended to be unpredictable and ended up hitting the tarp or fence behind the target.

To me, shuriken throwing is just a hobby. I would never intentionally hurt someone under normal circumstances. The headmaster of the Meifu Shinkage Ryu, Yasuyuki Otsuka, often gave his students wise sayings to live by. One of these sayings that he tell his students is that the art of Shuriken throwing shouldn’t just be about hitting targets, because the ones who only desire more and more targets to hit, will be the ones who desire enemies (Fletcher 7). I agree with the headmaster’s wise words. Just because something is dangerous, doesn't mean that you should use it offensively. For example, many forms of martial arts can be considered deadly, but many people use it for recreation of self-defense. I see Shuriken throwing as just a hobby I do for fun if I have the spare time. It is not something I practice seriously, and definitely not something I would use to harm others. Shuriken throwing is now so much more to me than hitting a target to look cool. It has actually taught me many important life skills such as patience, determination, and that mental concentration can often be more beneficial than brute strength.

When was a time when you realized that an enjoyable hobby actually benefited you more than you originally thought? 

Citation:
Fletcher, Daniel. Japanese Throwing Weapons: Mastering Techniques for Throwing the Shuriken. Tokyo: Tuttle, 2011. Print.
  

Another practice video

The three amigos