Theresa Murphy
I began training in the martial arts in 1984. I studied Shotokan, Taekwondo and Kenpo mostly as a great way to stay in shape that was far more appealing than running or lifting weights. In 1999 I started training in Ninjutsu and left the other arts and black belts behind to train full time in this art. It was the first art I had trained in that had an effective and doable answer for what to do when attacked if you are smaller or at a disadvantage. I was hooked the first time I tossed a big guy over my shoulder and it didn’t feel like I did anything!
In the first several years of training Dennis and I researched, tested and created LIVE. I am a teacher of LIVE and the art. I have taught at seminars, classes and private groups at martial arts schools, colleges, crisis centers and other events. I am thankful every time that I am able to teach LIVE and see women realize there are answers and other options to protecting themselves than what is currently provided. I am passionate about teaching women how to live safer and happier lives through LIVE or the art if they choose to train full time. I still continue my training with Dennis Mahoney, Mark Davis, and An-shu Rumiko Hayes while teaching at Shinobi Science and laughing joyfully every time I take Dennis to the floor ~ because tossing a big guy never gets old!
Dennis Mahoney
Late in 1981 while playing football at Boston University on a full athletic scholarship, I blew out my knee and had to have surgery to replace my ACL. After a year of rehab I wanted to get some of my flexibility back so I started martial arts in the summer of 1983. For the next five years I studied Kenpo and a little bit of Aikido while working as a bouncer and realizing that what I was learning didn’t always work in the bars of Boston.
In 1986 I became interested in ninjutsu through the books of Stephen K. Hayes and in 1988 found my teacher Mark Davis, who I still train with to this day. Through Mark’s generosity, I got to meet, train with and get beat up by many of the senior practitioners of ninjutsu in the world including Dr. Hatsumi, Stephen and Rumiko Hayes, Muramatsu-san, Moti Nativ, Oguri-san, Seno-san, Bud Malmstrom, Nagato-san, Jack Hoban, Shirashi-san, and many others. It has been an amazing journey which led me to receiving a Shidoshi teaching license from the Bujinkan while in Japan in 2003, being awarded the To-Shi warrior name of Fuutoshi, "Warrior of The Evil Repelling Blade," and becoming a member of An-shu Stephen K. Hayes' To-Shin Do Shihan Kai Master Instructors Board.
While these honors were wonderful to receive, it has been the never ending discoveries while training that has kept me going for more than three decades—finding them, trying to understand them and using science and humor to help others see them, too. There’s nothing better than watching one of our students in LIVE, Shinobi Science or Ninja Sports discover a hidden lesson inside a technique and come away with amazement and joy at having done so.
How LIVE Began: Evasion, escape and the skills of the Ninja
Ninjutsu, the traditional art of the Japanese Ninja, is all about evading, escaping and surviving violence, threats and volatile situations. And while LIVE isn't a martial art, these life-saving principles from the ninja form the basis for every lesson, exercise and technique. As the founders of LIVE, together we have nearly six decades of professional training in the ninja martial arts. We continue to practice and teach Ninjutsu at Shinobi Martial Arts, our dojo in Plaistow, New Hampshire. We are proud members of Mark Davis' New England Ninpo Society, Stephen K. Hayes' To-Shin Do Kasumi-An Organization, and the Bujinkan Dojo of Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi.
LIVE Ninja Safe
As the owners and instructors at Shinobi Martial Arts in Plaistow, New Hampshire, we specialize in taking the lessons of the ninja martial arts and combining them with modern science to help make them easily understandable and customizable to the unique needs of individuals and groups.
LIVE: Lessons In Violence Evasion was designed specifically for women; however, the concepts can be used by anyone who wishes to evade and escape a violent situation. LIVE is part of the growing collection of LIVE Ninja Safe programs designed to meet your specific needs.
Other LIVE Ninja Safe programs include:
- Shinobi Science: Our martial arts learning and teaching system that provides a scientific method for students to accelerate understanding and skill acquisition. This program is the source of all our customized programs.
- The Ninja Brain: Combining ninja awareness and focus techniques with modern science to explore how your mind creates your daily reality and how you can take charge of that process to live the life you want to live.
- Ninja Sports: Using the emerging field of biotensegrity and ninja body science to provide enhanced performance and safety for athletes of all ages.
Future LIVE Ninja Safe projects:
- Move Ninja Safe for those of any age who wish to prevent injury and improve balance and mobility.
- LIVE and Work Ninja Safe customized programs, which apply violence evasion concepts to specific needs of different occupations like EMS, Medical and Healthcare, Realtors, etc.
- Children LIVE Ninja Safe which adapts LIVE to a younger audience and includes injury prevention.
