Hatmaker’s Readiness Test #1 — Part 1

Click here to see Mark’s entire post

Author, martial arts coach, sailor, adventurer and man-about-town Mark Hatmaker recently posted The Self-Resilient Readiness Test Part 1.  and it’s outstanding.

By the way, Mark is my coach.  Yes, I’m a “martial arts master” (whatever the hell that is).  Yes, I’ve studied under masters and grandmasters galore since starting martial arts in ’86.  But Hatmaker is my coach.  Mark’s the guy who, in 2003, helped me understand the meaning of the word fitness.  He’s the the guy who showed me the terrifying beauty of wrestling.  He’s the guy who pulls me toward excellence from in front by demonstrating, every day, what hard work looks like.  He sets the benchmarks.  He’s the guy.

Anyway, the “questions” on Mark’s test are designed to spur you toward assessing your readiness inside and out.  I love this test so much (despite the really clunky name — sorry Mark but what a mouthful!) that I’m going to start blogging, and maybe videoing, my “answers.”

His genius scoring method really kicks you off the couch.  You get zero points for not facing the challenge, 1/2 a point for failing and 1 full point for successful completion.   As Mark says,

“If you do not perform any tests or skip a test, even if you know in your heart of hearts you could do it—give yourself a big fat zero, because maybe, just maybe, that “prepared mind” assumes something that the body can’t really deliver.”

Ouch.  When I read that, well, I didn’t have any choice to but to press on.

So without further ado, here are my scores on two of the tests.  Because some of them require special locations and/or planning — like #1: Swim a half mile — I’m doing them in no particular order.

My unprepared breath hold was 1:03

#9: One minute unprepared breath hold.  I got 1 point for a hold of 1:03.  Surprisingly hard.  I actually practice breath holding on a regular basis (I’m good for 1:40 or so), but I never practice unprepared.  Going forward I will though.
#13: One minute shower on full cold.  I got 1 point.  Awhile back I spent about six months showering cold exclusively.  This was like falling off a log.
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Total Score so far: 2 points

Wanna play along?  Post your scores in the comments!

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