I went to lunch with a friend of mine the other day and he snapped this picture of me at the soda fountain because he thought it was funny. I told him, “I got news for you buddy, I been drinking from that fountain since I was knee high to a grasshopper.”
What can I say? My superpower is passion. My kryptonite is patience (but I’m working on it).
This T.I. was created using the whacky dice that I sell here: https://www.mitch.store/
Anyway, true to form, I’m here to very stubbornly tell you — preach, yell, holler, and fuss! — that you need to make sure that your fitness work dovetails with your martial work as closely as possible.
STUBBORN: Martial Arts Training Involution #198
- Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. I generally do 8 minutes of MBF or either 2-3 minutes each of (a) something aerobic, like jogging of jumping rope (b) some light calisthenics like Half Squats, Push-ups on knees, Touching toes, Arm Swings etc. and (c) shadowboxing or light heavy bag work.
- 20 minute pyramid of 6 martial fitness exercises. Jump, Sprawl ‘n’ Punch, Smearing Push-ups, Shoulder Carry, Switches, and Step-ups. This will really build the kind of strength you need for grappling and self-defense. Get yourself a heavy bag you can manage (I used a #45) and set a timer for 10 minutes. Start with 1 rep of each exercise, then 2, 3, 4 etc. Climb until the timer beeps. Finish the set you’re on and then descend. If you don’t slack off, you should finish up just before the timer beeps. See video below for details. A full pyramid up to 6 is a nice target number for this drill.
- 10+ minutes of sacred reading. Pick a book that’s good for your spiritual development and spend some time reading. Doesn’t have to be overtly religious, like the Holy Bible or the Tao Te Ching — it can be something that promotes mindfulness, wisdom, or philosophy. Read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Occidental Mythology, Modern Man in Search of a Soul or whatever you like. Meditation, contemplation, prayer and spiritual reading are the four cornerstones of the spiritual life and none should be neglected.
If you enjoyed his training involution you’d probably enjoy my books and other products. Why not check them out?
Robert Mitchell Jr. 