Category Archives: Martial arts

Volition Magician: Martial Arts Training Involution #210

Posted on May 30, 2020 | Leave a comment
symbol

The Magician from my Hoi Polloi Tarot Deck — the one I’ve been working with since the 1970s

Today’s the fifth and final T.I. of the month centering around the Cabal Fang symbol the Chalice and the martial focus Striking.  May’s a long month which allows us five weeks to get into the weeds of this unique internal and external work combination. The Chalice symbol has many associations, but the one most central is inherence.  The Chalice is about what you let into yourself, what you choose to allow to indwell in you.  Although the most obvious symbol on the Magician card is the infinity symbol, the largest one is The Chalice. The Magician understands the concept of inherence like no other, and so should the martial artist.  Why?  Because 99% of magic is brute force.   My late friend Woody Landers — one of the greatest close-up magicians in the world — once shared with me a wondrous secret.

Most magic tricks are based on the fact that the magician can do things that you assume cannot be done. 

Woody Landers

Woody could cut a deck of cards to the precise number desired.  I never saw him miss.  He would a few cards off the top of the deck and hand them to me.  “There’s seventeen. Count ’em.”  And there were seventeen.  And let me tell you, if you called Woody at 10 PM on a weeknight or at 2 PM on weekend, you were going to hear cards shuffling at some point during that call, guaranteed.  And he could memorize lists of numbers, names, etc. like nobody’s business.  He practiced that constantly.  Do you see the implication?

Woody could fan out a stack of cards, quickly memorize them, and then cut to any card he pleased after they were flipped.

And that is the level of mastery you need to have as a martial artist if you’re going to able to work your brand of magic — overcoming opponents larger, stronger, and faster than you, avoiding unseen dangers, and so forth.

Hocus-pocus isn’t real.  Real magic happens when you allow something to fully become a part of you.

What are you putting into yourself in terms of nourishment — intellectual nourishment (what we read, watch, and concentrate upon), literal nourishment (things we eat and drink), physical nourishment (the things we do and participate in), and spiritual nourishment (things we believe in and worship, Holy Communion, the Eucharist, etc.). What are you focusing on?  What is your Holy Grail?  What are you allowing to colonize you? 

Volition Magician: Martial arts Training Involution #210

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • 15 minutes of punching half-pyramids for speed.  My old friend Woody understood the magic of repetition and so should you.  Get in front of your heavy bag and throw a half-pyramid of Left Jabs to  4 — that’s 1, then 2, then 3, and 4.  Do that five time — each set in the most rapid succession as possible without sacrificing form.  Switch stance and do it again with Right Jab.  That’s 100 Jabs total.  Now do Left Cross and Right Cross for a total of 100 Crosses.  Go back to the beginning and repeat until the timer beeps.
  • Contemplation.  Before you can fill yourself up with something great you must first dump yourself out and become empty.  Cool down for about 3 minutes, then set a timer for 10 minutes. Assume your posture of choice and regulate your breathing to insure a slow and consistent rhythm that completely fills and empties your lungs without bearing down on your breath. Eyes open. Gently allow your mind to empty and calm itself. Don’t make war with thoughts, just let them pass by, dissipating like ripples on the surface of a pond.
  • Record what you did and what you experienced in your training journal.  If you don’t measure performance, how do you know if you’re improving or not? Only that which is measured improves.
My new ebook “Martial Grit: Real Fighting Fitness (On a Budget)” releases July 1st.  Pre-order now at Barnes & Noble, iTunes or Smashwords.  Honed by 30 years teaching martial arts in inner city programs and in public parks for a non-profit, this is as real as it gets. 3 keys to proper mindset. Accelerate your training with the “S.A.F.E. M.P.” protocol. Dozens of drills and exercises using heavy bags, floor bags, dummies, slip balls, chains, weights, tires, sledges, pipes, mallets, etc. And DIY instructions for making your own gear for pennies.   A

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SHIFT Issue #3

Posted on May 29, 2020 | Leave a comment

Subscribers just received Issue #3 of my new SHIFT newsletter. IN THIS ISSUE…Video: The Internal Union of the Warrior-Poet, Eating Isn’t Just About Food, a recipe, and the always-useful Super-Stumper question! Click here to read and subscribe.

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Have Mercy: Martial Arts Training Involution #209

Posted on May 23, 2020 | Leave a comment
Today’s the fourth T.I. of the month centering around the Cabal Fang symbol the Chalice and the martial focus Striking.  May’s a long month which allows us five weeks to get into the weeds of this unique internal and external work combination. You know, I spend a ton of time making sure that everything I create — products, posts, newsletters, books — all harmonizes and co-inheres with what I’m working on at home and at the martial arts club.  
dice

A mix’n’match of FRT dice and Scufflin’ Dice

How do you make sure that everything you do — home, work, school, play, church,  etc. — harmonizes and co-inheres?  Journaling, in the form of an integrated diary and training log, is sufficient for most people, and will probably work for you too unless you’re a creator.  If you are a creator like me and you’d like little a peak behind the curtain — a look at how I create, organize and harmonize all of this material — dodge over to Patreon and for just $1/month you can get behind-the-scenes access. The martial portion of this week’s T.I. is a grappling-striking mix’n’match created using FRT Dice and Scufflin’ Dice.  I just grabbed a couple of each and gave them a toss to create a session that would force me to practice integrating my striking and grappling skills.

Have Mercy: Martial arts Training Involution #209

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • Mix’n’match pyramid of 5 exercises to 5 reps for power.  A pyramid to 5 reps is 1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1 (25 reps total of each exercise).  The five exercises are Bearhug Carry (1 orbit of your training area = 1 rep),  Shots (classic wrestling style), Shovels (sledgehammer, 1/side), Bodybuilders (10-count Navy Seal style) and Heavy Bag Combos (5 combos = 1 rep).  Power is a work/time/distance equation (lots of detail on this inMartial Grit, see below) so everything in this pyramid should be done with full force — max-power-squeezing of heaviest manageable sand or heavy bag based on size/fitness level, explosive sledge digs, max-power heavy bag striking etc.  Only have one heavy bag and using it for the carries?  Just put on the floor and practice your down strikes from Top Saddle.
  • Mercy meditation.  Cool down for 3 minutes, then set a timer for about 10 minutes and assume your meditative posture of choice.  Regulate your breathing to a slow and steady rhythm.  The Chalice symbol embodies the concept of reception.  It is about receiving, accepting, and allowing.  Keep your eyes open as you think about something you’ve been unable to forgive, allow or accept — something you know you should let go in yourself or in someone else.  See if you can envision a way to be merciful.  It’s very important not to think in words during meditations like this.  Think in images and feelings only.  Let them appear like gauzy dream superimpositions on your visual field.  If the word-monkey starts chattering just ignore him and he’ll quiet down soon enough.  When the timer beeps, record your thoughts and experiences in your training journal.
My new ebook “Martial Grit: Real Fighting Fitness (On a Budget)” releases July 1st.  Pre-order now at Barnes & Noble, iTunes or Smashwords.  Honed by 30 years teaching martial arts in inner city programs and in public parks for a non-profit, this is as real as it gets. 3 keys to proper mindset. Accelerate your training with the “S.A.F.E. M.P.” protocol. Dozens of drills and exercises using heavy bags, floor bags, dummies, slip balls, chains, weights, tires, sledges, pipes, mallets, etc. And DIY instructions for making your own gear for pennies.   A

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How to Train and Fight Like Wonder Woman

Posted on May 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

There are some parallels between the fighting, training and symbolism used in the Wonder Woman (2017) movie and the martial art of Cabal Fang I founded back in 2009.  So I wrote a blog post where I hinted at a couple of things.  And I made a video too, but only my Patreon supporters got to see it because they get stuff first (and they also get all kinds of other groovy perks too, if you’re interested).

Anyway, now it’s your turn!

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Perilous: Martial Arts Training Involution #208

Posted on May 16, 2020 | Leave a comment
Here at Cabal Fang HQ the May ’20 martial focus is Striking and the spiritual symbol is the Chalice.  I’m teaching two martial arts now — Cabal Fang and Bobcat Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble — so I try to make the weekly T.I. applicable to both.   This week’s T.I. features a modified version of a Bobcat drill named after Black Hawk, and the title ties into a famous lyric poem by Tennyson about the Holy Grail written during the Frontier period — see an excerpt at the bottom. Like martial arts and fitness?  My new ebook “Martial Grit: Real Fighting Fitness (On a Budget)” releases July 1st.  Pre-order now at Barnes & Noble, iTunes or Smashwords.  Honed by 30 years teaching martial arts in inner city programs and in public parks for a non-profit, this is as real as it gets. 3 keys to proper mindset. Accelerate your training with the “S.A.F.E. M.P.” protocol. Dozens of drills and exercises using heavy bags, floor bags, dummies, slip balls, chains, weights, tires, sledges, pipes, mallets, etc. And DIY instructions for making your own gear for pennies.   And now for your weekly T.I.

Perilous: Martial arts Training Involution #208

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • 16 minutes of martial fitness action.  Set timer for intervals of 4 minutes.  Shadowbox for 4 minutes.  Then run out for 4 minutes, run back — (get back before the timer beeps!), and finish up with 4 minutes of weapon shadowboxing with your training weapon of choice.  How many times did you drop your blunt training weapon or accidentally allow the business end to touch your body?  Do 50 Push-ups for each error.
  • Want more? Do this month’s constitutional — click here.
  • Grail mediation.  Cool down for 3 minutes, then assume your meditative posture of choice and regulate your breathing to a slow and steady rhythm.  Keep your eyes open as you imagine that the glowing Grail is hovering in the air before you, close enough to touch.  The Grail is the cup Christ used when he instituted the Holy Eucharist, and legend has it that one sip from it confers infinite blessings.  How does it make you that make you feel to be in its presence?  Don’t think about the Grail in words — just allow yourself to experience the image and concept of the Grail emotionally, spiritually and inspirationally. When he timer beeps, record your thoughts and experiences in your training journal.
An Excerpt from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s The Holy Grail Then came a year of miracle: O brother, In our great hall there stood a vacant chair, Fashion’d by Merlin ere he past away, And carven with strange figures; and in and out The figures, like a serpent, ran a scroll Of letters in a tongue no man could read. And Merlin call’d it ‘The Siege perilous,’ Perilous for good and ill; ‘for there,’ he said, ‘No man could sit but he should lose himself:’ And once by misadvertence Merlin sat In his own chair, and so was lost; but he, Galahad, when he heard of Merlin’s doom, Cried, ‘If I lose myself, I save myself!’ II …When the hermit made an end, In silver armour suddenly Galahad shone Before us, and against the chapel door Laid lance, and enter’d, and we knelt in prayer. And there the hermit slaked my burning thirst, And at the sacring of the mass I saw The holy elements alone; but he: ‘Saw ye no more? I, Galahad, saw the Grail, The Holy Grail, descend upon the shrine: I saw the fiery face as of a child That smote itself into the bread, and went; And hither am I come; and never yet Hath what thy sister taught me first to see, This Holy Thing, fail’d from my side, nor come Cover’d, but moving with me night and day, Fainter by day, but always in the night Blood-red, and sliding down the blacken’d marsh Blood-red, and on the naked mountain top Blood-red, and in the sleeping mere below Blood-red. And in the strength of this I rode, Shattering all evil customs everywhere, And past thro’ Pagan realms, and made them mine, And clash’d with Pagan hordes, and bore them down, And broke thro’ all, and in the strength of this Come victor. But my time is hard at hand, And hence I go; and one will crown me king Far in the spiritual city; and come thou, too, For thou shalt see the vision when I go.’

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SHIFT Newsletter Issue #2

Posted on May 14, 2020 | Leave a comment

Issue #2 of SHIFT just released this morning.  If you haven’t subscribed you don’t know what you’re missing. Click the pic on the right to subscribe.

SHIFT your outlook.

SHIFT your expectations.

SHIFT your possibilities.

 

 

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Amazon Babylon: Martial Arts Training Involution #207

Posted on May 9, 2020 | Leave a comment

L: The diadem of a famous Amazon from comic books and movies. R: The Star of Ishtar. Coincidence? I think not!

Long before the 2017 movie, Cabal Fang was using an 8-point combat clock called the Star of Ishtar — a universal symbol for the divine feminine associated with the ancient Babylonian goddess Ishtar.  You will note that the star on this fictional Amazon’s diadem is a star of similar design.

Symbols colonize our subconscious minds and permeate the world’s cultures. 

It’s quite possible the artists and costume designers working on the film didn’t consciously change the original 5-pointed star from the comic books to an 8-pointed Star of Ishtar.  They probably did it without even realizing they were doing it.

Stay tuned — The next of SHIFT will contain a video exploring this in more detail.

In the meantime, for this week’s involution we’re going to take our training inspiration from Amazon warriors and ancient symbols…

My forging post.  Note Tarot poster featuring Star of Ishtar

Amazon Babylon: Martial Arts Training Involution #207

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • 10 minutes of crams.  Get on your forging post, pell or war-post and work your crams.  If you don’t have a post, use your grappling dummy today — and then go put up a post in your gym or back yard tomorrow.
  • Practice the Star of Ishtar drill for 10 minutes.  Don’t know it?  It’s in the Cabal Fang Study Course.
  • 10 minutes of heavy carries.  Want to be Amazon strong?  The ancients had no barbells — they carried loads and lifted stones.   Set a timer for 10 minutes and bear hug or shoulder carry your heavy bag (or appropriate substitute based on your fitness level) until the timer beeps.  Put the weight down and take a break as few times as possible.  Finish the whole 10 minutes without putting it down and you’re either a monster or you picked too light a load.
  • 1 mile run.  The ancient Greeks were big on running.  Cover a mile as fast as you can.
  • Contemplation.  Cool down for about 3 minutes, then set a timer for 10 minutes.  Assume your meditative posture of choice and regulate your breathing to insure a slow and consistent rhythm that completely fills and empties your lungs without bearing down on your breath.  Eyes open.  Gently allow your mind to empty and calm itself.  Don’t make war with thoughts, just let them pass by, dissipating like ripples on the surface of a pond.    

My new newsletter SHIFT went live April 30th, next issue May 14th.   Sign up now to get tips, fun and inspirational articles, quizzes, meditations, exercises, and more — all 100% free — and guaranteed to shift you in a new whole new gear.

 

 

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The Ketchel-Burpee Grinder

Posted on May 5, 2020 | Leave a comment

This morning at dawn I undertook the challenge of the Ketchel-Burpee Grinder — thanks to the immortal Mark Hatmaker for issuing the challenge!  He did it under 7 minutes.  I finished in 18:35.  What can I say?

Fun facts: I share a birthday with the Royal H. Burpee, the inventor of the exercise that bears his name.  And Hatmaker was actually born on the planet Krypton.

The challenge is a 13-count, reverse half-pyramid (13 of each, 12 of each, 11, 10, etc. down to 1) of a 50 lb rock throw and a Burpee.  In total that’s 91 tosses and 91 Burpees.

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The Galahad Maneuver: Martial Arts Training Involution #206

Posted on May 2, 2020 | Leave a comment
Playing the Cabal Fang home game?  Cool.  This month’s constitutional, martial focus and symbol are on on the left.  Stop shirking and start working. Or enroll in the free home study program. Are you a Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumbler?  Things are a little less structured for you.  World’s your oyster.  Roll the dice, do the Molly Pitcher, the Sim Webb, etc., or enroll in the program. Regardless of which camp you’re in you’re going to love my new ebook “Martial Grit: Real Fighting Fitness (On a Budget)” which releases July 1st.  Pre-order now at Barnes & Noble, iTunes or Smashwords — it’s a real winner.  Honed by 30 years teaching martial arts on shoestring budgets in inner city programs and in public parks for a non-profit, this is as real as it gets. The 3 keys to proper mindset. Improve right away using the “S.A.F.E. M.P.” protocol. Proper use of heavy bags, floor bags, dummies, slip balls, chains, weights, tires, sledges, pipes, mallets, etc. And DIY instructions for making your own gear for pennies.   And now for your weekly T.I.

The Galahad Maneuver: Martial arts Training Involution #206

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • Martial Arts Mix and Match.  4 rounds of action (beginner/intermediate 2:00 each, advanced 3:00) for a total of 8 to 12 minutes.  Take as few 12-second breaks as you need.  Do one round each of Lunges, Clocks, Low Crawl, Sled Pulls/Yanks.  Video below.
  • Not enough exercise for you?  Do this month’s constitutional.  See photo above or click here.
  • Practice the Galahad Maneuver.   Pick something you know that’s not good for you and make a substitution — a food or beverage, a form of entertainment, or even a person who’s a negative influence.  Just 5 minutes of serious thought will reveal a list of stuff you know you shouldn’t be eating, watching, doing or associating with.  Start with one of the easy ones and substitute a better choice.  This is the trail-head that leads to the mountaintop of sacrifice.  Keep going and perhaps one day you’ll come to see the world the way that Sir Galahad saw it when he said, “If I lose myself I save myself.”  Remember, Galahad was the only Knight of the Round Table who saw the Grail. You are not your tastes, your needs, your wants, your favorites, or hobbies, or any of that.  You are something much more than that.  But you have to strip some things away to begin to see it.  By the way, this drill is associated with the Chalice symbol and it first appeared in The Hourglass Way: Transform in 12 Weeks with Cabal Fang which contains about 11 more exercises that are equally powerful.

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Martial Fitness Mix ‘n’ Match Video

Posted on April 29, 2020 | Leave a comment

The Wednesday martial arts video is up!

On April 30th my new newsletter SHIFT goes live.   This is where everything I do will come together — my fitness work, my primitive skills and martial arts material, my management, coaching and financial advice, and of course my spiritual teaching.  Sign up now to get tips, fun and inspirational articles, quizzes, meditations, exercises, and more — all 100% free — and guaranteed to shift you in a new whole new gear.

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