Category Archives: Martial arts

I shouted out,
“Who killed the Kennedys?”
When after all
It was you and me
(Who who, who who)

~The Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil”

In January of this year I had an awakening of sorts during which I realized that there might be a reason why I didn’t have a book on the New York Times Bestseller List, why my martial art wasn’t more popular, and generally why I wasn’t smashing goals left and right.

Why?  Because I need to write better books, I need to perfect my martial art and I generally need to work harder.  99 times out of 100, lack of success has to do with you — not someone else.  And guess what happened when I realized this?

Blog traffic increased.  My creativity and courageousness soared and things that had previously seemed like work felt like recreation.  I finally founded my non-profit.  I started hitting goals I hadn’t previously dreamed I could hit.  I know it makes no sense at all, but taking full personal responsibility for success or failure is actually liberating, and restriction — not freedom! — encourages creativity.  

And so, in the wake of the Las Vegas mass shooting, here is a video that I could not have made last year because (a) I wasn’t self-critical enough to have the insight, and (b) even if I had the insight I wouldn’t have had the courage to speak my mind on such a controversial subject.

Let me know what you think.

And now for the workout of the week.

Cabal Fang Workout of the Week #75

• Inside/Outside Heavy Bag Drill.  Set a timer for 8 minutes.  Imagine that your heavy bag is a person — really imagine it! — or else this drill is worthless.  Throw combos of 2, 3 or 4 shots against the bag.  As you do, imagine what your opponent would be likely to throw back.  Get your head off center line while you strike by using slips/shoulder pops simultaneous to your strikes.  Move while you hit, hit while you move!
• The “888” Workout.  Set a timer for 8 minutes.  Complete as many sets as you can in 8 minutes of 8 Prison Push-ups and 8 Jump Squats.
• 8-count Self-Improvement Drill.  Sit down with your training journal and a pen and set a timer for 3 minutes.  Start the timer.  Before it beeps, write down 8 things you could do that would make you a better person and/or would make your life better.  Restriction — not freedom! — encourages creativity.  Thanks to the time limit you’ll be blurting things out on the paper that have been hiding in your subconscious.  Give your 8 ideas consideration and move them to your To-Do List as you see fit.

Did you enjoy reading this?  Then the Cabal Fang book will blow your mind.  Buy a paper copy on Amazon or from Createspace or download the ebook here.

When I was a kid we used this word “quietus.” Hardly anybody uses it anymore.  Too bad, it’s a great word.  For the unfamiliar I’ve aggregated several different definitions into this one.

QUIETUS: kwī.ēʹtəs

From the Latin quiētus (“at rest”).

1. A stillness or pause; something that quiets or represses; removal from activity; especially: death.
2. Final settlement (as of a debt).
3. A wrestling hold or grip from which there’s no escape, a.k.a. the “sleeper hold.”

I’ve begun putting the quietus on myself with regard to things I’m not qualified to talk about.  I’ve started going through the blog and deleting old posts that are ranty, preachy or whiny.

I don’t want to be the kind of person who does nothing to solve problems but still claims the moral high ground and claims to know exactly what people should or should not be doing.

Many of the things my father used to say, I’ve realized, are a lot wiser than I previously realized.  Things like,

• “If you can’t say nothing nice, don’t say nothing at all.”
• “Mind your own business, son.  Nobody likes a tattletale.”
• “Sweep out the corners.  The middle of the floor can take care of itself.”

What I realized earlier this year is that I don’t want to be the kind of person who fools himself into thinking that typing a few words, or hitting a “share” or a “like” button, actually constitutes action.

And now for the workout of the week.

Cabal Fang Workout of the Week #69

• Complete a constitutional in under 20 minutes.  Sprints (25 each — 5 to 10- yards, out and back = 1), Crunch ‘n’ Punch (25), Push-ups, reg. (to failure), Neck Crunches (25 each, front, left, right, back, total 100), Jump Squats, split (50), Jackknifes (25), and Push-ups, knuckle (to failure).  Take as few 12-count breaks as you need to finish.
• What have you done lately?  Dim the lights, be seated in your favorite meditative posture and set a timer for 10 minutes.  Regulate your breathing for a minute or two.  Then close your eyes and imagine there are two movies playing on a split screen in your head.  The movie on the left side shows  the things you’ve done recently that are sincerely selfless and genuinely altruistic.  On the right screen are the things you’ve done that are self-serving, hollow and/or virtual.  Which movie contains more action, is more interesting, engaging and realistic?  When the timer goes off, get up slowly and stretch for a few minutes.  Then record your thoughts and realizations in your training log or journal.

Did you enjoy reading this?  Then my book will blow your mind.  Buy a paper copy on Amazon or from Createspace or download the ebook here.

“Looking forward to the fight this weekend?”

The next time somebody asks me if I’m going to watch Mayweather vs. McGregor the top of my head’s popping off.

To start with, McGregor’s famous ring apology was the final straw — the reason why I stopped watching MMA altogether.  But the main reason I’m not watching the fight is that the behavior of both men has been despicable.  As sports commentator Mike Wise said in reference to the July promotional tour,

“Mayweather and McGregor didn’t just cross boundaries of race, bigotry, misogyny and profanity this past week — they obliterated them, bleeping their way through a two-continent, four-city tour of filth.”

So no.  I’m not watching the fight.  I’m not giving either combatant — or any of their managers, promoters, networks or affiliates — my hard earned money.

Martial arts, when practiced properly, are about mastery.  They are about confronting the dragon of chaos and constructing order from its bones.  They are about becoming the best possible people we can be.  And watching that fight wouldn’t move me forward one iota.

And now for the workout of the week.

Cabal Fang Workout of the Week #69

• Grappling Conditioner #3.  Get yourself a heavy bag and set it on the mat.  No mat?  Put a tarp on the grass like we do at the club.  Don’t have a bag?  Make one.  Set a countdown timer for 10:00 mins and complete as many sets as you can before the timer beeps of 5 Bag Lifts, 10 mounted strikes, and 5 Splay ‘n’ Punch.  Here’s a video.  Take as few 12-count breaks as you need in order to finish.
• Why are you studying martial arts?  Get out your training log or journal and write 250 words about why you’re studying martial arts.  If you don’t know why you’re on this journey it’s going to be really hard to direct your training, much less your thinking.  Where does your martial arts story end?  Don’t forget — people don’t tell stories.  Stories tell them.  What’s yours going to be?

Did you like this article?  Then my book will blow your mind.  Buy a paper copy on Amazon or from Createspace or download the ebook here.