Category Archives: Martial arts

Three Realizations and Your WOD

Posted on October 21, 2015 | Leave a comment

It’s funny how, if you don’t give up, your spiritual and intellectual vision gets ever more acute and insightful.  I think that’s what they call wisdom?  Anyway, I’ve had several significant realizations lately, all of which coalesced after reading the Alan Watts book and the D. W. Hauck book.

And those realizations, in no particular order, are:

  1. What I actually study should properly be called “the ageless wisdom” or “the perennial philosophy.”  “Occult” is a stupid choice of words that’s really off-putting to 99% of the population.  The word “occult” is damaged goods, now suitable only for horror films.  Kind of like Tsuguharu Foujita’s mustache immediately reminds everyone of a certain genocidal maniac.  I’ve talked about poor word and symbol choice before.  How could I be so dumb?
  2. Cabal Fang, the martial art I founded in 2008, isn’t really a Western martial art as much as it is a world martial art.  East and West are increasingly meaningless distinctions.  Just because it was born in the Western hemisphere doesn’t mean it’s Western, necessarily.
  3. I’ve been setting my sights too low.  Why do I always allow myself to be hammered flat onto the anvil of mediocrity?  I do not want to write books that a few people enjoy or that make a few bucks.  I want to write books that change the world, and I will not write another book unless I think it is going to be the best of it’s kind that has ever been written. 

wpid-20151021_070131.jpgAnd now for your WOD, which is a “mega-Tabata” that will take you 24 minutes.

  • Part 1 — Dumbbells.  Select dumbbells each no less than 10% of your body weight.  Set timer for 24 x :20/:10 and cycle through Squat/Press, Shrugs, and Goblet Squats 8 times.  Each round complete as many as you can during the :20 and rest for the :10.
  • Part 2 — Static Slow Kicks.  Set timer for 24 x :20/:10 and cycle through Lead Leg Roundhouse, Lead Leg Side Kick, and Lead Leg Push Kick.  Change stance and do it again.   Repeat 3 more times.  Execute kicks very slowly and with perfect form (no more than 5 or 6 kicks per :20 round).

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Striking Accuracy Drill

Posted on October 14, 2015 | Leave a comment

wpid-20151014_074134.jpgCan you still punch accurately when your arms are gassed?  Use today’s Cabal Fang WOD to answer that question.

  1. Dumbbells:  Complete 4 x 10 of Military Press, Squats, Pump Curls, Squat/Curl/Press with 1 min. rest between sets.  Start first set with 25% of your SSM, then 50%, 75%, and finally 100%.  This should take about 12 mins.
  2. Rest 1 minute.
  3. Punching Accuracy Drill: Set timer for 3 x 3:00/1:00.  For each 3 min leg, hit your double-end ball with solid combos while executing clean shoulder pops to dodge the returns.  During each 1 min break, practice your tennis ball grabs, alternating hands.
  4. Total elapsed workout time: 25 mins.

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What the Hermetic Pragmatist is Reading

Posted on October 7, 2015 | 1 comment

I am currently reading The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation by Dennis William Hauck.  I’m only on the fourth chapter, so the jury is still out. but so far so good.

I know some folks, especially martial artists in the modern MMA mold, would probably say that meditation and metaphysical studies are a waste of my time, and that I’m being impractical.

Yes, I’m increasingly aligned with Hermetic mystical concepts — but that doesn’t mean I am not a pragmatist.  I want results, and I don’t waste my time on things that don’t move me forward.

Tarot, the Emerald Tablet, the Hermetic Quaternary, Hermetic Qabalah,  Alchemy — they have all proved themselves to be reliable sources of insight, comfort, peace, direction, and motivation.    My interest in these matters is immanently practical.

wpid-20151007_065138.jpgThe same goes for my martial arts training.  I spend about a third of my practice time on fitness, and so I have been accused of neglecting technique.  But I disagree.  Strength and size matter.  If size didn’t matter, there wouldn’t be weight classes in boxing, wrestling, and combat sports.  All things being equal, the larger, stronger person will prevail.  I’m small, so I make myself stronger than average to compensate.

So let’s get practical, shall we?

Here is today’s Cabal Fang WOD — a little sandbag half pyramid that I created using my PTDICE.

Select a sandbag of appropriate weight (I used a #10 for this workout) and complete a Half Pyramid to 10 (that’s 55 reps total) of:

  • Diamond Push-ups (both hands on the bag)
  • Jackknifes (hug bag to chest)
  • Get-ups (hold bag in crook of inactive arm)
  • Side Lunges (hug bag to chest)

A Half Pyramid to 10  is 1 of each, 2 of each, 3 of each, etc. until you reach 10.  This is 55 reps of each total, and it should take you about 15 minutes or so.

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Some Helpful Tips and Facts and Your WOD

Posted on September 25, 2015 | Leave a comment

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Here’s a grab bag of miscellany for a Friday — the Workout of the Day is at the bottom.

1)  Since I stopped using Swedish snus (spitless tobacco) I have been hungry.  How hungry?  Ravenous.  At all times.  Yes, I know that hunger in the wake of nicotine withdrawal is a known and predictable phenomenon, but being prepared isn’t nearly as helpful as you might think  (he said, gnawing on the corner of his desk like a Labrador Retriever).

B) “Life is an ever-unfolding process of becoming,”  says Maria Popova, the brain behind brainpickings.org,  “a continual process of arrival into who we are.”  Yesterday on the way to work I listened to her answer ten questions on Tim Ferris’ podcast and I was blown away by her intelligence, wit, and charm.  But what really really impressed me was her wisdom.  Her favorite book is The Journals of Henry David Thoreau.  I think I’m in love.  I follow her blog, I follow her on Twitter @brainpicker, and pretty soon I’m going to be following her around town (just kidding Maria!).

iii) Some folks say Tim Ferris is all snake oil and pop bullshit, but I disagree — he’s only 50% snake oil and pop bullshit. The rest is a mixture of the useful and the profound. This article about beating anxiety is very interesting and insightful, and I’ll be heeding some of its advice.

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Now for your WOD.  I call it the Chain Constitutional.  Put a chain around your neck  (I used a #20) and complete 4 x 10 each of  the following exercises:

  1. Wide Push-ups
  2. Staggered Push-ups
  3. Front Lunges
  4. Prisoner Squats
  5. Steam Engines
  6. Sit-ups
  7. Neck Crunches

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Plugging in and Shorting Out on Kim Davis

Posted on September 9, 2015 | Leave a comment

After spending a week at the beach, unplugged from all electronics, I am back and ready to knock your socks off.  Social media and gadgets are useful, but being plugged in 24/7 does things to your brain.  If you’ve never unplugged from all phones, tablets, and computers for a full week, I challenge you to do so.  You’ll be glad you did.

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Recent painting I completed of a Remington Portable typewriter, Model #1, manufactured in 1921.

Since I was totally unplugged, there are no cool pictures from the trip.  All I can offer you is a shot of one the paintings I completed — see picture on the right.  If you’d like to buy the painting, come to Richmond Zinefest on October 10th and it’ll be on my table with pretty frame around it and $25.00 price tag on it.

Anyway, the first thing that wallops me in the face when I plug back in is this whole Kim Davis affair, which really peeved me out.  For the people who aren’t sure how they’re supposed to feel about Ms. Davis, let me set you straight.

Ms. Davis is not an admirable hero defending religious freedom, or even a plucky little guy giving the finger to the man.  She is just another toady in service of the bullying majority.

For once and for all people, let’s get this straight.   Denying rights to minorities — like refusing marriage licences to same sex couples, denying voter registration cards to black people, refusing medical service to people who are HIV positive, and so on — is not heroic or admirable. 

Majorities don’t need rights because they’re the fricking majority.   It’s the minorities who need our protection.  It’s what rights are actually for.

Now I drop my mic and leave the stage.  I think I’d rather be unplugged.

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Unplugging for a Vacation

Posted on August 28, 2015 | 1 comment
This rainbow popped up after a storm last week. I sat at the stop sign, rolled down the window, and snapped this shot.

This rainbow popped up after a storm last week. I sat at a stop sign, rolled down the window, and snapped this shot.

Next week there will be no posts.  I’m going on vacation, and I’m unplugging from all electronic devices for the full seven days.  If you aren’t doing this at least once a year, I highly recommend giving it a try.  I have the most amazing insights and creative ideas whenever I unplug.

Sure, unplugging for just a day or two is cool, but it takes a couple of days for your brain to settle into a different rhythm.  Do it for a whole week or more to get the maximum benefit.

Same goes for working out.  Twice a year minimum, please do yourself a favor and take a full week of rest.  Don’t workout at all and eat whatever you want for a whole week.  If you aren’t taking at least two weeks off each year you are over-training.

Now for the Cabal Fang WOD.

Dumbbell HIIT: Set timer for rounds of :40/:10 and select two dumbbells of appropriate weight (I used #10 and I weigh in at #138).  Complete 6 sets of the following exercises , completing as many as you can for :40 and resting for :10. Pump Curls, Squats, Plank Rows, Lunges, and Squat Presses (that’s 30 rounds, a total of 20 minutes).

Be back in a week!

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Crafts: Scroll box and Incense Burner

Posted on August 24, 2015 | Leave a comment

<<If you came for the Cabal Fang workout of the day, it’s at the bottom!>>

Lately I’ve been inspired by Mr. Watt to get back into making stuff.  Since I’m a creature of habit, I’ve been setting aside Sunday afternoons.  When the yard work is done I do a little crafting.

Yesterday I had three things on the list, but I only go to two of them.  The first one was to put latches and a handle on the old box we use to hold the membership scroll at my martial arts club.  We used to just hold it shut with a leather strap.

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I used a rusty spike and some leather scraps for the handle and added some brass chest latches (our martial art has an Early American, Enlightenment era, ancient lodge sort of aesthetic).  While I was at it, I hot-glued some tan corduroy to the inside for padding and decoration.  At some point I’m going to go back and put dots of epoxy over the screw heads and paint them so that they look more rustic.†

My next project was to turn a wine bottle into an incense burner.  I’ve been wanting to try this for a long time.  Finally did some research and got it done.  Quite simple really.  All you do is drill a couple of 7 mm/.25″ holes in the side of the bottle about 6 cm/2.5″ up from the base.  Yeah right — did you ever try to drill a hole in a glass bottle?

I used this bit and this method.‡  It was so easy that I made another one for my daughter.  I burned some incense in mine during this morning’s contemplation session and it worked great.

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Now for the Cabal Fang WOD.

Calisthenics: 6 x 15 of Wide Push-ups, Front Lunges, Steam Engines, Knuckle Push-ups, Side Lunges.  If you can get it done faster than 19:54 with good form, well you got me beat.

†When I was a kid I fantasized about being a movie prop master.  I used to make all kinds of stuff — replicas of objects, weapons and spacecraft from my favorite sci-fi tv shows, scale models of rockets and planes, “ancient” books, and so forth.  I still play around a little.  Like when I made these Firefly ammo boxes and storage crates.

‡ The fellow in the video uses a yellow rubber guide.  I made one from a scrap of rigid leather.  I just drilled a hole in it the same diameter as the glass bit.  Worked like a charm.

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High Clouds, Low Kicks

Posted on August 20, 2015 | Leave a comment

wpid-20150819_170226.jpgDriving home from work last night, the sky was amazing.  I felt as though I could roll down the window, unclip my seatbelt, slide out the window, and soar like a blue jay into swirling clouds illuminated by the sun.

Are birds not angels?  If a bird were to come and light upon our hand and allow us to caress its wing, could we smell the dew of the heavenly clouds or taste the electricity of coming storms?  What unknowable, mysterious and majestic secrets must the songbird know?

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wpid-20150820_072426.jpgThis morning’s Cabal Fang Workout of the Day:

Dumbbells: 4 x 15 of Military Press, Two-handed Squat Press, Two-handed Triceps Extension, Front Lunge, Swing-throughs.

350 Low Kicks (with full power and good form):  75 Lead Roundhouse, 75 Rear Roundhouse, 50 Lead Sidekick, 50 Rear Sidekick, 50 Lead Chassé Frontal, 50 Rear Chassé Frontal.   I strapped a heavy bag to my forging post with hand wraps and Karate belts.  The lower of the two red hand wraps marks the sweet spot just over knee height.

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Super Cool News: Pentagons, Coffee, Islam, Bernie, and a WOD

Posted on August 19, 2015 | Leave a comment

First a magnificent miscellany of super cool news:

Now for your Cabal Fang workout of the day, one that’s a little more of a slow burn than the usual all-out ball-buster (I told you I was going to dial down the intensity a little).

PTDICE Half Pyramid‡ to 9 of: Steam Engines, Fist Push-ups, Back Crunches, Zombie Squats, Staggered Push-ups, Twisters, Regular Squats (this should take about 19 minutes).

Heavy Bag Half Pyramids: 5 x 3:00/1:00: Each round complete as many sequences as you can of 1 punch, 2 punches, 3,4,5, etc. up to 9 followed immediately by 1 kick, 2 kicks, 3,4,5, etc. up to 9 (dis-including the last 1: 00 break, this will take 19 minutes also).

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See the training DVD in the background?  I had the chance to train with Mssr. Dubreuil a few years back and it was a real treat. He’s a wizard with a stick and a true gentleman.

A Half Pyramid is 1 of each, 2 of each, 3 of each, etc. up to the max count. A Half Pyramid to 9 is a total of 45 exercises. Where p = the peak, the formula is p(p+1)/2.  In this case, that would be 9(9+1)/2 = 45.  Math is super cool.

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Disengaging Ruach, Engaging Neshamah

Posted on August 14, 2015 | Leave a comment
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A morning glory on my patio this morning. Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses. Or morning glory. Any flower will do.

I greeted the morning by reading a lovely post by Moma Fauna that reminded me that I need to breathe a little and generally chill out.  That’s one of the things I love about her blog.  It seems like every post is written just for me, like one of those pictures where the eyes seem to follow you no matter where you are in the room (only not creepy).

I think it’s time to engage my Neshamah and disengage my Ruach.  So I shifted my morning workout down a couple of gears and took a moment to walk around my yard and enjoy the flowers.

What’s a Ruach and a Neshamah?  Well, in Qabalah  there are four parts of the soul:

  1. Chiah – the life force, or unified cosmic soul
  2. Neshamah – the higher instincts, such as love, holiness, kindness, and so on
  3. Ruach – the logical, discerning, common sense soul
  4. Nefesh – the animal drives, hunger, thirst, sex drive, etc.

This is a useful way of looking at your spiritual self.  If you want to be physically fit, you work out your whole body.  If you want to be spiritually fit, you should work out all parts of your soul.  Every day isn’t Upper Body Day, and every day shouldn’t be Ruach day.

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And now for your 2-part Cabal Fang WOD (workout of the day).  Part 1 comes by way of the irrepressible Coach Mark Hatmaker.  It was in this morning’s LEGENDS Newsletter email.  If you want to get Legends in your email box, sign up here.

  • Get everything ready so you can run through each part without breaks.
  • Part 1: Select two dumbbells (#15/#20/#25 depending on your size).
  • Set timer for :30 intervals.  Do as many Push Presses as you can for :30, then “rest” for :30 with your arms locked overhead in the up position.  Cycle through twice more.
  • Complete 3 x 3:00/1:00 on the Heavy bag, all out.
  • Part 2: Get on your bike and ride for 30 minutes (if you don’t have a bike, do something else aerobic like jumping rope or jogging).  For the duration, keep your pace at “I can sort of talk but I definitely can’t sing.”

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