As most of you already know, I’m an author, a martial artist, a seminarian, and a deacon in the Old Catholic tradition. As a general rule, I release religious videos on Sundays and martial arts videos on Wednesdays. Sometimes I make an extra one or get held up or delayed for some cause unforeseen. Stuff happens.
I’m not always good at blogging about new videos when they get released. I apologize. I’ll try to get better. Today I have two to tell you about.
The first one is a conversation I had with an anonymous atheist who goes by the name FLR (“Facts Logic and Reason”) that happened a few weeks ago. Had a hard time fitting it into my video release schedule, but here it is (finally ):
The second one is a little heavy bag clinching drill that will make you suck wind like nobody’s business — and help you get fit to fight!
Happy as long as we’re manic
That’s probably what it is anyway
But who knows — drawn forward
Sucked into the emptiness of the future
Running from the failures of the past
Trying to remake the now
But time is an illusion, and
Whatever we are or ever will be
Is only what we are at this very moment
Quicksand mind clicking, unable
To take a bite of the silence
Even though the wafer is right there waiting
Waiting for us to open wide
And accept its sacrament
Tongues, instead of lying calm and flat, expectant,
Wag and slice, carve up life into shards of time
Thumbs typing messages
Instead of hooked in pants pockets
“Hey Mitch, what’s this poetry thing all about?” I want to collaborate with Blue Öyster Cult and I’m hoping the Öyster Boys will think this would make a good lyric.
Did you know I wrote a paranormal/mystery/romance book inspired by Blue Öyster Cult’s lyrical themes?Click here to download it here for free!
The cover to my book “Chatters on the Tide” inspired by the music of Blue Öyster Cult
My Sunday video is live — the third installment in my Christianity for Doubters series. In this episode I provide brief refutations to some of the most prevalent myths about Christians and Christianity.
DID YOU KNOW that I run a Christian meetup in Richmond VA? If you’re not local you can still CLICK HERE to receive meditations, reading suggestions, Biblical reflections, etc.
TCB means “Takin’ Care of Business,” which is also the title of a great song by Bachman Turner Overdrive about how working hard at what you love isn’t work at all, whereas punching a clock doing something you hate is a “slaving job to get your pay.”
My redneck Bench Press set-up.
Sprinkled throughout this post are some shots of me lifting homemade weights at 6:30 AM in the crappy lean-to I put out behind my tool shed. It was 30° F.
And yet it was a blast. Because if you love what you’re doing it ain’t work. It’s art.
If you love your art you will do whatever it takes to make it, including fashion your own weights from auto tires, decking boards, tarps, and old metal pipes. And you will do it with joy and a sense of pride. This whole set-up cost me just a little over $100.00.
This is my yoke for safely doing Back Squats solo.
I used to hate the thought of lifting weights. But when I tried it and found out how much stronger it made me, and how more effective as a martial artist, I was hooked. Now I love it.
Sometimes I do not want to do certain things. For example, Bear Walks, Shots and Sprawls really suck. But they make my art — my martial art — “prettier” if that makes sense.
I hope it does. Because if you don’t find a way to love and appreciate the things you need to do in support of your martial arts, you’re training is going to be either laborious or lopsided.
TCB: Martial Arts Training Involution #197
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.
3 x 8 Grappling drill. Complete 3 sets of 8 reps each of Throws (I picked Seoi Nage), Clinch Maneuvers (I did Cross-arm Clinch Rear Lunges), and Bear Walks (15′). Use a grappling dummy, floor bag, or weighted duffel bag for the Throws and Clinches. Your final count should be 24 Throws, 24 Clinches, and 24 Bear Walks (300′ or 100 yards), all in about 10 minutes.
11 minutes on the heavy bag — all-in for power. Break it up into round lengths appropriate to your fitness level. Beginners: 4 x 2:00/1:00, intermediates: 3 x 3:00/1:00, advanced: 2 x 5:00/1:00. Go at your bag with the intent to do as much damage as you possibly can. Punch it. Kick it. Body lock it and squeeze as hard as you can. Don’t hang on it — but do practice clinching, stepping into cross-buttocks position, etc.
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?
Crests and waves — cycles, gyres and tides
I think I control — pushing and pulling and
I suspect it’s brain chemistry more than anything else
But if it isn’t then I’m just a jellyfish
Pulsing and floating — moon, wind and stars
I think I can’t control — drifting and moving and
I expect I’m part of them more than anything else
But if that’s true I’m just a puzzle piece
Doing and working — projects, books, and art
I think and create — pushing and pulling and
I suspect my problem is, more than anything else,
I can’t stop doing and merely be
“Hey Mitch, what’s this poetry thing all about?” I want to collaborate with Blue Öyster Cult and I’m hoping the Öyster Boys will think this would make a good lyric.
Did you know I wrote a paranormal/mystery/romance book inspired by Blue Öyster Cult’s lyrical themes?Click here to download it here for free!
The cover to my book “Chatters on the Tide” inspired by the music of Blue Öyster Cult
My Sunday video is live — the second installment in my Christianity for Doubters series. In this episode I lay out the premise that there are hidden and mostly inaccessible parts of ourselves that only psychological technologies like religion can reach. From there I explain how Christianity’s unique symbol is part of what makes it such a powerful psychotechnology and wrap up with a definition of “wisdom.”
DID YOU KNOW that I run a Christian meetup in Richmond VA? If you’re not local you can still CLICK HERE to receive meditations, reading suggestions, Biblical reflections, etc.
This training involution is called “Crop Circles” because (a) you go in circles and (b) it contains exercises that can are based on real chores one might do on a farm growing crops.
Real-world fitness is built in to Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble martial arts and is central to Cabal Fang as well.
Crop Circles: Martial Arts Training Involution #195
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.
A Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble pyramid. Get yourself a weight — a sandbag, large bucket full of rocks, or even a dumbbell if that’s all you have. Suggested weights beg/sm #40, int/med #60, adv/lg #80. Set up a bench, shelf, truck bed, etc. to load onto. Beg/sm 3′ high, int/med 4′, adv/lg 5′. Mark off an 8′ – 10′ diameter circle. Cabal Fang folks, and others who fight unarmed, go empty-handed. FRT folks, stick a sheathed tomahawk in your belt. Others who train armed, select your dull weapon of choice. Pick up the weight in one hand and Suitcase Carry it around the circle once. Then pick it up and load it onto your bench/shelf, release, then pick it up and put it back on the ground. Deploy your weapon and pursue an imaginary enemy around the circle one time with maximum malice. Next, with weapon in hand, complete one shoulder roll. Then walk 2 circles, load your weight 2 times, pursue the enemy around the circle 2 times and do 2 shoulder rolls. Then 3 of each, 4 of each, and 5 of each, then go back down to 1 of each. Take as few 12-second breaks as needed to finish. Your goal should be to complete this in 20 minutes or less.
10 minutes of eyes open contemplation. Set a timer for 10 minutes, have a seat in your posture of choice, and regulate your breathing. Remain completely motionless. Do not fidget, wiggle or scratch and do not think in words. Simply sit and experience reality in stillness.
If you enjoyed his training involution you’d probably enjoy my books and other products. Why not check them out?
Today I launched my new video series: Christianity for Doubters 101. In the inaugural episode I explain why is there a an urgent necessity for Christianity, both for individuals and for the world.
This is the last involution in the striking series for this month. In the video below you can see my son Robert experimenting with a Rough ‘n’ Tumble, Hatmaker-styled pulling towel for street-ready fighting combos.
Obviously this approach assumes clothing, which means that it wouldn’t work in a shirtless MMA environment. But in the real world there’s almost always a shirt of some kind, and this time of year there’s often a coat — even better.
By all means at least try putting a towel on your heavy bag. Mine went on and never came off.
Pull and Hit: Martial Arts Training Involution #194
Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. I like to do 2 minutes each of jump rope, light calisthenics, shadowboxing, and dynamic stretching — or I just do 8 minutes of MBF.
3 x 3:00/1:00 on the heavy bag with the towel. Experiment with both one and two-handed pulls. Which do you like best? Make sure when you give the bag a yank that you pull down as much as you do inward. You want your opponent to get off balance and, if possible, for his head to come down so you can clobber him with a rabbit punch to the back of the head.
3 x 3:00/1:00 sparring with the pulling technique. Obviously you never want to strike your training partners with a rabbit punch! But what you can do is put shirts you don’t care about and practice your quick grabs and yanks. If you do get your partner’s head down, substitute a hammer strike to the bicep or lats. Really get after it — this is the great thing about grappling and wrestling: you can go really hard without too much risk of injury. It’s the striking, and risks of concussion, that present the highest risks. Play safe, modify, adapt, and overcome.
10 minutes of meditation on why you’re doing martial arts. Set a timer for 10 minutes, have a seat in your meditative posture of choice, and regulate your breathing. Spend the time meditating on your reason for practicing martial arts. Do not think in words. Step back. Imagine that you are watching your martial arts highlight reel playing on television, It plays backwards from the moment you shut your eyes all the way back to the moment you first started your martial journey. Experience the mental images without linguistic thinking until the timer beeps. Pick up your training journal, write down what you saw and learned, and then begin to explore in words why you’re doing martial arts. The answer may be different than you think!
If you enjoyed his training involution you’d probably enjoy my books and other products. Why not check them out?
How would you like to watch me eat oatmeal and tell you about how, it seems to me, prominent atheists are starting to discover religion in general or Christianity specifically? Cool — I have the video you’re looking for!
I teach free of charge through Heritage Arts , a 501(c)(3) educational charity offering free or donation-only classes related to martial arts, fitness, outdoor skills, and spiritual development. Distance learning programs available. Visit the Heritage Arts website to find out more, or click here to join the Heritage Self-Defense group on Facebook.
What is Heritage Rough ‘n’ Tumble? It’s mind-body-spirit form of American Rough ‘n’ Tumble, which began as a manner of no-holds-barred fighting in the Southern Virginia backcountry during the Colonial Era and has since grown, evolved, and adapted to the realities of modern self-defense. An amalgam of the varying techniques brought to America by colonists from all over the world, blended with the fighting methods of the over 900 distinct indigenous tribes, American Rough ‘n’ Tumble is perhaps the world’s most fearsome martial art.
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