My novel Ghilan is now available in the Barnes & Noble Nook eBook Store. I’m so excited that I’m giving it away free for the next 24 hours at Smashwords.com. Use discount code QY42F.
As mentioned in a previous post, the first person who reads Ghilan and can answer the trivia question “What is Sellie’s father’s first name?” will win the original hard copy working draft of the book.
Happy reading!
I’ve had the pleasure of attending Mark Hatmaker‘s seminars several times over the years, and I’m a big fan of his products. Anyone who’s met Mark knows that he’s a killer coach, a walking encyclopedia of wrestling, boxing, and MMA, and a very, very busy man. That’s why I jumped at the chance to interview him for this blog.
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Mitch: Hello Mark. I’ve been a fan ever since taking your class at Karate College back in I think it was 2003. Thanks to agreeing to the interview.
Mark: No problem, sir–thanks for asking.
Mitch: My club and I have been enjoying Volume 1 of your Street Defense Series. I’m sure you’re relieved I won’t be emailing to pester you about release dates anymore! So…when can we expect Volume 2?
Mark: I’m glad you are enjoying the street-material, as for the release of Volumes 2 & 3, I wish I could be more specific–they’re all in the can, so to speak, and optimally it would be nice to be able to study the material as a whole as I’m not a fan of separation or segregation of knowledge but the powers that be (Paladin) understand the production end far better than I do. My guess is that we will see the other 2 volumes any time between now and March. How’s that for vague? Volume 2 will cover our unarmed responses to several classes of weapons attacks, both static and fluid and volume 3 is a video encyclopedia of drills that we use to seat (cull) skills from the first two volumes.
Mitch: Okay, I promise I’ll wait until March before I pester you again. I noticed that you’ve been doing the obstacle course stuff pretty regularly for a while now. Can you tell us a little about that? Can we look forward to a book or DVD on the subject?
Mark: Yes, indeed, love the obstacle course race movement. Big, big fan. My goal this year was to hit 2-3 per month. A knee injury knocked me out for 90 days of that goal but now I’m back to wrapping it tightly and have hit 3 in the past 3 weeks including a 13 miler, this past weekend.
I see obstacle course racing as a nice little gut-check for conditioning all the while enjoying the pure fun of playing like a kid in over-grown playgrounds. On an application/utility side I use them to hone flight drills that we have been doing for some time. In our street work we take the fight or flight dictum seriously. All folks grounded in reality know that evasion is far preferable to engagement and yet, to be honest, I see nothing but engagement from the real-world tactics side of things. Yeah, I know it’s sexier to do knife disarms all the time, but referring to the fight or flight response, as all credible real-world purveyors do, without addressing specific flight/evasion skills in a variety of environments is mere lip service to what is at least 50% of the defense game. (I’d wager it’s more than 50% myself).
You are correct in that we will be putting pages where our mouth is in this area, we’re are currently in the production phases on an upcoming book on obstacle course racing called MUD, GUTS, & GLORY. Its focus is two-fold. The first, building the conditioning/training tips to help do well in such events and the second is to provide specific skill sets for evasion or obstacle/environmental engagement. The best way to scale a muddy wall, efficient fast-crawl technique, that sort of thing.
Mitch: My son shares your appreciation for mud runs and obstacle events and I’m sure he’ll be the first in line to buy a copy. He’s seriously contemplating an assault on Ninja Warrior. I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts you’ve watched that show. Am I right?
Mark: Looove that show! Also, a big, big fan of WIPEOUT. I’d love to hit that show if/when the knee hits 100%. So many of the courses appear strategy-proof and it would be a blast to hit something so absurdly anti-skill.
Mitch: Let me say that if go on WIPEOUT my face will be cemented into a permanent grin. I’ve often thought that there should be some kind of extreme event geared specifically toward martial artists. I blogged about it but nobody seemed to notice. Am I alone in this, or have you ever thought about how that might be done?
Mark: That is an interesting idea. It seems that a mix of evasion/obstacle interaction with stations for conflict drilling would be the way to go. On a smaller scale that’s the idea behind volume 3 of our street series but expanding that to the macro-stage would be a dream, or a living hell–depending on your point of view.
Mitch: Maybe somebody with expertise and love for both martial arts and obstacle course events will make that happen. Hint hint. But I won’t harp on that, I’ll move on. Most all markets consolidate as they mature, so it’s no surprise that UFC has become the NFL of MMA. Still, I miss the excitement of the 1990s. Do you see anything on the horizon that will revolutionize martial arts the way UFC did?
Mark: That’s a great question. Personally, when the UFC added lighter weight-classes I couldn’t have been more pleased. Having that full-spectrum of fighters is manna for the fans. I, myself, would like to see female bouts added to the UFC. There are so many seriously talented women in MMA I’d love to see them get a shot in the big show, so to speak.
As for new developments, I’m fixated on your obstacle course/fight idea. Seems that such camps/events that would allow real-world competitors to challenge themselves would be rife with possibilities.
Mitch: Girls on UFC, a real-life Ninja Warrior event – that’s exciting stuff! What do you think is the most exciting thing going on in martial arts right now?
Mark: Most exciting thing? I’m old-school, I’m easy to please. Anytime I see a bout with crisp boxing, solid takedowns, some hard, aggressive riding I’m about as stoked as you can get. For me, it’s less about what’s new on the horizon than it is seeing what’s old being honed and done really, really well. Not an exciting answer I know but there you go.
Mitch: I should have known you’d say that. Ever the pragmatic perfectionist! My first martial arts instructor used to say that advanced martial arts means doing basic martial arts really really well, and I think that’s true. Look here, I really appreciate you taking the time to consent to this Q&A session. I know how busy you are.
Mark: You’re welcome Mitch. Thanks for asking, let me know when she’s up on your blog, and have a good one!
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What a great interview, and a load of fun. Here’s a little clip of Hatmaker in action from his Youtube feed.
Thanks to Smashwords’ amazing distribution channels, my books are showing up all over the place.
Still not in the Nook store or the Apple store, but I’m told they’ll be in both of those soon.
For my most recent novel Ghilan I developed a constructed language (‘conlang’) known as Ghilani. I did this for several reasons — not the least of which is that conlangs are fun, and I always wanted to try it. But mainly I created it to give dimension to the creatures know as ghilani (singular ‘ghul’).
Simply put, Ghilani is the language of ghouls.
For reasons that are an important part of the plot, Ghilani is a pidgin. It is most heavily influenced by Arabic (Classic and Andalusian), Coptic, and Ancient Egyptian, although you will find elements of other tongues. The novel contains an abbreviated grammar and lexicon included as an appendix.
The complete lexicon of over 600 words remains unpublished, but if there is enough interest on the part of ‘conlangers’ I’d be happy to put it up somewhere. Just comment here and I’d be happy to oblige. Bear in mind though, I’m not a professional linguist.
Just to give you a feel for the language, here are a few Ghilani colloquialisms:
suksumut labkin biber matar talabi – “On which pathway did your mother eat your placenta?” The equivalent in English to “Where are you from?”
khobah parlar – Lit. “Speech entombs.” Said as one might say, “Don’t speak; let us sit quietly and enjoy the moment.”
musgartalati – Lit. “I mind three.” or “I’m sorry, I’m very distracted.”
astamur hsskurhinar sultan – “The monarch proudly leaves the marrow.” This proverb expresses the general disdain ghilan have for the wastes and excesses of rulers of all kinds. The marrow, though hard to get at, is the most nourishing part of prey.
urztil sakhir somnox – “Night-sleepers ridicule the anus.” For scavengers, the anus provides easy access to the internal organs of any prey animal, regardless of the relative toughness of its hide. An accusation of cowardice when spoken from one ghul to another, or a general comment to on the squeamishness of humans.
haimet metaparuk jinar – “Rightness trumps blood.” A very thought provoking proverb from the poem ‘Murr Sharbatas.’
ahkaos shsh’sunus merwat – “Love cuddling, sings of chaos.”
nitsultan khotn onusas – “Blame the clothing, not the chieftain.” Expresses the folly of those who blame the individual rather than the uniform, the traditions if you will, that dictate a chieftain’s actions.
nityakar nitrever – “No liver, no dream.”
Both “Ghilan” and “Chatters on the Tide” have been accepted into the Smashwords Premium Catalog and will be showing up in the Nook store, the Apple iBooks store, etc. within the next week or two. http://ow.ly/i/10WCq http://ow.ly/i/10WCQ
Posted in Writing
My first two novels are now available for download on Smashwords.com. No word yet if they’ve been accepted into the premium catalogs at Sony, Barnes & Noble, etc. More to come!
Chatters on the Tide (free)
Ghilan ($4.99)
Every writer has tricks and odd habits, idiosyncrasies and methods for starting a novel. Some outline like crazy, some not at all. Some like to base characters on figures from myth and fairytale. And so forth.
My favorite tool is the Tarot.
I start with an idea, a general plot, theme, and feeling that I want the reader to experience when the last page is turned. I create a list of major characters and their relationships. Then I get out the cards. The deck in the picture is the one I bought with my allowance as a teenager in the ’70s, the only deck I’ve ever used.
I complete a reading for each major character using the Celtic Cross format. This process tells me where they’ve been, where they’re going, what’s vexing them, and so on. I read as though I’m reading for a real person, and try to bring all my intuitive skills to bear.
Once that’s done, I revise the plot, theme, and message to incorporate all of the great detail gained from the Tarot process. At this point the characters take on a definite ‘life.’ The Tarot readings have a profound effect on the process, often taking the original story idea in a different direction than I had previously envisioned.
I then clearly conceptualize the end of the book, the climax, the point at which everything comes to a head. Starting at the end, I work backwards to create a detailed chapter-by-chapter outline, layering in the events, character interactions, and sub-climaxes so that they build toward the climax.
Next to each chapter in the outline I estimate how many pages it will take to relate the material. I then add up the numbers and make sure I have enough to make a novel.
Once that’s done, I start writing at the beginning, at page 1.
Call me crazy, but I don’t think my methods are that unusual. After all, the Tarot have been used for centuries to help unravel the personal stories of living people. Why not fictional ones?
After many half-hearted attempts since exiting college thirty years ago, I have resolved to make real go of it as a writer. Here’s where I am as of today:
Stay tuned.
My new business card, circa 2012
F. J. Mitchell’s business card from the 1930’s
Posted in Green, Martial arts, Writing
Tagged changes, smashwords, writing, zinefest
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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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Robert Mitchell Jr. 