Four Keys to Martial Arts Combo Building

Posted on February 12, 2020 | Leave a comment

This Wednesday’s martial arts video is about how to build logical combos when shadowboxing.  Check it out!

If you enjoy this video you’ll probably enjoy one of my books or other products.  Why not check them out?

 

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Christianity for Doubters 2: Christian Psychotechnology

Posted on February 9, 2020 | 2 comments

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.

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Crop Circles: Martial Arts Training Involution #195

Posted on February 8, 2020 | Leave a comment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

This particular involution was created using Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble Dice © available here.

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?

 

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Jumping Rope: An Intro to the Basics of How and Why

Posted on February 5, 2020 | Leave a comment

Last month I included jumping rope in the weekly T.I.s.  I realized I never made a video, so here is one a little late.  Hope you like it.

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Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble Home Training Program is Live!

Posted on February 3, 2020 | Leave a comment

How would like to learn to fight the way your ancestors did, using Bowie knife, tomahawk, fisticuffs and wrasslin’?  Would you like to get active, lose some weight, get fit, and build a closer connection to the great outdoors?  Well, we’ve got a program for you!

 

Make no mistake — this isn’t just historical reenactment material.  This is real self-defense, real martial arts, and real frontier skills and lifeways  that are as effective today as they were in the old days.

 

What is Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble?  Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble is an American martial art that encompasses the fighting arts, survival skills, lifeways and ethos of the colonial and indigenous peoples of North American during the frontier period — from the founding of the first permanent American settlement at Jamestown in 1607 through the annexation of Arizona as the 48th state in 1912.

Sign up for just $19.99/month.  No contracts. Cancel any time.

When you sign up you get:

  • Bobcat Martial Arts hat and t-shirt ($29.98 value)

  • White bandanna and membership certificate ($9.99 value)

  • Paperback copy of The Wildwood Workbook ($7.99 value).

  • Your first training module ($9.99 value)

You’ll receive a monthly module, book, assignment, etc.  Do the work and keep a training journal.

If you have any questions, schedule a coaching call. One monthly 30-minute coaching call included with tuition.

When ready to test for rank, send in scans, pdfs or pictures of your training journal for review.  Video testing also required for Red Bandanna and up. For Black Bandanna your videos will need to include videos of you training with others. All tests for rank advancement are included in monthly tuition.

Program does not include equipment such as heavy bags, gloves, dull training weapons, etc. But we will provide direction on DIY options, cheap alternatives, and substitution suggestions if needed.

The program is now live.  Click here to enroll!

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My New Video Series: Christianity for Doubters 101

Posted on February 2, 2020 | Leave a comment

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.

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Pull and Hit: Martial Arts Training Involution #194

Posted on February 1, 2020 | Leave a comment

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?

 

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Sunday Message: Atheists Are Rediscovering Religion

Posted on January 26, 2020 | 7 comments

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!

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Bubble Buster: Martial Arts Training Involution #193

Posted on January 25, 2020 | Leave a comment

Bubblegum Bubblegum in a dish
How many pieces do you wish?
1,2,3,4,5,6,7
8,9 10 and then 11
Bubblegum Bubblegum in a shoe
How many pieces can you chew?

Do you remember that old jump rope rhyme from when you were a kid?

Well, around these parts we believe jumping rope was great for you back then and that it’s still good for you now.

Are you one of those naysayers who says that jumping rope doesn’t benefit martial artists?  Well, this T.I. is your bubble buster.  Shut your pie hole until you’ve worn out a few ropes.

Bubble Buster: Martial Arts Training Involution #193

  • 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.  Do all three rounds with your focus on mobility.  Lots of slips, circling, lumberjack hooks, décollage kicks, etc. Up, down, back, forth, in, out!
  • 15o kicks vs. the heavy bag as fast as you can.  Really get after it, but don’t let your power level get below 75%.  If you cannot get this done in under 5 minutes you should do this drill more often.
  • Jump rope conditioner.  Set a timer for 1:00 rounds, no breaks.  Alternate rounds of jumping rope and Bodybuilders for 10 minutes.  See how many Bodybuilders you can complete (I got 32) and how few jump rope flubs you can make (I made two).
  • 10 minutes of meditation.  In Cabal Fang we use various symbols to access universal truths about ourselves the world we live in.  Pick one of the Cabal Fang’s twelve symbols — Quill, Hourglass, Hand of Mysteries, Bell, Candle, Rose, the Luminaries, Chalice, Book, Cross, Pentangle or Staff.  Set a timer for 10 minutes, have a seat in your meditative posture of choice, and regulate your breathing.  Visualize the symbol and meditate on it until the timer beeps.  Do not think in words — you want to experience the symbol outside the linguistic/logical spectrum.

If you enjoyed his training involution you’d probably enjoy my books and other products.  Why not check them out?

 

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Unstick Your Kicks with the Décollage

Posted on January 22, 2020 | Leave a comment

As promised in Saturday’s T.I., here a short video on the décollage.

Think about it.  Whenever you see somebody in sports kick a ball for maximum power, there is either a run-up or a hop.  Want to amp your martial kicking power?  Get unstuck!

If you enjoyed his training involution you’d probably enjoy my books and other products.  Why not check them out?

 

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