This week’s T.I. is in video format. Dig it.
This week’s T.I. is in video format. Dig it.
Posted in Martial arts, Mysticism
Tagged evil, hugh thompson jr, mai lai massacre, martial arts

Robert Mitchell — November 21, 1934 ~ July 8, 2008
Today is the 11th anniversary of my father’s passing. Pop was a pretty incredible person. No, he was not a great businessman, scientist, inventor, writer, statesman or orator. He wasn’t remarkably successful by any conventional measurement.
What made him incredible was that he spent the last decade or so of his life walking with Christ despite serious trials. The more money the world took from him, the less materialistic he became. As his health got worse, he only became more patient and at peace. The more loved ones who were taken away, the more he loved those who remained. The more the world conspired to try and make him bitter, the more he smiled.
And the closer death came the less he feared.

Pop’s pocket Bible — a special edition with instructions for bringing people to faith (a reference to Matthew 4:19 “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
As a young man Pop considered entering the clergy but decided against it. His reason was the same he gave for not taking promotions at work and for not pursuing a career in law enforcement after his service in the Military Police. He didn’t want to be the kind of person who told other people what to do or how to behave. And he didn’t want to give anybody the impression that he thought he was better than anybody else.
The irony is that his humility made him the ideal clerical candidate, yet I’m the one I’m in seminary. And my humility is far from legendary. When I was a young man, my mom always said that my lack of humility would be my downfall if I didn’t overcome it.
And so, on this anniversary of Pop’s passing, I sit and appreciate Mom’s warning and Pop’s example. I admire my father’s humility and strength and try to emulate them as best I can.
And I pray that someday I will be a good fisher of men.
Egyptian god Thoth
Should anyone other than a politically correct dweeb, a prime-time-ready talking head, garden-variety prude, holier-than-thou twit, or virtue-signalling chuckle-head want to clean up their potty mouth?
Sure. Because speech is sacred.
Our greatest myths and holy books embody this truth. According to the Egyptians,
“Thoth is the mediator through whom the world is brought into manifestation. He is the Tongue of Rā, the Herald of the Will of Rā, and the Lord of Sacred Speech.”¹
God separates light from darkness — Sistine Chapel
In Genesis 1 of the Holy Bible, God speaks the universe into being. He says, “Let there be light: and there was light.” Later in John 1, when speaking of Christ, we hear,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
The ancients revered the ability to recite poetry and holy words. They embodied the idea of sacred speech. Modern people have mostly surrendered in the battle against profane, rude and crude speech. And few are able to recite any beautiful words even if they wanted to.
When I was a kid, we had to memorize poems, speeches and scripture. Why? So that we could have command of the words on a fundamental level.
Restriction breeds creativity, not freedom (for more on this topic watch this video). Let’s put some restrictions on ourselves and see if it drives our creativity.
¹ Mead, G. R. S, Thrice-Greatest Hermes, Vol. 1, [The Thesophical Publishing Society, London 1906]
² I do several of these sorts of training exercises every month for self-defense practice — hobbled, one hand tucked into my belt, one eye patched, a rock in my shoe, etc.
³ Prisoner Get-up: Drop to left knee, drop right knee to get on both knees, rise up to right knee only, then stand up. Next time drop right knee first. Alternate sides.
Happy Independence Day! Reposting this from last year because I’m, well, lazy.
Happy July 4th to all my friends in the USA and around the world!
In our busy lives it’s easy to lose sight of America’s greatness and to forget why we shook the world in the first place.
This July 4th let’s remember that the United States of America was the first time since the rise of feudalism that people could own their own land and govern themselves.
That’s a big deal.
Sure, there had long been parliaments and senates and such, but kings, queens, emperors and empresses had really been in charge. Right up until 1776, the British Crown could force you to board troops, could levy taxes against you without recording your vote, and even put you in irons without a hearing or seize your stuff. Escheatment still survives to this day, a vestigial organ reminding us that unclaimed property reverts to the ownership of the state…
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Posted in Martial arts
Sorry folks, I really didn’t take a ton of pictures at Karate College this year. I wanted to train with sincerity, and I wanted to be fully present. When you look at the world through a phone screen you don’t really see it. You see only its doppelganger — its soulless twin.
It was a great weekend. Not sure you can get 2 1/2 days of quality martial arts instruction anywhere else for just $219.00. Plan to go next year. It has been held at Radford University the last weekend of June since 1988.
Hope I see you in 2020.
This week I’m broadcasting live from luxurious Tyler Hall dorm at Radford University in where I’m attending the Karate College 2019! This will be my fourth time — I’m a graduate of ’03, ’05, ’17 and now ’19.
Karate College is a fantastic event. For about $200 you get 2-and-a-half days of non-stop martial arts training from some of the best instructors out there. This year’s attendance is the lowest I’ve seen, which is scary. Come out and train people — you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone!
FYI, Training Involution #163 marks a little bit of a turning point. From now on the weekly Cabal Fang T.I. is just going to be the T.I. Why? Because these T.I.s are also going to do double duty in my Bobcat Martial Arts program. No big announcement, no drama queen antics. Just sound martial principles.
If the drills are legit they’re applicable to every martial artist everywhere, not just to those practicing Cabal Fang.
The single most effective martial arts maneuver is running away. Not literally running, but getting the heck out of Dodge City, evading, hitting the road, saying bye-bye. A martial artist should be able to move. And when the situation is over, be able to sit still.
Set timer for 7 x 4:00 mins, no breaks.
¹ There’s no excuse for a martial artist not having a floor bag. Buy a used bag on Craigslist for $10 or make one.
Some of you may not know that I have a web store called Mitch’s General Store. I sell e-books, artwork, PTDICE, and all kinds of stuff.
The newest product line is called Bobcat Martial Arts Dime Magazine. These are $10 pdf booklets ranging from 15 pages/3,000 words up to 30 page/7,500 words, each containing links to exclusive video content.
Issue #1 is Frontier Fitness Set A. It contains 5 complete Frontier Fitness drills all named and patterned after famous frontier characters both real and mythical. Swing a sledge like John Henry! Tamp and swab a cannon like Molly Pitcher! Check for clinkers like Sim Webb! Includes biographical sketch of each character plus details on how each drill is done — with video! Set A contains Sim Webb, John Henry, Molly Pitcher, Paul Bunyan, and Black Hawk.
Issue #2 is Walking Stick Self-Defense. I’m one of just a handful of people worldwide who teach the Vigny-Lang method of cane defense. This 31 page mini-manual of walking stick self-defense — with links to 5 different video lessons included! — contains all of the essential information you need to start learning the most effective and real-world-tested stick defense system ever devised. Contains the 14 most devastating cane strikes, the 8 essential blocks and ripostes, the 9 must-have moves when stick-wrestling, the 150 Cane Strike Drill, the 10-minute Cane Strike Drill, the Gauntlet Drill, sparring equipment & rules, etc.
Go check it out — who knows, you might see something you like!

A snail gets attacked and beaten up by two turtles. The police come. They ask the snail what happened. The snail says, “I don’t know — it all happened so fast!”
My grandsons gave me some cool origami for my birthday. They made what they made because I wowed them with snail jokes (I got a million of them), they love my cool watch, and I guess they always see me in collared shirts. Great gifts from two amazing boys.
Origami is folded paper, which got me thinking about folderol, which is different but sounds similar. Folderol is frippery, wish-wash, claptrap, and other unimportant stuff. Origami gifts from my grandsons are treasures — they are not piffle, twaddle, or gimcrackery. Still though, got me thinking.
So I re-evaluated my activities and made some changes. You should do this too from time to time.
Cabal Fang Vital Grace #3 is Frugality — “to be efficient in the use of time, effort and resources.” Take today off from training and spend an hour evaluating your use of time and resources. What you can do to trim, slice or eliminate waste of all kinds and get more frugal? For some examples, here’s what I got rid of and or adjusted this week.
This week’s T.I. is out a day early so you can, if you desire, complete it on Flag Day. Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14th, 1777.

This is me holding a screwdriver. This is what a martial artist’s hand looks like when it is holding a tool in a workmanlike fashion. Note callouses and white-knuckled grip with thumb fully wrapped.
Reading a popular martial arts magazine yesterday I came across an article about two lifetime achievement award winners. They are both martial arts legends.
I cringed.
Look at the way they are holding their weapons in the photos below. Is this how martial arts masters hold weapons which are about to be used to cut, smash, choke, etc.?
“It’s just a magazine photo,” you may object. “They’re not actually demonstrating how to fight with the weapon!” To which I reply, “Does a firearm instructor wave guns around in a careless manner? Or does he treat all guns as if loaded and deadly?”
These loose grips (a) show a lack of respect for the weapon and (b) will not retain a weapon under stress. This is not how weapons are held in life or death situations by people who have any idea what they are doing.
At Bobcat Martial Arts, I teach my students to treat every Bowie knife, tomahawk and walking stick with respect and to grip it with sincerity and intent at all times. This is basic martial arts.
I would expect better than this from a student after just 90 days.



