Coming Soon: Dime Magazine #1

Posted on May 20, 2019 | Leave a comment

It’s really hard to make money if you’re not selling anything.

Not making money is fine in the case of Cabal Fang.  That’s the point.  It’s a charity whose only purpose is to provide free support, to anyone who wants to practice martial arts as a form of personal development.

But I got bills to pay and a retirement to fund.  So, in addition to Cabal Fang, I started Bobcat Martial Arts as a for-profit club and opened a shop that really doesn’t sell much in the way of martial arts stuff.

And then it occurred to me: It’s really hard to make money if you’re not selling anything.  What kind of chuckle-head takes three months to figure that out?  Anyway, at least I did.

I’m starting with the “Bobcat Martial Arts Dime Magazine Series.”†  These will be .pdf magazines for download, all priced at ten bucks.  They will contain all kinds of new material, tightly focused on specific subjects, and they’ll include links to unlisted YouTube videos that you can’t access any other way.

Cool, huh?  Stay tuned.

† Those of you who’ve been following this blog since the beginning will immediately see the inspiration for the format and style of this product.  Although I’m no longer active, I have been a zinester since the 80s, on and off.  Zine culture roots are pulp and indie.  And since Bobcat Martial Arts is my vehicle for teaching Frontier Rough & Tumble and walking stick self-defense — both of which reached their pinnacle in the 19th century — a penny dreadful, dime novel kind of vibe just made sense.  Nowadays a dime is ten bucks instead of ten cents, which is also my price point.  And so voilà!

 

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Firefly Style: Cabal Fang Martial Arts Training Involution #157

Posted on May 18, 2019 | 1 comment

“If you can’t run, you walk.  If you can’t walk, you crawl.  If you can’t crawl, you find someone to carry you.”

This week’s T.I. is about understanding the power of realizing you are not alone.

Yesterday, when I did this week’s T.I., I thought of the above quote from Firefly, one of my favorite TV shows.  This T.I. was so hard that the only way I could make it through was to think about the fact that if we were training together — me, you, and the rest of the Cabal Fang crew — none of us would ever let anybody quit.

So I imagined you were there with me, that you were there encouraging me, helping me, making suggestions on how to modify exercises,  and asking me to dig deep.

Your brothers and sisters in Cabal Fang are right there with you.  Now go get it done.

Firefly Style: Cabal Fang Martial Arts Training Involution #157

  • Warm up for a full 8 minutes.
  • 3 sets of HSPUs to failure.  If you can’t do HSPUs, do Jackknife Push-ups.  If you can’t do them, do Regular Push-ups.
  • 3 sets of Squats. 2 x 5 + 1 set to failure.  Pick a weight that works for you (I used 110 lbs).
  • 10 x 10 yards of Heavy Bear Walks. Select two hex dumbbells.  Go way lighter than you think you need.  I used 10 pounders.  Bear Walk with dumbbells in hand for 10 yards.  Stop and do 10 Push-ups with a Plank Row between, alternating sides.  Repeat 10 more times for a total of 100 yards of Bear Walks, 100 Push-ups and 100 Rows.
  • Unless you are Captain America, you are going to fail at this.  When you do start failing, imagine me and all of the other people in Cabal Fang working right there with you.  If you gas on the Bear Walks, drop the dumbbells and go on without them.  If you gas on the Push-ups or Plank Rows, come up and do them on knees.  Switch to lighter dumbbells halfway through if necessary.  Make whatever changes you have to make and take as many 12-count breaks as you need.  The only rule is don’t give up.
  • Cool down for 3 minutes.
  • Stretch and practice contemplation.
  • Record what you learned in your training journal.

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I Want to Collaborate with Blue Öyster Cult

Posted on May 16, 2019 | 23 comments

BÖC

The cover to my book “Chatters on the Tide” inspired by the music of Blue Öyster Cult

News broke that Blue Öyster Cult is working on a new album.  While that fills me with joy and anticipation, I’m also disappointed that I won’t be showing up in the album credits.

I want to collaborate with Blue Öyster Cult.

I truly believe that the band could return to packing stadiums like they did in the 70’s — and I think I could show them how.  Yes, I know that’s a bold statement , borderline whacko in fact.  But let me break it down.

How am I qualified to be a collaborator with Blue Öyster Cult?
  • My moderately popular novel Chatters on the Tide , inspired by their lyrics, themes and music, has been downloaded thousands of times and is currently #11 in Metaphysical Fiction at Smashwords.com.
  • Blue Öyster Cult is my favorite band.  I know their lyrics backwards and forwards (pun intended) and I practically have the Blue Öyster Cult FAQ memorized.
  • I’m a martial artist master, spiritual teacher, executive manager, and skilled negotiator.  I’m not intimidated by big obstacles or difficult situations and my specialty is consensus building.  I’m an expert at bringing people together to realize a common vision.
What makes you think Blue Öyster Cult could return to packing stadiums like they did in the 70’s?
  • Talent deep and wide.  They’re a team of master musicians featuring seasoned veterans as well as cracking young guns.  See video below.
  • They’ve got legs.  Here’s a sample of their YouTube view totals: Don’t Fear The Reaper 6.8 million views, Veteran of the Psychic Wars 3.3 million views, Burnin’ For You 1.3 million views.
  • Elite Prog Rock roots. Modern Prog Rock bands like Coheed and Cambria are selling like hotcakes and filling venues,  Why not the masters?
  • J. K. Rowling is a big fan. She named a book after one of their albums and referenced their lyrics.  Doesn’t prove my point but it’s a fun factoid though.
What should I do if I think you’re right?
  • Share this post.  Tweet it, Facebook it, go hog-wild.
  • Reach out to the band.  Six degrees of separation, right?  Somebody reading this right now knows somebody who can get me in front of the band for a sit-down.
  • Share your ideas with me. Post in the comments.
  • Watch this space. I’m going to start sharing poetry and ideas that could be used for thematic and/or lyrical inspiration.  Follow and share.

Now watch this preposterously good video featuring Blue Öyster Cult’s youngest member, Richie Castellano.

 

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Pinking Shears and Fishers of Men

Posted on May 13, 2019 | Leave a comment

Pop passed away back in 2008 and Mom followed him in 2016.  But the home in which I was raised — the home my parents bought for nine thousand dollars in 1962, back when nine thousand dollars was a lot of money — is still in the family.

Although the house has been rented out for almost ten years now,  Mom and Pop have yet to be driven out.   They are in that house, in every crack, nook and cranny.  A house that old, inhabited for so long by a family, cannot be emptied of its essence in a mere decade.

Their belongings still come to the surface in that house, emerging like clay tablets from the sands of Mesopotamia.  Things are drawn out from the backs of closets.  They shake free, fall out, bubble up.  Slivers of paper, notes, ballpoint pens.  Old keys.

The other night I was over there getting ready for the next tenant and I found a tiny box in the attic.  It contained a letter and a Bible.  The letter is dated November 19, 1957 and was sent from my grandmother to my father to wish him a happy birthday while he was in basic training at Fort Gordon, GA.  The Bible is The Testament for Fishers of Men. and the inscription says it was given to him my Aunt Jane in 1954.

Tucked inside the Bible was a newspaper clipping my mother gave him.  How do I know Mom gave it to him?  Because it was cut out with pinking shears, and because it’s a love poem.  My mother was many things.  First, she was the woman who loved my father most.  Second, she was an accomplished seamstress who definitely owned a pair of pinking shears.  I know this because I still have her shears stowed away in an old sewing box.

Here’s the poem, a love message from Mom to Pop from long ago.

This Much I Promise

This much I promise you my sweet
By all the stars above
There is no other soul on earth
To whom I give my love
I cannot promise I will be
The picture of perfection
Or that you will not know a day
Of sorrow or dejection
I cannot sear that you will use
A gold or silver spoon
I cannot pledge a kingdom or
The surface of the moon
For I am only human as
A being God created
And I can only undertake
The things He contemplated
But I can promise  you this much
Whatever else I do
I love you, and as long as life
I will be true to you.

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Real Deal Basics: Cabal Fang Martial Arts Training Involution #156

Posted on May 11, 2019 | Leave a comment

This week’s T.I. marks the third anniversary of the weekly program — the sixth anniversary counting the original protocol.  Sometimes, when I go on vacation like last week, I re-post previous T.I.s. But mostly you get something fresh every week. 

Being fresh ain’t easy, because martial arts aren’t as much about exploring new territory as they are about knowing the road map of fighting like the back of your hand.  Self-defense requires fight-specific strength and complete, automatic command of the basics.

That’s why I often re-combine essential ingredients to give freshness to the essentials — kind of the way Taco Bell creates new products from the same basic meat, cheese, sauce and tortillas.  Those of you have been doing C.F.T.I.s for a few years will recognize some familiar ingredients in #156 for sure.

Real Deal Basics: Cabal Fang Martial Arts Training Involution #156

  • Ideally you will have two heavy bags –one hanging/standing and  one for the floor.  Substitute a large gym bag full of gear for the floor bag or make one.
  • Warm up for a full eight minutes by doing multiple mini-sets at 50% effort.
  • Set timer for 5 x 3:00 (beginners 5 x 1:00, intermediate 5 x 2:00).  Rounds go as follows: HB Shrimps, HB Bridges and Reverses, Punches, Kicks, and Clinch Work.  Take as few 12-count breaks as needed to finish standing up.  See video below for details.
  • Perform the Salutations of Sun and Moon per the Cabal Fang Study Guide.  Our internal focus this month is The Luminaries and our external focus is Evasion.  More on evasion next week.

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21st Wedding Anniversary Trip to DC

Posted on May 7, 2019 | 1 comment

Me and my honey at the top of the famous steps from Friedkin’s 1973 masterpiece “The Exorcist”

Every year the little lady and I celebrate our anniversary by getting away for a few days.  Last year we went to Oz.  This year we decided to be a little more tame.  We went to DC.

Have we been there a gazillion times?  Sure.  Without the kids and/or grandkids?  Never.

Here are the highlights of our four-day trip in no particular order.  Pics and details below.

  • We had dinner at St. Anselm in Union Market.  Best steak I ever ate — full stop.  Named after St. Anselm of Canterbury.
  • We went to Sunday worship services at the National Cathedral.  Breathtaking!  Episcopal service was lovely and everyone was welcoming.  Parking is free on Sundays.
  • I went for a 3.5 mile walk/run from the hotel down to the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.  Ran down with the phone stowed away so I could experience everything fully, then got out the phone and took pics on the job/walk back.
  • Toured the National Archive — saw the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights.  If you don’t get chills your American is broke.
  • Had lunch at 2 Sisters Deli.   A Chinese family culturally appropriating traditional NY-style Jewish deli sandwiches — fast, cheap and A+.  I love America.
  • Toured the Smithsonian Air & Space museum.  I was a model rocket nerd as a kid (Richmond Vikings NAR #25374) and I am a lifelong Trekkie.   We saw the original Starship Enterprise and lots of cool rockets — including the Aerobee and the WAC Corporal (all three of which I’ve modeled in scale but never seen up close).
  • Had Ben & Jerry’s ice cream down at the wharf.
  • Drove Embassy Row at night looking at the buildings all lit up.
  • Shopped our brains out at Potomac Mills.
  • Ate breakfast at Firehook Bakery.  Coffee, bagels and baked goods that were dead bang on the bulls-eye.
  • On the way home we stopped at Squash-a-Penny Junction in Doswell.   Really interesting and quirky general store converted into an antique joint that’s so packed you can barely walk through it sideways.  Limited hours.
  • Didn’t have time to get down to Souk on Capitol Hill.  Too bad — I love everything about this place.  There’s always next time.

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More Truth: Cabal Fang Training Involution #155

Posted on May 4, 2019 | Leave a comment

As you’re reading this my wife and I are on our annual wedding anniversary getaway.  So I’m going to re-post a slight reworking of T.I. #50 — of one of my favorites from 2 years back.  Let me know what you think in the comments.  Enjoy!

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A couple of years ago I posted a video analysis of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.  One of the things I mentioned was the nature and symbolism of Prince Philip’s Sword of Truth and Shield of Virtue.

During his fight with Maleficent in her dragon form, Prince Philip loses the Shield of Virtue because that’s what we all do.  We’re human.  We mess up, we make mistakes, we do things that we know are not in keeping with our own moral and ethical codes.  But as long as we hold tight to truth the way that Prince Philip does in the movie, we can slay any dragon and ultimately regain our virtue.  Because making a commitment to speak the truth is more than just a speech modifier.  If you do things you’re ashamed of you’ll have to lie about what you did.  So telling the truth is a behavior modifier too.

Truth may be the highest ideal known to man.  That’s why it figures so prominently in the initiations of Cabal Fang.  Individuals and cultures that do not revere truth may reap short-term rewards of one kind or another but eventually they will completely lose their virtue and have no way to regain it — and some dragon or other will eat them up in their bankruptcy.

Hold tight to truth my friends, and aim your compass toward it like it’s true north.  You’ll screw up because we all do.  But at least you’ll be able to get back on course!

More Truth: Cabal Fang Training INvolution #155

  • 10 minutes of slipping and bobbing.  Set a timer for 10 minutes and practice your slips and bobs, preferably with a slip ball.  Beginners use this intro video.  Advanced folks, run this slip ball impairment drill.
  • Heavy bag 4 x 2:oo/:30.  Go after a heavy bag with maximum ill intent, just make sure that between each combination you (a) complete at least 2 slips or bobs, and (b) you circle the bag rather than standing stock-still.  Hit while you move and move while you hit.
  • Meditation on Truth.  Look into your past starting with most recent history and find a time when you were less than truthful.  Now set a timer for 10 minutes and assume your chosen meditative posture.  Untangle that lie through meditation.  Use your imagination to step into the scene.  Relive the incident.  See if you can come to understand why you weren’t truthful, what you should have done, and what you think you might do the next time you’re in a similar situation.  Record your thoughts and realizations in your training journal.

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Big News + IMT: Cabal Fang Training Involution #154

Posted on April 27, 2019 | Leave a comment

Cabal Fang attends Karate College 2019

For the first time ever, CF will be going to Karate College as a group.  Register here, send me an email, and roll with us!  Camp costs $219 and dorm rooms are only about $35/night.  Karate College is the best martial arts camp in the country, and it’s three days of non-stop action!

Cabal Fang Helps Revive Community Park

This is where we train. May not look like much, but it’s been the home of CF for ten years, and we love it.

The defunct civic association that owns the park where we train here at CF HQ is coming back to life and Cabal Fang is going to be a part of the plan.  The first official meeting of the new association will be on May 20th, 2019.  Yours truly will be at that meeting to volunteer for a seat on the board.  For the last ten years we’ve been the only folks who cared enough to haul off trash, cut grass, and deter vandals.  Our energy will continue to flow and evolve in concert with this new initiative.

Planning Begins for Cabal Fang 10th Anniversary Event

Try a 3-mile run with an auto tire sometime — what fun!

October will mark the official 10th Anniversary of Cabal Fang.  If memory serves me, we started meeting in April of 2009.  But the first monthly constitutional we have on record is from October, and you know the rule: “If it ain’t in the training log, it didn’t happen.”  We’re still spit-balling, but the idea that has come up several times in the past is some kind of tire run that will be open to the public.  Watch this space for details.

Now for the T.I.

IMT: Cabal Fang Training Involution #154

IMT stands for “Individual Movement Technique.”  In a nutshell, moving target acquisition takes 3 to 5 seconds.  To avoid getting shot, pop up, sprint as fast as you can for 3 to 5 seconds, then hit the dirt.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  This one comes straight from the mind of Mark Hatmaker.  Click here for instructions.

Here’s a selfie from the knees down after finishing my half-mile Commanche-styled IMT mud run in a pathetic 15:20. A three-legged pregnant yak could’ve done it faster. But it was fun, and at least I wasn’t sitting home eating potato chips.

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Happy Easter One and All

Posted on April 21, 2019 | Leave a comment

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Katabasis: Cabal Fang Martial Arts Training Involution #153

Posted on April 20, 2019 | Leave a comment

katabasis /kətă’bəsis/, IPA(key): /kəˈtæbəsɪs/ n. (plural katabases) From Ancient Greek κατάβασις (katábasis), from verb καταβαίνω (katabaínō), from κατά (katá, “downwards”) + βαίνω (baínō, “go”).

1. A journey downwards: a journey downhill, a decrease of winds, a military retreat, a trip to the underworld; a trip from the interior of a country to the coast.

For most of the world, today is a dark day.  For some it is the last dark day before the light returns tomorrow.  For others the darkness won’t lift until next weekend.  Today is a good day to think about katabasis — the idea of what it means to go dark.

Since our focuses this month are Basic Self-Defense and The Book (the Book of Hermes, a.k.a. the Book of Hermes-Thoth, a.k.a. the Tarot) we will explore the concept of katabasis with our bodies and with our meditations rather than with our intellects.

Katabasis: Cabal Fang Martial Arts Training Involution #153

This week’s T.I. is a session that my son and I did together the other night, just the two of us.  It’s not easy, so buckle up, hold on tight, and don’t forget: modify, adapt, overcome.

  • Warm up thoroughly (at least 8:00).
  • Sparring. Spar all-in for 30 minutes.  Adjust round length to suit your fitness level.  If you are going it solo, do Wrestling Conditioner #2 (see below if you don’t want to get out the Cabal Fang Study Guide).
  • Constitutional.  Jump Squats (100), Lunges (100), Crunches (100), Bear Walk (100 yds), Get-ups (25), Mountain Climbers (100), Sprints (50 x 12′).
  • Meditation.  Lay out the spread of cards below, print out the picture, or set up your tablet/laptop.  Set a timer for 5 to 10 minutes.  Look at the pictures.  What story does this little “chapter” of the Tarot “book” relate?  Don’t think in words — look at the pictures as if they are selected photos from a children’s book.  What are the intervening pictures that complete the story?  What comes after?
  • Record what you learned in your training journal.  If it ain’t in the journal it didn’t happen.

Wrestling Conditioner #2: Set timer for 10 mins. Top Saddle a.k.a Mount your heavy bag and strike it 10 times as hard as you can. Drop, lock, and roll so that bag is on top of you. Knee boost or Reverse the bag as hard as you can back to Top Saddle.  Strike 10 times as hard as you can. Drop, lock, and roll so that bag is on top of you. Bridge the bag and roll it off to regain Top Saddle.  Repeat until timer beeps.

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