Tag Archives: clinch

This month at the club we’re working on clinch fighting.  We’re starting out with the basics — pummeling, the thai and cross-arm clinches , overhooks, underhooks, slide-bys, etc. — and by the end of the month we’ll be adding the striking component.

And we’ve started doing something that’s long overdue — we’re now selecting a spiritual focus in addition to our purely martial focus.  Last month it was contemplation.  This month it’s meditation.  What’s the difference between contemplation and meditation?  Well, it’s huge, and if you want to get the low-down, you should pre-order the next martial arts book (links here).

So anyway, we’re tweaking the Cabal Fang Workout of the Week by adding a spiritual component.

Cabal Fang Workout of the Week — WOOTW #20

• Eight Ball.  Select a medicine ball that suits your size and fitness level (I’m 155 lbs and in reasonably decent shape, so I used a #12).  Set timer for 8 mins and complete as many sets as you can before the timer beeps of 8 Medicine Ball Push-ups (on knees if you have to), 8 Medicine Ball Sit-ups, and 8 Medicine Ball Jump Squats.  Take as few 12-second breaks as possible.†
• Phone Booth Heavy Bag Drill (see video below). Set timer for 3 x 2:00/:30.  Loop and tie a hand wrap around yourself and your heavy bag so that you’re separated by only 8″ – 10″ and you can’t retreat.  Strike the bag with elbows, hooks, knees, and other short range attacks appropriate to the distance.
• Cool down for 3:00 or until your heart rate is under 100 bpm.
• Meditation on an Object.  Select an object that interests or inspires you and place it so that it’s at eye level when you are in your favorite meditation posture.  Tarot cards are great objects, as are photos and paintings, but you can use anything you like.  A sacred and/or religious icon, such as a Virgin of Guadalupe candle, a cross, a pentagram, an eye of Horus, a Celtic trinity knot, or what-have-you is also a solid choice.  Settle into your posture, regulate your breathing, and stare at the object.  Relax and let yourself sink into the item. Imagine that it’s a great teacher who’s going to reveal a powerful lesson to you by pulling you into a waking dream.  Allow that dream to unfold.  If it’s a Tarot card or picture, imagine that you are stepping into the image as you slip into the scene and become a part of the action.  Record your experiences in your diary or journal.

† From the 1913 Webster’s Dictionary:  “On shipboard, time is marked by a bell, which is struck eight times at 4, 8, and 12 o’clock. Half an hour after it has struck “eight bells” it is struck once, and at every succeeding half hour the number of strokes is increased by one, till at the end of the four hours, which constitute a watch, it is struck eight times.”