Tag Archives: involution

The Climb: Training Involution #97

Posted on March 17, 2018 | Leave a comment

You can say it’s about the journey not the destination all you want to, and I’ll agree with every time on a philosophical level.  I get it.  But when you’re talking about climbing, you have to admit it’s all about the view.

Make it to the top of something high and you’ll never forget what it’s like looking down.

What’s the last height you climbed?  Was it a physical climb or an emotional, philosophical, religious or mental one?  What was it like looking down? 

Well if it’s been awhile since the last time you scaled a great height, let me introduce you to…

The Climb: Training Involution #97

 

  • Half Pyramid of Push-ups, Jumping Jacks and Squats (that’s 1 of each, 2 of each, 3, 4, etc.).  Beginners climb to 10 (55 total reps of each exercise), intermediate to 14 (105) , advanced to 17 (153).  Transition to Push-ups on knees or Half-Squats if you have to, just don’t quit.  Remember: this isn’t working out, this is training.
  • Heavy Bag Max Power Shots 5 x 2:00/:30.  Do your shots in combos half-pyramid-styled.  So throw 1 strike, skip a beat, then 2 shots, beat, 3 shots, etc. up to 10 shots.  Then start over until the round ends.  No lollygagging.  
  • Enjoy the view.  Cool down for about 2 mins and then set a timer for 10 mins.  Assume your meditative posture of choice, keeping eyes wide open as you regulate your breathing to your natural, regular rhythm.  Life is a climb and every moment presents its own unique view.  Look at it with your whole being.  Use your visual, symbolic, experiential mind not your linguistic mind.  Don’t let yourself think in words.  Reality is beautiful and everything is sacred.  Just look at it and experience it for 10 minutes.

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Locus: Training Involution #95

Posted on March 3, 2018 | Leave a comment

Locus: Training Involution #95

Do not approach this week’s assignment intellectually.  Just dive in, participate sincerely and get involved in the experience.

  • The Fool’s Journey.  Set timer 15 mins.  Complete the Fool’s Journey Form as many times as you can — without sacrificing power and elegance! — before the timer beeps.  No experience in Cabal Fang?  Sub a form, drill or combo chain from your martial art/style.
  • Conditioning run.  CR15A
  • Bear hug carry.  4 x 1:00, 1 x failure.  Throw some weight into a backpack or military duffle or use your heavy bag (strap dumbbells to it if need be).   Start with an easy load.  Hug bag and walk circles inside your training area for 1:00 min.  Rest 1:00 while you add more weight.  Do that 4 times.  On the 5th round carry to failure.
  • Meditation.  After cooling down spend a few minutes looking at the pictures below.  Then set a timer for 10 mins, assume chosen meditation posture, close eyes and regulate breathing.  Allow images from your training session, mixed with recollections of the photos below, to play like a slideshow in your mind’s eye.  Use your imagination and do not think in words, only in pictures.  Hopefully you’ll see the symbolism that ties all four aspects of this training involution together.  Record thoughts and experiences in your training journal.

 

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Temple Financials and Training Involution #94

Posted on February 24, 2018 | Leave a comment

Here’s a lovely shot of the existing temple all covered in snow. We like it. But it sure would be nice to have a proper one that’s not on my personal property, one big enough for dozens of people to train in and open to the public…

I completed the Cabal Fang Temple, Inc. financial statements for 2017 — check them out on the Cabal Fang website by clicking here.

After 1 year of incorporation as an officially recognized 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit, the Temple Fund for buying or building a state-of-the-art temple is up to a whopping $1,032.00.  At this rate we’ll able to break ground in about 200 years.

But this is Cabal Fang, and we don’t give up so easy.  If that’s how long it takes, that’s how long it takes.

Sometimes gains are made in great dramatic leaps.  But most of the time, success is the result of the daily grind — consistent work over the long haul.

The Grind: Cabal Fang Training Involution #94

  • Push-up Grinder.  After a thorough 8-minute warm-up, complete a full pyramid to 10 of Prison Push-ups, Back-ups, Regular Push-ups, Jump Squats.  Take as many 12-count breaks as you need to finish, and do the Regular Push-ups on your knees if/when you burn out.
  • 1 long round on the heavy bag.  10 minutes for accuracy, no breaks.   If your bag doesn’t have targets on it, put some Xs on it with sports tape.  Throw combos at the marks with realistic malice.  Count your misses until times’s up and then — did you see it coming? — do Push-ups for each miss — beginners 1, intermediate 2, advanced 3 or more.
  • Jump rope for 15 minutes.  If you aren’t good at it don’t worry about looking cute.  Doesn’t matter if the rope hits your feet a hundred times, just start again when it does and keep getting over the rope for the duration.  Grind it out.
  • Pick one of the internal exercises from the Cabal Fang Study Guide and do it every single day this week no matter what.  Practice contemplation, do one of the Meditations of the Rose,  meditate on one of the Five Vital Graces, complete the Salutations of Sun and Moon, etc.  Just pick one and stick with it all week.

Footnote: During a seminar at Karate College, Karate Legend Joe Lewis once told me and the other guys in attendance that, in order to hone a true weapon, he stopped practicing dozens of kicks and stuck with only a few.  He concentrated particularly on Side Kick.  He would stay in the gym late and do thousands of them.  People thought that he was an overnight success when we won the Jhoon Rhee Nationals in 1966.  But leading up to that were two years of Side Kicks numbering in the tens of thousands.  Breakthroughs are real.  But the grind is realer.

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CRUNCH! CRASH! BANG! Training Involution #92

Posted on February 10, 2018 | Leave a comment

CRUNCH! Crash! Bang! cabal fang Training Involution #92

  • Crunch through a hike.  Cover two miles with a weighted pack (#20, #40 or #60 by size/ability).  Finish up with 100 Squats before you drop the pack.
  • Crash into some combos.  7 x 2:00/1:00. Start each combo with a hard lead palm, a hard falling jab, or a forearm cram.  Finish each one with some kind of crash — a shoulder-slam, body lock, bear hug, bulldog,  single or double-leg take-down, etc.  If you have a partner, take turns exchanging combos.  No partner?  Use a heavy bag.  No heavy bag?  Shadowbox.  If working solo, spend your 1:00 breaks doing as many Sit-out Push-ups as you can, taking as few 12-count breaks as you need to survive.
  • Bang out a conditioning run.  CR10F Prisoner-style (hands behind your head).
  • Slice through your week.   While cooling down, think of a fumble you made in the last week, something you were involved in that went down awkwardly, inelegantly or uncomfortably.   How could you have been more elegant?  Then assume meditation posture, close eyes and regulate breathing and visualize the coming week.  See yourself acting with grace and fluidity, slicing through your week like a hawk through the air.  Don’t fantasize!  Imagine real situations on the actual horizon and really consider how you will need to behave in order to cut through your week.  When you’re done, record your thoughts and inspirations in your training journal and make notes on your To-Do list so you don’t forget.

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Choke, Don’t Choke: Training Involution #91

Posted on February 3, 2018 | Leave a comment

I have to admit that I love garment work.  Chokes, hockey jerks, sleeve pulls, all of it.   Yes, I know that choking a guy out with his own shirt isn’t “sporting.”  But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?

Self-defense is about escaping the clutches of attackers who are bigger and stronger than you.  What’s cooler than putting a 250 lb. killer to sleep with his own shirt?

This week’s involution is all about choking.  And not choking.

Choke, Don’t Choke: Training Involution #91

  • Choke. Put an old shirt or jacket on a sturdy wooden coat hanger and practice your basic chokes, like Old #7, Brace Choke, X Choke, Double Lapel Choke, etc.  If you feel creative, make a head-and-neck dummy (video below) and practice more complex chokes, like the Loop Choke, Squeeze Choke,  Paper-cutter, Jersey Choke, Guillotine Lapel Choke, and so on.
  • Don’t Choke.  Warm-up for 8 minutes.  Then select a sandbag (#20, #40 or #60) and set timer for 10 minutes.  Complete as many sets as you can of 7 SBGs (Sand Bag Get-ups), 7 SBLs (Sand Bag Lunges) and 14 SBPs (Sand Bag Presses).  This is for strength in the scuffle and the sand bag is your enemy.  So don’t “workout” — train.
  • 20-Minute Conditioning Run (Power).  Set a timer for 8:30.  Head out until the timer beeps, then head back.  Get home before it beeps again.  When it does, walk it off for 3 minutes and you’re done in 20.  A Constitutional Run means Constitutional Trial rules apply — take as few 12-count walking breaks as you need to finish.  Running for power means you run as fast as you can without pacing yourself.  FYI, there are several more types of Conditioning Run in the pipeline — watch for a blog post on Wednesday that will explain the protocol.

 

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Smear Campaign: Training Involution #90

Posted on January 27, 2018 | 3 comments

One of the reasons I started Cabal Fang was because I thought martial arts should incorporate fighting realism and fitness realism. 

For a martial artist, the only thing worse than zero fitness regimen is a fitness regimen that’s irrelevant.  

If you don’t spend any time on fitness, that’s more rounds boxing and wrestling, and that sure won’t hurt your strength or stamina.  But although hours spent on treadmills, ellipticals or steppers might be good for your health, they’re not helping your martial fitness.  I’m not smearing exercise.  I’m smearing waste.

The third Vital Grace of Cabal Fang is Frugality.  Barachiel’s First Lighting is Keep Only What is Valuable.  The average violent encounter lasts under 2 minutes.  The max round length in combat sports is 5 minutes.

  1. Map your fitness training against martial landmarks.
  2. Train to be a wildcat, a honey badger, a goddamned Tasmanian devil.
  3. Select and/or modify exercises so that your fitness mimics martial movements whenever possible.
  4. Keep your fitness training short, focused and close to max output.

With that in mind…

Training Involution #90

  • Scuffling, grappling and wrestling HIIT.  Set a timer to beep every 40 seconds.  Whenever it beeps take a 10-second break and then start the next exercise.  Cycle through the following 6 times for a total of 16 minutes: Smearing Push-ups, Cross-arm Clinch Lunges (maximum cutting power!), Leg Triangles and Splay-n-Punch.    See video below for details.
  • Training journal review.  Sit down with your training journal and do a review.  Is your fitness training martial focused?  I’m no better than you are — I found some holes.  Let’s go plug them together, shall we?  Adjust your training regimen as needed.
  • If you do not keep a training journal you are not training.  Take a 100 Jump Squat penalty.  Immediately purchase a spiral notebook and begin logging your training sessions!

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A Power Greater than Will: Training Involution #89

Posted on January 20, 2018 | 4 comments

Most people try to make changes in their lives by using brute force of will. So, when they see that I’ve had some success changing things about myself I haven’t liked, they often say, “You have tremendous willpower.”

That is absolutely false. I don’t have willpower. I have been able to harness a power greater than will. And you can too.

Do you want to change?  The technique to harness that power is is explained fully in the video below, which is part of this week’s training involution.

Cabal Fang Training Involution #89: A Power Greater than Will

1. Deck of Cards. Take this quiz and add up all your “No” answers: Have you trained at least twice in the last 7 days? Do you keep a training journal per the instructions in the Cabal Fang Study Guide? Do you set training goals and track your progress toward them using measurable data points such as weight lifted, strikes/minute, distance, time, heart rate, etc.? Do you train using periodicity and/or training cycles? Got your score from 0 to 4? Good. Warm up for 8 minutes, then consult the chart below to get your workout. Shuffle a deck of cards, take off the number of cards as indicated (if any), and place them face down on the floor. Turn a card and complete the number of reps indicated. 1 rep for each pip 1 through 10. Face cards = 10 and Aces = 15. That’s 100 reps per suit, 400 reps per deck.

Number of “No” answers Deck Size Exercises
0 Pull out 26 cards (1/2 deck) ♠ = Push-ups, ♣ = Sit-ups, ♥ = Squats and ♦ = Jumping Jacks
1 Pull out 13 cards (3/4 deck) ♠ = Push-ups, ♣ = Sit-ups, ♥ = Squats and ♦ = Jumping Jacks
2 Pull off 13 cards ♠ = Push-ups, ♣ = Sit-ups, ♥ = Squats and ♦ = Jumping Jacks
3 Whole deck ♠ = Push-ups ♣ = Sit-ups, Red cards = Squats
4 Whole deck Black cards = Push-ups, Red cards = Squats

2. Watch the video below and meditate. What is the bad habit you can’t lick, the behavior you can’t get rid of, the endeavor that keeps vexing you? Set a timer for 8 minutes, assume your meditative posture of choice, regulate your breathing, and narrow your eyes to slits. Spend 8 minutes earnestly searching for the “counter-balance” or “light” I mentioned in the video (I’m using a veiled reference to force you to watch the video!).  What is it? When the timer beeps, record your thoughts in your training journal. What are you going to do to make sure that you put more focus on the counterbalance you found? What’s your plan?

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Introducing Training Involutions

Posted on January 11, 2018 | 5 comments

INVOLUTION¹
\In`vo*lu”tion\, n. [L. involutio: cf. F. involution.
See {Involve}.] 1. The act of involving or infolding.  2. The state of being entangled or involved; complication; entanglement.

As of this coming Saturday the “Workout of the Week” will now be referred to as the “Training Involution” of the week.

Why?  Because we are martial artists.  We are not “working out” — we are training.  “Working out” means going down to the local fitness center to get your sweat on, maybe get on a treadmill or a bike, perhaps lift some weights.  There’s nothing wrong with that of course.  Workouts are good for you inside and out.

But this is Cabal Fang.  We are not here to work out, we are here to train.  To prepare.  To defend. To build our mind-body-spirit triangles into indomitable pyramids.  Above all, to be involved.  The term “training involution” implies that you are involved.

But there’s also a metaphysical meaning of the word “involution” which is the opposite of evolution.  Evolution is the growth phase.  Involution is the looking inward phase.  A caterpillar must enter its cocoon (involve) before it can exit as a butterfly (evolve).

You can work out while listening to your iPod — but you cannot train.

Who are training involutions for?

They are designed for martial artists looking for an extra-challenging weekly exercise session — especially for those practicing Cabal Fang martial arts looking to supplement their twice-weekly meetings and constitutionals.  But anyone can use them, even if only for inspiration.  See your doctor before beginning a new fitness regimen and listen to your body.  I will not accept responsibility if you try to blame me for injury or death resulting from any exercise routine on this website.

What do involutions consist of?

Each week I generally include three things — a fitness component, a martial component and a spiritual component.  But that doesn’t mean I always will.    Sometimes I will have activities that overlap and/or stretch boundaries and definitions.

When should I perform involutions?

Whenever you want.  But since they can be pretty intense, I suggest inserting them in your exercise scheme at a point that allows you adequate recovery time before your next session based on your fitness level.

Why should I do the involutions?

Because you want to pursue the Great Work, of course.  And to do that you have to get involved with yourself and the world around you.

Get ready, because this Saturday’s involution is going to be a real challenge.

 

¹ Webster’s 1913 Dictionary

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