Tag Archives: involution

Martial Arts Training Involution #222 — NEW FORMAT!

Posted on August 22, 2020 | Leave a comment
phototropism

All about phototropism!

Starting with this week’s T.I. there will be a whole new format!  Each T.I. will include a foursome feast:

  • A fitness element — something to work your martial grit
  • A fighting element — something to work your martial skills
  • A faith element — a meditation, contemplation, prayer or sacred reading.  And finally the fourth element, which is all new…
  • A frontier element — a technique, skill, insight or tip relating to old-time lifeways, like nature observation and such.

Why?  To shake things up a little and promote my Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble  (“FRT”) program of course!

Sign up for the Bobcat FRT program  at Mitch’s General Store for just $19.99/month.  When you sign up you get a Bobcat Martial Arts hat and t-shirt ($29.98 value), a white bandanna and membership certificate ($9.99 value), a paperback copy of The Wildwood Workbook ($7.99 value) and your first training module ($9.99 value).  Each month you get a new module, book or other set of assignments and a 30-minute coaching call.  Just keep a training journal and send it in each month for evaluation and promotion.  You’ll be feeling fine as frog fur!

And now without further flourishing…

Phototropism: Martial Arts T.I. #222

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • Escape Plan. This one combines the fitness and fighting elements into a single delicious layered casserole of goodness.  See video below.  Set timer for fifteen intervals of 1 minute.  Run a minute, shadowbox for a minute, and do martial-relevant calisthenics for a minute.  Repeat four more times and your done.  Adjust running speed down to jogging or walking, and add rest breaks as needed, to suit your fitness level.  When you’re done, cool down by taking a walk and look at some trees.
  • Learn to find north using phototropism.  Plants naturally grow toward the light — even trees (see picture above).  Branches on the north side of a trees tend to be more vertical, those on the south more horizontal.  Go for a walk on a tree-lined street that runs east-west and look at the trees.  Ain’t that something?  Could save your life someday!
  • Sacred reading part 3.  This month’s symbol is the Book.  The essence of sacred reading is to analyze what you read in four different ways: literally, morally, allegorically and anagogically.  Last week you did some reading and some analyzing.  This week, memorize a meaningful snippet of sacred literature and recite it to yourself often during the week.  Memorizing sacred words gives you a special type of understanding — not so that you can impress your friends or hit people over the head with fancy words, but so that your command of the ideas can shape and hone they way you think.
  • Journal.  As always, log everything you did and thought about in your training journal, even if it’s only a few lines.  If it ain’t in the training journal it didn’t happen!


TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS AVAILABLE. 100% free and operated through my non-profit, Cabal Fang is a martial arts for personal development, self-defense and fitness. If Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble — the fighting arts, survival skills, lifeways and ethos of the colonial and indigenous peoples of North American during the frontier period (1607 – 1912) — is more to your liking, check out Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts, my for-profit martial art project. Click either photo to get started today!

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Plug and Play: Martial Arts T.I. #221

Posted on August 15, 2020 | Leave a comment

First a couple of plugs and then we can play.  And when we play, we’re going to plug in the moves of your choice.  Make sense?  No?  Just stick with me.

First plug is about SHIFT, the new-ish newsletter  I launched in April.  It isn’t exactly off to a scorching start.  If you signed up for it, please share your thoughts and opinions below so that I can make it better.  Thanks for your feedback!

Click here to visit Mitch’s General Store

Plug #2: Did you know that I have a quirky little online shop called Mitch’s General Store in which I sell all manner of unique fitness tools, martial arts modules, original artwork, books, and so forth?  Check it out.

 

And now on with the show, this is it.

Plug and Play: Martial Arts Training Involution #221

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • Wrestling Conditioner #2. This one’s should be a mainstay in your rotation.  Get out a floor bag, grappling dummy or silent partner and set a timer for 10 mins.  Strike 10 times from Top Saddle then drop and roll to Bottom Scissors.  Strike from bottom 10 times.  Hit your reversal of choice — Hip Heist (full or half), Kick Stand, DWL Sweep, etc. — and get back to Top Saddle.  Repeat until timer beeps.  Is this Greek to you?  Sounds like you need to start training — either IRL in Richmond (once COVID lifts) or via distance learning.  Links below.
  • Hike 1 mile with a heavy pack.  Heavy carries build real-deal strength.  Select a bag appropriate to your size, strength and fitness level and get walking (#30, #45 or #60).
  • Sacred reading part 2.  This month’s symbol is the Book.  The essence of sacred reading is to analyze what you read in four different ways: literally, morally, allegorically and anagogically.  This is called the Quadriga (see video below for more info).  Spend 15 minutes reading something of a spiritual, or at least philosophical, nature — the Holy Bible, the Tao Te Ching, the Meditations, whatever suits your fancy.  Apply at least two of the four types of reading to your selection and record your insights in your journal.

 


TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS AVAILABLE. 100% free and operated through my non-profit, Cabal Fang is a martial arts for personal development, self-defense and fitness. If Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble — the fighting arts, survival skills, lifeways and ethos of the colonial and indigenous peoples of North American during the frontier period (1607 – 1912) — is more to your liking, check out Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts, my for-profit martial art project. Click either photo to get started today!

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Dollar Short: Martial Arts T.I. #220

Posted on August 10, 2020 | Leave a comment

My apologies for the tardiness of the weekly T.I.  I got a little tied up, what with everything going on in these here parts, including but not limited to my adult son living with me for the last couple of months on account of his COVID-related visa struggles and blah blah blah (those of you who have my cell or email, reach out and I’ll share the boring details).

Anyway, without further ado, I present…

Dollar Short: Martial Arts Training Involution #220

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • Complete this month’s constitutional. Walking Push-ups (25), Wall Touches (100), Monkey Rolls (25), Crunch’n’Punch (25), Lunges (100), Jumping Jacks (100), Steam Engines (25).  Get it done in under 16:40 and you have us beat (so far).
  • Sacred reading.  This month’s symbol is the Book.  Spend 15 minutes reading something of a spiritual, or at least philosophical, nature — the Holy Bible, the Tao Te Ching, the Meditations, whatever suits your fancy.  Make sure you record in your journal any and all realizations and reflections come to you as you read.


TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE. 100% free and operated through my non-profit, Cabal Fang is a martial arts for personal development, self-defense and fitness. If Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble — the fighting arts, survival skills, lifeways and ethos of the colonial and indigenous peoples of North American during the frontier period (1607 – 1912) — is more to your liking, check out Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts, my for-profit martial art project. Click either photo to get started today!

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Slack nor Howl: Martial Arts T.I. #219

Posted on August 1, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Slacker” was a term for citizens who were uninvolved in the war effort during World War I, and a “calamity howler” was a fear-mongerer.  When the Spanish flu hit in 1918,

“the term slacker took on the added meaning of one who went out in public while ill, coughed and sneezed openly and in the presence of others, and generally disregarded the prudent recommendations of city authorities. The calamity howler became one who spread unfounded rumors of hundreds of influenza deaths in one day and vituperated health officials’ inability to minimize the spread of the contagion.”¹

Here are some of the things people did to keep society moving during the Spanish Flu epidemic when schools, churches, offices and civic centers were closed:

  • Kids were encouraged to do use their knitting, crocheting, sewing, wood-shop and arts and crafts skills to make new or repair damaged hats, gloves, and toys for the needy.
  • Churches teamed with Boy Scout Clubs to deliver stay-at-home Sunday school lessons to the homes of parishioners.
  • High School students were expected to be prepared for exams when they returned to school.  Teachers were available to assist struggling students by phone.
  • Outdoor schools, opened to fight tuberculosis, continued to operate throughout the early 20th century.  Kids didn’t just make do with outdoor schools, they excelled. Evidence suggests that students actually learn better outdoors than they do within.²

We are martial artists.  We should neither slack nor howl, but get our butts in gear.

Slack nor Howl: Martial Arts Training Involution #219

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • Crack yourself a sack.  Get a floor bag (a heavy bag with chains taped).  Make one if necessary.  Set timer for 10 mins.  Scissor lock the bag from the bottom and squeeze as hard as you can.  Straighten your trunk while you hit the top of his “head” with hammer fists.  When your legs gas, swap top/bottom foot position.  If you can’t make the whole 10 minutes, alternate Smearing Push-ups on the bag and Hatmaker’s Kansas Burpees until the timer beeps.
  • Get your crack out of the sack.  Run 1 mile as fast as you can.
  • Sack up and crack right back.  Whatever pressures are putting the squeeze on you —  social, work, health, financial, etc. — there is always something you can do.  Restriction breeds creativity, not freedom.  Get paper and pen and set a timer for three minutes.  Don’t analyze and think deeply — you’ll do that later — just throw out ideas!  Write down as many things as you can that might help your current situation.  When the timer beeps, calmly review and analyze the list.  Pick the three best ideas.  Put them on your to-do list, set completion dates on your calendar, and so on.  Taking action — any kind of action — is better than laying there and letting life, your opponent, or your assailant, crush the life out of you.

¹ How Did LA Cope With The Influenza Pandemic Of 1918?

² Schools Beat Earlier Plagues with Outdoor Classes.  We Should Too.


TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE. 100% free and operated through my non-profit, Cabal Fang is a martial arts for personal development, self-defense and fitness. If Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble — the fighting arts, survival skills, lifeways and ethos of the colonial and indigenous peoples of North American during the frontier period (1607 – 1912) — is more to your liking, check out Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts, my for-profit martial art project. Click either photo to get started today!

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Stickin’ and Movin’: Martial Arts T.I. #218

Posted on July 25, 2020 | Leave a comment

This month’s martial focus is sparring.  All month long we’re providing solo drills to keep you sparring-fit during the pandemic.  Week one, a striking drill.  Week 2, a grappling drill.  Week 3, a wrestling fitness drill.  Week 4, a weapon drill and a two-part movement drill.

First, don’t forget that there’s only 1 week left for followers, friends and family to get my newest book for half price.  The  50% off pre-sale ends on 8/1/20.  Click here to get it before the price doubles.

Stickin’ and Movin’: Martial Arts Training Involution #218

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • Stickin’ drill.  What is your everyday carry weapon of choice?  Pepper spray?  Kubotan keychain? Folding knife? Walking stick?  Banana?  Take a dull version of your weapon of choice and go after your heavy bag for 3 x 3:00/1:00.  Get as close as you can to the same size and weight as the actual weapon and practice with both hands so that your practice will directly translate in a life or death fight.  Here are some photos of my training weapons.

    training weapons

    Training weapons — stand-ins for tomahawk, navaja, Bowie, etc.

  • Movin’ drill.  Could you quietly navigate your home or apartment in the dark if you had to evade an intruder?  Could you avoid all of the creaky doors, squeaking boards and popping stairs?  How about your yard?  Could you make it off your property in the dark in any direction without making noise, stepping in a divot, or tripping over a root?  Start practicing today.  See video below for tips.
  • Practice the Rule of Five. This month’s symbol is the Pentangle or 5-pointed star ★ (more about its symbolism here).  After you’ve cooled down for 3 minutes, spend some time organizing your life by the Rule of Five.  Divide a sheet of paper into two columns. Then cut the right column into four equal parts so that your paper is divided into five sections.   Label the left column “Misc.” and the four sections on the right side, “Today,” “This Week,” “This Weekend,” and “This Month.”  List all goals and to-do items under “Misc.”  Then move three things into each of the blocks on the right, crossing them off the left as you go.  When you’re done you’ll have three things to do today, three this week, three this weekend, three this month, and a slew of things on the left that are on deck.  Work and maintain a list like this and it’ll change your life.  For more on this program see The Hourglass Way: Transform in 12 weeks with Cabal Fang.


TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE. 100% free and operated through my non-profit, Cabal Fang is a martial arts for personal development, self-defense and fitness. If Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble — the fighting arts, survival skills, lifeways and ethos of the colonial and indigenous peoples of North American during the frontier period (1607 – 1912) — is more to your liking, check out Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts, my for-profit martial art project. Click either photo to get started today!

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Trial and Storm: Martial Arts T.I. #217

Posted on July 18, 2020 | Leave a comment

This month’s martial focus is sparring.  All month long we’re providing solo drills to keep you sparring-fit during the pandemic.

Week one, a striking drill.  Week 2, a grappling drill.  Now, for Week 3, a wrestling fitness drill.

 

 

Trial and Storm: Martial Arts Training Involution #217

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • Morgan’s Constitutional.  My daughter Morgan passed her Constitutional Trial by completing this in 16:00 flat.  See how many licks it takes you to get to the center of this tootsie pop: Medicine Ball Clean & Press (40), Zombie Squats (50). Bear Walks (25 x 15′), Crunches Legs Up (50), Standing Broad Jumps (25), Bicycles (100), Mountain Climbers (100).
  • Imitate mythical sailor Captain Stormalong.  This little jewel is from my Bobcat Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble program.  Get out your floor bag and set a timer for 4 x 3:00/1:00 (advanced players work through the 1:00 rests).  Round 1, dry swim (alternate Flutter Kicks and Swimmers).  Round 2, wrestle your floor bag (Hip Heists, Back Bridge, etc.).  Round 3, Rope Climbs (if you can’t climb, hang).  Round 4, wrestle the floor bag some more (Shrimps, Bottom Scissors crush, etc.).
  • Practice the Rule of Five. This month’s symbol is the pentangle or 5-pointed star ★ (more about its symbolism here).  After you’ve cooled down for 3 minutes, spend some time organizing your life by the Rule of Five.  Divide a sheet of paper into two columns. Then cut the right column into four equal parts so that your paper is divided into five sections.   Label the left column “Misc.” and the four sections on the right side, “Today,” “This Week,” “This Weekend,” and “This Month.”  List all goals and to-do items under “Misc.”  Then move three things into each of the blocks on the right, crossing them off the left as you go.  When you’re done you’ll have three things to do today, three this week, three this weekend, three this month, and a slew of things on the left that are on deck.  Work and maintain a list like this and it’ll change your life.  For more on this program see The Hourglass Way: Transform in 12 weeks with Cabal Fang.


TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE. 100% free and operated through my non-profit, Cabal Fang is a martial arts for personal development, self-defense and fitness. If Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble — the fighting arts, survival skills, lifeways and ethos of the colonial and indigenous peoples of North American during the frontier period (1607 – 1912) — is more to your liking, check out Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts, my for-profit martial art project. Click either photo to get started today!

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Shove and Yank: Martial Arts T.I. #216

Posted on July 11, 2020 | 2 comments

This month’s martial focus is sparring.  All month long we’ll be giving you solo drills you can use to stay sparring-fit (not everyone has sparring partners living in their households like I do).  Last week we did some striking stuff.  Today we’re going to do some grappling work.

Not a lot of preamble today guys — I need to wrap up the manuscript for Martial Grit and submit it to the publisher today because release date is Aug. 1st.

 

Shove and Yank: Martial Arts Training Involution #216

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • Three rounds of grappling dummy clinch punishment.  Set a timer for 3 x 3:00/1:00 and get your floor bag or grappling dummy (or just stuff a big gym bag with soft equipment and linens. Round 1, put it up against a wall and shove, grind, push, cram, gouge, knee and elbow.  Round 2, body lock your dummy and squeeze the life out of it with a good palm-to-palm grip and proper forearm cutting.  Round 3, back to the wall.  Advanced players skip the round breaks and press on.
  • Yanking practice.  Put a rope on your floor bag or grappling dummy and spend a few minutes warming up.  Reeling the bag towards you across the mat/floor, lightly pull and yank, etc.  When you’re ready to go, set timer for 30 second intervals and practice yanking that bag with maximum aggression.  Alternate 30 seconds of action and 30 seconds of rest.  Imagine this is your opponent’s arm and really go to town.  5 to 8 minutes of that should be more than enough.  Video below.
  • Pentangle meditation. This month’s symbol is the pentangle or 5-pointed star ★.  In addition to symbolizing the five wounds of Christ, it symbolizes the knight in action, the unification of all five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch) and all five faculties (faith, effort, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom).  After you’ve cooled down for 3 minutes, set a timer for 10 minutes. Assume posture of choice and regulate breathing to a slow and steady rhythm. Keep your eyes open and do not fidget, wiggle or scratch. Visualize a five-pointed star.  Do not think about it in words — just experience the symbol as it is in a state of calm and relaxed awareness. When the timer beeps, record what you did and what you experienced in your training journal. 


TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE. 100% free and operated through my non-profit, Cabal Fang is a martial arts for personal development, self-defense and fitness. If Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble — the fighting arts, survival skills, lifeways and ethos of the colonial and indigenous peoples of North American during the frontier period (1607 – 1912) — is more to your liking, check out Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts, my for-profit martial art project. Click either photo to get started today!

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Happy 4th — it’s Sling Shot: Martial Arts T.I. #215

Posted on July 4, 2020 | Leave a comment

Happy Independence Day!

This month’s martial focus is Sparring and the spiritual symbol is the Pentangle. In the age of COVID, what do you do to in place of sparring and/or to stay fit for sparring?  Well read on…

Oops, I almost forgot to give you this month’s constitutional.  Breathe deep, you’re going to need it:

Get-ups (25)
Prison Push-ups (25)
Sprints (25)
Neck Crunches (25)
Russian Squats (50)
Down-ups (25)
Sit-out Push-ups (25)

And now for…

Sling Shot: Martial Arts Training Involution #215

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • Wrestling Conditioner — impaired.  To simulate having to fight injured, put your dominant arm in a sling, tuck it into your belt, cram it in your pocket, etc. and go it with one hand.  Throw your floor bag in the center of your training area and set timer for 4 x 2:00.  Round 1, circle the bag with good form.  Round 2, take Top Saddle and strike the bag with your good arm. Round 3, Roll to Bottom Scissors and squeeze as hard as you can.  When you gas out, swap feet. Round 4, let the bag rest on your your face and chest and strike as hard as you can with hooks, palms, etc.
  • Take your best shot.  7 rounds of “COVID Sparring.”  See video below.
  • Contemplation. After you’ve cooled down for 3 minutes, set a timer for 10 minutes. Assume posture of choice and regulate breathing to a slow and steady rhythm. Keep your eyes open and do not fidget, wiggle or scratch. Allow your thoughts to dissipate like ripples on a pond and your mind to approach a state of calm and relaxed awareness. When the timer beeps, record what you did and what you experienced in your training journal. If you don’t take bearings and spot landmarks, you might get lost.


TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE. 100% free and operated through my non-profit, Cabal Fang is a martial arts for personal development, self-defense and fitness. If Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble — the fighting arts, survival skills, lifeways and ethos of the colonial and indigenous peoples of North American during the frontier period (1607 – 1912) — is more to your liking, check out Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts, my for-profit martial art project. Click either photo to get started today!

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Tetragram: Martial Arts Training Involution #214

Posted on June 27, 2020 | 2 comments

chariot tarot

Last week we saw that the Chariot Tarot card encapsulates our June focuses (counters, triggers and flow drills on the martial side and the spiritual symbol the Cross) because it depicts what’s possible if you are maximally engaged (in the flow) and maximally integral (living out the Cross). In other words, you are unified in thoughts, desires, actions and beliefs.

But the Chariot also symbolizes the quadriga — the four ways of interpreting scripture which are named after the Roman quadrida, a chariot drawn by four horses. Those four ways are literally, allegorically, morally and mystically. Four perspectives are necessary in order to see the big picture (that’s why there are four Gospels).

It’s all about the fours. The Egyptian Hieratic number four is jifdáw, which literally means “rectangle.” The canopy of the chariot is a rectangle with four posts, the charioteer’s chest is adorned with a square, and the entire artistic layout is in squares and rectangles that mirror the four-letter name of God (the Tetragrammaton, YHWH). The charioteer is oriented by a 4-pointed internal compass (the Cross) and he’s in “the zone.”

All of this is embedded in the Hermetic Quaternary — to Know, to Will, to Dare, to Keep Silent — the Hermetic “compass” that is equated with the Christian cross.

The Hermetic Quaternary is encoded in esoteric Christianity and right there in the scripture — in both the Old Testament and in the Gospels as spoken by Christ. Read more about this in the next issue of SHIFT which comes out tomorrow (subscribe here).
Tetragram: Martial Arts Training Involution #214

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • How many hours have you spent “in the flow” this week? When you’re in the flow, walking with Christ, or whatever you prefer to call it, you are relaxed, happy, productive and engaged — without effort, tension, or self-consciousness. If the answer is less than an hour per day on average I suggest journaling daily. Analyze your entries. Figure out what gets you into that space and what pushes you out. Set some benchmarks. The more time you spend there the better.
  • Complete “Staying Alive.” In self-defense you can’t internalize a action/reaction flow chart — you have to prepare to fight tired and from any position and learn to fight in the flow. Set timer for 5 x 4:00/1:00. First round, run away from your training area. Second round, run back. Third round, shadowbox. Fourth round, grapple your floor bag. Round five, wrestle your floor bag. Beginners, take as many 12-count breaks as you need to finish. Advanced players, work through the rest breaks. See video below.
  • Contemplation. After you’ve cooled down for 3 minutes, set a timer for 10 minutes. Assume posture of choice and regulate breathing to a slow and steady rhythm. Keep your eyes open and do not fidget, wiggle or scratch. Allow your thoughts to dissipate like ripples on a pond and your mind to approach a state of calm and relaxed awareness. When the timer beeps, record what you did and what you experienced in your training journal. If you don’t take bearings and spot landmarks, you might get lost.


TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE. 100% free and operated through my non-profit, Cabal Fang is a martial arts for personal development, self-defense and fitness. If Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble — the fighting arts, survival skills, lifeways and ethos of the colonial and indigenous peoples of North American during the frontier period (1607 – 1912) — is more to your liking, check out Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts, my for-profit martial art project. Click either photo to get started today!

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No Reins: Martial Arts Training Involution #213

Posted on June 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

chariot tarot

As I mentioned at the beginning of the month, the Chariot Tarot card symbolizes the successes that come to a person who is in a proper relationship with Being.  This is the individual who spends a great deal of time in what modern people call a “flow state” but what I would call “being in Christ.”

The chariot is drawn by two sphinxes, and there are no reins.  So how does the charioteer steer the chariot?  How does he direct himself to his destination?  By being aware and engaged, he gets where he wants to go because he goes were he wants to get.  It is allowed to happen.

bridger

As Hatmaker pointed out on his blog this week, the greatest frontiersmen could hear a mouse pissing on cotton, and they gave the impression they could see the invisible and predict the future.  That’s because they were paying attention — not in a forced and tension-filled way but in a relaxed, fearless and fully engaged manner.  They were in the flow.

Consider this 17th century Masonic poem by Scot Henry Adamson:

For what we presage is not in grosse,
For we brethren of the Rosie Crosse;
We have the Mason Word and second sight,
Things for to come we can foretell aright.

Some say that Adamson is implying that Masons have psychic abilities.  I don’t think so.

I think what he’s saying is that when you have integrity — when thoughts, desires, actions and beliefs are unified such that you live “in the flow” or “in Christ” — then you are oriented to such a degree that your spiritual and physical compasses are superimposed and things happen for you as if by magic.

No Reins: Martial Arts Training Involution #213

  • Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes. Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, or light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
  • How many hours have you spent “in the flow” this week?  When you’re in the flow, walking with Christ, or whatever you prefer to call it, you are relaxed, happy, productive and engaged — without effort, tension, or self-consciousness.  If the answer is less than an hour per day on average I suggest journaling daily.  Analyze your entries.  Figure out what gets you into that space and what pushes you out.  Set some benchmarks.  The more time you spend there the better.
  • 20 minutes of forms.  Cabal Fangers, run through the Fool’s Journey, the Star of Ishtar and the Black Dragon three times each, then shadowbox until you get your 20.  Rough ‘n’ Tumblers, get out your tomahawk and run through some basic combinations paying special attention to foot position, following steps, off hand, etc.  If your martial art doesn’t have forms, shadowbox.
  • Have you done two constitutionals this week?  If not, complete this month’s constitutional.  Pikes (25), Push-ups, uneven (25), Jump Squats (100), Reverse Bridges (25), Curb Touches (100), Ploughs (25), Burpees (25).
  • Contemplation.  After you’ve cooled down for about 3 minutes, set a timer for 10 minutes. Full instructions in the video below.  When the timer beeps, record what you did and what you experienced in your training journal.  If you don’t take bearings and spot landmarks, you might get lost.

TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE.  Cabal Fang is a martial arts for personal development and is 100% free and operated through my non-profit.  Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts, my for-profit martial art project, is Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble — 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 (1607 – 1912).  Click either photo to get started today!

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