“Amonsokwat” — A black bear

The other day I posted about learning the extinct Virginia Algonquian language (a.k.a. “Powhatan”).  As part of this project I’m forcing myself to write in my diary using only Powhatan words, which forces me to learn the language.  I’m a lifelong journaler and a big believer in the transformational power of instrospective writing, especially  with the hand — which is why journaling is the the backbone of the Cabal Fang Hermit Path Distance Learning Program and a part of the Bobcat program also.

Here is an inspirational video about writing with the hand.  If you don’t like it I’ll eat my pretty little flowered bonnet.

Anyway, since I’m journaling and thinking in Powhatan, the word that came to mind when putting together this week’s mettle maker was amonsokwat — a bear.  In short bursts, bears are both strong and fast.  And that’s what this week’s mettle maker is all about.

Amonsokwat: Mettle Maker #259

• Before you train, warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes.  Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope or footwork (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
• 

  This month’s constitutional

  
  
  Complete this month’s constitutional.  Burpees (25), Jackknifes (25), Knuckle Push-ups (25), Zombie Squats (50), Neck Crunches (100 – 25 @ F,B,L,R), Bear Walks (100 yards), Bicycles (50).
• Ruck 2 miles — Ranger time.  Put on a backpack of weight appropriate to your fitness level (I used a #25) and cover 2 miles in 30 minutes or less.  In military cadence that’s 140 ‘beats’ per minute (140 steps of 30″ each per minute).  This is standard marching speed for Army Rangers.  Get there.
• Counterpunching heavy bag practice.  Set timer for rounds of 3:00/1:00 and practice your L. Jab counters — just make sure you really imagine that hand coming at you.  Round 1: Slide inside to avoid opponent’s jab as you fire your own jab back at his nose.  Next iteration, Jab twice.  Next iteration after that, Jab thrice.  Then reset to 1 Jab and continue.  Assuming you’re a righty, you should be circling the bag in a clockwise direction.  Round 2: Slip outside and Jab to “the mark” (solar plexus), and come back with an Right Hook to the body and a Left Hook to the jaw.  Round 3:  Slip outside and Jab to “the mark” (solar plexus), then weave inside and fire a 1-2 to his nose.  If you’re still feeling chipper, switch stance and do all three rounds again.  If none of this makes sense, sounds like you could stand to take one of my classes or sign up for one of my distance learning programs.
• Learn to tie a sheet bend.  Very useful for joining two different sizes/qualities of line.  See photo set below.

form a bend with the tail on the left

feed the other line in from the back

encircle both parts of the first line with the second and insert beneath itself — note that the short ends are both on the left

pull tight to cinch

• Stand up straight and speak the truth.  This month’s spiritual symbol is The Staff.  Think about all the figures from history, myth and fiction who carry a staff — Moses, Aaron from the Bible, Gandalf, Rafiki, Hermes with this caduceus, the Hermit card from your Tarot deck, and so forth.  The staff is their proof of office.  Symbolically it is a straight line connecting two points — the divine and the material — just like your spine which connects your brain (the ideal intellectual) to your groin (the real-world instinctual).  The wisdom figure is in communication with both worlds.  He or she understands the grand plan, and speaks its truth in a way that is sacred, but also in a way that inspires and directs without being unnecessarily hurtful.  He or she speaks the sacred words, provides direction, and reveals the truth in a way that makes the world better.  For the month of May, pay special attention to embodying that ideal.  Straighten your spine.  Treat the things you say as sacred.  Find a way to speak the truth in a way that inspires.  Be a communicator between the ideal and the mundane.  That is wisdom.    

TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS AVAILABLE. 100% free and operated through my non-profit, Cabal Fang is martial arts for personal development, self-defense and fitness. Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts is just $19.99/month and that’s your choice if you’re interested in 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). What are you waiting for — enroll today!

The head of my new cane. Pretty, huh?

One of the crosses I carved in my granite altar stone.

Fool’s Journey diagram.

God and Coffee logo.

Wm. James — what a powerhouse!

This week I’m throwing down the gauntlet — I’m challenging you to get more done this coming week than I did this past week.  Here’s a top-level rundown of what I’ve done in the last 7 days:

• Had a public conversation with the Vinny Raposa of Team Raposa Martial Arts in Newark NJ and put it up on YouTube.  We talked about Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble.  Watch it here.
• Started a new weekly online meeting called Let’s Talk Martial Arts.  Come and join us this Saturday at 2 PM.
• Started a new weekly online chat for my Independent Catholic Meetup called God and Coffee. Come on by this Sunday a 10:00 AM, we’d love to have you!
• This Sunday will be my fourth week presenting Holy Communion for my church, Ekklesia Epignostika Church and Seminary.  
• This has meant that I’ve had to write formal homilies (a.k.a. “sermons” for you protestants out there).  Here’s a link to last week’s: Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 25th 2021
• I carved, sanded and finished a new fighting cane (it finally broke after 10+ years of use, including hitting heavy bags)
• Almost finished my altar stone.  There are very specific requirements that have to be met before I request my Bishop bless it for use in my home chapel.
• I finished work on the revamped Fool’s Journey for the upcoming 2nd edition of Cabal Fang: Complete Study Course from Querent to Elder.  
• I finally read The Varieties of Religious Experience by Wm. James.  A smash hit, and still relevant after 100+ years.
• Total training time, fitness and martial arts: 10.25 hours

This is not me bragging — this is me trying to encourage you to put down your cell phone, shut off the TV, and go get things done.  Not in a “chalking up numbers” sort of way, but in a “get engaged in the art of living” sort of way.

In last week’s mettle maker I suggested that the things that you think make you unique — your likes and dislikes, your favorite food, favorite movies, etc. — might actually be the things that prove you’re just like everyone else.  What might make you truly unique?

More on this topic in the mettle maker below.

Gauntlet: Mettle Maker #258

• Before you train, warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes.  Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope or footwork (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
• Do some practical command and mastery with your chosen weapon.  16 min. pyramid of Air Strikes (10), Crawls (5 yards), Sprints ( 5 yards out/back = 1), and Russian Squats (2).  Start an 8:00 timer.  Do 10 Air Strikes, Crawl 5 yards, Sprint 5 yards out/back, and do 2 Russian Squats — striking the air with your blunt training weapon the entire time.  Then do 20 Air Strikes, Crawl 10 yards, Sprint 10 yards out/back, and do 4 Russian Squats.  Keep climbing until the timer beeps, then climb down.
• Pick up something heavy.  Try a Cross-walk — a Shoulder Carry and a Farmer’s Walk at the same time.  I used a 65# Sandbag for the shoulder carry and I put #60 on my Farmer Carry rig.  Walk as far as you can, rest a minute, and then do it again switching sides.  I love this combo for practical strength.
• Read an old book.  When was the last time you read a book at all, much less an old book?  Here’s a challenge: pick up a book that’s at least 100 years old and give it a go.  Reading Wm. James has been a real eye-opener.  This man knew more about human nature — and offers more practical advice — than many so-called modern experts.
• Think about who and what you are.  Yesterday is gone and future is unwritten.  Neither is real.  Therefore the only thing you could possibly be is what you are doing right now.  Think about it.  No, really.  Actually think about it.  Set a time for 10 minutes or so.  Assume posture of choice and regulate breathing to a slow and steady rhythm. Keep your eyes open and fixed.  Do not fidget, wiggle or scratch.  Think in a focused way about the fact that you are only what you are doing right now.  This is a form of meditation.  Get there.    

TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS AVAILABLE. 100% free and operated through my non-profit, Cabal Fang is martial arts for personal development, self-defense and fitness. Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts is just $19.99/month and that’s your choice if you’re interested in 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). What are you waiting for — enroll today!

Always wanted to ask me questions about Cabal Fang, Bobcat Martial arts, Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble, etc.?  Join me this Sat. 5/1/21 at 2 PM EST for a zoom call — ask me anything!

Click here to join:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83282137038

TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS AVAILABLE. 100% free and operated through my non-profit, Cabal Fang is martial arts for personal development, self-defense and fitness. Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts is just $19.99/month and that’s your choice if you’re interested in 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). What are you waiting for — enroll today!

Can you believe it?  Today is the 8th anniversary of the weekly mettle maker — time flies when you’re having fun!

Over the years the frequency has changed, the name has changed, and the format has changed.  Which format do you like?  Did you prefer the experimental formats of last week and week before?  Do you like the format below?  Or is one of the old styles more to your liking?  Please post in the comments and let me know.  

The goal of these mettle makers is to inspire you to take charge of your life — your education, your strength and fitness, your attitude, and your relationship with God.  Whatever you do, don’t live your life in service of fashion, entertainment, food, comfort, or anything like that. 

The things that you think make you unique — your likes and dislikes, your favorite food, favorite movies, etc. — might actually be the things that prove you’re just like everyone else.  What might make you truly unique?

Think about it.

Eighth Anniversary: Mettle Maker #257

• Loosen up your shackles. Warm-up thoroughly for at at least 8 minutes.  Do 2-3 minutes each of (a) jumping rope or footwork (b) light calisthenics and (c) shadowboxing, forms, light heavy bag work, or 8 minutes of MBF.
• 

  MBF dice available at http://www.mitch.store

  Seize hold of your fitness.  If you do MBF every day (or close to it) you can afford to dial back the intensity as compared to training martial fitness once or twice-per-week.  If you’re not using the MBF program several times a week, you have to a little harder.  Try a 15-minute half-pyramid of Rope Climbs, Sit-outs, Bag Lifts, and Leg Triangles.  Do 1 of each, then 2 of each, then 3, 4, etc. until the timer beeps.    
• Break free of the ordinary.  Go for a P.O.W. run.  Interlace your fingers behind your head and run 1 mile as fast as you can.  This arm position (a) makes it impossible to fully fill your lungs and (b) wrecks pelvic rotation, eliminates arm lift energy, and removes your arms’ ability to counterbalance the legs.  1 mile will feel like 3.
• Tackle the tough questions.  Take the self-defense quiz below and see how you do.
• Liberate your taste buds with some maple seeds.  Maple seeds are an edible, high protein food — great for a fun snack or as a survival food.  Catch some maple keys or “helicopters” before they get too dry.  Split the casing at the spine to liberate a smallish green seed (technically a fruit I think).  Eat them raw or toast them at 350F for 10 minutes as a snack, salad addition, topping for cereal or granola, etc.  When toasted they remind me of a cross between a sunflower seed and a soybean (complete with the bitter finish of the latter).  Pics below.
  

  My little harvest of maple seeds (from an Acer Rubrum or Red Maple)

  

  Split the casing at the spine while the casing is still soft

  

  Close-up of a raw maple seed

  

  Toasted maple seeds right out of the toaster oven

  

  Close-up of toasted maple seeds
   Charge up your batteries.  Assume posture of choice and regulate breathing to a slow and steady rhythm. Keep your eyes open and fixed.  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.  Do not think at all, but especially not in words — do not evaluate, judge, make lists, fixate on emotions, let your mind wander, or any of that.  Just breathe and be.  This is called “contemplation” and practicing it regularly is associated with improved emotional resilience, increased patience reserves, and more.  Add prayer and it works even better.   

Self-Defense Quiz 

Answers:  Preferred answers to questions 1, 2, 4, 7, and 11 are in Column A.  The rest are in Column B.  

TWO MARTIAL ARTS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS AVAILABLE. 100% free and operated through my non-profit, Cabal Fang is martial arts for personal development, self-defense and fitness. Bobcat Frontier Martial Arts is just $19.99/month and that’s your choice if you’re interested in 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). What are you waiting for — enroll today!