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A 1/3 off coupon for Mitch’s General Store, looking at the eyes of a snake, a review of the documentary The Social Dilemma, the call of the humble grackle (and a handy app for identifying it), and why the mat is always lava…
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Posted in Martial arts, Mysticism, Writing
Tagged moccasin, shift, snake eyes, the social dilemma
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Where the demons are, the tracks of the “arehkan,” how to escape a standing Scarf Hold and the fairy tale “The White Snake”
The newest issue of my twice-monthly newsletter SHIFT is out today!
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Subscribers just received Issue #3 of my new SHIFT newsletter. IN THIS ISSUE…Video: The Internal Union of the Warrior-Poet, Eating Isn’t Just About Food, a recipe, and the always-useful Super-Stumper question! Click here to read and subscribe.
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SHIFT your outlook.
SHIFT your expectations.
SHIFT your possibilities.
L: The diadem of a famous Amazon from comic books and movies. R: The Star of Ishtar. Coincidence? I think not!
Long before the 2017 movie, Cabal Fang was using an 8-point combat clock called the Star of Ishtar — a universal symbol for the divine feminine associated with the ancient Babylonian goddess Ishtar. You will note that the star on this fictional Amazon’s diadem is a star of similar design.
Symbols colonize our subconscious minds and permeate the world’s cultures.
It’s quite possible the artists and costume designers working on the film didn’t consciously change the original 5-pointed star from the comic books to an 8-pointed Star of Ishtar. They probably did it without even realizing they were doing it.
Stay tuned — The next of SHIFT will contain a video exploring this in more detail.
In the meantime, for this week’s involution we’re going to take our training inspiration from Amazon warriors and ancient symbols…
My forging post. Note Tarot poster featuring Star of Ishtar
My new newsletter SHIFT went live April 30th, next issue May 14th. Sign up now to get tips, fun and inspirational articles, quizzes, meditations, exercises, and more — all 100% free — and guaranteed to shift you in a new whole new gear.
Lots going on in these parts! 
On April 30th my new newsletter SHIFT goes live. This is where all my ideas unite — fitness, primitive skills, martial arts, personal development, and spirituality. Sign up now to get fun and inspirational tips, articles, meditations, exercises, and more — all free — and guaranteed to shift you in a new whole new gear.
And on July first my new ebook “Martial Grit: Real Fighting Fitness (On a Budget)” will be released. Pre-order now at Barnes & Noble, iTunes or Smashwords — it’s a real winner. Honed by 30 years teaching martial arts on shoestring budgets in inner city programs and in public parks for a non-profit, this is as real as it gets. The 3 keys to proper mindset. Improve right away using the “S.A.F.E. M.P.” protocol. Proper use of heavy bags, floor bags, dummies, slip balls, chains, weights, tires, sledges, pipes, mallets, etc. And DIY instructions for making your own gear for pennies.
So much for the commercials — on with the movie.
Simeon T. “Sim” Webb — Casey Jones’ famous fireman after whom the Sim Webb fitness drill is named (thanks to findagrave.com)
This training involution plays out like an old western movie. Imagine you are a mild-mannered fireman on a coal-fired locomotive. The train is robbed by bandits who capture you and take you for ransom, planning to sell you back to the railroad at the next town. What they don’t know is that the railroad is about to go under, and there will be no ransom paid. You must make your escape! You manage to flee in the middle of the night, evading all but one of the bandits, but your hands are bound. As dawn is breaking you free your hands just in time for the climactic fight scene in which you defeat the bandit. The credits roll as you stride into a deserted town ready to make a new start.
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So easy!
I like to scrawl stuff on chalk boards. It’s a teacher-coachy-thing.
No sparring allowed during the pandemic kids. You’re going to have to stay fighting fit via the solo training route. How? By doing stuff that’s as close to real fighting as possible of course!
Keep it real, keep it relevant, and keep it rigorous. REAL means you’re doing stuff that’s as close as possible to what real people do in real life. RELEVANT means that it relates to what you want to get better at. And RIGOROUS means that you are paying attention to doing the work properly in terms of technique and intensity.
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The following involution was created using the Scufflin’ Dice program available in my web shop. Go get yourself some for just $9.99.
* 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.
* 15 minutes of floor bag work. Get out your floor bag (a heavy bag with the chains taped up) and set a countdown timer for 15 minutes.
* Contemplation. Cool down for about 3 minutes, then set a timer for 10 minutes. Assume your meditative posture of choice and regulate your breathing to insure a slow and consistent rhythm that completely fills and empties your lungs without bearing down on your breath. Eyes open. Gently allow your mind to empty and calm itself. Don’t make war with thoughts, just let them pass by, dissipating like ripples on the surface of a pond.
On April 30th my new newsletter SHIFT goes live. This is where everything I do will come together — my fitness work, my primitive skills and martial arts material, my management, coaching and financial advice, and of course my spiritual teaching. Sign up now to get tips, fun and inspirational articles, quizzes, meditations, exercises, and more — all 100% free — and guaranteed to shift you in a new whole new gear.
Harrowing of Hell — Fresco, by Fra Angelico, c. 1430s
Yesterday was Good Friday and tomorrow is Easter, the days we commemorate Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection respectively. That makes today Holy Saturday, the day we reflect on Jesus lying in his tomb — the day many Christians contemplate the Harrowing of Hell.
“Harrow” is a very old word that means comb or rake. In the old days a giant square device with teeth was dragged across the fields behind a plow horse to break up the larger clods of dirt, smooth out the earth, and pull out weeds. Nowadays that task is done by a disc harrows. This prepares the soil for planting so that seeds can sprout and grow.
A fire in my back deck chimenea
The idea of the Harrowing of Hell is that, after the rock was rolled over the door to his tomb, Jesus descended into Hell. After having spent his life ministering to the living, Jesus then spent his death ministering to the dead and sharing their experience. Just like an agricultural harrow prepares the soil for its spring reemergence, Jesus prepares the dead for their ultimate resurrection.
The night of Holy Saturday is also called the Easter Vigil — when bonfires are made from which to relight the sacred candles which yesterday were dark, when new catechumens (adult converts) are baptized into the faith, and so on.
On May 1st my new newsletter SHIFT goes live. This is where everything I do will come together — my fitness work, my primitive skills and martial arts material, my management, coaching and financial advice, and of course my spiritual teaching. Sign up now to get tips, fun and inspirational articles, quizzes, meditations, exercises, and more — all 100% free — and guaranteed to shift you in a new whole new gear.
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I teach martial arts, fitness, outdoor skills, and spiritual development. Interested in a custom seminar? Email me at mitch@heritageartsinc.com.
Many programs are available free through my non-profit — even the distance learning program! Visit the Heritage Arts website to find out more, or click here to join the Heritage Self-Defense group on Facebook.
What is Heritage Self-Defense? It’s a realistic and effective western martial art drawing on boxing, wrestling, and “Rough ‘n’ Tumble” — including defensive use of walking stick, knife and tomahawk. Textbook in production.
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Robert Mitchell Jr. 