So it looks like my book The Calisthenics Codex is #2 in the iTunes/iBook store (screenshot below). If you haven’t checked it out yet, here are the links.
Now for your WOD.
Kick Conditioner: Set timer for 6 x 2:00/1:00. As many kicks as you can for 2:00, then as many Squat Presses as you can for 1:00. Repeat. Beginners press at top of Squat, advanced players press at bottom (don’t sway your back!). Start with light weight and step up each round. Take as few 12 second breaks as needed to finish.
Sandbag Workout: AMRAYC in 15 mins of 10 each w/ #20 sandbag – Front Lunges, Walking Push-ups (one hand on bag, alternating), Squat Presses, Back Crunches (no bag), Crunches (bag on chest), Get-ups (bag on shoulder).
Ancestor Meditation: Assume your chosen posture, close your eyes, and regulate your breathing. When you’ve settled in, recall a relative who’s passed on. Select a specific memory of him or her, a wholly positive one, and step into the scene. Honor your ancestor and his or her memory by reliving the moment you selected, re-experiencing it with as much detail as possible. Spend at least 10 mins on this work.
I used a memory involving my father. Today is the 7th anniversary of his passing. Rest in peace Pop.
My ancestor shrine
Which way is up?
Today’s Cabal Fang WOD is as follows:
Medicine Ball Tabata: 24 x :20/:10, cycling through Squats (bounce ball off wall as you go down), Sit-ups (bounce off wall at top of each), and Push-ups (both hands on ball). Bike: 24 x :20/:10. Ride AFAYC for :20 and rest for :10, staying in the top 3 gears for the duration.
Now for some word talk.
Etymology is the study of words and word origins and should not be confused with Entomology, which is the study of insects and bugs. What’s “bugging” me is how some people are unwilling to let go of some words and symbols as definitions grow and evolve.
Imagine you met someone who still wanted to use the word “faggot” for a small stick, like we used to in Shakespeare’s time. This person would be misunderstood around the campfire, and depending on who was in attendance, hilarity might not ensue. He or she would quickly learn to employ another word in the common usage (like say “twig”) or else risk being perpetually misunderstood. Likewise with “motor carriage” and “talkie.” How many times would this person have to hear, “Dude, they’re called cars and movies!” before learning the modern words?
I love movies, and I call them movies so that people will know what I’m talking about. I love and am proud of what’s great about the culture of the Southern United States — the food (collard greens!), the hospitality, the architecture, the charm, the flora and fauna, and most of all the people — but I wouldn’t dream of waving a Confederate flag around because in the common usage it means treason, slavery and bigotry. I don’t want to be misunderstood.
I have a few friends who I’m pretty sure aren’t bigots, or even closet bigots, who just can’t let the old symbols, words, and phrases go. I hate to see them being misunderstood.
I really hope that’s what’s going on. But when folks just keep rationalizing the old symbolic language, even in the face of changing definitions and the evolution of societal norms, it makes you wonder if they really are being misunderstood at all.
1 mile dry swim: Set timer for 60 x :20/:10 and complete 15 cycles of Prison Push-ups, Swimmers, Flutter Kicks, and Front Plank (a Swimmer is like a Superman except that you move arms and legs as if swimming). 30 minutes total.
Note: Add a 30 minute bike ride and a 30 minute run and you’ve got the “dry Triathlon” that call the Psyathlon.
Your Cabal Fang WOD and book recommendation are as follows:
Form: Spend 15 minutes working on some aspect of your form — deconstruct and rebuild a particular strike, maneuver, or technique. Resistance Bands Tabata: Set timer to beep every 30 seconds and complete 8 circuits of 30 secs each of Bicep Curls, Squat w/ Military Press (press up as your butt goes down), and Seated Rows. Should take about 10 secs to transition between exercises, which means you’ll be working :20 on and :10 off for 12 mins total. Note: Watch your form on the Squat Presses. Thrust pelvis forward to prevent swaying and stress in your lower back.
Today’s book recommendation is the Timaeus of Plato. See the connection? Timaeus concerns the world of forms and the creation, properties, and nature of the universe.
This sandbag workout looks easy on paper, but trust me when I say it’s no joke.*
Perform all exercises with a sandbag. (I’m 50+ years old and weigh 142 lbs. I used a 20 pounder. Select your bag weight based on your size, age, and fitness level.) 6 x 10 of Curl ‘n’ Press, Goblet Squats, Walking Push-ups, Lunge Press. Take as many 12 second rest breaks as you need to finish. I got done in 18:30.
Exercise notes:
* As always, warm up thoroughly before you begin any workout (10 mins minimum). During exercise, monitor your heart rate and keep it within safe limits. You can use the old traditional formula (220 – age = theoretical max beats per minute) or you use this fancy online one that’s way more accurate. I’m not your coach, I don’t know your body, and I’m not responsible for your health. You are. Proceed at your own risk.
Intense exercise takes its toll, both mentally and physically. It’s important to take days off, and spend some of those days off stretching and clearing your head.
Take a walk or engage in some form of very light exercise for 10 to 15 minutes. Then spend twenty minutes on a thorough stretching routine, followed by 10 minutes of meditation.
Before meditating, quiet your mind by saying a prayer, invocation, affirmation, etc. (lately I’ve been performing the LBRP). If you are an atheist, pray to Truth, to Justice, to Hope, to Mother Nature, to your own Better Self, etc. Prayer is relaxing and beneficial, and you shouldn’t have to miss out on the fun just because you don’t believe in a deity.
If you don’t know where to start with the whole meditation thing, my little ebooklet Wisdom of the Raven explains the differences between meditation, contemplation and prayer, and shows how to get started in each. Get it at Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes for just 99 cents.
Posted in Martial arts, Mysticism
Tagged cabal fang, contemplation, meditation, prayer, WOD
1. First things first. Here’s your WOD and a book recommendation:
PTDICE HIIT: 6 x 30 secs AMAYC of Push-ups (tap shoulder with opposite hand between reps), Side Crunches, Steam Engines, Hindu Squats, and rest — 15 mins total. Heavy bag HIIT: 20 x :20/:10 max power punches and kicks — 10 mins total.
2. My new calisthenics eBook is selling like snowcones at a jalapeno eating contest. If you dig working out, go get it.
3. I went camping this past weekend. Even though it was as hot as Satan’s underpants, and even though we had to head home early on account of severe storms, we had a great time. For the grandkids I made masks out of Poplar leaves. We saw a big ‘ol rat snake. We ate delicious food items. Made it home before the storm hit, just in time to see a tree in my backyard break in half. Pictures below.
Have a funnest day ever! Remember: every day on this side of the grass is a good day.
The storm brought the power lines down on Saturday night, and since 40,000 people in central Virginia were without electricity, the power company still hasn’t made it out. The lines are live and, as a result, we can’t be within 10 meters/30 feet of the line. That outbuilding on the right, the one the line is draped across, is my workout space. No weights, no heavy bag, no jump rope, even my PTDICE are in there. And my bike is parked off camera (but still within the forbidden zone).
So here’s my equipment-free WOD:
Conditioning Walk/Run: Set timer to beep every 3 minutes. Go as fast as you can until timer beeps and complete Push-ups until failure. Repeat x 10 (30 minutes total).
I’ll be traveling this week, so after today, no WOD posts until next Monday. I did write a post for tomorrow though — not a WOD, but it’s a beauty. See you next week!
BIKE (Warm-up for 18 mins, then ride AFAYC for 12 minutes, followed by cool down for 10 mins — 40 mins total).
Today’s book recommendation: In the background of the photo above you’ll notice the often joked about “Dark Night of the Soul” by St. John of the Cross. Required reading for anyone pursuing the mystic path, this is a short but deeply moving and important book. Many people seem to think it’s just for those of Catholic faith. It isn’t. Read this powerful little tome and you’ll see why it’s title is now a universal phrase for the ultimate struggle preceding enlightenment.
Click here to download my eBooks from Smashwords.com in multiple formats, or visit these links to get them at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Books2Read.com
I teach free of charge through Heritage Arts , a 501(c)(3) educational charity offering free or donation-only classes related to martial arts, fitness, outdoor skills, and spiritual development. Distance learning programs available. Visit the Heritage Arts website to find out more, or click here to join the Heritage Self-Defense group on Facebook.
What is Heritage Rough ‘n’ Tumble? It’s mind-body-spirit form of American Rough ‘n’ Tumble, which began as a manner of no-holds-barred fighting in the Southern Virginia backcountry during the Colonial Era and has since grown, evolved, and adapted to the realities of modern self-defense. An amalgam of the varying techniques brought to America by colonists from all over the world, blended with the fighting methods of the over 900 distinct indigenous tribes, American Rough ‘n’ Tumble is perhaps the world’s most fearsome martial art.
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Robert Mitchell Jr. 