The weekly training post has a new name!
This post is now the “Mettle Maker.” Why the name change? The weekly post started as purely martial fitness (the “Workout of the Week”), grew to incorporate a spiritual/internal element (the weekly “Training Involution”), and now — in Round 3 — it contains even more more goodness.
What’s it for?
The weekly mettle maker supports my martial arts programs — Cabal Fang (non-profit martial arts for personal development) and Bobcat Martial Arts (Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble martial arts).
What is mettle?
The word mettle is a variant of the more often seen metal. A metal sword blade has a quality of temper and so does a human being. That’s mettle — courage, character, heart and fortitude of mind, body and spirit.
I find the Englishman to be him of all men who stands firmest in his shoes. They have in themselves what they value in their horses, mettle and bottom. On the day of my arrival at Liverpool, a gentleman, in describing to me the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, happened to say, “Lord Clarendon has pluck like a cock, and will fight till he dies.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Manners”
We use the word mettle quite a bit in Cabal Fang. It also fits in nicely with my Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble martial arts. Speaking of which…
Third Annual November Mettlecraft Challenge
November is Mettlecraft Month at Cabal Fang. Here’s what we did in 2018 and 2019. Stay tuned for details on this month’s challenge.
Engage!
If you’re new in these parts, you should know that people who engage with the content by doing some of the work and/or posting in the comments have been known to get discount coupons for books and merch from Mitch’s General Store.
Round Three: Mettle Maker #232
- 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.
- 3 rounds of floor bag. Complete 3 x 3:00/1:00 with the floor bag. Scarf Hold the bag, squeeze AHAYC, and shift sides three times. Shuffle and bulldog the bag to the mat. Get your prop in tight, then shuck the imaginary arm and buck to tap. Go back to Scarf Hold. Slide out to Cross Body. Insert knee to take Top Saddle. Strike 1o times. Smear and pop up to standing position. Pick up the bag and repeat.
- A three-fer of movement exercises. Set a timer for 8:00 and complete as many sets as you can of 5 Shoulder Rolls, 5 Get-ups and 5 HSPUs.
Reality check. This is the final post on October’s spiritual symbol, the Luminaries — the Sun and Moon — which symbolize (among many other things) the relationship between reality (the Sun) and imagination (the Moon). This can be the map vs. the actual terrain, your self-conception vs. the real you, and so forth. Imagination is a great tool. It allows us to try things out in our heads without having to actually do them, which has had tremendous evolutionary benefits. What if we had to a jump in order to see whether or not a fall was deadly? The drawback is that we can mistake the imaginary for the real. How much of what we tell ourselves we’re capable of can we really do? Find an assumption about yourself that you can test safely and do so. Don’t assume you can get there. Actually get there! - If it ain’t in the training journal it didn’t happen. Do the work, the external and internal, and write about what you did and thought in your journal.
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!
9 minutes of real-life action. Find a section of fence near a dead tree, or set up a couple of sawhorses and a 2×4 near one (never needlessly harm a live tree). Take your axe and your weapon of choice, gloves and goggles. If you’re working in a gym, stack up plyo-boxes and sub tire and sledge, dull training weapon and heavy bag. Set timer for 1:30 intervals. Vault over the obstacle for 1:3o, then axe the tree for 1:30, then attack with your weapon for 1:30. Run through twice for a total of 9 mins, no breaks. Beginners, work on accuracy, form and grace and leave tools at stations. Advanced folks, take a dull weapon with you on the vaults, attack as you clear the obstacle, and use a live weapon on the tree. Note: The essence of an axe is accuracy. Even if you are subbing a sledge and a tire, aim to hit a literal pinpoint. If this looks fun, create more sessions in a similar vein using Frontier Rough ‘n’ Tumble Fitness Dice © 
Then get into Side Control with the “head” of the bag on your right. Hands out to the side — the floor is lava! — insert your L knee into opponents imaginary “guard” to take Top Saddle. Then extract R foot with good form and go t0 Side Control with head of bag on your left. Go back and forth for one minute. For the next minute, pop into Shin Ride, punch-punch, switch to other shin (or into Hamburger Ride) punch-punch, and repeat until timer beeps. Keep going until you’ve done 3 sets of each. If you liked this drill, get yourself some 
Intellectually there are two sides to every argument, and you must engage the other side with sincerity. Emotionally we must remember that we are possessed of both a conscious and a subconscious, each illuminating the light and dark sides of ourselves. Scientifically we cannot behave as if we are machines immune to the phases of nature. Do you sleep all day, stay up all night, ignore your body’s needs for adequate sleep, sun on your skin, and so forth? Do you even know what the current moon phase is? Finally, and most importantly, we must see the luminaries mystically. There are two lights — God, who lights up Heaven, and you, who light up the World. You must be as much like God as you can, following His example and lighting up the World with all your might.
Robert Mitchell Jr. 