What is the weekly mettle maker? It’s a weekly shot in the arm, a semi-fortnightly kick in the pants — your helpful heckler, hammering away at you to stop hemming and hawing and hurdle headlong into becoming your own hero!

ADVERSITY: METTLE MAKER #294

The word adversity comes from the Latin adversitas which means “turned towards.” Adversity is the headwind at comes when you head in the right direction.

Self-defense: Oblique or Diagonal Kick is one of the most versatile kicks around. Watch the video on the right. Then put in a full round of pushing Oblique Kicks vs. your heavy bag. Then put in a round of striking Oblique Kicks vs. the heavy bag making contact using the heel. Then put in a third round of Oblique kicks vs. either the air or a soft target such as a double-end ball, driving your toes into the target. Note: In Savate Defense they call this by various names such as chassé frontal or chassé Italien.

If this material seems foreign, perhaps you’d benefit from the Heritage Self-Defense program. Click here to sign up — it’s free.

Fitness: What’s the safest kind of squat you can do without a spotter? Hip Belt Squats and Yoke Squats, but specialized equipment are required. All things considered, Zercher Squats are probably the way to go if you want to Squat lonesome. Put the bar on a couple of plyo-boxes or other sturdy props, get under it, and go. If the bar hurts your forearms, cut two 8” slices of a 99-cent pool noodle, slit them down the side, and pop them onto your barbell for padding. All gain, no pain! Need help designing a fitness program that suits your needs? Enroll in the free Heritage Fitness Distance Learning Program . Did I mention it’s free?

Wildwood: Track yourself. So that you don’t get lost doing this exercise, pick a small, tame area that you can extricate yourself from with eases even if you get a little bewildered. Aimlessly meander your way through your selected piece of ground or patch of woods without any regard for where you’re going or where you’ve been. Beginning trackers should deliberately tromp about a bit. Advanced folks should skulk the whole way. Then turn around and track yourself back. Want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival? Click here to sign up for the 100% free Wildwood distance learning program.

Spirit: Those who are truly attempting to walk the path of righteousness should always expect difficult times and malicious enemies. To be clear, we are not talking about performative righteousness: trying to look good while being self-serving in one’s heart, deliberately courting controversy, starting fights and arguments to prove points, or any of that. Even if you are being completely meek — keeping your head down, staying in your lane, and humbly working at living your life in imitation of Christ — you can expect difficulties. The people of the world and its systems are very often possessed by greed, selfishness, materialism, depravity, corruption, malice, and so on. The actions of a righteous man, even if his mouth is completely silent, will make him a target. Expect adversity. Being righteous gives you a strong back with which to carry your personal cross. For more on this topic, come back to this blog tomorrow and listen to the homily in tomorrow’s Holy Communion.