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!
Quickening Cut: Mettle Maker #297
Self-defense: Knife constitutional. Wrap up weapon week with a knife constitutional. Complete as many as you can in 2 minutes of each: Get-ups, Push-ups, Pikes, Shrimps, Prisoner Get-ups, Sprints, and Jackknifes (14 mins total). Complete a slash/hack/stab combo between each rep, and change hands and grips often. Weapons of opportunity have to be wielded however your hand falls on them. See video on the right for more info. If this material seems foreign, perhaps you’d benefit from the Heritage Self-Defense program. Click here to sign up — it’s free.
Each of these has 140 calories: 2 slices of whole wheat bread, 2 eggs, 3 oz of lean roast beef, 2 mandarin oranges, and .68 ounces of butter (just shy of 1 1/2 tbsp).
Fitness: Too many calories from fat? My definition of fitness is being fit to fight, but then, I’m a self-defense instructor. For lots people though, fitness means looking good with your shirt off. If that’s your definition, and your concern is that you’re overweight, the way forward is dietary. Eat less calories. And since fat has almost twice as many calories as protein and carbohydrates do by weight, being careful about fat intake is a great way to start. If you’re a Luddite like me, put a pad and pen in your purse or pocket, otherwise download an app on your phone to keep track of what you eat for a week. 9 out of 10 people who do this find that they eat too little protein and twice as much fat as they thought they ate. 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: Cut the crap, and take a stab at friction fire. “I could figure it out if I had to,” you say to yourself, or “I did that in the scouts when I was a kid. It’s like riding a bike.” Well, if you mean because it’s so easy to crash, you’re right. Actually go do it. And if you get stuck, or you want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival, click here to sign up for the 100% free Wildwood distance learning program.
Spirit: Put a knife to your own throat? In Proverbs 23 we read the passage below. The metaphor here is a powerful one. To “put a knife to someone’s throat” is to threaten death to get compliance. So, to put a knife to your own throat is to force yourself to act as though your life depends on your actions. In this case, the action in question is to quell your appetite for money and power in the presence of a powerful person. Why do you think the ancient Hebrews thought this was of life or death importance? Read the passage below and contemplate what this means to you in your life. When you sit down with your supervisor or boss, do you check your appetites, or do you bow, scrape, and fawn to get into his good graces? When you have a meeting with a powerful customer or client, are you honest and forthright, or do you like and schmooze to get a slice of his pie? Dig deep, self-analyze, and write a few words in your journal. And if you don’t journal, you should start today. If this sort of thing is appealing to you, CLICK HERE to join our email list and participate in church activities.
Proverbs 23:1-5 (Revised Standard Version)
23 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully what[a] is before you;
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are a man given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
4 Do not toil to acquire wealth;
be wise enough to desist.
5 When your eyes light upon it, it is gone;
for suddenly it takes to itself wings,
flying like an eagle toward heaven.