Breakdown: Mettle Maker #304

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!

Breakdown: Mettle Maker #304

Self-defense: A Consistency Challenge. There’s a time to push, to test your limits and find “your line” like we do during Mettlecraft Month every November. But mostly martial arts are about consistency. If you can’t do it at any time, and under any circumstances, then you can’t do it. Your fancy technique’s no good if you can only perform it when you’re all warmed up and ready. Can you fall safely on asphalt, or only on 2” mats? Encourage yourself to train consistently by creating a challenge for yourself. Set a goal 30-day goal. Don’t aim for something extreme — this is in the exact opposite spirit. Aim to perform all your forms daily, to complete 100 kicks a day, or just try to train every weekday for the month. Check our our free martial arts distance learning program!

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Fitness: Are you gym fit, or real-world fit? Try the 50-vault challenge. The other night, at the end of my training session, I decided to finish up by doing 50 Safety Vaults. If you ever had to clear an obstacle in real life, you might have to do it tired. I could only make it to 30 by the way. I was so gassed that I was worried about hurting myself and I had to stop. Pick a fence, large boulder, or other obstacle, and see if you can get to 50. Stop when you get shaky. The most important rule is, “Don’t get hurt!” Need help developing and sticking with a fitness program? Check our our free distance learning program.

Wildwood: Do you wish you could go camping more often? Well, start breaking down the barriers. I love to go camping. But for years a part of me dreaded the ordeal of climbing up into the attic, getting down all the gear, loading it into the truck, and then putting it all back afterward. And then there was the problem of taking time off. So I removed the barriers. I built an adventure trailer so that all I had to do was hitch up and go. And I started booking my days off well in well in advance. Whatever your barriers are, start breaking them down, and get out of town. You need to spend more time in the woods practicing your outdoor skills. Want a structured program to help you along? Click here to sign up for the totally-free Heritage Wildwood distance learning program.

Spirit: Where do you find God? At the end of your rope. (Dallas Willard). Things go wrong. You get betrayed, sick, unemployed, abandoned, and depressed. Perhaps worse still, you realize, maybe for the first time in your life, that you are wholly or partially responsible for your undoing — you got yourself addicted to something, you got yourself fired from your job, you wrecked a relationship, etc. When these things happen, and your life starts to break down, often you will go to your father figure for advice (or to your mother, if you have no father). But what if your parents have passed? Or what if they just aren’t reliable sources of advice and support? Fear not. Rest assured, there is a Father you can rely on to give perfect advice and unconditional love. CLICK HERE to join our email list and to begin participating in church activities. And if you need someone to talk to, CLICK HERE to set up a phone call with archdeacon Mitch.