DEMON SLAYER: TRAINING INVOLUTION #141

Belphegor a.k.a. Ba’al Peor from Numbers 25:1–15

Betrayed by a loved one?  Had a friend turn out to be a stranger?  Regretted something you did and wondered why you did it?  Faced down an addiction?  Clawed your way out of bad relationship?

Then you know that demons are “real.”  No, they can’t pass the Amazing Randy sniff test.  But if you conceive of them as harmful patterns of behavior that repeat across time, they are 100% real.

Demons don’t just take you over at random. You have to “invite them in.”  In the movies, you must buy the cursed book, say the forbidden words, or move into the evil house.  In real life you have to try that cocaine, visit that strip club, or gamble with your rent money.   That’s how the “demon” gets a foothold and you introduce the posibility of ending up addicted, sexually obsessed, or homeless.

Maybe believing that “demons” can “possess you” if you “let them in” is a useful fiction that prevents negative behavior patterns — you know, kind of like other useful fictions, such as “porcupines can shoot their quills” and “all guns are loaded.”  Behaving as if porcupines can shoot their quills and treating all guns as if loaded effectively help prevent pain and suffering.

But surely demons don’t have agency.  Or do they?  Does the rabies virus have agency?  Viruses aren’t conscious.  And yet rabies makes the infected want to bite, which is the primary means of transmission.  Sure seems like rabies has agency.  Mammon, demon of riches, seems to manifest whenever people obsess about wealth.  Is the demon Mammon a conscious entity repeatedly leading people astray?

Do demons have agency? Are they “real?” Real enough to be exorcised.

DEMON SLAYER: TRAINING INVOLUTION #141

What does it take to kill a demon?  Cold?  Fire?  Enchanted weapons? Exorcism?

• Freeze.  For a 200 count (about 3 minutes), hold a pose taking as few 12-count breaks as you must. Beginners, hold a Horse Stance.  Intermediate, Plank.  Advanced, dead-arm hangs from a Pull-up bar or Crow-stands.

• Burn. Complete 200 reps of an exercise.  Beginners, Bicycles or Crunches.  Intermediate, Push-ups on knees or Steam Engines.  Advanced,  Down-ups or Kettlebell Swings.

• Slice.  Complete 200 strikes per hand with your practice weapon of choice.  Tactical pen or kubotan keychain, walking stick or cane, rattan stick, wooden knife, tomahawk, nunchaku or what-have-you.

• Exorcise.  Set timer for 15 minutes.  Assume meditative posture of choice.  Whisper a 10-to-14-word prayer — aloud as you inhale, silently as you hesitate with lungs full, again aloud as you exhale, and once more silently as you hesitate with lungs empty.  Repeat until timer beeps — roughly 200 recitations.  This will force you into box breathing and facilitate a deeply meditative state.  Your prayer can be religious or secular, general or specific.  Even atheists can pray — pray to Light or Truth.  “O Light, drive away all darkness and show me the way I pray thee.” Christians can use the Prayer of the Heart: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” Jewish persons can use the Shema Yisrael, "Hear, O Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is One."

Lapses and Slips: Training Involution #140

Around here the focus is on excellence. But what are supposed to do when you can’t seem to get your act together?

Don’t think you have to be perfect.  Just do your best, maintain incremental improvement, and don’t quit.  If you mess up, don’t beat yourself up so much that you give up — just keep going and do better next time.

Lapses and Slips: Training Involution #140

This month’s focus is Self-Defense vs. Weapons. What if you get cut? Can you move with one limb incapacitated?  If you have to use a weapon to defend yourself, can you move around and fight without dropping it?

• 10 minutes on a slip ball.  If you’re bored, try the drill outlined in the video below.

• Armed self-defense gauntlet.  Set a timer for 2:00 rounds and pick up a wooden practice weapon — stick, knife, doesn’t matter.  Complete a round each of of strikes vs. Heavy bag, Get-ups, Sit-ups w/ Strike, Sprints w/ strike, and then do it again (16 mins total).  Drop your weapon penalty = 50 Push-ups.

• Get it?  “Lapses and slips”?  The training sessions has slips and “lapses “– an obsolete word for intervals and the origin of the word “laps.”

• Have you done two constitutionals this week?  If not, here you go.

• Record everything in your training journal.

JOURNALS AND LOGS: TRAINING INVOLUTION #139

This month’s Cabal Fang focuses are Self-Defense vs. Weapons — with a touch of offense as well — and “The Quill” (journaling).  Try to make some kind of journal entry every single day this month, even if it’s only one sentence.

JOURNALS AND LOGS: TRAINING INVOLUTION #139

• Complete this month’s log constitutional.  No partner? No log?  No problem!  Use a dumbbell instead of a log (I chose a #30).  Do not put the dumbbell down unless you’re doing an exercise that requires you to do so.   Rack the dumbbell two-handed and perform Log Press (25 full), Log Squats (25), Log Hops (25 full ), Log Sit-Ups (25), Log Lunges (50), Log A-Lifts (25) and Log Curb Touches (100).  See video below.

• Choose your weapon and start attacking.  Choose the blunt weapon of your choice — wooden knife, walking stick, tactical pen, whatever you prefer — and set  a timer for 10 mins.  See how many attacks you can launch before the timer beeps.  Switch hands every hundred strikes or so.  I chose walking stick and completed 920 strikes.

• Star of Ishtar form 25 times.  If you don’t know the form get the Cabal Fang Study Course and read up.

John Henry: Training Involution #138

We haven’t picked our new physical and spiritual focuses yet this month, so this week’s involution is a flat-out physical challenge. It incorporates a delightful little piece of work called the John Henry — named after the hero of American folklore.

JOHN HENRY: TRAINING INVOLUTION #138

• Warm up for at least 8 minutes.  Do some Half Squats, Push-ups on knees, Shadowboxing,  jump rope, arm swings, etc.

• Heavy Bag Tabata for speed.  16 rounds x :20/:10 (8 mins total).   As many strikes as you can for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds, repeat.   “As many strikes as you can” means literally that.  It doesn’t mean “as many as you prefer” or “as is convenient”  or “as many as it takes to get sweaty.”  We are not working out.  We are training.

• John Henry.  A Slam and Squat Half Pyramid.  Get yourself a tire and either a sledge hammer, mallet, or mace ball.*  Start timer for 15 mins and start climbing the odd numbers only.   Hit the tire with your tool one time, then rest it on your shoulder and do one Squat.  Then do 3 Strikes and 3 Squats, 5 Strikes and 5 Squats, then 7 of each, etc.  Go as fast as you can.  Stop when you get to 25 of each or the timer stops, whichever comes first.  Take as few 12-count breaks as you need to keep from throwing up.  If you finish all the sets up to 25 of each, that’s 169 of each.  I got there there in 13:40.   And just remember that in the folktale John Henry beats the steam drill but dies.  Please be careful and don’t do that.

* If you don’t have hammer, mallet or mace, just do Tire Slams.  Facing the edge not the hole, pick up the tire with one hand on each side.  Lift and sling it over your head so that it touches the nape of your neck; then bring it forward and slam the tread onto the ground in front of you.

Year-End Review: Training Involution #137

YEAR-END REVIEW: TRAINING INVOLUTION #137

Most people set New Year’s resolutions that are largely arbitrary and then fail to establish any performance metrics.  Don’t do that.  Set meaningful goals with valuable payoffs and then monitor your performance to insure progress.

1. Get out your training log and spend some time reviewing your entries.  You do keep a training journal, right?  Training journals are not optional in Cabal Fang martial arts.  Look, we don’t have very many rules, but keeping a training journal is one of them.  So if you aren’t journaling, go get a spiral note book or something and start writing stuff down so you can do a year-end review next December.

2. Take as much time with your review as you feel is sufficient, necessary and/or available.  Might be fifteen minutes or three hours — whatever is necessary and sufficient to make sensible conclusions and set meaningful goals.

3. What did you well in 2018?  What did you do poorly?

4. What are you going to do better in 2019?  

5. How are you going to do better in 2019? 

6. What are your performance metrics going to be?

If you’re going to make 2019 your best year ever, the future is now.

RESTRICTED: TRAINING INVOLUTION #136

RESTRICTED: TRAINING INVOLUTION #136

Cabal Fang Temple here in Richmond VA volunteered to assist Food Not Bombs feed the homeless last Sunday.  Afterwards we washed dishes. We were too INVOLVED to take pictures of ourselves, and besides, we didn’t want to brag. Here’s a shot of the spread.

• Warm-up completely for at least 8:00.

• Tuck your dominant arm in your belt and do some martial fitness.  Set timer for 8:00.  Do as many sets of 4 of each exercise as you can before the timer beeps: Jump Squats, Sit-outs, Shrimps, Push-ups (on knees if you can’t do one-arms).

• Liberate your arm to go to the Heavy bag. 3 x 3:00/1:00 max power shots only.  When I say max power, I mean Serena-Williams-from-back-court-for-match-point-with-a-grunt-level power. First round, hands only.  Second round, legs only.  Final round, all in.  Count your strikes in the final round.  Write it in your training journal.  Beat it next time. 

• Do your Constitutional.  Cabal Fang is the only martial art that has a base level fitness requirement.  Twice weekly constitutionals are required.  Details below.  Don’t have a tire?  Get one or sub a #20 sandbag and modify — modify, adapt, overcome!

• What have you done for Spirit Month?  Did you participate in the Food Not Bonbs event because you’re a remote student, because you couldn’t make it, etc.? As it was suggested last week, did you volunteer, help out a sick or elderly neighbor or relative, help a friend, etc.? If so, you’re off this week on the spiritual portion.  If not, restrict yourself somehow until you decide on something and put it on your calendar.  Sleep without a pillow, give up soft drinks, beer, TV, your favorite food, etc.   Out of ideas?  The restriction should help, but ask your deity, higher power  or better self for insight. Be still and ask how you can be of service. Listen carefully — something will pop into your head that’s decent and true.  Do that.

December 2018 Constitutional

Tire Sit-ups (25)
Tire Lunges (25)
Tire Passes (25 full — 50 Tire Slams if you’re going solo)
Tire Squats (50)
Tire Burpees (25)
Tire V-ups (25)
Tire Jackknife Push-ups (25)

Involved: Training Involution #135

Why are our weekly training assignments called involutions?  What does involution even mean?

in·vo·lu·tion

/ˌinvəˈlo͞oSHən/

(noun)

1. The act of fully taking part in an activity or task (q.v. involved)

2. The inner path of a spiritual aspirant toward self-realization.

3. The process by which the Divine manifests the cosmos.

This is what separates Cabal Fang from MMA, combat sports, and defensive tactics.  Sure, we borrow from all of those.  But we are involved in the process such that it becomes a spiritual endeavor.

We should always be asking questions like,  "How is this martial activity making me a better person?" or "How can this technique activity be fully contextualized?"  Instead of just learning the HOW of our techniques, we should be exploring the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and WHY of them.

Involved: Training Involution #135

Our martial focus this month is Spirit -- which means putting your spirit in action! -- and our internal focus is prayer. So...

• Get involved.  If you are in the Richmond, Virginia area, join Cabal Fang Temple as we feed the homeless tomorrow at Food not Bombs.  We'll be meeting at RVA Createspace, 607 Wickham St, Richmond, Virginia 23222 at 3:30 PM to help haul, serve and clean up.

• Not in Richmond?  Do something else.  Don't just donate money.  Actually do something. Volunteer somewhere.  Do a chore or cook a meal for a sick or elderly neighbor or relative.  Ask someone you know if they need a hand with something.

• Don't know what to do?  If you're atheist, ask your better self, otherwise ask your deity or higher power for insight.  This is called prayer.  Be still and ask to know how you can be of service.  Listen carefully -- something will pop into your head that's decent, true and kind.  Do that.

• Complete this month's constitutional.  If you don't have a tire, use a #20 sandbag instead.  Or help clean up the planet by finding one of the tens of thousands of tires that are tossed into streams, left in medians and thrown into the woods every year.

• Subscribe to the new Cabal Fang YouTube channel.  

Action Figure: Training Involution #134

The Cabal Fang external focus of the month is Spirit and the internal focus is the Rose (prayer).  How in the world, you may wonder, can an external focus be Spirit?  By putting your insides on the outside -- by putting your spirit into action.  Here's an excerpt from the Cabal Fang Study Course:

In Mettlecraft month you harden that which is soft; in Spirit Month you temper that which is hard so that it becomes flexible. As the old sage Lao Tzu said, strength and hardness are associated with death, while softness and flexibility are associated with life.  Aspire to maturity and strength without being jaded and inflexible, to being childlike and full of life without being naïve and helpless.

Spirit month means that you show your spirit in action.  The month the group here in Richmond is collecting food and money to feed the homeless.  We'll be delivering what we've collected to the local chapter of Food not Bombs next Sunday 12/16, and then we'll be hanging out to physically prep and cleanup a meal.

What are you going to do this month?

Action Figure: Training Involution #134

• 30 minutes of action.  Warm up thoroughly.  Then set a repeating timer for 10 minutes.  For the first 10 minutes, complete as many sets as you can of 4 Jackknife Push-ups (HSPUs if you're advanced), 4 Sit-outs, 4 Jump Squats, and 4 Wrestling Shots.  For the next 10 minutes, go at your heavy bag, punching and kicking with constant contact.  Then, for the final 10 minutes, go for a run.  Advanced players, add a weighted vest (I used a #5).  Constitutional trial rules apply for the entire half hour: take as few 12-count breaks as possible -- push!

• Pray for 10 minutes.  Even atheists can pray, because "to pray" simply means "to ask."  Assume your posture of choice, regulate your breathing, and spend 10 minutes in prayer.  Ask your god or higher power what you could do, personally, this month, to physically put your spirit into action for the benefit of your family or community.  If you're an atheist, pray to Truth and try to tap into your subconscious.  When you're done, formulate a plan.  Actually set a date for whatever you decide upon doing.

In Cabal Fang, the Rose symbolizes prayer. Because, like a rose blossom opening, the act of prayer opens up the mind to new possibilities…

Mettlecraft Month 2018 Recap and T.I. #133

The calisthenics nightmare that is Self-Destruct Sequence is a great way to find out if you scare easy (see exercise list below).  But we stared it down.  And guess what we found out?

WE ARE CAPABLE OF MORE THAN WE EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE.

Everybody got it done under the 40 minute time limit.  Three of us set personal records (James 22:55, Robert 24:38 and me 24:45).  Arman set the new Cabal Fang organization record (21:15).  Two people who aren’t even in the organization were inspired to take a shot at it!  One was legendary martial arts coach Mark Hatmaker (who holds the all-time record by the way at 21:05).

THE HARDER YOU WORK, THE BRIGHTER YOU SHINE.

And now for the Cabal Fang training involution of the week.

TRAINING INVOLUTION OF THE WEEK #133

• If you only took one nibble of Self-Destruct Sequence this month, go take another bite and see how it tastes the second time around.  Instructions below if you need reminding. Make sure you warm up thoroughly before you start!

• If you took two or more stabs at Self-Destruct Sequence this month, then you deserve some rest.  Spend 20 minutes on form and technique.  If you’re solo, spend 10 minutes on forms and 10 more on the heavy bag at 2/3 power making sure everything looks just so.  If you have a partner, spend 20 minutes at half power working on Flow Drill #1.: A: Cram w/ Decolage Right to L Roundhouse Kick. B: Fade away overhook kick catch, switch step, block down foot, spiral takedown to Hanging Achilles Lock. A: Roll out. B: Follow, step over to Half Crab.

• Walking meditation.  Go for a walk, at least 30 minutes.  Think about what you learned from Self-Destruct Sequence this month.  Now you know you’re capable of more than you thought possible.  How can you apply that to other dimensions of your life?  Are you capable of more intellectually?  Emotionally? Spiritually?  Come out of your walk with a new stretch goal.  Maybe you want to read more books or take more classes, save more money, spend more time with your kids, or to finally learn to play to guitar.  Cabal Fang is full context martial arts.  The lessons of martial arts are no good if you don’t apply them across all four dimensions.

In case you’re late to the party, here’s the challenge: Get this done in under 40 minutes.

 Self-Destruct Sequence

Zombie Squats (50)
Push-ups, diamond (25)
Jump Squats (100)
10-Count Bodybuilders (25)
Pikes/Leg Triangles (25)
Jump Squats, split (50)
Push-ups, Sit-out (25)
Bicycles (50 each side)
Burpees (25)
Twisters (25 each side)
Wall Touches (100)
Push-ups, hopping/clapping (25)

EXERCISE ILLUSTRATION VIDEO HERE.

Happy Thanksgiving: Training Involution #132

This week’s T.I. is coming out early because we’ve only got 8 days left in Mettlecraft month, and we’ve got lots to do!

TRAINING INVOLUTION #132

• Let’s all smash Self-Destruct Sequence on Thursday, Nov. 29th!  Members of the Richmond temple, see you at the park Thursday night!  Distance learners, play along.  Share pics and videos via social media or in the comments below.

• Put deep ruts in the road.  As many times as you can  before bed Wed. night (but no more than 3 times/day) do 1/4 of the reps (see below).  If you get the slightest bit sore, drop to 1/5 or 1/6.  The goal: cut up SDS into little bites and eat most of it every day for the 7 days — without getting sore.  For more info on this “flow theory” read this.

• Prepare mentally.  Perform the Caduceus Ritual once/day between now and Thursday. Visualize being a conduit between the Above (potentiality) and the Below (actuality).  Allow the Caduceus Ritual to train your subconscious mind while you eliminate all thoughts about impediments from your conscious mind.  When Thursday comes, you are going to get out of your own way and allow the incredible to occur. 

Self-Destruct Sequence

Zombie Squats (50)
Push-ups, diamond (25)
Jump Squats (100)
10-Count Bodybuilders (25)
Pikes/Leg Triangles (25)
Jump Squats, split (50)
Push-ups, Sit-out (25)
Bicycles (50 each side)
Burpees (25)
Twisters (25 each side)
Wall Touches (100)
Push-ups, hopping/clapping (25)

Aletheia: Training Involution #131

Aletheia is the Greek goddess of truth, and she holds a mirror.  Why do you suppose that is? When you perform the Caduceus Ritual, and usher the light from above into the below, what are you enacting?

ALETHEIA: TRAINING INVOLUTION #131

• Are you still working on completing Self-Destruct Sequence in under 40 minutes?   If  so, take a shot at the whole thing if you’re ready.  But if you’re still ramping up, that’s fine — just do a few more reps of each exercise this week.  For instructions click here.  Did you even try?  There are no excuses in Cabal Fang.  Work around handicaps and limitations.  Modify or substitute exercises as needed.  If you’re wheelchair-bound, equate 12 exercises as closely as you can to the 12 in Self-Destruct Sequence and go bite off a piece.

• If you’ve finished Self-Destruct Sequence in under 40 minutes, go hit another fitness goal from the Cord and Rule Program.  See if you can complete 100 Bodybuilders, 100 Get-ups, or complete a 3-mile tire run in under 40 minutes. 

• Your spiritual assignment is to speak the truth for the upcoming week.  Make yourself a conduit between the above and below — usher truth into the world with nobility, empathy, strength and grace.   Avoid white lies, but absolutely do not utter any black truths — use no facts to cause deliberate pain.  This month’s focus is the Staff, so stand tall and do your Caduceus Ritual at least twice a week.  Don’t know the Caduceus Ritual?  It’s in the book.

Incredible Energy Surrounds Mettlecraft Month 2018

The energy around Mettlecraft Month is incredible this year! We’ve smashed records of all kinds — folks are are motivated and engaged than they’ve ever been, and we destroying records left and right!

Here’s a list of the November milestones so far:

Mitch morning after completing 100 Bodybuilders in 16:16.

Tues. 11/13/18.  Mitch and Robert made an assault on the 100 Bodybuilder Challenge.  Both set personal records, but Robert’s was a club record! Mitch got it done in 16:16, Rpbert in 15:55.  They did it by doing them 6 reps OTM getting to about 75 reps and then blitzing to the end.

Scott’s text message

Sun.11/11/18. Scott modified, adapted, and overcame, coming out with a great time of 31:50 at Self-Destruct Sequence! Way to go Scott -- this is an impressive time for a first attempt!

Robert smashes Self-Destruct Sequence

Tue. 11/6/18.  Robert utterly destroyed Self-Destruct Sequence with a time of 29:02. Club record!

Mon. 11/5/18:  More buzz around Self-Destruct Sequence. Hermit Path student James announces that he’s training and for an assault on the summit soon. Same day, Leo knocked it out in a a blistering first attempt of 32:24.  Well done Leo!

Leo’s text message

 Thur. 11/1/18. Robert and Mitch got Self-Destruct Sequence done in 30:58, almost beating the previous record of 30:20 from back in 2016. 

Stand Tall: Training Involution #130

The Magician — he is standing tall and acting out the Hermetic axiom, “As above, so below.”

This month our martial focus is Mettlecraft and our internal, symbolic focus is the Staff.

Mettlecraft month means we’re all digging deeper.  Those of us who haven’t licked Self-Destruct Sequence in under 40 mins quite yet are working our way up to it.  For the Staff, we’re finishing every club meeting with the Caduceus Ritual (see Chapter 19 of Cabal Fang: Complete Martial Arts Study Course).

The Caduceus Ritual aligns your spine — physically, intellectually and spiritually.

• Physically, you stand straight, breath deeply, and vocalize certain tones.   This slows heart rate, lowers blood pressure, and so on.

• Intellectually and mythologically you see yourself as a conduit through and between the energies above (sky) and below (earth).

• Spiritually you allow yourself to fully experience the ritual absorb its significance.

Let’s go put all of this together.

STAND TALL: TRAINING INVOLUTION #130

• Did you finish Self-Destruct Sequence in under 40 minutes last week?  For instructions click here.   If so, do half of the reps as a recovery this week, and think about beating your record next week.

• Did you get through at least half of the reps?  If so, do 2/3 of the reps this week.

• Did you get less than half of the reps?  No problem, just try to do more reps this week than last.

• Did you fail to even try?  There are no excuses in Cabal Fang.  Work around handicaps and limitations.  Modify or substitute exercises as needed.  If you’re wheelchair-bound, equate 12 exercises as closely as you can to the 12 in Self-Destruct Sequence and go.

• Embody the Caduceus Ritual for the rest of the coming week.  Practice standing tall.  Hold your spine upright, keep your shoulders back, and look people in the eye when you talk to them.  Log your performance in your training journal.

Don’t talk about what you can’t do. Only talk about what you can do.

WEEK 1 RUN-UP TO SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE: TRAINING INVOLUTION #129

Thursday night was the first new month under the new Cord and Rule program.  We reviewed our journals to demonstrate we’d done our homework and stamped up our rules accordingly.  The thud of the hammer and the visible mark on the brass to signify your work feels fantastic.

NOVEMBER IS METTLECRAFT MONTH.  TIME TO DIG DEEPER.

Whether you are on the fraternal path in Richmond, VA or on the hermit path and training at home, your goal is to ramp up all month and complete Self-Destruct Sequence by before November is over. See below for the exercise list and an instructional video.

WEEK 1 RUN-UP TO SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE: TRAINING INVOLUTION #129

• Warm up for at least 8 minutes.  Hop from foot to foot, trot, skip and jog, and rotate all joints, and do the Fools Journey form for about 5 mins.  Then spend 3 mins doing a few reps of each exercise (see below for exercise list and instructional video).

• Complete SSM-1 of each exercise in Self-Destruct Sequence.  SSM stands for “single set max.” So “SSM-1” means you do as many of each exercise as you can but you stop on the rep just before you think you’ll probably fail.

• Shadowbox 10 mins for form.  Don’t go all out, just relax, let if flow, and work on your form.

• Cool down for 3 min. 

• Complete the Caduceus Ritual.  See Chapter 19 of the Cabal Fang Study Guide for instructions.

• Record what you did in your training journal.  If it ain’t in the journal, it didn’t happen.  “That which is measured improves,” as the saying goes.

 Self-Destruct Sequence

Zombie Squats (50)
Push-ups, diamond (25)
Jump Squats (100)
10-Count Bodybuilders (25)
Pikes/Leg Triangles (25)
Jump Squats, split (50)
Push-ups, Sit-out (25)
Bicycles (50 each side)
Burpees (25)
Twisters (25 each side)
Wall Touches (100)
Push-ups, hopping/clapping (25)

Flashback: Training Involution #128

Flashback: Training Involution #128

Open your training journal to exactly one year ago.  If you didn't train that day, turn back to the next one.  Do that.  Only better.  If you ran 2 miles in 20 minutes, run 2 miles in less than 20 minutes.  If you boxed 3 rounds, box 4.  Find a metric and do better.

If you haven't been keeping a journal for a year, do the First Elder’s training session for 10/27/17 as follows:

• Warm up for a full 8 minutes.

• Squats, Bench Press, and Weighted Back Bridges.  Complete a 2 x 10 with 50% of your 1 RM, and then 3 x 5 with your working weight.  If you're not experienced at lifting weights, or if lifting's not your thing, substitute body-weight Squats, Push-ups, and unweighted Back Bridges.  Do two warm-up sets, each about half as many your single-set max, and a final set to failure.  One minute rest between each set.  Rest a couple of minutes.  Then...

• Run 2 miles as fast as you can.  When you're done, walk that off for at least three minutes to cool down. Then...

• Complete the Cabal Fang temple rites.  No time for that?  Assume your posture of choice, regulate your breathing, and practice contemplation or meditation for at least 10 minutes.

Dark Forest: Training Involution #127

“Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur, rose and suggested a vow. ‘I propose,’ he said, ‘that we all now set forth in quest to behold that Grail unveiled.’ And so it was that they agreed. There then comes a line that, when I read it, burned itself into my mind. ‘They thought it would be a disgrace to go forth in a group. Each entered the forest at the point that he himself had chosen, where it was darkest, and there was no way or path.’ No way or path! Because where there is a way or path, it is someone else’s path. And that is what marks the Western spirit distinctly from We the Eastern.”

― Joseph Campbell, Thou Art That, Transforming Religious Metaphor (The book Campbell is referring to is the 13th century work “Queste del Saint Graal.”)

The insight of the 13th-century author who so inspired Campbell is amazing.

THEN AS NOW, OUR QUEST IS TO FIND OUR WAY IN THE WORLD — TO EXPLORE THE DARK AND FEARFUL PLACES WE INSTINCTIVELY FEAR TO GO.

Sir Gawain’s shield bears the five-pointed star, a symbol of truth and revelation.  The truth lies in the darkness of the unknown forest. Pursuing the truth requires bravery and the willingness to accept the truth once you find it.

Here’s some truth for you regarding my rule progress under the new program.  This month I’m working on getting my “B” (daily contemplation), “Q” (daily journal entries) and “O” (a three-mile tire run in under 40 minutes).  So far I haven’t missed any journal entries or contemplation days, and I’ve carried that insufferable tire through 6 runs, one that was 2 miles, but I still haven’t hit the 3-miles-in-40-minutes mark yet.

Where are you in the program?  Which marks are you going to earn this month?  You must enter the forest where it is the darkest, thickest, and most tangled.

DARK FOREST: TRAINING INVOLUTION #127

1. 4 x 4 all-in conditioner.  4 sets of each: 4 Handstand Push-ups (substitute Jackknife Push-ups if needed), 4 Wrestling Shots each side (4 with left foot lead, 4 with right foot lead), 4 Back Bridges (the heaviest bag you can manage — I used a #80), and 4 max power combos vs. heavy bag (min 8 strikes per combo).

2. Explore the Dark Forest.  Pick one of the 39 achievement marks and get started.  Many of them require consistent actions over the course of an entire month, but some of them you might be able to achieve right now!  And if you don’t have a ruler because you’re not a member of the Richmond temple or you aren’t enrolled in the Cabal Fang Hermit Path Distance Learning Program — what are you waiting for?  It’s free — shoot me an email and let’s go!

Square 1: Training Involution #125 and an Announcement

Sir Gawain as described in :Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” (from Chapter 18 of the Cabal Fang Study Course)

Earlier this week we announced our revised rank and achievement tracking program called the Cord and Rule. First Elder has issued the following statement:

“I founded Cabal Fang martial arts, I wrote the curriculum, and I’ve met every requirement hundreds of times. But hat doesn’t mean I’m any better than anybody else. That’s why I’m starting over…I’m untying all the knots in my cord and I’m starting with a blank ruler as if I was a new student. Leaders lead from the front.”

SQUARE 1: TRAINING INVOLUTION #125

• 100 Get-ups.  Beginners, get it done in under 15 mins.  Intermediates, 10 mins.  Advanced, finish in 8 mins or less.

• 1 mile tire run.  Pick up an auto tire, put it over your shoulder like a courier bag, and run one mile.  No tire?  Use a backpack with water bottles.  Switch shoulders often.  Gloves and a sweatshirt advised.  Beginners use smaller tires and take your time.  Tire sizes are complex.  Roughly speaking, the bigger the final two digits in the tire size (the diameter of the hole in inches) the heavier the tire.  A 14″ tire averages about 15 pounds, a 15″ about 20 lbs., a 16″ about 22 lbs and a 17″ tire can weigh up to 35 lbs.   I used a 16″ (a 205/65R16) and finished in a rather middling 14:32.

• Cool down by walking it off for 3 minutes.  Then stretch out.

• Re-read Chapter 18: The Pentagram in the Cabal Fang Study Guide.  “Gawain was faithful in five and five-fold, for pure was he as gold, void of all villainy and endowed with all virtues. Therefore he bare the pentangle on shield and surcoat as truest of heroes and gentlest of knights.”  From the 14th-century masterpiece  Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

New Cord and Rule Program is Live

After some preliminary teasing and a lot of work, the new Cabal Fang Martial Arts Cord and Rule program is official.  In a nutshell, every month we'll be stamping each member's rule with certain marks to indicate achievements in terms of attendance, fitness and rank.  Rulers will be handed out at Thursday night's session.

Here is a link to the full program handout that explains the symbolism and outlines the process, and below are the pictures of the first set of rulers sitting on the temple's anvil.  The holes in the end are so that we can attach the cord -- we also tie knots in a personal cord in order to keep track of certain other milestones.

This process fits in nicely with something that in Cabal Fang we call "mettlecraft."

\Met”tle*craft\, n.  mettle [E. metal, used in a tropical sense in allusion to the temper of the metal of a sword blade; substance or quality of temperament; spirit, esp. as regards honor, courage, fortitude, ardor, etc.; See {Metal}.] + -craft [AS. cr[ae]ft strength, skill, art, cunning; akin to OS., G., Sw., & Dan. kraft strength, D. kracht, Icel. kraptr; perh. originally, a drawing together, stretching, from the root of E. cramp.] 1. The art, skill and cultivation of physical endurance, unflagging determination and resolute strength of mind, body and spirit.

This is the next step in the evolution of Cabal Fang.  Onward and upward!

The Flow: Training Involution #124

The Flow: Training Involution #124

1. Create a flow drill and work it for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.  Ideally your flow drill will have give-and-take (or if solo, anticipated defenses).  And, in a perfect world, it will have at least 8 beats or moves.  Videos of two flow drills below.

2. If you don’t have a partner, don’t sweat it.  You can work with noodles, make a wrestling dummy, practice your Double Wristlock using a sledgehammer, work on your katas, or just shadowbox.  No excuses.  Get in the flow!  

3. Meditate on the caduceus.  The caduceus, or the Staff of Hermes, is an ancient symbol of the flow — the give and take between opposing forces that gives rise to equilibrium, understanding and transcendence.  Assume your meditative posture of choice, picture the symbol in your mind, and step into the symbol for at least 10 minutes.

Stick and Move: Training Involution #123

STICK AND MOVE: TRAINING INVOLUTION #123

A competent fighter moves while hitting and hits while moving.  These drills should help with that.

(A) Set your timer for 3 rounds of 3:00 mins each.

• Round 1 — 3 minute Constant Action Drill.  Shadowbox — with constant action! — until the timer beeps.  Plenty of slips, pops, bobs and weaves please.  And as Mark Hatmaker would say, “no lollygagging.”

• Round 2 — 3 minute Lightning Bolt Drill.  Assume your fighting stance.  Punching all the while, surge backward at a 45° angle toward rear foot. Then surge 90° back in line with the lead foot.  Repeat to the extent of your training space.  Your path will resemble a lightning bolt.  Now surge forward, away from your rear foot, at a 45° angle, followed by a 90° surge back to center line.  Move like a fencer and never stop punching!  See video below.

• Round 3 — Double-end Ball.  Get right on top of your double-end ball, so close that it will hit you in the face when it comes back, and fight with it for 3 minutes.  Hit while you dodge, dodge while you hit!  Don’t have a double-end ball?  Make one for less than $5.

(B) Complete a 1/2 mile Balboa Run.  I know, a half mile doesn’t seem like much.  But trust me, if you do it “Balboa-style” — arms punching the whole time — and you go as fast as you can, it’ll feel like a half marathon.  Still too easy?  Add a weighted vest (I used a #5 and that was plenty) or carry hand weights.

(C) Meditation.  After a thorough cool-down, set a timer for 5 to 10 minutes, assume your meditative posture of choice, and regulate your breathing.  Then pick one of the seven symbols in the Hand of Mysteries — the key, the lantern, the sun, the star, the crown, the moon, or the fiery fish —  and meditate on it’s meaning.  When done, as always, record your performance and your realizations in your training journal.