The push test is a very practical way of testing the quality of one’s solo training for internal power. As explained in Weakest Direction Theory is BS, the body, when properly trained, acts as an omni-directional structure. This allows the practitioner of internal power to neutralize any incoming force by diffusing it throughout the structure rather than having to surrender to it or resist against it. Either you can do it or you can’t. There’s no way to fake it. Continue reading →
“All-round sports training must include the capability of coping with unexpected and sub-optimal conditions”
– Mel Siff, PHD author of Supertraining
In a recent post, Are You Practicing Wrong, I covered why I think the idea of “perfect practice” is utter nonsense when it comes to training yourself how to improve at pretty much any skill. In this post, I’d like to take it a step further and talk about how crucial Imperfect Training is to your overall development as a warrior. Continue reading →
Warning:The following post is going to conflict with the most basic, fundamental principle you “know” to be true in martial arts. Chances are you learned this principle on your first day of martial arts class. Since that day you have repeated it almost every class. You have taught it as truth to every new person you’ve ever trained with. It’s so ingrained into your psyche that it’s practically dogma. Most likely you will read this a instantly brand me a Budo Heretic. Yup. It’s that controversial…
For the past several weeks there has been a running theme interwoven throughout my blog posts. That theme has been practice, Daily Personal Practice (DPP), to be precise.
I’ve gotten several questions about the details of my own DPP since I refer to it several times in my writing. So I figured I would pull back the curtains and give you a more detailed glimpse into my Morning Routine of DPP in this post. Continue reading →
Yesterday I decided to do something a little bit different in my workout. As an experiment, I wanted to look at the effect lactic acid build up in the muscles had on my ability to throw rubber shuriken (ninja stars) and hit a target. The theory being that as fatigue in the muscles increased, throwing accuracy would decrease. Seems like a solid hypothosis, right? Well, here’s what happened…
If you’re like many people perhaps you’ve over indulged a little bit this holiday season. Too many great meals and even greater desserts maybe? Well here’s a quick metabolic conditioning workout to help you out. The great thing about metabolic conditioning workouts is that, unlike traditional aerobics, they stoke the fat burning furnace and keep it burning for hours after your workout is completed. Continue reading →
We all know people who think they can continue to grow and continue to make gains indefinitely by simply pushing harder and harder in their training day in and day out. But what always happens to them? Injury, burn out, sickness, stagnation. Then what? Well, once they get back on their feet they start the same cycle all over again. Why? Because maybe, just maybe they weren’t pushing hard enough or using enough brute force last time to succeed and this time will be different. Riiigghhht…
One of my favorite motivational quotes of all time comes from Antony Hopkins in the movie, “The Edge”. They are stranded in the woods and he is tyring to psyche up Alex Baldwin’s character to help him kill a bear. Killing a bear seems like such an impossible task. It’s fraught with danger. It’s incredibly risky. Unbelievable hard. But they must do it.
Hopkins tells him – “What one man can do, another can do!”
Now, most of us will probably never be in a situation where we must kill a bear for survival. But look at it as a metaphor. The bear is any seemingly insurmountable task in your life. Any goal that you long to achieve, yet seems unconquerable. Doesn’t make a difference what it is – what one man can do (or woman, we’re equal opportunity here!), another can do!
It bugs to no end when students place highly skilled martial artists like Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido, or Masaaki Hatsumi, head of the Bujinkan Dojo, or even Bruce Lee, founder of Jeet Kune Do on pedestals and hold them up as unreachable and impassible icons. Are they great? Yes, of course. Are they worthy of our respect and admiration for their skill and achievement? Hell yeah! But are they an enigma? Are they once in a generation geniuses that the rest of us mere mortals cannot hope to reach? No. Not at all. They are men. Human beings like you and me. They put in ungodly amounts of hard work, study, and practice to reach the peak of their craft, but what one man can do, another can do.
Thomas Edison failed over ten thousand of times before he successfully created the first incandescent light bulb. No, that’s not a typo. Ten thousand. What if he gave up after the first failure, or the hundredth, or even after the thousandth failure? Where would we be? In the freakin’ dark, people, that’s where!
Do you want the martial skill of a Hatsumi?
The Internal Power of Ueshiba?
The legacy of a Steve Jobs?
The money of a Bill Gates?
The body and fitness levels of an elite athlete?
The strength of a world champion strongman?
Go out and get it. What one man can do, another can do. Why can’t you?
