Lots of Pushups

You may have wondered about the title of my previous blog post, "Musings of a Ronin". A Ronin, or Wave Man, is a masterless warrior, sourced from the Japanese samurai era, in which a warrior would travel around searching for work, typically as a mercenary, bodyguard or teacher. Of which, I've been all three to a point. My 23andMe genetics test claims I do have an ancestor whom was at least 100% Japanese about 350 years ago. So, hey, maybe I am descended from a Ronin!

Continuing off from last post, the story ended with me recounting my first school, and sitting in a loft watching the noobs learn deadly punches from horse stance. A horse stance is, feet spread apart to about twice one's shoulder's width, then squat like a bear taking a shit.

My next major flash of memory is standing in the bleachers of the school in front stance copying the adults in class. A front stance is a deep forward lunge to deliver strikes. If you've ever done yoga, this is identical to warrior pose. I could never quite do front stance perfect, due to inflexible ankles messing with my form. Which leads me to my next blurry memory: I'm doing pushups, in the bleachers, because the instructor of the class didn't like my front stance. My mother happily recounts this story often. She stated I had to do A LOT of pushups, even though I wasn't a student yet, I was merely spectating! Stupid inflexible ankles!

I have a few more early flashes of memory, then we start getting into full motion video, lessons learned and funny moments. My next memory is seeing the class train in the nearby park, in the grass, with their white karate gi's on. I see green knees and elbows. Apparently they were doing takedowns and the grass was thier mat. I like this. Train in real world turf!

At the same school, I am still about five, maybe even six by now. I'm sitting in the bleachers, it was a demonstration of some sort. Tons of students were on the floor. I remember seeing a black belt, I knew his name at the time, but cannot recall it now. He ran across the room, attempted a jump flying kick and failed to extend his foot in time. He violently smashed, awkwardly, into a stack of boards with his knee. I remember the rush of people around him, and me being worried. This was the first of many martial arts injuries I will witness. This is also the final memory from that school.

Next post teaser, I am about six or seven, and learn my first tactical lesson...from a girl!

Musings of a Ronin.

I remember quite distinctly my two earliest memories. The first is a confirmed account of a mere flash memory. Two frames out of an old, grainy movie film strip, of me reaching up for a bottle. The background is dark, the bottle, is the shape of a Flintstone cartoon character, and I can see both of my hands reaching for it.

The next memory, was while I was sitting on the floor of a living room in a old farmhouse near Medford, Oregon. My mother, sitting on the couch reading a newspaper, said something about karate classes. I remember being instantly focused upon her words. At this point, I have tons of life memories scattered in all directions. For purposes of this blog, I would like to take this path strictly down the martial arts memories, lesson learned, and interesting tidbits. I shall change the names to protect the not-so-innocent.

My first real martial arts memory. Once again, I am sitting on my butt, all I see is a single grainy frame. In my mind I am panning around looking at the details. I am sitting on a loft, with my back towards the railing, inches away from certain death. Watching the noobs, in the their workout clothes sitting deeply in horse stance. Later, I would learn, this was the introduction class to weed out the weak, before being thrown into the meat grinder. I recently spoke with my mother to get some approximate dates of these initial events. She said it was eight months before Chuck Norris's "A Force of One" came out. Doing some amazing math, this would have been about November of 1978. I would have just turned five years old.

Out of curiosity, I performed some Internet sleuthing. I found the school! The loft is still there, seen clearly in the background! The school looked so much bigger in my child hood mind. Talk about a serious blast from the past!

I have a few stories from this time period. Which I will save for next time.

~Mark

"...lifting with one finger a good-sized man by the belt..."

..."feats that anyone can perform after persistent exercise."

Sourced from: “A Triumph for Physical Culture” by Ron Tyrrell.

I persistently exercise...let's see if I can do this! I grabbed a 45lb bar, stuffed four 10lb plates on it. Squatting over the bar, I extended my most precious shooting finger out and confidently wrapped the bar. Breathing deeply in, then out forcefully, I gave the bar a solid pull...nearly ripping my shooting finger off in the process and crapping my pants. Ok...so I'm not a strongman. Let's try two fingers perhaps. Sticking out a pair of eye pokers I gripped the bar. With a solid yank, the bar came off the ground unbalanced, one end clanging back to the mat. I was instantly surprised and amused at the possibility. Much like jiu jitsu, the ability to execute a technique is more often than not an issue with balance, not strength. Shifting my fingers to a better spot...VOILA! Three inches off the mat, I was able to hover the bar. Notice my shitty ass lifting form. I used my left hand on my knee to keep my lower back from super nova exploding. This was mostly deltoid, rhomboid, subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus and probably a pile of other little muscles.

"And he could perform a one-arm pull-up by pinch gripping the bottom link of a hanging chain, and even holding the link with only his index finger. He could do as many as ten of these one-fingered pull-ups at a time, and could still perform this feat when he was 68 years old." Source: "http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/05/15/odd-exercises-for-physical-vigor-an-oldtime-strongmans-15-minute-morning-routine/"

I don't think I could pull off that party trick. But as a BIG fan of pull ups, I figured well fuck yeah I can get my fat ass up there with a two handed pull up...with one finger per hand. NOPE. I hooked my claws onto the bar and tried..miserably. The second I got a third of my weight onto my pair of videogame trigger fingers, they failed. So...back up a bit and I tried two fingers per hand...I was able to pump out two solid reps, and a craptastical third.

Not a bad fitness feat for a 40 year old huh?

Now go train!

Ten soldiers

...wisely led will beat a hundred without a head. ~ Euripdes

When I was 12 (many years ago), I was learning Shotokan Karate from my father. Back then, the comparison between styles was the normal calculator for effectiveness. For example, one guy would say he trained in some esoteric form of Tree Rat Krav Maga, which of course would beat mall karate. People were stylistically fearful. Of course, this is all horseshit. How vigorous the person training is the key.

Yet, there are exceptions to the above.

On the way home from karate class, I had asked my father one question, "Where there any other martial arts you would like to learn?" Anticipating an answer of ,"No, Shotokan is the shit...you little shit. Now shut up!"

His answer was different, "Jiu jitsu."
Me, puzzled, "Why is that?"
Him, "Because it's a killing art."

Fucking mind blown. That is the specific moment which started my search for jiu jitsu. Not because I wanted to kill anyone. But rather for the serious effectiveness of such an art. For karate by then early 80's had already began heavy watering down, and started to become jazzercise with elbow strikes. It eventually became bullshit. My dad hated this crap, as do I. Although my dad no longer really trains, his mental capacity for it is still very sharp, and can read an opponent incredibly well(something rarely anyone teaches anymore, except when I'm teaching the noobs). When we watch the UFC, he complains about hand position, foot rotation, balance, sloppy execution and generally poor technique. Often times before Joe Rogan can fire off the same critique.

Modern jiu jitsu (the Brazilian variant) is just now, slightly starting to see the same shift. There are a few out there who speak fondly of old-school "1994 jiu jitsu". This is the key indicator, the same warning we saw with karate in the 80's; this is the demarcation between good and bad. Many years from now, if my progeny asks me what style I would consider learning:
Me: "1994 jiu jitsu."
"Why?", they ask.
Me, "Because it's a killing art."

Thanks pop!

Tactics Vs Technique

It seems all good stories start with either, "So, there I was..." or even better, "Hold my beer, let me show you something...".

I don't drink. So, there I was, on my grade school playground about nine years old. I was playing tether ball by myself, happily smashing the shit out of the ball. Watching it twist around the pole was both physically refreshing, and mentally exciting. Watching physics at work is mesmerizing for me then and still is today.

A few minutes into my fun, this little turd approached my laboratory. He decided he wanted to perform some research on his own. I wasn't all that interested in sharing my certain future as a Nobel Prize winner in low-Earth orbital mechanics. This advanced aged spermatozoa grabbed the ball and locked onto it. My demeanor went instantly from quiet nerd into a mutant, flesh eating virus from a Cold War East German biological weapons lab. I wanted to expand wreckage across his smiling face.

I reached for the ball, fingers extended (mistake #1), and started to yank the ball back. The asshole bit my right middle two fingers. I'm talking an accurate, interpretive dance of a bear gnawing a camper's legs off. I was paralyzed! "Ahh fucker! Let go you cock gobbling asshole!", I screamed. (or something along those lines, but I am CERTAIN I said fuck or ass in there somewhere...) Eventually he let go, and still had the ball. Mother fucker.

So...this butthole executed a nice technique: biting. Practiced three times a day of course. His excellent tactic though, involved waiting (or baiting?) me to attack, then stupidly extending my arms in a weaker position. His tactic, empowered his technique. Not the other way around. Jiu jitsu, work or whatever, I believe can leverage this principle. Next time you are stuck in a scenario requiring you to act...think about what would ENABLE and EMPOWER your action. Is there a strategy to weaken my opponent's balance? Can I orient myself at his weakest angle? Can I force him to over-extend his attack? Can I read his movements and feel for when he is about to act? Can I wear him down? Can I use my attributes (speed, power, flexibility) to counter his action? Can I keep him from not acting at all?

Tactics bitches. This shit works! A slightly off-tangent BJJ concept is position before submission. Yet, I believe a position is still a technique, and tactics need be employed to gain that position, which can then lead to another tactic, which may then lead to a submission.

The military has a concept called OODA. Orient, observe, direct, act. Look this shit up, it's gold. It's full of details, concepts, feedback loops etc..

That is all I have for today.
Mark!
p.s.
As far as I can remember I've never played tether ball again, but I'll never forget that little fucker.

Old age and...

...treachery will always beat youth and vigor.

I fucking love that saying. As I leave my 30's, this has entered my mind more frequently. Probably because I now feel the challenge isn't between my opponent and myself, but rather my age and my opponent's youthfulness. Quite often I pride my self on beating the run times, pushup counts, cardio-what-the-fuck-ever of those half my age. Gleefully snorting by badassery, which really isn't all that impressive. It's really just for my own self-esteem mostly.

There is some merit to be rewarded to the older individual, when challenged by a younger, less weathered body and mind. My dad for example is an old school traditional martial artist. Training since the 1970's, that's 40+ years! The constant repetition of the same mental activity: kill the other mother fucker before he kills you...and kill him quickly, brutally and efficiently (scare off and terrify his friends). I am 100% convinced there is no doubt in his mind, he would not hesitate for a nano-second to stab a dude in the trachea with one of his really awesome homemade wooden pens, if said dude crossed my dad in a life threatening way. I've seen my dad kick a side view mirror off a car once. I've seen him slice all four of the sidewalls(tires) of another car... All moments of exact execution of his intention. A rather large individual of African heritage once beat down a chick in a restaurant we were at in Las Vegas. My dad smoothly stood up and moved toward the douche nozzle. The casino security intercepted the potentially lethal situation before my dad had his chance. He simply stopped, and turned 180 degrees. While walking back to our table I could see the him putting away an aggressive looking folding-fighting knife. He was serious. Interestingly, his demeanor didn't really change as he sat down to continue eating whatever-the-hell he was eating. As if nothing happened. To him it was just another step on the road.

Last night, I was able to experience a tiny bit of this. Perhaps one day, I'll be just as efficient as my dad in such endeavors. My nightly ritual: brush my teeth, piss, disrobe completely, and run from my master bath toward my bed at full steam, so that I can get maximum airtime as I leap into my soft, squishy bed. I land, wrap up like a mummy in my bedsheets and close my eyes. Not more than five minutes into my dreams of armbars, stripclubs and Taliban hunting, I hear what sounded like a hammer hitting my front door. I'm happy to report, instead of shitting myself, I simply opened my eyes and laid still. I was listening for movement. I wanted to know if there was an actual threat incoming or not. Since I wasn't nervous or excited, I was able to quietly listen, no heavy breathing or heartbeat interfered with my aural scanning. I couldn't hear shit, my damn door was closed. For tactical reasons, I figure someone would have to open the door which would alert me, plus it offers concealment from vision. I felt safe enough to sit up, and continue staring into the darkness. I did not want to look out my window with a streetlamp on. This would fuck up my night vision. I stood up and took a step to my door. Put my ear to it and listened. Nothing. Fuck. Should I get my gun? Fuck, it's all the way over there. Dammit, I put my gun on the defensive side of the bed, opposite side of the door so that I could roll off onto the safe side, get my gun and use the bed as concealment from the door. Hmmm what to do.... Fuck it, next to my head is a eight foot long African hunting spear, with an eight inch long sharp as hell, leaf shaped blade on one end. The other end is a two foot long, half inch diameter spike. It will FUCK YOU UP. I grab that bitch and open my door.

So now, I'm thinking. I'm butt ass naked with an eight foot long spear about to pounce on some fucktard, whom is either one, going to shit himself to death when he sees me. Or two, try to kill me with fire, because I'm the baddest mother fucker he's ever seen: a stark naked, smiling white guy, with an African weapon of war, poised for battle like a Greek warrior. I'm secretly hoping for number two. Although I do not have a helmet nor a shield, I will HAPPILY don that gear upon the next intrusion into my domicile. Fuck yeah!

I take a nice step forward, positioning the long ass spear in my skinny hallway in such a way as to use it effectively. Which in this case means, it is pointed nearly straight fucking down and all I'll be stabbing will be the anterior tibialis muscle of the shin. Not very sexy. I peek out and see nothing. Fuck. I step out into my Spartan living room, and then all of a sudden I see the fucking most awesome thing ever. There is a night light near the floor right behind my ankles, shining the most amazing huge, silhouette of a my naked ass, with a spear, upon my white living room wall. It looks FUCKING COOL! Forget the intruder, check that shit out! I narcissistically stare at that for a minute (or three) then realize I have work to do.

At this point I'm actually bored, I have my spear, I have no intruder, and no signs of anything. It was probably the wind or some animal. The thing I need to say is, much like my dad, I was in a fully stoic mindset. I knew for a fact, the bladed point would be piercing the neck of some crackhead if they had entered my domain aggressively. Not a single bit of emotional context, or worry. As they taught us in Nuclear/Biological/Chemical Warfare school: let the training take over. As I swept through my house with my African lance, the training had fully taken control of my mind and movements. No hesitation, nor care in the world to be had. A completely clear conscience, before, during and most importantly AFTER all of this.

I remember once being scared as a little boy about crickets, mummies under my bed, witches over my bed (still one of the reasons why I still feel more comfortable sleeping face down), and ghosts. Now, I WISH there were mummies, I'll fuck them up.

Jiu jitsu, work etc.. I believe may occasionally benefit greatly from this sort of stoic, steeled, and cold intention. Don't give a fuck at all about inconsequential outcomes, or during extreme cases where one may die (so long as it's YOU whom will live). Execute like a robot. Fail? Reprogram. Test. Fight. Repeat. This sort of reprogram, test, fight, repeat cycle as one ages gets VERY GOOD,  VERY FAST, and VERY EFFICIENT...

Look forward to your advancing age, and smile knowing you'll FUCK THEM UP!

Mark
p.s. I put my spear back in it's place. I then went back to sleep as before; as I always do...with maximum distance and speed, for maximum airtime.

There is nothing...

noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.
~Ernest Hemingway

That's some tasty shit right there. Normally, "tasty" and "shit" should not be in the same sentence but you know what the fuck I mean.

Combat sports, crossfit, full contact bar mitzvahs, or whenever the fuck you like to do, one must ignore the victories of your opponents (or sometimes perceived opponents in the cases of rivalry) over oneself. Everyone progresses at a different pace, opponents may have a fucking amazing day, while you may have a shit day. It just happens. If you lose a fight, go back and read this shit again. If a rival beats your personal record, fuck 'em, then re-read this shit.

Secondly, Hanlon's Razor: it's not always about malice. I'm a firm believer in this. People aren't always out to get you. They may chase you a bit, you run a bit faster to escape, and damn you got a bit better. This is good. Or they may become victorious due to blind ass luck or perhaps raw stupidity; it happens. Or you may be the pursuer, and must over take! Think about your past pursuits in life, did they contain malice? Probably not, most people in my rose colored view of the world have mostly honorable intentions.

I had read a story a long time ago about a student judoka. He was an advanced student and was grappling with a lesser student. He took it easy on him, as people tend to do in combat sports. The sensei became enraged and admonished the advanced student for not properly training. The instructor considered not training at 100% was ineffectual. At all times, the mind and body should be pushing for 100%. But does this mean flip the noob on top of his head and break something? No. Does it mean smash the fuck out of him when on top and rain down some elbows? No.

It means, one's intent is 100%.

Apply your skill for the kill. Yet, protect your training partner from certain death. Control is vital. Yesterday, I taught a jiu jitsu class. I'm the senior ranked individual in a sea of brand new white belts. I have 30 years of experience, they have maybe 30 minutes. It's my class too, I want to train too, therefore my intent is 100%. I gleefully swept the fuck out of everyone I could get my hands onto, I passed their guards freely, I applied submissions at will. It was no big deal. We always left the mat sweaty and smiling(often laughing!). They lost, I won, no big fuckering deal. I trained at 100%, got a TINY, MICROFRACTION better, and they did too. Perhaps not in their own technique, but rather the experience of feeling effective technique. Now, they can mimic me and apply it to others. We are now both better than when we stepped onto the mat two hours earlier. Win for them, win for me.

In my classes, I always explain, roll with a fucking purpose, not to fucking win(I'll say it just like that when there no kids around). This goes for other sports as well(crossfit, archery, synchronized tea bagging to music), there must be a purpose. One cannot win in training. One shall only win in the moments of personal gain; you've bested your former self. So, when a noobie rolls with me, I fucking win, yes I go for the kill, but I lead them through the fight so that they may also learn, enjoy the struggle, have some fun, not get injured, and want to come back for more. If there isn't at least one moment of laughter during my rolls, then something is wrong. As they get better and craftier, I must also step it up a notch. Win for them, win for me.


Mark

Jet Fuel

Below is my response to an email from a good friend of mine... His question was simple, "Have you invented a program that will give me all the food I need to eat, and meal prep times that take less time than opening a box?"


Why yes I have my friend! I don’t bother counting calories, proteins, fats, carbs etc… Eat when hungry, eat in proportion to your workouts, and cook as if you’re a chemist designing jet fuel for your internal fighter jet. Then feel for how your body survives the day; adjust as needed.

This works for me, it might not work for you. This is after 5+ years of black box testing with my body. I recently had my blood work done, their Health Quotient shows I was 91 out of 100. They dinged me because on my food survey I truthfully stated I ate high fat foods. I also stated I did not do daily 30 minute cardio sessions. I train in short intervals for maximum power, speed, agility - which has equated to phenomenal long duration cardio(tested during long sparring/running sessions). For me, long duration is constant cardio over 20-30 minutes or more. You marathon guys would probably laugh at me though. A typical morning workout for me is a very light warmup of flapping my arms and legs until I'm awake, some very light-quick lunges, and calf raises to active my legs. Once I feel loosed up, and warm, I sprint like a mother fucker on crack out my front door for exactly 1 mile. My best time is 6:52..as a 39 year old I'll take it as pretty good. Upon returning I immediately do 50 knuckle pushups on the concrete by my car. Then into the Bat Dojo for some light Olympic lifting(just the 40lb bar), then stretching. Alternate days is usually a warmup, then heavy Olympic lifting. When I say heavy, I'm relatively weak, today's 40lb bar was fitted with 40lbs of weight for a total of 80lbs. I wanted to do all the basic Olympic lifts without breaking anything as I will be teach a tough jiu jitsu tournament preparation class tonight. It felt good, although I need some external coaching on some of my lifts to ensure I'm not fucking up my body.


Here’s the exact pattern I use. It works for me, I shred out nicely on this, with no muscle or cardio loss:

• Skip breakfast. Drink a ½ cup of water and add some BCAAs. BCAA’s are pieces which build protein. It’s pretty much the greatest thing ever. Can’t get enough of them. BCAA are protein without the calories. BCAA’s + water before/after all workouts. Buy flavored BCAA at the Vitamin Shop, it’s the shit. Make sure it had citruline malate in it.
• Anytime I am hungry, ½ cup of water and some BCAA’s. This has nearly replaced all my snacking.
• Lunch is a small salad, lots of protein and fats. Fats/protein may come from meat, cheese, full fat dressing, oil based dressing etc.. about a big hand full of this stuff, plus a bigger handful of veggies/lettuce.
• Once a week, fast for 36 hours; work out while fasted. biggest lean out tool I use. ½ cup of water and a sprinkle of BCAA’s several times a day, and whenever you feel hungry.
• Once a week, eat like a fatso (swallow a tub of ice cream or something).
• Once a week, at lunch, eat something decadent but small with your meal, if and ONLY if you worked out in the morning (as a reward). Today, I ate one of those cafeteria puddings with my homemade salad. Only do this if you mentally feel it necessary.
• Tertiary decadence, which is actually quite good for you is 88% cocoa bars at Vitamin Shop. They are $3 and huge. Eat them, they are FULL of antioxidants, great for your cardio system, have no sugar and are better for you than eating candy/taco bell etc.. It tastes great, and feels like you are cheating on your diet. Excellent for snacking. I ate a 2 inch by 1 inch block of it on my way to work today.
• Keep all of your eating within one 8 hour window. Generally impossible if you eat at noon, workout at 7-9pm then get home to eat dinner. The goal is to minimize the eating time spread, and maximize the mini fasts between days. The time period between dinner and the next lunch should be maximized and treated as a mini fast.
• You can eat right before you go to bed, no problem.
• No water soluble impact carbs (breads, white rice, pasta, noodles etc…). Complex plant based carbs: broccoli, asparagus, anything dark green/red etc.. you can eat veggies until you are stuffed.
• Fats are GREAT for you. Fats don’t get you fat, eating too much and not exercising gets you fat. Carbs from fats are excellent, but not a complete replacement for plant carbs. Eat both.
• Fruit is limited(max is one big handful per day and best right after a workout), but not eliminated. I eat all my fruits and 50% of my veggies in my dinner smoothies (which is right after my workout).
• Nuts/seeds are awesome but keep them under control. Eat only 2-5 nuts as a snack a couple times a day if necessary. I often put almonds in my smoothies. Currently, I no longer snack in-between meals as much.
• Omega-3 fish oil is ultra important. Buy the best you can get, make sure it has ALA in it as well. Chia seeds are good for this. ALA supplements are also highly recommended. Choke down fish oil every time you eat. Make sure the oil came from real fish not flax seed. I've read reports bashing flax seed as not being all that awesome. Probably funded by fisheries...so do your own research.
• Dinner smoothie. On rest days, smoothie is about 10-12oz. Workout days it might be double that. The key to building a smoothie is easy: you need a liquid protein source (milk/yogurt), then a raw proteins source(powder/ultimate meal/beans/etc..), then carbs(veggies(kale!)/veggie powders/fruits), then fats/supplements(ALA/fish oil/cottage cheese/chia/vitamins) and finally flavorings(cinnamon, agave, nutmeg, 88% cocoa bar). I tend to mix proteins/carbs into equal layers, then add a thin layer of fats into my Vitamix.
• Alternate dinner (ie restaurant/home cooking) is simply steam/boil/microwave/raw eat a pile of veggies the size of a big dinner plate. Then a lump of meat the size and thickness of your hand. Easy, done. Full fat ranch dressing is no problem.
• Another dinner alternate, when I feel like being extra lean is three eggs, cracked into a cereal bowl of water. Microwave them until poached (~2.5 mins). Then for carbs, a single microwaved yam is beautiful, or a salad, or a super small fruit/veggie smoothie. Freaking awesome, easy to cook and tastes great.
• Another dinner alternate is eat a ton of cheese. Literally, like a brick of cheese, or cheese varieties in one sitting. Lots of proteins and fats in there. Then eat some veggies/salad/small veggie smoothie. This is excellent for when you want to workout really hard the next morning or do this as lunch in preparation for a tough night workout. This is one of my favorites. Super famous fitness guru Steve Maxwell does this a lot, and I stole it from him; it works.
• Alternates for protein: clean organic jerky, cheese, eggs, chickpeas, beans. 1 egg/half cup beans = 6gm protein.
• Coconut milk, water and oil are the three greatest things for your diet. Eat these three constantly. Milk for smoothies, water for post workout hydration, and oil for cooking/smoothies/replacement base for making dressings/desserts etc..
• For us athletes, we need 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, at the weight we want to be at per day.
• My grocery shopping is super easy now, as I only have to buy a few things and rarely have to go down the aisles as all the good stuff is on the perimeter.
• Eat, then wait 45 minutes. If you are sleepy, too many shitty carbs or not enough good carbs. If you are hungry, not enough protein.

Mindset for your food:


Fats: are fuels for performance over a long time; and released into the body slower, no impact to insulin levels and have high energy density. Aerobic performance – Running a couple miles; long jiu jitsu fights.


Carbs: are fuels for performance over a short time; quickly released into the body, can spike insulin levels and have a low energy density. Anaerobic performance – Olympic lifting; the first 10 seconds of a jiu jitsu fight.


Proteins: fix your shit when you go catabolic after workouts.


You need all three. I basically try to get a 33% split on all of them.



Your food determines the mode:


Insulin level high = store mode = fat ass --- shitty carbs/too much fruits/sugars/breads

Insulin level low = burn mode = lean body --- fats, proteins/hard carbs(broccoli, kale etc..)



I hope this method helps someone. If it has, drop me some love in the comments below.



Mark

Die "Fledermaus Dojo" ist nicht tot!

America...

Fuck yeah. :)

So many fail...

...because they don't get started - they don't go. They don't overcome inertia. They don't begin.
~ W. Clement Stone

Spring training has started! Day one was a success.. Most of us left dizzy, nauseated, and limping. The next day was no better, with our ability to walk hampered by the hypertrophic damage to our hamstrings. Good times for sure!

For Brazilian jiu jitsu, this is an EXCELLENT workout for developing core and leg strength. Particularly for the part of the body involved with double/single leg takedowns. For girls, this attacks all the curvy bits, they complain about and guys like...trust me. :)

The workout was a modification of another workout..with an emphasis on 100% activity for 1 minute, versus the original workout's goal of number of reps in a long 3 minute set. Our workout had barely a 10 second break in-between intervals as compared to the 3 minute break recommended in the original.

Here's what we done got done did:

For 1 minute each:
45lb deadlift (just the bar for the next few sessions)
chinups (from dead hangs, no touching the floor for the full 1 minute, and no crying)
kettle bell swings (1 min per arm)
goblet squats with the 25lb kettle bell
push presses with the 25lb kettle bell (1 min per arm)
hi low carry 25lb upper arm, 35lb lower arm (1 min per side)

9 minutes total. Fucking sucked.

Make damn sure you are trained in the deadlift. It's SOOO easy to wreck your back with improper form. Remember, it's really a PUSH movement with the legs, not a lift motion with the back. If you are leaning forward, then leaning back to lift, you are doing it wrong! The majority of the action should be your ass getting low, then rising and pushing forward as you drag the bar across your shins.

Other points, make sure your shoulders are back. Your spine is arched so that your chest is forward, not arched liked cat. Head up and forward looking at the crowd, particularly at your competitor's girlfriend. Push hard through your heels, not your toes.

No pics, I was too lazy and didn't "feel it". Shooting for me is organic; the energy for it comes naturally from some deeply seated part of my id. If it's not there, the camera collects dust.

Later!
Mark

To fight

 ..is a radical instinct; if men have nothing else to fight over they will fight over words, fancies, or women, or they will fight because they dislike each other's looks, or because they have met walking in opposite directions ~ George Santayana

One of our striking coaches, Mike Wright won his second MMA fight last night! So awesome! He is now 2-0!
It was a real pleasure training with him on grappling, which he used quite extensively during the fight. Excellent work! His opponent was tough, with the fight going to judge's decision.

Faixa Preta MMA - Rockwall, Texas

-FIGHT!
-Mark

100

I completed the 100 burpees challenge! I nearly ralphed my guts out. Well not really, it was tough but not uncontrollable like a bad case of Montezuma's Revenge. I'm glad I did it. Never thought I would really complete all 100. But, what does this really mean?

The Bat Dojo is alive again. Tuesday 19 April 2011, 8pm starts "The New Pain" ©

Be ready, be willing, be here.

-Mark
p.s. be afraid ;)

The...

Bat Dojo in Kanji...yes for reals! In English: Komori Dojo.

Dojo translates very roughly to "way and place" Referring to the place one is currently parking their derriere is where they may explore the way. What is the way? Anything one endeavors. Martial arts, weaving Indian rugs, or excavating magic nose goblins.


In America, dojo is almost exclusively used to identify a place as a martial arts school. The Japanese language, typical of it's vagueness and non-confrontational grammer does not directly identify martial schools linguistically. The most common wordings for any type of training area are dojo, kan and ryu. The dojo, referring to a place which helps you along your "way". Kan, referring to hall or sometimes a house(Uses: Shotokan, Budokan). The incredibly vague "Ryu" describes a flow. A form of ideology rather than a physical location(Uses: Goju-Ryu, Shito-ryu).


WTF? What about jiu jitsu? Jitsu, another astonishingly vague precept is defined(barely) as "art" or technique. Jitsu can be applied all over the place. For example I've trained in bo-jutsu(6 ft staff) , ken-jutsu(sword fighting), tanto-jutsu(knife fighting), iai-jutsu(sword draw), aiki-jujutsu, and hojo-jutsu(combative rope fighting!). The "jutsu" spelling was very common before the BJJ rage. 


Interestingly, there used to be and probably still is a major split between the "jutsu" and "do" crowds. Kendo, aikido, judo, iaido at one time were considered sports, games, non-combative exercises...useless for combat. Whereas, the prideful ken-jutsu, ju/jiu-jutsu/jitsu, iai-jutsu guys differentiated themselves by their practical combative nature. Probably some small measure of truth. My ken-jutsu training was pretty wild, with ruthless bladed attacks. Punches to the face were actually considered fair game! Read Miyamoto Musashi's "Book of the Five Rings" and he babbles all about busting some guy in the eye socket during a sword fight! Ballsy, but totally practical according to him. Look at the section entitled, "The Water Book". It states, "You must bear in mind that you can always clench your left hand and thrust at the enemy's face with your fist." Awesome! I think of this even when grappling. On occasion, I exercise this intent. :)


The iai-jutsu sword draw training I did, didn't look any different than typical iaido...Yet, the intent was different. Much different. Infact, the intent was to cleave clear through a dude, starting at his right floating rib and exit out his left jaw. Leaving two pieces of meat for the dogs. Anything lesser, was a waste of our time. Think of your intent.


So I leave you with this question posed by Anko Itosu in 1908:


You must decide if karate(or any martial art) is for your health or to aid your duty.




Later!
- Mark

Success seems to be

...largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.  ~William Feather


I love that quote. Since 1 January, I've resolved to do 1+ burpee(squat thrust, pushup combo) per day..working up to a goal of 100. Today was day fifty in that venture! I'm still sweating from the fifty I just blasted out. I know people try who to make a beneficial change in their lives...but who really sticks to their resolutions? I would like to think I stick to my resolutions...to the end. Perhaps, I'm a unique case? I would rather think not, I'd rather believe everyone strives to complete a mission. 


As a little kid playing Space Invaders on my Atari, I would fire it up and start blasting away at the alien enemy. If I was killed, even though I had 2 more lives, it pissed me off! I would slam down the controller and hit reset, trying again with greater concentration. Perfection has been a long a goal of mine since my days of Space Invaders. A curse and a gift some say :)


Here's my heart rate chart. I had to slow down at 35 as you can see the dip in the chart. This is the Alien blasting me...unacceptable. Next time I'll not take a break.

-Work! Then play a lot!
Mark

The trouble with...

 always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind.  ~G.K. Chesterton


Sick as a dog, still doing my burpees though. I skipped yesterday's 39, and completed that set about an hour ago. After I compose this crap I'll pump out 40 more for today's set. I am feeling a bit better though.., I hope by Friday to be done with this Anthrax-ebola like crap I caught...


I was nice to Monday's class as I pre-pumped out 20 burpees, they only had to do 18. I'll be less nice as I approach 100 :)


This weekend is Marcelo Garcia! Going to train with him and get beat up nicely. Should be good. Even if we cover stuff I am already familiar with, he always provides improvement and detail I did not know.


Later!
Mark

Victory is always possible

...for the person who refuses to stop fighting.
~Napoleon Hill

About 1/3rd of the way through my goal. Not bad so far. I just completed 31 burpees on my way 100. My innards are spinning and I feel lightheaded. I'm sure both will subside once I eat breakfast and get ready for my west coast trip at a posh resort, courtesy of my awesome employer!

Below is my chart for the 31 burpees....Weird shape huh?



As the burpee count has increased, I've moderated my pace a bit to survive. Probably not really ideal. I'll try to push the pace and not worry about blowouts along the way --- forcing me to take a breather. No big deal, there is no ego in improvement. One of my first posts was about exercise survival. I believe during the fight one must maintain endurance, posture, damage avoidance...saving up for the kill at the end. Exercise on the other hand is the exact opposite. Wreck yourself, beat yourself up, fail, fail, fail, epic fail, then get back up and treat yourself to some more torture.

enjoy!
Mark

Pain of mind...

 ...is worse than pain of body."
~Publilius Syrus

Skipped yesterday's burpees and made up for it today....that means 51. But I think I actually did 56, because I confused 25+26 =51. Since today was the 26th...I thought the total was 56! Oh well, I'm not a math major..

Here's a gnarly chart of my cardiac explosion...Felt like my lungs and legs were going to detonate.

It think it is fairly self-explanatory. Lots of work over time, equals shit tons of heartrate! Amazingly, in three minutes of workout, I was able to nearly hit my interval max...which is around 175-180ish range. That's pretty nifty!


Time to go eat something, my legs still hurt...
MArk!

The future...

...depends on what we do in the present.

I'm still huffing O2 from the 20 burpees I just ripped out..in a whopping 1 minute 2 seconds!
So far I'm twenty days into this 100 day project; I'm 20% done!

When I first saw this burpee idea, I immediately thought...how stupid! Then I thought, why not? It's something to do, a goal of sorts. It probably couldn't hurt, much.

So far it's been good, I make my Monday night BJJ class do that day's burpees with me. Perfect. I can't wait to have class when I'm at 98. hahahaha

Being at 20, I believe this may be a threshold. I'm starting to breathe heavy. I can feel the weight of the pushups and jumps getting more and more difficult.

So here's a basic illustration of this concept:

Burpee #1: I'm doing GREAT! The world is full of joy and wonder. Life is awesome and I'm exercising! I'll be shredded and badass in no time!

Burpee #12: Some of my liver has now liquefied for muscle fuel. My gall bladder is pissed off and squirted bile directly into my aorta - it's not a pleasant feeling. The internal bleeding is probably not fatal.

Burpee #19: Complete mental failure due to Primary Motor Cortex mutiny. I cannot seem to remember my name, the date or blood type. In the illustration below, those are not tears. That is spinal fluid leaking out my eyes. The internal bleeding, skipped the hematoma stage and launched directly to a full-on firehose of hemoglobin squirts...out my ass.

Final illustration Pain(Yes, I intended that pun): Cellular collapse is complete and I'm pretty much a human meat-bag of chunky salsa. My ears are ringing and some sort of sulfuric acid was mixed up in my gut due to all the jumping and shit. I'm certain the hole it burned through my stomach and gi will etch the concrete in my garage. I should have read the Gracie Diet beforehand so that I knew methamphetamines and Pedialite are not to be eaten together.

-Mark

The time to begin

...most things is ten years ago.--Mignon McLaughlin

One week in and I'm holding onto my New Years Resolution of 100 days of Burpees...increasing by 1 everyday...
Right here, in my living room, I did today's eight.
It's not too late to join me! There are no excuses!

-Mark