Month: January 2018

Notes from class: partner power lines

Relaxation is but a direction of activation. Try saying that really fast 🙂

In these series of drills, I present you with learning to balance and tense in the best alignment for the particular movement. Aim to move yourself and the rest will follow or not. Freedom stands beyond.

  1. Squat down a step away from your partner and place the flat of your fist on his or hers. Push each other’s arms back and forth and check your alignment in the squat. This teachers the right tension dynamic for movement without excess.
  2. Place yourself in the push up position and repeat the previous drill. This will add a new angle to the work and also the balance of tension in holding the torso in place J You want abs, eat right and do my drills.
  3. Repeat drills 1 and 2 only now you hold each other’s wrists and pull instead of push.
  4. Repeat drills 1 and 2 only now you aim to move each other’s arm in a circle as they aim to give you some resistance and guide you otherwise.
  5. Stand back to back and hold each other in the bend of your elbows. Arch your spine to bring your partner airborne as they offer some resistance and repeat. This aids in learning to use the curvature of the body to your advantage and also to ease back pain when done right. Breath leads motion and aim to do good.
  6. Stand shoulder to shoulder while facing to opposite sides. Place your arms over each other’s shoulder and put the leg close to your partner around your partners one also in the air. Now press the partner leg back and forth as they resist and balance together or fall and adjust.
  7. Stand a step away from each other and place your hands on each other’s shoulders. Keep them with enough tension to stay straight but without locking them or getting stiff. Push each other back and forth using the entire body to spread the tension to the needed but without exceeding it.
  8. Stand back to back and push each other back and forth. Focus on the movement and don’t cling to the ground or to any contact. Breathe and move and if it does not work, align yourself with whatever is happening.
  9. Stand shoulder to opposite shoulder and push each other side to side. Enjoy but hold your spine with control. Never push yourself out of alignment.

Play with your body and have a purpose.

Enjoy and preserve your health.

 

 

Words are power – Choose wisely

Let us invest a moment to choose our words instead of repeating what is in broadcast.

Be a wordsmith to cast yourself out of mental slavery to the overlords.

A few examples:

 

Do you encounter PROBLEMS or CHALLENGES

Do you go to your MAN CAVE or do you advance yourself in your STUDY

Do you have a  SAVINGS ACCOUNT or an INVESTMENT ACCOUNT

Do you call yourself a GUY or a MAN

Do you TAKE CARE of your children or do you RAISE THEM

Do you WORKOUT or do you ENGAGE IN PHYSICAL CULTURE

 

We tend to parrot others in order to fit in, Say your own words and live your own life.

It matters.

Ten EDC “items” that keep you safe

Here are ten EDC “items” you may not consider tactical but are of outmost importance.

  1. A trusted friend or family member – Even John Wayne went to war with an army. Team work can beat almost anything.
  2. A good pet – Cats and dogs can be a great warning/warming/hunting pal that you do not have to worry about their loyalty. (Don’t look down at cats. They will take the rat crap from your food along with the cat).
  3. Pen and paper – computers and mobiles are great but demand electricity and are hard to leave behind as notes and tinder.
  4. Wipes and alchoholic wipes – They may not be tactical blood clot magic but they keep your behind clean and help in avoiding diaria and infections that incapacitate you in the wrong time and place.
  5. A good belt – A good belt will do more than keep your pants in the right altitude. They subsitute for pulley and rope and much much more.
  6. A Handkerchief – wiping your face and not on your three piece suit makes the ladies extra happy and it can cut dust from your lungs, protect from wind and sun and much much more.
  7. A Small pocket knife – While a nice Randall made knife is nice to have, A small pocket knife will do wonders for daily fixups and convinience. (take a metal ruler if you are flying and need a package opener in the air)
  8. A good cap – A good cap according to your area and trade will keep you healthy in the cold and heat. It will keep your face from aging before you develop a personality and help in taking the kettle of the fireplace when the brew is ready.
  9. A cord /rope – You can tie stuff with a bandana or belt but having a bit of cord (It does not have to be 550 to work and technora works much better) will do a lot of good and keep you from loosing sfuff in airports and on the trail.
  10. A small roll of duct tape – A great peice of gear to keep those notes you left from flying out the window and to keep things together and stop small leaks. Legend tells it that you can build a house from it.

Get good friends, Get a pet and train it, keep the basics about and invest in quality skill building. Be the guy you want near in a bad situation 🙂

The mighty vacuum

No worries, this will not be a commercial for the Dyson family of domestic suction. This will be a description of a free exercise to give you greater health and awareness for the days to come. You will also look more in shape which helps too.

Here is a progression of vacuum holds for your use and advancement.

  1. Creating a basic vacuum is simple. Lie down on your back and exhale with care for a few seconds (I prefer to count heart beats as they self-regulate to your condition, elevation and other factors) Once you have exhaled, pull your stomach toward your spine and elongate your spine. In addition, you will lock close your throat and behind (the first and last gateways if you will) and in the middle, you will form a vacuum. Done right, you will feel your stomach sticking to your back figuratively and your throat pulled in. Once you hold this for a few seconds or heart beats, release the holds and let the body breathe, this is vital to allow the body to breathe what it needs instead of breathing for emotional or bodily distress. Repeat with care and increase the number held.
  2. Continue to sitting down with your hands on your knees and perform the same movements and tension holds and add opening your spine upwards and out and raising your ribs upwards. This will increase the vacuum power and help in aligning tension in the forward and back parts of the body.
  3. Continue to repeat the sitting variation but now push the knees up from the hip joints and pushing down one them with the arms. This will help at the lower end and upper end of the vacuum to increase awareness and release in the lower and upper diaphragms.
  4. Continue to standing up and doing the same vacuum as you have in the sitting position (You can increase the vacuum pull by relaxing the spine forward as you exhale and straightening once finished to exhale to create a pump vacuum) but standing up you will release tension in the knees and hips and allow the building tension to release in movement, tension shifting and so on. You can call it the corpse dance if you prolong it enough and it will release a lot of stored tension but be careful as it is a very strong medicine…
  5. Continue to repeat the standing vacuum with one lifted leg and arm push hold. Working a vacuum with a one-sided push pull will allow for a adjustments later on in inner tension and if this does not make sense now simply consider that you have a skeleton of bones and a structure of tension to make use of it. Learning to be not aligned and calm is as important as being balanced.
  6. Finish with a walking vacuum. This will dynamically bring to your awareness the mechanics of walking in the hips and allow you to handle contact on a much deeper level literally.

Some tips,

Do three vacuums a day.

Start with a comfortable number and add one per repetition. With time that number will go up naturally.

The body knows how to release tension. Pay attention and let it play out. You will be amazed at how good it feels AFTERWARDS.

You only have one body, treat it well and avoid plowing with the vacuum. Let it build naturally.

There is a Breath manual I am writing. This is just a glimpse of things to come.

 

 

One simple push

Complicated things are made of simpler and simpler things ? Let’s assume they are all the same and see how this works. Avoid learning how to open all keys and instead learn how a house is made.

Let us take a push to the back of the head and play with it and see if the situation changes or does it simply require the same approach in different ways.

Start with standing straight. Keep yourself straight and have a partner push your head and walk around you to push from all sides and angles. Keep your awareness on how your body creates a path of tension to keep you in place and add speed (not force) to the game to create and release the tension without delay.

Now, reverse the push point of view and lean on your partners hand from different directions and again feel the tension your body creates to keep you straight.

Now, choose a shoulder and start moving your body the moment your head is touched by your partner. Switch your start point every four pushes and go down the body until you reach the feet.

Now, push your partners hand with your head from all angles and have them work to push you where you are not active (paying attention) as you try to navigate the hand in your own direction. Move without snaps to keep yourself healthy and focus on breath first and contact second.

Now, have your partner circle you walking (initiating the predator pray mindset) and push you from your blind spots. Focus on breathing continuously and if you see it coming, move but not away J from the contact.

Now, walk freely and have your partner walk behind you. This again initiates the predator pray mindset and it is important to keep in mind we are both at the same time. Have your partner push your head from behind as you walk and utilize what you have done so far to:

  1. Keep breathing without pause
  2. Keep moving without excess tension
  3. Adjust and act on the contact when it makes sense
  4. Use your entire body in every move

A fun addition is to grab their clothes as you push the head 🙂

Hang on a branch or bar afterwards to decompress the spine.