Without a doubt, the most common questions I get are about heavy bag workouts. More specifically, how to design a heavy bag workout that will keep your training interesting, provide maximum health and skill benefits and avoid training-related injuries that are far too common when people buy a heavy bag and start pounding away on
Category: News
Toughen Up Self-Defense Blog Survey
In an effort to direct the content of this blog towards your specific needs, interests and problems, I’ve designed a short survey. Please take a moment to fill it out and let me know the type of information that you would like to see posted and made available through this blog. Thanks in advance, Randy
Eight Multiple Attacker Training Methods
; This post is an installment in the Defend Yourself Against Multiple Attackers series. If you prefer to read the series in order please click on the link in this paragraph. Training Method #1 – Get yourself into fighting shape Many self-defense authorities suggest that you don’t need to be in good physical condition to
Nine Street Fighting Tactics For A Multiple Attacker Fight
This post is an installment in the Defend Yourself Against Multiple Attackers series. Street Fighting Tactic #1 – Constant Unpredictable Movement A moving target is harder to hit, corner or gang up on. Using constant movement and unpredictable shifting to avoid and reposition yourself in relation to your attackers makes it harder for them to
Barefoot (ball of the foot) running
If you’re looking at the title of this article and wondering what barefoot running has got to do with martial arts and self-defence please read on, as like me, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Let me also take the opportunity to add that I used to hate running, sorry runners but I find it dull and
The fifth limb: neck stretches and exercises
The fifth limb or the neck as it is more commonly referred to has to be one of the most neglected but most over worked muscles in martial arts. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve experienced a stiff neck after not stretching and warming up the neck muscles properly and then pulling a muscle
Fighting stance: which foot forward?
For a while now I have been asking myself whether it’s better to have your dominant or weaker side forward in your fighting stance. A lot of people say it depends on your fighting style and which is your strongest hand but I believe that there is more to it than that. For example in
Mastering pain
Pain is a really important part of every sport, especially martial arts. It tells us when we’ve been punched or kicked, when we’re injured and when our physical and mental boundaries are being pushed to their limit. This last point is the focus for this article as I want to explore the idea of ‘positive
Relaxed Power
Relaxed power, it may sound like an oxymoron but it is in fact a very important concept for martial arts and self-defence, however it is also incredibly easy to forget about it in a stressful situation. Most people naturally tense up in stressful situations or when they are threatened, those that don’t have either trained
McDojo? Is Karate Quality basied on Lineage
This is kind of a Catholic vs Protestant argument that still goes on for some reason. What am I talking about? You know – If a school opens up in a strip mall for profit – many of the purists (read traditionalist Karate Ka) will smirk and wonder if the “McDojo” can trace its roots back to the old country (Read Japan or Okinawa). Traditionalists like to recite their lineage to prove their black belt is meaningful. This is like the Catholics (disclaimer – I am a Catholic) or Orthodox Churches argument of Apostolic Succession (meaning they can trace their bishops back to Christ’s apostles. The thing about having an …
New American Kenpo Karate Studio Opening in Arizona!
David Hays will be opening a new studio in the Ahwatukee foothills of Phoenix Arizona on January 12, 2013. We will be teaching Tracy’s traditional Kenpo, the Joe Lewis fighting system of competitive tournament sparring and kick-boxing. If you know anyone in the Phoenix area that is interested in lessons or an upper belt looking for a place to work out and/or help with coaching, please contact me at dhays@azakka.com Thank you in advance for the support. Related Posts:Self Defense for even Turkeys? Happy Thanksgiving!What is Self-defense?Introduction to “My Self-defense Blog”Toughman!Steve “Nasty” Anderson – Top
Can the 97 pound Weakling Fight?
I don’t know about you but when I was growing up I was not that confident in middle school. I mean some kids seemed to know what they were capable of and all of the rest tried to go around unnoticed so kids would not pick on them. I know you might be thinking this is a bully post about the kids are intimidated by bullies and such but no. I am writing about how a kid might surmount their self image and become a good fighter. By the way this applies to anyone including boys, girls, women and men that don’t think they could…
Groin Kicks – Will you use them in a fight?
When I was a kid – I remember “accidentally” kicking a cousin in the nuts as we were fighting. Sure I did it on purpose but it was only a tap. My poor cousin was rolling around on the ground and several generations of males at the family gathering were frowning at me. My dad took me aside and told me (this was a different time), “John – only girls kick.” Well now in the post-boxing era – kicking is a generally accepted form of fighting. There are many fighting methods and no real acceptance of “the right way to fight.” …
Karate Legend Joe Lewis Died
I received a call from Dave Hays (8th Dan – AKKA) that Joe Lewis died on Friday, August 31, 2012. He was battling brain cancer I believe. This has been the year for passings as his friend Richard “Dick” Willett passed in May. Dick was my instructor and always had the highest praise for Joe’s fighting ability. First I’ll put some links about Joe’s history and then share some personal experiences. Joe Lewis Wikipedia Joe Lewis IKF Kickboxing Joe Lewis Fighting Master The last time I saw Joe was at Dick Willett’s 40 anniversary event. I asked Joe about his movies and he mentioned that James Coburn helped him get work as…
Earth is fucked.
After extensive mathematical modeling, scientist declares “Earth is fucked” IO9Brad Werner has a simple question: Is the Earth fucked? He also has a remarkably complicated methodology yielding a very simple answer: yes, unless people start a serious global rebellion….So, to sum up: even our best efforts at environmental management are doomed to fail, unless massive scale resistance movements start springing up and send our cultural personality back toward a pre-technological era. Science has given you your mandate, people: Go blow some shit up.Put more scientifically…Despite weak economy, CO2 emissions to grow 2.6 percent in 2012: study ReutersCarbon dioxide emissions from industry rose an estimated 2.6 percent in a weak global economy this year, a study released on Monday showed, powered by rapid emissions growth in…
Annoying IEA Report
I’m going to try to give y’all some tools to refute that annoying IEA report that just came out — the one that says the US will be the “new Saudi Arabia” and a net exporter of energy. I doubt this community has any new people reading it, and if you’ve been here for a while, you know this report is bullshit, but you need to know why because all these smug, optimistic cornucopians are going to be bringing the article to your attention in hopes of defeating everything you’ve ever told them about energy production.I’m going to skip the IEA report…
Dmitry Orlov: Peak Oil Lessons From The Soviet Union
Dmitri Orlov on peak oil and climate change.
Noam Chomsky — Peak Oil and a Changing Climate
Mostly, he talks about the stuff Chomsky likes to talk about, but still good.
Richard Heinberg: Peak Oil and the Globe’s Limitations
This is about a year old, but it’s still a good summary.Here’s a link to Chomsky from the same series on peak oil and climate change. (About 9 months old.)
Cassandra.
The First Global Revolution: A report by the Council of the Club of Rome (1991) by Alexander King and Bertrand Schneider.No generation has ever liked its prophets, least of all those who point out the consequences of bad judgement and lack of foresight.The Club of Rome can take pride in the fact that it has been unpopular for the last twenty years. I hope it will continue for many years to come to spell out the unpalatable facts and to settle the conscience of the smug and apathetic.Price Philip, Duke of EdinburghMessage to the delegates at the Twentieth Anniversary Conference of the Club of Rome, Paris, 1988.
Meh.
Will Humanity Face a Carbohydrate Shortage? Scientific American, with link to primary source Photosynthesis is the single most important transformation on Earth. Using the energy in sunlight, all plants—from single-celled algae to towering redwoods—knit carbon dioxide and water into food and release oxygen as a byproduct. Every year, humanity uses up roughly 40 percent of the planet’s photosynthesis for our own purposes—from feeding a growing population to biofuels….Running suggests that only roughly 5 billion more metric tons of carbohydrates can be diverted to human uses, meaning a “net primary productivity” boundary of roughly 25.6 billion metric tons. We’re closing in on that fast. “The question is thus not whether humans will reach the…
I’m standing warm against the cold now that the flames have taken hold.
We Are Now One Year Away From Global Riots, Complex Systems Theorists Say Vice.com This all goes to say that as long as climate change continues to advance—it seems that nothing can stop that now—and we maintain a global food system perennially subject to volatile price spikes and exploitation from speculators, without reform, our world will be an increasingly restive one. Hunger is coming, and so are the riots.Catherine Austin Fitts-They’re Going to Depopulate or Bankrupt the Rest of Us USAWatchDog.comCatherine Austin Fitts calls what happened to the U.S since the market meltdown of 2008 a “fiscal coup d’état.” Fitts should know because she is a former Wall…
Communing with the Dead
by Kathy McMahon, Psy.D. (I extend my sympathies to all of those who have lost loved ones, or are suffering as a result of Hurricane Sandy. It is my hope that this post (updated from last year) will be of use.*) Over this next week, too many people who survived Hurricane Sandy will die from preventable causes. The living can learn a lot from the tragic death of disaster victims. What killed them? What were they doing when they died? Their death can become a “teaching tale” that benefits the living. Tales from the Grave Behavioral researcher Wendy Joung studied firefighter errors in judgment, and…
Saying Goodbye to Tomorrow.
Today is the last day on Earth, according to some New Age interpretation of the Mayan calendar. This belief has caused endless suffering and useless expensive purchases by people trying to “beat the clock” and find somewhere safe to spend their last few hours. Cheap places have suddenly become outrageously expensive, because someone said “Hang out there!” during your final hours. This story caused one young woman to take her life. However, saying “Goodbye to Tomorrow” has a long history that goes beyond this moment in time. Humans are famous for planning the end of not only their own anticipated deaths, but because that is just too commonplace, they have to anticipate the death of…
Grappling with the Inexplicable – A Psychologist Looks at Newtown CT
A Reason to Kill It was a quiet afternoon, when the man walked in, holding a gun. He was looking for his wife’s therapist. He was angry, and was convinced that it was this therapist, not his wife’s own decision-making, that had led her to decide to divorce him. By the time he was finished shooting, one therapist was dead, another shot and permanently blinded. The man was a good shot. He was a police officer. I began working with couples in that same clinic several years later. There is a certain edge to a place that has experienced gross, unpredictable violence, even years earlier. That…
Alternate Energy – It may be closer than you think
It is obvious reading all the MSM articles on energy that they still are counting on technology to ride to the rescue of the declining oil age in the form of alternate energy on a white horse. I wish I shared their optimism, but the facts don’t seem to support that rosy outlook. I do believe we are closer to the alternate energy that no one wishes to think about. It is time proven, inexpensive to implement, useful for growing crops, building or repairing houses, transporting you 10-20 miles, but nowhere as efficient as what we use today. Where is this miraculous alternate energy? Why it is in your very house. Get up and go to the bathroom. Take a look in the mirror. You are looking…
In Memory of Chuck Willis
Chuck Willis Teaching about Peak Oil Major contributor to this blog, and my dear friend Chuck Willis, died suddenly on Tuesday, Oct 30, 2012 in Wichita, Kansas. Chuck has contributed 54 blog entries during his years of writing for Peak Oil Blues. He was working on another one right before he died. His son will finish it and forward it to me. Here is my tribute to him. Early Years College In 1960 – 1965, Chuck received his B.S. in both Math and Physics at The University of Texas at Austin. Chuck spent his professional career doing many things. Early Work in Computers He worked on the earliest prototypes of computers. In 2008, he wrote …
Mike Ruppert on the Third Date
Hey Peak Shrink! I read your help-letter from the lesbian couple looking to relocate. My partner and I moved from Sacramento to Nevada County almost two years ago. It was very scary but it was a wonderful choice. We are super happy here. I would love to be put in touch with the writer. You can give her my email address. The letter inspired me to write a blog about our story. Feel free to post it to your website of refer it to other readers if you want. 🙂 Hillary Hodge ********************** My partner had “taken the red pill” …
With Visions of Sugar-Plums Dancing in My Head
I’m feeling pretty darn good about 2013. Economic crash be damned. Just had a barely awake chat with KMO over at the C-Realm Podcast’s special programming called “The Vault.” I was sleepy, as it was the day after Christmas, and DH and I did a crazy stint of driving, after we put our dino-dog-puppies to bed, then shot over to see my sister and extended family. It was a great holiday. The Shopping Gene? My sister, who has an incredible talent for picking out clothes for me, chose a fantastic hat as my gift. For those of you who know hats, it is impossible to pick out a hat for someone. Not for my sister, though. It looks smashing, if I…
Post Peak Career? Forget Law, Consider Geology
In 2007, Byron King was chatting with Mr. Wang, a marine geologist from China, and what he learned knocked his socks off: “There are about 40,000 or 50,000 students studying geology in China today at the university level. Maybe more, but I do not want to give you a number that is too high.” That’s about 25 times the students studying in the US (and about half the US graduates are foreign nationals). For every geologist in the US, we have about 50-100 lawyers, King estimates. What about the population difference? China has 4 times our population, but 50 times the number of geologists. First year salaries: Lawyers: $38,118 – $91,256 Petroleum…