Indigenous Ability

The Rough ‘n’ Ready Regimen uses 20-distinct flexibility/mobility postures/movements culled from a variety of warrior resources the world over. They have been re-named for Western eyes and ears and follow a Bottom-Up Protocol whereas in the disparate sources they are a bit “ all over the place .” The Bottom-Up Protocol allows for easy memorization and simply means that we will assemble these practices from toe-to head. Meaning we will begin with the plantar fascia, progress through the calves, move through the hamstrings, spend much time on hip and lower back mobility and onward up the body. Much experimentation demonstrates that this Bottom-Up approach increases the efficacy of the material as each link in the chain is made easier by the mobility facilitated by working the preceding link and so on and so forth. The first 16 Postures/Movements in the regimen are the core of the work . Most can stop at the first 16. The remaining 4 that take it to the Rough ‘n’ Ready 2...

Conscious organisms are subject to fear. That’s a good thing—for the most part. In our ancestral past a well attuned fear-mechanism was a useful survival benefit. Notice we are talking about a properly adjusted fear-calibrator inside our skulls and not what we would all recognize as “skittishness,” or over-reacting to stimuli [particularly non-harmful stimuli.] Some see the goal of being fearless as wise, but in practice it is neither attainable or desirable. Fear is our “motion detector.” It is often our first-alarm system that tells us that danger is on the horizon and it is time to take steps to avoid or to prepare and rally resources to meet and thwart detected stimuli. Fear in this context does not mean paralyzed with inaction, it means the fearful emotive energy is re-directed/utilized as energy to engage what provoked the fearful reaction. If we see the wisdom of this evolved mechanism, we understand that seeking to be fearless is not ideal, but rather seek...

All right, my stalwart ones! This little PT Challenge is rooted in Five Nations history and a nice demonstration of the stamina of the early frontiersmen and coureur des bois [“woods runners.”] First the historical background. The Five Nations were the Five Tribes that united under a loose confederacy known as the Iroquois or Haudenosaunee. The five tribes that made up the League were: the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca. In 1722, the south-eastern tribe, the Tuscarora made the League the Six Nations. The Iroquois League was primarily a Northeastern confederation and it is there that they occasionally accepted white men into their tribal system. This acceptance was not easy to come by—one was expected to perform many feats of woodsmanship, bravery and cooperation to be accepted, One such man’s account [William Johnson] gives us a little peek into how rigorous the initiation was. The Iroquois tribes were masters of river-navigation via canoe, bull-boat...

Let’s talk forgotten dog breeds, American Indian hunting tactics, pick-pocket strategy, the Ali Shuffle and then tie it up with a big pretty bow declaring these are all one of a kind. First, Dogs. You’ve herd of retrievers, setters, scent-hounds, herding dogs et cetera. Now, unless you are a major dog enthusiast, you may have not heard of a toller. About the only tolling dog officially recognized by organizations that love to recognize such things is the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. They look like small Golden Labs. Gorgeous dogs. But just as with the words retriever or herder or setter, the word toller originally referred not to a specific breed but to a specific behavior. Then man, being man, bred for sought after behaviors to create stronger and stronger manifestations of the desired behavior in each generation that followed. We all know what retrievers do, they retrieve, herders herd, but what about tollers? Are they bred for patiently residing in tiny...

This Bit of Video Hits 2 versions of the Shoulder Choke to get to the preferred [from this position] Shelf-Choke. The 2 Primary Keys are… One-Proper Forearm Stacking to created cervical-separation leverage. Two-The Sliding Sprawl. The Shelf-Choke allows us to by-pass tripoding [and High-Base countering] and leaves “squeezing” behind. We allow leverage and angular-torque to cure what ails us. Far more details on this tactic and more are available on ESPRAW 197. Big thanks to Chris “Headhunter” Osborne for the use of the cranium!