Rough ‘N’ Ready Challenge: “Heavy Bears” by Mark Hatmaker

Part and parcel of modern warfare tactics is the trinity of Stealthy Movement/Individual Movement Technique [IMT], Cover/Concealment, & Camouflaged Action.

When Colonists first encountered these methods whether here on the American Continents or in other encounters with Indigenous peoples whether they be in the African Interior or Borneo this method of warfare was identified as “the skulking way of war.”

It was thought base, coarse, “not cricket,” and the less than decorous “not very White.”

Fast forward to the 21^st-century and “coarse” skulking is the standard.

There are more than a few crafty and canny ways of skulking movement and we will cover these in tactical detail in an upcoming unit within the Rough & Tumble Program.

Here I offer a conditioning circuit that includes one variation on a standard-- the bear crawl.

Quadrupedal Movement, or low movement of any kind can be of utmost importance in battle scenarios or ambuscades. It was [and is] often trained with long distance instances of the movement skill of focus, but there are also instances on the record of quadrupedal movement under load.

In today’s case, “The Heavy Bear.” A bear crawl conducted with the hands grasping two heavy stones or weighty logs.

We’ll go modern-ish and use Mr. Owen’s “Invention.”

The “Heavy Bear” Protocol

· Grab two dumbbells, not so heavy that it slows you down. This is about fluid continuous movement not punctuated movement.

· Mark out 10 yards.

· Hit a 10-yard Heavy Bear Crawl with the dumbbells in each hand.

· At the end of the Crawl hit a push-up directly into a Row with the right hand.

· Repeat the push-up/row sequence for a total of 10

· Back on the Heavy Bear 10-yarder.

· Repeat this circuit 6 times for a total of 60 yards, 60 push-ups, and 60 rows [30 per arm.]

Extra Credit: Treat it like true skulking, DO NOT RISE UNTILL THE CIRCUIT IS COMPLETED.

Once through, rise, stretch that grateful back and revel in walking in the four-footed steps of warriors past.

[Excerpted from our book ROUGH & READY: Old World Strength & Conditioning for Modern Warriors. See here for more Old School Tactics and Evil historically accurate and viciously verified.]

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