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Improvement via Words, Deeds, & Rituals [Comanche & Plains Sign Language Edition] by Mark Hatmaker

  Hardcore cognitive science, the devoutly religious, and folk wisdom may have many areas of disagreement, but there are more than a few overlapping borders of unanimous agreement. One of those areas of universal overlap is the vital integrity of matching words to deeds. The folk wisdom of “ Deeds not words ,” is rightly understood to mean, “ intentions mean nothing, it’s what you do that counts.” We all know this to be fact. If you and I need to move to our new digs this weekend and we ask for help from two other friends, one replies with a simple, “ Sure, what time?” The other with a vociferous “ Yes! ” and then visibly enters the date it into their smartphone calendar and then supplies an “ Agreement to Move My Bestest Buddy” document witnessed by a notary public. The proof of these replies is in who shows up. We can intend to be kind. We can intend to be great. We can intend to be bad-ass. We can intend to kick-ass in the coming year. Et cetera et cetera. I

When You Want to Break the Rules, Look to the Rule-Breakers by Mark Hatmaker

  This offering is best read in conjunction with the three prior offerings: Leg-Breakers, Street Dentists & Enforcers The Empirical Fighter: Rules for the SeriousCombatant The BlackBox Project [ The accompanying video provides just one aspect of how small tweaks to standard systems change the game—trust me, these tweaks abound to make all movement “hot and nervy.” .] Let us establish our priors. Combat Sports, be they boxing, wrestling, MMA, JJ, Muay Thai, et cetera are rough and ready endeavors. No arguments there. A sport, a skill, a study, any area of focus is improved by frequent practice and ready use. That is, our badminton player who plays 4-5 days per week is likely more facile with a blistering fast shuttlecock return than, say, someone like me, who plays at best, one afternoon a summer. Or we can look to boxers, circa 1920s, ratcheting on average over 100 fights in a career, and many more off-the-record bouts in clubs and smokers giving some double their

The Empirical Fighter: Rules for the Serious Combatant by Mark Hatmaker

  Part 1: Gear Idealized or World Ready? 1/A: Specificity of Fitness/Preparation If you’ve been in the training game for any length of time likely you have witnessed or been the subject of the following realization. You’ve trained HARD for the past 90 days, say, put in sprint work and have worked up to your fastest 5K. Your handy-dandy App says your VO2 Max is looking shipshape. You go to the lake, beach, local swimmin’ hole with your buddies and one says “ Race you to the other side!” You, with your newfound fleet-of-foot promotion to Captain Cardio, say, “ Hell, yeah!” You hit the river and cut that water like Buster Crabbe in “ Tarzan the Fearless ” with your overhand stroke….for the first 50 yards, then this thought hits as the lungs begin to gasp for air, “ Am a I gonna die in the middle of this river?” This experiment can be repeated across many domains of physical endeavor. ·         The man with the newfound Personal Record in the Bench Press getting smoked in

“Red Scalping”: Submission Chains vs. Pain Trains by Mark Hatmaker

  Let’s open with advice from Civil War Naval hero, Admiral David D. Farragut. “The more you hurt the enemy, the less he will hurt you.” No quarrel there, I wager. But…let us make sure we actually practice what we may have just assented to. Our discussion today will primarily deal with the world of grappling: Both old school and new, both vertical and horizontal. But…let us use wisdom from the striking arts to set up our strategic story. Strikers use combinations. “ Punches in bunches ” is an expression of strategic and tactical wisdom. The attack that contains the following: Jab/Rear Caulk Kick/Spearing Rear Elbow/Lead Cram Elbow/Lead Chopper is made up of 5 Offensive Elements. On bag, on pads, on partners, in the street it is assumed to be delivered 1/2/3/4/5 in a lickety-split no-pause manner. I wager I have said nothing ground-breaking here. I also wager we would agree that these same five assaultive elements delivered one at a time in a staggered tempo no

Double-Down Double Wristlocks by Mark Hatmaker

  Crew, The video details just the wee-start of a Gambino-Grip Double-Wristlock [DWL.] More than a few details are left off for the paying cadre’s benefit including all of the hellaciously evil Double-Down DWLs down this causal chain.  But there’s more than enough candy here to get you started down the road. We discuss Knuckle-Dusting, Red-Scalping, and a few other things as well. I've supplied the complete syllabus for RAW 218/Black Box 5 below. To order or for more details and freebies see here.  For even more info on this whole Black Box thing, plus even more freebies. ESP RAW 218 The Black Box Project 5: Street-Dentist Whip Hooks, Double-Down Double Wristlocks, Stab & Smoke Kicks,   Flat Mattock Attacks for Tomahawk & Eskimo Squats Mark Hatmaker www.extremeselfprotection.com Street Dentistry: The Whip Hook ·         The Whip Hook as Counter or Fade-Away ·         Most Hooks, particularly those heavily trained on bags, are digs or “lean-ins.” Ill advised