“ You can tell a Southerner by the knife-fight scars .”—Roy Blount, Jr. Pre-Civil War, the southern Border States from Virginia through Tennessee southward to the Gulf and westward to the Mississippi was considered the original Wild West. A rough unruly legion noted for dense trackless forest, seemingly endless mountains that would break into numerous rivers, gorges, vast canebrakes and, at last, endless miles of cypress forests, swamp regions and all the hazards that entails. The land was settled by rough and rugged people who would rather hack out a harsh existence in unforgiving territory than co-exist in the relatively peaceable environs of New England and the Atlantic Border States. [For a deeper dive on this see our article The Real Josey Wales .] These rugged people were a rough n tumble culture. Rough n tumble in living. Rough n tumble in surviving. Rough n tumble in fighting. Rough n tumble even in the sportive ways. Let’s allow this iteration of The Mo
Old School Walkin’ Ain’t What You See in Your Neighborhood [We have belabored how prevalent and different pedestrianism [walking] was in the Old Days. How many boxers, wrestlers, combination fighters, rough n tumblers used it as THE primary source of wind-conditioning. We take a detailed look into the specifics and subtleties of the Old School in our Warrior Walking Program . Let us have a look at a mere one of these Old School Walkers.] · Dan O’Leary of Chicago in 1875 at the age of 33 walked 116 miles in 23 hours and 12 minutes. · He averaged 5 mph. · I want you to pay close attention to the distance and then dial in on that 5 mph. · For anyone who does not see the magic in that speed, I invite you to step aboard a treadmill—start it at 3 mph per hour, then dial it to 4, then crank it to 5. · I defy you to maintain the 5-mph pace for even one minute without switching from walking to jogging/running. · Now imagine hitting t