Indigenous Ability

[The following is extracted from our upcoming volume Move Like a Warrior: Recapturing Indigenous Movement .] Spend any time reading accounts of early contact between “civilized” folk and indigenous peoples, or those “civilized” ones who had “gone Injun’” such as early frontiersmen, scouts, the Coureur De Bois [“Runners of the Woods” or “woods runners”] of the North Woods and you find some commonalities. There is in many an admiration for the strength and grace of body and freedom of spirit. There are also more than a few disdainful accounts that still offer begrudging regard for “ stout and sturdy frames ” that “ can run like a deer ” or “ disappear into [the desert/mountain/forest] like the very wind itself.” Undoubtedly, much of these remarked upon characteristics were part and parcel of time, time spent in these very environments and gradually learning that to be a good hunter, one needed stealth and stamina to eat. One needed a general natural cultivated facile ...

In four weeks we do the photo-shoot for the long-promised volume Boxing Like the Champs, Round Two . Consumers of the 1 st book and the companion DVD-set Boxing like the Champs can expect more deeply researched fistic malice. [All available at our little ol’ website store.] The publisher tells me it will see wide release this Fall. Coming Up Sooner in the Pipeline: The Suakhet’u. First, what The Suakhet’u is not… ·         It is non martial arts or combat sports related. ·         It is not a strenuous physical endeavor. What is The Suakhet’u? ·         It is an audio-visual course detailing a morning enlivening/awakening practice culled from various American Indigenous traditions. ·         Although there is some “sitting” involved, it is not meditation. ·         Altho...

Setting the Scene ·         You’re on the 33-mile Chilkoot Trail winding through the Coast Mountains. ·         The temperature is dropping, through more than a few mishaps you’ve lost your sled-dogs like a cheechako [Greenhorn/no account rookie.]   It’s either sit and freeze or get back on the stick. The Gear ·         Your own bad self. ·         A drag sled, or a fine stand-in. ·         Weight to fit your grit. [Me and my 6-weeks out from knee-surgery went with 125#.] ·         Choose terrain with hills if you got it. The Protocol ·         Lash yourself in like the lead dog you are and… ·         Mush that sled for ½ Mile at your fastest pace, we’ve got to b...

In the early days of warfare tightly knitted formation was a martial ideal. From the strictly formed phalanxes of Sparta’s hoplites, to the triplex acies (triple battle order) of the Roman Army, to the rank and file formations of Continental Armies typical of the Napoleonic Wars—tight, coordinated movement en masse was often the semblance of “cover” and defense. When these war-hardened battle-tactics made their way to the early American Continent they encountered a guerrilla style of war in the tactics used by the indigenous peoples. A strategy of stealth, ambush, concealment, quick and seemingly trackless retreat. These tactics were disparagingly called “ the skulking way of war ” or more simply “ skulking. ” The term was not meant as a compliment. It was viewed as a cowardly way to engage. But…it was mighty effective. Here, we have a limited number of warriors without the “blessings of formal training” and in many cases using stone-age weaponry more than holding its o...

Today’s sermon will weave a tale of housecats, early American colonists’ observations regarding battle-prowess in Native Americans, gang-bangers, good ol’ boy hunters, fox-hunters in the Old West, gamers and screen-users, Afghan Combat studies and, if we’ve done our job right, make a case for making risk part and parcel of cogent combat training. Let’s start with the adorable housecat, Felis catus . Study after study has recorded that outdoor housecats are responsible for an astonishing amount of depredation. Any of us who own one of these “awesome prowling machines” [tip of the hat to Les Claypool] is aware that they can go through chipmunks, field mice, and birds like nobody’s business but…the story is deeper than that. For every kill you see, there are likely a double handful that you were not privy to witness.  If you want the skinny on just how serial-killer-esque the common cat can be, Pete Marra, head of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center authored a book on ...