Thoughts on Thankfulness

Fall has always been my favorite time of year. Sept - Jan is a busy time in my family. Birthdays for me, my brother, father, mother and grandmother, not to mention my folks' anniversary (44 years this year...WOW!). Plus it's when my favorite fruit, the pomegranate, is in season and one of the greatest eating holidays in our (and probably your) family: Thanksgiving.

My experience this time of year is always months of really good stuff. Food. Wine. Cheer. Family. Friends. But it's only as good as it is because of many people we have to thank for past sacrifice. I consistently find myself with a depth of gratitude to the "greatest generation" that fought, died and won WWII. I've said it many times before, but their selflessness is always incredible to me. It gave the rest of us the ability to bitch that our cappuccino has to much foam, or our wi-fi is too slow, or whatever. Once in a while, generally on holidays like Thanksgiving, it's important to do just that. Give thanks for what we have. So in that spirit I would like to give thanks to:


My incredible wife Suzanne, the light of my life. I am a better man with you in my corner.

My parents who let me go my own way even when they disagreed with me.

My brother whose picture is in the dictionary next to "work ethic."

My martial arts instructor and idol, Guro Dan Inosanto who leads by example on a daily basis.

There is not enough room to list the collection of friends, colleagues and students who are near and dear to my heart. I don't want to risk hurting any feelings by inadvertently leaving someone out, so to any and all of you, I thank you for being in my life. Your example is not lost on me.

Now a suggestion. Take a moment. Get away from your iPhone. Close your web browser. Turn the PS3 off. And think about who is important in your life and why. You'll be happy you did and they'll appreciate the gesture as well.

Happy Thanksgiving folks. Enjoy it, but know WHY you enjoy it and the pumpkin pie will be that much tastier.

[PS - it is implied that the thanks I give to the greatest generation extends to today's armed forces, LEOs and all other first responders. They tackle the jobs that allow the rest of us to continue getting soft. Many thanks!!]

I'm parched, get me some Kool Aid - Part II

Gym Jones, Salt Lake City, Utah

The mental flagellation continues. Naturally, I mean that in the best of all possible senses because it is self inflicted. Mark and Rob are not to blame for this mental overhaul. Rather it's our preconceived notions and beliefs about training and our constant (and inexplicable) agreeing to substandard results that the Gym Jones method eviscerates.


Our consumer based society is constantly bombarded with this gizmo, gadget or pill that will bring about never before seen results. Everyone is looking for the "silver bullet" as Rob told me yesterday, to make 20 years of laziness, poor diet and too much beer disappear in 10 days or your money back. Folks it doesn't exist.


Those of you who read my review of Marty Gallagher's "Purposeful Primitive" (or maybe actually read the book...) see the parallels between it and what I'm relaying from Gym Jones. The silver bullet is nothing you can buy with 3 easy payments. If it does exist, it is having the fortitude to get the work done, and done properly. Otherwise the results will not be what you'd hoped. It's complex but not complicated. There is a formula, and you need to know your goals in order for the formula to be accurate, but the hardest part about it is getting your @$$ to the gym and completing the task(s) for the day. Period.


Time's a wastin' folks. Get to work.

And, as always, enjoy.

I'm parched, get me some Kool Aid - Part I

Gym Jones, Salt Lake City, UT

Hey Folks,

Coming to you from SLC where I will be teaching a martial arts workshop tomorrow night for the Bernales Institute of Martial Arts. This trip is a combination training and teaching jaunt. I've both shared and been illuminated. The collection of training powerhouses who come through the anonymous, unmarked doors of the gym is daunting and exhilarating at the same time.

To say my brain got some serious frying yesterday after arriving to town would be a gross understatement. It's not that Rob MacDonald, Gym Jones's answer to the Apple Genius Bar, was unloading copious amounts of information on me, but rather that the info was exceedingly potent and surprisingly minimal at the same time.

Those of you who know Gym Jones don't need explanation, those of you who do not, what do you remember from the movie 300? Abs and muscles of all kinds, right? Mark Twight, the former peerless alpinist and current strength and conditioning task master extraordinaire, was the man behind the making of those muscles. And while there was a lot of computer generated imagery in the movie, the muscles were real. How do they do it? What's the secret? Well, it's not as complex as you might think. In fact, as Mark says, it's quite simple, it's just about having a plan that makes sense and FOLLOWING THROUGH!

Day 1 was all Rob and information download. The schematic, if you will. Today was the practical application, picking Mark's brain, watching him run some BJJ competitors through the paces, which included lots of barbells overhead, one legged DLs, accelerated squats. It was brutal just to watch, but these guys never bitched. Considering two of them won gold at the no gi worlds last week, it's not surprising they don't question the method. Results have a way of quelling doubt.

As luck would have it the evening wrapped up with dinner with the Twights and Coach Dan John, "a national treasure," as Mrs. Twight so accurately puts it. If you've never been treated to being around Coach John, he's as much stand up comedian as he is encyclopedia of strength training. Go ahead and google him, you'll see what I mean.

Anyway folks, it's time to rest this brain. I've got a lot of training and teaching to do tomorrow, I'd better be ready!

Signing off,
jvs

Hotlanta???

Coming to you from Atlanta, GA - Folks it was seriously brisk and breezy outside the Francis Fong Academy this weekend. Maybe it was the norm for locals, but for this New Jersey kid who has lived in So Cal for many years and is NOT used to a cold day, it was shall we say, BLUSTERY! Be that as it may, when the door to the Academy closed and the work began, it was SMOKIN'!! Why? Because we were all knee deep in the "Hard Style Fundamentals" workshop I was leading for my willing victims.

Covering the essentials of the HSL, DL, 2HSW and TGU, my victims were setting personal records left and right. Well, it was the first time most of them had touched a kettlebell, but still a PR is a PR, right? HAHA! In all seriousness, though, let me put it in perspective for you: one of the ladies had brought some "kettlebells" along with her. Although I don't think 5 and 10 pound bells really qualify as more than a love pendant or a paperweight, I used them to demonstrate bad form, so I do thank Claudia for having them handy.

In addition to the essential DL movement pattern and Dr. Cheng's HSL breakdown for optimal full body tension, everyone was swinging and Turkishing bells with great form. We kept the swing reps low enough to let them get in the groove without gassing too badly and everyone did great. In fact by the end of the workshop after classic KBLA high detail TGU instruction, all four women in attendance completed an unassisted Turkish on both the right and the left with an 8kg bell. I was VERY impressed. In addition to the ladies, we had every size, shape and age person there. Some folks overweight, some shredded muscle machines, some young, some old, but everyone performed exceedingly well. I was most impressed!

Special thanks to AKC instructor Eric Fronczak for bringing a nice assortment of kettlebells for those who did not have their own. And most important, many thanks Sifu Francis Fong and Simo Tracey Fong for bringing me to Hotlanta (on a very cold day) to share RKC Hard Style Fundamentals with them! Thank you!!

Keep training with supreme attention to detail folks, and be on the lookout for a KBLA affiliated workshop in your area! Please follow this blog as well as Dr. Cheng's KBLA blog or email me directly for all the info!!

Hollywood Kettlebells goes to Atlanta!!

Hey Folks,

On Saturday, October 17th, I will be teaching a "Hard Style Fundamentals" workshop at the world famous Francis Fong Academy. I will be bringing all the attention to detail that makes kettlebell instruction via Kettlebells Los Angeles and her offshoots the premier kettlebell training for strength and conditioning as well as "pre"hab to resist injury as we continue moving through the years. And as those of you who follow this blog know, everything I do in kettlebells has some application to my martial arts practice. So, prepare to have your combative training enhanced as well as your overall health!

Space is limited, so please contact Tracey at the Francis Fong Academy as soon as possible to reserve your spot. Phone - (770) 416-7111.

I look forward to working you over soon! haha...sorta

See you there!

The Dynamic Duo - Mark Cheng and Kenneth Jay

Hey Folks,

Yesterday I got to help out my good friends Dr. Mark Cheng, Team Leader, and Kenneth Jay, Master RKC, at a seminar they taught together at Kingston Heng's school in Irvine.

Dr. Cheng, is best known for his high detail instruction of the Turkish Get Up and Kenneth, the Dane of Pain, for his VO2 Max Protocol as outlined in his book: Viking Warrior Conditioning. Even just one of these guys teaching a seminar is a mountain of information and training. Having them together was a truly outstanding event!

Dr. Cheng combines his extensive knowledge of KB training with Gray Cook's FMS brilliance and Chinese medicine. Kenneth is equal parts jock and brainiac, putting his incredibly thorough conditioning theories to the test for Danish Olympians and mere mortals as well. Together they tackled the Turkish Get Up in H IGH DETAIL and the VO2 Max protocol. Everyone's TGU was amazingly improved in a very short time, and Kenneth ran the group through his VO2 Max protocol, giving priceless insights into how to improve one's training.

If you attended yesterday's workshop, you know what you got. (In fact you're probably feeling it today...) If you didn't, now you know what you missed. Don't miss the next one!

Medical Science

Medical science and the constant evolutionary process it is on never cease to amaze me. A few years ago a friend told me about Prolo Therapy. This is relatively innocuous way to heal damaged connective tissue through fooling your body to work better. The concept is that since ligaments and tendons have notoriously poor blood flow, intentionally irritating them brings more blood to the area, and therefore more thorough healing. I have done Prolo therapy many times on many joints: knees, shoulders, a thumb and even a collarbone. It works great. Give it a go.

Today I was lucky enough to try an even more groundbreaking treatment: Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy. It works on the same concept as Prolo, but is much more powerful. The doctor draws your blood, spins it in a centrifuge to separate the platelets out, then injects the platelet concentrate into the injured area to trigger healing on an exponential level.

Having dealt with multiple and consistent pain issues in my left arm for the last 4 years that have forced me to adjust how I teach and how I train, I was really excited to try the PRPT. It was done today. My arm is a little sore, and now I have to baby myself for about a week and then ramp up slowly back to normal intensity training and see what happens. Stay posted!!

For more info on PRPT, please check out Dr. Steven Sampson's website at www.orthohealing.com