UK Tour 2010 - Part 1

Hey Folks,

Checking in from balmy N. Ireland. BRRRRR!!!! Let's just say it's a bit chilly out there. Taught in Derry today for John Rosborough and his group at Evolve Martial arts in Derry. Had a good turnout and did some fun stuff ranging from Savate footwork, striking on the move, shooting the takedown under the punches and some Thai clinch work. Everyone who attended worked hard and made a good showing.

I'll update the blog as my tour progresses but please check my facebook page for pix from the different locations.

jvs

The Mind / Body Connection

It is not news to say there is a connection between mind and body. When you're mentally tired, your physical output is taxed as well, and vice versa. Everyone knows this. Likewise, when you're mentally primed, you accomplish physical feats often otherwise outside your ability. In essence, the connection is undeniable.

I have a client who has serious mobility issues. His profession has exacerbated arthritis in his back and neck leaving him with numb hands and very frequent, debilitating back spasms. In addition to Yoga and chiropractic work, he started training with me about 4 months ago and was making great progress for a couple months. Numbness gone, back spasms gone, increased mobility in his neck. All was looking good and then he hit a wall. Not literally, but something happened and his back went out and he was down for a sizable chunk of time. I finally trained him again today and he's back in gear, but during those two months of down time he experienced pretty serious bouts of depression, from which he's still recovering.

One of the things I initially worked on with him was simply fixing his posture. It's amazing how few people stand with proper posture. What is proper posture? Ear, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle in a straight line perpendicular to the ground. Go ahead, check yourself out in the mirror, you're probably not standing properly either. If you're a martial artist or into combat sports you definitely round your shoulders forward. I know I was guilty of it too until Dr. Cheng started pointing it out to me (with somewhat maddening frequency...) last year. Now my default setting is good posture whenever not doing something that requires a different posture, which for me is basically martial arts training.

Next time you're out and about take a moment and check out how people walk and stand. You will be amazed how many people push their chins forward, round their shoulders, curve their back, etc. Start training yourself to default to good posture. It will do wonders for your body, which happens to be connected to your mind. If you stand with good posture, there is no way you can be depressed or look like a victim waiting to be mugged.

There's a famous story in the LE community we tell whenever we teach the concept and importance of "command presence" to cops. It's about a highway patrolman who had the good fortune to pull over a van full of political radicals armed to the teeth with firearms and small explosives. One cop, and a van full of bad guys. What happened? In their post-arrest interviews, the criminals said they saw the officer in the rear view mirror approaching the van, and apparently his posture, gait, crisply ironed uniform and sharp, spotless shoes and hat made this group think twice about taking on this lone officer! The effect that command presence has on others is not to be underestimated. Now think about what effect your own posture will have on you! Go ahead, stand tall. Like Dr. Cheng says, "I defy you to feel weak standing like that." It is simply not possible. Own your posture folks, it has as much to do with your physical stature as it does your mental outlook.

You don't have much control over how people act around you or to you, but something as simple as your posture can strongly affect your response to them. Control what you can, and make it move you to a place of strength and stability. This is a tumultuous time for a lot of people. Be as much of a rock as you can. My client said my willingness to go back to square one with him after such a long lay off was a big part of his willingness to start again. If you provide stability, others will feed off that stable energy and increase their own stability. It will be a wave of self confidence that you can take credit for. Good job!! Now go out and stand tall.

'til next time,
jvs

Kettlebells and Martial Arts

As any of you who read this blog regularly know, I am a professional martial artist. I teach seven different arts as well as Hard Style kettlebells. I have clients in Europe and the continental US as well as my private clients here in LA. I run the Muay Thai program at Hollywood Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and I teach defensive tactics for the Operational Skills Group. It's what I do.

I am currently in the process of writing my first book, it's on Kettlebells as supplemental training for the martial artist and will be published by Black Belt Publications next fall. We did the photo shoot a few weeks ago and the first draft is almost done.

Writing this book has been an exciting challenge for me. It has forced me to draw on my journalism degree from college (FINALLY using it!) to get the writing process organized and completed in an efficient manner. I've also used my nearly 15 years of martial arts instruction to codify the information in a manner accessible to all level practitioners. And speaking about the photo shoot itself, performing 30 kettlebell exercises repeatedly for almost 8 hours was a physical challenge of the highest order. Many thanks to all of my instructors over the years (Guro Dan, Damon Caro, Chad Stahelski, Nicolas Saignac, Sifu Francis Fong, and Ajarn Chai), without their diligent instruction in both the technical aspects of training as well as the intestinal fortitude gained from very hard training, I would not have made it through that day!

Special thanks go to Dr. Mark Cheng, my kettlebell coach. Having access to one of the most discerning minds in the Hard Style community has dialed in my kettlebell training and allowed me to safely perform all of those exercises even as the gas tank was running low.

Many thanks to you all, I look forward to making you proud next fall!!

To everyone else:
Quit yackin' and start training!

jvs

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!!