This clip is based on a book by my martial arts instructor, Joe R. Lansdale. He also wrote the story Bubba Hotep, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. Joe is an incredible martial artist as well as an all around great guy. www.joerlansdale.com

Kettlebells and Combatives

I started training with kettlebells a few years ago. Before that I was the standard gym rat trying to look like a body builder. While I always trained with heavy weights, i was still missing something when I had to fight. I always felt very stiff and bound up. The strength that I had was not as user friendly as I wanted it to be. I started researching different avenues online. I came across Clubbells and Kettlebells on the same night. My credit card was smoking from all of the purchases. I bought books and videos on both sets of tools. when they got here I started to see what felt right to me. I liked a lot of the Clubbell work, but found a home with the kettlebells.

I use both tools in my training, as they have a place. I use kettlebells about 95% of the time. I felt that the KB's represented a more complete system of training. With the kettlebells you are able to perform an almost infinite amount of exercises. If you can do it with body weight, barbells, dumbbells, cables or other tools you are able to do it with kettlebells. I think that the Get-up, the swing and the snatch are the three most beneficial exercises that a person can do for them selves. that is not to say that the other exercises are slouches, but those three exercises can hit every major muscle group in the body. They give you the most bang for your buck. I have seen people drop lots of fat and develop more lean muscle with those choices.

Not only did I improve my overall physical well being, I found that missing link in my survival chain. The kettlebells gave me more usable strength than I had from the regular workouts. I was more fluid and relaxed in a fight. I credit that to the relaxed tension of kettlebell swings and snatches, where you are loose and tighten up at the top of the movement. As a Defensive Tactics Instructor as well as the owner of a school, my students told me that they felt a different type of power development from me after starting kettlebells.

I will be writing an article about Kettlebells and Combatives this week. It will discuss how kettlebells improve movement in a combative environment.

stay tuned.

We will be holding a Kettlebell Seminar in November. I will post more this week. Please contact us if you are interested in attending.

Paul

My next Evil tool

I really want one of these. It will fit right in with my kettlebells and I am going to order one in November. My new business has picked up and it will make a nice present to myself.

I am still taking a limited number of KB clients as well as martial arts students. Just email me for details. I hope to have an open mat day for grappling, wrestling, submissions etc, similar to Scientific Wrestling's Toe Hold Club.

Paul

Servant Leadership

What am I doing talking baout Servant Leadership in a fighting, kettlebelling, just plain exploring combatives blog? Servant Leadership did not change the way I acted as a supervisor, it just solidified my path. For the last 12 years, I have been a Police Officer, but I just left the field. While I was working as a Patrol Sgt., I did everything I could to empower the Officers that I worked with. I wanted them to be able to make decisions on thier own that benefited the organization as a whole. I gave my guys a lot of freedom in how they did their jobs. All they had to do was let me know what they wanted out of their career, allowing me to be sure that they were following the path they set for themselves.

I left Law Enforcement for a few reasons, one of the biggest being that I was not in a place that I could follow my own philosophy of helping others grow. I felt that my path had become blocked with no way around that blockage. I felt that I was no longer able to operate as the Servant Leader that I wanted to be. I have come to believe that there are other avenues for me to help the Department and the Officers from outside.

That being said, how does it fit in with martial arts, kettlebells and East Texas "whup ass?" I look at my journey in this world as a path of learning and teaching. I want to be able to pass on knowledge and guidance to others, to empower them to think outside, inside, beside and anywhere around the box they want to. I want my students to become better than the teacher, better than they think they could ever be. It all comes full circle for me. I will still lead as a Servant, but I hope to touch more people and still help those I left behind on this new path I have started down.

Paul

No excuses.

I cam across this link on Dragon Door. Dustin carter is an incredible kid that does not make any excuses or let anything stop him. The clip is long, but please watch the entire thing.

Paul

I bought a couple of Shocknives last year when they hit the market. They are absolutely one of the greatest training devices for edged weapons training. They cause a real stress reaction when they are deployed as there is a consequence for failing to control the weapon. Pain and stress help to cement the training into the system. If used correctly, as Ken Murray teaches, you can stress proof and give real world skills to your students.

I wrote an article that was published in the July 2006 SWAT magazine of how we use the Shocknife. We teach basic caveman principles, grab, secure, attack, survive. We are currently working an an edged weapon video and will have some clips up soon. http://www.shocknife.com/

Catch Wrestling

Jake at Scientific Wrestling has a great event coming up October 20th, the West Coast qualifier for the King of Catch. I love catch. For me it is a better fit than BJJ is. I hope to attend some training at the Toe Hold Club with Jake and the others. I also want a Macebell, another evil training implement that fits in with my training style.

This clip is from Canadian Catch Wrestling, but it still works. LOL

Paul

Mike Mahler

Next to Pavel and Dragon Door, I like Mike Mahler's thought process about kettlebells and workouts. I have decided to follow his Fat Loss and Mental Toughness protocol for a few months. I have been pushing hard over the last few months to hit heavy weights and wanted to try and hit a little more of growth and fat burning program. I will have to be careful to avoid burnout as I am teaching sports to kids most mornings along with martial arts training. I used the 70's tonight, but felt strong and had some left in the tank. I am starting out with the High Frequency Training four days a week.

For more information on Mike Mahler, hit the link on the left side of the page.

JM
A1 Dbl C&P 3 x 6 w/70
A2 Dbl Ballistic row 3 x 6 w/70

B1 Dbl kickstand Lunge 3 x 8 w/70's
B2 Dbl Swings w/70's

C1 Roller 3 x 6
C2 Janda 3 x 6
1 minute rest between part 1 and 2 of each set
Relax Into Stretch

Some silat work from a Sayoc Camp. This is very similar to the knife work from Camp Lansdale. It is from Ken Pannell, Guro Mike Casto's Instructor.

Great Weekend of Training

I just returned from the 11th Annual Camp Lansdale. It was a great weekend of training with a lot of different martial artists. Professor Lansdale is the most open minded Grandmaster that you will find. He believes that everyone has something to teach him and his school.

I have trained with other Grandmasters and they would not lower themselves to be taught by a lower ranked person. I have actually heard one system founder state that it was beneath him to train with anyone of less rank them he was. That implies that you know all and cannot be taught anything else. I personally find that everyone I meet has a lesson or skill to teach me, while i am not a Grandmaster by any means, the day I stop learning from anyone, is the day I am through with life.

Camp Lansdale had Mike Casto, Mike Billings, and Brandon Jones teach from their respective styles. Mike Casto is a great stick and knife man. His Silat is incredible and street ready. I recommend anyone in the Louisville Ky area to seek him out. His kerambit section this weekend was the best application of the tool I have trained in.

Mike Billings has trained in Shen Chuan and been at pretty much every camp in the last five years. he is one of the best Kenpo guys that i have ever worked with. He is following in the footsteps of Grandmaster Chuck Sullivan, the head of Ed Parker Kenpo. He is a great instructor and guy. He is in Austin Texas and is worth looking up.

I met Sifu Brandon Jones for the first time this weekend. He is a practitioner of Seven star Preying Mantis. I was very impressed with his skill. I have met a lot of Kung Fu people in the past, but was wowed by his incredible knowledge and skill. He was an encyclopedia of knowledge of the art and background. He also explained what the katas actually taught, versus the old "we just do it this way." He is a great instructor and all around good guy. I hope to train with him more in the future. I loved the techniques he taught over the weekend. His school is located down the road in Tyler, Texas.

Joe lansdale has influenced a lot of today's martial arts Grandmasters from Grandmaster Pelligrini of Combat Hapkido to Grandmaster Chuck Sullivan of Ed Parker's Kenpo. if you ever get a chance to work with him, jump on it.

That is enough for now.

Paul

Camp Lansdale

I am off to camp Lansdale today. If you like great trainining at a better price thre is no better place to be. Professor Lansdale brings in some of the best martial artists around every year. In this day and age it is easy to be "famous" and well known as all you have to do is buy some video time and an ad in a magazine. Camp Lansdale brings in people that are the real deal and who love the arts. They know their stuff and are willing to share the knowledge. Of course, I get to teach some, so I am biased. Shen Chuan is the official website. No fluff, just real world skills.

I am currently taking on a limited number of clients in Shen Chuan and also in Kettlebells. I am currently able to train kettlebell clients online. Email me for more information.

I will begin posting my daily workouts next week as I always try to walk the walk.

Stay Safe

Paul