Friday, June 21, 2013

Fighting with Superman

FRIDAY KNIGHT NEWS

If you want to know what it’s like to fight superman, give it a try with a man of wood first. I have used the makiwara with both a single arm and the standard post for decades. I like having a face/throat high target just over the arm. Then below the arm I like another chest high target. I have even used cut car tires for pads with the groin and knee targets. I stopped using them as I generally only practice the maikwara at home and not at the dojo. This is important as I would usually have my sandals or sneakers on and those targets were not necessary.

I broke my makiwara this week and I am bummed about that, now I’ll have to build another one. That happens every so often, this one only lasted about one million strikes. Looking at the wood the 4x4 post had lost its structural integrity all the way around over the years. I have had these things crack in the middle before from some unseen weakness in the wood, but most snap even with the ground from rot. This is even with the waterproofing they give the post.

I had stopped using the tapered post many decades ago since they were the kind to snap in the middle. I started using the makiwara as a training tool when I was in my mid to late teens. Now that I’m in my mid-fifties I am faced with the fact that I still find it an almost indispensable part of my day. People at different times in my life have used my hands to describe me to other. That was one reason I had periodically altered my training to hide my callous, I used iron palm even when I stop the makiwara. I have not had any arthritis in my hands in spite of this and maybe even because of it. I think that diet and injury has more to do with arthritis than the proper use of the makiwara.

I have seen many people injured from improper training with it and for the most part they were people who were either hard headed, arrogant, or foolish; some were a combination. I have found myself in that group many times with the greatest portion of it being in the foolish category. It has been called the board of knowledge and for good reason. It has a calming effect on me as it requires focus. I have found that having a soft pad usually builds up callous while a hard pad, (a single layer of cotton or hemp cord or rope) does not have the same effect.

When I was younger, strangers used to ask me now and again about them, as I turned gray their questions went from, "Do you spend a lot of time on the punching bag? To, What happened, are you okay? My hands today do not receive any notice so the years spent easing off the callous has gone well. I also only hit the post about 1,000 to 1,500 times a day, which is down considerable from 10,000 at my height. Keep up your training and good luck.

My stories are about martial arts adventures that are intertwined with paranormal or supernatural events. The following links are to the Kindle version books from the "Dream Walker” series. Our adventurers find themselves on a quest where they are confronted with both conspiracy and mystery. Their challenge is to unite their mind and body skills together utilizing what they have learned in the martial arts with the transcendental power of dream mediation. They attempt to do this while they are trying to make a life for themselves and elude those that seek to use and control them.

Conversations with a Sage (Book 1 of the Dream-Walker)

Conversations with a Sage: This explores Xander Davidson's early encounters with the mysterious fog like Dream Walking martial art sages. He ponders if they are real or if they are only remnants of his dreams. He mainly keeps this secret world to himself as he tries to copes with abuse, growing up without support or guidance and the mystery of his family's past. 

Xander and the Assassins Gift (Book 2 of the Dream-Walker)

The Assassins Gift: Xander Davidson struggles with the conspiracy of his family and the group that is actively trying to manipulate him to join them or die. The young Dream Walkers learns an early lesson to be careful about whom they let into their circle.


Warriors of Perception (Book 3 of the Dream-Walker)

Warriors of Perception: Xander Davidson and his band of friends embark on a mission to free themselves from their oppressors. They bravely face the challenge all the while vying for the right moment to turn the tables.


Jace Lee The Shift (Book 4 of the Dream-Walker)

Jace Lee The Shift: We find a new apprentice, Adam, that is fighting for his life. He is struggling to understand the amazing skills of his mentor, Jace Lee; a younger man that has trained under Xander Davidson. All the while his mentor attempts to reconcile the fact that his skills do not match up with the other Dream Walkers.


Jace Lee No Agenda (Dream Walker Book 5)

Jace Lee No Agenda: Jace Lee attempts to find himself on a self-imposed vision quest of sorts. Instead he finds himself being stalked by the same group that had previously sought after his teacher, (Xander Davidson). Instead of mastering his odd Dream Walking skills he finds love and the potential loss of his powers.

Jace Lee and the Tutelage of Ming Wu: Dream Walker 6 

Jace Lee The Tutelage of Ming Wu: Jace Lee rejoins his teacher Xander Davidson as they cope with a possible combined threat (the mysterious), Ming Wu and the Council that has continuously monitored the Dream Walkers.       

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