Friday, January 30, 2015

Men of Iron

Friday Knight News


"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." Aristotle

When I was a student, we trained with men of iron and we had to walk uphill in the snow both ways coming and going from the dojo. Or at least that is how I recall it. When I first began training in the martial arts, we did a bunch of repetitions of several calisthenics like exercises as part of our warm-up. After this, we proceeded to practice doing the movements we were learning in the air against an invisible partner until sensei thought we were ready to work with each other. At this point we would attempt to emulate the movement we had been shown to try to get it to work. This would continue until we were hot, sweaty and tired. After that we had an opportunity to strike various canvas targets filled with sand. At other times we would swing sticks of various shapes and sizes. This was the basic routine I followed in my early practice. Sometimes the name of the style changed or the uniform changed but it was pretty much the same in every school and style that I participated with while growing up. We also began and ended each of our sessions with sitting still with our eyes closed while practicing breathing.

After a few weeks or months of this routine, we generally underwent a transition in training. This transition was generally denoted by an increase in both the volume and intensity of our training. Also our classes went from one hour to two-hour classes. It was nothing out of the ordinary to perform 100 repetitions of each basic calisthenics (push-up, squats, sit ups, jumping jacks) as part of our workout. We also no longer had to perform just one hundred repetitions of a particular technique, instead we were expected to do endless repetitions until told to do otherwise. Depending upon the school and style, we might have found ourselves practicing strikes, kicks, joint locks, pressure points, choking techniques, take downs, or throws. Often this meant we might start by punching and kicking the air, but we never neglected the chance to striking each other or hit some type of target.

I began to keep track of the number of punches and kicks we did to stay focused, especially as it was easier to count strikes in these two-hour sessions. Generally speaking depending upon the intensity and how often sensei would strike anyone that was lagging behind with a shinai, we might have 1,000 to 2,000 strikes (kicks or punches) per limb. It was much harder to keep track of grappling techniques especially throws. Often after getting spun around and turned upside down, it tended to discombobulate the senses. I found myself doing this kind of thing (taking these back to back sessions), 3 to 5 nights a week. That was four hours a day on top of regular school and/or work hours.

 "If you do not overcome your tendency to give up easily, your life lead to nothing." Mas Oyama

As my training advanced, I found myself in a position where I received a very intensive keiko with hand-to-hand weapon training. These intensive training sessions were limited to once a year and once again I found myself counting the repetitions as a means to help keep my focus. During each one of these intensive sessions, I found that I easily reached ten thousand repetitions per day and on various days exceeded that by thousands of repetitions. I refer to these hundred day long sessions (no days off), as Tesujin (Iron Man), challenges. In my lifetime I have participated in just over 30 of these 100 day types of events. After I received my license to instruct, I continued utilizing a similar format for my students that had wished to attempt it. These sessions consisted of performing daily misogi and various workout routines doing one hundred repetitions of calisthenics or kettle bell exercises for the upper, middle and lower body. On top of this we did 1,000 strikes on the makiwara and 500 bokken suburi daily. The point is even when we are old and beat up we can exercise our iron will, as we continue on the warrior's path. I still train daily but now days only my wife calls me a man of steel, (which at least is tempered iron). 

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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