Practical Unconventionality

The Psychology of a Front Flip: Desire, Fear, Faith, Courage, Triumph

I always had the childhood fantasy of developing amazing acrobatic skills, but it was something I never took the time to actually study and train . . . until now.

In general, I tend to be the cautious analytical type but I also have a dash of daring craziness that surfaces every now and again.  My latest episode of the crazies was a near spontaneous episode of experimental front flips (inspired/dared by this guy) in the sand pit of local playground.

Keep in mind I had no formal training in this whatsoever.  In fact, we only had a vague idea of the concept based on videos we had seen months ago.

In any case, after lots of trial, error, pain and a couple of practice sessions later, I'm now pretty darn close to a full front flip.

The front flip is a very basic acrobatic movement, yet so daunting.  It gives me a renewed appreciation of the process that my Martial Arts students go through when learning something new.

As my development is still fresh, I vividly remember the mental-physical-spiritual process that I went through at the beginning of my front flipping adventure.

It goes something like this: the excitement, followed by intense fear, the leap of faith, the triumph and elation, the resurgence of fear, courage and persistence, and the eventual transcendence to a new level of mastery.

It reminds me of how important it is to incorporate my full self, mind-body-spirit, in all that I do.

Here is the process condensed into a single front flip attempt:

1.  Desire and excitement powering the leap of faith.

2. Regret about diving head first into a world of potential pain.

3. Past the point-of-no-return.  Acceptance and full commitment to succeed.

4. Perseverance, success, joy, excitement, triumph, confusion, doubt...

5. Resurgence of fear sparked by the memory of pain.  Yet strength is drawn from the knowledge that completion is now an inevitability.

6. Sweet completion and relief.  Retrospection, self beration for weakness and error, desire to improve, resolution to succeed, return to the moment, joy, happiness, gratitude.

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Underground MMA Conditioning: Hardcore Martial Arts Training Secrets

I've decided to reveal to the world my hardcore, underground Martial Arts training secrets.  I guarantee you that no other Martial Arts fight team trains using the powerful, proprietary methods we use to demolish the competition.

Enjoy, and train hard!

Power Swings: gradually increasing the intensity as your body adjusts to the awesomeness.

The Extreme Rocket: perform in sets of three minute intervals with one minute breaks.  For an advanced progression try these with one hand waving in the air.  (note: if you don't have access to a rocket, any of the various zoo animals or other vehicles are acceptable, but the rocket offers the highest performance boost)

Dynamic Slide Accelerations: these are coupled with Bunny Hops back to the top of the sliding apparatus.  Be careful to maintain good posture with the overhead arm raises and contagious smiles.

Monkey Hangs: best if performed to failure.  Funny faces and monkey sounds will earn you a gold star.

Cool down with some stretches on the swings.

If you have time, you might want to jog a little . . .

. . . and maybe go for some uphill sprints.  I hear these can be pretty good.

Oh, and a little contact sparring might help :)

       

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The cookie cleanse diet

Victoria wanted to go on a cleansing diet this week, which means no processed foods, among other things.

Given that she's the Cookie Goddess with an insatiable appetite for all types of cookies and sweets, this is my attempt to accomplish the impossible.

These are raw, organic, cashew coconut fig cookie bars. Actually, they also have hemp and chia seeds but I named them after the predominant flavors. They're moist, sweet, and chewy with a tiny bit of crunchiness.

Let's see if they pass the test.

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Echo Mountain barefoot hike and Martial Arts training

I had heard about Echo Mountain during the Summer last year, but I dismissed it as more of a historical tourist attraction rather than anything I would want to hike.

Earlier this week Casey Schreiner, from Modern Hiker, recommended Echo Mountain as a good hike in the rain. Although we finally didn't make it in the rain, we were pleasantly surprised this Thursday as we visited the old resort ruins and the well named Inspiration Point.

It was a bright sunny day with that amazing, cool, crisp, post rain air.

Somewhere after mile four, we hit snow . . .

Considering I was barefoot, I thought I might be in for some trouble but it turned out to be rather refreshing.

Once at Inspiration Point, the amazing view of downtown LA, the beautiful surrounding landscape, and the inviting man made structures called for some bodyweight strength training, martial arts practice, and meditation before our rapid downhill trail run back to the Cobb Estate.

             

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It's always a good time to enjoy nature

Featuring our official Jeet Kune Do photographer, Mike Jara, this picture is from this morning's six mile barefoot hike and trail run in the rain.

We had the the trail to ourselves. There were a surprising number of animals out and about, despite the rain, so why not us too?

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What happens when 3 unorthodox guys get together to play at the park?

Don't ask . . .

I'll leave this one up to your imagination.

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Working on My Game of Death Bruce Lee Flying Side Kick

Hiked to the top of Mt Zion in the Santa Anita Canyon today.

Beautiful clear skies and yet another warm, Winter day in sunny Southern California.

After a brief video shoot with Victoria Vives and Jonathan Mead, for my upcoming Jeet Kune Do Online demo, we broke out into spontaneous flying side kicks.

Here's my Bruce Lee, Game of Death flying kick attempt. Still needs work.

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Living Breakfast

This is what I had for breakfast this morning.

Homemade kefir (using raw milk from pastured cows), raw cream, papaya cubes, a few tablespoons of wildcrafted chia seeds and a handful of raw cashews (these are Trader Joe's brand so they're not really raw, but it's what I got so there!).  The nuts and fruit will generally vary depending on what I have on hand.  Sometimes I'll add honey or dried fruit for extra sweetness, but usually not.

It gives me superpowers.

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Digging Deep at Poopout

Gotta love LA. We're in the middle of Winter and we still managed a warm, sunny hike.

Introducing Poopout Trail in the Big Dalton Canyon area. This is actually a firebreak cut out by firefighters to quickly reach an old service road that has since been abandoned and now makes up the Mystic Canyon trail.

Poopout is, quite possibly, the most difficult 0.6 miles of trail in the San Gabriels. No switchbacks, no shade, loose dirt and gravel, and an incline so steep that it requires a bit of scrambling on all fours at times. Just when you reach the top, there's what we've affectionately called Poopout 2 which effectively doubles the distance and matches the difficulty.

It's truly an exercise in digging deep and really finding out what you're made of . . . especially when you're trying to run to the top!

After soaking in the amazing view of Los Angeles, we rewarded ourselves with some deep leg stretches before heading back down. Accompanying me were friend and Jeet Kune Do apprentice Charles Fisher (http://www.simplyjkd.com) and my lovely wife Victoria (http://victoriavives.com).

       

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Bareknuckle Boxing in the Arroyo Seco Ruins

Arroyo Seco in Pasadena is turning out to be one of my favorite wilderness parks in LA county. It has an amazingly rich history and was once home to the Tongva (aka Gabrieleño) Native American people.

It also happens to be an area that Nature has repeatedly reclaimed with record setting floods and, more recently, fires.

At the moment, most of the man made structures are in some degree of decay. Although the destruction of people's homes and the loss of life that has resulted over the past century is sad, this beautiful watershed is best left to Nature's design and I hope man made "restoration" stays to a minimum.

The trail varies from easy to rugged and dicey at spots. The charred ruins make for haunting yet strangely beautiful scenery amidst the recuperating wildlife.

Here are a few pictures from our 8 mile (mostly) barefoot run and bareknuckle boxing session. Fun stuff. I didn't realize how much smiling there was amidst all the sparring. There really is nothing like some intense training in Nature with friends.

You can check out these awesome guys at http://www.IlluminatedMind.net and http://www.MikeJara.com and, of course, more from me at http://www.TrueSelfMartialArts.com

                         

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