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Training and Fitness
Thankfully the sight of a weapon caused the
mugger to lose interest and he vacated the area at top speed. Only then did it occur to me that I had no idea how a knife
should really be used in a fight.
When my training routine is not being disrupted by travel, its actually pretty fun. I get beat up in sparring matches
with world champion kickboxers, simulate knife fighting, lift weights, combine jumping rope and stair running for cardio (I
hate jogging), go a few rounds with a professional middleweight, hike, grapple with one of Pedro Sauer's Brazilian ju-jitsu masters, and run an occasional military firearms course in full gear. I
do four nights a week at the gym, doing the standard weight lifting and cardio thing. When I'm at home I use a homemade
combination of exercises with my Total Gym... you know, the exercise gadget for which Chuck Norris does those cheesy infomercials.
And there is a park near my house with steep hills that my kids and I use for mountain training. My
overall routine is heavily influenced by Sylvester Stallone's workout (click "exercise and nutrition"), Bill Phillips' Body for Life plan, Kevin Trudeau's excellent Natural Cures system, and several web sites including Muscle and Fitness. After years of trying I don't look nearly as good as any of those guys, but I stay in sufficient shape to take part in the
adventures described on this site and I consider that a substantial payoff for the effort invested.
My martial arts training is primarily through Self Defense Systems studio, whom I've buffaloed into giving me a fistful
of belts that I probably don't deserve. Along with my two oldest kids, I hold a 3rd degree brown belt in Kenpo and a blue
belt stripe in Ju-Jitsu. Through Self Defense Systems I've been the sparring partner for
the 4Q world kickboxing champion, a former professional boxer, and one of the legendary Pedro Sauer's Brazilian ju-jitsu instructors.
Dave, our current Ju-Jitsu teacher, is also an Army instructor in hand to hand combat. Our Kenpo instructor and sparring partner
is Jamie, who holds a couple of black belts and has been our mentor throughout our entire martial arts careers ( kenpo is a combination of Kickboxing, Silat, Kali, Jeet Kune Do and Karate). Most of our Silat and Kali knife training comes from Jerry, a former professional boxer with more black belts than you
can count.
I've also been fortunate to personally train in Colorado with Marc MacYoung, the martial
arts analyst who has revolutionized our understanding of street fighting.
 But no matter which form you prefer, sparring of any sort is an utterly fantastic way to train and will vastly increase
your aerobic capacity beyond anything you can imagine. I've tried jogging (I hate jogging), basketball, tennis and scores
of other aerobic exercises, but none come close to sparring for increasing lung capacity, cardiovascular fitness and
endurance. And its far easier on your knees and joints that jogging (I hate jogging).
Knife fighting
- or the simulation thereof - has also been effective training. The art that I've been taught is Jerry Smith's unique blend
of Phillipino styles (Kali and Silat), which I've altered even further after reading a number of works including James
LaFond's The Logic of Steel. Knife sparring works your lungs pretty good.
I
became interested in knife fighting after a trip to Paris in the autumn of 2000. Walking down a dark corridor under a train
track, I was followed by a mugger and I realized I was pinned in with nowhere to run. Lacking any other options and unable
to protect myself with my 9mm pistol (because French law prohibits carrying it), I instead pulled a cheap, three-inch
tactical folder from my pocket, flicked the blade open and turned around in the sincere hope that nothing would happen. Thankfully
the sight of a weapon caused the mugger to lose interest and he vacated the area at top speed. Only then did it occur to me
that I had no idea how a knife should really be used in a fight. All I knew to do was to start swinging and hope to goodness
he didn't wrench it away from me.
Knife sparring - with rubber knives, of course - is more physically
demanding than you think and a real eye-opener to those who believe they already know how to use one. Though not as good as
kickboxing or grappling, knife sparring is a good way to work on your conditioning. It quickens your reflexes, improves eye-to-hand
coordination and works aerobic conditioning. And its fun.
One final form of training, and the least
effective from a physical standpoint, is in firearms. I have access to a small, private shooting range and I try to shoot
at as much as possible. I've had the opportunity to run several 700-meter military pistol courses with some military-minded
pals, who got quite upset on the single occasion when I actually beat them. Overall, shooting is more of a hobby and self-defense
mechanism than a physical training exercise. The exceptions to this are the moving drills and full scale running courses which
are very physically demanding and contribute greatly to conditioning. But I don't get to do those very often, so firearms
practice is actually about 90% fun and self defense work, and only about 10% genuine physical training.
My
training isn't really hard core, but its varied enough to be fun and it keeps me in halfway decent shape. And most importantly,
its enough to allow me to do the things I enjoy and the things I need to do to make a living, all while not being mugged...
and wasn't that the whole point?
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