REVGYM & FIGHT-U WEEK OF 09.02.24

TRIBE,

First and foremost, THANK YOU ALL for the birthday wishes and to those who made it out to Strang Hall, a double THANK YOU!!! You all made my birthday special! I appreciate each and every one of you!!!

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Next I’d like to share one of my very favorite quotes, and expound a bit:

The Man in the Arena

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt

Before I dive in, I want to share another quote… and forgive me, I’m unsure of the origination, but am going to tie it in with the above:

“Others will only see the decisions you make; they may never inquire to the choices you had to make to get to those decisions.”

So…

Many an arena we will choose, like REVGYM or the mats of FIGHT UNIVERSITY. We will find struggle here, develop grit, fight our way through things that most do not want to attempt, attempt to understand, nor care to “see”. Many will utilize this holy ground as a training platform for other arenas, athletic events, rings, cages, etc… Hopefully, most of you will also take the lessons from being in these arenas to your life and livelihood as well.

There is no tougher arena than life. Why? Because the things we face in the arena of life are not necessarily an arena we chose. We didn’t wake up and say, “Hey, lay me off from work today, I’ve been prepping in the gym for this for months.” or “I’m sorry to inform you, your loved one has suddenly passed.” or “We’re having another child., on our current income.” Now, as many of us know, these things are all inevitable to most people’s lives, at one time or another. So what’s the big deal? Just life right? Suck it up, do the thing, move on. It’s all ok. Yes, it is all a process, and all an opportunity… how you choose to handle these events, sacrifice to make these events easier for others, struggle with your health during an event, face tragedy on little sleep due to holding down more than one job to give your family everything, and…. mostly in silence… because you’re doing what has to be done, and not looking for a pat on the back, or even recognition… What you’re looking for, in the midst of all of this, is peace.

There are many arena’s, chosen, not chosen, gifted, taken, handed down, handed up… all of which Theodore Roosevelt’s quote can align to. And… many will only see the outcome of your battle. They will not care, nor is it necessarily their obligation to, about how you achieved, didn’t achieve, conquered, were defeated, or simply showed up or did not. So yes, there will always be people watching your outcomes, having an opinion, stating how they would have done this or that better or differently. They are not you… they don’t know you. They haven’t bothered themselves to get to know you. They have not shared the trenches with you, or cared enough to ask “What’s it like down in there, out there, inside the arena, inside you?” They only know how your decision, and by their choice, has made them feel. There is not one other warrior I know that truly gives a fuck what the civilian feels about their sacrifice, suffering, or pain(s). Because they are ultimately warriors, because others, or you, are not. It’s a choice, made every morning, then every moment of every day, “How am I going to show up”.. How are you going to show up for your personal arena, your spouse’s arena, your children’s arena, your community’s arena… sounds like a lot. But in the eyes of a warrior, it’s just what we do. The decision, somewhere along the line, was forced upon us, burned into us, developed out of survival, or a combination of all of these things; and we’re doing the best we can with it. So in recognizing we all have arenas; we all struggle with the decisions to be made on the daily battle field; we all have our triumphs and pitfalls; and hopefully, with what we’ve learned, our “WHY” and with God’s grace, we continue to get up again. Because if we do not choose to get up again, it is not us that we care about failing, it’s everyone around us we let down. The warrior from day one, even if choosing the arena as a sole combatant, isn’t in there for just himself. He’s there representing a lineage of pain, suffering, and triumph of one single moment in time where there is peace… inward and outward at the very same time… all is good with the universe, all our loved one’s are safe, secure, and nourished through our pain and sacrifice… and that is it.

So understand, that when you see an outcome, a decision being made by a warrior, a real warrior, it is never, ever a cut and dried, black and white decision… there are choices being made every moment to bring peace to all others before peace is found in our hearts.

In reference back to our previous blogs on Truth… your WHY will be tested… your Truth will be questioned… your Love, if you let it, will prevail.

Keep getting back up, even if no one is watching.

JB

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CURRENT & UPCOMING STUFF:

  • NO CLASSES/SESSIONS BEYOND 11AM MONDAY, 09.02.24 (LABOR DAY)

    • Normal sessions 5,6,8:30am

    • No Youth Martial Art (except for team training, see below)

    • Martial Art & MMA Open Mat @ 3pm

  • IRON ARSENAL SEMINAR INTENSIVE: “GET OFF THE “X”” was absolutely stellar! We had some return IA practitioners and some newbies! All absolutley crushed the training and had really intelligent questions as we navigated through some extremely dangerous, and high probability threat scenarios, utilizing “protector” and “gray man trade craft” to escape, evade, or engage to a survivable outcome. Transitional spaces and every day habits were spotlighted and adjusted for new, safer habits for not only the practitioners, but their families, co-workers, and friends.

    Great job everyone!

  • FRIDAY & SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13th & 14th

    • FIGHT-U’s Midwest World’s Prep GAMMA (Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts) UNDER 18 TOURNAMENT is on September 14th -

      • I need volunteers for Friday night (4), and for Saturday (7-8) volunteers. For giving directions, next fight runners, seating / crowd assistance, ticket taking, etc… Please let me know who could help! You’ll have free entry to the tournament and be fed throughout the day.

      • A FREE officials seminar (referee & judge) will be September 13th, 5-7pm, as well as early weigh ins at 5pm.

      • Saturday the 14th, weigh ins will commence at 9am, and first matches will begin at 11am.

      • Come watch Youth Team “Fight University” take on the region as they warm up for the World Championships in Indonesia this December! Divisions will be round-robin to get the competitors more mat time and experience as growing, elite athletes. Entry to watch will be $15.

EXECUTIVE WARRIOR TRAINING:

I’ve got room for just 3 more leaders wanting more for themselves and their lives in our Semi Private Sessions.

  • This is our private/semi private training session platform that has assisted, enhanced, and helped to advance many of our past and current members.

  • Our unique coaching, (Martial arts and combatives training, combined with the head space it affords, the physical demands it employs, and the wholistic approach to success it invokes), brings:

    • Clarity

    • Peace of mind

    • Innovative thought

    • Dynamic mind/body connection and upward cognitive momentum

    • Personal growth in their relationships, in business, both mentally and physically.

    • All have achieved new positions in their careers or even completely shifted their business lives for the better!

      The “single mindedness, peace, and empowerment” are just a few of the attributes our clients praise about the program. Here are a few of our current trainees you can reach out to and hear how this training has enhanced their lives: Joe Ramsey, Gerry Garwood, Jeremy Stalter, Mike Murphy, Steve Walker, Cap McCliney, Andrew Henson, Dwight Rhodes, or Gary Jackson. Then, let me know if you’re a candidate for this unique training! johnb@ironarsenaldt.com / Gym: 913-648-6868 / Office: 913-229-4742

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Last week’s PRs:

Let’s recognize those putting in that effort!

No results due to new programming! Keep hammering!!!

Metrics are important, and so are tracking them, to know where we’ve been, where we’re going, and how to navigate that path!

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Our Youth Martial Arts program is a great way to keep your child active and engaged during the school year!

Remember, part of our program is accountability to respectfulness to parents and elders, school grades, kindness, and leadership qualities!

We love having the opportunity to help instill work ethic, goal setting, mental and physical strength and empowerment skill sets and lessons for your kiddos!

Our Youth Martial Arts program has been keeping kids fit, active, learning life saving skills sets, and becoming world class competitors for over 40 years!

Click below to get your kids registered in our Youth Martial Arts & MMA Pograms!

3 month Youth Martial Art special + FREE uniform - $180

https://revgym.wodify.com/OnlineSalesPortal/PurchaseByKeyEntry.aspx?Key=kzUh7kG8W73eExG8CRPxG7u5K

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Please post and share our gym specials to friends and family!

  • 1 month special - All access for $79

https://revgym.wodify.com/OnlineSalesPortal/PurchaseByKeyEntry.aspx?Key=vYGT39qhx2EQGQwAEBRbcvu27

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THIS WEEK:

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING:

  • SPEED & ENDURANCE + LACTIC THRESHOLD

    • Get your track shoes on!

      • Be prepared to run almost every day this week

    • Functional, short burst, explosive movements on repeat

    • Extra stretching and mobility before and after sessions!

    • Up your everything intake.

    • If you have creatine, NMN, glutathione, and TMG… take it. If not… get some.

    • Take up to 1/3 of your first protein dose 30 min prior to training.

    • Push the remainder of your first protein within 20-30 minutes after your training.

    • Get your water, electrolytes, & aminos.




MARTIAL ARTS / MMA:

  • 8 Weeks Out 7/8

  • Striking to grappling for positional control and set ups to finish

  • Head & Arm series from everywhere

  • Kesa series

    • Striking

    • Arm locks

    • Wrist locks

    • etc…

  • Head lock & lock series from sprawls

    • Anaconda

    • D’Arce

    • Guillotine

    • Kimura


  • Submissions from the bottom - set ups from sweep attempts

    • From bump or upa sweep

    • From head smash/peel

  • Varied sweeps from bottom for guard, side control, kesa, and mount.

  • Underhook escape side control to:

    • jump in triangle

    • sweep

    • sit out to anaconda or d’arce

  • Side control escapes:

    • Ghost

    • Tuck foot to half butterfly sweep

    • Double underhook body to reverse shrimp out

    • Single arm ghost pass + arm pit anchor to bridge sweep to North/South sink choke

  • Side control to opportunistic kimura, armbars

  • Range management in & out for striking and grappling flow.




YOUTH MARTIAL ARTS / MMA:

  • 8 Weeks Out 7/8

  • Setting up O’Soto, Ogoshi ,Tai o’ Toshi, Harai, & Sag trips

  • Finding the “Inside Rip” to offset opponent/assailant for the above

  • Catching kicks to takedowns

  • Mount sweeps

  • Speed/Reflex drills

  • Counters, Sprawling after striking is countered.

  • Power striking, combinations to throws

  • Self Defense -Hapkido - Anti bullying




IRON ARSENAL DEFENSIVE TACTICS / COMBATIVES:

  • Striking on entry to evade, escape, control compliance, finish.

  • Level I - Close crash entries to duck under:

    • 2 on 1 at “Backstop”

    • Standing D’arce,

    • Standing armbar to overhook break to throat compliance

    • Head and arm choke / takedown

    • Back take and rear sag or RNC variations

      • “Climb the rope”

      • “Rattle the Cage”

    • Crash entries from high / low combinations

      • Develop ability to crash anywhere along the combination chain

  • Utilizing strikes from duck under position in transition

  • Damage along the way - knees, elbows, - opportunistic targets

  • Level II - catching chokes from 2 on 1 (standing)

  • Passing arm from anmaki to 2 on 1 or wristlock

  • Escape from standing holds to backstop position

  • #DirtyJudo from “Backstop”

    • Reverse Seonagi

    • Uchi mata

    • Arm bar “pop” to C-Lock wrist throw

    • Arm bar “pop” to sit out arm bar and wrist lock

    • Counter to assailant pull or turn in:

      • Kubinagi

      • Harai

      • O’Soto

  • Utilizing secondary and tertiary weapon deployment amidst attack

  • Weapon retention

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Allow yourself the time to not just see the sun, but feel the sunlight… the same goes for those that light up your way, and your day… do not take their brightness for granted… feel them, respect them, know their sacrifice that is feeding you life.

John MFN Brown 

John Brown