Brews, Barbells, Badassery, and Bohurt

It has been a while since I have home brewed. After moving to North Carolina, time just got away from me. Then I bought a keggerator and my life was filled with great  kegs of beer I could easily buy without having to waste a half day making my brew. Then a GoRuck Tough buddy donated his entire homebrew supplies to me on top of my mountain of gear I had to make all grain. I couldn't turn it down, and I sure wasn't about to just let it go to waste. So, after a major garage renovation, I had room to store my gear and I finally decided to dust off my old recipes and make something new. This batch will be an experiment as I am changing my tried and true recipe to something a little lighter and should have a simpler finish. Most of my melomels have a silky finish and very high alcohol volume. This should be around the right alcohol volume and hopefully has the lighter, fresher finish. I have made many different versions of mead. My preference of course is always to the s...

Picture from New World Cup 2017 “We’re teaching our players: Sleep is a weapon.” — Sam Ramsden, Dir. of Player Health and Performance, Seattle Seahawks   I first really started to pay attention to sleeping after one of my favorite professional strongman competitors talked about how he uses a CPAP machine. He went on to say it helped him recover faster, and get much more quality sleep. As you get stronger, specifically powerlifting or strength training, your neck gets thicker. This could lead to sleep problems by obstructing the airflow you need as you sleep. Others like myself fall into the category of just bad genetics whereby the mouth and the nasal cavities are formed in such a way to be the perfect storm for sleep apnea. It didn't help that I was also overweight   Sleep is an important component of maintaining your health and performance. For Bohurt athletes in particular, proper sleep is a weapon in their arsenal for overall success.  Worceste...

And... I am back. Here is my new video for this week. If you can't watch the YouTube video, you can listen to the audio version here: I needed some time to change my programming and training to answer the demand of becoming the best fighter I possibly can be on the field. I have done a lot of soul searching and put in a lot of work. The results are amazing. I have lost over 50 pounds, kept most of my strength, I have more explosive power, and now I have more capacity to keep fighting more than ever. I have become exponentially better than I was just a year ago. A picture of me fighting at ITOC 2107 with my Step Mom To keep track of my current progress, follow me on Instagram @grumpystrongman. You can also go to  @grumpystrongman . So, what is changing? My goal is to post weekly which will include photos, videos, and general ideas as I find them on my journey to be the best I can possibly be. I even created a new YouTube channel that you can subscribe to. Th...

So, you are still sticking with this 'medieval fighting' thing? Well, good! But realize that the only easy day was yesterday whippersnapper and it is time to step up your game. You cannot expect to perform better just because you bought armor and you get together a few times a month to hit each other. More importantly, you have to take a careful look at what you suck at and OWN THAT SHIT. We all have things that we are great at. Rarely in the gym do I see guys or gals focusing on weaknesses. It is always focusing on what you are comfortable with. Runners will run, lifters will lift weights, yogi's will yoga, and then you have those weird super-set guys who run around with weighted vests, screaming, and doing high reps of everything in this weird cycle of whatever. One thing that I am sure most people fall short in is in Conditioning and Recovery. Conditioning is basically getting your body physically fit with a regimen of exercises. What does that mean for us? Well, ...

Got all Viking at Disney's Epcot over Christmas Holiday Hello fellow steel fighters, nerds, and general bad-asses. I know that it has been a few weeks since you have had a blog post from your favorite bearded warrior. So, it is a new year and time to remedy that. Since my last post, a lot of things have happened. While it means a few changes,  most of it for good, and some bad. But life isn't about sitting around and wasting your days. It is about getting the most of life through experiences and relationships. So, for 2017, I have set my Steel Fighting Calendar. I am adding events as I hear about them. If you have one not listed, let me know and I will add it. My goal is to travel and fight and much as possible. You can find that calendar at the link below. This calendar includes ACL, HMB, AMCF, and other organizations events. MOST EPIC BOHURT / STEEL FIGHTING CALENDAR FOR 2017 So, let's get the bad out of the way... So, let's get the bad out of the way. F...

Merry Christmas and Happy Armored New Year pic from  www.skotcher.com So, you have one of those crazy people in your life who like to play with swords and whack each other about in tin cans. Sure, we all know they are crazy. However, putting them in straight jackets and sending them off to some asylum may seem excessive. So, instead of giving in to your inner urges and screaming at them, here are a few ideas for shopping for your modern medieval warrior. One other point of clarification. I make no money suggesting these items. I am doing it so I can continue to hit others as much as possible. Is that too much to ask? 1. Forged Foam HMB starter set ($140). No matter what league you fight in, having a soft-kit training set is essential to practice fighting in a safe way. Nobody likes to fight alone, so here is a starter set for you and your favorite punching dummy! 2. Protect your noggin! Head protection is a must. I have been looking to change away from my normal dipped ...

Hello from your favorite bard of beardifulness  Did you ever hear that term 'mastering the basics' in high school or other team sports? I remember my dad drilling into me over and over the power of basics when it came to martial arts. Kicking, striking, moving, speed, and timing where yelled at me as I oafishly struggled to become the image of my father's design. I remember my high school football coach drilling us over and over until our reactions became instinctual. What really is happening, is that through drilling and practicing the basics over and over, you remove a lot of extraneous movements, along with mental distractions. You simply get to the point of doing what you need to do exactly as it was designed and taught. Once you have gained that mastery of precision, you can add additional knowledge, techniques, or processes due to the simple fact that those movements are instinctual and no longer need the amount of mental energy in order to perform them. Your...

Hello from my sexy bearded self.... First of all, I am in no way a model of perfection. Do not look to me for tips on shredding fat, getting ready for summer bodies, or to look pretty for your Instagram photos. I literally do not have the expertise to get you there. Who am I before you take my advice: 40 years old,  Big, Bearded, Sexy 1995 Heavy Weight Kick Boxing Champion Masters Rank in Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do Multiple other black belts Amateur Strongman Amateur Power Lifter Spartan Death Racer GoRuck Junky Endurance Sports Nut Job Ultra-marathon Runner (completed the Huff 50k, and Dances with Dirt Devil's Lake 50k) Spartan Racer and Trifecta Holder So be prepared, I am speaking from my personal experience as to what I am doing to make sure that I am perfectly healthy and capable of doing the crazy stuff I do. In particular, training for and preparing to fight on an International level in Steel Combat ( ACL  /, HMBUSA/   AMCF ). This type of sport...

Bearded Awesomeness Two weeks post International Tournament of Chivalry and things are really ramping up. I have started to move my training from body weight focused back to getting under the bar. I haven't done any power-lifting for several months during this training cycle. Getting back under the bar this week, I was still able to hit 545 pounds for two reps on my squat. To me, there is nothing better than throwing iron around and meeting the challenge of making gains. While strength isn't everything in Knight Fights, for guys my size who won't be as fast or mobile in the list, it does allow us to the ability to hit hard and stand our ground. One of the big take aways from ITOC was that grappling is important, but furious striking combined with focused areas to strike gave the Russian team and other top teams and advantage. For the last two training weekends, we have combined the training concepts shared by the Iron Phoenix team, with the some of the ideas being sh...