Brews, Barbells, Badassery, and Bohurt

You have to be an athlete in the sport of Bohurt/Armored Combat/Steel Fighting/Deeds of Arms ath·lete ˈaTHˌlēt/ noun noun: athlete ; plural noun: athletes a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise. If you cannot watch the video, here is the audio: Having been in the martial arts my whole life, competing in full contact kickboxing, and your normal tournament style martial arts, one thing rings true. The better the athlete, the better the practitioner of the martial art.  Considering complex movements, strikes, speed, techniques, patterns, being able to close distances are all something someone can learn. Being a better athlete is simply makes all of these things easier. Not that an athlete will master every nuance of a particular art right from the beginning, they will however have a distinct advantage over those of equal background but have lessor athleticism. As an older fighter (abou...

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, ...

getting a picture from one of the ladies who made the Team USA taberds So I finally did it. I trained hard and succeeded in joining my fellow knights on the battlefield of Barcelona for Team USA's 21 man team. I lost seventeen pounds, hit new strength personal records, and I also had plenty of cardio to fight well. It was an honor to join these great men and women on the field to test our mettle against those who would stand against us. We won and lost on our own merits. We stood side by side and faced the challenges together. We broke bread, we made new friends. This is one experience and memories I will keep as a treasure and look fondly upon it as the first of what I hope to be many more campaigns. Below, I wish to dedicate my thoughts and time to communicate some of the lessons learned to travel abroad. I hope to reflect upon this so that I combine the thoughts of those who have shared many of these lessons before my writing this. Flight Mistakes When I purchased ...

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...