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What’s the weekly mettle maker?
Training tips and educational info in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? Mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”
Mettle maker #455: Intent is the secret sauce
EMAIL IS BACK UP: Thanks to everyone who offered help and gave insights on the problem, and thanks especially to my friend Kevin for remoting in to the rescue!
This is an update of Mettle Maker #178. The heart is the center, the core, where everything begins and ends. In martial arts, whether it’s martial sports or self-defense, heart is what ultimately determines the outcome. What is it, in your heart of hearts that you intend to do? Your attacker has an intent — the intent to extract pain and/or treasure from you. To hell with the treasure. But you need to have the intent to protect your loved ones, to protect yourself, and to get everyone home safely.
Form. Spend 15 minutes working on your form. How do you do that? Here are some ideas: break down a technique by practicing it slowly, get in front of a mirror and analyze your movement, practice a mettle drill with extreme exactness, etc.
Instinct. Spend 15 minutes working on your action and reaction. If you have a partner, work flow drills. If you’re flying solo, run flow drills with your heavy bag, grappling dummy, floor bag, etc.
Intent. Spend 15 minutes honing your intent with meditation. Intent is the secret sauce that makes everything you do open up like a flower. Think of a suitable phrase, about a dozen words, that embodies your intent. Pick a famous quote from your choice of wisdom literature — like “Be ye therefore perfect as your father, which is in heaven, is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) or “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7) Set a timer for 15 minutes and assume your meditative posture of choice. Mentally recite the first half of the phrase as you breathe in. Hesitate with lungs full and airway open as you mentally recite the second half of the phrase. Recite the first half as you breathe out. Hesitate with lungs empty and airway open as you mentally recite the second half of the phrase. This phrase, when split and used in this manner, will focus your mind and gently cycle you into box breathing. Repeat until the timer beeps.
Record. And, as always, record your results and thoughts in your training journal.
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All past or present participants in our programs are asked to please attend the Heritage Huddle on Monday, 4/28/25 at 8 PM ET. CLICK HERE to join the Google Meet. If you can’t make it, share your comments via email or comment below.
Agenda for April 28th Meeting
1. Should we update and shorten the Heritage Oath? The old oath from back in 2009 has generated some complaints (both in the past and more recently) on the basis that it is too long, has a kind of “new agey” tone, and doesn’t comport with Heritage Arts’ message and mission.. To address those concerns, I propose that it should be revised by light of the fact that Rough 'n' Tumble is America's martial art. Our oath should more fully echo and embody the words of America's founding documents and iconic leaders. It also needs to be abbreviated and made less objectionable.
Two Proposed Revisions:
1. "To North, South, East, and West we send our plea, that we may be blessed by our Creator and touched by the better angels of our nature, training with Sincerity and in true Liberty, embodying the virtues of Wonder, Sagacity, Frugality, Indomitability, and Fraternity. Ex Gladio Scientia*. Ruh!"
2. “Between North and South; East, and West we stand; we thank our Creator and call on the better angels of our nature, that we may learn with humility, teach with common sense, train with courage, and live together in true Liberty. Ex Gladio Scientia. Ruh!"
Original Oath:
"To North, South, East, and West, to our higher powers and better selves, we ask and send our blessings; that we may train with sincerity, outside the influence of evil forces, and successfully embody the five virtues of Heritage Rough 'n' Tumble: Wonder, Sagacity, Frugality, Indominability, and Fraternity. Willed, spoken, and done. Ex Gladio Scientia."
2. Two part question. A) What should we do about John Doe? B) Should we do away with the constitutional trial for distance learners, leaving it in place only for face-to-face clubs? For the first time in the club’s history, someone has “failed” the constitutional trial — a distance learner we’ll call John Doe.. Clearly I gave him a trial that was too hard. And on top of that, due to the complexity of the instructions, I think it’s possible that he tried to run it straight through without breaking it up into circuits or anything, and/or he was too proud to take sufficient breaks, which made it effectively impossible. If the trial had been administered face-to-face this could’ve been prevented. What do we do about John? It feels strange, and kind of a let-down, to just give him the Yellow bandana. I propose that we ask him to perform an additional one-off feat from this list of 25 options: 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 16, 31, 36, 41, 45, 50, 63, 79 - 88, 98, and 100.
In addition, my feeling is that it's far too easy to misjudge someone's fitness level when relying upon just written training logs, and that we should do away with the constitutional trial for distance learners and require one of the 25 one-off feats listed above. Face to face administration of the trial provides proper supervision and prevents both disappointment and injury — judges and organizers can watch the person, force breaks, ensure safety, and prevent failure.
3. Should we unify and update the bandana rank colors? Technically, the bandana colors for distance learning are different from the ones awarded to guys who train face-to-face. At present, distance learning colors are bright and fraternal colors are muted (Yellow vs. Khaki, Blue vs. Navy, etc.). The highest distance learning rank is Black, and highest fraternal rank is Buffalo Check. For fairness, consistency, and to prevent confusion, I propose that we unify the colors so that everyone is the same: White, Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, Brown, and Black — and that the Buffalo Check bandana be awarded to Black Bandana members who start new clubs in their hometowns.
* Our Latin motto, Ex Gladio Scientia, means “From the Sword comes Knowledge.” It expresses our desire to learn about ourselves and the world through our study of martial arts, and it references the sword of discernment. In Hebrews 4:12 we read, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Holy Eucharist is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 10 am EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy Eucharist, CLICK HERE.
Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter 4/27/25 – Father Mitch
Readings: Acts 5:12-16, Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24, Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19, John 20:19-31
John 20:19-31 World English Bible
When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle and said to them, “Peace be to you.”
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit! 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.”
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus,§ wasn’t with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 After eight days, again his disciples were inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being locked, and stood in the middle, and said, “Peace be to you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me,† you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
30 Therefore Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
My favorite Western movie is called Bite the Bullet. At one point in the film an impulsive young man rides his horse too hard. With total lack of consideration for the animal’s wellbeing, he spurs the horse to its death. The hero, played by the late, great Gene Hackman, tells the young rider to dig a hole and bury the animal with his bare hands. Before he leaves, Hackman repeats the order and tells a witness to watch and make sure the young man accepts the punishment and completes the task – or else. After Hackman leaves, the young man asks the witness if Hackman is serious.
The witness replies, “Must be, he said it twice.”
In our gospel reading today, Jesus says not twice, but three times, “Peace be with you.” Jesus often repeats himself. Repetition of phraseology has been a part of human discourse as far back as we have written proof. Experts believe that repeated patterns and phrases originated as a way for storytellers to memorize and recite oral tales before the invention of writing. But I believe the reverse is true: repetition helps the listener remember. Even cave paintings have repeating motifs. Advertising agencies know that the way to get customers is to expose viewers to the same words and jingles as many times as possible. All of us have had the experience of humming a stupid jingle in spite of ourselves, I’m sure. Repetition is a technique used by all leaders, coaches, and teachers worth their salt. If you want people to remember an idea, you say it often, and you say it the same way every time.
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says three times, “Peace be with you.” But why?
Putting ourselves in the room, we can imagine the situation. Jesus has not only risen from the dead and come to be with them inside a locked room – with the wounds of his crucifixion still visible! – he has come to give them authority within the church to forgive sins. In the Jewish tradition, only God can forgive sins. Imagine how shocking it must have been to see and hear all of this. Shocked by the scene, and shocked by a new doctrine, it’s reasonable to assume that the disciples were filled with turmoil that needed to be quieted. Perhaps that’s why he says “Peace be with you” three times.
And add to that what is happening with Doubting Thomas. By appearing when Thomas is not present, Jesus has orchestrated a display to illustrate a point. Doubting is natural, and doubting is good. The disciples are encouraged to be skeptical, and rewarded for being so. Jesus is teaching them to be at peace with skeptics who do not believe Jesus is the Son of God who rose from the dead after three days. Jesus says, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
This culture is increasingly intolerant of Christian claims. We often hear atheists say that God is an imaginary “invisible friend” or hear the Son of God referred to as “Zombie Jesus.” In this environment, it’s not easy for unbelievers to overcome skepticism and find faith. Nor is it easy for us as believers to push down feeling defensive or even offended. But we should not allow things like this to perturb us. We must follow Jesus’ example and be understanding with skeptics. Jesus blesses doubt and blesses those who overcome it when he says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Jesus is telling the disciples to be at peace with skepticism. Does he mean it? Is he serious?
He must be. He said it three times.
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§ 20:24 or, Twin
† 20:29 TR adds “Thomas,”
