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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.” Want to cultivate your rough ‘n’ tumble mettle? Complete one of our 100 Feats!
Mettle maker #472: Nine Throws and Takedowns
Not accidentally, all nine of the takedowns and throws in this curriculum lead to either Scarf Hold or Side Control position on the ground. They all dovetail with the Hook Mettle Drill. Again, we are not sport players. We are not looking to train exotic moves to outsmart competitors. We are self-defense fighters who want functional, bread-and-butter old-school moves that have withstood the test of time.
The Nine Throws and Takedowns of Heritage Rough ‘n’ Tumble
Hip Throw: From Rough ‘n’ Tumble Collar and Elbow, transition the bicep-riding hand into an underhook. Step between and across you and your adversary with the same-side foot and place your opposite hip beneath his hip. For example, if you have an underhook on the left side, step between and across with your left foot, placing your left hip beneath and against his left hip. As soon as you make contact and hips are matched, stand up just enough to get his feet to break contact with the floor. Lift, turn, and finish the throw. Pull out the underhooking arm and use it to take Scarf Hold.
Shoulder Throw: Unlike Hip Throw, which begins with an underhook of the same-side armpit, Shoulder throw begins with an underhook of the opposite side armpit. Opponents who stand tall and fail to keep their elbows tight are vulnerable. From Rough ‘n’ Tumble Collar and Elbow, grind the bicep-riding hand over the arm and take an overhook. Remove arm from the back of his neck, shoot it down between you, and underhook the arm at the armpit. Now you have an underhook and an overhook on the same arm. Step across with a low center of gravity and place your opposite hip against, and slightly lower than, his arm-side hip. Rise on your toes enough to break his toes’ contact with the ground. Lift, twist and throw him. He will essentially do a Side Deadfall. Retain the overhook. Slide out the underhook and take Scarf Hold. Be careful with your friends—do not throw people who have not perfected their Deadfalls!
Drop Shoulder Throw: From Rough ‘n’ Tumble Collar and Elbow, grind the bicep-riding hand over the arm and take an overhook. Remove arm from the back of his neck, shoot it down between you, and underhook the arm at the armpit. Now you have an underhook and an overhook on the same arm. Step across with a low center of gravity and go to your knees, doing an cross-ab-crunch to pull his arm forward and down. He will execute a Shoulder Roll. Retain the overhook. Transition the underhook and take Scarf Hold. Be careful with your friends—do not throw people who have not perfected their Shoulder Rolls!
Pinch Headlock Takedown: Starting from Collar and Elbow position, move the hand from the back of his neck all the way around to the side of his head on the far side. Insert middle finger in ear hole. Pull down and turn his head. At the same time, lift up on the underhooked side and put your forehead into his clavicle on the underhooked side. Take either a Gable Grip or an S-Grip and pull out all the slack. There should be no space between you, and his face should be glued to your chest. You now have a Pinch Headlock. Step backward and make him walk forward until the foot on his underhooked side is forward. Place your mirror foot inside his (your left inside his right or vice versa). Pivot away from the underhook, turn, and take him down. Transition the underhook to Scarf Hold and begin working the Hook Mettle Drill.
Scarf Hold Takedown: When attacking with Scarf Hold, pivot and lower him to the ground. Be careful – he may topple awkwardly, causing your full weight may fall onto his chest causing a rib separation or break.
Sag Headlock: Starting in Collar and Elbow position, push and pull him back and forth until his weight is forward and the foot that is forward is on the same side where you have the collar tie. In other words, if you have your right hand on the left-rear side of his neck, his right foot must be forward. Punch the arm that is behind his neck out, over and down. This is Rough ‘n’ Tumble, so strikes are grabs and grabs are strikes! At the same time, pull his elbow down and pivot in place, turn, relax your lower body and sag into him. In this position he cannot support your weight, and he will come down. Careful not to fall on his chest too hard. Starting now in Scarf Hold, begin to work through the Hook Mettle Drill.
Bar & Chancery Drop: Execute a Snap-down. Once his head is down, overhook the neck. Reach under the armpit of the other side, scoop up the arm, and reach for the far pocket. This will lift his shoulder on that side. Drag him backwards. When his same side foot is forward – for example, his right root is forward and his right shoulder is lifted – put your same side foot inside his forward foot, and spiral him to the ground.
Cow Catcher: This variation of a Bar and Chancery Drop can be used against single and double-leg takedowns. Start by habituating your leg defense. As soon as he begins his shot (his weight begins to lower and his arms begin to reach out), flex your knees, get lower, and snag his head and one arm. His head will be off center – either on the left or the right of the center line. Overhook his head with the arm on that side, in a manner similar to the way you might begin a Guillotine Choke. Underhook his arm on the opposite side, reaching for the far pocket as soon as your underneath. You will be in a kind of crouching Bar and Chancery Drop position. Do a deep rear lunge on the head control side and spin him onto his back. Either finish with the Flat Crank or remove the arm from his head and transition to Scarf Hold.
Rear Body Lock Takedown: Getting to this position can be achieved in a number of ways, but a Drop Duck-under, Slide-by or Shrug is the most common. When you are behind or beside your opponent and you have your arms around his waist (maybe you even have one are two arms encircled as well), you can take him to the ground quite easily. Simply place your far foot behind his far foot to keep him from being able to step backward, sit back, and he wall fall over your leg. As he does, follow him over take either Side Control or spin to Top Saddle.
If you don’t know these techniques, sounds like you need a good coach and/or program.
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Homily for the Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time 8/24/25 – Father Mitch
Readings: Isaiah 66:18-21, Psalm 117:1, 2, Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13, Luke 13:22-30
Luke 13:22-30 World English Bible
Jesus went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and traveling on to Jerusalem. 23 One said to him, “Lord, are they few who are saved?”
He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen up and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ then he will answer and tell you, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 He will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God’s Kingdom, and yourselves being thrown outside. 29 They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in God’s Kingdom. 30 Behold, there are some who are last who will be first, and there are some who are first who will be last.”
A man asks, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" And Jesus doesn’t give him a direct answer. It’s a yes-or-no question. Why doesn’t the Lord answer yes-or-no? Because the question reveals wrong thinking. Instead of a “yes” or “no,” Jesus tells a parable about entering by the narrow gate. He says that the people will say, “We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets” but that those from faraway places, from the four corners of the globe, will come and “sit down in God’s Kingdom” for “there are some who are last who will be first, and there are some who are first who will be last.”
The man’s question, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" reveals a flawed perspective. He’s looking at things from the wrong angle. Jesus cannot reply to the yes-or-no question with a yes-or-no answer – Jesus has to utterly change this man’s viewpoint. The man is asking how many tickets are available for the show. Essentially his is saying, “Are there a limited number of tickets for getting into the Big Stadium in the Sky?”
Jesus’ answer makes it clear that this is not a spectator sport. This is not a pro-baseball game where we get our hotdog or our popcorn, watch and listen. We need to put on a uniform and get down on the diamond. This is not a concert. We need to get our instrument, walk down to the stage, and play. Jesus says that the people will say, “We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.” Worship is not about proximity. We can’t get “good seats” to the Kingdom of God. It’s not about being nearby, or watching, or anything of the kind.
As we see in the passages just before today’s reading, Jesus has been teaching that God’s Kingdom is like “a grain of mustard seed which a man took and put in his own garden. It grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the sky live in its branches.” (Luke 13:19). He has been saying that the Kingdom is, “like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” (Luke 13:20). What Jesus is looking for is a fundamental change from within. He wants his seed to sprout within us so that we can grow and bloom. He wants the leavening of his Word to transform us from dry flour into rich, moist, delicious bread.
Jesus wants participation. He says, “there are some who are last who will be first, and there are some who are first who will be last.” God’s Kingdom isn’t a sporting event or a concert where, if we show up late and from far away, there’s no getting in because the event is sold out. When it comes to God’s Kingdom, we can show up any time, and there are no tickets. And it is not a show – it is a gathering together of all the faithful in Christ. It is a union with God.