Krav Maga - A True Blessing and Gift

The name itself means "contact combat" in Hebrew.  It is a system founded by Imre Lichtenfeld, a very courageous man who had the fire to resist during the 1930's and beyond.  It has been developed extensively by the Israeli military, drawing off a number of various styles of martial arts, ranging from judo, to akido, to boxing, and others.

Its very symbol has an opening in it, signifying the openness to new ideas and evolving.  It is focused on practicality and things that work.  Techniques effective for an abundance of situations are what is emphasized.

The workouts are intense and strenuous, challenging you to give it your all.  I can testify to the results, as Krav Maga has been at the core of my workouts for over the past 18 months, a period that has seen me drop over 170 lbs and 8 pants sizes as I set my mind on regaining myself.  Growing up I had training in Kung-Fu, Wu-Shu and Karate, but nothing ever resonated with me like Krav Maga has.

I wrote a recent post on Retzev, a mindset at the core of Krav Maga that reflects it's Hebrew meaning, essentially "continuous motion".  I absolutely love the dynamic core of this approach, to Krav Maga itself and how its mindset can be applied to all aspects of life.

Everyone that knows me has heard me say how it is of utmost importance to keep moving forward, to keep moving onward and upward.  Retzev reflects that, and that is reinforced each and every day in my training.

From combative drills to combinations, from flexibility work to conditioning exercises, to heavy bag work, my core workout is constantly evolving with what's in it and the techniques practiced. I can say without doubt that I give it my all in every workout, everything is left behind when I finished, and a soaked t-shirt is thrown in the laundry bin.

From fitness to mindset, Krav Maga has been a blessing and gift.  I spring out of bed in a limber state in the morning, and am at a weight I haven't seen since I was 21.  I am very confident in being able to handle myself in self-defense situations and can happily "talk down" an aggressive person knowing that if they cross the line and initiate aggression I am going to be able to handle it efficiently, powerfully and very quickly.

Every day I feel stronger, faster, and more youthful.  The essence of what I train in fits my physical strengths well, and are efficient in every way.

I am very grateful for the gift of Krav Maga.  It is a system open to new input and development, it is focused on things that work, and it delivers in so many spheres, mentally, physically, and even spiritually.

Keep moving forward.  Retzev!!!

Just a Few Updates Both Personal and Book-related

This week and last week have been incredibly busy. Blog tours are definitely big projects for an author, at least if you want to do one justice.  I've had two back to back, one coinciding with the release of Hellscapes, Volume II last week and this week for Heart of a Lion.

The posts, interviews, and reviews have gone very well. I got several amazing reviews for Hellscapes, Volume II, and have already added a couple more good ones for Heart of a Lion this week.  I hope everyone is enjoying the guest posts and interviews, as they do shed more light on my personal world, my writing, my approaches to writing, and both Hellscapes II and Heart of a Lion in particular.  It does take a lot of work to do a blog tour.  For example, I rounded out three guest posts today that totaled about 4,100 words.  That's a good chunk of output, writing-wise.

I really make every effort to make each post special and I think that comes across to anyone who reads of them.  I put in the extra effort out of respect for the blog hosts and readers, as I want to give both my very best.  I really enjoyed putting together the three new posts, one that has a list of theme songs I picked for Heart of a Lion, another that lists my "sweet sixteen" of all-time fantasy movies, and one that discusses five of my most inspirational heroines from history, legend and screen.

The blog tour for Heart of a Lion wraps up Sunday, and then the Fire HD 8 contest I sponsored that covered both tours (Heart of a Lion and Hellscapes, Volume II).  I intend to get a little downtime after that as I've had the afterburner going solid for this period.

I have been hitting my training really hard.  Krav Maga workouts are really intensive and I have been seeing more progress physically.  I really look forward to the daily workouts, as they are a period in which I clear my mind and also let a lot of things out.  Today I had a Danzig playlist cranking on the speakers and I hit it hard. I have been having some of my best workouts ever lately and am very focused on my training.

Saturday I'll be going on a tour of the Wild Turkey Distillery, joining my good friends Eric and Kylie Jude, Rachel Jude, Lisa Marie Ross, Bobby Little and Robin Blankenship.  Time to get another stamp on my Bourbon Trail passport book.  Should be a lot of fun and I'm REALLY looking forward to it after going full throttle recently.

I'll close out with a photo of me with my brand new Pete's Wok t-shirt. As folks who know me are well-aware, Pete's Wok is my favorite eatery of all time, and Pete Spencer, the owner, inspired the Lee Chen character in my Fires in Eden series.  I sometimes eat there five times in a week.  Ahhh. the life of a bachelor (though I'd love to change that status, LOL).  But the food is great, I eat healthy, and I support a great family and their business.  A win-win all around! :)