Video Montage - 130622

Here's a montage of some of the things the guys did on Saturday. Enjoy!

Officer's Report - 130622

Our last day of FONC is in the books. We got the cadets up at 0600 and put then through an early-morning CrossFit challenge. Here's what they did:

"The Gauntlet"

Pull Ups, 30 reps

50 m dash

Ground to Overhead, 25 lbs, 60 reps

50 m dash

Sit Ups, 90 reps

50 m dash

Kettle Bell Swings, 54 lbs, 30 reps

50 m dash

Wall Ball Shots, 20 lb ball / 10 ft target, 30 reps

50 m dash

Push Ups, Hand Release, 60 reps

50 m dash

Box Jumps, 20" box, 60 reps

50 m dash

Burpees, 30 reps

50 m dash

A killer workout. One cadet (Joseph Robinson, nickname "16 Minutes") finished the job in 21:48. Excellent job, son!

The guys ate come breakfast after their morning workout before working with Ryan Reser - a world-class judo player and Olympian - for a hour. Ryan adapted judo takedowns to street situations. It was a great class:

Immediately after their session with Ryan, the guys had the opportunity to work with Rafael Rosendo - a world-class Brazilian Jiu Jitsu player. Rafael demonstrated a number of submissions, breaking them down into discreet steps. Fact it, BJJ is a science. No kidding. It's the science of grappling - a thinking man's sport.

Next we ate lunch and then had a final session with Igor Yakimov.

After working with Igor, the cadets helped break down the judo camp and cleaned up the training facility:

Finally, we ate dinner (pizza - so much for the paleo/zone diet tonight!), watched the movie "Rudy" and hit the hay. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow: Graduation Day.

Movie Night & Life Lesson

We watched the movie "Rudy" tonight - a tradition the last night of FONC. "Rudy" is truly an inspirational movie. It deals with dedication. It deals with perseverance. It deals with setting and achieving goals. It deals with "having heart."

In the end, "having heart" is a choice. A choice we make every time we are challenged in any way. No, it has nothing to do with talent. Or abilities. Or God-given attributes. It has to do with choosing not to quit - ever. And developing this characteristic is an essential ingredient in becoming a man. Indeed, it's probably one of the most valuable character traits that one could possess.

I am very, very proud of each and every cadet that will be graduating tomorrow. Every one of them. They are finishers. They persevered. They showed heart. They got to the end of a very challenging training. They persevered.

Thank you for the opportunity to work with your cadets this week. It is my prayer that each of these cadets emerges from this training as men. Men ready to take charge. Men ready to persevere any trial that comes their way.

Video Montage - 130620

Here's a video montage from Thursday's training. Thanks, LTJG Gould, for putting this together.

Video Montage - 130621

Here's a video montage from yesterday's training. Thanks, LTJG Gould, for putting this together.

Officer's Report - 130621

On Friday morning we woke the cadets up at 0600 and put them through a CrossFit workout consisting of a quarter mile run followed by 50 squats, then another quarter mile run followed by 50 push ups, then another quarter mile run followed by 50 sit ups, with a final quarter mile run followed by 25 burpees (one of the nastiest body weight exercises known to man). Here's what a burpee looks like:

After completing this workout I instructed the cadets on how to achieve the north-south position and in how to submit an opponent from north-south.

After this, Igor dropped by the training facility to work some more with the cadets. He even demonstrated the infamous "Russian Can Opener" on a few volunteers - a painful, but effective, technique.

After training with Igor, the guys ate lunch (cold cuts, salad and fruit) and then watched a wide range of martial artists (Judo, Japanese Jiujitsu, Kendo, etc.) demostrate their skills at the annual judo camp nearby. We let the guys rest the remainder of the day - tomorrow starts with a surprise....

Officer's Report - 130620

 We woke the guys up at 0600 today and started the day off right - grappling!

Afterwards, we had our usual breakfast (protein shakes, yogurt, fruit and almond butter). Then we got in some grappling instruction and drills (the mount and the single leg takedown). We even got in a good CrossFit workout (8 rounds - 20 sec work / 10 sec rest - each of pull ups, push ups, sit ups and squats).

Then it was time to work with Igor Yakimov. World judo and Russian Sambo champion. Igor was trained by the Russian Army. He's a very, very colorful character:

We ate lunch (hamburgers and hot dogs) and had a session with Tom Reiff - a 7th degree black belt and a 20-year Navy man. Tom worked with the cadets on stick fighting. Specifically, the ordinary walking cane. There are literally 101 uses for a cane! Who knew?

Afterwards, we ate dinner (chicken sausages, tossed salad, carrots, blueberries and almond butter). Then the  guys had some down time. Some went swimming, some played basketball, some grappled (I did), and some simply rested. After cleaning up the facility we had another "Values & Vices" discussion. This time we talked about teamwork and encouragement - how iron sharpens iron. It was lights out at 2300. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.