In a previous email, I asked your opinion about the most important body part to train if you want to be a great athlete or martial artist.

The response was bigger than HUGE.

Some believe it’s the neck, others the core, some said the lower back and hips, a couple said the thighs.

The grand majority, however, wrote back to claim it’s “the mind” or, more specifically, “the brain.”

None of the answers listed above are wrong – because you cannot train the body without also working the brain… or the mind.

The brain, body and mind are inter-connected. You cannot move a muscle without a connection through your brain and nervous system.

At the same time, there are exercises that I believe tap the brain faster than others. They require more brain power or juice than other movements.

And these exercises don’t require more juice because they’re more strenuous.

They simply connect to the brain much faster than other exercises.

Take your hands, as an example, which, oddly enough, were not mentioned by a single person who replied.

Your hands are a direct hook up to the brain.

They’re still not number one in my book, as far as top priority in training – but they are super close.

I’ll be going into detail on this on the FureyFaithful.com members site very soon.

In the interim, here’s one last chance at the 2-for-1 autograph book special.

Get on it now, my friend.

Matt Furey

A couple nights ago I was in Miami giving a conditioning and grappling clinic at a martial arts school.

The attendees ranged in age from five to well over fifty.

At first I wondered how I could teach such a diverse group and leave all of them with something of great value.

Then it came to me. Teach them to move the way a tiger moves, with all four paws on the ground, taking each step with a connection to the trunk.

Twas amazing to see some really strange tigers, some who dragged their hind legs behind the same way an alligator lugs his tail around.

At first, most of the people were totally disconnected physically. Instead of all four limbs melting into the core, they moved all four limbs haphazardly.

I demonstrated again and a wave of improvement spread throughout the room.

Most mornings when I walk outside, I get down on all four paws and crawl around the way a tiger does. I do my very best to imitate the big cat – as doing so helps you not only get fit much faster – it also helps increase neurological connections of the brain-body.

How long do I crawl this way?

Usually a minute or two.

That’s all you need if you do it every day.

I’ll be putting a video up on the FureyFaithful.com members site on the way of the tiger that I believe you”ll find incredibly beneficial.

Go there now and begin imagining the New You that is going to emerge in the New Year.

Matt Furey

Three weeks ago, I returned from my most recent trip to China.

While there I trained extensively in Tai Chi, learning how to use a weapon known as Guan Dao or Da Dao. In the western world we call it a halberd.

Prior to this trip, I had no experience with a weapon of this sort. And shortly after the training commenced, I caught myself jokingly asking, “And you chose this?”

It turned out to be the most incredible training I have ever received, mostly because I had to learn to move my feet, my hands, my body and a weapon in ways I had absolutely no experience.

On top of that, all the instructions were in Chinese, sometimes in words I was not familiar with.

I found myself struggling to memorize the patterns and the forms because there was no existing software in my brain for them.

It appeared that all my training in memory and super learning was out the window.

Then one afternoon, at the apex of frustration, I took out my notes, both the Chinese and the English versions, along with my hand-written notes.

I grabbed a pen and began to come up with different associations and names for each movement.

Instead of going by the Chinese name for the move, or the translated equivalency, I gave them English names that I could remember.

“Michael Jackson Moonwalking,” became one of the movements.

Another, a combination of Chinese and English, “Mao Zedeng flashes the leather.”

Or this one, “White monkey turns the cloud upside down.”

Within what seemed to be minutes, I had the form memorized (in my head), which was a huge plus.

Every sequence of moves now had a file and to my surprise, all the sub-movements within the overall movement were accessible.

Essentially, all the movements didn’t have a file my brain recognized, so they were scattered and irretrievable – until I put
an easy-to-remember label on each file.

The above illustrates why learning news ways to exercise, to train, to move – is always a high priority for me.

The more ways you learn to move your body, the more neurons you’re creating and the sharper your mind will be.

I’ll be covering this in more detail in the future, especially for members of the FureyFaithful.com membership site.

You’re welcome to take a look at the promo on the site to see if you think it’s got the goods you’re looking for.

Matt Furey