I’ll never forget the day when one of my teachers in China told me, “Most people will never figure this out, but the key to success with internal martial arts is not to train non-stop, constantly pushing yourself for more. It’s knowing that most of your training is resting. You train, then you rest and relax. The more you rest and relax, the faster your results.”

I had a tough time believing what this teacher told me, but I was willing to test it and see what happens. And guess what I discovered? I discovered that he was 100 percent spot on.

By using this method, within a short period of time, I was able to do things, flexibility and strength-wise, that I could never do before. My body was more connected and more functional than ever before.

Let me give you an example: In the evenings, when I typically do my qi gong training, I would push a big, heavy red sandalwood chair out of the way, giving me more space to practice.

One night, when I was finished going through several power postures, none of which I held to the point of fatigue or failure, I had so much energy that I was bubbling with excitement.

And then something amazing happened.

After I ended the session, I approached the heavy red sandalwood chair that I had slowly pushed out of the way. Now it was time to push it back to where it belonged. But something told me I didn’t need to push it back into its original space.

Why? Because I felt so much strength flowing through me that I believed I could just pick the chair up and carry it.

Huh?

I squatted low enough to get my weight under the arms of the chair. Then I grabbed onto it and easily hoisted it into the air, lifting it all the way to my chest. I walked across the floor slowly, and gently placed it back on the ground.

When I pushed the chair out of the way a half-hour earlier, it made noise as it slid across the floor. But when I hoisted it in the air, carried it, then put it down, I didn’t hear the slightest of sounds.

After lifting the chair this way, I was so pumped that I called my friend, Mark, a long-time martial artist, and told him what had happened.

“That’s qi power,” he said. “You’ve got it. If you trained the way you normally do, you would have been too tired to lift the chair and carry it. The method you’re following obviously works.”

Indeed, it does.

Instead of fighting myself, pushing myself outside my comfort zone, I started slowly and allowed my comfort zone to naturally expand.

Whether you’re a martial artist, an athlete or someone who wants to get into better condition without hurting yourself, Power Postures-Tiger Tendons is the way to go. 

And yes, by following this unique program, you’ll be rediscover the azz-kicker within.

Best,

Matt Furey

A few months ago, I watched a documentary on one of my childhood heroes, Vasily Alekseyev, from the 1972 and 1976 Olympics.

This mountain of a man was an Olympic weightlifter from the former Soviet Union who became the first person in history to clean-and-jerk 500 pounds (227 kilograms). His quest for Olympic Gold wasn’t even close. He destroyed his competition.

Imagine my surprise when I saw footage of this same man in his 50’s. He was no longer lifting 500 pounds over his head, or anything close. His body was racked with pain. In one particular scene, after he had been sitting on the grass talking with a reporter, he needed three people to help him get up from the ground.

Tragic, but true.

In the process of breaking one world record after another, this man appeared to turn into the very thing he was lifting: iron.

His body, instead of being supple, flexible and mobile, was now rigidified. Sadly, Alekseyev’s life ended far too early.

Was the pain Alekseyev suffered later in life for his heroic accomplishments worth it? The answer from him might have been, “YES!”

But what if there was a way to rejuvenate and regenerate his body that he wasn’t aware of. Could he have switched gears after his competitive days ended, and exercised in a way that would have restored him, helping him live pain free?

These are questions I have pondered and played with for many years.

Why?

Because I’ve been through the ringer in terms of injuries and joint pain, yet today, after changing from “hard style” and “pushing myself outside my comfort zone” to a softer and smarter approach, my body is more mobile and more agile than ever before.

And I’m teaching you all about this approach in my new course, Power Postures-Tiger Tendons.

You can go get it NOW, while the bonuses are still available.

Matt Furey

Let me talk a bit about Farmer Burns again. 

In his 1914 by-mail course, Lessons in Wrestling and Physical Culture, he taught a series of amazing exercises that you don’t see anywhere else, for strengthening the abdominals and the shoulders. 

People who follow the Farmer’s methods are astounded at how well they work, not only to strengthen the body but to reduce the waistline and eliminate shoulder pain. 

The Farmer mentioned in his course that his abdominals were soft when relaxed, but when he flexed them they became like steel. And if you wanted to challenge him and see if he could take a punch to his midsection, you were forewarned that you might hurt your hand.

Then there’s this notion: If you’ve got a gimpy, wimpy wrist, which many people do, is it possible that you could break your hand punching someone in the guts?

This may be thought of as an exaggeration, but the reality is you can develop an elasticity in the body, especially in the midsection, that springs to life and reverberates when you are pushed or struck.

It’s similar to taking a hammer to a basketball, perhaps even a Swiss ball. Strike the ball with all your might and you’ll be astonished with how inconsequential your blows are. The ball responds to each strike with a wave, sending the energy you used “right back atcha.” It’s possible that you may strike the ball so hard that the ball unintentionally sends a counter straight to your noggin. 

Farmer Burns had that elasticity thing going on. He knew what he was rapping about. And that’s why I continue to tell the world about the incredible value his course delivers. 

Get your copy NOW.

And if you already have it, take it out and go through it again. You’ll be amazed at how much you missed or overlooked the first time you went through it. 

Matt Furey

P.S. My new course is almost ready to launch. I planned on it going out today, but as the modified saying goeth, “Some things takes longer than you think.” Stay tuned for more. 

You hear a lot about how bad sitting is for you these days. Some go so far as to declare sitting worse than smoking.

But is sitting really bad for you? Is standing better for you than sitting?

Here’s the unvarnished truth: Sitting on a coach, sofa or chair all day long, especially in a slouched manner, isn’t great for your body. But sitting on the floor, or in a squat position, is good for you, especially when you are continually changing your position.

In some of my YouTube videos, you’ll see me begin talking from a squatting position, and sometimes I maintain this position for well over ten minutes. It’s not that hard to do, if you’re used to sitting this way, and if you can get into this position to begin with.

Oddly enough, many people cannot even get into a deep squat position. Even though it’s a natural position that you’ll see people in Asia sitting in for long periods of time, many westerners have gotten so accustomed to chairs that they cannot use their own body as a piece of furniture. The don’t have the leg strength or the flexibility. And that, my friend, is truly sad.

One day when I was in a supermarket, I saw an item on the bottom shelf that got my attention. Without thinking, I sat in my deep squat posture and stayed there as I studied the ingredients on the label. And I remained in this position as I examined other varieties of the same food.

One of the workers, who was standing behind me, remarked, “Man, if I tried to get into that position I think my knees would break.”

“And that’s exactly why it’s a good idea to work on sitting in this position,” I answered.

“I’m too old,” he said.

“What’s your age?” I asked.

“I’m 30.”

“Interesting. I got you beat by almost three decades.”

“Well, you obviously have great genetics,” he shot back.

“That’s what lazy people always say.”

The man stormed off.

Sometimes I’m not the kindest guy in the whirld, but I really don’t care to hear all the crap about genetics when the true answer is practice, training and your daily habits.

If your daily habit is to sit in a chair all day long, you’re going to lose flexibility, mobility and strength, regardless of your age and genetics.

On the other foot, if you sit in a squat, or on the floor in hundreds of different positions, you will gain strength and flexibility.

I believe in the benefits of standing. I also believe in the power of sitting.

I don’t sit in a squat or on the floor all day long, but I do spend significant periods of time close to the ground.

If you have a job that requires long hours of sitting, not to worry. You can counter it by doing as el Furecat teaches in his Combat Conditioning book and DVDs, as well as in that new course he’ll be launching next week.

Remember, you don’t need to stop sitting.

You can sit on the floor and change your body in a dramatic way.

Get on the ground, get moving, and you will get more living out of life.

Kick azz – take names!

Matt Furey

When I was in fifth grade, I got myself a paper route delivering the Omaha World Herald.

This was a life-changing moment for me because I had to get up at 5 AM. After getting up, I walked downstairs and found a stack of papers on the front porch. I put the papers in a canvas bag and positioned the cross-body strap over my left shoulder as the papers hung to the side of my right hip. And out the door I went.

Each day I walked a good three miles delivering to my customers, whilst those who delivered the Des Moines Register walked five or six blocks to deliver the same number of papers. My customers were usually located a block or more apart, while our competitor delivered to almost every household. Such was life in southwest Iowa.

I didn’t win any prizes for taking 90 minutes to do what other paperboys accomplished in a half-hour. But this first job began to develop my body, giving me strength and endurance.

One morning, when I was a good mile from home, I met an annoying competitive paperboy who was a few years older, and none the wiser. He used to greet me by hollering, “Long time no smell.”

He usually had a quart of chocolate milk in hand that he purchased from the milkman that was making home deliveries. He encouraged me to get some as well, so I approached the milk truck on the side of the road and bought my first quart.

It wasn’t long before I was hooked on chocolate milk. And it only took a couple weeks for the new habit to show its unsightly rolls.

Not only did I begin packing on extra unwanted pounds, but the profits I was seeing from my paper route dwindled down to nada.

My mom took note of both negatives.

She told me, “If you continue to drink chocolate milk every morning, you’ll not only have no money, but you will get so fat you will need to be rolled down the street.” When my mom said this, an image came to mind of the rolling pin she used when kneading flour in the kitchen.

No, no, no. Not the rolling pin.

So I gave up chocolate milk and haven’t touched it since.

I tell you this story because, for some inexplicable reason, these memories of my paper route days resurfaced yesterday, and I feel compelled to write about them in this email… so I’m going with the flow.

But… I also have some really great news that is “happening now.”

This morning we filmed a new product that will be available soon as a digital download, or on DVD. This is the first stand-alone health and fitness product I have created since 2007. Yikes! It’s been 15 years?

It sure has.

I realize you’ve waited a long time for something totally new from me, but it’s going to be more than well worth the wait.

This morning I was up at 6:45, getting my mind and body ready for the shoot that will begin to reveal the secrets I have learned over the last 15+ years on developing tendon strength, increasing mobility, healing injuries and recovering from exhausting workouts and/or stressful living.

I’ll let you know when this product goes live, as you WILL want to grab it as soon as it becomes available. I believe it will be ready within a couple weeks.

In the interim, you can prepare yourself for this course by following the exercises in my international best-seller, Combat Conditioning, as well as the 1914 Farmer Burns classic, Lessons in Wrestling and Physical Culture.

Both courses continues to turn old, tired and seemingly useless bodies into finely tuned machines.

Make sure you have them in your old-school library.

Kick azz – take names!

Matt Furey

By the Way… I see a lot of copywriters signing up for this email newsletter, and that’s wonderful. But it is also grossly insufficient. If you really want to learn the Fureyesque way of writing magnificent copy, become part of my Zen Mastery Group so you can really learn how it’s done. NOW!

When you get up in the morning but don’t feel ready for exercise, your body is not telling you to avoid it. It is telling you to get started slowly. It’s telling you to begin with exercises that gradually awaken the nerves and tissues. 

This morning I woke up early and although I wanted to exercise, I was not ready to jump into action immediately. So I coaxed by body to begin.

I began while lying on my bed. I started by moving my ankles and toes, wiggling them and rotating them. After this I moved to my hands, then my neck, hips, shoulders and legs. 

Within a couple minutes, the pumps were primed. I was now ready for more.

I got out of bed, walked across the floor, opened a sliding glass door, went outside and began to do the deep breathing, calisthenics and self-resistance exercises, that are in the classic 1914 Farmer Burns course, Lessons in Wrestling and Physical Culture.

All my movements started out slowly, but within “no time at all,” I was putting snap and ginger into them. 

With each passing minute, my movements were more dynamic and more connected. I felt strong, energized, relaxed and loose. And I was ready to take on the day with gusto.

That’s what happens when you begin your day in a natural way. That’s what happens when coax your body to do what it wants to do.

Start slowly and your body will tell you when it’s ready for more. And yes, it will want more because movement is how we give ourselves more life. And you do want more of that, eh?

The Farmer Burns course will give it to you – that’s why I’ve been recommending it for the past 24 years.

It kicks azz and takes names.

Here endeth the lesson.

Matt Furey

It’s always great to hear from customers. Today’s message is one that surprised me. Read on and discover why:

Hey Matt!
So I bought Combat Conditioning from you a while back, and I really liked it. I’m drawn to old-style physical culture, so when I found a copy of your reprint of Farmer Burns’s course, I jumped at it.

Really great course, but I wanted to tell you a story about how it helped me (feel free to use). I twisted something in my lower back/sacrum area, and could barely lean forward to touch my toes, lift my leg straight up, and so on. Even though I had the flexibilty, the spine was in defensive mode and wouldn’t let me. Yesterday in the shower it occurred to me to do the (deep breathing isometric), while slowly moving through the positions I found difficult… and it cured me instantly! I realised it’s like pandiculation, and kind of ‘reset’ my body’s awareness of what it could do! So thank you!!
Alexander

M.F.  Truly awesome, Alexander. The Farmer Burns exercises can definitely help eliminate back pain, not to mention reducing the waistline, improving digestion, increasing energy and so on. Your results astound me, though. Typically I wouldn’t advise the exercise you did when you were in pain, but perhaps I need to rethink that one. Thanks for letting me know.

Matt Furey

It’s always great to hear from customers. Today’s message is one that surprised me. Read on and discover why:

Hey Matt!

So I bought Combat Conditioning from you a while back, and I really liked it. I’m drawn to old-style physical culture, so when I found a copy of your reprint of Farmer Burns’s course, I jumped at it.

Really great course, but I wanted to tell you a story about how it helped me (feel free to use). I twisted something in my lower back/sacrum area, and could barely lean forward to touch my toes, lift my leg straight up, and so on. Even though I had the flexibilty, the spine was in defensive mode and wouldn’t let me. Yesterday in the shower it occurred to me to do the (deep breathing isometric), while slowly moving through the positions I found difficult… and it cured me instantly! I realised it’s like pandiculation, and kind of ‘reset’ my body’s awareness of what it could do! So thank you!!

Alexander

M.F.  Truly awesome, Alexander. The exercises can definitely help someone with back pain, not to mention reducing the waistline, improving digestion, increasing energy and so on. Your results astound me, though. Typically I wouldn’t advise that exercise when you’re in pain, but perhaps I need to rethink that one. Thanks for letting me know.

Matt Furey

Last night I was speaking with a gentleman in his 60’s who has incurred various injuries in recent years. He told me that he’s moving away from extreme exercises, including weight training.

Why? Because he’s so banged up from following the extreme routines that he’s finally concluded that his body is a.) NOT a machine and that b.) he is not “bulletproof.” 

This man is now doing seemingly SIMPLE calisthenics, isometrics and breathing exercises that Farmer Burns teaches in his 1914 course, Lessons in Wrestling and Physical Culture, and he’s stunned at how effective they are.

“These exercises change your body fast and yet you would think they couldn’t based on how easy they appear in the illustrations,” he said. 

“Simple exercise is profound. And simple exercise wins,” I replied. 

At some point, you are wise to realize that your own exercise routine must be one that you can follow for a lifetime. If you beat your head into a post, there is a price to be paid down the road. You may think you’re invincible when you’re doing it, but you’re not.

Hone and practice the basics until they become profound.

The Farmer had it down over 100 years ago, and his methods still WIN.

Grab your copy of Lessons in Wrestling and Physical Culture NOW and watch how quickly your body begins to change. 

Matt Furey