Ok, you may have noticed a slight change to the editorial section of the newsletter. I was recently with one of the Warrior Faithful who had read the last copy of my newsletter. They commented that I was ranting in my editorial section! Me?!? Come on, since when do I get on a soap box! Ok, guilty as charged. So to pay honor to the truth we will now call the editorial section of the newsletter Ranting and Raving. And, while we're at it, let's make it Uncensored for good measure. Yes, I'll try my best to keep it reasonably PC, but since it's my forum I reserve the right to drift any damn way I please. Good to go?

Let me ask you a question. If you bring a dog to the community Dog Park, don't ya think you should have a dog that gets along with other dogs? Apparently some morons still slip through the cracks of common sense when it comes to things like this, so I thought I'd share a wonderful event that happened to me recently. My wife and I decided to take our Golden Retriever, all 65 pounds of pure love, to a dog park near our house. As we approached the park I saw a few people and a couple of dogs. One dog was a pretty large Bull Terrier, and the other dog was a Shar-pei. I hate both of those breeds because by and large they are aggressive and predictable when it comes to attacking other animals. But sizing up the situation they appeared to be pretty mellow as they were walking around the park. I should have followed my initial intuition because it never lets me down. However, because I wanted to enjoy the first day of sunshine in quite a while, and because I did not want to appear paranoid to my wife, I decided to give it a go.

When we entered the park predictably the other dogs came over for a greeting. Time for a bit of arse sniffing! I kept my dog on leash to feel out the attitude of these other dogs. Sure enough that freaking Shar-pei instantly attacked, latched onto my dog's neck and immediately went for a kill. I did not hesitate one instant and I immediately kicked that wrinkly pile of crap square in the face. It did the trick. The dog let go and licked its wounds. Of course, the owner was now upset at my use of force. There were three of them, two women and one man, and they were none to pleased. I simply stood my ground and gave them "the look". You know what I'm talking about. The look that says I'm calm, cool, collected and ready for round two!

Well, that's all it took. No words were exchanged, no threats advanced, and no physical fight took place. I could feel the intention and anger the other owner was feeling but I could also feel his fear. His animal had just been kicked after attacking my dog and he was about to loose face in front of the two women he was with. Not good when you are messing with a man's ego. However, the fight was already over and he knew it. My wife and I simply gathered our dog and quietly left the park muttering a few choice words between ourselves about dumb ass dog owners.

I believe my confidence in my abilities was apparent from the moment I reacted. I believe I was able to avert a physical fight because I was focused and ready. I was truly unattached to the event and simply did not care which way it went. I was willing to walk away or defend myself. I wonder what might have happened if I had been perceived as weak or frightened. What do you think?

When we talk about the Warrior's Path, we are talking about training to the point that when life presents a test you are ready. Command presence, the belief in yourself and your abilities and your willingness to assert those abilities is often the single best way to avoid a problem. Not too aggressive, not too passive, just assertive enough that if they want to challenge you they clearly understand better bring their best game. So, ask yourself; Are you ready for life's next test?

From the nutrition front I have an interesting one for you. Another of the Warrior Faithful gave me a book a couple of weeks ago called "The Green Life". The author is one of those raw food people who are really focused on their diet. They were able to reverse several serious health problems within their family by eliminating all forms of crap from their diets and going totally raw food. Now as many of you know, I don't advocate a total raw food diet. For the record; although I do not eat red meat or pork, I'm not a vegetarian. I think you should eat what your body feels comfortable with, avoid too much of anything, eat, drink and be merry in moderation and eat as close to nature as possible. Avoiding processed foods is simply a good idea and one of many steps to helping improve your overall health. But I digress.

I wanted to tell you about this book. Bottom line, it involves making smoothies with fruits and greens. Yes, I said greens. Sounds disgusting huh? I thought so too. Bottom line, drinking a green smoothie when it's not St. Patty's day is a bit over the edge, even for me. When I first saw this concoction I thought there would be no way I could get something like that down. Just a little too close to hugging a tree if you know what I mean! However, after reading the book's compelling arguments about the benefits of adding greens to fruit smoothies, I decided to try this strange brew.

I made my usual smoothie with some plain yogurt, a couple of my favorite 100% natural juices, strawberries, blueberries, banana and soy protein powder. I blended as usual. Then came the weird part. As the smoothie continued to mix in the blender I added several handfuls of mixed organic greens. This did not look too good to tell the truth, but I figured I could pour it down the drain if it made me gag. To my surprise it was not bad. Not my favorite blend, but it was pretty good overall. So, I drank down a large glass and then something marvelous happened.

I'm a grazer. I like to eat small portions of food throughout the day and it is rare indeed that I go more than a couple of hours without chowing down on something. I have one of those humming bird metabolisms and my biggest challenge is keeping the weight on! However, I found that I was totally satisfied after drinking the green smoothie. Not only that, but I had more energy than I knew what to do with. This "buzz" lasted for 5 hours and I had zero cravings for any additional food! Anyone who knows me also knows going 5 hours without eating anything is a major fast in my book! Thinking this was just a fluke, I have continued making these smoothies for a couple of weeks now. Same result. I feel great, have even more energy than usual and I'm eating less. Amazing. I would encourage you to give this a try and see if it has the same result for you! What do you have to loose?

'I will control my fear at all times.'

Fear can be a hard thing to control and you're screwed if you loose it when facing danger. One of the ways that I have helped to control my fear is by understanding that the shaky, heart pounding feeling that a critical incident can bring is actually your body preparing you for battle. It is, indeed, something to look forward to. Consider it the body's ability to prime the pump to take you into the perfect physical zone for combat. If we actually embrace fear we can turn what is perceived as a serious negative action into a strong reaction to a threat. Understanding this is one of the keys to being able to control your fear. Conditioning of the mind with this month's mantra is the other half of the battle.

Now, sit or lie back comfortably. Take three deep breaths, pausing after you inhale and then exhaling fully and completely. After you have taken your three breaths, just breathe normally. Close your eyes and let any tension you may be holding in your muscles just begin to melt away. After you center yourself and you feel your breath quite down, repeat the mantra; "I will control my fear at all times" to yourself for the next five minutes. See yourself succeeding in everything you encounter as you continue to repeat this mantra.

As many times as you can throughout your day, stop what you are doing, take one deep breath and repeat this mantra. You can do this when the phone rings, or when you look at your watch, or anytime you feel the need to just slow down for a brief moment and focus. The power of setting a positive intention throughout your day should not be underestimated. It can literally change your life. Make this short time commitment everyday and begin on the path of empowering yourself to survive.

Well, that's all for now. Next month we will take a look at combat breathing and its ability to keep our heart rates under control when we are being seriously challenged.

Stay trained, stay tactical, stay safe!

Rodger.