In sports, even at the professional level, athletes report for annual Spring Training or Summer Camp. And while they are there, they work on something called “the basics.”

The basics are the foundation of success. Master them – then master them some more. And whenever you find yourself lagging in your field, if you go back and review the basics, more than likely you’ll find your problem there.

The other day I received an email from an idiot. He claimed that I over-charged for my Combat Conditioning book and DVDs because half of the information he had already learned in his kung fu class. Well, goodie goodie for him.

But the real question is not “Have you seen this already?” The real question is: Are you doing this? In his case, the answer is ‘NO.’ He supposedly KNOWS but does not DO. Well, I’m sorry but those who do not DO – do not KNOW. It would be like me watching tai chi – then saying “I know that stuff.” Yet, anyone who is a serious practitioner of the art knows that you need to practice it daily – and that even when you’ve been training in it for a couple decades, you are still finding areas you need to improve.

Areas for improvement are “as limitless as the ocean.”

I can say the same about the Royal Court from Combat Conditioning. There are three exercises in the Royal Court. They are Hindu squats, Hindu pushups and bridging. I’ve been training in them for many years now, and through my books, DVD’s and seminars – have taught hundreds of thousands of people how these exercises should be done. Yet, when I conduct seminars, I can find something for each person I meet that he or she could improve upon.

The same goes for myself. When I do these exercises I find that the depth of them is boundless. A simple change in breathing can bring forth a profound difference in how the exercise hits me. Or a change in foot position or hand position. Or a change in what I am picturing in my mind whilst I train.

Some years ago I was flying home from Phoenix, Arizona. Seated next to me was a competitive triathlete. We spoke non-stop for nearly four hours, and I took note of many things she said about training and locked them into my repertoire. One of them was as follows: “When things get tough and I think I can’t go on, I just picture a waterfall and then I have more energy and am able to endure.”

Hmmm, I thought. Wonder how that would work with Hindu squats and pushups?

In my very next workout, I used the waterfall visualization. All I could think after doing a record number of reps was “WOW.” Now that’s freaking good.

The above illustrates why I don’t take anyone seriously who says, “I already learned that in grade school, high school, the army, kung fu class” – and so on. Learning is one thing. DOING is quite another.

And the prizes in life, the great rewards – they go to the DOERS. Be one of them. Get my Combat Conditioning book and DVDs and change your life for the better.

Kick ass – take names!

Matt Furey

“Instead of trying hard by conscious effort to do the thing by iron-jawed will power, and all the while worrying and picturing to yourself all the things that are likely to go wrong, you simply relax the strain, stop trying to “do it” by strain and effort, picture to yourself the target you really want to hit, and “let” your creative success mechanism take over. ”

Dr. Maxwell Maltz – author of 30 million copy best-seller, Psycho-Cybernetics

Imagine for a moment that you’ve just finished work. You’re tired.

Your rump is dragging. And you’re not paying attention to anything but your car keys. You’ve tuned the rest of the world out. It’s just you and your own thoughts.

You begin to open your car door – but you’re suddenly jolted with the feel of cold steel jammed against your flesh.

Is it a knife? Is it a gun?

Doesn’t much matter if you are paralyzed with fear.

Well, let me tell ya ..

What you do in the next 5 seconds determines whether you LIVE or DIE.

If every cell of your body cries out, I want to LIVE – then you better find out how to make that happen by reading about Your 5-Second Fight.

This is no joke, my friend. We’re talking about your life – and how to make sure no worthless low-down punk ever takes it from you.

Don’t run and hide. Don’t cower in fear.

Kick ass and take names!

You’ll find out precisly how to do so, even when up against a knife or gun, when you go to learn about Your 5-Second Fight.

This program has the Matt Furey Stamp of Approval. Go find out WHY right NOW.

Best,

Matt Furey

P.S. The guy who teaches this program is so good that he takes old men, middle-aged women, even those who’ve never had a lick of martial arts training, and he turns them into wrecking machines in a weekend. Sound to good to be true? I thought so at one time, too. Then I learned first-hand that it is the real deal. Go find out why Your 5-Second Fight is something you want to WIN!

“The body is no stronger than the legs and the back. When a person’s legs and back become weak … vigorous health is gone. That is the reason why it is so imperative to see to it that the legs and back are kept strong and vigorous, and the only way the legs can be kept strong is by vigorous exercise, particularly exercise which involves some jumping. When a person ceases to jump he loses the elasticity and flexibility of the legs.” – Paul Bragg

These immortal words of Paul Bragg not only validate the importance of Hindu squats, bridging and Hindu pushups, exercises that strengthen your body in a HUGE way – but they also explain why you should mix in Hindu jumper squats and rope skipping.

You can find Hindu jumper squats in my Combat Conditioning book and DVDs. They’re next to impossible to learn from the book alone – so you really do want to have the DVD’s playing to learn proper form. Make sure you’re able to do at least 100- straight regular Hindu squats (without jumping) before you try the Hindu Jumper Squats. This is important. And when you begin doing the Hindu Jumpers – start with 10-20. Gradually you can work up to 500-straight jumpers, as some of my top students have.

Whilst making the transition from being a non-jumper to a jumper, you’re well advised to jump rope regularly. I use the weighted blue and green ropes made by Lifeline USA. I like to call the green rope the Green Monster. It truly kicks butt. You not only build your leg muscles, but your grip, too. Just the other night I pumped out 500-straight with the bad boy – alternating between regular forward jumps and backwards. Tis good to train your body in BOTH directions.

Like Hindu squats, speed in jumping rope should come along with proficiency. You don’t try to run when you can’t walk. Once you’re able to jump rope with fairly decent skill, then add speed. Go faster and faster and you’ll be amazed at how jumping strips the flab off your body in record time.

If you’re a true daredevil, you can alternate and/or mix Hindu Jumpers with rope jumping. I’ll be teaching Matt Furey Inner Circle Members the details of that in el futuro.

Well, time for me to grab the Green Monster and do some kick-butt rope jumping.

Matt Furey

A number of old-time physical fitness courses recommended exercising with as few clothes on as possible. Some even said to exercise in the RAW.

This is all well and good, provided you don’t take it to your local park or gymnasium. And if you must take the old-time advice to extremes, then go to a nude beach – but understand up front that you may be disappointed – of course that’s assuming you’re there to look at more bodies than your own.

Most of the people on nude beaches SHOULD be wearing clothes. My wife and I checked one out in California about 11 years ago – mostly out of curiosity – and it was absolutely grotesque. We left as soon as we got there.

As for your home, the benefits of training naked (or almost naked) are many. Number one, you get to see more of your body and as you look at your body you’ll become more conscious of areas you’d like to improve. Number two, because your skin is the largest eliminative organ on the body, it’s good to let it breathe freely from time to time.

If you’re going to train nude or in a pair of briefs, I suggest you throw a towel on the floor and lie your undressed body on the floor to begin bridging. Then do some Hindu pushups, or v-ups, or table-makers – or any of the many extraordinary exercises featured in my international best-seller, Combat Conditioning.

When standing, it is good to see your buff body in the mirror as you do the deep breathing, fat-burning exercises found in Combat Abs. As you train you’ll see your waistline going in and out. And day after day, as you train this way, you’ll notice all the subtle and major changes taking place as your body is reshaped and sculpted.

Training in the RAW increases motivation and mental focus. It also gives you a greater appreciation for your miraculous human body. And if it doesn’t look or feel miraculous as you train this way, that’s even more motivation to exercise and follow a good diet, so that it WILL.

After your workout, jump in a cold shower to recharge your body. I’ll write more on that in el futuro.

In the interim, take a serious look at being a Matt Furey Inner Circle Member – by enrolling in my monthly coaching and support program. You get seven of my products FREE for enrolling. Plus you get a monthly newsletter and CD that gives you a workout to follow. The workout is broken into beginner, intermediate and advanced routines. Not only that, you get access to our private discussion board where you get all your questions answered. The program IS a steal! Enroll in this program – NOW and change your life for the better.

Matt Furey

My son, Frank, is almost six years old – and he’s been somewhat involved in my business since he was 18 months old.

He used to help carry packages into the post office with us (when we still did that part of this job). He helped stuff packages as well – even tried to tape them from time to time.

And today, whenever I give a seminar in Tampa, provided he’s in the U.S. – he introduces me. Afterward, he goes around with the digital camera I bought for him, snapping photos of me while I speak. I should mention that NONE of this has been forced upon him. He simply wants to be involved.

Frank also has a father who knows beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you get ahead in life by putting more time in on a subject than anyone else. Want to excel in basketball. Spend more time on the court than anyone else. Same goes for baseball, football, wrestling, boxing as well as any other academic or career endeavor.

Frank’s father is also a pragmatic sort of guy; a person who has no patience for things that don’t contribute to life-long success. And truth be told, most of what people learn in school today, from pre-school through college, contributes almost nothing to being a successful human being.

Sad, but true. This is why it is NOT coincidental that many of the greatest successes never finished college. They were simply bored with the lack of practical life-long application of many of the subjects.

From Ben Franklin to Mark Twain to Thomas Edison to Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates – you’ll find that all of these people were life-long learners – just not life-long learners in a “school.” The whole world was their school – not the mentally handicapped classroom.

In a recent discussion with some friends, I told them about some of the ridiculous drivel that Frank’s kindergarten teacher has tried to dump his way. And during that discussion I mapped out a list of the truly important subjects that a person, of any age, should study if he wants to succeed in life. As you look at this list of subjects, take note of how many you do or do NOT know. Or better yet, think of the failures you know – and consider how little they know from this list.

Furey’s List of Required Subjects to Study for Life-long Success

Physical Exercise – don’t take care of your machine and it falls apart – not intelligent if you ask me

Wrestling or some other form of Martial Arts – not my advice; this comes from Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and so on.

Meditation/Deep Breathing – imagine that, learning to relax

Reading – how many people today who can read – ever DO read?

Writing – not being able to write a simple letter is pretty sad

Speaking in Public – should not be biggest fear of mankind – tis easy if you simply get up and do it.

Anatomy/Biology – you oughta know how your machine works

Basic Math – especially what I call “money math”

History – those who don’t know the past are doomed to repeat it

Computers – sort of a no-brainer these days

Goal Setting – not taught in schools – but mega important

Time Management – once again, not taught

Positive Attitude – most teachers need this one

Marketing/Selling – nothing happens in a business until something is sold

Relationship development – How to get along with others – not a bad idea, eh?

Bear in mind that these subjects are the basics. If you want to be a laywer, doctor, dentist or accountant, you’ll need more than the above – but to become a successful human being – these pretty much summarize the necessities.

You might be saying, what about music? And, what about art?

I’m all in favor of them. And they are part of what we have our son learning. Yet, I’m certain he will do just fine if he cannot draw much more than a stick figure or if he has trouble singing a single note. I should know. When it comes to art and music, although I listen to powerful music and surround myself with various types of art – I, myself, have never learned anything beyond what a two-year old knows on either subject. They are highly desireable things to learn – but not essential to your success. Tis always easier to simply sit back and enjoy the art and music of others – which I do a good job of.

In regard to the subject of math, my wife, Zhannie, was #1 in her class in China. Now – in case you’re not aware, this ain’t easy to do in the U.S. – much less China. When it comes to Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus and so on – she is a true genius. Somehow knows the answer without even working out the equation. As for ME – I could care less about the subject, beyond what is required to run a good business.

Well, just yesterday Zhannie said, “Even though I love math – I have never used any of the complicated stuff a single time in my entire life. All I do is money math.”

Such is not be the case for chemists – that’s for sure. But last time I checked, my son doesn’t need to be a chemist to be a successful human being.

And speaking of success, mark my words, I will NEVER teach my son that the point of him going to school right now is so he can go to a major prestigious college and get a degree, then get a job working for some big corporation.

Sadly, that’s the sort of garbage being taught to kids today. A far better message, in my opinion, is telling your child you love him and that you want him to …

Kick ass and take names!

Matt Furey

I get a lot of people asking me if I’m going to sell DVD’s or CD’s of my world famous Internet seminars. The answer is always the same – “no.”

Then I realized something: I made 8 DVD’s and CD’s of my May 2003 event – just the highlights (no filler or fluff) – and I’ve had them available for a long time. Yet, I never tell anyone about them because Combat Conditioning and my other best-selling fitness and fighting products keep me and our fulfillment company mighty busy.

Well, earlier today I took a look around at many of my other websites and the “DUH” button went off in my own mind.

I thought, damn, I better tell you about this product NOW because it’s the only seminar footage I have ever released to the public – and it may be the last, too. In fact, I’m considering having this product available two more weeks, then pulling it down so that I can stay focused on health and fitness. So take this as a potential warning. I’m either removing the product from the site or I’m hiking the price to at least double what it is now.

So go learn how you can Build an Info-Publishing Empire on the Internet – using the simply, easy-to-understand system I’ve mapped out for you.

You’ll see a lot of people claiming that rock n roll motivates them to train harder. Personally, I’ve never found that to be the case. Not only that but the people I know who are super-successes, they don’t listen to rock when they train, either. They train in silence – or whilst listening to empowering classical music, or music that is specifically designed to energize your mind and body.

Studies have shown that rock music doesn’t do a baby, a body or even a plant, any good. Yet, good classical or composed music DOES affect, in a positive manner, every single cell in your body.

Contrary to what you might think, rock music negatively charges your mind and body. It may feel like it is motivating you to train harder – but overall, the effect it has on your psyche is destructive. I call it head-banger music because that’s what you’re motivated to do when you hear it. You get pumped so much that you want to bang your head against a wall – and how intelligent is that?

When I train I either have incredibly empowering music on, or I train in silence. Moreover, when I’m driving in my car or working around the home – I only listen to music that leaves me feeling uplifted. And I’m continually adding to my collection.

You’ll find that this personality trait or behavior, although NOT the norm – is common amongst high-achievers (and yes, you can put me in that category). Average and ordinary people listen to average and ordinary music. High achievers listen to the music produced by the greatest musical minds EVER, and thereby develop a more dynamic and great mind themselves. Which do you want to be?

Want to go nowhere in life? – then listen to negatively-charged go nowhere depressing music. Want to be more successful? – then listen to something with the right oooomph.

Recently I came across a lady who is el supremo wonderful. She’s not only a world-renowned composer (her husband also directs orchestras for Hollywood movies, such as you heard in the Titanic) – but is absolutely sensational in explaining what music to listen to and why. She sent me her product for review and I give it a double thumbs-up. Go take a gander at the secret power lying dormant within your mind and body, that can be awakened through the right music.

Matt Furey

“The guys I fought wanted to beat me up as bad as they could, so I couldn’t feel sorry when I beat them. I never apologized for winning.”

Joe Louis – World Heavyweight Boxing Champion

A few years ago, for some strange reason, I thought about the guys I once trained with in the practice room. I thought about the fact that some of them got beaten on every day and never became champions. At first it was kind of a sad thought. Some of them worked hard, but they were working on the wrong things. They were pumping iron all the time. Or running all the time, when they should have been spending more time on the mat and more time doing functional exercises.

Then I thought about the times in college when I had to take a break from hard wrestling practice because of an injury. On the first day back to practice (usually when the injury was not completely healed), when I was tentative and unsure as to whether I could safely train, I never worked out with a single guy who gave a damn. Injured or not, healthy or recovering,

they wrestled me the same as they would any other time. If I was healthy enough and confident enough to practice, then I was open-season.

That is the way it is in combat sports – and in LIFE. Sure, you can go ahead and feel sorry for your opponent or practice partner. But when the roles are reversed, and the other guy has the opportunity to wield the upper hand, I’ll bet he won’t feel sorry for you. So give LIFE everything you have, every single time and let the chips fall where they may.

And when you achieve your goals and dreams – never apologize for your success. You earned it!

Matt Furey

“Often the difference between a successful man and a failure is not one’s better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on his ideas, to take a calculated risk and to act. ”

Dr. Maxwell Maltz