The MSF Story
Not only is this the end of a year but also the end of the decade.
I think this is as fitting time as ever to tell the story of how Mountain Strength Fitness got its name.
Funny enough, it started 10 years ago in June of 1999.
That’s when I became a student of Mark Davis at the Boston Martial Arts Center in Allston, Ma.
Jump ahead through years of hard training in Budo Taijutsu to Saturday, September 30 2006.
The day started fine enough, woke up early as usual.
Guzzled some cough syrup to fight off a flu type sickness I had and hobbled over to the kitchen to make breakfast.
I had recently injured my right knee and shoulder training outside.
Got dressed and headed to my Grandfather's funeral.
Spent all day with family and around 3pm headed home, packed a day bag and headed to Sudbury, Ma for the New England Warrior camp.
When I arrived at the camp everyone was still out in the fields training so I took the time to walk around and decompress from the day's events.
Why was I here at this camp?
I was getting ready to take my Black belt test.
There is not a black belt test each year and each test is different.
You are either ready for it or not.
The only way to be ready for it was to train for anything.
So I spent 3 months running 3 miles through the dark at midnight every night on top of my normal training schedule of 4 - 5 days a week.
I at least knew the test was going to be at night after a long day of training.
What I didn't know was that I would be emotionally and spiritually drained by losing a loved one.
Eventually the sun set and I knew it was time to hike back to the base camp to meet up with my fellow Buyu. The walk had cleared my mind but my heart was still heavy.
I sat down with some friends and had dinner to fuel up for the night training exercise that would come after.
The night training was excellent.
It lasted a few hours into the night and I was able to train with some good people that lifted my spirits.
It ended around 11pm I believe.
Then it was time for the test to begin.
All non black belts were asked to leave and return to their cabins in the woods.
The black belts and testers traveled in a line out into the forest to a large clearing.
There were 3 of us testing and a large number of local and visiting black belts.
It was intimidating to say the least.
Those of us testing were sent running on a 1 mile loop through the dark woods, none of us had flashlights.
When we returned all the Black belts were gone except two, Mark Davis and Ken Savage.
We were then put through a demanding calisthenic workout of pushups, sit ups, ukemi and probably some other things I have forgotten.
I only remember thinking I have never done so many push ups in my life (although that is not the case any longer).
Again we were sent out to run another loop but were told to not stop running until we were told.
When we returned to the clearing there was no one there, so we kept running down the path.
Another half mile and we reached our teachers on the darkened trail.
On this trail we answered questions and were shown how to work in a three man team.
How to walk in the dark and as a team, how to see in 360 degrees as a team.
We were to stay as a team for the rest of the night.
If one failed we all failed.
We were then showed how to belly crawl forward silently by laying down and lifting our bodies off the ground up onto our toes and hands, keeping our bodies straight, and shifting forward by inches and resting back down and then repeating. Inch by inch.
When we seemed sufficient enough at this task we dusted ourselves off and jogged to the next task.
I did not expect what the real test would be.
All that was just a warm up to the real deal of what was about to happen.
As we ran down the trail we started to see some lights up ahead.
The mystery as to where the rest of the black belts were had been answered.
They were stringing glow sticks up a trail. UP a trail.
This trail broke off to the left and it looked like a ski slope at night.
The damned lights kept going into the sky.
We were told to lay down at the foot of the trail, in a single file and start belly crawling up the hill like we practiced earlier.
We did and let me tell you those rocks on the water worn trail hurt.
We were instructed to yell encouragement to each other. After some time all i could yell out was "Push".
Every Black belt was along that trail all the way up to the top.
My teachers always in front of us.
We were told to stop after only 5 mins.
I thought it was over.
Then I looked up and was told it was only a short break to see how we were doing.
My teacher moved out from in front of me and I saw how little we moved, how much more there was to go.
I was less than thrilled.
But got down and we started again.
We did not stop again.
It took us along time to reach the top.
My hands and arms were numb.
My previous injuries screaming.
Blood poured out from a cut I don't remember getting
I remembered telling my Grandfather just hours before he passed that I was testing for my black belt and how it was the last thing we talked about.
I was drawing strength from the earth, from life, from years of training, from this struggle, this test and it all became focused.
It was no longer hard.
I reached a tipping point somehow and I started moving faster, yelling more, encouraging my team mates.
I felt alive.
I reached the top of the hill and kept cheering my team mates on, helping them to finish.
We all reached the top.
It wasn't over.
At the top was another clearing.
Here all the blackbelts encircled us and each of us stood in the middle and a blak belt was called out to attack us.
I was stilled energized from my climb but I soon realized my body was not.
It's a scary thing when another person is throwing a punch at your face and your own arms refuse to cooperate.
I couldn't raise my arms. They were useless.
I had to adapt fast.
I used my feet, footwork, avoid the strikes, move.
My legs felt like jelly.
But then I used something else that I didn't know I had.
It's hard to explain what I did.
Perhaps it came out because I had no other option.
I resolved my spirit to not be beaten, to not fail.
This somehow caused my attacker to hesitate, to not venture within my circle.
He backed away. I became the attacker.
The exercise for me was ended at this point and the others were tested in similar fashion.
It was all ended with a question of what it meant to us to be a black belt.
Why did we want to achieve this?
Well I don't exactly remember my out of breath answer, but I know it was from the heart.
And it was born from the desire to help others.
To be great so others can be great.
To be there for those that can not be there for themselves.
To have the strength of a Mountain protecting the Valley so that it may flourish and grow.
Mountain Strength Fitness was born from this test.
It is a way for me to give back to those that have helped me and to carry on that way for others.
As one of my teachers says we are each given a seed, we can put it in our pocket or plant it.
Rich Borgatti
"Wherever I go, everyone is a little bit safer because I am there.
Wherever I am, anyone in need has a friend.
WheneverI return home, everyone is happy I am there.”
- Bob Humphreys
Monday, August 16, 2010 at 1:20PM | 
The inside of the Amazing Condition Kettlebell Gym!
Lots and Lots of KettlebellsI'm currently training for the higher skill demand of the RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) and hope to attend a certification next year. I'll share my progress and experience as I prepare!
