One of the earliest references I read as a youth was a story in Strength and Health magazine about hammer thrower and powerlifter George Frenn. His background was varied and his athletic accomplishments were incredible. The entire article is contained in this link with many more references. Enjoy it.

“There are no tactical knives, only tactical minds.” Fred Perrin is an incredible knife maker and creative/proactive martial artist. Here is an inteview with a man with combat on the mind. INTERVIEW

Growing up in a northern, steel producing town lends itself to an early interest in professional wrestling in many young men. World Champion Bruno Sammartino lived ten miles from my house and the head of a local union was Johnny DeFazio, also a wrestler. One of the best villains to come to town was Professor Toru Tanaka. He was billed as a Japanese wrestler but was actually born in Honolulu as Charles Kalani, Jr. in 1930. He began taking Judo at age nine and eventually became a black belt in Danzan Ryu Jiu Jutsu. He was a soldier in the Army and an excellent pistol shot. In fact he excelled at all sports. He started wrestling in Europe while still in the Armed Forces. He stayed in the service from 1955 to 1966. He wrestled thousands of bouts. He later starred in movies with such stars as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris. He died in 2000. He was married 50 years and had three children.

Sisyphus in mythology was doomed to roll a boulder uphill in an endless torture. It seems appropriate that that the ‘Sissy’ Squat is named after this character of old. Constant tension and mental persistance are the trademarks of this almost forgotten exercise. It was very popular in the early sixties and deserves to have a comeback. Currently the leg extension machine has been set aside specifically for Health Club Mullets, so the idea of a quad specific exercise is only thought of in terms of therapy or knee rehabilitation. Front Squats do a fine job, but they provide a general or systemic stimulation pattern. Sissy Squats are done freehand with mild assistance from a sturdy upright structure for balance. They can be done weight free for the beginner but loads should be added to keep repetitions low and tension high. Doing endless reps with no weight will not burn cuts into your thighs anymore than it will win you the lotto.

The skill needed for this lift is minimal. Go weight free or grab a barbell plate and hug it to your chest with one arm. The other arm will hold the upright of a power rack or similar apparatus. Now lean back slowly keeping a high level of tension in the whole thigh including the glutes and hamstrings. Your torso should remain in the same plane as the upper thighs and this position must remained locked in a fight with gravity and steel. Your heels will come off the ground and you will be balancing on your toes in a sort of developmental limbo dance as you see how low you can go. Individual balance, flexibility, and skill will determine the ultimate range of motion. You should feel huge levels of resistance in the frontal thighs, hip flexors, and abdominals. Even the calves should effort. Now reverse the motion and slowly raise yourself to the near upright position to complete the concentric phase of this exercise. The trick here is to NEVER come fully upright. That’s right. Don’t remove the tension or pause at the top. Reverse the motion smoothly, rinse, and repeat. At the end of your effort or what may seem like the light at the end of the tunnel, come fully upright and lose the added weight. Take a brief rest, switch arms, and do it again,…and again,….and again.

As far as repetitions are concerned, use common sense. Lots of old timers felt that high reps were in order. Others felt that the Vince’s Gym loading parameters of 10×10, then 8×8, then 6×6 over a period of cycles was the key. I’d think that the standard 5×5 with a heavy load will be more than sufficient if you already are doing heavy lower body work.

Sissy Squats are great for those with bad knees who cannot squat, but can deadlift. They are great for those who are focusing on deadlifting and ignoring their quads for a cycle. They are just plane nasty and are rugged tool and certainly not for sissy’s.

My instructor, Bruno Cruicchi is a martial researcher who travels the world uncovering the mysteries of the combat arts. He is highly ranked in several martial arts, but currently specializes in Garrote Larense, the stick, machete, and knife art of Venezuela. He has corresponded with many practitioners of the Canary Island fighting arts as well as those of French Cane (Le Canne). He spent a period this summer in intensive training in Jogo Do Pau, the staff fighting art of Portugal. The practitioner he trained with had extensive training both in Portugal and the Azures. Here is a page with some basics. Click

Here is a video of a practitioner defending himself from a chair. Note his composure.

The Karambit or Lawi Ayam is from Southeast Asia. It can be used as a farmers tool, or a weapon of combat science. The union of empty hand fighting with small knives is keenly expressed by martial adventurer, Blaise Loong. He calls his blend of Filipino, Malaysian, and Indonesian silat systems, “Sabungin”. This is a term from cockfighting. In the following clip, you will hardly notice the live steel in Guru Blaise’s hand. Awareness of a bladed weapon and training such as this must be done under careful supervision of seasoned practitioners.
Sabungin Silat

They don’t come more colorful that Randall “Tex” Cobb. Football player, kickboxer, street fighter, heavyweight boxer, and actor. He is responsible for Howard Cosell leaving boxing as a broadcaster. Here is a great interview with an interesting character. INTERVIEW

The legendary “Iron Guru” Vince Gironda was a trainer to many bodybuilders and celebrities. His techniques were certainly controversial. In this rare video, Vince himself instructs in his unique exercise called the
Drag Curl. Enjoy. VIDEO
Other resources would be this SITE
And www.ironguru.com

Any highly trained athlete can be described as “Poetry in Motion”. Buakaw Por Pramuk goes beyond words. His performance is incredible. His training has forged a mechanism of destructive intent.
Take a look at his training and fights.
Here

Here is a great little resource for what is historically a great close quarter weapon.
Please be aware of all laws governing their possession and use.
SAP