ULTIMATE NERDING DAY: A TALE OF 2 BLACK KNIGHTS

 

 

Been wanting to write this one for a while, because it’s too fun being a nerd.  Today, we’re going to discuss the lessons we can learn from two different black knights.  The first one comes to us via Magic the Gathering, and is an OG, because I stopped buying cards back in ’97 when shadow came out as an ability and “RUINED THE GAME”.  Anyway, meet the black knight

 

It still just makes me so happy to see this

 

Let’s not focus on his abilities, his casting cost, his power and toughness, etc.  Today, we focus on the little quote underneath that stuff, referred to as the “flavor text”, which reads “Battle doesn’t need a purpose; the battle is its own purpose.  You don’t ask why a plague spreads or a field burns.  Don’t ask why I fight.”

 

Oh my god I LOVE that quote!  I’m not sure who over at Wizards of the Coast came up with it, but it’s just plain awesome, and it was awesome when I read it back in 1995 and it’s still awesome today, proving that I will forever be a child.  But maybe that’s why I don’t need to warm-up either compared to you old bastards…

Age is just a number

 

But anyway, that quote.  Why I love that quote is because it answers so many OTHER questions aside from “battle”.  So often I get asked “why”, and all I can think of is this quote.  I uploaded a video recently of me doing a 20 rep set of 320lbs on buffalo bar squats followed immediately with 20 deadlifts with 315lbs on the Texas Deadlift bar (and in a later version of it, on an axle)

 

 

And SO many people asked “why”? 

 

Or how about when I pulled 135lbs on the high handle trap bar for 365 reps in a single set on Thanksgiving?

 

 

Why? 

 

Folks: THAT is the reason.  I did it BECAUSE.  There needs to be no other reason than that.  If I did not do these things, these things would not be done!  How can these things be done if no one is doing them?  Quite frankly, if you don’t “get it”, there’s nothing I can do that will explain it to you. 

 

How will we get better without chaos?  How will we improve without challenges?  How will we get stronger without digging deep FOR NO REASON?  As soon as “why” is discussed, purpose doesn’t manifest: meaning dissipates.  When we try to break this down and analyze it, we make it LESS THAN.

 

It's not without precedent

And SO many trainees are SO afraid to do ANYTHING if it doesn’t have an immediately apparent purpose and benefit.  There is a HUGE debate on how much protein to take in to build muscle.  1g per pound of bodyweight, no wait .8g per pound, no it’s 1g per kilo, NO, ACTUALLY it’s about lean mass, WAIT, it’s actually based on your GOAL weight.  But the thing is: people are doing this because they think it’s POINTLESS to eat MORE than that.  Let’s find the bare minimum and not exceed it.  Why would you eat MORE protein than that?  Because protein is amazing!  Because I want to look like the kind of animal that eats a lot of protein.  Do you think a tiger cares about exceeding the amount of protein necessary for muscle building?  Do you think our starving ancestors would cease feasting on a fresh kill once they hit their limit?  It doesn’t matter if it’s building muscle or not: the feasting is its own purpose.

 

Why would you run Deep Water, with its 10x10 squats, when it’s been scientifically proven that you’re just accumulated junk volume with that many reps?  Because Deep Water is its own purpose!  It doesn’t matter if its effective or not: you run it BECAUSE.  Same with Super Squats.  Hell, I’ll throw Smolov in there, despite the shade I will throw at “Coach Smolov” being like Paul Bunyan: the program is its own purpose.  If you have to ask why, its not for you.

 

And now, our other Black Knight, this one by way of Monty Python

 

 

Ladies and gentlemen, we have found my spirit animal.  We should all endeavor to be more “black knightly” in our lives.  For one, he bit off WAY more than he could chew.  He was absolutely no match for Arthur, yet not only did he challenge him, but he challenge him with insufferable confidence to the point of arrogance.  What other way to approach a challenge than that?  If we go in timid, pensive, permission asking, we get exactly what we deserve.  The world will already beat you down enough: you don’t need to lend it a hand.  But when we go in with full confidence, completely blind to our own limitations and short-comings, we offer the necessary amount of positive energy to overcome the gravity of the world in order to create some sort of balance. 

 

But along with that, the Black Knight’s arrogance was not unearned: he demonstrated that he was ABSOLUTELY willing to do WHATEVER it took to achieve his goals.  Irrespective of consequences, irrespective of outcome, he had a dedicated task and he wasn’t going to let trivial things like “missing limbs” stop him.  His single-minded psychosis serves as a model of dedication to the point of ugliness.  When you do something so hard that it stops being admirable and starts being disgusting.  And talk about not worrying about injuries!  There was no regard for consequences here: VICTORY was the goal, and it was going to be achieved by ANY means necessary.

Going heavy in the Futurama on this one

 

How often do we self-impose limits?  (Before I go any further, for f**k’s sake, when you “self-VERB” something, it is, by definition, done to yourself.  Don’t say stupid stuff like “I self-taught myself”.  Duh!  Could you self-teach someone else?)  “I want to be a 242lb powerlifter!”  Sweet: eat this box of pop tarts after you lift.  “Oh, I’m not going to eat unhealthy food, and I need to keep my abs.”  Eh?  “I wanna train like a strongman!”  Sweet: go get some kegs and sandbags.  “My gym doesn’t have those and I’m not going to buy them.”  Eh?  The Black Knight was “getting to yes” right before our eyes!  I’ll win this fight with a sword.  No arms, no sword?  I’m gonna kick!  1 leg?  I’ll headbutt!  Instead of lamenting what he didn’t have, he focused on what he did have!  Do I hear “training with an injury” ringing in the distance?  There are SO many lessons to be learned from this ONE scene.

 

Go celebrate the Black Knights.  Spend some time playing Magic the Gathering with Monty Python on in the background.  Go buy “Heroes’ Feast”, cook a recipe from the Dwarf section and chow down on it while you play.  Get ready to train absolutely bonkers FOR ITS OWN REASON without fear of consequences.  Maybe they will make a card after you one day.