The State Of My Head

 After Violence Dynamics in November, I was full of go get 'em.  Chasing the idea of "best self".  Another example of the myth of the static state.  "Best self" takes work to achieve and maintain.  Just because you were at your best yesterday doesn't mean you will be today.  In blogs to follow I will discuss a hierarchy of resiliency, with "Hustle" being at the top.  Hustle is an expression of best self.  When you have the time, energy, band width for passion projects.  In November I was full of go get 'em, but life happens.  Every time I was hustling, I couldn't concentrate on the passion project.  I had something in my head and I couldn't proceed until I got it out.   So I forced it out, part of that process is sharing it here.

To process what was in my head in a way that other people could understand, and therefore be useful, I used a SMEAC.

SMEAC is an acronym used for tactical planning.

Situation:

The last few years have placed additional stressors on everyone. Additionally, this may be the most stressful time to be a law enforcement officer in American history.  On top of that, there are even more additional stressors on tactical operators.  

In the last two years:

Name Redacted - Team Leader, Sniper - break down - PTSD retirement from Law Enforcement

Name Redacted - Team Leader, Energetic Breacher - break down - SUICIDE

Name Redacted - Fire Captain - Tactical Medic - break down - PTSD retirement from public service

Name Redacted - Team Leader, Sniper, K9 handler - break down - Leave of absence, likely PTSD retirement from Law Enforcement

I have a ton in common with these guys - they are me - they are my tribe.  Why did they “break”?  Why haven’t I?  Is my turn around the corner? Am I a ticking time bomb? Can I prevent it? If so can I help others prevent it?

Every time I was hustling, I couldn't concentrate on the passion project. I had something in my head- is my turn around the corner? Am I a ticking time bomb? Can I prevent it? If so can I help others prevent it?

Mission:

To increase operator’s resiliency, helping them mitigate and manage stress and its effect on their mental and physical health. To enhance an operator's ability to recover from traumatic events.

On top of my own life experience and training, recently (after the suicide) I have been seeking out additional education and resources. I was done crying and I needed something to attack. I needed a mission. I needed to put this angry somewhere. I needed to convert that energy into something positive.  

I was fortunate to attend the following classes at the special operations training association conference this spring.

Mental Health Resiliency

Participants will learn about the different forms that trauma can take from the typical big "T" events to others that usually go unnoticed. This presentation will walk attendees through the different presentations of trauma and understand antecedents to trauma while getting a better understanding of personal vulnerabilities. The presenter will then move into how to overcome the effects of trauma and describe resiliency factors that prevent burn out, compassion fatigue, and longer lasting effects of the hazards of the profession.

Speaker

Hector Matascastillo - South Metro SWAT

Owning Your Wellness: Nutrition, Sleep, Exercise, Community

It's up to each of us to own our own wellness. Life, both work and home, will throw things at us and disrupt our best-laid plans. This session will talk about practical tips and strategies to make sure we are focused on the wellness things that matter most.

Speaker

Paul Nystrom - Provicta, MD

After those classes I started transitioning my thoughts into a plan. There are direct correlations to preparing for physical conflict (which in itself can be traumatic), and preparing for / recovering from trauma.

Physical Conflict - 

You do not rise to the occasion, you drop to your level of training…in an adrenalized body.

So, you work to raise your level of training, and learn to mitigate the negative effects of adrenaline.

Trauma - 

Traumatic events (Big T) knock you to your baseline resiliency…while you continue to deal with everyday stressors (Little T).

Baseline resiliency can be trained.

So, you train to raise your baseline level of resiliency, and learn to mitigate the effects of trauma

Traumatic events may knock us off our best selves. However, the higher our baseline resiliency is the faster we can recover.

How do we raise our baseline resiliency?

It became clear that the best practices for training your resiliency include:

• Regular Exercise
• Solid Nutrition
• Sleep
• Mindfulness
• Meaningful positive relationships

Outside of any conspiracy theory or political debate take a look to the response to Covid and its effect on mental health.

Regular Exercise

    Close the gyms

    Close the Dojos

    Close the parks

Solid Nutrition

    Limit store hours

    Supply chain issues

    Junk food delivered to your house

Meaningful positive relationships

    Can't meet face to face

    Can't travel

    Cover your face

    Can't see loved ones in hospital

    Can't have a funeral

Being forced to follow arbitrary and capricious rules that have no basis in logic and achieve nothing.

Is there any wonder why the last few years have placed additional stressors on everyone?

I needed something to attack. I needed a mission.

    

The mission is to encourage Operators to engage in these resiliency enhancing activities on a regular and consistent basis and have an accountability process for training your resiliency.  It is my hope that through this accountability process regular face to face human interaction will be increased.  Conversations will organically occur.  If / when these conversations transition to something like bro, I am not good - I want the Operators to have the skills to transition that conversation directly to counseling from a trusted source.

Execution:

TYR (Train Your Resiliency)

TYR phases

Phase 0 - Baseline 2 weeks

Sleep

Counseling

Mindfulness

Time Management

Preparation for Phase 1

Have participants examine their baseline resiliency. Destigmatize counseling by encouraging participants to seek out treatment (lead by example - my first appointment is in June).

Establish the foundation of a resilience hierarchy. Get enough sleep. Take a few minutes every day to quiet your mind, and shut out external stimulus.

Fill out physical goals worksheets and develop an action plan to get there. 

Phase 1 - Regular Exercise 6 weeks

Once that action plan is developed  - there must be a method of accountability. It is easy to quit if no one is watching.

Participants owe their peers, the old gods, the team at least three workouts per week.  Proven with a picture.

There is a reason you have all seen my ridiculous post workout selfies.

Phase 2 - Sound Nutrition 6 weeks

Phase 3 - Rule of 3 6 weeks

Phase 4 - Hustle

Administration and Logistics:

Admin (Who)

Volunteers for Beta testing (to start)

Ramsey County SWAT (Next after Beta tests)

Logistics (How)

Daily / weekly check ins (communication) documenting accomplishment of resiliency strengthening activities 

Command and Communications:

Command

As Executive Officer I will run this program

Communications:

Each Stick will have a chat group. Operators will provide proof of progress to these groups. Team leaders will share with me.

Beta test participants will need an accountability buddy and establish communication protocols with them.

On Monday I started Beta testing phase 0

It feels good to have this out of my head and into the world. The result as you can see is I can hustle (this blog is the result)

More to follow - The Budo Blog will return with "Hustle"

Train hard, train smart, be safe

Silence (The Me I want to be part 1)

 As many of my best blogs do, this one started with a conversation with Maija Soderholm

Conversation with Maija - 

Maija: I am working a lot and trying to get my creativity and motivation back. Isolation did a number on that

Kasey: I hear that.  It has been a weird few years

Maija: It truly has. I have found I am motivated by conversation and practice WITH others, and am very bored listening to the voice in my head lol.

Kasey: I think people forget humans are social creatures - need tribes not only for survival , but basic maintenance / wellbeing.  People forget until that is gone and the absence is felt.

I legit put on over 30 lbs. of boohoo I'm sad that I can't wrestle my friends so I guess I should eat like shit to make myself feel better weight.

Maija: I think this has been a common occurrence.. seeing pictures of our good friends [names redacted] brought it home lol.

Kasey: Luckily I was able to get some things in my  head straight (straighter?) and I dropped 40 - but that was rough.  Things are picking back up on my side.  But It was so weird to look for that passion / fire for the things I love to do and find nothing

Maija: I'm still climbing the hill. I do teach an in person Bagua class again so that's awesome, but no regular Eskrima yet and my skills are getting rusty 🙁.  Also need to get fitter.

Kasey: I hear that sister!  If it is any help there is light at the end.  Being with people helps that strength return.

That is the last step I think in reclaiming "me" I guess - the juice in the tank to share my thoughts with others.  That is why this blog entry is the first part of the me I want to be series.

Gas in the tank / emotional energy is one aspect, choosing your battles is another.

Deciding to fight, what is worth fighting for?  Why do we fight over ridiculous things?

Since my last blog post, I've been accused of promoting rape culture for sharing a picture of Ravishing Rick Rude, a famous wrestling heel from the 80's.  I've also received criticism over mundane popular culture posts and humorous memes expressing opinions about the efficacy of wearing masks.  What is my opinion?  It doesn't really matter what my opinion is.  I have every right to express it as I see fit.

I had a legitimate fear of being cancelled.  How am I going to help promote #500 (something I am sincerely passionate about) if I'm getting yelp reviews calling me a misogynist?   Also, its been a long 18 months and I really didn't have the energy to fight a fight that would put unwanted attention on me.

I shared the meme above and Facebook "fact checkers" put an untruthful warning label on it.  If I'm receiving hate for posting a picture of a wrestler from the 80's and a comedian's quote stating his own opinion is thought crime, how am I possibly going to be able to discuss more serious matters?

I've always loved the X-Men.  Never have the words -  fighting to protect a world that hates and fears them ever hit me harder.  There are plenty of lucky mutants that can hide.  They can avoid the hatred.  They can do that, because the X-Men fight the battles that need to be fought.

I was afraid of being cancelled

You win, or you learn.  The attendance it this year's Violence Dynamics was 15 students.  We had a very good seminar but that turn out isn't exactly a victory.  My head space, my fear, caused me to be silent for the entire year leading up to Prime 22.  Like many stories, running from my fear caused what I feared to come to pass. 

How am I going to discuss serious topics?  Fuck it - I just will.  Who am I going to let stop me?

It would be cowardly to avoid these discussions.

If not me, then who?  If not now, when?

I draw inspiration from a song by Rob Bailey and The Hustle Standard

"Try 'n Hold Me Back"

I'm taking this opportunity

To clear this mess out of my head

To clear this blood out of my lungs

I need to dig holes

To bury the dead 

… Look at yourself in the mirror

And tell me what a man is without pride

Tell me what a man is without fire in his eyes

Tell me who the fuck you are

… Fuck the bottom, I belong at the top

Tell me who the fuck you are.  Answering that question, answering what is the best version of myself / ourselves will be the topic of the next few blogs.

Kelly Sayer asked me what I was doing today.  I told her I was blogging, I have been quiet for too long. 

Kelly replied - Which is not normally a sentence that would ever be associated with Kasey Keckeisen.😁

The thought that popped into my head was that  - Kasey FUCKING Keckeisen (the name I have given to my best self) hasn't been around for awhile.  Its about time that mother fucker made a come back.

I have returned to a place where I have the energy to discuss serious topics that I am passionate about with other people.

I am willing to accept the consequences of being public with my thoughts.  Honestly, I have zero fucks left to give.  If you don't like what I write no one is forcing you to read this.

Those criticizing me are not helping people find their strength.  I will not let them stop me from doing everything I can to build stronger people.  Try and hold me back!

That starts with building a stronger me.

The Budo Blog will return with "What is your best self (The me I want to be part 2)

Train Hard, Train Smart, Be Safe

...Fuck the bottom I belong on the top!

This is the way part 2 - Training

Last blog I said I would explain what I have been doing since May in a series of blogs.

Train - Lift - Shoot - This way

This blog lets focus on TRAIN

What have I been doing since May?

Well...

By pushing the limit of what was "allowed" I was able to train with #500 Rising and graduate from the first ever Instructional Foundations - Women’s Self Defense (500 Rising Instructor Course)

The 10th Anniversary of Violence Dynamics had to be changed drastically and often, and then changed again with mere hours notice, but I was able to train with brave, like minded people, and had a great time.  

Mostly, I spent a lot of time being frustrated as fuck.  I spent a lot of time not being "allowed" to train. 

It got to the point I nearly broke.  It was a very low point for me.  I thought if I, Kasey "Fucking" Keckeisen, someone who is so obviously addicted to training, has lost passion for this, who the fuck is ever going to want to come back and train? 

Then I was inspired.  Cobra Kai never dies!  I can't give up!  Mostly because I don't want to see who I might become if I don't have the outlet of regular training to keep my head straight.

So I turned the set back of not being allowed to train into an opportunity to reimagine what I want to do.  How do I want to train?  How do I want to run the Dojo?

The Dojo is allowed to run relatively overhead free because of the Police Activity League which is geared toward youth 14-21 years old.  The current student list has very few members in that demographic. 

I decided to embrace the fun of Sport Jujitsu to provide a reason for young people to train.  

I also felt that Sport Jujitsu  / Para Jujitsu would be an excellent way to provide people (especially veterans) coping with disabilities a long term means to overcome their challenges through training and competition.

People practice Jujitsu for many different reasons.  However, if you ask most people why they train they will say because it is FUN!

How is recreation a legitimate use of force?  All contact sports are an agreement between the participants to the level and type of force that will be used for the fun of the game.  A contact contract if you will.  The sport aspect of Jujitsu is no different.  The Keishoukan Dojo plays with many different rule sets with varying levels and types of contact including Freestyle Karate (Sabaki Challenge), Freestyle Judo, Combat Wrestling, and USJJF Sport Jujitsu, USJJF Para Jujitsu

What if I lose?

The Dojo is a safe place to do physically dangerous things.  It is a safe place to lose.

Confidence is built through competence. Competence is built using modern sporting methods to prepare practitioners for the situations they may face and train them to deal with those situations in the most realistic manner safely possible.

Mutual welfare and benefit is a major tenant of Judo (a modern form of Jujitsu).  The emphasis of these drills is placed on making each other better, as opposed to defeating your partner.  Your brain can’t trust what it has never tested.  Some things can only be tested against a resistive partner.  You might not always “win” but you will always learn.  Failure is a necessary step in the path to progress. At the Keishoukan, you are encouraged to test your limits, find them, struggle, and exceed them.  

Won’t I get hurt?

Any contact activity has a chance of injury.  So does getting out of bed or crossing the street.  Nothing worth doing can be made 100% safe.  However, our training is very 40 plus friendly. It makes no sense to train in order to protect yourself against injury from an assault, only to  injure yourself at practice. Our training is designed to be safe, and fun for people of all ages and abilities.  Games are structured so that you will be able to decide the intensity level of your training.

Recreation, the sport aspects of Jujitsu provides a means to learn through play, and to pressure test skills.  Maintaining the traditions of the past while utilizing the best training methods of today.  Martial art, especially martial sport is not self defense, however it provides a laboratory to experiment with physical confrontation and a means to develop endurance, strength, agility, and courage.

Finding a way to provide Sport Jujitsu for youth without taking away from the personal protection curriculum took all summer.  As much as I was pissed that we were not "allowed" to train I was thankful for the time to plan.  Because I am very proud of the end product.

The panoply of Jujitsu is too large to teach parts of every aspect every class.  I had to find a logical way to simplify.

From my experience as a parent of athletes, long late practices suck - they add a lot of undue stress on the athlete's family.  I figured the youth class should only be an hour.  The adult class can continue as necessary.

Classes break down like this  

Warm up                20 Min

Topic 1 for all        35 Min

Youth class ends - Adult class continues

Topic 2*                35 Min

Each week focuses on one aspect of Jujitsu needed for competition and an additional topic for more advanced competition (techniques reserved for adult competition) and personal protection.

Weeks 1 4 7 10 13

Strike First - Hits for Jits

Atmei Waza - Striking (This will look a lot like a Karate / Bareknuckle Boxing class)

Similar to WWII combatives, Atemi Waza (striking) builds the foundation of what will follow.

Bogyo (Defense) - Defense pfft - More Offense!  Blocking is reactive at best and passive at worst.  We will focus on strikes that also defend.

Shime Waza*

The strikes (hits that stick) practiced this week will be used to apply Shime Waza (strangles) for the adult class

Weeks 2 5 8 11 14

Strike Hard - With the planet

Nage Waza - Throws (This will look a lot like a Judo / Wrestling class)

To throw someone you must:

1 Move or grab

2 Grab or move     *the order of move or grab is interchangeable

3 Off balance

4 Fit in

5 Execute  

The strikes (hits that stick) that were trained in the previous week will be used to grab then move, and the defense (Bogyo) from the previous week will be used to move then grab to set up the throws that will be trained this week.

Kansetsu Waza* Join locks - (This will look a lot like the unholy union of a Catch Wrestling and  Aikido class)

The strikes from the previous week will be used to attack joints 

Weeks 3 6 9 12 15

No Mercy - Finish it

Katame Waza  - Grappling Techniques (This will look a lot like a Wrestling / BJJ class)

Although this may look like a BJJ class we do not start on our back.  So guess what?  Groundwork will start with strikes that set up throws.  Throws will be used to put them on the ground.  Only then can ground work begin to gain a submission.

Buki Waza* Weapons Techniques (This will look a lot like a CQB / control tactics class)

The adult class will work combatives including the use of and defense against Stick (Hanbo), Knife (Tanto), and Firearms.

This training also gives me an opportunity to provide supplementary training to Law Enforcement (Taiho Jutsu) as part of the Transformative Justice Institute (much more on this in future blogs) 

I hope to have the school open in January.  I hope there are brave, like minded people willing to train again.  I also have plans in place to be able to train even if I am not "allowed" to re-open the Dojo.  I won't become the version of myself that doesn't train.  Cobra Kai never dies!

The Budo Blog will return in This is the way part 3 - Lifting

This is the way

 Hey everybody, it's been too long since the last Budo Blog.  May 23rd feels like years ago.  I had a nice roll going...then riots.  It's been a crazy couple of months.  However, excuses are like assholes, so instead of crying about the past, it is time to roll up my sleeves ands get back to it.

What has reawakened my passion?  Well, plenty.  Honestly, more than I am comfortable sharing with the general public.  However, recently I have come across a mantra that has helped me focus on what I can control, and place what can't be controlled out of my way.

Train - Lift - Shoot - This is the way.

That phrase really resonated with me.  I train, I lift, I shoot, I am a huge nerd so you know I am down with the Mandalorian.  I also really like this group that sells stuff for you to train, lift, and shoot in.

Train Lift Shoot Facebook Link

Website Trainliftshoot.com

Train Lift Shoot isn’t just a product. It's a Way of Life. This is The Way.  

That phrase served as a reminder.  A kind of gut check I guess.  Am I following the way?  Is what I am doing right now the way?  And if not, what the fuck am I doing?

Yeah...I'm thinking I'm back

You may be thinking  - Cool, you are back -  whoopty fucking doo!  What have you been doing since May?

Great question, let's break it down into Train - Lift - Shoot.

It has been near 7 months so this will be a couple of blogs.  Why don't we start with shoot

Shoot

In these times of turmoil I took time to reflect. I thought to myself... 

My skills and training are worthless if I don't carry the tools necessary to be useful in a crisis on me.  So I have taken a much more serious approach to my everyday carry. (More on that in future blogs) 

Covid shut most SWAT training down
Covid shut most patrol training down.

 Focus on what I can control, and place what can't be controlled out of my way.

I shot on my own at the lake.  I shot on my own at the harm farm during Violence Dynamics.  I was very fortunate to have those opportunities.  However opportunities like that don't come along often enough to maintain tactical proficiency.

So, I've been doing a lot of dry firing.  Like a lot, a lot.

If you are interested in seeing what I have been doing, or better yet would like to train with me, a unique opportunity is available starting 12/7/20

Form to Flow is a group of folks on Facebook.  All are someway involved in physical culture.  All, like me are making due with what they can during the time of Covid.  The group started off as a platform to share ways to make solo practice more interesting, but has since evolved a bit. 

The format works like this -

I will be presenting information all week from Monday through Sunday.

Sunday, is a Zoom meeting with Q and A and solo exercises

Here is the outline of what I plan on presenting:

Monday 12/7/20

Intro Document (Who is Kasey, why should I listen to him?)

Videos:

• How Firearms function
• Semi Auto
• Revolver
• How to determine your dominant eye

Tuesday 12/8//20

Stance - Movement to stance

Connect to counter assault

Front

Rear

*Distant

Clearing clothing

Connect to threat assessment  - face it, name it (loop to Rory Miller’s intuition training)

Wednesday 12/9/20

Meta Reps  movement into stance 

• Add forced inhale connect to breaking the freeze
• Add beginning of one hand alignment 
• Use resistance of retention to set up structure
• Radial Bone alignment

Clear leather - (link to Jelly)

• CQC

Transition to aimed shooting - connect to hikite - Karate

Plant seed for sight picture - threat in sharp focus can’t fight nature

Thursday 12/10/20

Meta reps on movement to stance & one hand alignment 

• Add marrying up 2nd hand
• 80/20

Friday 12/11/20

Meta reps on everything we have done so far

• Add breathing
• Incorporate breathing in 360’ scan
• Add securing the weapon
• Add self check

Saturday 12/12/20

Meta reps on everything we have done so far

• Add trigger press
• Two points of reference for finger
• Trigger pin - why it is safe
• Trigger reset

Sunday 12/13/20 11- 1230

Zoom Meeting - Basic Dry Fire Drills - Putting it all together

Anyone interested in joining PM me for details.

Train hard, train smart, be safe

Compared to who - Part 2 How?

Compared to who - Part 2 How?

I was Teaching Assistant to Dr. William Lewinski at Mankato State University for two years.  When we would conduct standards testing, each category was a separate test.  Each test was graded on a steep curve based on the performance of previous students.  For example let’s say some guy back in 1990 did 55 burpees in one minute.  55 burpees = 100% = an A.  The amount of points were then converted into A-F grade scale

A 4
B 3
C 2
D 1
F 0

The letter scores are averaged out to give you your overall score.  So say a bench monkey could knock out 60 push ups in a minute (A) but his mile and a half time sucked say like 18 minutes (D).  Easy math A =4 + D= 1 is 5 divided by 2 for the two tests gives a score of 2.5 or a C+

Inversely a student on the Cross Country team ran her mile and a half like in 10 minutes (A), but could only do 10 push ups in a minute (F).  A=4 + F=0 divided by 2 gives a score of 2 or a C

Remember the idea of chasing perfection to catch excellence.  The goal is steady observable progress.  That is not possible without an object measure of your fitness.  In the example above I’m sure the both the bench monkey and the cross country athlete each thought they were pretty fit, until they were exposed to an objective test that showed them areas of their fitness that needed work.

I have found that the fitness industry uses a five level scale like this

• Elite or Superior
• Professional or Excellent
• Expert or Good                                   
• Collegiate
• Intermediate or Fair

Combining my experience at MSU, running testing for Police Departments, and Law Enforcement Tactical teams with industry standards / best practices I have developed the Keck -O- Meter Scale. 

What is the Keck-O-Meter Scale you ask?
Violence Dynamics has many international clients.  As such an ongoing joke developed about English (American) and Metric measurement conversions.  How far is it to the restaurant? Oh that's about 17 Keck-O-Liters.  How much whiskey did you put in this drink?  Approximately 1.75 Keck-O-Grams etc…

Keck-O-Meters became a thing during the logic of take downs class.  We were discussing the importance of off balancing someone before you attempt to move them.  To make an example I used Myron for a demonstration.  Myron as you may know by now is an impressive physical specimen.  

I said that a Keck-O-Meter is the measurement that N.A.T.O. uses to determine the physical capability of combat troops.  Their toughness or “Power Level” if you will.  I assumed everyone knew I was making a Dragon Ball Z Scouter joke.  I said that Myron was 10 Keck-O-Meters and that I wasn’t what I used to be, so maybe I’m like 7.5 Keck-O-Meters.  Quick Mankato State math 10 is greater than 7.5 so I probably can’t throw him.  However, if I take his balance away and twist him up in such a way that he can only access 6 of his 10 Keck-O-Meters then clearly 7.5 is greater than 6 and throwing him is easy.  Seeing Myron being unable to resist and be thrown with minimal effort is a great visual reinforcement of a principle based approach to take downs.

After that class people came up to me to ask about where they can learn more about the Keck-O-Meter scale and wanted to know if it was named after me.  Apparently If you seem sincere enough and appear to know what you are talking about you can bullshit folks fairly easily.  I explained I was just making a joke, but a seed was planted that perhaps a Keck-O-Meter scale should be developed.

How do you find your Keck-O-Meter score?  Remember this is for your fit for.  That is specific to you, so you should choose objective measures of the attributes you require.  However, we can use fit for personal protection as an example.

Fit For What?...Personal Protection / Professional Use Of Force
Define that (what does that mean?)

• Strong
• Moves well 
• Technically skilled
• Endurance / gas tank 

What does that look like?

Strong

• Power (1 Rep Max)
• Muscular Endurance (Max reps in one minute)
• Functional strength (ability to transfer these attributes to practical skills)

Power (1 Rep Max)

• Push
• (Away) Bench Press
• (Above) Over Head Press
• Pull
• (Toward) Row
• Hinge
• Dead Lift
• Squat
• Some variation of a squatting motion (I like Zercher Squats)

Unless you are actually training for a power lifting competition (power lifting is is your fit for).  You don't have to kill yourself finding your one rep max.

Basic formula to calculate one rep max is:
(Lbs X Reps X 0.0333) + Lbs

That gives you a fairly reasonable estimation of what your one rep max is.  You can use that to help gauge your progress with less potential for injury than actually lifting a weight you can only move for one repetition.  

The tests should be specific to you.  For example the standards on the above tests are for a male my age and my body weight.  

You can and should scale the tests specifically to you as well.  For example my knees are fairly shit.  So to test the power of my legs I prefer to do Zercher Squats as opposed to more traditional barbell back squats.  To test my cardio vascular fitness I prefer to row as opposed to run.

Breaking yourself to see how fit you are really doesn't make much sense, and ultimately makes you less fit.  Regardless of what you are training to be fit for.

I have included a link to the sources I use for standards so you can customize your own tests if you would like.

Click HERE  for your customizable Keck-O-Meter testing matrix.
Please make your own copy and alter to meet your needs.

Determining your Keck-O-Meter score

Step 1 - The math.  The Keck-O-Meter scale is based on a 5 point grading system.  You can see from the test above I had a one rep max on over head press of 192 lbs which earned a 3 points.

192 (3) - OHP
385 (2) - Dead Lift
291 (3) - Bench Press
204 (1) - Zercher Squat

On my power attribute testing I earned a 3,2,3,1 respectively on each test.

Averaged out that is a 2.25 score for power.  I wanted to make sure that anyone using this uses multiple tests, and tests multiple attributes.  It would be easy for the bench monkey from MSU to just test bench press.  

 How much ya bench?

So I included a modifier.  +.05 bonus for each test with a max of +.25 per attribute.

For example, testing just bench press receives no modifier.  Testing bench and squat receives .05 per test resulting in a .1 bonus.

You can see from my scores that my squat needs improvement especially compared to my bench press and over head press scores.  The testing process points out an imbalance, that I can work on now, because I can see it (affordances).

I took four tests to determine my power attribute so my 2.25 gets a .2 bonus for a score of 2.45

Step 2 take your 5 point scale score and multiple by 5 to get your Keck-O-Meter score for that attribute.

2.45 x 5 = 12.25.  12.25 = Expert / Good for that one attribute

Step 3 average out the scores from testing all of the attributes required for your fit for.
Here is an example of attribute testing for personal protection 

The Keck-O-Meter scale works like this
Elite /  Superior [21 - 25]
Pro  / Excellent [16 - 20]
Expert  /  Good                        [11 - 15]
Collegiate (SWAT Qual Min)   [6  -  10]
Intermediate / Fair [1  -    5]

Elite /  Superior is the ranking for 21 - 25 points.  This intentionally set very high.  This level is an extremely lofty goal.  This is the level of fitness of a professional athlete at their peak.  Pro Bowl  / All Star caliber.  This is as close to Captain America as reality can come until the invention of the super soldier formula and vita rays.

Pro  / Excellent 16 - 20 points.  Also very difficult.  This is roughly equivalent to a professional athlete.  Hawkeye / Black Widow.

Expert  /  Good  11 - 15 points  Clearly this is no joke either.  This would be similar to entrance requirements for Special Forces.  Agent 13 / Maria Hill

Collegiate (SWAT Qual Min) 6  -  10 points.  This is right about what is required for collegiate sports.  This would be similar to entrance requirements for Law Enforcement Tactical Teams.   

Intermediate / Fair 1  -    5 points.  This is roughly equal to the level of fitness required to pass a Military or Law Enforcement PT test.

Make this process your own:

• Pick the attributes you feel are important to your fit for
• Test those attributes in ways that meet your needs (don't break yourself testing yourself)
• What was your score?
• What was easy?
• What needs work?
• Develop a plan
• Work the plan

Are you more fit for your specific fit for, than you were 6 weeks ago?  
That is called winning!!!

You may never score that 5 star 20-25 Keck-O-Meter rating but that was never the point, in the attempt you caught excellence.

So ultimately the answer to the question compared who, is you.  You now compared to you then, compared to where you want to be. 

How do you get to where you want to be?

The Budo Blog will return in - Develop a plan part 1: Time Management.

Until then...
Train hard, train smart, be safe