[Many of the problems noted here before man weekend, were addressed organically by the high agency of the attendees. The increase in numbers actually improved the organization by adding competent men.]

-7/23/26, Portland

The problems apparent with gatherings of more than a half dozen have been consistent:

1.) Lack of initiative among fighters for any support task. Gear attention is often about toddler level.

2.) Ego-based, not physical, fear, of fighting in any format in which they are not the favorite. Despite all there is to be learned fighting the best men—and despite their desire to carry or fight to the level of the inexperienced—the fear of being schooled, of being given the tools for growth, are the dominant ones. This goes with contact issues in sparring to. When a man can’t hit light, it is because he has to win or feel like a woman. This is a deep wound we have been addressing in various ways. Yet, only a third will duel, only a third grapple, with few willing to do group combat.

3.) Lack of leaders, with such weird fringe characters like myself sometimes tasked with “running” things.

4.) Terminal flow, a downward reduction in participation as the event “progresses” but instead dissipates.

5.) Lack of conditioning, which is something that cannot be addressed at annual or even seasonal meets, with men showing with what they have. Sean is a conditioning fanatic. But the men who have sought him out for training are scattered and on their own. So at his events he often does more fighting than seven men combined while they gas-out. The aspect of this we can address is intrinsic to #1 above. Most men are afraid to continue working in sparring or in fighting while tired, that the ego shielded from any test except when the prince of his own heart is at his best.

This is based on our over-domestication. It is kept in place by the American ethos that one should be a champion, the best, or one is nothing. I have two suggestions for a solution.

#1 Flow Reversal

We tend to start with what most people are willing to do, boxing. Then half of those men sit out the weapons. Then most of the weapons men and half the boxers sit out the grappling.

Early Morning

I have faced two home invasions. Both times I was in disposed, once in the shower and the other asleep. So my training has been walk up, no warm up, no rituals, no breakfast, no coffee, no reading of the gay electronic paper.

The flow should begin with weapons, the thing that boxers fear second only to grappling. I use boxers as the measure, because all of our men box. Also, the laziest fighters are weapons men. Lets do weapons before breakfast. If a stick, knife or sword man must be a prince, then he misses out. Also, weapons are the least strenuous and save more energy for the day. The muscle guys who care less about weapons, they will have time to eat their protein and energy bars and the headcases can nurse their coffee while the weapon men train.

Mid Morning to Afternoon

Make the core of the day grappling to encourage participation and give time for remedial instruction.

Late Afternoon to Dusk

the American craves banker’s hours. It is like pulling teeth to keep men at it towards dark. So we should make it fun and save what everybody does—boxing—for last. Boxing should include gloved, bare knuckle, kickboxing, MMA. London Prize Ring fighting was called pancration after the ancient art.

Training and Fight days could flow the same way.

Weapons

Break/rest [Put all that gear away]

Grappling

Break/rest [Get out the boxing gear.]

Boxing

Review [Crewing on Thursday night, Match-making on training day, and watching the fights on Saturday night.]

Crews

We have done boxing in the Red Corner/Blue Corner fashion. That worked well. In this next event Sean and James are going at it for a five round fight. Let’s expand that to a Red Crew and Blue Crew, with Sean and James as captains. By having crews, we can assign non combat work to those who will not participate in certain types of combat. In this coming event we will also have enough men to have weapons, grappling and boxing coaches on each side. The crew is where we can find appeal with the curious, and hopefully win a new fighter from out of the sheep fold.

10 to 14 men has been our median.

Rather than picking men for teams, as in sand lot ball, let us pair up men by their primary function: weapons, grappling, boxing. Height and weight can factor, matching as close as possible. Our two best stick men, Charles and Joel. Charles has the advantage, so he goes to Red Team. I think it is clutch to develop fighters uphill, against the odds. These are mostly self-defense men. I’m a loser in sport, but have done far better in self-defense than numerous men who schooled me in the gym. I account for this by being the underdog in the gym. We are always the underdog in the street, pre-selected by predators as we are. James is looking forward to fighting a bigger, better boxer in Sean as a means of development. A combat athlete who will only fight as the favorite is nearly worthless once he is selected as prey by a group.

Each of the three arts should feature a round robin feeder team fight, and a battle. The nature of these may be worked out at parlay on Thursday night. The lot pull grappling event that was so successful in 2025 I suggest as half time for the day, with the men sitting it out helping out.

Who thinks pirates were not cool? It my be fun to follow the seafaring tradition that encapsulated in its code dueling and group fighting.

Crew [base six men]

Captain:

Cornerman: Match-maker & gear

Duelist?

Grappler?

Boxer?

Utility Fighter?

Crew?

The two best/most experienced fighters in each of the three categories stand: weapons, grappling, boxing, in flow order. The odds on favorite in a fight of that kind as determined by a show of hands, goes Red, the underdog, Blue. If the best grappler is also the number 2 weapon man, then he is already selected and the #1 and #3 stand for grappler, then the best remaining boxers, for boxer.

That fills out the top of each roster, with 5 slots.

Next two men who are willing to fight in ALL of the three categories, stand for the same Red Blue process. That is your utility fighter.

The remaining men are paired up as likely matches in the same disciplines and brought on board. If there is an odd fighter, he goes Blue.

After training day, we have a match making parlay. We start at the top of every discipline: in flow order, with the Red Crew advancing a fighter, let’s say to take any Blue in double stick, with Blue selecting their champion. At the end of each of the three match making challenges, Blue fighters may each call out a red man for a fight in a general category, with the cornermen hashing out the specifics: in boxing, gloved, pairs, small glove, MMA, kickboxing or bareknuckle.

For the combat surface, we should spend maximum time training and fighting, not building rings and such. How about if we grapple on grass and box and duel on any of the available surfaces? Surface selection may be part of the match making. Besides, rings and cages exist for the spectator, to monetize the fighter. If we make our ring or cage of men, problem solved.

Combats will take place in two corners, with each crew standing in a wedge open to the other, making a human enclosure and assuring that people on deck and underperforming pay attention and learn. With such a small ring, fights will be quicker, we will get more work and leave time for more fights; and such fights will transfer more functionally to self-defense situations.

The possibilities and hazards of group combat will be addressed in Physical Flow #3. Evolution within the three major disciplines will be discussed in Fight Flow #4. These will be discussion starters, as our information sets are lacking. I had planned on recusing from any combat and assisting in coaching. But with the turnout apparent for Man Weekend 2026, we have a chance to make something that has been great a lot better. For the next such event I intend to simply be its record keeper come fight day.