Adventure Athlete Training Systems

Anyone else excited for the Fall Deer Season? I can’t wait to get quiet in the woods.

The Knowth Macehead is one of my all time favorite artifacts! I had the honor of seeing it again last year in the National Museum of Ireland, and visited its original resting place. Carved over 5,000 years ago and discovered in Ireland’s ancient passage tomb of Knowth, it is one of the finest examples of Neolithic art. Its spirals, chevrons, and interlacing patterns harken back to an age where tools were both practical and ceremonial. To me, the carving also resembles a human head, perhaps a nod to the spirit-bearing power of the object. Not a stone, but a companion in ritual and in battle.

In my training, I see the same principle: the mace is not just a weapon or a fitness tool, but a vessel for skill, discipline, meaning. To train with intention is to carve strength into the body the way our ancestors carved symbols into stone.