What is Plato's Cave?
Plato's Cave is simply what
we have come to call the place where we train. It is just a
large garage that does double duty as our gym.
When Mary and I bought the house
four years ago, the garage was a disaster. Who knew that there
was such a thing as brown dry-wall 35 years ago. So, we began
training there and we soon after started referring to it simply
as "the Cave".
Over time, as it I began to make improvements on
"the Cave", I began to refer to it as Plato's Cave, in deference
to what is perhaps the greatest allegory in philosophy. I saw a
philosophical link between what I envisioned was the ultimate
purpose of martial arts training and the story. Also, there was
even a tie between the name "Plato". His accurate name
was Aristocles. Plato was in fact the name Aristocles took for
wrestling competitions. For more info on
the allegory of Plato's Cave, go to the following websites:
Allegory of the cave (Wikipedia)
The Allegory of the Cave
Plato, "The Allegory of the Cave"
Plato's Cave and The Matrix
Before it was Plato's Cave
(no the minivan isn't mine...these were taken before Mary and I bought
the house)
Plato's Cave is not a commercial martial arts school or
facility. It isn't a martial arts business. Our purpose is to
help each other train to reach our respective martial arts
goals. We are not interested in making money off the sharing of
our martial arts. None of our instructors profits off what they
teach or the time they spend teaching it at the Cave.
Everyone that trains at the
Cave is part of our family. We work together to attain our personal
martial arts and training goals. Students train at the Cave for a variety of reasons. Some of these include, fitness development, self-defense, competition, kinesthetic appreciation, social interaction,
and cultural exploration. Regardless of the reason or reasons
for training with, all us, all are welcome and will be respected.
Plato's Cave does not offer the usual creature comforts found at
commercial martial arts schools. There is no carpeting. There is no heat and no air
conditioning. In Maryland, where summers can get into the upper
90's with high humidity and the winter of can get down into the
single digits, this by itself is a testament to the toughness,
perseverance, and desire to train of those who come to the Cave.
At the Cave, we strive
to provide the means necessary to achieve the various martial
arts-related training goals. While the Cave itself may not be
much in terms of creature comforts, we maintain a training
area that surpasses most commercial martial arts
facilities in the quantity and quality of training equipment.
The Cave provides most anything you could want or need in terms
of training equipment.
|
Sparring Equipment |
Training Equipment |
- MMA sparring
gloves
- 18 ounce sparring gloves
- 16 ounce training gloves
- 12 ounce training gloves
- kickboxing shin guards
- MMA shin guards
- grappling headgear
- striking elbow pads
- striking knee pads
- stick fighting jackets
- stick fighting gloves
- stick fighting headgear
- open face headgear
- caged head gear
- covered headgear
- thigh protectors |
- curved focus
mitts
- flat focus mitts
- micro mitts
- thai pads
- heavy kicking shields
-
leg kick shields
- coaches mitts
- shin guards (baseball)
- speed bag
- top & bottom bag
- mook yan jong
- wavemaster XXL
- thai bag
- bob bag
- training sticks, staffs, knives
- ~400 sq ft folding mats
- ~600 sq ft jigsaw mats |
Plato's
Cave also has an extensive assortment of conditioning
equipment including jump ropes, medicine balls, stretching
machines, resistance bands, super bands, etc..
On Tuesday evenings, during the regular
academic year, we hold the Tuesday night classes at the college.
The college also has an extensive inventory of training
equipment. Including additional kicking shield, thai pads, focus
mitts, sparring gear, and a grappling/mixed martial arts area
with zebramats.
In
addition to the martial arts equipment identified previously, we
also maintain state of the art, science-based testing and
training tools which facilitate students' progress. To our
knowledge, no other martial arts facility offers this class of
sport science-based training. Some of the sport science-based
training and measurement tools used at Plato's Cave are:
|
- iMETT
Metabolic Testing System
- Four-Way Video Analysis System
|
. Sony DCR-TRV32O video camera
. Sony DCR-HC2O video camera
. DXG 505 V
video camera
. Aiptek Action HD High Speed video
camera |
-
Innovisions
Systems MaxTRAQ Motion Analysis Software
- Pro trainer DV Sports Motion Analysis System
- Lactate
Plus Lactate Analyzer
- Autogenic Systems AT33 Portable Surface
Electromyograph
- Zipocrit
Hematocrit Analyzer
- Omron Body
Composition Analyzer
- Lange Skin Caliper
- Polar SI610 Heartrate Monitor
-
CardioChek Portable Blood
Test System
- Propper Sprio Pet Dry
Spirometer
- Technasport Speed Check Model 7700
- Hitmaster Personal Trainer 3 Zone
Target
- Hitmaster Personal Trainer Single Zone
Target
- Herman Interactive Training System
- Gulick II Tape Measure
- Smedley II Hand Grip Dynamometer
- Back/Leg/Chest Dynamometer |
Plato's Cave, January, 2008
(more pics of Plato's Cave are available in the Gallery)
Plato's Cave (like those of us that train there) is a work in
progress. We welcome all to train with us, however, due to space
limitations at the Cave we can only accept new students after a
vetting process has been completed and space becomes available.
Space at the Cave typically is due to student attrition, so
unless one student leaves, we are unable to take on any new ones
there.
During the academic year, our Tuesday night training session is
held at the college gym, so we do have slots available for those
interested in training with us. Typically our Director requires
new students to train with us on Tuesday nights at the college
as a vetting process. Once that student has trained with us
there for an appropriate length of time, has demonstrated the
desire and commitment to train, and a slot at the Cave is
available, Joe will offer them the opportunity to come out to
the cave for the Thursday and/or Saturday training sessions.
Any questions about training should be should be addressed to
our Director, Joe Singleton. Please see his contact information
below.
Contact
For information about
training with us, please contact
Joe Singleton
Plato's Cave Director
ebbony@verizon.net
443-718-7338
