Ted Turner said “Lead, Follow, or Get out of my way!” I love this statement. What is being said here? It is saying that you need to know your place or you are useless.
If you are a leader you must lead. If you are a follower you must follow. If you are neither, you are lost.
In a dojo we have Seniors also known as Sempai and Juniors also known as Kohai. The balance of these two is what makes a dojo work or not. Everyone needs to know there place at any given time and act accordingly. We are not always Sempai or Kohai. Depending on who we are working with we can be either. It is important to recognize the knowledge you have and the knowledge others have to offer. This is what lets you know your place as Senior or Junior at the time.
When it is your time to lead you must be the Sempai. You have to appreciate your task as a leader of those who have les experience then you. More experience does not equal privilege. It equals responsibility. To many take a leadership ship role and abuse it.
Coming up thru the ranks I have had good and bad trainers and Seniors. Most took advantage of my enthusiasm and used it for their own game. A few understood that my enthusiasm was something that needed to be developed for both our benefits. In North America, Seniors tend to haze and abuse junior students on the rise. The juniors are put in a position of taking care of their seniors and have the responsibility of most menial tasks.
The big eye opener for me was going to Japan and seeing the Sempai/Kohai relationship in its country of origin. Juniors had a heavy work load and were put on a hard road of learning. But the Seniors cared for the Juniors in a way I had never participated in before. The Senior might make the junior do his wash but he also took the junior out for dinner and put a few dollars in their pockets when they were having a tough time. Seniors tended to be hard men but fair.
In North America I was part of systems that had juniors picking up the tab when out and the chores being piled on by lazy seniors. It was a system of privilege where the “reward” of rank was juniors being subservient. This is far from the eastern origins of the system. Don’t get me wrong. Positive and negative examples exists on both continents. I have seen some horrendous abuse from Eastern and Western Seniors.
After being a part of many systems I chose to create one that fit a more positive model. I am not Japanese and most of my students are not either. I cannot ask an American to be what they are not the same way I cannot ask a Japanese. I have taken from my experience the positive aspects of both ways and worked them into my dojo. The REAL way of doing things is about knowing your place. Knowing when to lead and when to follow.
I believe in leading from the front. This means I will not ask of anyone something I am not willing to do or have never done before. I have to lead from my experience, not someone else’s. I promote this within my students as well. This keeps us all sharp and honest as training partners and leaders within our community.
At no point can we allow ourselves to look at ourselves as better then those with less experience. We were them once. Experience shared earns respect. This is the respect we should strive for. Respect earned over respect demanded. Our actions should be such that respect is naturally given. Respect demanded creates contempt and breads a negative pattern that will be followed.
I have made my mistakes. When I was younger and less experienced I felt that I needed an iron fist to keep people in line. In time I came to realize people will follow more truthfully if given a choice. I put myself out there to let people know what I am about. They can either follow my way or not. We all need the freedom to choose what we want. It is my job to make sure that the choice is educated and informed so the choice is truthful on both of our parts.
In the end I have a student base that honestly wants to participate in my system. They have actually turned it from my system to our system. I feel more honest about what I do and comfortable with my student base. I have the satisfaction of knowing we all believe in a similar ideal and are working together honestly towards a shared goal.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Learn from others experience:
One thing that really pisses me off is when I am trying to work with someone and they tell me they know something already?! The thing is that if you already knew then I wouldn’t be over correcting them.
After doing the same thing over and over again for long periods of time we forget what it felt like the 1st day. In time we think we know something unlike day 1 when we were hungry for knowledge because we knew we knew nothing and we were excited for something new. This leads to a decline in performance. More times then not we miss the slide from peak performance to maintenance level. This is why it is good to have people with more experience then you around.
We all need a kick in the ass to wake us up to the reality of we don’t know it all. I try to stay as humble as possible in my training and teaching. I have found great success along my way but I know that what got me success today might not work tomorrow. Sound principles are my foundation. What changes is how I train these principles and apply them.
We are not the same person from day to day. Our mental and physical conditions change constantly. This causes us to react differently and changes are ability to deal with situations. When I broke my right hand I had to change my strategy for a while. I had to rely on other tools to deal with the same situations. Some days I don’t have the same mental toughness to deal with heavy contact. This makes me move more then absorb. The adjustments and issues can go on and on.
Our ability to maintain a beginners attitude in training is key to staying fresh in thought and attitude. We can never feel like we have been there and done that. Even if we have we still have a new opportunity to experience in a new time and a new way.
In Karate, people have grown to associate a black belt with mastery. This is not the intended case. In fact the black belt was to signify that one had progressed far enough to now be a student of a way. All the belts before were laying a foundation for learning. The black belt is not an end result but a true beginning for higher learning.
Many fighters I know that are now retired say the same thing. If they only knew what they do now when they were still fighting they would have been so much better then they were. The arrogance of youth has held many of us back. Only in time do we come to realize that there is always something to learn and there is always someone smarter then us out there.
It is the details that separate one experience from another. If we assume we know we will miss the fine points that separate what we did yesterday from today. Coming into each day like it our 1st will keep us open to the changes in life. We all progress as we move forward. We can appreciate the growth but we can’t allow it to stop by being foolish enough to think we know everything.
After doing the same thing over and over again for long periods of time we forget what it felt like the 1st day. In time we think we know something unlike day 1 when we were hungry for knowledge because we knew we knew nothing and we were excited for something new. This leads to a decline in performance. More times then not we miss the slide from peak performance to maintenance level. This is why it is good to have people with more experience then you around.
We all need a kick in the ass to wake us up to the reality of we don’t know it all. I try to stay as humble as possible in my training and teaching. I have found great success along my way but I know that what got me success today might not work tomorrow. Sound principles are my foundation. What changes is how I train these principles and apply them.
We are not the same person from day to day. Our mental and physical conditions change constantly. This causes us to react differently and changes are ability to deal with situations. When I broke my right hand I had to change my strategy for a while. I had to rely on other tools to deal with the same situations. Some days I don’t have the same mental toughness to deal with heavy contact. This makes me move more then absorb. The adjustments and issues can go on and on.
Our ability to maintain a beginners attitude in training is key to staying fresh in thought and attitude. We can never feel like we have been there and done that. Even if we have we still have a new opportunity to experience in a new time and a new way.
In Karate, people have grown to associate a black belt with mastery. This is not the intended case. In fact the black belt was to signify that one had progressed far enough to now be a student of a way. All the belts before were laying a foundation for learning. The black belt is not an end result but a true beginning for higher learning.
Many fighters I know that are now retired say the same thing. If they only knew what they do now when they were still fighting they would have been so much better then they were. The arrogance of youth has held many of us back. Only in time do we come to realize that there is always something to learn and there is always someone smarter then us out there.
It is the details that separate one experience from another. If we assume we know we will miss the fine points that separate what we did yesterday from today. Coming into each day like it our 1st will keep us open to the changes in life. We all progress as we move forward. We can appreciate the growth but we can’t allow it to stop by being foolish enough to think we know everything.
Only get mad when it’s true:
My dad gave me advice once. He said “Don’t get upset by what people say unless it’s true. And if it is, get mad at you not them cause you did it.” I have to say that that is some pretty sound advice.
I have always kept this advice with me. As a trainer you are in the public eye when you promote your facility and bring fighters to shows. This will bring out quite a few opinions from people you don’t know and most likely never will. You can’t let the chatter get to you. If you are doing your job and living right you don’t have to worry.
I am human. I don’t let chatter fall away all the time. I take what I do personally. Attack me all you want. It is when you attack me in a way that disrespects those around me that I get most upset. I live by my way as true as I can. I am passionate about the positive change that can occur from training right. I do bring criticism upon myself when I fall short of my way just like you will. The key is learning from these short trips off the path so they don’t keep happening.
The great samurai Miyamoto Musashi once said “Live life in a way you won’t regret.” If you are living this way, what can someone say to upset you? We all have to live with our actions and how the are perceived.
It all comes down to belief. If you believe in a way then live by it you have nothing to fear. It is when we stray from our way that we open ourselves up for criticism that can get to us. To critic my way is one thing, criticize me for not following my way is another. If your way is strong and true it will withstand criticism but if we fall off of our way we have nothing to fight with. We are the one who failed to stay the course so we bring upon ourselves anything we get.
If you believe something you should feel the need to live it fully. For some it is as simple as a choice because they possess the personal skills and strength to do this. Others need time to develop the strength and the skills. If you need to grow to fit your beliefs you can start with something more manageable. What it takes to do a small task well is the same as a big one. If your goal is to be a world champion you can’t just step into the ring and take on the top guy. You have to set goals and meet them along the way to the top. Every fighter has a first fight. Your 1st goal is yours. Train for it, get in shape, then go for it. Adjust according to the outcome and keep moving forward towards success then a new goal.
Training and conditioning can encompass many different areas. Physical, mental and even spiritual training may be needed. When a goal is significant you usually need all 3. A fight may be personal battles, mental property, day to day work issues, or an actual fight. To me, fighting can be anything because fighting on a competitive level is the one thing I learned to do the rest of my life well. You may be a businessman, a husband, or a father before you are anything else. You have to strip down to your core and see where your base understanding of things comes from.
We all establish a pattern from experience. Our pattern in most cases can be traced to the 1st thing we ever identified with personally and found great success or great failure thru. It is what we tap into when faced with the opportunity to have success or failure. If our base is negative we will more times then not fail but if our experience pattern is positive we will find success more.
It takes a strong and honest person to see their truth. Many of us have negative foundations that we don’t want to see because they are to painful to acknowledge. We have to bolster our strength so we can be truthful about who and what we are so we can deal with this and continue our patterns freely or create new ones.
I had a recent experience with a family member dealing with personal pain. The pain comes from their partner having a terminal illness. Their response has not been what they want. The stress of the knowledge has caused a pattern of behavior that they do not like. In looking at their past they are scared that they won’t be able to handle this new situation.
My answer to the fear and depression because of the identity of a personal truth that is uncomfortable is this. We can’t change who we have been in the past but we can work towards a new reality moving forward. We have to draw a line in the sand of time and commit to only judging ourselves from this point on. This point is a point that we know who and what we are. Every moment forward we are working towards positive and progressive change. We can’t carry the burden of past negativity. We must move forward stronger knowing that we are making new positive patterns from our point of demarcation.
Our past and the patterns we have created can dominate us if not dealt with. We must acknowledge them then let them go. Their weight will be to much for us to carry as we forward in a more positive way.
The reason I love teaching Martial Arts is its direct way of dealing with who we are. You can’t hide from yourself when training. You can only do what you are strong enough to do and what you are skilled enough to understand. It is a simple reality check that can bring you in touch with so much in your life. By seeing the truth we can then act to be strong or continue to ignore the truth and hide from our reality in some other self satisfying but meaning less task.
Have you ever heard the saying “Easy isn’t worth doing”? It doesn’t mean we have to kill ourselves with impossible tasks all the time. The main point is that only thru difficult and challenging tasks can we find growth. Only thru solving problems will we expand our physical and mental abilities.
Your body won’t change without a diverse set of challenges. Your mind won’t expand without a broad range of stimulus. We have to open our lives to as much experience as possible to maximize our potential and create positive change.
If you are unhappy with what people are saying or what you are doing, look for the foundation of your patterns of success or failure. If you are continuing a positive pattern of success you need to identify it and learn from it so it will continue. If you are following a negative pattern you need to draw that line and start on a new path with new patterns. Challenge yourself with something new. Something fresh and free of past distractions. Challenge yourself to do something you have never done before and enjoy it.
I have always kept this advice with me. As a trainer you are in the public eye when you promote your facility and bring fighters to shows. This will bring out quite a few opinions from people you don’t know and most likely never will. You can’t let the chatter get to you. If you are doing your job and living right you don’t have to worry.
I am human. I don’t let chatter fall away all the time. I take what I do personally. Attack me all you want. It is when you attack me in a way that disrespects those around me that I get most upset. I live by my way as true as I can. I am passionate about the positive change that can occur from training right. I do bring criticism upon myself when I fall short of my way just like you will. The key is learning from these short trips off the path so they don’t keep happening.
The great samurai Miyamoto Musashi once said “Live life in a way you won’t regret.” If you are living this way, what can someone say to upset you? We all have to live with our actions and how the are perceived.
It all comes down to belief. If you believe in a way then live by it you have nothing to fear. It is when we stray from our way that we open ourselves up for criticism that can get to us. To critic my way is one thing, criticize me for not following my way is another. If your way is strong and true it will withstand criticism but if we fall off of our way we have nothing to fight with. We are the one who failed to stay the course so we bring upon ourselves anything we get.
If you believe something you should feel the need to live it fully. For some it is as simple as a choice because they possess the personal skills and strength to do this. Others need time to develop the strength and the skills. If you need to grow to fit your beliefs you can start with something more manageable. What it takes to do a small task well is the same as a big one. If your goal is to be a world champion you can’t just step into the ring and take on the top guy. You have to set goals and meet them along the way to the top. Every fighter has a first fight. Your 1st goal is yours. Train for it, get in shape, then go for it. Adjust according to the outcome and keep moving forward towards success then a new goal.
Training and conditioning can encompass many different areas. Physical, mental and even spiritual training may be needed. When a goal is significant you usually need all 3. A fight may be personal battles, mental property, day to day work issues, or an actual fight. To me, fighting can be anything because fighting on a competitive level is the one thing I learned to do the rest of my life well. You may be a businessman, a husband, or a father before you are anything else. You have to strip down to your core and see where your base understanding of things comes from.
We all establish a pattern from experience. Our pattern in most cases can be traced to the 1st thing we ever identified with personally and found great success or great failure thru. It is what we tap into when faced with the opportunity to have success or failure. If our base is negative we will more times then not fail but if our experience pattern is positive we will find success more.
It takes a strong and honest person to see their truth. Many of us have negative foundations that we don’t want to see because they are to painful to acknowledge. We have to bolster our strength so we can be truthful about who and what we are so we can deal with this and continue our patterns freely or create new ones.
I had a recent experience with a family member dealing with personal pain. The pain comes from their partner having a terminal illness. Their response has not been what they want. The stress of the knowledge has caused a pattern of behavior that they do not like. In looking at their past they are scared that they won’t be able to handle this new situation.
My answer to the fear and depression because of the identity of a personal truth that is uncomfortable is this. We can’t change who we have been in the past but we can work towards a new reality moving forward. We have to draw a line in the sand of time and commit to only judging ourselves from this point on. This point is a point that we know who and what we are. Every moment forward we are working towards positive and progressive change. We can’t carry the burden of past negativity. We must move forward stronger knowing that we are making new positive patterns from our point of demarcation.
Our past and the patterns we have created can dominate us if not dealt with. We must acknowledge them then let them go. Their weight will be to much for us to carry as we forward in a more positive way.
The reason I love teaching Martial Arts is its direct way of dealing with who we are. You can’t hide from yourself when training. You can only do what you are strong enough to do and what you are skilled enough to understand. It is a simple reality check that can bring you in touch with so much in your life. By seeing the truth we can then act to be strong or continue to ignore the truth and hide from our reality in some other self satisfying but meaning less task.
Have you ever heard the saying “Easy isn’t worth doing”? It doesn’t mean we have to kill ourselves with impossible tasks all the time. The main point is that only thru difficult and challenging tasks can we find growth. Only thru solving problems will we expand our physical and mental abilities.
Your body won’t change without a diverse set of challenges. Your mind won’t expand without a broad range of stimulus. We have to open our lives to as much experience as possible to maximize our potential and create positive change.
If you are unhappy with what people are saying or what you are doing, look for the foundation of your patterns of success or failure. If you are continuing a positive pattern of success you need to identify it and learn from it so it will continue. If you are following a negative pattern you need to draw that line and start on a new path with new patterns. Challenge yourself with something new. Something fresh and free of past distractions. Challenge yourself to do something you have never done before and enjoy it.
Look death in the eye:
You ever turn away from something coming at you like it just might stop if you don’t look at it? Chances are you got smashed anyway. This happens all the time literally and figuratively. My attitude about it is if death is gonna come knocking we might as well look it in the eye and see our fate.
In sparring, 1 human being is trying to hit another. This creates a bit of tension. Some seem fearless and others wear their fear on their sleeve. There is no right or wrong here. It is what it is. The key becomes what do we do about this? If we have no fear of getting hit, Great! You are one of the lucky few.
After countless rounds in the ring sparring and fighting I can honestly say that I get a little nervous before every round. It usually settles between a balance of not wanting to look stupid and the other is that I know what can go wrong and how much it could hurt. It is how we all deal with our nerves or fear that will define our success or failure.
I don’t know to many people that like pain or being afraid. Sparring is an exercise in both. It is inevitable that you will feel pain from being hit then you will have to deal with fear of it happening again. In time you will either accept this or you will stop sparring all together.
Life is no different then sparring. You have to accept that in trying to live we will be faced with pain and fear. If we accept this and deal with it we will keep progressing. If we let fear of pain stop us we will be living a limited existence. This is unacceptable to some but the norm for most.
Why do we love action movies? Its because somebody else is being the hero for us. Americans love the guy who takes a beating then comes out on top in the end. Most like this story because it is how they feel but can only imagine living. Our pop culture lives are inundated with images of those that do so we don’t have to. We can let pop culture live for us or we can define our lives thru our own personal culture.
We have created a society of professional spectators. The majority of people will watch or listen before doing. That is why we love our TV’s, Movie Theatres, radios, computers, cell phones, etc…… They are all vehicles of distraction from doing. That is why we pay the money we do to entertainers and their industries. It is easier to give up money then it is effort.
The true purpose driven life is the one that looks death in the eye and says I don’t care. We all know we are going to die but not all of us appreciate the time we have before death comes. We can live in fear as spectators that allow others to take the hits for us or we can get up and get out into the world and live our own lives with our own experiences.
Nothing has been more real for me then getting punched in the face. It is an immediate wake up call. It lets you know that you made a mistake like not to many other mistakes in life. It has made me appreciate everything I have and motivated me to go after the things I want. I also know I won’t be able to spar and compete at a high level forever. I have been forced to accept time and my personal limitations from wear and tear. This has translated into an appreciation for most things in my life. I know that many good things in life are fleeting and I must enjoy them while they are still here.
Not everyone needs a punch n the face to wake them up to reality. We all have our sparring. Mine is in a ring. Yours may be the boardroom. No matter what we all take our shots. We can freak out about them or we can take them and learn to appreciate the fleeting nature of life.
In sparring, 1 human being is trying to hit another. This creates a bit of tension. Some seem fearless and others wear their fear on their sleeve. There is no right or wrong here. It is what it is. The key becomes what do we do about this? If we have no fear of getting hit, Great! You are one of the lucky few.
After countless rounds in the ring sparring and fighting I can honestly say that I get a little nervous before every round. It usually settles between a balance of not wanting to look stupid and the other is that I know what can go wrong and how much it could hurt. It is how we all deal with our nerves or fear that will define our success or failure.
I don’t know to many people that like pain or being afraid. Sparring is an exercise in both. It is inevitable that you will feel pain from being hit then you will have to deal with fear of it happening again. In time you will either accept this or you will stop sparring all together.
Life is no different then sparring. You have to accept that in trying to live we will be faced with pain and fear. If we accept this and deal with it we will keep progressing. If we let fear of pain stop us we will be living a limited existence. This is unacceptable to some but the norm for most.
Why do we love action movies? Its because somebody else is being the hero for us. Americans love the guy who takes a beating then comes out on top in the end. Most like this story because it is how they feel but can only imagine living. Our pop culture lives are inundated with images of those that do so we don’t have to. We can let pop culture live for us or we can define our lives thru our own personal culture.
We have created a society of professional spectators. The majority of people will watch or listen before doing. That is why we love our TV’s, Movie Theatres, radios, computers, cell phones, etc…… They are all vehicles of distraction from doing. That is why we pay the money we do to entertainers and their industries. It is easier to give up money then it is effort.
The true purpose driven life is the one that looks death in the eye and says I don’t care. We all know we are going to die but not all of us appreciate the time we have before death comes. We can live in fear as spectators that allow others to take the hits for us or we can get up and get out into the world and live our own lives with our own experiences.
Nothing has been more real for me then getting punched in the face. It is an immediate wake up call. It lets you know that you made a mistake like not to many other mistakes in life. It has made me appreciate everything I have and motivated me to go after the things I want. I also know I won’t be able to spar and compete at a high level forever. I have been forced to accept time and my personal limitations from wear and tear. This has translated into an appreciation for most things in my life. I know that many good things in life are fleeting and I must enjoy them while they are still here.
Not everyone needs a punch n the face to wake them up to reality. We all have our sparring. Mine is in a ring. Yours may be the boardroom. No matter what we all take our shots. We can freak out about them or we can take them and learn to appreciate the fleeting nature of life.
The Adversarial approach
I am a huge information whore. I love my training and fight tapes. I read everything I can about what my interests are. This is not so I can imitate but so I can figure out how to defeat something or get an idea of what might be next.
If you emulate what the best just did you are behind. The best are ahead of you. By the time you figure out what they just did they will be a few moves beyond. My goal has always been to defeat what the best do with something new and to try and see where they are looking to go next. I don’t want to be a follower. I want to lead.
If you happen to be the best you need to push past where you are in order to maintain your lead. You can’t be complacent.
New ideas come from those that see beyond right now. You have to see potential then act to make it a reality. This is what makes new things happen. We can’t repeat all the time we need more. This is what makes life exciting and keeps us motivated.
You can never limit yourself to what you see around you. What is there right now is leading to something else. What you see is already in the past. What we need to do to lead is to find what will be the winning strategy for tomorrow.
During my entire career I would look at who was winning whatever venue I was fighting in or putting fighters in. I would look for who and what was winning. When we were active in the Sabaki Challenge tournaments around the country we would have to be aware of sweeps and throws that dominated the scoring at these events. Our dojo was a dojo filled with bangers - people who liked to hit and hit and hit instead of sweep or throw. Instead of changing our philosophy we just reworked it to counter what our opponents strengths were.
In the 7 years that we were active in these events we hardly scored with sweeps or throws and we only lost 4 fights by them. Most of our matches were won by points scored by hard contact. Strong kicks to the legs and body punches were are weapons and we won with them.
I really enjoyed this challenge. Knowing that we couldn’t just unleash our attacks because of the threat Enshin Karate stylists posed made us rethink our game and adapt it for success. If we stayed where we were comfortable we would have never been challenged in a way that promoted growth.
Opponents are my friends. They have always motivated me to be better then I would have been on my own. In fighting and in life it has always been good to have competition. Having someone looking to do something better or more effective then us will push us or break us.
The martial arts business down the street motivates me to do mine better. I am sure I motivate him as well. We are locked in a duel to capture the marketplace. This is good because we both have to stay active promoting and growing our businesses. As mine grows so will my opponents. The marketplace is big enough to service multiple schools. We push each other to service our communities more effectively and offer more variety.
If you emulate what the best just did you are behind. The best are ahead of you. By the time you figure out what they just did they will be a few moves beyond. My goal has always been to defeat what the best do with something new and to try and see where they are looking to go next. I don’t want to be a follower. I want to lead.
If you happen to be the best you need to push past where you are in order to maintain your lead. You can’t be complacent.
New ideas come from those that see beyond right now. You have to see potential then act to make it a reality. This is what makes new things happen. We can’t repeat all the time we need more. This is what makes life exciting and keeps us motivated.
You can never limit yourself to what you see around you. What is there right now is leading to something else. What you see is already in the past. What we need to do to lead is to find what will be the winning strategy for tomorrow.
During my entire career I would look at who was winning whatever venue I was fighting in or putting fighters in. I would look for who and what was winning. When we were active in the Sabaki Challenge tournaments around the country we would have to be aware of sweeps and throws that dominated the scoring at these events. Our dojo was a dojo filled with bangers - people who liked to hit and hit and hit instead of sweep or throw. Instead of changing our philosophy we just reworked it to counter what our opponents strengths were.
In the 7 years that we were active in these events we hardly scored with sweeps or throws and we only lost 4 fights by them. Most of our matches were won by points scored by hard contact. Strong kicks to the legs and body punches were are weapons and we won with them.
I really enjoyed this challenge. Knowing that we couldn’t just unleash our attacks because of the threat Enshin Karate stylists posed made us rethink our game and adapt it for success. If we stayed where we were comfortable we would have never been challenged in a way that promoted growth.
Opponents are my friends. They have always motivated me to be better then I would have been on my own. In fighting and in life it has always been good to have competition. Having someone looking to do something better or more effective then us will push us or break us.
The martial arts business down the street motivates me to do mine better. I am sure I motivate him as well. We are locked in a duel to capture the marketplace. This is good because we both have to stay active promoting and growing our businesses. As mine grows so will my opponents. The marketplace is big enough to service multiple schools. We push each other to service our communities more effectively and offer more variety.
Leave it in the ring:
I ask for nothing less then 100%. This will ensure your long term happiness. Do less then your best and you will know it. Give 100% and you will revel in it.
To be defeated by a better opponent while giving everything you have is acceptable. Victory or defeat is not always defined by the paperwork. If you give everything you have you have not lost anything.
This is not a rationalization to be happy with defeat. Never be happy with defeat but accept it and move on. If you are challenging yourself you must be prepared to fight the greater fighters. You can’t get better only fighting the fights you know you can win. Sometimes we have to risk loosing to truly grow.
In 2005 I took my best fighter at the time, Jason Teitelbaum, to Denver for a tournament. The previous year he lost in the quarterfinals to a fighter he could have beaten but was not mentally prepared to face. The event brought with it pressure Jason was not ready to deal with. He was fighting himself as much as his opponent. This time around he was reminded to enjoy himself and just fight his fight.
The 1st 2 matches were some of the best fights Jason ever had. He did all that he was trained to do and was having a blast doing it. He came back from being behind on points and KO’d 1 fighter and he dominated the other. In the semi-final Jay fought a perfect fight against a really skilled opponent. 1 mistake with no time left cost Jay the victory. He got caught while trying to land a high kick that he didn’t step into enough.
In the end he fell short of the final bout by one step and a really well placed sweep by his opponent. Jay got beat by the better fighter that day. He did everything he could to win and was satisfied with the result. Jay learned that you don’t have to have your hand raised in victory every fight to be a winner. Becoming a world champ is a process. You don’t win every fight on the way up. You can’t learn without a few bumps in the road. Leave everything you have in the ring and you will be satisfied no matter the result.
In 2006 Jay returned and used his experience to win his 1st world championship. The funny part about it is that we both agreed that the previous year was more satisfying then this one due to the level of the struggle. Jason lost in 2005 but was pushed to his limit. He won in 2006 but still had more gas in the tank. At the end of the day we can walk around with trophies and belts but what we remember is the struggle. Fight the hard battles and carry the effort with you forever.
No matter your struggle. Go at it in a way that gives you the ability to say you gave it everything you had. No one can ask any more or any less of you.
To be defeated by a better opponent while giving everything you have is acceptable. Victory or defeat is not always defined by the paperwork. If you give everything you have you have not lost anything.
This is not a rationalization to be happy with defeat. Never be happy with defeat but accept it and move on. If you are challenging yourself you must be prepared to fight the greater fighters. You can’t get better only fighting the fights you know you can win. Sometimes we have to risk loosing to truly grow.
In 2005 I took my best fighter at the time, Jason Teitelbaum, to Denver for a tournament. The previous year he lost in the quarterfinals to a fighter he could have beaten but was not mentally prepared to face. The event brought with it pressure Jason was not ready to deal with. He was fighting himself as much as his opponent. This time around he was reminded to enjoy himself and just fight his fight.
The 1st 2 matches were some of the best fights Jason ever had. He did all that he was trained to do and was having a blast doing it. He came back from being behind on points and KO’d 1 fighter and he dominated the other. In the semi-final Jay fought a perfect fight against a really skilled opponent. 1 mistake with no time left cost Jay the victory. He got caught while trying to land a high kick that he didn’t step into enough.
In the end he fell short of the final bout by one step and a really well placed sweep by his opponent. Jay got beat by the better fighter that day. He did everything he could to win and was satisfied with the result. Jay learned that you don’t have to have your hand raised in victory every fight to be a winner. Becoming a world champ is a process. You don’t win every fight on the way up. You can’t learn without a few bumps in the road. Leave everything you have in the ring and you will be satisfied no matter the result.
In 2006 Jay returned and used his experience to win his 1st world championship. The funny part about it is that we both agreed that the previous year was more satisfying then this one due to the level of the struggle. Jason lost in 2005 but was pushed to his limit. He won in 2006 but still had more gas in the tank. At the end of the day we can walk around with trophies and belts but what we remember is the struggle. Fight the hard battles and carry the effort with you forever.
No matter your struggle. Go at it in a way that gives you the ability to say you gave it everything you had. No one can ask any more or any less of you.
Answer the question:
My life has put me in a position where I have had to fight for lots of things. I have had to fight to be myself then fight as a profession. The struggle to be a fighter then the fight itself have taught me many things about myself and those around me.
Only thru hard work can we truly know who we are. Thru effort towards a positive goal we can be pushed to a a point of truth. The truth is our ability to endure or not. Our ability to fight on no matter what is in front of us if we believe. We will know at the end of the day what we believe and if we are strong enough to live our beliefs.
While in the struggle we are faced with many questions but only 1 that is really important; Do we want to continue on and achieve or do we quit and lose everything? If we quit we really do lose everything. Some say you lose today so you can fight tomorrow but this is a bogus concept. If we quit we may never have the confidence to rise again. If we are to be defeated let it be after all our energies are spent and our opponent is simply greater or better on that day.
To struggle and fail after all is spent is one thing. To quit out of fear of the effort to win is another. The burden of knowing we have the ability to quit will be with us until we prove otherwise. Some never prove themselves strong and live scared small lives because of it. Don’t take that chance. Fight on in all things so you know how strong you truly are.
We should not fear our truth if we have done all we can. This gives us a reflection of who we are that we can compare with the who we want to be. This leads to action and change for the better.
When in the moment of struggle we will remember the bad before the good. It is part of being human. We remember the work not done before the work achieved. The days off instead of the days on. To make sure we stay strong and limit our chances of failure we must live in a way that creates a pattern of positive effort so we can be strong when our body or mind may tease us with weak ideas.
I fought in Denver back in 1999. I was unprepared for the altitude. My body was dead from lack of oxygen and fatigue. My mind started screaming at me “Quit now! This hurts to much!” I remember this moment clearly. It really pissed me off. I internally yelled back “No way am I quitting! I trained to damn long and hard to quit! I would rather die then give this moment up!” I pushed aside the pain and fought on. I lost the fight by decision. I never hurt so bad in my life. My lungs were on fire and I didn’t know if I was going to die or not. It was over an hour before I could even walk. But I sat there in pain and thinking I was going to die with a huge smile on my face knowing that I did everything I could. I didn’t care that I lost. I was satisfied to know that when I needed to go I went.
I would have never been able to answer the question in an affirmative way if I didn’t train as hard as I did before hand. I trained for 6 months to get ready for that bout. I trained wrong but I did train hard. I sacrificed and struggled for what I was preparing for. This gave me the mental strength and courage needed to get thru this event.
I was surprised by Amir Davis, one of the fighters who trains with me. He had a tough MMA bout that put him in the same spot I was. Amir got caught with a nasty punch comb to the head in the 1st round. He doesn’t remember much of the fight after that. But he does remember kind of coming to at one point and asking himself if he wanted to continue or not? It was as if time stopped and he started to have an internal conversation. He could have quit, coasted, or fought on. He clearly and specifically chose to fight on and win.
Quick back story on Amir. In high school he was a very good heavyweight wrestler. He had a good scholastic career going until regionals one year. He got beat in the state final bad by a kid he grew to fear. At regionals he was matched up with the same kid. Instead of taking the challenge head on he went home. He quit the tournament and just left. This experience crushed him.
For years Amir came in and out of the fight game. He kept trying regain the confidence he lost but couldn’t. He would get close to fighting then training would break him. The fear of not being able to compete he developed thru quitting years earlier just wouldn’t stop haunting him.
Amir came to me and said he wanted to fight. I told him I wouldn’t train him until he proved himself. He had to prove that he could get past that bad day and move forward. I made his life hell. It was war. Physical, verbal, and mental assault. Full court press to try and break him. Amir stayed strong and earned a shot at competing for me again.
After answering the question he knew why I train him so hard. He now appreciates the drills, the sparring, and the conditioning day in and day out. There are no complaints or questions when asked to train. He knows that because of the work he can get thru the fights and be the Amir that he wants to be.
These are the moments that get you thru the hard times in life. Its knowing that you can push when you have to not just when you want to. This is answering the question.
Only thru hard work can we truly know who we are. Thru effort towards a positive goal we can be pushed to a a point of truth. The truth is our ability to endure or not. Our ability to fight on no matter what is in front of us if we believe. We will know at the end of the day what we believe and if we are strong enough to live our beliefs.
While in the struggle we are faced with many questions but only 1 that is really important; Do we want to continue on and achieve or do we quit and lose everything? If we quit we really do lose everything. Some say you lose today so you can fight tomorrow but this is a bogus concept. If we quit we may never have the confidence to rise again. If we are to be defeated let it be after all our energies are spent and our opponent is simply greater or better on that day.
To struggle and fail after all is spent is one thing. To quit out of fear of the effort to win is another. The burden of knowing we have the ability to quit will be with us until we prove otherwise. Some never prove themselves strong and live scared small lives because of it. Don’t take that chance. Fight on in all things so you know how strong you truly are.
We should not fear our truth if we have done all we can. This gives us a reflection of who we are that we can compare with the who we want to be. This leads to action and change for the better.
When in the moment of struggle we will remember the bad before the good. It is part of being human. We remember the work not done before the work achieved. The days off instead of the days on. To make sure we stay strong and limit our chances of failure we must live in a way that creates a pattern of positive effort so we can be strong when our body or mind may tease us with weak ideas.
I fought in Denver back in 1999. I was unprepared for the altitude. My body was dead from lack of oxygen and fatigue. My mind started screaming at me “Quit now! This hurts to much!” I remember this moment clearly. It really pissed me off. I internally yelled back “No way am I quitting! I trained to damn long and hard to quit! I would rather die then give this moment up!” I pushed aside the pain and fought on. I lost the fight by decision. I never hurt so bad in my life. My lungs were on fire and I didn’t know if I was going to die or not. It was over an hour before I could even walk. But I sat there in pain and thinking I was going to die with a huge smile on my face knowing that I did everything I could. I didn’t care that I lost. I was satisfied to know that when I needed to go I went.
I would have never been able to answer the question in an affirmative way if I didn’t train as hard as I did before hand. I trained for 6 months to get ready for that bout. I trained wrong but I did train hard. I sacrificed and struggled for what I was preparing for. This gave me the mental strength and courage needed to get thru this event.
I was surprised by Amir Davis, one of the fighters who trains with me. He had a tough MMA bout that put him in the same spot I was. Amir got caught with a nasty punch comb to the head in the 1st round. He doesn’t remember much of the fight after that. But he does remember kind of coming to at one point and asking himself if he wanted to continue or not? It was as if time stopped and he started to have an internal conversation. He could have quit, coasted, or fought on. He clearly and specifically chose to fight on and win.
Quick back story on Amir. In high school he was a very good heavyweight wrestler. He had a good scholastic career going until regionals one year. He got beat in the state final bad by a kid he grew to fear. At regionals he was matched up with the same kid. Instead of taking the challenge head on he went home. He quit the tournament and just left. This experience crushed him.
For years Amir came in and out of the fight game. He kept trying regain the confidence he lost but couldn’t. He would get close to fighting then training would break him. The fear of not being able to compete he developed thru quitting years earlier just wouldn’t stop haunting him.
Amir came to me and said he wanted to fight. I told him I wouldn’t train him until he proved himself. He had to prove that he could get past that bad day and move forward. I made his life hell. It was war. Physical, verbal, and mental assault. Full court press to try and break him. Amir stayed strong and earned a shot at competing for me again.
After answering the question he knew why I train him so hard. He now appreciates the drills, the sparring, and the conditioning day in and day out. There are no complaints or questions when asked to train. He knows that because of the work he can get thru the fights and be the Amir that he wants to be.
These are the moments that get you thru the hard times in life. Its knowing that you can push when you have to not just when you want to. This is answering the question.
Educated choices
Life is about choices. Choices we make and choices we don’t. What I see as the definition of us as individuals are our educated choices.
What is an educated choice? It is a choice we make based upon complete knowledge.
I don’t pass judgment on people till I see the choices they make after I know they have been educated. Making decisions without knowledge does not truly represent someone. It is when they know exactly what is going on and act accordingly that you see the truth.
Lets take smoking as an example. How do you view the smoker? 1st you have to determine their level of understanding. If they smoke with a simple knowledge of its effects the person may just be misguided or ignorant. The person who fully understands the long term effects and the fact that it will eventually take them from us is selfish and stupid. The educated smoker forces us to question their trust simply due to the fact that they don’t care about themselves which makes us need to ask how can they care about us?
Knowing the truth based on a persons choices and level of education gives us the ability to choose how we will deal with this individual.
Education is more then schooling. Education is about knowledge. Many will graduate with a master’s degree but have no knowledge outside of a text book. These people may be smart but their knowledge may be limited.
Most of us make daily choices based upon social conditioning. Because we are taught our entire lives to believe in certain things we choose accordingly. There is no truth in these actions. Truth can only be found in the choices we process based upon our personal experience and knowledge that goes beyond conditioning. Do you not steal because you fear retribution? Just because we don’t do something out of fear doesn’t mean we don’t want to still do it. What this demonstrates is control not truth. The truth is that we want to do some things but are to scared to do them.
There is a difference between acting due to fear and acting due to knowledge. The truth can be hidden behind fear and control. Only we know the truth in this instance. We know what we truly want. The question becomes why? In the answer we can find the truth about us and we can deal with it.
Look at your actions. Feel your desires. See if they match. I don’t know a person that doesn’t have some aspect of their life not in balance. We all want something that we don’t act in accordance with. Some are negative desires we suppress and some are positive one’s we fall short of acting towards.
Lets deal with negative desires 1st. I am going back to stealing. You can rationalize it or you can be honest. Taking something that does not belong to you is simply wrong. A persons ability to cope with the loss does not make your choice any less wrong. Stealing money from the rich is just as bad as stealing from the poor. Wrong is wrong. You want something that was earned by another. You want something you are unwilling to work for. This is the issue at hand. Right now you may not be acting upon this desire due to fear. Take the time to truly understand the desire and start making choices based upon understanding truth vs. fear.
The same is true for positive desires. All of us want something more out of life. Some of us act to achieve great success and others refuse to act. We have to look at what we want then see what we are doing or not doing to reach our desired goal. Fear and control are involved here too. Some are afraid to act and others are conditioned to believe something is not achievable. The truth is that we can take action towards any goal by taking an inventory of our fears and moving beyond our conditioning.
Fear of success. How is this possible?! It is more common then most of us would like to admit. Success does not come easy. It is something we have to earn. We must have a belief system, a call to action, and the ability to take action. All of this sounds great and easy but in reality is kind of scary and hard. With success we have to deal with judgment, effort, and change. We deal with these things daily with or without success. I would rather deal with them thru success.
Conditioning for failure or status quo?! Most of us are not fortunate enough to live in a positive environment. Most people are bombarded with ideas that limit our potential. Ideas like race, sex, and education will limit our ability to achieve in today’s society. This is ridiculous. I don’t care what color your skin is, who you are coming home to at night, or how far your schooling went. You can be as successful as you are willing to work. Nobody can keep you down. We all have the freedom to dream and the freedom to take action to make our dreams come true.
Don’t ignore the people and things that are telling you that you will never be more then you are right now. See where these ideas are coming from. Most will keep you down because they are down themselves or they want control. Are you going to give them the keys to your world or are you going to keep control of your life and go where you want to go?
Accept your fears and conditioning. Find the truth in all of it. The truth will remove these burdens and free you to act honestly.
I was raised in a upper middleclass family. My Mom is an internationally renowned retailer and my Father is a very successful stockbroker. My home conditioning was go to school, get a good job, marriage, kids, dog, car, house, etc…. My Catholic schooling just reinforced all of this. Growing up I never knew that life could be any different. I was given a formula to life and I accepted it.
I have always been a thinker and an artist, fine and martial. I followed along like a good suburban kid is supposed to but I always had things that were uniquely mine. I was never fully content with life as it was proposed to me. I wanted more out of life but never knew I could have it.
Around 16 years old I came in touch with ideas that opened me up to new possibilities. I started to understand that life was what I made of it not what was presented to me. This lead to me exploring my options and introspection.
I always had an aversion to college. For some reason it didn’t make sense for me. Ask my Mom, at 8 or 9 years old I was telling people that college is for people who don’t know what they want yet. I was in a position where college was a must - not really but I was still drinking the coolade. Instead of Notre Dame I went to the Maryland Institute College of Art. With no previous art education and a conservative education I got into one of the top 3 art colleges in the country.
While at MICA my confidence in my ideas started to grow. I realized that my initial college is not for me idea was true. I left school behind and never looked back after 3 years of struggling to find myself. This lead me back home and back to my original passion which was and still is martial arts.
I had a studio to paint in and a dojo to train in. This lead to lots of self exploration which affirmed my ideas about life and what I wanted out of life. In the end I am doing exactly what I was meant to do. I fought in 10 countries and just about every state. I run a dojo and I paint almost every day.
The lesson I learned is that my dreams are real and all of us can do what we feel is right for us if we truly believe and are willing to take action.
I was afraid of what my choices would bring. I was afraid to take action on my own. But in the end I realized that living my life by my rules is more important then following someone else’s vision for me. I am who I am and that is that. I accept who I am and I am confident that I can achieve what I want.
I made an educated choice about what direction I want my life to take. I embraced my fears and my conditioning. I freed myself to make real choices.
What is an educated choice? It is a choice we make based upon complete knowledge.
I don’t pass judgment on people till I see the choices they make after I know they have been educated. Making decisions without knowledge does not truly represent someone. It is when they know exactly what is going on and act accordingly that you see the truth.
Lets take smoking as an example. How do you view the smoker? 1st you have to determine their level of understanding. If they smoke with a simple knowledge of its effects the person may just be misguided or ignorant. The person who fully understands the long term effects and the fact that it will eventually take them from us is selfish and stupid. The educated smoker forces us to question their trust simply due to the fact that they don’t care about themselves which makes us need to ask how can they care about us?
Knowing the truth based on a persons choices and level of education gives us the ability to choose how we will deal with this individual.
Education is more then schooling. Education is about knowledge. Many will graduate with a master’s degree but have no knowledge outside of a text book. These people may be smart but their knowledge may be limited.
Most of us make daily choices based upon social conditioning. Because we are taught our entire lives to believe in certain things we choose accordingly. There is no truth in these actions. Truth can only be found in the choices we process based upon our personal experience and knowledge that goes beyond conditioning. Do you not steal because you fear retribution? Just because we don’t do something out of fear doesn’t mean we don’t want to still do it. What this demonstrates is control not truth. The truth is that we want to do some things but are to scared to do them.
There is a difference between acting due to fear and acting due to knowledge. The truth can be hidden behind fear and control. Only we know the truth in this instance. We know what we truly want. The question becomes why? In the answer we can find the truth about us and we can deal with it.
Look at your actions. Feel your desires. See if they match. I don’t know a person that doesn’t have some aspect of their life not in balance. We all want something that we don’t act in accordance with. Some are negative desires we suppress and some are positive one’s we fall short of acting towards.
Lets deal with negative desires 1st. I am going back to stealing. You can rationalize it or you can be honest. Taking something that does not belong to you is simply wrong. A persons ability to cope with the loss does not make your choice any less wrong. Stealing money from the rich is just as bad as stealing from the poor. Wrong is wrong. You want something that was earned by another. You want something you are unwilling to work for. This is the issue at hand. Right now you may not be acting upon this desire due to fear. Take the time to truly understand the desire and start making choices based upon understanding truth vs. fear.
The same is true for positive desires. All of us want something more out of life. Some of us act to achieve great success and others refuse to act. We have to look at what we want then see what we are doing or not doing to reach our desired goal. Fear and control are involved here too. Some are afraid to act and others are conditioned to believe something is not achievable. The truth is that we can take action towards any goal by taking an inventory of our fears and moving beyond our conditioning.
Fear of success. How is this possible?! It is more common then most of us would like to admit. Success does not come easy. It is something we have to earn. We must have a belief system, a call to action, and the ability to take action. All of this sounds great and easy but in reality is kind of scary and hard. With success we have to deal with judgment, effort, and change. We deal with these things daily with or without success. I would rather deal with them thru success.
Conditioning for failure or status quo?! Most of us are not fortunate enough to live in a positive environment. Most people are bombarded with ideas that limit our potential. Ideas like race, sex, and education will limit our ability to achieve in today’s society. This is ridiculous. I don’t care what color your skin is, who you are coming home to at night, or how far your schooling went. You can be as successful as you are willing to work. Nobody can keep you down. We all have the freedom to dream and the freedom to take action to make our dreams come true.
Don’t ignore the people and things that are telling you that you will never be more then you are right now. See where these ideas are coming from. Most will keep you down because they are down themselves or they want control. Are you going to give them the keys to your world or are you going to keep control of your life and go where you want to go?
Accept your fears and conditioning. Find the truth in all of it. The truth will remove these burdens and free you to act honestly.
I was raised in a upper middleclass family. My Mom is an internationally renowned retailer and my Father is a very successful stockbroker. My home conditioning was go to school, get a good job, marriage, kids, dog, car, house, etc…. My Catholic schooling just reinforced all of this. Growing up I never knew that life could be any different. I was given a formula to life and I accepted it.
I have always been a thinker and an artist, fine and martial. I followed along like a good suburban kid is supposed to but I always had things that were uniquely mine. I was never fully content with life as it was proposed to me. I wanted more out of life but never knew I could have it.
Around 16 years old I came in touch with ideas that opened me up to new possibilities. I started to understand that life was what I made of it not what was presented to me. This lead to me exploring my options and introspection.
I always had an aversion to college. For some reason it didn’t make sense for me. Ask my Mom, at 8 or 9 years old I was telling people that college is for people who don’t know what they want yet. I was in a position where college was a must - not really but I was still drinking the coolade. Instead of Notre Dame I went to the Maryland Institute College of Art. With no previous art education and a conservative education I got into one of the top 3 art colleges in the country.
While at MICA my confidence in my ideas started to grow. I realized that my initial college is not for me idea was true. I left school behind and never looked back after 3 years of struggling to find myself. This lead me back home and back to my original passion which was and still is martial arts.
I had a studio to paint in and a dojo to train in. This lead to lots of self exploration which affirmed my ideas about life and what I wanted out of life. In the end I am doing exactly what I was meant to do. I fought in 10 countries and just about every state. I run a dojo and I paint almost every day.
The lesson I learned is that my dreams are real and all of us can do what we feel is right for us if we truly believe and are willing to take action.
I was afraid of what my choices would bring. I was afraid to take action on my own. But in the end I realized that living my life by my rules is more important then following someone else’s vision for me. I am who I am and that is that. I accept who I am and I am confident that I can achieve what I want.
I made an educated choice about what direction I want my life to take. I embraced my fears and my conditioning. I freed myself to make real choices.
If you are a loser…..
“If you are a loser outside the ring, no matter what you do in it, you are still a loser.” These are words given to me by one of the 1st trainers that ever cared about me. Up until that point in my life, competing was about winning at all costs. Winning was not a passion, it was an obsession.
When I was 21 all I wanted was a world championship. At 34 I still don’t have one. This killed me in my 20’s. I even came close at 27 when I took 2nd at the Koshiki Karate World Championships in Australia. It is still my most memorable achievement. I am proud of my effort but shocked at what I did to myself to achieve this goal. At 34 without a title I am satisfied with the battles I have fought. I have trained a few world champions and plan on more. My students have done things I never could and that makes me happier and with a sense of accomplishment greater then I have ever felt before.
I knew I was going to Australia 6 months before I left. I was 1 of 2 Americans invited to participate. This was my time to show the world what I was made of. For 6 months I killed myself to get ready.
I ran 6 days a week at 5 am. I called it my 5 at 5. I can remember plenty of days I didn’t even wake up till half way thru the run. After that I would hit the gym and lift for an hour before I had to go to work. I worked from 9 am to 5 pm then ran to the dojo to teach class. I would teach until 8 then train with who was willing to stay until 9 or 10 pm. On Wednesday nights I drove to a friends dojo straight from work and did an hour of Karate then an hour of Judo. After that I would drive another hour north to another dojo to do Koshiki style sparring for an hour or more.
I had a traditional teacher on Wednesday nights who I had to take out for food and drinks after training. This lead to me driving home at 2 or 3 most Thursday mornings. No matter what I still got up at 5 and ran my 5 miles. I would sneak naps at work throughout the day to try and stay alive!
The rings under my eyes black like what baseball players put on for glare. I was always tired and irritable due to my constant state of fatigue and soreness. This lasted for 6 months. I think the only break I took was the 18 hour flight from California to Sydney!
I arrived in Australia in shape like never before. I was battered and kind of broken from training but I was hard. Mentally and physically hard. Nothing was getting in my way. I wanted to win at all costs.
For 3 days I fought with everything I had. I beat people from all over the globe. My 1st opponent was from Spain and my last was from Australia. I fought people from 9 other countries and beat all of them except one.
I don’t think I was ever broken in my whole life as I was the last day of competition. My trainer had to help me out of bed in the morning and practically carry me to the toilet. My legs were a mess. My hands were bloodied and battered. My head hurt like nothing I can explain. If I didn’t torture myself in training like I did I don’t think would have made it thru.
The final day had 3 more fights in front of me. I made it thru the 1st no problem. The 2nd was rather hard. I faced the current All Japan Champ for Koshiki. When he realized I was winning he hit me in the groin 3 times. He was penalized 2 times and 1 was not seen but I sure did feel it. A kick to the head towards the end of the fight sealed the win for me and moved me into the finals.
I was pitted against Australia’s last chance for a gold medal. Up until my division the Australians were knocked out early after talking lots of gold talk before the event. The international rules stated that the judges had to be from multiple countries. For my match the judging crew was changed illegally to an all Australian crew. People objected but the governing body was dominated by Aussies.
My final fight was a brawl. I threw down with everything I had left and my opponent did the same. We both hurt each other early but kept rallying back for more. It was a 3 round affair that had us even going into the final round. My conditioning held strong while my opponent started to wilt. I hit this guy with everything I had and started to pull ahead. The final minute came and my chances to win a world title ended with 2 groin kicks and a throat punch. All illegal blows were overlooked and 1 groin kick was scored a knockdown.
After the final bell my opponent was awarded the decision. I walked out of the ring on my own 2 feet while my opponent was carried out by his corner people. I knew I was screwed and so did the crowd. People thru objects into the ring and voiced their disapproval. Coaches from other countries rushed the officials and protested. For me I didn’t care. It was over and I lost. I walked straight from the ring to the back loading bay of the casino we fought at. I screamed as loud as I could then broke up a pile of debris. Throwing wood and garbage around until my anger subsided. I composed myself and walked back in to face the reality of my result.
I have not been one to throw to many tantrums in public over results. That is why I went out back and flipped out in private. This was not the 1st time I felt screwed by officials and it wouldn’t be my last. It is part of the game when you let judges decide your fate. Maybe another round and I could have finished the guy but today I had to deal with defeat even tho I knew I won.
I had to stand on the podium and listen to the Aussie national anthem while glaring at my opponent who won by efforts not his own. He never did look me in the eye after that fight or give me a chance to fight him again. He changed weight classes so we wouldn’t dance again. He knew what I would do to him and he wanted no part of it.
In the end I broke my body for a piece of silver and a nice time in Australia. When I went home I was faced with the life I left behind for 6 months so I could train. I had to reconnect with the people I stopped calling due to my extreme training and see if I still had a job after being in Australia for 9 weeks. It wasn’t easy coming home. I had a broken right hand, sprained left hand, cracked right shin, and a bad concussion.
The hardest reality of my life at that time was that I was one of the only people who cared about what I achieved. My Mom was happy but cared more about my work situation. My father really didn’t care at all. I didn’t have my friends after being away for so long. My girl left me for someone who gave her the time I wouldn’t or couldn’t. Even the dojo I was training at didn’t care so much because the owners didn’t like that I was gone for so long. They bad mouthed me while I was away and down played the event I was fighting at.
I just went from being at the top of my game to the loneliest time in my life. Winning or coming close to winning meant nothing without people around me to share it with. The small group that helped me train looked at me like I was a hero but everyone else could care less. It hurt but it taught me that life is much more then my own personal goals.
Australia was the best thing that I have ever experienced as a fighter. It let me know how tough I really could be and it forced me to realize that I needed balance. I also gained the confidence to strike out on my own and start a new dojo.
Dreams are really important to have but they can’t be it. Reality is more then ideas. It involves people besides yourself. You need to honor those around you while you find success for yourself. Without people to work with and share our experiences, we really are nothing.
I am writing what I am writing and teaching the things I do because of the experiences I had working to find my own way. Without the struggles of my past and those still to come I wouldn’t have the knowledge that I do. If you take anything from what I have to say I hope you come to realize that to struggle is to live. It is the hardest journeys that bring the most rewarding results. Don’t make things hard to just be hard but live strong and face the challenges that come your way knowing that the journey is the reward.
When I was 21 all I wanted was a world championship. At 34 I still don’t have one. This killed me in my 20’s. I even came close at 27 when I took 2nd at the Koshiki Karate World Championships in Australia. It is still my most memorable achievement. I am proud of my effort but shocked at what I did to myself to achieve this goal. At 34 without a title I am satisfied with the battles I have fought. I have trained a few world champions and plan on more. My students have done things I never could and that makes me happier and with a sense of accomplishment greater then I have ever felt before.
I knew I was going to Australia 6 months before I left. I was 1 of 2 Americans invited to participate. This was my time to show the world what I was made of. For 6 months I killed myself to get ready.
I ran 6 days a week at 5 am. I called it my 5 at 5. I can remember plenty of days I didn’t even wake up till half way thru the run. After that I would hit the gym and lift for an hour before I had to go to work. I worked from 9 am to 5 pm then ran to the dojo to teach class. I would teach until 8 then train with who was willing to stay until 9 or 10 pm. On Wednesday nights I drove to a friends dojo straight from work and did an hour of Karate then an hour of Judo. After that I would drive another hour north to another dojo to do Koshiki style sparring for an hour or more.
I had a traditional teacher on Wednesday nights who I had to take out for food and drinks after training. This lead to me driving home at 2 or 3 most Thursday mornings. No matter what I still got up at 5 and ran my 5 miles. I would sneak naps at work throughout the day to try and stay alive!
The rings under my eyes black like what baseball players put on for glare. I was always tired and irritable due to my constant state of fatigue and soreness. This lasted for 6 months. I think the only break I took was the 18 hour flight from California to Sydney!
I arrived in Australia in shape like never before. I was battered and kind of broken from training but I was hard. Mentally and physically hard. Nothing was getting in my way. I wanted to win at all costs.
For 3 days I fought with everything I had. I beat people from all over the globe. My 1st opponent was from Spain and my last was from Australia. I fought people from 9 other countries and beat all of them except one.
I don’t think I was ever broken in my whole life as I was the last day of competition. My trainer had to help me out of bed in the morning and practically carry me to the toilet. My legs were a mess. My hands were bloodied and battered. My head hurt like nothing I can explain. If I didn’t torture myself in training like I did I don’t think would have made it thru.
The final day had 3 more fights in front of me. I made it thru the 1st no problem. The 2nd was rather hard. I faced the current All Japan Champ for Koshiki. When he realized I was winning he hit me in the groin 3 times. He was penalized 2 times and 1 was not seen but I sure did feel it. A kick to the head towards the end of the fight sealed the win for me and moved me into the finals.
I was pitted against Australia’s last chance for a gold medal. Up until my division the Australians were knocked out early after talking lots of gold talk before the event. The international rules stated that the judges had to be from multiple countries. For my match the judging crew was changed illegally to an all Australian crew. People objected but the governing body was dominated by Aussies.
My final fight was a brawl. I threw down with everything I had left and my opponent did the same. We both hurt each other early but kept rallying back for more. It was a 3 round affair that had us even going into the final round. My conditioning held strong while my opponent started to wilt. I hit this guy with everything I had and started to pull ahead. The final minute came and my chances to win a world title ended with 2 groin kicks and a throat punch. All illegal blows were overlooked and 1 groin kick was scored a knockdown.
After the final bell my opponent was awarded the decision. I walked out of the ring on my own 2 feet while my opponent was carried out by his corner people. I knew I was screwed and so did the crowd. People thru objects into the ring and voiced their disapproval. Coaches from other countries rushed the officials and protested. For me I didn’t care. It was over and I lost. I walked straight from the ring to the back loading bay of the casino we fought at. I screamed as loud as I could then broke up a pile of debris. Throwing wood and garbage around until my anger subsided. I composed myself and walked back in to face the reality of my result.
I have not been one to throw to many tantrums in public over results. That is why I went out back and flipped out in private. This was not the 1st time I felt screwed by officials and it wouldn’t be my last. It is part of the game when you let judges decide your fate. Maybe another round and I could have finished the guy but today I had to deal with defeat even tho I knew I won.
I had to stand on the podium and listen to the Aussie national anthem while glaring at my opponent who won by efforts not his own. He never did look me in the eye after that fight or give me a chance to fight him again. He changed weight classes so we wouldn’t dance again. He knew what I would do to him and he wanted no part of it.
In the end I broke my body for a piece of silver and a nice time in Australia. When I went home I was faced with the life I left behind for 6 months so I could train. I had to reconnect with the people I stopped calling due to my extreme training and see if I still had a job after being in Australia for 9 weeks. It wasn’t easy coming home. I had a broken right hand, sprained left hand, cracked right shin, and a bad concussion.
The hardest reality of my life at that time was that I was one of the only people who cared about what I achieved. My Mom was happy but cared more about my work situation. My father really didn’t care at all. I didn’t have my friends after being away for so long. My girl left me for someone who gave her the time I wouldn’t or couldn’t. Even the dojo I was training at didn’t care so much because the owners didn’t like that I was gone for so long. They bad mouthed me while I was away and down played the event I was fighting at.
I just went from being at the top of my game to the loneliest time in my life. Winning or coming close to winning meant nothing without people around me to share it with. The small group that helped me train looked at me like I was a hero but everyone else could care less. It hurt but it taught me that life is much more then my own personal goals.
Australia was the best thing that I have ever experienced as a fighter. It let me know how tough I really could be and it forced me to realize that I needed balance. I also gained the confidence to strike out on my own and start a new dojo.
Dreams are really important to have but they can’t be it. Reality is more then ideas. It involves people besides yourself. You need to honor those around you while you find success for yourself. Without people to work with and share our experiences, we really are nothing.
I am writing what I am writing and teaching the things I do because of the experiences I had working to find my own way. Without the struggles of my past and those still to come I wouldn’t have the knowledge that I do. If you take anything from what I have to say I hope you come to realize that to struggle is to live. It is the hardest journeys that bring the most rewarding results. Don’t make things hard to just be hard but live strong and face the challenges that come your way knowing that the journey is the reward.
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