Getting Back Into Training After A Long Layoff.

 

     If you've ever been forced to stop training for any length of time due to personal issues, injury, illness, or even a global pandemic, you understand how challenging it can be just to get started. For most of us just the thought of having lost all the moment we had built up, to take so many steps back in our training, could feel overwhelming. As with so many things in life, our attitude is going to be instrumental in allowing us to successfully transition back into our training.

     I, like most of you out there, spent the better part of a year away from my training, and am just now starting to get back into a normal routine. During any lengthy time away from training I've always made sure to do one thing, stay connected. I had an old professor of mine once tell me how important it was to stay connected to my training even when I couldn't physically participate. At the time I really couldn't understand the importance of his statement. It wasn't until years later when I was having shoulder surgery and facing a significant amount of time away from training that I understood the idea of staying connected.

     Whether it's simply sitting in on a class, watching a competition or training video on Youtube, a phone call, facetime, text, or e-mail to classmates, coaches, or professors, staying connected is the first and most important step. Setting up a network of supportive and like-minded people and utilizing it when in-person training is not an option can have a significant impact on your training. Put simply, it can mean the difference between coming back to train and picking up where you left off or stepping away for good. 

     When you do finally make it back into train it's really important to remember to keep your expectations simple, and reasonable. Don't come in with any preconceived ideas of where you should be mentally or physically. Just allow yourself time to readjust and transition back into training, nothing more Simply appreciate the fact that you're finally able to back to doing what it is you love, surrounded by people who share your passion!.

 Once you've allowed yourself a few weeks adjust time then start to implement good training habits by focusing on re-establishing a routine and training regiment. The idea is to lay down your foundation in incremental steps in which one builds off of the other, don't get too ahead of yourself. Remember, the goal it's not simply to train for the week, that month, or the year. You want to make it a lifelong pursuit and train as long as you are physically able. It's a marathon, not a sprint!     

       

                   

White Belt Wisdom

 

     In this week's blog, I wanted to share with you a collection of expectations that all of our younger students recite at the beginning of each class. We title these expectations "White Belt Wisdom," and they serve as a tangible reminder that class has started, as well as reinforce what is expected of them during class.  

     1. Give your best effort. Develop a solid work ethic and whatever it takes to get the job done right attitude! This will take you far in life! 

     2. Keep a positive attitude. As we often tell the students, attitude is everything! It's impossible to enjoy life or accomplish anything with a bad attitude! My attitude determines my altitude as we say!

     3. Be Courteous. As we teach our students to remember The Golden Rule and to treats others as they would want to be treated. It's always the right time to do the right thing!   

     4. Be consistent in your training and your attitude. There is no improvement, no growth, no personal development without a consistent application of focus, effort, and attitude! 

     5. Be safe. Not to be confused with being fearful. Live life, work hard, have fun but do so safely and responsibly. 

     6. Have fun! Work hard but don't take yourself or life too seriously. Life is to be lived, to be embraced, to be savored! Enjoy the ride!  

     As with all the other practices the students learn here at the academy, they are extremely transferable to other areas of their lives. As such, students are expected to not only apply them while training but outside of it as well.     

      

Taking Your Martial Arts Out Of Your School And Putting Into The World

     When I decided to open my own jiu-jitsu school some years ago I did so with the purpose of creating something unlike anything else out there. I wanted to redefine the conventional definitions of what the martial arts means to its students and families, as well as the communities they serve.

     What I saw was that for the most part, the majority of schools out there were all pretty much the same, with the same marketing and mission statements. What I wanted was to get in there and shake things up, to set new definitions and standards I wanted to put together a program that would truly transform my student's lives in a profound and lasting way and positively impact the community we serve as well.

     I wanted to instill in my students, not just the typical attributes we associate with martial arts training. Things such as resilience, self-confidence, problem-solving, fortitude, mental toughness, and perseverance. Along with these attributes I also wanted to cultivate within my students a personal practice of doing for others and their community. I also wanted to challenge the established and narrow criteria we use to define self-defense. Included under the umbrella of self-defense should be such things as our physical health,  nutrition, and exercise, our mental health, stress management, proper understanding and expression of our emotions, our environment, understanding what constitutes a healthy relationship, setting appropriate personal boundaries. Lastly, I wanted to come up with a way that I could not only document what my school's mission was about but also concretely demonstrate it!

     For me, the catalyst behind starting my own school and my own program came down to this one overriding thought. The martial arts are in a uniques position to profoundly impact lives and make a real and substantial difference not just in the lives of its students but its community, county, state, country, world! It has to be about more!   

     

                 

     

    

  To transform your work as a martial arts teacher, I can think of no better way than to cultivate a desire in your students to serve others, to perform purposeful acts of kindness, and to link these ideas to the very practice of your “art.”      

Is It Ever Ok To Take Breaks In Training?

 

     There has never been a consensus of opinion when it comes to the topic of taking breaks in your training. For as many people as you can find that say taking breaks in one's training is never a good idea, you can find as many people that say the exact opposite.  I would say from my personal experience as both a student and instructor that I fall somewhere in the middle.

     I think we've all come to a point in our training, whether it be exceeding personal or professional demands where we have asked ourselves the following. "Is it ever ok for me to take a break from my training, if so how long?" What I've found from my 25 plus years of training and teaching experience is that breaks can actually be beneficial if done the right way. 

     I did want to clary an important point when it comes to taking breaks, one that is often overlooked, yet extremely critical. First and foremost, before we can even start to think of taking breaks we first ensure we have established solid training habits. Are we coming to class consistently, is missing class more the exception than the rule, are we making the most of our training time? If the answer to those questions is yes then I think it's perfectly ok to take time away here and there. If on the other hand, your one who struggles to maintain any semblance of consistent training then taking breaks is more problematic. 

     The way I explain it to my students is that each time they come to class it's like putting money in the bank. The more often they come to class the more money or credit they've built up. That money is there for them to draw from on a rainy day or as a splurge, just be careful when and how you use it! Basically, there are 2 different ways in which you can use your breaks. You can either spread it out over time, taking a day or two here or there or you can save it up and take a longer break all at once. I had one family whose kids rarely missed training during the school year but once summertime came around they would take a week or 2 off, come back and train for a few weeks and then go on vacation again. 

     Breaks can be a tremendously beneficial training tool if used properly. They can impact and influence our growth, enjoyment, and longevity of our training.  

               

     

           

         

Proper Mindset When Rolling, To Win Or To Learn?

 

     A question I often hear discussed centers around the idea of what a student's proper mindset should be when they roll and what is going to translate into the most effective use of my time? We've all heard the expression you perform like you train. In that light there seem to be 2 main philosophies when it comes to how a student should view their rolling time with other students. 

     On the one hand, I hear the primary objective of rolling is less about learning and more about conditioning the mind, developing mental toughness, and developing a winning mindset. This view holds that when students roll, their primary objective is to simply win, to implement and execute their game plan, and to outperform their partner both technically and physically. On the flip side, there are those that say the primary objective of rolling is less about winning and more about learning, creating, and refining. Specifically rolling is viewed as a time to take chances with positions and techniques, to create new technical and conceptual connections as well as strengthening their technical base. 

     For me, after 26 years of teaching, training, and competing internationally I've found that using my rolling time as an opportunity to focus primarily on learning, creating and refining has paid the greatest dividends. I've found that through this process I've not only grown technically but developed a degree of mental toughness and a winning mindset. In closing, I wanted to pose a question: What is your personal take on this subject and what have you found to be the most effective for your training?                     

Using The Martial Arts To Help Combat Childhood Obesity

 

      We can all agree that the health and wellbeing of our children are of major importance to us, and ensuring that they grow up healthy, happy, and thriving is the goal of all parents. With that said, I think martial arts is one of the most powerful transformative tools out there.     

     I think we can all agree that childhood obesity is a serious problem in this county which puts a large segment of our youth at risk for poor health. According to the CDC, childhood obesity affects around "19.3%, or 14.4 million children and adolescences ages 2 to 19. Speaking in generalities, the main cause of obesity be it, children, adolescence, or adults is a combination of poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle. The health-related issues facing those children and adolescence who are obese are significant. Again according to the CDC those children and adolescents are at a great risk for developing: 

     1. High blood pressure

     2.  Diabetes

     3. Breathing problems

     4. Join problems

     4. Fatty liver disease, gallstones,

     Along with the physical compromises, obese children and adolescents are at greater risk for developing psychological and social issues as well.

     1. Anxiety and depression

     2. Low self-esteem

     3. Increased incidents of bullying.

     While the exact causes and treatment of childhood and adolescence obesity are complex, we as an industry are in a unique position to bring about profound and lasting change to our student's lives. Martial arts are not simply an activity but a way of life. The physical practice of martial arts incorporates many beneficial elements that when combined together become a powerful tool to combat the detrimental effects of obesity. Things such as...

     1. Strenght training and cardiovascular conditioning.

     2. Increased flexibility, coordination, and balance.

     3. Improved nutrition.

     4.  Discipline.

     5. Improved self-confidence, self-control, and self-respect

     6. Resilience.

     7. Determination.

     8. Dedication.

     9. Goal setting.

     10. Increased focus and contration.

     11. Positive support and encouragement from teammates

     For me, martial arts is unmatched in its ability to offer its students the tools and support they'll need, to succeed, to thrive, to become the best possible versions of themselves! 

     

     

      

     

            

              

Don't Wait To Feel Motivated

 

     I like most of you I was conditioned into believing that motivation was the vital ingredient needed before you could proceed with any goalsetting. That somehow, this elusive feeling, which we often give magical qualities to, had to be present in order for us to find success.

     After years of waiting to feel motivated before I started something, or stopping something when I no longer felt motivated to I had an epiphany! I suddenly realize the reason I was going through life so frustrated and unable to stick with even the simplest goals was my perspective. I realized that it was not motivation itself that was going to allow me to stick with something. Instead, the real deciding factors were the habits and systems I had in place.

     You see what most of us fail to realize is that motivation, and or inspiration, is a fickle and fleeting feeling. It cannot be counted upon to deliver results, as it is subject to so many internal and external factors. Things such as past experiences, the amount of sleep we had the night before, our current environment, our temperament all converge to influence our feelings of motivation. In fact, it's quite natural at times for us to feel uninspired and unmotivated in the pursuit of our goals. In many cases, it is not unusual to feel unmotivated until after we've started  Some of us even view this absence of motivation and or inspiration as a sign that we should give up altogether on the goal, or not even start the process.   

     The important point to remember is that motivation in and of itself will is not sufficient to guarantee success in achieving your goals. While motivation is important, it should be viewed more as a catalyst or starting point. To have any real chance at sticking with and achieving your goals one needs to have first laid down a solid foundation of habits and systems. Good habits and the systems that allow you to develop these good habits are the lynchpins of success They can be counted upon to carry you through even in the absence or lack of motivation and inspiration.           

     

            

              

What I've Learned In My 56 Years Of Life

 

     Life presents us all with opportunities to learn and grow from the many experiences presented to us throughout our lives. If we are humble enough we will see each situation, even the negative ones as a chance for us to gain true personal insight and personal growth. Here then are the biggest takeaways I've learned on my short time on this earth.

     1. Treat others as you would want to be treated, the Golden Rule.

     2. Believe in yourself and don't allow others to defene who you are.

     3. Celebrate your victories, even the small ones.

     4. Never be out worked

     5. Don't overthink things

     6. Learn to forgive, yourself as well as others.

     7. Live within your means.

     8. Be self aware.

     9. Be compasionate

     10. Give more than you take.

     11. Be humble

     12. Live each day fully and with purpose

     13. Have a great work ethic

     14. Add value to peoples lives

     15. Constantly challenge yourself

     16. Give back.

     17. Like who you see in the mirror

     18. Take responsibility for yourself and your actions

     19. Don't make excuses.

     20. Read everyday.

     21. Meditate everyday.

     22. It's alright to not have all the answers.

     23. Never settle.

     24. Know your worth.

     25. Set bounderies

     26. Be kind

     27. To truyly grow as a person requres you to examine uncomortable aspects of yourself.

     28. Be courageous

     29. Do not ask others to do what you are not perpared to do.

     30. Don't take yourself to seriously

     31. Laugh.

     32. Dream big.

     33. Constantly tell those around you how much you love and appreciate them.

     34. Give with no expectations

     35. Be hopeful. 

 

          

Leave Your Ego At The Door

 

     If you've spent any amount of time training jiu-jitsu, chances are you've either heard or read the following statement, "leave your ego at the door." What exactly does that mean to me and how does that impact my training?

     When it comes to training, improving, and evolving as a martial artist having an ego is akin to having an anchor around your neck! The ego does not care about your self-improvement or the improvement of those you train with, it's all about winning and dominating! The presence of ego not only limits your technical growth but your overall development as a martial artist. Still unsure if your ego is getting in the way of your training, then ask yourself the following.

     1. When rolling do you focus primarily on winning or are you more concerned with improving?

     2. Do you get upset if you get tapped out by a lower rank, or someone you feel you shouldn't have tapped to? 

     3. Do you make excuses when your training partner is able to shut down your game? 

     4. Are you afraid to experiment and try out new techniques for fear of getting caught? 

     5. Do I train with the lower ranks, and if so do I make sure they're able to work their techniques as well?  

     In the end, it's all about evolving, self-improvement, and progression, as well as helping your teammates achieve the same. A martial artist cannot hope to become the best version of themselves if they allow their ego to take center stage. To truly improve and progress in your training you need to be humble enough to learn from your mistakes, step out of your comfort zone, take chances, help your teammates!  

  

                

Setting Training Goals

 

     Advancing through the ranks in Jiu-Jitsu takes longer than most other martial arts, with a student looking at an average of 10 plus years to go from white to black belt. With students looking at having to invest such a significant amount of time it's crucial they set goals in their training. Goals help to keep your training relevant, enjoyable, and on track.

     

     When setting training goals for yourself it's important you follow a few simple guidelines.

     1. Be specific in what exactly it is you want to achieve ie... I want to get into better shape, I want to learn to defend myself, I want to earn my Black belt.

     2. Make sure you're able to keep track of your progress ie writing it down, or videotaping and revisiting it regularly.

     3. Make sure your goals challenge you but are at the same time attainable.

     4. Make sure your environment helps support the attainment of your goals. ie... have your gi and equipment all ready to go the night before, budgeting your time.

     

     Your first goal with training should be just getting to class consistently and on time. This is by far the most important step in your goal-setting process. If you are unable to consistently train you will be hard-pressed to attain the other goals you set for yourself. 

     Once you've established a consistent training regiment you can then focus on setting goals for yourself every class. The objective here is to focus on improving your technical skills by just 1%, every time your train. If you're able to keep your goals focused on a micro level, ie... training consistently, 1% improvement, then the macro goals ie... getting into shape, the ability to defend yourself, competing in a tournament will take care of themselves.

     Don't get me wrong, having long-term goals are very important in that they help give you direction and a sense of purpose. What I feel a lot of people fail to realize is that it's the small, daily, weekly goals that will allow you to accomplish your larger goals.

     On a side note, make sure one of your goals is to have fun, enjoy your training and the process of self-improvement and self-discovery!      

     

           

Words to Live By!

 

     I wanted to share with you the principles I have taken and incorporated into my life. I use these as my guide, my moral compass, my code of conduct.

1. One Life. I understand that we have one life and one chance to live it as fully and with joyful purpose as we can!

2. Lead by Example. Let your actions, not your words do the talking!

3. Responsibility. I am responsible for living my life as fully and with joyful purposeful as I can each and every day! 

4. Accountability. I am responsible for my actions and decisions! 

5. Educate Yourself. Take time to learn something new every day.

6. Challenge Yourself. Take time to do something that scares you, that pushes you out of your comfort zone every day!

7. Forgive. Learn to forgive others as well as yourself, we are all only human after all.

8. Standards. Set high standards of conduct for yourself and those around you.  

9. Give Back. Empower, uplift, support, encourage, mentor others! 

10. Attitude of Gratitude. Appreciate your life and that you have the love and support of those around you!     

Changing The World Through Martial Arts

      If your a martial arts instructor, school owner, and your goal is anything less than transforming the lives of your students, then you're in the wrong business! In fact, I look at it as my personal obligation to not only transform the lives of my students but members of my community, and the world as a whole!   

     This may seem a bit far-fetched, and far-reaching but for me, that's exactly what the martial arts are in a position to deliver. You see, what sets martial arts apart from most other activities or sports is that it is not just simply a form of exercise or recreation, but rather a way of life. The benefits it offers are far-reaching and comprehensive.

     Not only can it be used as a form of self-defense, but as an excellent way for students to strengthen their bodies, and keep physically fit. Beyond what is traditionally thought of as the benefits of training, discipline, focus, self-confidence self-control, resilience, the martial arts goes much deeper. Through their training, students learn a variety of other valuable life skills. 

1. Responsibility. Teaches students to take responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and actions.

2. Perseverance. Students must spend hundreds of hours perfecting and honing their skills.

3. Values. Students learn to respect themselves and others, as well as to have compassion, and empathy for others.

4. Positivity. Teaches to look at life and its challenges with a positive mindset, that you have the ability to adapt and overcome

5. Goal Setting. Teaches how to set short, medium, and long-term goals and achieve them.

6. Work Ethic. To succeed on any level requires hard work, sacrifice, and preparation.

7. Wisdom. To truly understand a particular system you are training in requires more than simply learning the techniques themselves. One must also understand the history and culture of the people from which your art originated.

8. Courage. The martial arts are all about stepping out of your comfort zone, working past your fears, becoming comfortable in uncomfortable situations.

9. Creativity. Teaches students to think outside the box, to take new approaches to novel situations.

10. Leadership. Martial arts encourage a leadership mindset of improving one's community and the world. Martial artists learn to value and respect others, understand their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as thinking outside of the box.

11. Open Mindinesss. Learning that you don't have all the answers, and to be open to new concepts and ideas.

12. Mindfulness. Learning to live and be in the moment.

13. Situational Awareness. Learning to be alert to what is going on around you and understanding how certain situations, physical objects, and actions may affect an outcome.

14. Action. Teaches students to be active participants in their lives, to work toward improving themselves, as well as empowering, uplifting, and supporting those around us.

      As you can see no other activity, sport offers its participants as many mental and physical benefits as does training in the martial arts!    

                 

      

Should community service be a requirement for belt promotion?

 

     My school curriculum is a bit unorthodox in that I require all of my students to perform some type of community service in order to be considered for promotion. The project a student chooses can be quite simple and does not necessarily have to be either big or complex. The idea is to get out there and doing something that's positive, empowering, and supportive for members of your community.

     I first began to piece together the idea of martial arts and community service when I was training in Karate back in the early 90s. At about the same time I began to study and become interested in Japanese culture. What I found to be of particular interest was the ruling warrior class of feudal Japan known as the Samurai. I was amazed to see the number of diverse roles they played in their society. 

     The men and women, who made up the ranks of the samurai were multifaceted in that they were extremely fierce warriors, but also highly literate and artistic. Unlying all of the samurai actions was the notion of bushido, a moral code of conduct that served to give guidance to samurais behavior, duties, and responsibilities. The thing that intrigued me most about this concept was the idea of loyalty and selfless service to those you served.

     Those sets of principles, loyalty, and selfless service started me thinking about the role of martial arts and service to others and how they relate to one another. I soon started to view my role as a martial artist as someone who not only seeks self-improvement but looks to build up those around me. This notion of helping and supporting others soon extended beyond those with whom I only trained with. 

     When I finally opened my school I saw it as my obligation to not only transform the lives of my students but the lives of the community whose members I serve as well. I felt it my duty to ensure I continued this notion of service through to my students. To be a student of the martial arts is to be a student of life and serve as a role model of moral and ethical behavior for all to follow.      

Consistency is King!

 

     Consistency is the main ingredient needed if we are looking to learn, improve, and grow at anything we do in life. If you're consistent in your attendance, attitude, and effort, improvement in whatever activity you're engaged in will surely follow.

     Consistency is needed whether the discussion is jiu-jitsu, homework, baseball, basket weaving, or self-improvement. There are simply no areas of our lives where consistency's positive impact is not felt. Consistency's influence in our lives can be felt in a number of significant ways.

1. Consistency is the cornerstone of improvement

2. Consistency is the foundation from which all habits are formed

3. Consistency produces forward momentum.

4. Consistency creates opportunities 

5. Consistency opens up possibilities

6. Consistency allows for creativity

Consistency can be viewed as synonymous with improvement, and therefore indispensable if one is looking to make any type of positive, lasting change in their life.  

      

     

How Your Health Affects Your Training!

 

     I just had a conversation the other night with a group of students about the importance of taking care of their bodies. I reiterated the fact that their fitness was vital, not only to the overall enjoyment and performance on the mats but to their quality of life outside of training.

     When I first started out in jiu-jitsu there were little to no discussions on the importance of taking care of yourself, or how one should go about doing that. I don't remember doing any kind of stretching or conditioning really, outside of the requisite push-ups and sit-ups. If you weren't already doing something like that on your own then you were out of luck. In fact, the prevailing attitude at the time, and one that persisted for many years as you weren't really training if you weren't getting the crap beat out of you. I can't recall hearing my instructor, coaches, or other students talking about the importance and benefits of rest and recovery as well. 

     After a number of years of hard training with little to no body maintenance work done, my body began to break down, and the injuries started to accumulate. Accompanying my body's physical breakdown came a sort of mental burnout as well. I became increasingly frustrated with constantly being injured, in pain, and not being able to train as I wanted. At one point I had to step away from training for a couple of years to heal up and mentally recharge my batteries

     It was during my time away from training that I began to see the importance of having some type of program that addressed my strength, conditioning, mobility, and nutrition. As I began incorporating a diet and exercise routine into my life I could immediately see its mental and physical benefits! As I strengthened both body and mind I was soon ready and able to resume training.

     From this experience, I drew the conclusion that there was a definite need to incorporate mobility and strength training, along with stretching exercises into a warm-up routine. These exercises should be simple to use, time-friendly, and most important, help reduce the incidences and severity of injuries. As soon as I open the doors to my own school I began to incorporate just such a program into our curriculum. I can see a definite benefit to my student's overall health, with no serious injuries, and their subsequent enjoyment and performance in their training.

     

     It can not be overstated enough the importance of taking care of yourself with proper diet, excercie, rest, and recovery. One of the primary objectives of your training is to be able to do it for a lifetime. In order to accomplish this, you need to ensure that your taking proper care of yourself by maintaining your health!                                

Building a Martial Arts Community

 

     Providing your students and their families a place where they feel accepted, empowered, valued, and supported is essential for developing a student's fullest potential. A martial arts school, academy, dojo, should be more than merely a place to train. It should be a place where families come together to share in fellowship and community with one another. 

     To affect significantly positive and lasting change in your students they must first feel as though they belong to a community. A community that is positive, reaffirming, and whose members push, encourage, and mentor one another. A place where students hold themselves and each other accountable, and not enablers of each other's dysfunctional behaviors.

     Developing a culture of community within your school and among your students, families, and teaching staff is not just necessary, but an obligation. The true measure of a school's success is not simply in its student's technical prowess. Rather it is the caliber of human being that walks out your door!      

      

              

To compete or not compete? The role competition plays in a students martial arts training.

 

     In my 28 years of teaching and training, I have come to firmly believe that competition is essential to a student's overall development on and off the mat. Competing is a unique experience that challenges students and their self-perceptions, in ways that are hard to replicate in any other setting. 

     I, like most people, was first drawn to the martial because of its self-defense aspects, I had no desire whatsoever in competing. The first person to really explain to me why I should compete and how it benefited me was my old karate instructor Sensei Tanabe. He never pushed us to compete but did encourage us to try one or two tournaments just to see what we thought. After about a year of training, I thought I would give it a try and decided to compete at the next tournament. I went out and competed in both kata and sparring and well frankly, was not feeling the who competition thing. That ended up being my first and only attempt at a karate competition and I was ok with that. 

     In 1997 I began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after seeing Royce Gracie compete at UFC I and witnessing firsthand the effectiveness of it as a self-defense system. At this point, I still wasn't a huge fan of competing and didn't see its true value. for some inexplicable reason though, I decided to compete in my very first bjj tournament after only attending 10 classes. Needless to say, the outcome was a disaster with me sustaining a serious should injury that kept me away from training for the next 2 years. After a 2 year hiatus, I returned to training having sworn off ever competing again! That lasted all of about a year when I decided to again compete. While I avoided any serious injuries in this one I did however completely freeze and go into a defensive shell the entire match. Looking back I was still haunted by the events of my first tournament and allowed those thoughts to completely overwhelm me. After that dismal showing, I didn't even entertain the idea of competing for the next 21 years.

     Fast forward 21 years to 2015, which found me still teaching and training in my beloved art of jiu-jitsu. As an instructor of my own students, I adopted a similar philosophy of competing as that of Sensei Tanabe. I never pushed my students but did however encourage them to at least try a couple for experience sake. At this point, 2 factors played a major role in my decision to give competing one last try. I began to feel like a hypocrite encouraging my students to step out of their comfort zones and compete when I wasn't. The other factor was that I had allowed fear to completely immobilize me in my last match. Again, I couldn't very well encourage my students to stand up and face their fears when I wasn't prepared to do the same!

     In 2015 I entered my first tournament in 21 years, and the first as a black belt. Because of my age, I was limited to competing in international tournaments if I wanted opponents of similar age and rank. This brought with it its own set of unique challenges. I soon found out that I would be competing against former World and Pan American champions, men who had been actively competing for many years! To my surprise the first couple of tournaments I entered I placed 2nd twice and 3rd once! I have not quite been able to match or better those results since, but I have a new found joy and appreciation for competition and hope to compete as long as I am physically able  

     Needless to say, I have fully embraced the importance of competing in my life and the lives of my students. I have learned so much about myself and what I thought to be my limitations through competition. It has been a source of some of my greatest joys and deepest heartaches. Throughout it all, I have come away with the understanding that I am far more combable and resilient than I thought possible.        

        

                                

12 Essential Questions To Ask Yourself Every Day!

     Most of us have been conditioned to think that in order for us to find the answers to our questions, be it our purpose in life, our relationships, that we must go and seek them out. The fact of the matter is, is that if we want answers to our asking questions, we must first learn to ask questions. It's not enough though, just to ask questions, they need to be the right questions, and at the right time. In fact, asking the right questions at the right time can have a profound and lasting impact on your life! Below are 12 questions to ask yourself every day to help keep you focused, on the right track, and living a life of satisfaction, purpose, and meaning.

1) Who do I spend my time with? Do they add or detract from my life, do they inspire and support you, are they a positive influence?

2) Is this under my control? Remember we can not control what goes on around us, only our own thoughts, feelings and actions Therefore only put your energy and focus into those things that you do control.

3) What does my ideal day look like? If you don't know what your ideal day looks like how can you make the decisions or plans necessary to bring that into reality

4) To be or to do? Put simply, will I chase my dreams and live my life with joy, purpose, or will I stay within my comfort zones and merely exist?

5) If I am not for me, who is? If I am only for me, who am I? It's quite natural for all of us to strive for individual accomplishments, honors, and recognitions. We must, however, balance our personal ambitions with a desire to uplift and empower those around us. We must think outside of ourselves and reach out to others.

6) What am I missing by choosing to be worried and afraid? When we choose to worry and be fearful, we must ask ourselves if we are seeing the situation clearly, and are we giving ourselves all the options needed to make good decisions. 

7) Am I doing my job? Before you do anything you must first ask yourself if you even know what your job is What were talking about here is more than what you do to earn a paycheck. Specifically, are you making the decision and taking the actions necessary to live your life with purpose and meaning. Are you supporting and empowering those closest to you and in your community? 

8) What is the most important thing? Again, with this question, you need to first define what it is that's important to you. Once you understand that, you can then see if you are structuring your life, making the decisions, and taking the action necessary to make it a priority.

9) Who is this for? For all the entrepreneurs out there making and selling something, you must know who your audience is. Once you understand this you must then you must ask yourself what is it they need and want? The last thing you must ask yourself is what is it your offering them, are you bringing value to their lives? 

10) Does this actually matter? Are you putting your focus into things that are positive, productive, that add and bring value to your life? Our time on this earth is limited so be sure to make the most of the time we have! 

11) Is this alive time or dead time? Are we sitting around waiting for life to happen or are we going out and making things happen? 

12) Is this who I want to be? Define the type of person you want to be, and the type of life you want to lead, and make sure your decisions and action align to make this a reality.                    

How Steven Segal and Royce Gracie Changed My Life

      I guess you could say growing up as a painfully shy, skinny kid, filled with large amounts of anxiety, and no self-confidence was a bit of a challenge. From the age 5, until my late teens, early 20s, I was extremely socially awkward, not at all athletic, and never stood up for myself. It probably didn't help matters that I was an only child as well. On a happier and more positive note, all of that began to change with 2 pivotal events in my life.

     There were 2 defining moments that captured my attention and thrust me headlong into my lifelong love of martial arts, and the martial arts lifestyle. The first time was in 1987 when my then-girlfriend and I rented this action movie, Above the Law, with a gentleman by the name of Steven Segal in it. Sure I had seen Enter The Dragon as a kid but the action I saw in this movie was unlike anything I had seen before! Watching Steven Segal move and control his opponents the way he did was for me something mystical, almost magical. I also loved the fact that he was extremely self-confident, stood up for what was right, and didn't back down from anyone. When I found out the art Steven Segal practiced was Aikido, I went out and tried to find a place to start training right away. When I finally found someone to train with and started talking with them I soon discovered that perhaps Aikido wasn't the art for me after all. I then decided that maybe Shotokan Karate was more up my alley so I enrolled in classes at the local Y. Thus began a 6-year journey, of study, training, and developing myself both physically and mentally. My self-confidence began to grow and as a result, I began to push myself and start to step out of my comfort zone  

     The other defining moment occurred on November 12th, 1993, and the airing of  UFC I on PPV. I must say that when I first heard of the event I, like thousands of others thought there was no way this was going to happen. There was no way I thought, that they were going to televise an event where martial artists were going to actually fight one another with no rules!!! I decided to throw caution to the wind and order my UFC I PPV. I remember sitting on the couch watching these martial artists actually fight one another using the various styles they had trained in. I was completely blown away! I couldn't believe I was able to see the various martial arts styles pitted against one another, and from that, being able to see which one was actually effective. These fights, which allowed headbutts and kicks to downed opponents were not for points but actual combat with limited rules. It's funny to look back on it now but the guys you thought were going to win and win easily, were all defeated by a skinny unassuming young man from Brazil named Royce Gracie. After watching that event it soon became clear that the style I was currently training in was not nearly as effective as I had thought. This single event changed my whole perspective of what constituted an effective self-defense system, and thus changed the very trajectory of my training and life.

     Within a few years, I had totally embraced jiu-jitsu as my art and decided to dedicate my life to studying and teaching this wonderfully effective art. One of the things that drew me to jiu-jitsu besides being so effective, was the fact that it was difficult to advance in rank. On average it takes 10 plus years to go from white to black belt, for me it was 17 years. Because of this jiu-jitsu has a high attrition rate, with only about 1% of those who start out actually make it to their black belt. Through my 24 plus years of training, I have learned an incredible amount about myself. I have learned that I am self-confident, tenacious, persistent, resilient, focused, determined, and compassionate This experience has forever changed my view of myself and my capabilites. This in turn has positively impacted every aspect of my life. 

                      

Martial Arts Mindset

 

    With the challenges of a global pandemic and divisive political climate, maintaining a positive attitude is extremely important. What then does it mean exactly to have a martial arts mindset and why is that important? A martial arts mindset is a way of thinking, of looking at the world that will help the student develop both as a martial artist and in their personal lives. Maintaining this mindset also encourages students to strengthen the relationship they have with their communities.

     In essence, a martial arts mindset is one where students are able to look at challenges, not as setbacks, but opportunities to learn and grow. This viewpoint sends a powerful message as to the importance of being optimistic and resilient. Those with a martial artist mindset have also developed the self-confidence to take on leadership roles and look to lead by example. They provide a positive and calming presence to those around them and look for solutions rather than blame.

     One who has a martial arts mindset is mindful to spend their time in positive ways, surrounded by positive people who encourage, empower, and uplift one another. They are concerned with the quality of their relationships with friends, family, and community, and look to give back and bring value to their lives. This is what it means to have a martial arts mindset.

                                                                                                                Prof Lucarelli      

          

The Importance Of Self Awareness

 

     True personal growth and development start with knowing how you are, not on a superficial level, but your authentic self. True self-awareness is also essential if one is looking to make meaningful lasting changes in their life. Most of us have an idea of who our true self is, the person hiding behind the convenient excuses we've constructed about ourselves. Unfortunately, most of us are afraid to put in the work needed for true self-discovery.      

     We live in a society that idealizes and promotes the notion of escapism, and you need to look no further than social media to see its effects. We are constantly being bombarded with competing images and sound bites looking to distract us with meaningless, sensationalized content. The ultimate goal of course is to distract us, misdirect our attention, and tell us not to worry about who we are just live the life 'they" have constructed for us. The social media influence in our lives along with the excuses we tell ourselves, combined to bring us to where we are today.   

     We must all somehow navigate all of this and find sources of information and inspiration that move us in the direction of discovering our true selves. Fortunately, we live in an age where the answer to our questions is at our fingertips. In order to fully utilize the resources around you, you must first need to ask the right questions. In order to ask the right questions, you need to first try to find out who you are. Here are is a tip you can use to help you start to gain a better understanding of who you are. I would start by writing down and tracking how you spend your time. Be sure this journal includes all areas of your life, work, family, friends, workouts, social media. Each week I would make a point to look back at the previous week's notes and begin making corrections where needed.  Remember, if you aren't aware of who you are it's hard to make the necessary and last changes needed.   

              

The Importance Of Mat Chat

     Most martial arts schools have some type of mat chat, where younger students, instructors, and coaches sit together as a group to discuss issues facing today's students. Topics such as developing good habits, communicating with confidence, and how to deal with bullies both in-person and online are discussed. I cannot emphasize enough how important these sessions are in helping equip our students with the information and emotional capacity need to deal with the ever-growing complexities of life. From my experience, I would say most schools only give this portion of student training a superficial amount of time at best. I would further state that these discussion times are crucial to student's overall development not just as a martial artist, but a happy, well-adjusted, and functioning members of society.

     Mat chats give students, instructors, and coaches the opportunity to discuss topics that we traditionally associate with martial arts training. Things like dealing with bullies, developing self-confidence, dealing with strangers, and sharpening one's focus. I would go one step further and say that these discussions have the ability to positively transform a student's life in a variety of other ways most may not associate these with these discussions.

     One of the first benefits that come to mind is that it helps students identify their feelings, and feel comfortable sharing them. I think we could all agree that a large portion of our society, including myself, have trouble identifying and expressing their feelings at times. Helping give students the tools and confidence to effectively identify and deal with their emotions helps them in so many ways. The negative impact that emotions such as fear, anger, frustration, anxiety, sadness, loneliness, have on a child or young person's life can substantially mitigate with these coping skills. Another beneficial consequence of students sharing their feelings in a peer setting is that they get to see that others feel and think just as they do, which is extremely therapeutic. It also gives students practice in the dying art of listening, not listening to respond, just listening for the sake of listening.

     If the time in these discussions is used effectively, we as instructors and coaches can address student issues such as critical thinking, healthy self-image, setting personal boundaries with others, the ability to distinguish healthy from toxic relationships, patients, compassion, and empathy for others, and the importance giving back. I, therefore, think it imperative that we as instructors, coaches, guides mentors, readjust the criteria under which we use to "teach" our students. It is our responsibility and obligation that we help to transform each of our student's lives in real, lasting, and positive ways that can be documented!    

            

     

           

The martial arts is in everything that we do.

     I don't think enough martial arts schools do a thorough enough job of explaining to their students how their training influences and impacts every aspect of their lives. We as instructors and school owners need to continually reinforce this message and demonstrate to our students the relevance of this interconnected relationship. 

     No other activity a child or adult participates in addresses as many of their needs as do martial arts. What sets martial arts apart from most, is that it is not simply an activity or sport, but rather a way of life. Over the centuries the training and philosophy of martial arts have been and adopted by various civilizations who saw its value as a guide to help live their lives. The samurai of feudal Japan were probably the most notable example of this.

     The benefits of training in the martial go beyond the standard benefits we often associate with it such as improved physical fitness, self-confidence, coordination, focus, self-control, courtesy, respect, and ability to defend oneself. Here are a few other, but no less important ways martial arts training is beneficial. It helps students set and accomplish goals, strengthen their resolve, diligence, and resilience. It also helps develop a culture of leadership where students strive to be leaders and positive role models for their families, friends, and community. It also helps give students the tools and confidence they need to help them identify and share their feelings, as well as understand the makeup of healthy relationships and setting boundaries. Lastly, martial arts is not solely focused on individual improvement and empowerment but also on fostering the idea of helping to do the same for those in their community. Students and parents need to see the value and relevancy of their training beyond what is typically associated with it.        

Redefining Self Defense

 

     As an industry, martial arts have held to narrow of a definition of what constitutes self-defense. In the traditional sense, self-defense has been looked at to mean the ability to protect one's self in a physical altercation. The concept of self-defense needs to be expanded to include concepts such as one's mental and physical health, critical thinking, social media, environment, and relationships.

     While teaching students how to protect themselves physically is very important, it is not something most martial arts students will face on a regular basis. What challenges students repeatedly face on a regular basis are their own emotions, social media, the food they eat, their physical environment, and relationships with others.

     We need to help our students be able to identify and understand their feelings and how to properly deal with them. We also need to teach our students that their feelings are ok, and more importantly, to talk about those feelings to mom, dad, spouse, teacher, or trusted adult. Children need our help in how to identifying and properly deal with potential online predators, and or cyberbullies. Our students need to know the importance of healthy eating, staying hydrated, and what that looks like. When I talk of one's physical environment I am not simply talking about where you physically live. Included within that is helping our students become aware of the fact that we are the stewards of this planet and what we can do to protect it. Students need to understand  "getting" along with others isn't simply a matter of being polite. They also need to understand the concept of setting boundaries, as well as helping them identify what constitutes an emotionally healthy relationship.

     It's time we as an industry widen our concept of self-defense and adopt a teaching curriculum that is more inclusive, and better serves our student's everyday realities and challenges.

                                               

                                                                                                                                Prof Lucarelli