Motivation

A ‘real’ fight, any seriously important fight! If it a brutal self defense situation you have to win, which simply means you did whatever you had to do and were able to get away and keep on living. Now, what constitutes a ‘brutal self defense’ situation? Can you read the mind of the person in front of you? Can you see the future and see that he is just going threaten you and not smash your face in and you fall down and then get your head stomped on the pavement? Now, let’s bring it down a notch, let’s say a very important fight that is going to either launch you to the next level or drop you down the ladder. Now, a win or loss really matters. Does it define you, hell no! A loss, though it drops you down the ladder and takes away that chance to be in the big leagues, may just push you to work harder…or it takes away your chances to ever fight in the big shows. Don’t fool yourself, the fight game is potentially dangerous. I have had fighters get brain bleeds where they had to go in and get their skulls opened…that is pretty real! Bottom line, all fights are real! Your winning or you are losing. All fights are experience, however, the more serious the fight the more the experience stocks. At least that what I’ve found.

In training the goal is to experience as much as you can. Go for stuff, create learning opportunities and don’t worry so much about winning’ a live roll. There is a big difference between a real fight and a roll, however, the more you put yourself in positions you find in fights, the better prepared you’ll be to deal with them. Work offense, defense, good positions and worse carr scenarios. Go where you need to work and lose your ego. What happens in the mats, stays on the mats. Train to be ready for most everything you may face in a realm fight.

Don’t over complicate the process. Know that life is a fight, so Train Hard to Fight Hard and Fight Hard to Live More. There are times when training and fighting are exactly what you want to do. And then, there are times when you have to fight hard, there is no other winning option. So that is why you train hard so you can fight hard to live more. And while you’re living you might as well do what you love, love what you do, be around people you love and be grateful for the simplicity of that kind of life. But, don’t fool yourself, you’ll have to fight for it 😉and it is worth the fight!

Back in the California days Training with @davidmleitch at the Manchester Inosanto Academy in Playa Del Rey In the early 1990s. Training multiple times a day, learning from the sources, and building the future one kick at a time. Crazy how far we’ve both come…and all through the martial arts!

Cracks me up…I crack myself up when I ask questions about seriously simple things. Now, there are things I do not want to look up, I don’t really care about knowing how to do, don’t really have to know how to do…and ask others to show me or do it. However, everything for the most point is at our finger tips, so much so that when you actually have to figure something out on your own 😬 Man, when I was growing up you had to finger stuff out. The people that showed you how to do stuff had to at one time physically be shown or figured it out through trial and error. You had to go to the book cards and look where your book was. You had to actually write on paper. My favorite saying now is GTS, Google That Shit! My second favorite saying is “Go ask Andy” @deleveled 🤣 it’s actually true! 

Life is a trip. Enjoy the ride. The martial arts lifestyle has been a true blessing. See the world, stay healthy and be happy doing what I love.

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We are all ‘Sparring with an invisible opponent’ of some sort. Be it emotionally, mentally, physically…or all of them coming at you full out. Since I was a kid, one thing has been a constant, training. Before I started sports I was constantly on the go. Once I started sports the ‘go’ was more directed: rope climbing, swimming, track & field, basketball, soccer, gymnastics, wrestling, water skiing, snow skiing…I liked practice and competing! As I started martial arts it was simply an extension of my sports, another form of training. OnceI started competing I wanted to win, so that meant more and harder training. I started to love to push myself and began doing more training on my own. Training became a habit. I learned early on that all you have to do is get up and start…just get up and start! My desire push myself became part of my character, who I was and wanted others to see. I had 26 years of training, competing, Fighting and getting my ass kicked by myself and others to prepare for the fight of my life. I had learned to quell the negative voices, to fight back and submit my inner wuss. I developed the ability, skill and mindset to push to failure and muster everything I had to push a little more. I understood the pain of burning muscles and lungs, of utter fatigue, of sprains, strains, tears, breaks, cuts, and injury. I knew how to push through a lot of pain. I understood victory and defeat, trying and failing, and how to keep going, come back and succeed. I sought out ways to push myself harder, I never backed down…even when it probably would have been smarter. My nature had been forged to fight, push and never give up. I wanted to be an example of hard work and toughness. Well, it paid off when I would get more pain than could ever be imagined, fatigue and pain that didn’t stop. More agony, doubt, fear and emotional, mental and physical warfare than I ever had faced. But, I kept saying, “I might have cancer but, cancer can’t have me” and “I will fight until I live or die, I will never give up or give in” I wanted to live to see my kids grow up. I wanted to live!