Coaches Corner: Do or Do not, There is no… not doing what you Need and Want to Do Pt. 1
Yoda knows what all successful people know, it is about ACTION! But, so many, including myself, have created barriers and blocked our own paths to getting started and just simply taking care of business….whatever that business is. “Life was never meant to be a struggle, just a gentle progression from one point to another, much like walking through a valley on a sunny day” But, for many they often create their own mountain of doubt and make even the simplest task so much worse than it really is. On the other hand, for others the climb is an adventure, the harder it seems the more they want to do it, the struggle to get from one point to another is how they want to spend their sunny day. No matter what your goals are, the truth is either you get after it or you don’t.
‘Nature’s way is simple and easy, but men prefer what is intricate and artificial’
Why do some people make such a big production out of doing the simplest things and others thrive in the most difficult of environments. Well, I have no clue, but I do know people will make things out to be more difficult and see themselves as less capable before they really know what they will be doing. Creating negative images in you head will dissuade you from doing things that in reality are pretty simple and easy. To take away some of the apprehension it is important to be aware of your potential of being successful at some level, be realistic in your goals and understand that everyone starts somewhere near the same place….at the beginning. I feel many people put an unrealistic expectation on themselves and without having any real idea of who they will be training with and what they will be doing, make imaginary comparisons of themselves and others who will be in the classroom and are self conscience that they do not know what they are doing. The same mental process will take place every time they want to do something knew, and in many cases dissuade them from new experiences. How can we reduce and even eliminate our doubts and fears of new opportunities in our lives and experiencing all that life has to give? Well, that is the million $ question. To Be Continued….
Patience Is The Companion Of Wisdom
“Patience is the companion of wisdom” -Saint Augustine
We live in a “hurry up” world. Rush hour, coffee, work, and lack of sleep are part of what we think of when we think of our city, our state, or our country. It sometimes feels like we must “get things done.” All of us to some degree are affected by this speedy mentality. Change must come quickly in this lifestyle. The question for me is why? Why does society worry so much about the amount of time it takes someone to do something? If it takes us an extra 20 minutes to cook a balanced meal than to eat fast food, then should we eat fast food to save those 20 minutes, or should we spend 20 minutes on healthy food, and not add the extra calories to our already excessive consumption of food? Americans are, by far, the fattest group on the planet. We live in the most affluent country in the world, yet we sometimes are the least proactive, and most reactive people alive today. Martin Luther King Jr. said,”Rarely do we find people who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” He’s challenging us to take our time and sort through our thoughts and listen to the many different possibilities that are out there.
It’s important, for me to say, now that I’ve spent the past few sentences setting up this critique of our exaggerated feelings of urgency, that I’m as guilty as anyone when it comes to going too fast when I do things. I’ve spent a lot of time on the highway speeding past those suckers on my way to our Academy. I can see us feeling that even in training. We want this instant gratification. Sometimes the best thing to do might just be to slow down and think before you act. “Are my hands up?” “Do I have my balance?” Constantly asking questions leads us to find mistakes in our thinking, and thus our actions. I always say to my classes “Take your time, warm up…” I want you to think about and to be mindful about, just where your body is moving. I guess that’s just another way of saying, “be coordinated.” Simple lessons, are sometimes the most complex ones to understand, those of us who have competed know that the “devil is in the details.” It’s just one more reason to practice slowly, yet focused and methodical.
So be patient with yourself and others. Let go of urgency, because it really is only a temporary feeling that won’t permanently motivate. Set big goals, aim high you might just get close to the mark. Have fun being in the flow of working towards your next rank. Keep in mind it never really stops with the next rank test, because you can always get better. Be patient and forgiving to yourself in training, but also don’t let fatigue or stress turn you into a coward. Just take your time and enjoy all your training and experience.
“With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown” -Chinese Proverb
17 Things Peak Performers Can Say
One of the wonderful by-products of high self-esteem is that you become a “Peak Performer.” Every day you become more aware of your abilities and recognize that opportunities to stretch your capabilities are limitless. You desire change, growth, and challenge, and a healthy self-esteem provides the energy. Peak performers have more than goals, they have a vision of what their life will mean to themselves and others. Peak performers do not live in the future. Peak performers make sure each step taken in the present keeps them on the road toward their life goal.
Peak Performers Can Say:
- I am motivated and have a mission with realistic and measurable goals.
- I accept complete responsibility for everything I think, say, feel, and do.
- I look for the window of opportunity in every situation and know that I will learn from every
experience if I choose. - I always help others to do their best, and I encourage everyone to contribute something.
- I correct my course when I reach an obstacle. This way, when things go wrong, I am still
headed in the right direction. - I expect and appreciate change. It does not overwhelm me because I am prepared.
- I stand up for my own opinions and values and respect others.
- I am able to manage myself. I do not require instruction every step of the way.
- I am not afraid of making mistakes or of taking reasonable risks.
- I am my own coach. I engage in positive self-talk and rehearsal.
- I am a life-long student. I am always ready to learn, and I know growth takes sustained
effort. - I know myself well and still expect to find hidden talents, resources, strengths, weaknesses,
energy, and interests. - I respect reality both pleasant and painful.
- I engage in self-confrontation and do not blame others.
- I readily forgive others and myself and correct mistakes when possible.
- I am patient, kind, gentle, and compassionate with myself.
- I have no need to prove I am better or worse
SELF DEFENSE: How To Prepare for An Unfortunate Reality
Unfortunately, situations can arise in which we are faced with violence. Evil people exist in our society; and occasionally these bad elements confront us. Unprovoked violence does not occur solely in the city and no one can predict when and if it will happen m their lives. Prevention is the only 100% guaranteed self-defense technique, however even the most careful forethought cannot prevent an attack. When you are confronted with an unavoidable, violent, self-defense situation there are a few rules that can greatly increase your chances of a safe escape.
Unfortunately, aggression, strength, and the intent to do harm are primary factors that usually decide the outcome of any conflict, but in some cases surprise and confidence act as a deterrent to an attacker. Protecting yourself against physical harm is a natural reaction, but it is not enough just to rely on your natural instinct.
To ensure your safety you need confidence in your ability to defend yourself. The skills, and the confidence to use them appropriately, can be learned and developed to a high level. Fortunately, the techniques and training methods taught at the Academy are the same skills that are being taught to our law enforcement and military community. In fact several, police officers train at the academy to ensure their ability to handle themselves in the many dangerous situations they find themselves in. Currently, many defensive tactics programs are based on the striking methods of Thai Boxing, Filipino weapons techniques, and on an increasing level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Knowing that the techniques that you learn are the most proven effective in the world today, as well as, having the instructors to teach you the training methods to develop your skills and fitness level to high levels, naturally develops your confidence.
Another important rule of self-defense concerns your own health. Your body is a fine tuned machine; therefore you need to take great care of it if it is to serve you well. This is important for everyday well-being, however for a person who might find themselves in a self-defense situation (which is everyone), it is essential. Good, consistent exercise, coupled with a healthy diet, keeps your body machinery operating efficiently. In a self- defense situation you need to react quickly and swiftly. The swift action needed in such a situation only comes if the body is fit and the thinking is quick. Fortunately, exercise also sharpens the mind. Through consistent martial arts training you learn effective self-defense techniques, increase your personal fitness level, decrease fat and stress, and increase your mental alertness.
Though you have all the tools available to develop your self-defense skills and fitness level, you are not guaranteed safety. Prevention is the best cure, and the only self-defense technique that will work all the time. There are a few rules that will help you prevent potentially dangerous situations. Just like your martial arts and fitness training you have to practice the art of avoidance. First, be AWARE and AVOID potentially dangerous situations. If you see trouble, then go around it. You have to train yourself to be aware, to always be on a casual alert, to look, listen and feel. Trust your instincts; if something feels wrong take serious consideration of it. Second, always give yourself an escape route. If you cannot find one, then create one. Again, before you go into an unfamiliar area, make sure it is safe. Thirdly, lock your doors as soon as you shut your door. Whether you are in your car or at home, get into the habit of locking your doors. Finally, confidently assert yourself. Confidence shows through your body movements, your language, and your eye contact. Stand and walk in an alert, confident posture. Speak with confidence and look people in the eye.
Student Spotlight: Jason Gulden
Jason grew up in circle pines and, like many people experienced bullying and street fights. These early experiences help build a desire to learn self-defense. When he joined the Academy, he was searching for real life self-defense and fighting techniques. What he got was not only a working knowledge of self defense but also tremendous health and energy. When he first started training in the foundations program he weighed185 lbs. Now that he has been training in the Combat Athlete program he has lost over 35 lbs! Way to go Jason!
Coaches Corner: Never been a horse that can’t be rode, Never been a cowboy can’t be throwed
Bottom line, you are going to have good days and bad. We have all had times when everything is going great and times when we seem to deal with set back after set back. The ups and downs we all experience is part of life. No matter what, at some point or another you will have to deal with events, injuries, illnesses, personal crises, or whatever that is out of your control. For me the martial arts has been one of the vehicles I have used to develop the ability to deal with life’s struggles, and find a way to work around, over or through them.
I have had my fair share of ups and downs, but I have made it a habit to be positive and have developed into an eternal optimist. When I was in 9th grade I started to look for positive sayings from wherever I could find them. I did a lot of reading, digging through books and started writing them down in a notebook. As an athlete, you learn how to grow from wins and losses. Dan Gable has been synonymous with victory. He went 64 – 0 as a high school wrestler and then 118 – 1 in college at the University of Iowa. Gable says that it was his only loss to Larry Owens that allowed him to become ‘good’. In fact, after that loss Gable became an even stronger wrestler, even more determined to excel. Gable stated, “I say that I went undefeated for seven years, lost a match, and then I got good.” He would go on to become undefeated in international competition and go unsecured upon in route to winning the 1972 Gold Medal in the Olympics. In addition, Dan Gable believes that without that loss he would have never have become the coach he was.
“When life gives you lemons make lemonade“, not only that but drink that lemonade down to get more energy to grow even stronger. When you get thrown off that horse, you have to shake off the dust and get back at it. Do not stew over losses and mistakes, but rather the some time to see where you can grow from the experience. The mentality with Muay Thai fighters in Thailand is unique compared to the U.S. In Thailand it is about the experience and not simply a win/loss record. In Thailand they don’t ask “what’s your record?”, but rather, “how many fights do you have?” It is the experience gained from fights that will eventually make a great fighter. The same goes for all of us in life. It isn’t about dwelling on mistakes, personal problems and whatever else life throws at you, but rather learning from them. I have made it a habit to write down what I’ve learned from life’s experiences, good, bad and ugly. It is not what happens to you, but rather how you grow from the experience.
It is a learned skill to be positive. One of the sayings I wrote down 35 years ago was, “You can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses”. The same event can be taken in two different ways. There are those that seem to find the good in everything. No matter what we experience it is how we look at it that makes the difference. Good luck, bad luck it is how we deal with our experiences that will determine how we grow. There is a Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer’s neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, “Good luck? Bad luck? who knows?” A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, “Good luck? Bad luck? who knows?” Then, when the farmer’s son was attempting to break in one of the wild horses, he fell off and broke his leg. Everyone thought this was very bad. The farmer again said, “Good luck? Bad luck? who knows?” A few weeks later, the military came to the village and drafted all able-bodied young men in the area. When they saw that the farmer’s son had a broken leg, they had no need for him. Good luck, bad luck? Who knows? Things that seem bad on the surface may in fact end up making you a better person. What determines how you will respond to life ups and downs? In simplest terms it will come down to how you habitually respond to them, positively or negatively. It comes down to how you deal with the 1/2 full glasses of lemons surrounded by thorny roses. I found that using the thorns will make it easier to fill your glass with lemonade.
Your mind can only focus on one thought at a time, that thought can be positive or negative. You can be actively dealing with or freaking out about what you are going through. I can honestly say I have been through the ringer a couple times. Not only the normal ups and downs of life, but also a little more. 14 years ago I was diagnosed with liver cancer, then sciatic nerve cancer. In both diagnoses the doctors said that the chances of survival was bleak. There were many times that I had my head full of negative thoughts about dying, not seeing my kids grow up (by far the worst), if the pain was ever going to stop…Now if I would have let those thoughts take over there is a much greater chance that the outcome would have been quite different. However, I had made a habit out of thinking positive. It was at times a battle, but knowing that you can only think one thought at a time, I would often repeat a positive affirmation or a Bible verse over and over until I had changed my thought. I was so happy that starting in 9th grade I had memorized positive statements and later Bible verses. To this day I repeat positive affirmations daily to both start and end my day. Being an optimist has in fact been both instrumental and a necessity in my life. So whether I am able to ride that horse or get tossed on my butt, I know I have the attitude to keep getting better.
Rank Testing: Getting Ready to Show Off Your Skills
The rank test is the means in which you advance at the Academy. It is a test of your knowledge, skill, and over-all conditioning. It is also the time to show off what all of your hard work and dedication has developed.
Your test is broken into two broad areas: the monthly Test and the Rank Test. The monthly Test is a chance for you to get to demonstrate the techniques, drills, and training methods you have worked on for the past several months and have an instructor one-on-one to show you how to do them better. During the monthly Test you will also be given pointers and tips on how you can better prepare for your rank test.
The monthly test is also the time your instructor will see if you are 100% ready to test for a new rank. Not everyone earns enough grade points to rank Test. If your instructor feels you should wait a month to cleanup or learn some of the required techniques or skills, then take advantage of that extra month to improve and work the new things you’ve just learned. If you earn the required grade points you now will have several weeks to work your skills and condition yourself for the Rank Test. The Rank Test is the time to show off your new skills. It is also a test of your overall physical and mental conditioning.
The Rank Test is the time to demonstrate your ability to perform your techniques in a training format; primarily, the Thai Pads. You will be showing your ability to hit the pads AND hold the pads. It is a test of your ability to train the techniques required for your new rank. The Rank Test is also an intense test of your conditioning. You will be stressed, get tired, and know that you definitely earned your next rank.
Getting Ready
1. Know your required techniques. If you don’t know them, ASK. Your instructors are here to teach you what you need and want to know.
2. Know the Thai pad drills, and how to hold the pads for the drills and techniques during the month you are testing for the next rank.
3. Be in condition. You have to train for your Rank Test (it will be tough).
4. Take advantage of open training times. Train on the bags or with a partner. Doing this will improve your skill dramatically.
5. Get private instruction from an instructor of your choice to work on exactly what you need to.
Rules Of The Dojo 2015
Follow Along Now, As We All Learn The Rules Of The Dojo….
Fighter Spotlight: Troy “Trouble” Jones Jr. 2015 IMFA Royal World Cup Champion
Team Academy fighter left for Bangkok Thailand to compete in the IMFA Royal World Cup as part of Team US on August 12th – & he returned a CHAMPION! After winning the TBA Sanctioning 2015 Class-A title & still being undefeated, he was selected to represent the US in Thailand. To get to the gold medal match Troy defeated 3 fighters from Ivory Coast, Finland, France. In the finals match Troy defeated a very tough fighter from Turkey. Minnesota now has it’s very own Muay Thai kickboxing champion!
