Talking about how the different combat martial arts, such as Thai Boxing, have developed as sports especially in the United States
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What Is Hard Work
August 20, 2018 by Leave a Comment
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here can be different interpretations of what hard work is. First, who’s asking? A professional or former college athlete? A high school athlete that hasn’t done much for 10 years? A person who has never done sports but has excelled in academics? Is it me asking as a man in his 50’s that at one time pushed my limits on a daily basis? Bottom line, what hard work is for one person may seem crazy to another. Vince Lombardi said, “The dictionary is the only place success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must all pay for success. I think we can accomplish anything if we are willing to pay the price.” You need to know what you want before you will be willing to work hard for it. Everyone has different goals in the martial arts; get in shape, relieve stress, build confidence, make friends and have fun, compete, become a champion….and everyone has a little of the above at varying levels.
Until you understand what hard work is and accept it as part of the process, you are likely not going to achieve your goals. Being your best is about wanting it enough to do what is required and more. You have to be willing to pay the price of commitment, with consistency and discipline; you have to form new healthy habits if you are going to succeed in reaching your goals. The key to reaching your own version of success means you have to accept what it will take. After that, you have to develop the habit of doing what you know you should and what is necessary. To be your best you must have the will to prepare to win the day.
“The dictionary is the only place success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must all pay for success. I think we can accomplish anything if we are willing to pay the price.”
Most people think they have the will to be great at some level. However, many do not acknowledge the price that must be paid. At the beginning levels the cost is minimal. You have to begin by creating some consistent training habits. As you improve that price goes up. If you know why you are training, you will be willing to do the work. A martial artist knows that victories are won in the classroom and through training with consistency. It is by making a choice to get up and get into The Academy to train on a consistent basis that little victories are won. Your body and mind become accustomed to your routine and you will eventually start to ask more of yourself. By knowing why you want to train and then following through over time, you become ever closer to becoming that confident, disciplined and hardworking individual you have always dreamed you could be.
Opera Non Verba, Deeds Not Words…..Just Do It!
Martial Arts Goals As You Age
July 6, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Listen to Coach Greg talk about how your goal for training can evolve over time as you get older
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Training To Be Healthy : Part 2
June 12, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Fourth, workout 5-6 times a week. Start your morning with a 20-30 minute walk, jog, shadow box, carenza, and basic mobility work. It is important to have a morning routine; something to get your blood pumping, oxygenate your body and limber up your joints. Along with your regular martial arts training you should do some strength and cardio training. You should have a consistent routine, but don’t bite off more than you can chew. Start small and work your way up. This should be easy for everyone. You are already training, now start to be very directed and disciplined.
Fifth, meditate, pray or simply relax at least once a day. If you fall asleep, so be it. Doing something to reboot your brain and body during the day is important. There are many ways to meditate. It does not have to be some esoteric weird thing, just focus on your breathing and kill two birds with one stone.
Sixth, get more sleep. This one only took me 51 ½ years to figure out. It was tough at first, but now I sleep 7 hours…most nights. To sleep well, I have to have everything completely dark and quiet, which everyone should. I could talk about sleep a bunch because I have done a lot of study. Why? Because as soon as I started sleeping 7 hours a night I felt so much more energized and motivated.
I could expand on every one of these areas, and I am still learning more all of the time. Now in my 50’s, after fighting more than a few battles, on all fronts, I know the importance of health and well-being more now than ever. What is stopping you from being committed to your health, your loved ones, family, your personal development and success in whatever you choose.
Bringing The Martial Arts Mentality To Everyday Life
April 19, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Training To Be Healthy : Part 1
April 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Everything starts with a good attitude, and that is a good start, but you need to be committed to optimizing your health. Health is far more than simply just working out and getting in shape. To be in the best health there are a number of things that you can do. Most of these things will allow you to be more effective at what is most important to you. Over the past year I have been learning more about high performance. Physiology is a major part of being your best. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The world belongs to the energetic.” Now let’s see how we can all be more energetic.
There are 6 areas that we can change to increase our energy for everything we do. Most of these things we do, but often do not really focus nor fully engage them. First, our breathing and how we take in oxygen is crucial to health. Most of us take this for granted. There are many simple techniques that you can do today that will immediately give you a charge.
“A healthy attitude is contagious, don’t wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier.”
First, the way we started life is breathing with our diaphragm, but then we stopped. Therefore, it is simply about relearning how to breathe fully with both of your lungs. Breathing in with your nose, expanding your belly as you fill up the bottom of your lungs on up, the exhaling fully with your mouth will better oxygenate your body. Another very easy way to invigorate your body is to simply bounce up and down while you breathe deeply…how simple is that!
Second, drink more clean water. We should be drinking 4-6 liters of water every day. If you are training and sweating that amount goes up. We are made up mostly of water , so we need to re-hydrate with water. Many people drink any number of different types of drinks and less of what they really need, plain water. This is about as easy as it gets.
Third, unless you are seriously training you should eat 2-4 meals per day. One of the reasons America has a growing obesity problem is the amount and kind of food people consume. The average person should eat more greens, veggies, fruits, but less meat and carbs. Eat less things out of boxes and cans and more things you can grow and grill. Simply put, eat real food as much as you can. Next, keep the One Plate Rule. The amount of food you eat should fit on one plate and at one level. Eat better, cleaner and less.
To be Continued….
Training With and Through Injuries with Greg Nelson
March 6, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Coach Greg talking about how to and when you can train through an injury
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Don’t Fear The Process
February 9, 2018 by Leave a Comment
In junior high and high school I was a gymnast. In the beginning you learn how to simply swing back and forth, learning how to use your body to create more and more momentum.
Once you become comfortable with swinging you then learn how to do a kip. This requires some technique and timing. On the outside, it looks very simple. However, there are many little movements that must be coordinated and timed to complete the move. Eventually, the goal is to kip up and cast as high as you can so as to let your body drop and allow your body to swing completely around the bar. Of course, the bar is 9 feet off the ground and what looks so effortless from the outside, is not so easy. No matter how many times you swing back and forth, at some point you are going to have cast as high as you can and let gravity work. Allowing the process to happen is always the toughest part. Why is it so tough to just let it happen -fear!
What ultimately allows a gymnast to allow their body to swing through the air around the bar is faith. Eventually, you have to believe you are going to get all the way around.
We all get to that place when doing something for the first time where fear hangs out and you have to choose to move through it.
Most will never become a gymnast or have to swing entirely around a bar. But at some point you will have something in front of you, something new and scary, that you have to face and get over. We all get to that place when doing something for the first time where fear hangs out and you have to choose to move through it. Your first class, your first time sparring or rolling live, your first competition, the list goes on.… Will you allow fear keep you from taking the next step? Will fear stop you from starting something new or will you have faith in the process, let yourself go and just have fun doing something totally new?
I can tell you I have done both. I have hesitated and even prevented myself from experiencing something new. On the other hand, I have ‘casted straight to handstand and let it rip.’ I have taken chances to do new things, meet new people, experience the curiosity and joy of being a complete beginner again. What is it that prevents you from taking that swing? Whenever you are at the cusp of doing something new and hesitate to jump, you must not let fear win. Courage is not about the lack of fear; courage is about being afraid and doing it anyway.
Learning to trust the process will allow you to experience many things that will never be there if you allow fear to control you. Learn to simply let go. It’s something I wish I would have done it always throughout my life. Just like when I went for that first giant swing in gymnastics. Start doing those things you are putting off, that you may be afraid of, but will benefit your life….you’ll be happy you did.
Think And Grow Tough With Greg Nelson
January 18, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Listen to Coach Greg talk about the importance of mental toughness and how it has impacted his own life
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