Nature provides exceptions to every rule.
When I was young, I would daydream about my life as an adult. I designed a lifestyle where every decision was easy because everything was black and white. Everything fit perfectly into their spots. As I got older, I realized more and more that that’s not how life works. Not everything is black and white.…
The importance of caring.
A funny thing happened to me in class once and it made me realize something really important. A student was trying for their first stripe, they didn’t meet their physical requirements and so they didn’t receive their stripe. This doesn’t happen often, but it certainly happens. Afterwards, we talked about some options they had, how…
Why do we all do this? It doesn’t make sense.
There’s a funny thing that happens in the martial arts. Ask any martial arts teacher and they’ll back me up on this… In fact, even if you’ve never trained, I guarantee that you’ve done it too. As instructors, we see people all the time, become their fittest, most confident, absolute best self, achieve their Black Belt…and…
What REALLY determines what we are is…
I remember hearing an idea once and it totally changed my life. It was so simple and it offered me infinite hope. Just a few days ago, I was reading Harry Potter with my daughter and Dumbledore recited nearly the exact same thing and I thought that if Dumbledore is going to offer similar wisdom,…
Failure doesn’t mean ‘No’, it just means ‘Not right now.’
A funny thing happens when I’m teaching a new technique or concept. Students will give it a try and then they will fall into one of two categories… They get it… They didn’t get it… After that, the second group usually says one of two things… “I need more practice” or “Nope…not for me” I…
When you want to build courage and strength, try this.
Last week I was speaking to a student at the school and we started talking about experiences and how they build courage. I was telling him that I was thinking about doing something totally new and that it really scared me. It was something that was really outside of my comfort zone. As I’ve…
When you need to achieve something big, you need this…
When I first started my training, I remember having a few training partners that were really great partners and influenced my development as a martial artist by pushing me to improve. In BJJ, I’ve been working on a glitch that I have in my game and so this week, two of my friends just helped…
Sometimes the only thing you can control is your perspective.
Years ago I heard a story about two brothers that grew up in an abusive home and over time, their lives went in totally opposite directions. One brother became, in most measures, successful and the other brother went on to struggle throughout life. When the two brothers were interviewed, they were asked about how their…
Make some change or change your attitude.
Part of our Black Belt testing is that you have to make a presentation. The presentation is all about your experience going from White to Black Belt. In it, students talk about what they liked and disliked, their favourite memories and more. I find the presentation really helpful because it’s a great source of feedback…