The Ripple Effect

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Having left last year, partial fulfillment and complacency behind me, I woke this morning from a dreamless sleep to find this message.

Happy New Year! Thank you Robb for putting out a survey on FB that I took at 2 AM, 6 months ago! Not knowing at the time, but I signed up for something truly special. For the first time in many years, my New Years Resolution is not to exercise more, be healthier, blah blah blah.... instead it is to look forward to 2018 and what it will bring!

Most of us live our lives trapped in thought. Thought and negative emotion are illusory things and can act as a trap for the advancement of ourselves. How cool is it that this student found a new reality free from concern. Full of Faith not Hope. Weight loss, winning or losing the next fight, fitness goals are all just part of 'the ride'.

Join our Journey learn the difference  

 https://fearlessfamilymartialarts.com/classes/primal-fitness-kickboxing/

To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.

 Buddha

THE SIGN POST UP AHEAD

On your last day on earth, the person you became will meet the person you could have become.

-Anonymous-

The New Year is coming , time for resolutions change and rebirth.

The most common is the elimination of bad habits and a commitment to get fit.

Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.

- Jim Rohn- 

Healthy diet and physical activity are the first two steps 

The difference between a short term habit and a long term goal is really,

 a matter of goal setting, writing them down and most importantly sticking to it. 

Life is like a card game; it's not so much the cards your delt but how you play them. 

Overnight success is a myth . Slow and steady wins the race.

Think smart not hard.

Coach Tony Blauer talks about reverse engineering a fight or an ambush 

to create a more accurate training model. This method is called science. 

If we reverse engineer our own life experience we are more likely to succeed

than hoping for a magic bullet or a first responder to sweep us from

 the arms of danger or failure. Fear of failure, success or even the unknown 

is the single greatest cause of failure, in life, love or self defense .

Fear is a normal human emotion. It is not in itself a killer. We can learn to be aware when fear grips us, and can train to operate through and in spite of our fear. If, on the other hand, we don’t understand that fear is normal and has to be controlled and overcome, it will paralyze us and stop us in our tracks. We will no longer think clearly or rationally. We prepare for it and control it; we never let it control us.

-Gen Colin Powell-

Knowing what you can and can't control allows focus on one task with laser precision and see it through rather than 'shotgun blasting' all the obstacles at once, leaving most unfinished.Along the way you'll sacrifice some things that in the end will seem insignificant compared to the achievement of your goal. In other words , you'll sacrifice little to achieve much.

The Haters

This year I learned a valuable lesson about all successful people,they have haters.
Having a growing number of haters means your doing something significantNo matter what not everyone is going to like you especially if you are authentic.

The only way to avoid pissing people off is to do nothing. My friend Allison is constantly 'Banning the snowflakes' on her FB page.

The future is a blank page, there are no secrets or guaranties  for success only hard work, preperation, dedication and the willingness to get back up seven times after failing six.

-Buckland-

Join our journey.....................  https://robbbucklandffma.sites.zenplanner.com/sign-up-now.cfm

Afraid of the Dark

I can easily forgive a child that is afraid of the dark,

but not a person afraid of the light.

You Definitely don't fit the height requirement to ride this emotional roller coaster.
People have long known the road to success is not easy.
It is contingent on not quitting, just like fitness and Martial Arts.

It is better to have heart with out words than
to have words. without heart.
Don't just say it, do it.

Learned helplessness is the new social norm.
It's the belief that what ever you do doesn't matter.
Each of us has the capacity to make a difference.

Quitting is always the easiest way.
You are promised nothing but opportunity.
what you do with that opportunity is up to you.
It starts with genuine effort (heart) and a willingness to
Never, never, never quit.

I'm not foolish, using the knife from MY back, i've taken and
  severed the cord to the past and the why ?
There will always be foolish pretenders that will cross your path.

I remember one of my Karate instructors telling me we didn't need to learn 
how to fall or fight on the ground because our punches and kicks were so devastating.
Then came the U.F.C.

Second place is the first loser.

One of the things that always has cracked me up is when a girl or guy
tries too be a supporter of a sports team they know or care nothing about 
to try to be more 'supportive' in a relationship.
I think the saying goes 'Fake it till you make it'.

Really ?????

Relationships are  like sales .......
stay away from  politics, sports and religion.

 If you really possess the attributes to make a relationship work it'll work with out you 
FAKING IT !!!

In sales and Martial Arts, superior product knowledge is key.
A bottomless 'tool box' is an invaluable asset. 
In two weeks my boss goes on vacation with his family.
I am blessed with the opportunity of working with the V.P. of Sales
of my company for the weekend.

I've got more experience than he does X 2,
but there is a reason he's a V.P. of a $30,000,000. company
 and I'm only a sales mgr. 
This is an opportunity to look into the heart and mind of  
'stone cold, pipe hittin closer' !

Aproaching life with an open heart and an open mind, 
accepting rejection and making people feel important is key in sales,
 life, love and fitness / martial arts.

It's said the average person spends 5 hours a day watching the computer 
or T.V. each day, these same people don't have time to go for a walk,
go to the gym or Dojo. Get up, get out, get over it !

The devil is in the details.
Gathering of information is called discovery.
Knowing how and when to use what you've discovered is sales mastery.
Paying attention to detail in life / love without being reminded
 is seen as 'sweet' and caring.

A genuine leader leader is not a searcher for consensus
but a molder of consensus.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Seasons in the Sun

I was on the runway, I was gonna make it.

I was gonna get too say goodbye,

Then Dennis called......He was gone.

Each day I begin by doing a weighted walk through the cemetery.

My way of cheating death each day.

I would like to make a toast to lying,

 cheating, stealing, & drinking.

If you are gonna lie, lie for a friend.

If your going to steal, steal a heart.

If your going to cheat, cheat death itself,

And if your going to drink, drink with me my friend.

Death is lifes' way of telling you your fired.

Three days after you die your hair and fingernails keep growing

 but the phone calls and texts taper off.

Death doesn't come to the living soul nor does age to the loving heart.

I don't know who said that but it's pretty damn romantic.

I'm binge watching 'Orange is the New Black' season two,
the lead character gets a furlough to see her dying grandma
only to find that the grandma is already dead. 

I'm thinking all of us are equally damaged
we cling on to faulty beliefs, or are guided by friends
who are equally damaged.

I'm a wordsmith, 
I've been to College, and I'm attending the school of life.

Through that I have come to the realization that
Myths and Fairy tales are designed to teach a lesson.

Unfortunately the modern versions have been 'scrubbed clean' for 
our modern consumption. A society that supports the notion of
trophies for all participants in childrens' sports,
  needs to believe in happy endings.

The 'real' stories are usually quite disturbing.
Take the brothers Grimm for example.

Sleeping beauty

A King hunting in the woods stumbles upon sleeping beauty and rapes her
then brings her home to one of his estates.
 she later bears two children who the Kings wife eats.

Little Red Riding Hood

Arrives at grandmas' house and eats her, takes her clothes off
then slips into bed naked where she loses her virginity to the wolf.
A French idiom for a girl having lost her virginity was
'elle avoit yu'      She has seen the wolf.

Cinderella

Cinderellas' sisters cut off parts of their feet to fit in the glass slippers.
Later their eyes are pecked out by Doves.

Rapunzel

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.
In the Grimm version of this story she does, a little too often.

Not with the prince though, with random beggars and thieves.
She winds up pregnant,begging in the streets.
  The witch cuts off her hair and transports her away.

We obviously live in a world of monsters and ghosts and things
 that want to steal your heart, it's not unreasonable to still have hope.
That's why Disney protects us by 'scrubbing' our stories for us.
So we can hold onto our belief  in  Angels, & Dreams 

The  'the goddess' was a myth.
Tinkerbell is now a truck stop hooker and
 Rapunzels' hair extensions are on the night stand of
a seedy roadside motel.......... not a castle.

Expectation is the root of all heartache.

-William Shakespeare-

The foundation we search for in Love, Life and Fitness is 
facilitated by our devotion to self, in the Dojo and the Gym.

We don't want to surrender  ourselves to the problem
rather than the solution.

Womens' intuition is a good signpost for decision making,
but it usually bumps up against mans' logic.

We have to put ego aside and listen.

The I-pod, gym, and Dojo can become an escape rather than a tool
if we are not careful to give significance to all aspects of our lives,

Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams

than the imagination when awake ?

-Leonardo Da Vinci-

Cleanse that Palate

There Comes A Time When You Realize

 Turning The page is the Best Feeling in the World,

Because You Realize there is so much more to 

'YOUR BOOK' 

than the Page you were Stuck On.

'adapted'

-Robb Buckland-

A common ritual in both wine tasting and fine dining is to cleanse the palate.

It is easier to appreciate all the complex and varied flavors you are sampling

if you clear one taste from your senses before attempting the next.

Change isn't easy, especially if you have a bad taste in your mouth.

Whether it's changing coaches,trainers,gyms, Dojos or training methods.

Separating from what we feel comfortable with is not easy but ...

Life is Change

Feel the Fire when she walks

Lola Montez so Beautiful

Shady and a tempered dame

Blinding your eyes with her spider dance

no words will later come

 Did the spider bite your tongue ? 

 We will surely not forget

The Lola Spider Dance

'Lola Montez'
-Volbeat-

Love , Martial Arts training and business are sooo similar.

Just like with Lola, when she's dirty & flirtatious with you it's HOT.

As soon as she's with someone else we call her a whore.

(When she was your whore it was o.k. though, RIGHT  ??)

It's a psychosis , I have it too.

In business we 'take the gloves off' !!!

What does that really mean ?

We'll say or do WHATEVER to get that deal.
That doesn't generate alot of referrals.

We leave a gym, martial arts style or instructor
 we 'knock' the other style, instructor or coaches methodologies,
Because we are hard wired to resist change.

Twisted but true.

Who is she  ??

After a separation she became a ‘shipboard liaison’.

She thought her escapades were a secret.....

But, Lola Montez was the talk of the town.

The ‘real’ story of Lola Montez was no secret.

She wasn't much of a dancer but her suggestive,

 eccentric antics excited the crowd.

My friend Jerry  ridicules me on regular basis

 on the subject of love  vs  'just gettin some'

In business, love and Fitness,

 GETTIN IT DONE ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH !

We need to aspire to inspire,
We need to have the courage to tell the truth,
The heart to face our fears
and the perseverance to never quit.

Someone I used to know said to me,

" I don't want to be just 'another'."

If you don't wanna be 'Just Another'
You've Gotta, 

Be the One, 
Do not Dwell in the past,
Do not Dream of the Future
The answer isn't in the Why
It's in Living in the Present

-Robb Buckland-

In everyones' life, at some time, our inner fire goes out.

 It is then burst into flame

 by an encounter with another human being.

 We all should be thankful for those who rekindle our spirit.

-Albert Schweitzer-

The Huntress 'A Convenient Truth'

To doubt everything or to believe everything

 are two equally convenient solutions;

both dispense with the necessity of reflection.

The great irony of the human condition is that people who are meant to be together 

may not find each other at the proper em

otional time to fully realize the potential 

of their feelings for each other. In the beginning we'll find any excuse to spend time
 with one another, but in time we find 'convenient truths' to use as a catalyst
 to justify time apart or a total dissolution of the relationship.

In fitness 'convenient truths' come in the form of excuses like,

H.I.I.T. is too strenuous, 

CROSS FIT is dangerous.

Free weights will make me look like a body builder.

Power lifting will slow me down.

Yoga is for girls.

Are there things science shouldn't try to explain?

Science is knowledge and knowledge is power,

power to do good or evil.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

 -Paul Davies-

H.I.I.T is the fastest way to fitness.

Cross Fit causes muscle confusion that helps push you past  training plateaus.

Steroids make you look like a body builder.

Power lifting enhances explosive movement which enhances 'initial' speed.

Tonight it's raining glass on the forgotten side of town,
as a mind creates the third point of the triangle.
-Robb Buckland-

Everything old is new again

We have been eating like  cavemen and training like Beasts for as long as I can remember. 

Funny how everything old is new again, training methodologies like H.I.I.T. and the Paleo diet have been a staple of 'serious' martial artists and athletes since I began training at age 9.

Please don't ask how long that is ....lol.

I guess fitness is like fashion,

 if you hold on to your bell bottoms long enough they'll be back in style with your skinny ties.

Funny, 'educated' opponents of both the diet and the training methodology

 will begin telling us soon  that they are dangerous and 'gym science'. 

The point ?

Train hard eat clean it's not a fad it's a lifestyle ....Nuff said !

I Can....

Other than weighted walking and classes at the Joe Lewis Research Conference,

Since my surgery and resulting infection this was gym day #1.

 I'm staying at the Sheraton Uptown in ABQ New Mexico it's got a great gym and a salt water pool and have put together a training regimen for the next ten days.

First of all I should definitely tell you, 

if you have the opportunity to swim in a salt water pool DO IT !!

Salt water pools have become more popular because they have many advantages.
The first advantage is the level of comfort you experience.

Salt water is softer on your skin than chlorine.
Also, chlorine makes your eyes red and itchy and discolors hair.

 Chlorine pools create organochlorines which mimic human hormones.
They also cause fertility, immune system abnormalities, and various cancers.

 30 minutes of lap swimming in the salt water pool

3/3 minute rounds of footwork / shadow boxing

3/3 minute rounds of Bill Wallace's super stretching and kicking.

After a knee surgery,

 'Superfoot' had recommended I use a recumbent Lifecycle to aid in my recovery.

A woman hopped on the only bike while I was getting a water.

 Rather than kick her in the head,

 I hopped on the Elliptical Cross Trainer...

30 Minutes interval training (HIIT)

 with great music and graphics!

This thing Rocks.....!

HIIT describes any workout that alternates between intense bursts of activity and fixed periods of less intense activity or rest.
 A basic workout is run for a minute then walk for two minutes.
 Repeat this 3 minute interval five times for a 15 minute FAT BLASTING WORKOUT !
Sound to simple to be effective?
Science doesn't stretch the truth HIIT works !

  Mentors like Dr Jerry Beasley, Joe Lewis, Bill 'Superfoot' Wallace
and Dr Gyi are instrumental in my evolution as a martial artist and a person..

Before approaching a potential mentor,
identify what you hope to gain from a mentoring relationship.
Determine then what mentor will best help  you acheive your  objectives.

Start by identifying your short term goals.

What knowlege,skills and abilities do you need to get there ?

Answers to these questions will help you chose your type of mentor.


Outside of Martial Arts.....
Mentors provide wisdom without pain
my mentors provide both
- robb buckland -

The consequence of condecension

Whaaaat?

How many times have you read , said, or written something and then said ....Whaaaat?

Interpretation of text, talk or otherwise is magnificantly and sometimes detrimentaly diverse.

Everyone has an internal dialogue going through their heads.
 Just because you hear these “voices” it doesn’t mean you are crazy.

Most of what these voices tell you is negative.
 If you hear these negative things often enough, you come to believe them.

So often, we choose to just accept our limiting beliefs,
 not because we truly think they are correct, but because it’s easier to do so.
Rarely do we consider the impact that our limiting beliefs have on us.
All we think about is how our beliefs let us take the easy way out.

Fortune has rarely condescended to be the companion of genius
-Isaac D'Israeli-

Archie Moore 'The Mongoose',
 was the oldest fighter ever to hold a world championship.

 He lost 26, 7 by knockout !
 Moore was generally considered a light heavyweight contender.
 Until he began a public relations campaign on his own behalf,
he couldnt get a title shot !!

In 234 recorded bouts, he knocked out 145 opponents, a record.
 (more known knockouts than any boxer in history).

 He won 54 other fights by decision.
 He lost 26, 7 by knockout
  and also fought 8 draws and 1 no-contest.

Moore's early boxing career is still being researched, as of 2011 !!

  In his career 'The Mongoose' fought legends of the ring;
Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson and Yvon Durelle.

Moore trained George Foreman and James Tillis.
 Shortly after his professional debut,
 Ali's management sent him to be trained by Moore.
 Ali refused to do the chores that were part of Moore's training regimen,
 and the two parted ways.

When power becometh gracious
 and descendeth into the visible:
I call such condescension, beauty.
- Nietzsche -

 By age 15, Joan Jett created The Runaways.
The Runaways were.. Lita Ford, Cherie Currie, Kari Krome, and Sandy West.
 Jett sang lead vocals for the band,
 played rhythm guitar and also wrote many of The Runaway’s songs.

The Runaways eventually split up in 1980 and the girls went their separate ways.
 Joan formed a new group, The Blackhearts.

 They were rejected by 23 labels in the United States

 After their rejection, she decided to create her own label.
The group toured for a year and then released their first record I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll.
 Reaction to the new album was immediate.
  “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” went to the very top of the Billboard charts.
 It remained the number one song in America for seven weeks.

Don't live to be judged for what you haven't done.
 Live to be judged for what you have done.
   -Stephen Richards-

I remember Joe Lewis telling me.... 
 If you don't quit, if you look like you know how to fight,
 and you desire to stick around and learn from me and my black belt fighters,
I'll give you a black belt. 
 Give me 11 minutes of your life with all your heart, and I'll teach you for life. 

The Truth

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact.

Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.

-Marcus Aurelius-

 

 

Successful or not,

 we tell our stories the way we wanted them to be,

 not necessarily as they actually happened.

 Our stories have certain events removed, certain interactions re scripted,

 and certain motivations adjusted,

 so that the story in its retelling more closely aligns with our world view,

 and how we want others to view us.

 

 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge;

 the ears of the wise seek it out.

 

Proverbs 18:15

 

  In the fight game........

 the basics are very complex for someone who has never done them before.

  Failure is eminent without the intent and knowledge of how to employ them in a

 combative environment.

 

 NO BATTLE PLAN SURVIVES CONTACT WITH THE ENEMY

 

-Helmuth von Moltke the Elder-

 

McDonald's sells junk food, we all know this.

There is NO nutritional value,

  were not going to see McDonald's going out of business any time soon.

  Women's self defense programs in many cases, seem to be on the same path.

 Make money giving people what they think they want: fast results with little effort.

 

There are three types that would bring violence to our lives.....

 

The severely disturbed

 

Those in great need

 

Those who enjoy acts of violence

 

 These mindsets are important to understand, they don't reflect normal thinking.

Most people pretend such thought process don't exist.

If you deny this reality you cannot understand or empathize with the threat.

 

- Rory Miller -

 

 

The more you sweat in the gym 

the less you bleed on the street

In the 'REAL World' the trophy is your life !

 

 

Trial by Fire

Trial by fire or ordeal
is a judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused is determined by subjecting him to an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience.
 Classically, the test is one of life or death and the proof of innocence is survival.
 The accused is considered innocent by escaping injury or if his injuries heal.

'Ordeal by Red Hot Iron'

According to modern evolutionary theory, 
different emotions evolved at different times.
 Primal emotions or fears are associated with ancient parts of the brain.

They evolved among our pre mammal ancestors.

If you always put limits on everything you do,
physical or anything else.
 It will spread into your work and into your life.
 There are no limits.
 There are only plateaus,
 and you must not stay there,
 you must go beyond them.
-Bruce Lee-

It's said that failure to act or laziness is a sin...............

Sloth...... is defined as physical laziness or spiritual laziness.
Sloth has also been defined as a failure to do things that one should do.
 In Christian faith the definition is evil exists when good men fail to act.

In martial arts the trial by fire is the Black Belt test.
  Joe Lewis told us that for 11 minutes he wanted us to give him all of our heart.
This was probably one of the most pivotal moments in my life .
Did I experience fear....yup ...............Pain ....Hell Yea !

When I was experiencing intense pain,
 just on the other side of the suffering was an intense connection with life.
 and with being embodied, having a body and feeling sensations.
 It’s almost as if the pure experience of it was all that mattered.

I recently had the honor of watching two of my students 'trial by fire',
The pre-test for Black belt.

I know intimately the commitment and sacrifice they've made.
And
I am blessed to have shared this experience with them.

In what ways might you be avoiding the pains of daily life? 
How can you engage on your lifes' journey while saying “No” to the parts that feel difficult?

We numb ourselves by constantly pursuing achievement and in doing so, 
we miss out on the true joy that comes from actualizing our truest and deepest desires.

Fire is the origin of stone.
By working the stone with heat,
I am returning it to it's source.

-Andy Goldsworthy-