In Your Corner

   Success in business, victory on the field or in the ring requires a leader who promotes teamwork, tenacity, perseverance and, above all else, the unrelenting desire to win. 

   By chasing the unattainable, perfection; we can catch excellence.. Good coaching can achieve victories but true victory is achieved by changing lives.










 From a young age, we're raised to believe that we can accomplish pretty much anything so long as we work hard enough to achieve it. And, for the most part, that makes sense, at least intuitively. If you study for three hours while your roommate studies for one, you'll probably do better on the test. If you spend 50 hours at work every week while your peer spends 30, you'll stand a better chance of getting a raise or a promotion.

  A cornerstone belief of Western culture is, as long as you work hard, you're going to be successful.The problem with this philosophy is hard work isn't always enough.

Hard work isn't efficient work.  If it takes the person next to you three hours to complete a task that you could have completed in an hour.

Hard work doesn't encourage innovation. You need to try new tactics and strategies, incorporate new ideas and learn new things. constantly.

"Sometimes the teacher, Always the student"

I remember the day I first walked into the gym / dojo and put on the focus mitts first. I warmed up the fighters, one after another, and then followed them around yelling out adjustments while they trained and sparred. I didn’t notice it then but this was my first time in the gym without wrapping up.

In fact, the mitts stayed on my hands the whole time. It wasn’t until the session ended when I realized…“Oh shit, I’m a fight trainer now.”

A part of me died inside that day.

 “I’m still too young! I can still fight!”

I always thought of myself as a fighter. I never fantasized about being a trainer. 

I've learned to coach every fighter differently. It’s about accepting the fighter and accepting his or her results. Some fighters are faster. Some fighters have more power. Some fighters have more stamina. Some fighters will win more than others. Success means different things to different people. For some, success is a gold medal. For others, it’s surviving one whole fight. For many, it’s losing weight and looking sexy.

 Whatever the individual’s goal is, you have to respect that. It is THEIR GOAL, not yours....

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Is Good Enough the New Perfect

True happiness...

 is not attained through self-gratification,

 but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.

-Helen Keller-

Who can create anything when only perfect is good enough ?

Once you acknowledge you aren't perfect and that your life isn't perfect after all

it becomes acceptable to simply be you in all your glorious imperfection.

Embracing imperfection is a kinder gentler way to live.

I haven't given up on my quest for excellence but...

 I'm a strong believer that going for 'good enough' leads to

 alot more  happiness than going for 'perfect'.

Being a commission sales person and a perfectionist is potentially lethal...LOL

Perfection is not attainable,

but if we chase it we can attain excellence.

-Vince Lombardi-

Have you ever tried to repair a glass vase or something equally precious that had fallen and smashed on the floor? Those hundreds of bits and pieces form an almost impossible puzzle and it is only through hours of patience and determination that you can almost repair the vessel. Once repaired, it is never the same as it was before. Water leaks through the cracks, edges are rough and uneven. This is because you are trying to restore the broken item to its original state which is impossible. The good news is that with a little creativity you can do so much more! Each little piece, when examined alone is seen for its own unique beauty. Together they can be used to build a new work of art, different to the first. I've seen beautiful art works where bits of glass were used to make mosaics, collages, mirrors, picture frames, and much more. Who could even tell what their original purpose had been?

 Would I have been that impressed with the glass chip when it was still part of a plate or window?

 Yet I marveled at its beauty as it hung proudly on a gallery wall.

In the past 24 months, I've had to pick up the pieces of a shattered life and recover from a some of the most painful moments in my life. One by one I held broken pieces up to the light, trying to figure out where they belonged. Turning them this way and that, I struggled to fit them back into their original places to restore the person I once had been. Every now and then I'd spot a glint of sunlight reflecting off a sharp shard and I'd throw it away. Then at times, I'd find a piece that was different and I'd realize that this little piece was lovely. After almost a year of fruitless effort, I've come to the realization that the person I once had been can never be restored to his original state. But God has blessed me with a unique opportunity to take all these lovely little pieces and to build someone new. Little bits and pieces of me, that were invisible in the past, are now given a chance to shine.

It is painful to have your life shattered and it may seem impossible to pick up those pieces. Sometimes we don't even know where to start. Any form of repair and reconstruction is a long process. But friends, know that it is also an opportunity to re-invent yourself to become the person you would like to be. It is a unique opportunity to look closely at the beautiful bits of you. To hold them up to the light and appreciate the way they shine. Don't waste time trying to rebuild the past, rather appreciate this wonderful gift and build a whole new future! One that you would proudly hang on a gallery wall.

-John Hall-

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 -

Heard it before..?

 Just because you've said something a thousand times

doesn't mean your students have heard it a thousand times.

 -Rory Miller-

 

 

As a sales trainer and a martial arts trainer/coach a common term is,

 It's not so much you need to be taught as you need to be reminded.

 

I often experiment with different teaching and training methodologies.

It gives diferent perspective,

  keepin it fresh or more importantly  presenting differing viewpoints,

  improves the likelyhood of 'striking a cord' with a student or client.
As a student it's important to remind your self that you are a participant in life,
 not just an observer.
You may not 'get it' right away and thats ok, we're all wired differently.

 We are what we repeatedly do.
  -Aristotle-

You've been told this every Holiday season...so I repeat...

Replace aerobic exercise such as running with strength training,

 This will help prevent age-related fat gain.

 Research shows distance runners gain fat and increase waist size as they age.

   Sprint/interval training is the best conditioning method for fat loss,
  Use a precise interval program in order to get results.
 A round timer can help with precise work /rest intervals. 

 

Enjoy this Holiday season while staying true to your goals....

 

Joe Lewis on Okinawa-Te

 “The original system had a complete arsenal of weapon and non-weapon skills.

 It had the perfect blend of old-school pain-tolerance training,

 and scientific skills that utilized the least amount of effort and time to produce the maximum amount of damage. Its weaknesses are the amount of time it takes to learn all the long animal forms (there are 36, with one having up to 500 moves) and a lack of ‘balanced’ ground maneuvers.”

 

No system or methodology is complete,

or has all the answers but some are better than most.

 

Stay true to your goals, seek council through fellowship with like minded people

 and

' Innovate don't Immitate' !!!

-Joe Lewis-