Who is your Sensei ...."There can be only one" !

          So many are responsible for shaping my development. For years I have been mentored by those I choose, ....not only one. From each I learned and experienced signifigant and diverse things.

Mentorship is the impartation of

information. Mentorship is accepting

perfect knowledge from an imperfect

man. Your mentor is anyone who

consistently teaches you what you want

to know. It was the secret of Elijah

and Elisha; Moses and Joshua; Paul

and Timothy. Pursue and extract the

knowledge of the mentors that God has

made available to your life. Mentorship

Is Learning Through The Pain of

Another. Your Future Is Determined By

Who You Choose To Believe.

“A wise man will hear, and will

increase learning; and a man of understanding

shall attain unto wise counsels,”

(Proverbs 1:5).

Understanding different relationships

People come into your life for a season. Others entertain various parts of your life. We need to understand that everyone will treat us differently.
 Dr Mike Murdock said,

“People are different around different people. 

Some manipulate via affection.

 Few love enough to put another first.” 

That puts two things into question:

1) A person’s self-esteem

2) A person’s values

Proper use of relationships will result in proper life managementIt’s not just in being disciplined enough to manage your time but also people. You will need to know why some people come into your life. You see some want you to be a friend. Some want you to be a confidante. Some want you to be a “Ladder” to their future.

A great example in my mind is former World Kickboxing Champion Dennis Alexio who publicly talked about Joe Lewis as a mentor then snubbed him once he was World Champion..

You must be willing to listen to others.

 We all see through different eyes, feel with different hearts, and hear with different ears.

 Involve as many people as possible in your dream.

 You need people to assist you in order to achieve your dream. 
Solomon wrote and reached out to many to assist him in the building of the Temple.

He listened to people.
He listened to kings.
He listened to leaders.
He even listened to two quarreling harlots.

 He listened to enthusiastic voices of encouragement wherever he found them.

 Fall in love with people and people will fall in love with you. 

“People don't care how important you are, 

it's important that you care.”

Remembering this simple key can make a profound difference.

• Those around you are great. Become worthy of them.
• Those around you can become great. Become their “bridge to greatness.”
• Uncommon achievers recognize and reward other uncommon achievers.

In In retrospect I wonder how many of my achievments were empty 'rewards".

I aspire to create uncommon achievement in others and through this I am building a legacy  forged in a unified fire of wills , mine and my student.

Join our journey https://fearlessfamilymartialarts.com/

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....

Join Our Journey            https://fearlessfamilymartialarts.com/ 

Saving a Starfish

I was doing a weighted walk on the beach this morning. 

No one on this island community wakes up at 5:30 am, apparently.

I was standing in the surf with All Time Lows' new CD, Future Hearts on the I pod.

Sweat dripped off me in the sunlight while a cool breeze tried to console my hot skin.

I looked to where the waves break on the resort beach and saw a beautiful starfish.

It had washed to shore and was beginning to dry in the sun.

How cool would it be on a coffee table !! 

Much to my surprise when I picked it up it was still alive,

 It had just become trapped in the waves and washed ashore.

I could let it dry out in the sun. A couple days and boy,

 would it look cool on that coffee table.

 I threw it back out onto the reef.

It's hard to believe its been nearly 5 years since my many surgeries for diverticulitis.

Following each surgery I suffered from memory loss from the pain medicine.

During this time I needed training partners that would talk me through

 each drill, kata, mitt sequence ect. Like the starfish I had washed ashore helpless.

We all at different times in all our lives face adversity.

A stronger opponent, the death of a parent, the 'tragic breakup',

the loss of a job or a large sum of money.

You can choose to see the curse or the gift.

 And this one choice will determine if your life

 is a success story or one big soap opera.

 -Jon Gordon-

Have you ever faced negative people before?
Wait — who am I kidding? Of course you have! I know I have.

Unless you live in a cocoon, all of us have encountered one negative person in our life.
Negative people are everywhere, in our workplace, in social circles, or our family.

The challenge with dealing with negative people is that they tend to be draining.

 No matter what you say, they always have a negative opinion to offer..

 When they have a problem, they prefer to complain, rather than work out a solution.



 He dropped out of grade school and was home schooled.
He ran a country store, went broke.
 It took 19 years to pay off all his bills, but he did pay them off.

 He had a law firm, but his partner ran off and left him with debts.
 He was married, but his marriage flopped.
 His wife came down with mental illness and paranoia.
 He had a son who was physically weak and died at a young age.

 He ran for political office four times,
 twice for the house and twice for the senate,and lost all four times.
Ultimately, he held office but was despised by half the country.

Satirists and newsmen derided him on an almost daily basis.
Most audiences felt his speeches were hum-drum.
 His classic speech was met with indifference.

Who was he? Abraham Lincoln.

Whether your the 'starfish or the beach walker your day will come
 if you DON'T QUIT !!!

 CHECK OUT OUR LATEST PROJECT WITH NARROW STREET FILMS !!

https://youtu.be/muRr_bPB3-s

Hide & Seek

Succeed or fail at our process there are two sets of footprints in the sand.

In fitness, life love and martial arts we hit plateaus and we meet with failures,
It's not trying that is unacceptable.
There is nothing wrong with celebrating success
but true victory comes from heeding the lessons of failure.

Again this week suffering from writers block I turned to

 Denise 'Blogger of the Heart' Davis, who said,

Expecting better relationships by doing the same thing over and over is failing. 
If you want true, unconditional love there's only 'ONE' who can give you that.
Everyone else will fail you at some point in your life.
At your lowest points it's frustrating to only see one set of foot prints in the sand.

I've been blessed with a large pool of mentors.
Each time I hit a 'sticking point' I turn to one for explanation and / or motivation.
More often than not the 'truth' we seek is not as mysterious
 as most would have you believe.The 'trick' is to not 'buy the popcorn'.

In sales we say 'keep it simple stupid'.
Art Rabesas' explanation of 'power in-fighting' is the same.


Simple - Direct - having 'Violence of Action'

Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.

 In the mean time we should behold the rain that descends on our vineyards,

 it enters the roots of the vines and changes into wine;
 A constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.
 The rest will work itself out with trial and error ....

after all we are human and mistakes are what we do.

Pleasure and Pain

Part II

 

Once upon a midnight dreary, 
while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

    While I nodded, nearly napping,

 suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered,
 “tapping at my chamber door—

            Only this and nothing more.

The Raven

-Edgar Allen Poe-

Since my experiment regarding the validity of the 'tap tap' use of Kyusho in self defense
was 'so rudely interrupted'  by the holidays, this segment has been delayed...

What we do know about the use of this style of defense is that it's effectiveness
is minimized, if not eliminated by body conditioning (iron shirt ect.)
If we throw  a conditioned mind into the mix, it's unlikely it's of any use at all.

When combined with Uechi Ryu as a foundation (delivery system); as demonstrated
 by Jim Maloney, Art Rabesa, Ed Hulse, Van Canna  and others 'in the know',
Kyusho acts like a kind of  'GPS'  for the Lamborgini of infighting styles.

My friend Denise is a blogger 'of the heart', she would say,

In life we either make good or bad choices.

 The bad ones bring pleasure for a little while but the pain always follows.

 The good choices may cause pain but our heart tells us it's right.
  Our way is not always the best way but,
 doing something right when no one is watching
Is a signature of our personal truth, our essence.

 The resulting 'feel good, feeling' empowers us for the next 'fight'. 

I find it somewhat empowering to believe that I have a functional 'GPS'
onboard when it's 'go time' but there is no substitute for 
old fashioned training and conditioning.

Living like a Runaway

Remember: 

Life is short, break the rules (they were made to be broken)

Forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably

and never regret anything that makes you smile.

The clouds are lined with silver and the glass is half full.

(although the answer won't be found at the bottom)

Don't sweat the small stuff,

You are who your meant to be.

Dance as if no one's watching.

Love as if it's all you know.

Dream as if you'll live forever,

Live as if you'll die today.

When I was younger I lived like a runaway.

To be a seeker you have to doubt all truths,

observation and experience will teach you what you need to know.

In the end it's imagination, not knowledge that marks intelligence.

I think the saying goes, 'Without strong roots the mightiest tree cannot stand.'

Experiencing different places, cultures and opportunities has always been paramount 

to my 'taking root'. Funny how people try to get you to focus on what 'they' want.

The discovery of 'the agenda' is the hardest thing to accept when you discover it.
Key West, South Beach, Williamsburg, Cape Cod, New Orleans...on and on,
 Been there done that ! It's not the place, It's the people that make the difference.

There are people we don't want to lose
but can't hold onto.

There are places we don't want to be 
but are meant to experience.

There are things we don't want to happen 
but can't control.

It's your job to climb the mountain and see above the clouds for yourself.
Rather than to believe the 'congregations' interpretation of the view.
We need to be able to state our personal truth without having to prove or 'shout' it.
Our greatest short coming is that we have learned to mask certain feelings,
or portray feelings that weren't even ours.

Flavor of the Weak

Each of us has a cunning 'shadow self', 
 (what Jung and Freud call ego)

That's where the 'righteous anger' routine comes from.
Similar to 'convienent truth' as a method of deflection.

You simply feel that you've been done wrong , and it's unacceptable.

Someone has to say sorry and it's not going to be you.

It's easy to tell others to stay calm and move on 

until the 'shit hits the fan'  in our own lives, then its 'gloves off'' !

At this point it's VERY difficult to find a 'neutral perspective'.

Focus on goals and a clearly defined purpose is jeopardized.
This delusional approach will likely bury you in a shallow grave of lies.

Life is a long rainy storm,  learning to 'Dance in the Rain' 

before the storm passes is liberating.

I've been doing an exercise taught to me by George E Mattson.

George is the North American Uechi Ryu Karate Founder, a mentor and a friend.

How simple is this ?

Perform Master Uechis' Sanchin Kata at 'Tai Chi' speed.

If you can master this ultra slow motion method of introspective analysis

you can get past any person or event that is renting space in your head..

One of my sales reps is so wrapped up in her phone and what's going on with
Facebook , that it effects her sales every time.

The ability to separate yourself from social drama in favor of a beneficial goal
is paramount in fitness, martial arts, love and life.

I had a student we called 'Tinkerbell' During training breaks she would 
go to her gym bag and check her texts, obviously adversely affected by 
the message she received, I finally asked her why she did that.

She explained that her ex was the title holder of her car and was 
calling her and texting trying to control her using the car as  leverage.

I could have a million more friends if I would just change my point of view.
Joe Lewis said we as fighters should maintain 
'constant forward pressure'.

I  think the same applies to all aspects of our lives. Don't get distracted.
Assume the topless lady invariably has something up her sleeve.
If your steadily losing you aren't using what you know is right.

Even if you do the right thing and are steel willed
the 'hocus - pocus' in our lives leaves us maladjusted
and your tears get rusted.

As martial artists we strive to forge a body of steel in the fire of our will.
I suggest you maintain an insurance policy that includes collision;
then leave the wreckage at the door.

Our Dreams are Important
We must Leverage our Passion to Honor Them !!!

What do you see in his 'BUNNY EYES' ?

The eyes can tell you everything you need to know.

'

If dreams are lightning and thunder desire,
 this 'old house would've burned down long ago.
With Summer in full retreat, it feels sometimes that our shadow is casting us.

In Atlantic City, killing a buffet with my friend and mentor Joe Lewis;
I remember a conversation about the difference between being internally
and externally focused in fighting.

THE EYES HAVE IT !!

When you observe an adversary it is pretty easy to read someone by their eyes.
In the movie Stick  Burt Reynolds said,
"He's got 'bunny eyes' .

In Uechi Ryu they say, 'Glare in the Eyes with Fast hands'.

Outside Martial Arts it works the same way as in 'the fight game'.

You can read someones level of commitment or 'heart' by the same means.

In women 'the resting bitch face' is a good indicator to WATCH OUT !

They are ruled by emotion and rarely have 'Bunny Eyes'.

In men there is a BIG difference between 'a soulful look' and 'Bunny Eyes'.

It's easy to mistake this look as sullen or passive aggressive.

The eyes are the windows to the soul.

True Story

With an effective 'Thousand yard stare', you can make 

'ole bunny eyes' leave their 'place' and crawl back to the place where 

their weak and damaged soul used to hide.

Or as Joe Lewis would say, "Send 'em back home cryin' to their momma".

Joe would talk about an attitude technique, 'sitting an opponent down'

will go a long way in the crushing of an adversaries' spirit.

Bill Wallace used to 'talk' to Joe in the clinch to frustrate him

in an effort to break his concentration.

'True Victory' comes from defeating an opponent on all levels.

MENTALLY, PHYSICALLY 

 and  BREAKING their SPIRIT

The Huntress : The Face of Fear

Learn your way around your emotions.
Make a map of them.
Welcome to the human experience.

Never use someones emotions as a scratching post

 for your own yearnings.

Adapted from a quote by

-Elizabeth Gilbert-

  Fight and flight responses assume a wide range of behaviors.

 The fight response may be manifested in angry, argumentative behavior,

 The flight response may be manifested through social withdrawal,

 substance abuse, and even television viewing....lol

Be careful who you trust 

The Devil was once an Angel

The mapping of human emotions reveals a strong mind body connection

FEARS training has A.S.R.(Adrenal Stress Response) drills .

We inoculate the trainee to the effects of the 'Chemical Cocktail' .

The goal is to familiarize the trainee with the effects of

 'the adrenalin dump' that occurs during a conflict.

In sales the issues I deal with stem from poor relationships

 between managers (people with titles) and the people they manage.

Trust is such a huge word.............

 it either means something,

or destroys it.

Deep caring comes easily at a relationship’s beginning.

 Lust and novelty keep us attentive to each other when we fall in love.

 It’s in the next phase, when routines and irritations set in, 

that protective love is tested.

 Deep connectedness, feeling our partner’s triumphs/setbacks as ours,

 is a hallmark of the early stages of love.

 We're careful with our words and behavior and take care not to hurt the other.

Remaining this attuned to a partner takes energy and commitment.

The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.

-Vince Lombardi-