Hung like a Hampster, big around as a beer can.

We are so accustomed to hiding our true selves from others

 that we end up hiding from ourselves.

In some cultures it is a sign of status to have your earlobes stretched. 

I've seen this more and more recently.

 B.B.C. news says it is more prevalent over the last 5-6 years

 and that it's not just the 'tattoo and peircing' crowd that's doing this. 

Growing up I 'retooled' myself by going to the gym daily,
 running and cross training in various Martial Arts.
I suffered from low self esteem, these activities gave me confidence
and helped to repair my self esteem.

Fortunately for my kids, confidence is nurtured not genetic.

They excel in sports and social situations.

  For me it was a full time job of personal reprogramming

 that drove me to my various successes.

Raising the bar too high ?

How high is high enough ?

I remember Billy Major calling me from the Pittsfield Boxing Club.

My daughter Alli, had on her own, decided to train and spar at his gym.

 She was knocking out 18 year old boys at age 13 and won the Black Belt Division Grand Championship in fighting and forms at

 the Boston Nationals AS A BROWN BELT !!   

For my son Drew 'the struggle' was a little different.

Following the death of his step father Drew decided he wanted to be a lineman.

He applied, secured tuition and off he went.

For a guy with FEARLESS as an email he was no stranger to danger !

Apple   - Tree

Drew trains in kickboxing and regularly drags his butt to the gym.

He has fought as a teen in both the U.S. and Canada.

Joe Lewis would be proud...I know I am.

Now just come to Maine son....we need good linemen. 

Suellen had it tougher than the rest.

Her biological father has been 'run out of town' every where he ever worked.

 Suz loves her dad but has eclipsed his 'dark influence'.

It is so cool to see her 'work a table at a restaurant / bar,

consistently outselling her co-workers !!

Rock on Suz !!

Someone I used to know told me, that when she did catering work for extra money

she felt people looked down on her because she was serving them.

Ghandi said,

There is no shame in losing yourself in the service to others.

I think doing good things for, and helping others is the greatest measure of  personal excellence.

Living your life doing good things and leaving your 'mark' is your gateway to immortality.

Doing good for others heals us on the inside and the resulting 'ripple effect' 
causes us to speak, think and live in the affirmative.

Words As Weapons

Stories don't end on the last page anymore than 

they begin on the first page.

We sometimes fail to remember that we have the power of life

 and death in our tongues and keyboards.

 I think it's probably a good idea to remember that we need to have love,

 faith and understanding of ourselves and to share it selflessly. 

No matter what your own perception of personal truth. 

 It's far to easy to use words as weapons especially right before 'a fall'.

 We are hard wired to resist change and when things don't go our way we tend to drag others down with us, usually it's the ones we care about the most.

The people we care about are just as troubled and insecure as we are.

Rope - a - Dope

Ali 'lost his legs' after a period of inactivity in his career.

He didn't float like a butterfly any more.

Because of this he used  legendary fighter, Archie Moores' strategy

Moore called the maneuver  'the turtle', Ali called it 'rope a dope'.

Instead of moving around the ring Ali fought leaning back against the ropes

 taking most of Foremans' heaviest blows.

It worked, he won but in essence he sacrificed himself for the win.

.......In the end Superman dies anyway, it isn't a fairy tale.

In the street the trophy is your life try to do and say the right thing along the way.

 Were all just livin'.

I tell my daughter Alli , "We do the right thing cause it's the right thing to do."

Now I've gotta learn to 'walk that walk.'

.

Everyone needs a super hero

A Product of Legends

The Batman meets The Beast !

 Sandy Hook shooting victim Dylan Hockley couldn't wait to move to America.    

            Out of school Dylan developed a love of martial arts.

He and his father, and brother Jake trained daily at Extreme Fitness Martial Arts.

Dylan had special educational needs and died in the arms of classroom aide Anne Marie Murphy, who desperately tried to protect him from the killer Adam Lanza.

http://fearsltd.blogspot.com/2012/12/cooler-than-supermandylan-hockley.html

 Martial arts study allows a special needs student to interact with others.

 Confidence is another great benefit to all, special needs or otherwise.

Martial arts promotes physical health and development of motor skills.

Martial arts study stimulates brain activity and benefits memory retention.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMf7jgopJXc

 

The video above is an ESPN profile of American Top Teams Garrett Holeve.

Garrett was born with  Downs Syndrome....

MMA training changed him ......

Watch it ..it may change YOU !

 

What matters most is not what's in the mirror,

It's in the view

Police pulled a man over on Route 29 in Silver Spring Md.

because of a problem with his plates.

The car was a black Lamborghini, the license plate was the Batman symbol,

 and the driver was Batman. 

The Caped Crusader is a businessman from Baltimore County..

 He visits sick children in hospitals.

 up-and-coming superheros trying to beat cancer.

 He's not Bruce Wayne, but Lenny B. Robinson,

As he left a little boy cried,

"I want to go help him fight bad guys,"

His mom said, "You need to stay here and help your sister fight cancer."

 Lenny and I spent time together in our nations capital and,

I'm proud to say Lenny B. Robinson is my friend and

 my hero ......

Heroes get Remembered,

But Legends never die...

- Babe Ruth-

The Anatomy of Courage

A coach must be able to help a student to believe in oneself.

 He must build self-esteem before confidence can surface.
 

 Self-esteem gives rise to self-confidence;

 not the other way around.

 A coach must understand this process to develop a student’s
 level of consciousness.
 

 Consciousness is one’s ultimate survival tool in a real altercation,

 not some technique or style of martial arts.
 

 For a fighter,
 the authority of one’s will is their ultimate attribute.

 

-Joe Lewis-
 

Vicky Soto,

A non-trained woman of exceptional courage

gave her life that others may live.

Her selfless act should be a cornerstone on all our lives.

 

So many people with the will and strength to survive being overcome by violence engage in and lose a fight for their lives  because they're out-massed, out-gunned and untrained. 

 

 Try to stop a moving car by getting in front of it instead of turning off the ignition.

Seeing a person as a machine—and then shutting it off—goes against everything we are and love.

It is a failure of our humanity and our society.

All of us wish we could have been at the verge a of disaster with a firearm,

 or at least armed with knowledge and skill and in the right place at the right time.

 

    Practice means that when it matters most it won’t be the first time you’ve done it, but the 101st.

That fantasy of making a difference is made real by preparation.

The worst time to be reminded that you meant to learn CPR,

is when someone is having a heart attack right in front of you.

 

  There is no beast within you waiting to be unleashed as your window of existence begins to close.

  You will only have what you brought with you.

 

Right now.......

You know how to run and you know how to hide. 

 

.

This is why I teach and train.
 

 I can’t be with you every moment of every day. 

 But the information, the knowledge can. .

Blinded by our Passion

 

In our desperation not to face our challenges
 we tend to hide behind people and things

 all the while knowing
 it's much easier to face them head on
 than to run and hide.

We were given hearts to love and be loved,

 sometimes they break.

 

Over time they mend,

the way to mend a broken heart is to love more than ever.

There are people who touch our lives trying to break us down,

but everyone who touches our lives is a teacher.

Trust, like respect is earned not just given.

 The road back to trust and respect is not an easy one.

 It is paved by taking chances, letting someone in,

 giving them a chance to love the hurt away

and reignite our passion.

Some will hurt or disappoint us anyway.

We need the courage to persevere, 

taking every chance to find our passion.

One day someone or something will touch our life,

 inspiring us with their willingness to give us more love,

 more passion than we ever thought we had to give in return.

-Denise Lora Webster Davis-

 ('Sissy') holding her daddy Joe Lewis' hand as he died. 

 

Our passion is sometimes 'birthed' in tragedy.

 

People are always blaming their circumstances,

for what they are.

 

 I don’t believe in circumstances.

 

The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want,

and if they can’t find them, make them.

 

 ~George Bernard Shaw-

 

Find mentors and get advice when pursuing your dreams.

Mentors and pain birth your dreams.
-Dr Mike Murdock-

 Don’t place too much value on family and friends advice.
 Though  well intentioned they're
 advice is more often than not.....wrong for you. 

Draw the line with friends or with an ex
 who's too emotionally needy.

 Professional/personal setbacks feel like the end of the world.
 They don't mean you’ve failed.

 It  means you’re forging a new path.

Joe Lewis said,

 We need to sense whether we've  been motivated by fear

or by confidence.

 One will lead you to being the martial artist you admire,

 the other will lead you to avoid challenges

 by allowing you to continue to hide in fear of being exposed.

 

Feelings are the keys to our motivation and our desires.

 Our spirit is our energy and our pathway.

 Our mentors and/or instructors are our guides and our escorts.

 

 

 

 

 

Heffalumps Revisited....

Some story's just beg for a sequel.........

(in case you missed part one)


http://fearsltd.blogspot.com/2012/08/heffalumps-and-woozles.html

 

Is it REALLY our failure as a coach when a client quits,

loses there passion

 and let's their (BB&T) grow out of control ? 

It is never too late to be
 who you might have been.
 -George Eliot -



Excuses are like body parts: some stink, some don't.

We all have the same number of hours in each day.

 We all have the potential to use them to do what we want.



I've returned to Maine to fulfill my responsibility
 to my students, my clients and to Team Fearless.

A former client,
 who had suffered signifigant weight gain since quitting training pulled in at a gas station,
recognized my vehicle, saw me, u-turned and sped off.

Fear of judgment and negative body image are not an easy burden to bear.

 You're not disappointing me.....

The only person you let down when you fail at fitness...
is YOU !
True courage and self esteem don't come from first time successes but from failing or falling and getting back up and never , never , never quitting !

Running from the mirror and hiding from the world behind your sunglasses and keyboard will not solve your problems.

Don't Fear the Mirror

What we can do is decide that our dreams are important

 and then leverage our passion to honor them.

It may be that the satisfaction I need depends on my going away,
 so that when I've gone and come back,
I'll find it at home.
-Rumi-

 Following the death of my mentor and friend Joe Lewis,
I returned from Ft Lauderdale, Florida
to reestablish my Fearless Fitness / Martial Arts
Northeast Training Centers.

One cannot avoid problems in this life.

 No sooner is one resolved, than another one presents itself.

The solution is not found by focusing on the problem!

 Focus on the desired outcome.

The Solution

As a trainer, you must count rep speed for your clients.

Varied rep speed creates muscle confusion
 and better results.

To trigger muscle building and lose fat,

use a greater time under tension.

 To increase strength and target the central nervous system,

use explosive motion  (less than 20 seconds under tension.)

That's the Body,
Now the Mind and the Spirit...

Calmly and consciously,
give yourself the opportunity to express what needs to be expressed without hiding or holding back.

It’s scary sometimes.
 Take lots of deep breaths!
When we share our thoughts and feelings,
whether it's negative body image, fear, hate or jealousy,
 we experience a sense of,

“Clarity and Self Love"

Aspire to Inspire

I believe life is constantly testing our level of commitment.  Life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve.

This level of resolve can move mountains

 but it must be constant and consistent.

 As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who

 live their dreams from those who live in regret.

- Anthony Robbins -

A professional is dedicated to a career regardless of the field.
It’s the opposite of an amateur.

I have been a professional Martial artist since the mid 80's.
 The biggest step was committing to being a lifelong student.

 In sales situations and in life,

 the way you present yourself plays a big role.

In your training and in your life a professional approach is a must.

No one aspires to be a professional at breaking up but handling it like a pro sure helps if you’re struggling to get over a breakup.

 Negative triggers will keep you stuck.

Both
 looking at old pictures
 and talking to mutual friends are anchors to the past.

 Plan to avoid these triggers.

Lets face it diets suck !

If you’re having a hard time changing your diet,

  steps in the direction of diet perfection are to avoid having the wrong foods in the house and portion control in a resturant.

Water over diet soda is another wise choice.

Studies also show that diet soda actually sabotages your diet !

Joe Lewis taught me that many martial art styles practiced today lack a structured philosophical base. This is why the majority of those involved in the arts will eventually resign from any lasting, active participation. It's unfair to call them “quitters” because in the sacred core of their spirit, they never really started.

 

They were motivated to start but not inspired to continue.

Mentor , Master, Friend....

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,

while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

-Lao Tzu -



 I first met Joe Lewis at a seminar in 1984.

 Joe asked my instructor why I had been a brown belt for 6 years.

 (I was tested for Shodan a month later.)

While teaching at Karate College, John Maynard, Ian Marshal, Mike Allen and I

discussed the concept of forming an association of Joe Lewis Black belts.

   

 Joe Lewis said,

 'The purpose of creating Joe Lewis Fighting Systems Black belt Association

was too dignify the student’s efforts and pursue a common vision based on courageous leadership. Happiness as a martial artist is not attained with self-gratification

 or the greedy pursuit of ego centered values, but through fidelity of a worthy purpose.'

We simply wanted to share a weekend with our mentor, coach and friend sharing his philosophy, wisdom, tactics and strategies without the encumbrances of style,traditional secrecy and the political agendas prevalent in other Martial Arts associations establishing

a 'Fellowship of Valor' for future generations wishing to share Joes' vision.

'The Monkey Dance'

  Following the 1991 death of Kanei Uechi,

 son of Uechi-ryu founder Kanbun Uechi there was an organizational split.

 The directors of the Okinawa Karate-Do association officially created the name Shohei-Ryu,

 their organization's version of the style.

Upon the death of Bruce Lee on 20 July 1973

 there was a split between Lee's direct students.

Some used the JKD and Bruce Lee names for marketing and commercial purposes.

The two main divisions are Original/Jun Fan JKD and JKD Concepts.
 Proponents of both branches include Lee's direct students.

 Have we learned nothing from these lessons of history..?

 Associations fragment upon the death of their founders...!

and so it begins.....

( I received this email the other day.....)

Mr. Buckland:
I understand you are trying to promote your business and know fellow Joe Lewis Black Belts will continue to support your endeavors.
  However, it would seem appropriate to avoid promoting on the Joe Lewis Fighting Systems Facebook page or using Mr. Lewis' name to assist in these promotions.

I thank you for your time and consideration as I am speaking for my self and not on behalf of the JLFS Association.

Of course you don't speak for the association.

 We are a 'Fellowship of Valor".

 We promote the philosophy,
tactics and strategies of our friend, mentor and teacher

Joe Lewis

and

WE DO IT IN HIS NAME !!!

Tomorrow I fly to see my Friend and mentor Joe Lewis for what is probably the last time.
 His courage, integrity, wisdom and friendship will live within me forever.

 I will take him with me to every class I teach or attend.

I will continue to honor his memory all the days of my life. 

I am who I am today because of his inspiration.
 Through me he will continue to inspire the hearts and minds of all who's lives I touch.

He asked us to
 'Innovate not Immitate'.....
That's what I will do !!

My mentor and friend Grand Master Joe Lewis,
 passed away peacefully at 10:45am on Friday, August 31st,
 with his family at his side as I sat on the runway in Portland, Oregon to go see him.

Mr. Lewis fought a valiant 13 1/2 month battle with brain cancer. 

His vision will live on in the hearts and minds of all whose lives he touched.

Good Bye and God Speed Joe Lewis
we love you Rest in Peace. 

.



Heffalumps and Woozles

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure..........

 

As a leader,

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us…......

Your 'playing small' does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about 'shrinking' so others won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do…

  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

- Marianne Williamson -

 I received a text when I first moved to Florida.

 A former client had suffered significant weight gain since quiting training with me. 

  

It’s not difficult to offer compassion, 
to someone who treats you with respect and kindness.

 I have actually trained several 'clients' for a reduced rate or even for free.......

When these same people loose their 'attitude of gratitude' it's time for me to move on.

 I've moved on, so when
 I hear about the negative things they have said to mutual acquaintances,
 I don't take it personally.
                       

I hope that they find a way to make they're life as positive and as amazing as possible.

 Don’t we wish that for all our friends?

It is my fervent desire that I've left them with the knowledge that willpower is the key to success.

 Successful people strive no matter what they feel by applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt and fear,
 not by making excuses for not training.

Don't just sit back and watch B.B & T
 (your Butt, Belly and Thighs) grow in the mirror !!

Negative body image isn’t something that's treated with a pill.

 Some days you feel great about your body.
But other days you want to curl up and never leave the house.

Having a negative body image makes you feel
 inferior, unworthy, and depressed.

When we’re under stress, the fight or flight response is triggered in our bodies,

 leading to the release of various hormones.

 

 The primary component in letting go of stress is willingness.

 That's right, willingness.

  Be willing to let go of your expectations.
Be willing to let go of the guilt that guides your behaviors.

  

 Your biggest stresses actually come from within yourself !

Try The Rule of Three !!!

Surround yourself with people that make you feel good about you and your abilities.

 When your around people and things that support you 
and make you feel good,

 You'll be less likely to base your self-esteem
 on the way your body looks
.

Treat your body with respect and kindness.

 Feed it, keep it active, and listen to its needs.

Remember your body is the vehicle that will

 carry you to your dreams.