Connecting the Dots...

Greetings Team,

As some of you may know, I went to DC over this past weekend for some martial arts/business seminars. To say the least, it was a very powerful weekend that left me very inspired. My hope in today's blog is to share with you something I came to realize over the weekend...I am one Lucky guy. I say this because I do something I love. As a gym owner, I get to take that one step further and do what I love as a career. But, my intent with this blog today is to help YOU to connect the dots between your martial arts training and your personal life. The longer you train, you will find that these two become just one. The longer you train, the martial arts isn't something you DO. It's something you ARE. It becomes your IDENTITY. And at that point, you can just BEGIN to see how LUCKY you really are, too.

My journey in the Martial Arts began 23 years ago. I was an overweight 11 year old, but I had a burning desire to learn the martial arts. At 11, I think it was more about being a ninja. :) You, also, may have joined the martial arts for any number of reasons. Maybe it was just to do a new excercise routine. But, I have found with myself and for students I have trained over a long period of time, that the reason we start isn't always the reason we stay.

I can remember my first karate class. Can you remember your first class? Isn't it funny how the mind can remember what it wants? At any rate, I remember how much I ABSOLUTELY fell in love with training that very first day. At 11 it was everything I wanted. But to be honest, I had one goal...other than being a ninja of course....self defense. I didn't like the fact that other kids made me nervous or sad. I wanted to feel that I could fight another kid if I needed to. I wanted to feel confident that I could say something back if someone picked on me. And martial arts gave me that...and then some. Over time my love affair with training grew and grew. I didn't realize when I was younger all of the DISCIPLINE AND FOCUS I was recieving. I just trained. It wasn't until much later in life and my martial arts career that I was able to Connect the Dots. I started to realize that every time I didn't quit on the Mats I changed. With every challenge and obstacle that training brought me, I realized I had the ability to conquer it. It took a long time to also realize the person I REALLY was. In my personal life I had a tendency to not be that focused, driven individual. But, as I started to see that I could push through any adversity in my training, I could do the same in ANYTHING  I did. This mentality carried over into my relationships and my business. I can truely say that I would not be the man I am without being a martial artist.

In closing, I would like to encourage all of you to stay with your training...as LONG as you can. If you stay with it long enough, you will find these wonderful revelations in your own lives as I have. And that has always been the beauty of the martial arts...ANYONE can be a winner. Because the winner is inside of YOU.

I hope this imapacts you in a positive way!


All the Best!

COACH