HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL...

If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his
vengeance need not be feared.

Niccolo Machiavelli

"Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

--Winston Churchill—

"When young men seek to be like you, when lazy men resent you, when powerful
men look over their shoulder at you, when cowardly men plot behind your
back, when corrupt men wish you were gone and evil men want you dead . . .

Only then will you have done your share."

-----Phil Messina

Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.

—William Faulkner

“The only freedom deserving the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest.”

John Stuart Mill

GOOD JUDGMENT CAN’T BE BOUGHT OR LEARNED FROM BOOKS. PEOPLE AREN’T BORN WITH IT, AND IT ISN’T TAUGHT IN SCHOOL. ONLY SELF-AWARENESS AND VAST KNOWLEDGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND POTENTIALITIES, WHEN COMBINED WITH PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, RESULT IN GOOD JUDGMENT. MENTORS CAN SPEED THE PROCESS, SUPPLYING INFORMATION AND EVEN EXPERIENCE THROUGH THE ARTFULLY TOLD STORY. OTHERWISE, THE BURNED HAND TEACHES BEST.

GOOD JUDGMENT IS THE RESULT OF EXPERIENCE, WHILE AN “EXPERIENCE” IS THE RESULT OF POOR JUDGMENT.

Mark Twight

Our Soldiers

OUR SOLDIERS

When the security of our land is threatened,
We call on our soldier's might,
To go wherever they're needed,
To defend us day and night.

They leave their loves ones behind,
A great price our soldiers must pay.
Let us salute their courage and bravery,
May we remember them each time we pray.

Each time we spot "Old Glory"
Waving for all to see,
Let's think of all the soldiers that have
Kept it flying proud and free.

This great country is tolerant
Of cultures from other lands,
But, when they attack our precious freedom
We will punish with a heavy hand.

Our soldiers are tried and true,
Tempered like carbon steel,
Born of American Spirit;
Raised with American will.

Remember our fallen heroes that died,
So freedom may grow,
To nations around the world,
Wherever our warriors may go.

Author Unknown

No man is free...

"No man is free who is not master of himself"

Epictetus

Day by Day...

"Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character."

Heraclitus

Updates...

Both the DSMA website and the Combative Sciences website has been updated.

Mark and Harolds personal Hell Evolutions...

On Wednesday Mark "The Veteran" did 7 five minute rounds of bag work with 1 min rest in between each round. Great Job Mark!!!

This morning (Friday) Harold "The Kingpin" did 5 five minute rounds of bag work with 1 min rest in between each round. Great Job Harold!!!

Hell Week Evolution 3

Shedding the unnecessary...

In training let go of all comparisons, preconceived notions, and expectations. They serve no purpose for the warrior. Its not about what you believe you should be able to do, how good you are compared to others, or what you think may happen.

Its about being in the moment! Comparing yourself to others is a waste of time, just as trying to be like someone else is also pointless. Regardless of who you would like to be; when you wake up in the morning you are still you....so what are going to do? If there is one absolute truth I have learned over the years it is the fact that in order to change who you are now you must change your perception of things and your thoughts.

It is common to look up to people during your life and that is OK. The problem arises when individuals place others on an unreachable pedestal. This does nothing but place a limitation on yourself. Greatness is available for everyone....but few reach out and take hold of it.

Limitations are nothing more than illusions. You will hear people say think outside the box, or push the envelope. Well I say there is NO BOX, there is NO ENVELOPE, the only limitation that exists is the one you place on yourself........

The Forge

Forging the Warrior
by James Bullock

Training is the fire...

Your body is the steel...

Your mind is the mold...

Your spirit is the hammer...

The Warrior is the Sword

Welcome to your Evolution...

The 1st and 2nd Evolutions of Hell Week are completed. Congratulations to the Warriors who survived...which were all involved.

Special congrats to Jesse, and Alan the 2 new Warriors of the group.

The bravest...

The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.

Thucydides

Killer at Large

Belief...

Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it.
Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held.
Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books.
Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin.
Believe nothing just because someone else believes it.
Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.

- Siddhārtha

Do your best

"Unless you do your best, the day will come when, tired and hungry, you will halt just short of the goal you were ordered to reach, and by halting you will make useless the efforts and deaths of thousands." -

Gen. George S. Patton

True Warrior

"Given enough time, any man may master the physical. With enough knowledge, any man may become wise. It is the true warrior who can master both....and surpass the result."

- Tien T'ai

Great Quotes Movie

http://www.greatquotesmovie.com/

Survival

The depth of darkness to which you can descend and still live is an exact measure of the height to which you can aspire to reach.

Self Confidence

“The self-confidence of the warrior is not the self-confidence of the average man. The average man seeks certainty in the eyes of the onlooker and calls that self-confidence. The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eyes and calls that humbleness. The average man is hooked to his fellow men, while the warrior is hooked only to infinity.”

Carlos Castenada

The Warrior...

To be a warrior is not a simple matter of wishing to be one. It is rather an endless struggle that will go on to the very last moment of our lives. Nobody is born a warrior, in exactly the same way that nobody is born an average man. We make ourselves into one or the other.

Carlos Castenada

Two rare virtues...

There are two virtues that are all but extinct in the world in this day and age.

Courtesy and Humility...

It is very rare to meet people who are kind and courteous on a general basis. The word "common" is a rarity as well. As in "common" courtesy or "common" sense. It is easy to spot those that are courteous now days because they are uncommon...

Humility is extremely rare in my opinion. I think that more and more people avoid "humbling" experiences. I have at least a few humbling experiences every week. Humility comes with a wisdom and knowledge of exactly who you are, there is no need ever to be egotistical or to exert the ego onto others.

No Excuses

Quinton Jackson

The Orange County District Attorney’s office has formally charged former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson for a July 15 hit-and-run melee that landed the popular fighter in jail.

In a press release issued on Monday, Jackson is accused of sideswiping two cars and subsequently fleeing Costa Mesa police officers as they attempted to stop him. In the short chase, Jackson allegedly damaged another car and nearly hit several pedestrians at a bus stop. His left front tire shredded, he eventually surrendered to police officers in nearby Newport Beach.

The 30-year-old Jackson has been charged with one felony count of evading while driving recklessly, one felony count of evading a peace officer and driving against traffic, three misdemeanor counts of hit and run with property damage, and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving.

His arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 28. Deputy District Attorney Keith Bogardus will request a $25,000 bail for the fighter.

Notably absent were charges related to Holli Griggs, a passenger in one of the cars that Jackson sideswiped. Griggs was 16 weeks pregnant with a boy when she miscarried two weeks after the incident. Orange County DA spokeswoman Farrah Emami told MMAWeekly.com that a subsequent investigation of the miscarriage did not implicate Jackson.

“We reviewed all the medical records and spoke with the victim’s physician, and the evidence showed that the loss of the fetus was not related to or a result of the crash caused by the defendant,” Emami said.

Jackson re-emerged in the public eye at UFC 87 following a long period of silence. At a pre-fight press conference for “Seek and Destroy,” he appeared to be in good spirits, a far cry from the man who was placed under mental observation by police officers shortly after the chase. The charismatic light heavyweight said he was back on track and thanked UFC president Dana White for getting him there.

“I’m already training, so my next opponent better watch out,” he said. “But that was the worst mistake I ever made, I got Dana over my back all the time. ‘Did you eat? Did you sleep? Drink your water?’ It’s like I’m two years old, but it’s all good,” he continued.

If convicted, Jackson could face up to three years in prison. He and UFC representatives were unavailable for comment.

Your errand...

You are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world. You impoverish yourself if you forget this errand.—Woodrow Wilson

Victory

Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.
Winston Churchill

Unity

Wisdom from Marcus Aurelius

"To see "all" of the present moment here and now is to see "all" that has eternally been and shall be. For the "all" is a unity of substance and form."

Empty Your Cup

"To be empty, completely empty, is not a fearsome thing; it is absolutely essential for the mind to be unoccupied; to be empty, unenforced, for then only can it move into unknown depths."

J. Krishnamurti

The Greater Self

"When you are inspired dormant forces, faculties, and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.

Patanjali

Self Development

Self-development is a higher duty than self-sacrifice.—Elizabeth Cady Stanton

This is way beyond inspirational...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooQKUYQ_WgQ&eurl

Fight YOUR fight...

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting.—e e cummings

Circumstances

"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

Seminar Picture

Here is a pic of the guys after a great seminar last Saturday..the 26th

The Will

"Nothing can resist the human will that will stake even its existence on its stated purpose"
Benjamin Disraeli

Great Session last night..

Last nights clinch class was great, we had a visitor from the St. Louis area who was a great addition to the class. Dwayne from Andre's MMA Academy trained participated in the class, he is a great guy and definitely has a great attitude.

Here is the link to Andre's MMA Academy in St. Louis

My first day of throwing..

Or should I say attempt at throwing...lol... I had a blast with James Lee and Dan throwing the implements today. It was so much fun, I have alot to learn and then some but I love it so far.

Here is a couple of pics after practice..

Here is one of James Lee and I...
Here is one of Dan and James Lee
And this is of Dan and Myself...

Wisdom from Dave Tate

Here are some excerpts from Dave Tate's article Shut The Hell Up and Listen.

“Lock yourself onto your destination and eliminate any possibility of not getting there. Make your goal the core essence of your existence. Fix your focus 100% onto your desired outcome and the process of achieving it.”

“Let nothing stop you from training toward your goal, short of a crippling injury or major life trauma. And as you'll see below, not even that is enough to stop some highly motivated individuals.”

“For those few, however, who do aspire to the highest level of sport, you need to understand that greatness comes at a high price. The price is the time and energy that you can't devote to the other aspects of your life.”

“We all have the same 24 hours, and the choice of where to focus our attention. There's no way you can focus on your work, family, church, personal development, friends, and on your training.”

“Yes you can achieve balance, and as I said, this isn't a bad goal. All I'm saying is that you can either be balanced, or you can be great. You shouldn't expect both at the same time.”

“To be in the top 10% of anything requires a selfish, fanatical drive that most people will never understand, let alone possess. Maybe there's someone somewhere who can be great at everything, but I haven't seen it.”

“People always ask me, "knowing what you know now, would you have changed anything about your training or diet from years ago?" My answer is always the same: no. You can't turn back the clock and change the past. You can only do what you can do today. I see no reason to answer what I can't do anything about. Do I offer people different advice now based on what I feel were my mistakes of the past? Yes, of course. I've made some huge mistakes, but they were necessary, because without them I wouldn't have learned anything.”

Did the warm up

I am in Wichita and I found a YMCA to workout at this morning....once I found it I felt like I was going to toys r us.....lol.... I love to train, I had a great workout and I did the Ultimate Shoulder Warm Up from the Diesel Crew...It was awesome, made my shoulder feel much better prepared for the torture I was going to put it through.

Shoulder Warm Up

I have been training for a very long time and the biggest issue I have had over the years is my right shoulder. There are times it feels perfect and times it aches and hurts.

The following video is a shoulder warm up I am going to add to my training routine immediately...

Our YouTube Channel...

Here is the link for the YouTube Channel...

http://www.youtube.com/user/Taolyn

An afternoon with a Legend...

I spent 4 and a half hours with Dan yesterday. It was one of the most in depth conversations I have ever had with anyone. It was a great afternoon. I think I have officially decided to do some Scottish Games training and possibly compete a few times. I have never seriously competed in a strength sport and I think it would be a blast.

Current MMA Schedule

MMA Schedule

Monday

• 11am
• 6pm
• 9pm

Tuesday

• 9pm

Wednesday

• 11am
• 6pm
• 9pm

Thursday

• 9pm

Friday

• 11am
• 6pm

A conversation...

Got to the Powerhouse Gym this morning at about 9am and I had another fantastic conversation with Dan. That man is truly wise beyond words....some of the things we discuss almost give me a headache because its on a whole different level of conversation. We discuss philosophy, training, life lessons, spirituality..and other things. It is very humbling to speak with him. Each and every time I see Dan I always learn something. I most definitely feel like he is a "Mentor" to me in many different ways.

I have had a fantastic training day so far...I worked out for 5 hours so far today...Can't wait to teach later...

The Conclusion of Hell Week...

Yesterday was the conclusion of Hell Week. Thank you to all of the students that pushed themselves to the next level.

By the way Zach your birthday of hell will be soon.........Lets play a game......

I can't wait for the next Hell Week.....

Preparation...

It's not the will to win that matters...everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters.—Paul "Bear" Bryant

Just found this...

"Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit. Give everything you've got. -- Unknown"

As simple as I can make it...

If I had to sum up my philosophy of fighting it would be this...

"The rules of fighting are very simple. If he moves, hit him. If he doesn't move, hit him first, hard, and until he can’t move"

I wrote the above quote nearly 10 years ago....and I believe it more than ever now.

Quotes to ponder...

Here are some more of my favorite quotes...

Each, in his appropriate sphere, will lead in person. Any commander who fails to obtain his objective and who is not dead or severely wounded, has not done his full duty. General George S. Patton, Jr

"A man who says it cannot be done should not interrupt a man doing it!" Chinese Proverb

"Are you going to do something or just stand there and bleed?"
Wyatt Earp in "Tombstone"

It has Begun....

Last night was a truly amazing Monday night training session. We kicked off Hell Week with a bang....14 warriors showed up for one of the most grueling conditioning sessions ever. Their mind, body, and will were tested to the max and beyond.

It was an honor to see these guys lay it all on the line and give it their all. I am proud of all of you!

Hell Week Day 2 is upon us.....

My Personal Philosophy..

The following quote is something that is also apart of my training philosophy as well as apart of my overall personal philosophy. I wrote it nearly ten years ago and still think about it daily.

"The Physical is a result of the Psychological"

I will elaborate on it in the next day or so.

For those of you that will be at class tonight....prepare your mind for battle because Hell Week is upon us...

Confront your reasons for training...

There is a particular philosophy behind the way I teach and train.

"Training should be so demanding that it forces you to constantly confront and evaluate the reasons you train"

It takes a certain type of individual to willingly subject themselves to the type of training that is required to be the Elite of any sport. I have subjected myself to many forms of training over the years and I completely believe that training to be an Elite fighter is the most demanding and beneficial form of training. High level fighters are the best conditioned athletes in the world because fighting requires every form of endurance and strength. Every energy system must be developed to a high level. It is very important to train to the very best of your abilities every single time you train. Everyone has off days, is sick, injured and so on at some point during training however you should train to your maximal capacity on any given day.

Walking the Path and Living

Over the years I have come across those that walk the path of the warrior and those rare few that live the life of the warrior.

Let me clarify for a moment... By walking the path I mean those that simply dabble in being and training as a warrior when it suits them and they feel like it. Living the life of the warrior is a committed daily experience in every way. Living the life of the warrior is not just about training the body and mind for combat but also about being a great husband, father, brother, and human being in general. I was told a long time ago that being a warrior is an elite calling that you must chose to take upon yourself, it is not something that can be a hobby or past time.

I have been blessed to have been taught by and known some great warriors during my life.

I am also blessed to have students that are taking the elite calling of the warrior upon themselves and living it daily.

Words to think about....

I have decided to post quotes every so often, I enjoy reading things that make me think and ponder about various things.

"Real glory springs from the silent conquest of ourselves."—Joseph P. Thompson

I must say...

I have not done a very good job keeping up with the blog as of late. I am going to attempt to update it regularly.

I must say my students are doing a tremendous job in there training, I push them to the limit and beyond each and every week and they hang in there like the Warriors they are.

Hell Week...

Well last week was Hell Week for the MMA students, on top of that Ray Gilbert and Jeremy Jones tested for Phase 2. It was a grueling test and they never once gave up, their will was strong through the entire test.

I am kind of depressed that Hell Week is over....For those of you that don't know, Hell Week is a extremely intense week of training in which I put all of the students through....well.....HELL each and every workout of the week. Once the week is concluded each student most definitely feels a sense of accomplishment and slight soreness.....lol...

WORLD KEMPO CHAMPION ONCE AGAIN...

DRAGON SPIRITS OWN RAY GILBERT RETURNED WITH 5 GOLD MEDALS, 2 BRONZE, and 1 SILVER from the World Kempo Championships held in Faro, Portugal.

There were 26 countries in attendance and he obliterated the fighting divisions. I am proud beyond words. He trained so hard this last year, fought through every ache and pain that I put him through and it more than paid off. I am honored to have had the opportunity to help him prepare for the Championships. He is a Warrior in every way and he just keeps getting better and better.

Ray we are all proud of you so much...

Xtreme Couture

On Saturday April 5th Jeremy, Big Mike and his son Joseph, Josh, and myself all took a trip to the Xtreme Couture gym in Independence Missouri. We looked around the gym, spent too much money in the pro shop and watched 12 fights. We had a blast, it was actually the most fun I have had in a long time. I would like to thank Jeremy for taking all of us and Big Mike for planning the trip and getting the tickets. The fights themselves were decent, not extremely impressive but not horrible. Seeing them just made all of us want to step into the octagon even more. The current plan is to have a team ready by the end of the year with as many different weight classes as possible so that we can represent the school well. Becoming a member of the team will be invitation only and will be based on your abilities and level of conditioning. So those of you wanting to be a member of the team...Get Ready....

An Inspiration...

On Monday the 31st Dan DeWelt honored us by coming to our facility and talking about motivation as well as sharing some of his amazing experiences and insight into training. There have been very very few people in recent years that I have been amazed by and Dan is one of those individuals. I am thankful that he took the time to come speak at our school.

Remember what you can conceive and if you believe you can achieve.

Meet Dan DeWelt

The following link is the Hall of Fame page for Dan DeWelt. I still can't believe he is 64 years old....

www.scottishmasters.org/hofdandewelt.html

I HATE RULES....and LIMITATIONS

I study and train constantly, I am just never satisfied with anything I do in any endeavor. Something that aggravates me to no end is people who adhere to the rules and limitations of self proclaimed know it alls. I read the newest and latest training information as soon as it comes out, just so I can learn more. Not so much for the sake of learning but to see what I can do to make my body and mind more efficient in every capacity. Something that I have realized in the last year is that the human body can do so much more than I ever previously thought. I once believed that you couldn't train hard multiple times in a day without dying after a few days. I finally decided to throw out the "rules" of training that I had heard and read about over the years and decided to push myself past my perceived limitations. For a while now I have been training 4 times a day minimum and in some cases five times for five days a week. Some people would say that is extreme over training. I have found out that experience is the best and most harsh teacher.

No one knows your body like you do. No one can push you to your potential and beyond except you.... The main thing that I have done is listen to my body and train accordingly, if I find myself not mentally into a session then I change it up, if I feel that my performance on the mat is regressing then I change things. Some days you feel like you can lift the world and some days you feel like the world fell on you....

Don't ever believe you are average or mediocre...

One of our own...

Yesterday I received a call from our Dragon Spirit "Doc" Matt and he informed me that he tore his achillies tendon yesterday while playing flag football. He is doing well and will be having it repaired as soon as possible. He is a great athlete and warrior and I am sure he will come back stronger than ever. My thoughts and prayers are with him.

Yet another great workout...

I woke up this morning feeling much better than I had since Friday. I honestly wasn't feeling very energized for my workout due to my being sick the last 3 days. I got to the gym and began warming up when Dan walked in (the 64 year old Athlete). The second I noticed him I was ready to throw some weight around. His excitement for training and energy just fill the air, he has an inspiring presence. We talked between sets as usual each telling training stories and such.... when it was time to lift again we stopped then resumed the conversation directly after the set. I hit several new personal bests today just because of Dan's energy.

I remembered another one of my favorite quotes today as I was training and talking to Dan...

"Complacency is the root of mediocrity".... Mediocrity happens because we become complacent in one or more facets of our life. Honestly I had become pretty complacent in regards to my weight training. Until Josh Elmer began training with me I had not pushed myself as hard as I should have in the gym for quite some time. Then with the opening of the Powerhouse gym I gained even more motivation, to top it off I meet Dan Dewelt my first day training at the new gym and I train harder than I have ever trained before.

A guess my point to this rant is that whatever your motivations are do your best to not become complacent in your current training or abilities, always push to reach "The Next Level"...

Complacency can sneak up on you....it did me...

The infamous 5x5min rounds....

On Friday March 21st Josh came to try the early morning 5 round workout. I must admit that I am impressed by his eagerness to complete all rounds at all cost. Right at the end of the 3rd grueling round he had to use every ounce of will power to not decorate the mat with his pre-workout drink. Thankfully he made it out the door right after the round was over. He did press on and did complete all 5 rounds. Good job Josh....

Tire Flips

Dragon Spirit's own Josh "The Beast" Elmer flipping the 250 pound tire.

An Athlete at any age...

Just finished my first official workout at the Power House gym....man did I feel like a toys r us kid in that place. It was hard for me not to do every exercise I could think of. As soon as I got there I began warming up with 80 pound dumbbell snatches and an older gentleman approached me and asked me if I was preparing for the Scottish Games....I replied "no sir I am a fighter and a MMA Coach", he said the reason he asked that is because he has very rarely ever seen anyone do that particular exercise. Which I have never seen anyone outside the internet do the exercise either. After talking for a while I learned that he is a 3 time National Scottish Games Champion and he is 64 YEARS OLD!!!! He is not huge by bodybuilding standards but he has the "power" look, he is dense and thick, he was moving some big poundages too on every exercise he did. He was very down to earth and just loves to compete as an athlete, he doesn't even care if he wins money or wins the competitions.... he loves the entirety of his sport. It was an honor to meet this 64 year old athlete and just reaffirmed my drive to work hard and never place limitations on my self. He even gave me tips on making my dumbbell snatch much better...

Always on my mind....

You know...there is a quote that is constantly in my head and has been firmly beat into me over the years. I am not sure who originally said it but whoever it was, was a genius.

Here it is...

For what level of mediocrity will you settle for?

That goes through my mind everyday, all day long. Although no one has ever accused me of being average or mediocre at anything I do it still pushes me and drives me on a daily and sometimes minute by minute basis. I hate the term average or mediocre...hell... I hate the term "good".... Most people think it is great to be called "good" at something. There is another quote that comes to mind which states "The good is the enemy of the best"...have no clue who wrote it but it is a good one as well. I honestly do not think that I am "good", "great", or the best at anything. I will not be solidified by such terms, I have an insatiable desire to improve in every aspect of the martial arts and life in general. I can never be to fast, strong, technical, or agile enough. There is no such thing as enough in my world..(so I think anyway).

Last week I was humbled by a 10 year old girl who is in Mr. Gilberts Junior Kenpo class. She is also an amazing gymnast as well. She may be tiny but her core strength and pound for pound strength out does most people I have ever met or trained with. I did her 5min abdominal routine with her and of course was pathetic in my performance. I loved the fact that I could not do what she was capable of doing, which may sound strange to some. I am a firm believer the you can never be "humbled" enough...notice I didn't say humiliated. It was refreshing to see someone, correction.... an ATHLETE at her age to have that kind of core strength. Some may argue that she doesn't weigh very much or that gymnastics is way different than MMA....who cares...strength is strength especially when it is displayed under complete control. I respect and admire elite athletes in every sport...those that shatter the boundaries of the good and the best, who seek that ever elusive perfection knowing they will never fully obtain it but never stop trying to grab onto it with both hands regardless of what others "believe".

So the next time you hear the "lazy" voice in your head screaming and begging you to stop, remember to ask yourself "For what level of mediocrity will you settle for".....

The 9pm class after a grueling training session. I have a great group of warriors that give me their all and more in class.

Fantastic job guys..... just wait till Thursday.....insert evil sadistic laugh....

Its Official

Last night our very own Josh "the Beast" Elmer made the cardio room of the Power House Gym a hard core training domain. I am pretty sure he threw up everything but his shoes....

Last nights 7pm training session was Ruthless as usual....great job guys.

9PM Class

For all of you that were at class on March 6th....excellent job. Everyone did at least three 5min rounds of positional grappling, and that isn't easy to do by any means.

DSMA Videos

Dragons Spirit Martial Arts student Matt demonstrating the ever popular med ball slam.

Brocks Next Opponent

According to Sherdog.com, Coleman and Lesnar will square off at UFC 87 on Aug. 9, which will take place in Minneapolis, Minn.

Paradigm Of Pain

Push Up Series "Genocide"

1. Regular Push Ups 30sec
2. Wide Push Ups 30sec
3. Close Push Ups (elbows touching sides) 30sec
4. Diamond Push Ups 15sec
5. Regular Push Ups to failure

Its the Principle of the thing.

"As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have always been fascinated by the principles of the martial arts, which in turn lead me to look for the principles in everything in my life. Consider principles the essence of everything you do, with out principles to guide our methods then there is no substance to anything. I try my best to never do anything in my training just for the sake of doing it, or just because so and so did it. I always ask myself if I am training a certain way because it works for me and I understand it or just because it is what everyone else is doing.

To me there is no best method to do something, method implies something that is set in stone. Principles are adaptable to many things and they allow you to evolve and adapt regardless of your chosen endeavor.

Paradigm Of Pain

The Paradigm of Pain is a series of exercises grouped together to create a circuit. There are various versions with each one focusing on a different attribute such as strength endurance, explosive endurance and so on.

Ab Series "Crash and Burn" (Strength Endurance Emphasis) each exercise is done for 1 min with no rest in between.

1. Butterfly Curl Ups
2. Squirm
3. Flutter Kicks
4. Crunches
5. Frog Kicks

To make your own series you can do it like this:

1. Upper Ab Movement
2. Oblique Movement
3. Lower Ab Movement
4. Upper Ab Movement
5. Lower Ab Movement

Each done for one minute with no rest.

The Ultimate System

For years people have been searching for the ultimate/universal martial art system. Some individuals have claimed that their art or system is the supreme of all...insert hysterical laugh ....with no basis other than their own point of view. However, I do believe that most systems contain elements of truth.

But I also believe that these elements are more rooted in principle than technique.

All techniques should be built upon dynamic bio-mechanical principles.

Unfortunately many systems are guided by techniques instead of principles.

I think that the universal search should be for universal principles that once found can be the basis for combative effectiveness.

1000 techniques are ok...but....a few universal principles lead to spontaneous, infinite applications.